Spring 2013
The Rancher, the Butcher, and the Cify Dweller, May 19, 2013 in Madera, CA.
A four-hour butchery class with Bill McCann, master artisan butcher at “The Local Butcher Shop” in Berkeley, CA — recently voted West Coast's Best Artisan Butcher Shop. The class will discuss and demonstrate the complete butchery of a pure bred heritage tamworth pig, raised at the Lone Willow Ranch, a local organic farm in Firebaugh, CA. The event includes lunch. Class attendees will go home with course materials, including a video, and 5 pounds of the meat butchered during the demonstration class. Read more..
Finally Spring is Here!
It happens every year: after a long winter slumber, in just a few days, everything came alive at the Lone Willow Ranch. The bees are gorging on flowers everywhere, burgeoning trees, cover crops and the rich variety of wild flowers all around. The wheat field is looking great. The pigs, goats, turkeys and the hens are all enjoying the lush cover crops and grasses in their respective generous pastures. You should see the greenhouse exploding with heirloom tomato shoots, squash and onions, while asparagus, potatoes, carrots, and lettuce are happily expanding their roots below ground, while proudly showing off their young, healthy green sun collectors. Come visit us!
Tomatoes!
Happy Pigs!
Organic Garlic- Lone Willow Ranch
We grow our garlic along the San Joaquin river the soil, which is a light, loamy type dirt, so it grows excellent garlic with big tops and bulbs. It's planted in the fall, when the weather starts to cool down. We grew a cover crop or a small grain, the year before, to give the soil a rest and a rotation to build up organic material for the garlic crop. We use the soft neck type garlic. California white grows well in our area and enjoys the mild winter and good rainfall. The cloves have nice size, color and tasty flavor for adding to all types of cooking. Enjoy our garlic! we really do.
Just work your soil space out 4-5 inches and plant. In a few weeks, sprout will reach for the sunlight and tops will grow. A few bulbs will give use 20' or more. Good luck and enjoy the Lone Willow Ranch Garlic!
1 lbs California White Softneck Garlic |
5 lbs California White Softneck Garlic |
Affiliations
As a long time organic farmer, I have spent many years on multiple boards - 6 year board member of Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), past president at California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) Fresno/Madera/King/Tulare chapters, and past president and still board member of Slow Food Madera, for which we organized the very first event "Tomatoes' Night Out". I have greatly benefited from all the discussions, projects participations and friendships that have resulted from belonging to such groups of enlightened individuals, whose energy towards worthy missions of sustainability, and respect for the environment, has inspired me to keep working towards those shared goals. The 20th anniversary of our organic certification has reenergized me to keep working with those like minded friends and to keep producing the best foods our farm can raise.
