Little Organic Farm Tour
CUESA visits Little Organic Farm in Marin, California.
David Little farms 23 acres on 4 plots of land in Marin and Petaluma. A third generation roofer, he began farming in 1995 after falling in love with the West Marin countryside.
David's primary crop is potatoes, which have been cultivated in Marin County for over 100 years. He grows over 30 varieties. David also grows winter squash, strawberries, lettuces and tomatoes. Pictured here is a purple potato plant--the color of the flowers corresponds with the color of the tubers!
This year, David planted his hard squash early in the season and is hoping to begin harvesting the fall crop as early as August.
The densely planted squash plants will soon die back to expose the beautiful orange harvest.
To grow his potatoes, David uses a method called dry-farming, in which little to no water is given to the plants. Here, he shows us that despite the lack of irrigation, his soils stay quite moist.
This is David's harvester, which unearths potatoes and deposits them on the top of the soil. He traveled all the way to Wyoming to retrieve the machine, which he hooks up to his tractor.
Early in the season, David harvests new potatoes. While typical potatoes are harvested from dead or dying potato plants and have tougher skins, new potatoes are harvested from green plants and are extremely delicate. For this reason, new potatoes must be hand-harvested and are a rare treat.
It's difficult not to romanticize the farming lifestyle on a Marin hilltop with stunning views of Two Rock Valley, but about 30 minutes of hand-harvesting new potatoes had us convinced of how difficult (yet intensely satisfying) potato farming is.
Thanks, David, for showing us around your beautiful farm! (Market Manager Dexter nuzzles David's one-horned pet goat)
Thanks also to Dottie Mae, David's excitable farm dog! (Pictured here on the tractor with our other Market Manager, Lulu Meyer)
