Tonopah Rob's Vegetable Farm

Wow! Summer is almost over. I think I can feel a little bit of autumn in the air. Well, maybe not but I’m sure trying to make myself believe it. Because if autumn is approaching, the reopening of my farm stand is getting ever closer. Matter of fact, I’ll be open Saturday, September 6th, 2008 from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. as I have a few vegetables still producing and thought some of you might like to stop in and grab a few things and take some of these eggs off my hands. The new chicks are chicks no more, they are near full grown chickens and are starting to produce quite a lot of eggs, although not big ones yet, and so they’ll be priced accordingly . During this special opening Saturday I’ll have okra, assorted peppers, eggplant, winter squash, onions, garlic, a TON of basil, carrots, maybe some fresh flowers and of course – a SUPER SALE on eggs.

I had a great time in California. I spent a week touring farmers markets surrounding the Bay Area of the Golden State. Santa Cruz was amazing as were the people. I embraced the diversity and loved the beautiful, brilliant, and bold terrain of California. A eucalyptus forest I visited was awesome, something I had never seen or smelled before. The majestic Redwoods stretched upwards to touch the upper reaches of the hazy skies. And the fog – eerie, very eerie. In the middle of the day proverbial thick soupy fog blew in from the ocean, blanketing the landscape.

From Salinas to San Francisco and points inbetween, moving inland too, I visited over 20 markets. Fresh locally produced food is so abundant there. At times I thought there was too much food for the size of the market and after a two-hour walk around the stands, the majority of goods had been sold. Farmer after farmer after farmer piled plums, beans, peppers and strawberries shoulder high. The strawberries, oh my goodness: bazillions of berries in gorgeous arrangements tempted me to eat pounds of them. I learned a lot, saw even more and I’ll admit it I even gawked a little.

While visiting the markets I noticed how much I was missing my farm stand and then I thought it was really nice to be on the other side of the table, too. I have been revitalized by all the sights, sounds, smells, and flavors of my vacation. I knew once I belted myself into the seat of the plane it was time for me to get back to my farm and start playing in the dirt. Listen y’all: I have an awesome line-up of veggies for this year.

I was fortunate enough to meet a guy who works for a huge seed company, well – not huge seeds per say but a large company selling lots of seeds to be more specific. He gave me a tour of the operation and I got a sneak peek at some of the new veggies that are not yet in catalogs. You might see some of them at the farm stand this fall.

Keep your fingers crossed that Mother Nature will be gentle this year and provide us a bountiful crop of all natural veggies. Put a big X on your calendar for November 1, 2008. The new season for the farm stand will kick off with all kinds of goodies. But until then, you can stop by Saturday September 6th for a few things and check out what a desert farm looks like at the end of a good summer baking.