Lonely Mountain Farm Tour
On March 20, 2016, CUESA visited Lonely Mountain Farm as part of our “Spring Farm Frolic.” We learned all about their diverse organic farm and met goats and donkeys up close!
Kenny and Molly Baker are first-generation farmers who grow a diverse crop of vegetables, fruit, and flowers on 10 acres of land in Corralitos, about 90 miles south of San Francisco. Their son River is the newest addition.
The young farmers own their land, which they farm intensively and organically under California Certified Organic Farmers certification. The evocative name is inspired less by geography than by J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium in books like The Hobbit.
Kenny started farming on leased land in 2009 and bought this property, which had previously been horse pasture, several years later. The farm now sells primarily at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco and offers a CSA with Santa Cruz area pickups.
Kenny's sister, Dawn (middle), and husband Tim are also part of the farm.
Dawn introduced livestock such as Nigerian Dwarf goats, who contribute to the farm's diverse ecosystem. She uses the goat milk to create soaps under the name Lil Milkers Valley.
Nigerian Dwarf goats are a miniature dairy breed that are well-tempered and easy to maintain. They also produce a large amount of milk for their petite size.
Our farm adventurers met the goats!
Female goats are usually pregant in the winter and "kid" (give birth) in the spring.
Breeding bucks (fertile males) are kept separate from the does (females). The white buck is named Gimli (another nod to Tolkein!).
Goats' horizontal eye slits can be a little unsettling, but the shape of the pupils actually helps them to see panaromically while grazing, so that that they can detect predators.
Dawn also keeps miniature donkeys (like Bright and Leia, shown here), who serve as guardians for the goats. The donkeys will bray and stomp to ward off predators.
Lean on me! The donkeys also lend a helping hand (or back) to help goats get at hard-to-reach foliage.
The donkeys are patient and gentle guardians!
Lonely Mountain is also home to several friendly dogs, which help protect against predators like coyotes and bobcats.
When we visited the farm in March, some of the fields were still in cover crop, a mix of legumes (bell beans, vetch, peas) and oats that protects the soil from erosion, helps it absorb water, and adds nutrients and biomass.
Legumes have nodules on their roots. The nodules form a symbiotic relationship with bacteria that fix nitrogen in the soil, making this essential nutrient availalble to plants.
According to Kenny, cover crop is a large commitment of time and money, since it generally can't be sold for income, but it's worth the investment to keep the soil alive and healthy.
The farm sometimes sells the greens from the bell beans (similar to fava beans) at the farmers market.
The farm's three-year-old apple trees years have been intercropped with daffodils. The two plants make good companions since the flowers grow in the winter, when the trees have no leaves. (The daffodils were recently harvested.)
The farm uses no pesticides, even organic ones, but instead focuses on creating diverse plantings and ecosystems that will attract beneficial insects.
Spot the frog!
A field of green garlic. Lonely Mountain Farm is close to Gilroy, the "garlic capital of the world," and monocropping by large farms in the area has led to a proliferation of fusarium rot (an airborne fungus), which threatens garlic in the area. Lonely Mountain harvests and sells young and uncured green garlic in the spring, before the fusarium is able to attack.
Green garlic has a less pungent flavor and scent than mature garlic, and can be cooked leaves and all.
Stawberry fields.
The farm also grows loganberries, olallieberries, boysenberries, and blackberries, though it was too early in the season for fruit.
The Bakers recently planted 50 grape vines, including table varieties like Golden Muscat and Concord, which are thick-skinned, seeded, and sweet, with unparalleled flavor.
Our group helped prune buds and leaves from the grape vines to encourage horizontal growth while the vines get established.
Several beehives help with pollination on the farm.
Tomatoes, peppers, flowers, artichokes, onions, and other crops are started in the greenhouse, where the temperature is more stable and warm, and they can be watered easily, allowing plants to get a jumpstart on weeds before they are transplated to the fields.
These seedlings will become dry-farmed tomatoes, one of the farm's most lucrative crops.
Artichoke seedlings.
Some of Lonely Mountain's crops are processed into jams, pickles, and tomato sauces.
To supplement their farm income, the family also hosts farm dinners and weddings. Eat, drink, and be married!
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