Tour of Happy Quail Farms
On July 28, 2013, CUESA visited Happy Quail Farms in Palo Alto, California. (This slideshow includes a few photos from a previous tour, on September 12, 2008.)
David and Karin Winsberg of Happy Quail Farms greeted us at their East Palo Alto home. David grows his produce in his backyard and other yards he leases around the neighborhood.
The half-acre greenhouse fills much of the Winsbergs' backyard. Each year, Happy Quail grows 30,000 to 50,000 pepper plants of around 50 different varieties.
David's computer-controlled greenhouse has a retractable roof. He opens the roof in the winter to let the rain wet the soil. The greenhouse is also heated, allowing him to get pepper seedlings in the ground as early as February.
The pepper seedlings are grown by a nursery in Florida and then sent to David for planting. The local greenhouses will not work with growers on his small scale. Typical pepper growers are more like David's father, who grew 600 acres of green bells.
The pepper plants are trellised using wooden stakes and string. On the right are the famous Pimientos de Padrón (one is hanging in front of the stake). David helped to introduce this delicacy from Spain to the Bay Area. The peppers must be harvested at the "pubescent stage," meaning they are large enough to have flavor but small enough that they don’t have much heat, which usually comes with mature seeds.
David also grows Mediterraean cucumbers using a vertical growing system.
As the cucumber vines grow and the cukes are harvested, the vines are coiled on the ground so the harvest is always within reach.
Happy Quail Farms peppers on display
David has been experimenting with growing wild strawberries (fraises des bois) in PVC tubes filled with a mixture of compost and perlite. He is not currently offering the berries at the farmers market, but is selling them directly to a few Bay Area restaurants. The delicate berries are difficult to harvest, so David must charge a high price.
David also has a smoker so he can offer smoked dried peppers.
The hens, raised for their eggs, have a coop with access to the outdoors. These are Australorps, a breed known for abundant egg laying.
The peppers that are blemished are tossed into the chicken run and enjoyed by Happy Quail's hens. The peppers add a reddish hue to the egg yolks, especially towards the end of pepper season.
David has filled the neighbor's yard with peppers, squash, rhubarb, and other vegetables. In the distance is a mulberry tree, which produces large, succulent fruit.
David also grows tobacco, both broad-leaf and "ceremonial" varieties, which he sells at the market. Some customers buy it for smoking, while others use it as a culinary ingredient for wrapping fish or muddling in cocktails. David uses it to make tobacco tea, which he sprays as a natural pesticide.
Zapallito redondo squash
Rhubarb
These peppers are grown outdoors under a shade cloth in the Winsbergs' neighbor's yard.
Ripening peppers
David gave our group a Padrón pepper grilling demo. Cook them quickly using a good olive oil, then sprinkle with kosher salt.
Tasting peppers
Happy Quail has been experimenting with different value-added products, including hot sauces and pickled peppers.
David with his peppers
Happy Quail's shed with fun decorations
