Kiko's Follies at Bi-Rite Farms

Simon got to give me a hard time yesterday for a series of mini "follies" I committed while weeding, planting, and hoeing at the Bi-Rite farms in Sonoma.

Despite my solid efforts of harvesting/rinsing 7 cases of little gem lettuces plus summer squash and arugula, planting three rows of basil, and raking/hoeing beds for planting, I managed to commit a few flops that I'm not above admitting:

1. While weeding I took out a few cucumber sprouts, ending their life unnecessarily early (give me a break, it's been a year since I've been on the farm!)
2. I also weeded out some of the alyssum flowers, the dainty little white flowers that (Simon taught me a couple minutes too late) attract beneficial insects that feed on garden pest insects (oopsie daisies)
3. I couldn't seem to keep from stepping in the wrong part of the beds we had raked and laid out. Somehow my feet would touch down in the planting rows instead of walking rows. (OK, this I'll admit was poor form, but it only happened a couple times)

Yesterday was a rush of inspiration. It had been way too long since I'd been up there. So many thoughts I hadn't had in a while came back, like how good it feels to squat down and drop veggie starts in the ground or how delicious the dirt smells when it's hit with strong sun. Plus I got to work with Riley, who Si's brought on as a new set of able hands to work our two Sonoma farm plots by his side (and when he needs to be at the store).

My favorite new tool was the scuffle hoe--simple yet so effective and gratifying to use. And award for favorite item harvested goes to purslane, which I was actually picking as a weed but found particularly beautiful and deliciously zingy and tender to bite into; I took a bit to plant back at home in my Bernal backyard.

Can we take a moment for the gorgeous bee hives at the farm? All great until 10 bees decide to sting Riley all at one time (this happened last week! Don't worry folks, he's ok...oh, the perils of home honey harvesting). What you don't see next to the hives is the chicken coop, which Sam and Riley were getting to work on when Si and I pulled out to head home.

Only downer of the day was registering how hot and tired I was after "toiling" in the field for 4 hours, then thinking about the real farmworkers who grow our food in cali, mexico, and everywhere else where it's hotter than Sonoma and whose every day is spent bent over like this under the sun. Their work is way under appreciated and in most cases, under paid for.

When we drove back to Bi-Rite to drop off the days' harvest, I was proud to find Vanessa (our one woman "art department") working on a sign for the deli that said "From the Bi-Rite Farm with Love Straight to Your Plate." Perfect.