Live Earth Farm and Happy Girl Kitchen Tour
On a tour organized by CUESA in October 2011, a group of adventurers got a taste of an integrated local food system by visiting Happy Girl Kitchen, and one of their partner farms, Live Earth Farm. The Field to Jar excursion began with a tour of the farm, where the group picked dry-farmed organic tomatoes. It culminated at Happy Girl, where they learned to pickle the harvest, Italian-style.
Live Earth Farm is an 80-acre organic farm in Watsonville, California. They grow 50 types of fruits and vegetables, primarily for farmers markets and their CSA (community-supported agriculture) program. The property also includes 40 acres of wild land.
One of Live Earth's popular crops is dry-farmed tomatoes. Dry-farmed tomatoes are irrigated only once per season, if at all. The lack of water puts stress on the plant, which produces a sweeter fruit. This variety, New Girl, is particularly suited to dry-farming, and Live Earth's clay soil retains enough moisture throughout the season to keep the plants alive. Live Earth also dry-farms their apple orchards.
CUESA farm tour adventurers pick dry-farmed tomatoes to take to Happy Girl Kitchen for a pickling workshop. Live Earth has a close relationship with Happy Girl, growing tomatoes, green beans, apples, pears, quince, and other produce for the cannery's pickles and preserves. The farm offers Happy Girl a healthy discount on bulk produce that might otherwise go to waste.
The harvest.
In 2010, Happy Girl Kitchen took root in Pacific Grove, reviving a vacant space that was formerly home to a food co-op known as Granary Market. The kitchen serves as a cannery, retail store, workshop classroom, and café.
Jordan Champagne, co-owner of Happy Girl with her husband Todd, brews a latté in the café. The café serves simple, seasonal, local soups and sandwiches, and has housemade kombucha, cider, and juice on tap.
In addition to jams, pickles, and juices, the store sells supplies for DIY canners. Happy Girl also manages a buying club called The Food Preservationists, to help home canners purchase bulk quantities of produce from local farms.
The kitchen shelf.
The farm tour participants learned how to make pickled dry-farmed tomatoes using their harvest from Live Earth Farm.
Todd Champagne demonstrates how to pack dry-farmed tomatoes with garlic, basil, and peppercorns in apple cider vinegar. In choosing spices, the Champagnes encourage canners to be creative and follow their tastebuds.
The packed-tomatoes, ready for the hot water bath.
The finished jars.
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CUESA (Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture) is dedicated to growing thriving communities through the power and joy of local food. Learn More »
