hayes valley farm, sf

Hayes Valley Farm is the news around town right now. I heard about it through my pal Zoey at The Edible Office. The land it occupies used to be where the old freeway was torn down, and then was a large lot slated for, of course, condos. But the building of the condos was stalled and in the meantime a group of farmers, educators and designers worked hard and got not only permission to use the lot, but also received fiscal sponsorship from SF Parks Trust. Amazing. So as it stands now the farm is looking at a 2-5 year time line. But SF neighbors can be persuasive so we’ll see how that turns out down the road.

You can go to their website (which is where this picture is from) to check out what’s going on there in more detail. They had a sheet mulching party last week and they are having work parties on 2/7, 2/11 and Valentine’s Day. The farmers are also offering classes like the one coming up on March 1st, Greenhouse Basics. If you’re in SF, go check it out, it’s at the corner of Oak, Fell, Laguna and Octavia!

 

sidewalk sighting #7

As seen from the BART and then visited up close in West Oakland.

 

in awe, bharti kher

GB just recently introduced me to the artwork of Bharti Kher and I’m awestruck. So I thought I’d introduce some of her pieces here in case you too, were missing out. Her sculptures are made from cast fiberglass and then covered in millions of bindis. Someday I will see these in person! The third picture down is her interpretation of the heart of a blue sperm whale.

 

west coast seed bombs arrive

I know I’ve posted about the shop Visualingual here before, I love their work. So of course I had to let you know that they are now offering their seed bombs with a west coast blend of wildflowers that includes cornflowers, shasta daisies, california poppy, coreopsis and lupine. It’s such a perfect time to throw some of these around our cities during the last months of rain!

 

the city chicken

The last time I was visiting Portland, Oregon the Willamette Weekly’s cover had a picture of some incredibly cute goats with a caption that read “Goats are the New Backyard Chicken”. Well Portland is really ahead of most US cities, and even there you’ll find a novice homesteader or two. I just came across this great resource for keeping urban backyard chickens called The City Chicken.

Katy has great pictures to get you inspired like the ones here, and also monthly chicken care updates, breed selection tools, how to make compost tea from the chicken manure, information on chicken documentaries and an ever helpful reference to varying cities laws and regulations regarding chicken raising. You could, and should, spend a lot of time at this site. If you’re on the fence the information here will help you feel like you can really do this. Good luck! Don’t forget about city raccoons!

 

some light in the rain

It’s been raining for days here in the bay area and while I love it I know a lot of my fellow Californians are melting. This gocco print by Art Shark Design should help a little with its sweetness. The scene is from the Marin Headlands looking towards SF. Go to their etsy shop to see more! Now, can I ask a selfish question? Do any of you have any suggestions for a cute raincoat? Thanks!

 

sf underground farmer’s market

I’m really excited about going to the sf underground farmer’s market next thursday. They still haven’t announced the location but the date, 1/28, and the time 5-11pm is set.

Click here to go to their website and obsessively check for an update!  I haven’t been yet but my understanding is that this farmer’s market is about accessibility for the home gardener, crafter, survivalist, and maker. Commercial kitchens are exclusionary due to their cost for many talented cooks, crafters and fermenters so this underground market is perfect. It is the organizer’s intent to invite others to learn what’s being made in the home kitchens of SF. I’ve lived here for about 15 years now, and the communal thinking and the collective doing of the people living here never stops amazing me. They are currently looking for vendors whom are backyard gardeners, home food producers and skill sharers. All sales are by “suggested donation” and you have to sign up for a free underground farmer’s market membership to get in. I love it. Secret, sneaky, inspired. They’re also looking for musicians. If you’re in SF be sure not to miss it, I’ll see you there!

 

kitazawa seed co

I know you’re dreaming of spring garden plans. Recently I was in a nursery and the worker there told me they are cutting back on ordering basic landscaping plants and concentrating more on fruit trees, herbs and vegetable starts. So while you’re considering your summer’s harvest consider ordering some seeds from Kitazawa, a California company specializing in Asian vegetable seeds. They’ve been around since 1917 and their selection is amazing and their catalog is an inspiration all on its own.

You can buy individual seed packets such as chrysanthemum greens, shiso, Japanese mugwort and pickling melons, there’s a long index of different crops to try out. But they also have really fun garden sets like the macrobiotic garden, and the shabu shabu garden. The pickling garden is my favorite and includes the aforementioned pickling melon, takana mustard, senryo ni gou eggplant, green cucumbers, daikon, turnips and chinese cabbage. Their catalog and their website both include a large section on recipes to get you even more inspired.

 

nikki mcclure

It’s a rare day here in Berkeley, CA. The rain is pounding down taking along with it the last of the liquid amber’s leaves that were left on the tree. It’s like a snow day for me since I garden for a living and can’t get out there today, so I’m secretly happy. The heater is cranked up and my pajamas are still on. Maybe I’ll bake. But before I do any of that today I decided to start the day off right by looking at the work of Nikki McClure. I’m sure many of you have seen her work, she’s prolific and her work is amazingly beautiful in image and sentiment. You can check out more of her painstakingly intricate papercuts here and buy some of her prints, calendars and note cards at the great site, Buy Olympia. Enjoy your week!

 

citrus relief with studio choo

There is a lovely post by Studio Choo (who are opening a shop on Divisadero in SF!) over at Design Sponge today combining citrus with flower arrangements. They even are offering up some recipes. Often when I smell citrus my mood immediately lifts and I’m finding that these pictures do the same thing. I thought we could all use some color and cheering.