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14 February 2011
During Friday's class on Permaculture Strategies at Hayes Valley Farm, we were lucky to be joined by farm volunteer Andrea Cohan and her friends, who were about to launch a new free farm stand in the Bay View.
We embarked on a harvest walk that was equal parts site tour and workshop. As we discussed the history of the site, we also covered some techniques for proper harvesting and pruning.
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13 February 2011
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus ruber
ORDER: PICIFORMES | FAMILY: PICIDAE
The Red-breasted Sapsucker was seen visiting Hayes Valley Farm on Feb 7, 2011 during the Urban Tracking and Nature Awareness workshop. This is an unusual bird to see in such an urban setting and it's sighting speaks well for the biodiversity that the farm is creating in the heart of San Francisco. Woodpeckers are a keystone species that themselves help add to the biodiversity of a place - woodpeckers consistently make new holes in trees, leaving behind the old holes as habitat to be used by others birds and animals.
- Identifying features: Upperparts are black barred with white, and they have a prominent white stripe across each black wing. They have yellowish bellies. Males and females look much alike. Juveniles are mottled brown but have white wing-stripes like the adults.
- Behavior: Four to five white eggs are laid in a cavity drilled in a tree. Incubation ranges from 12 to 13 days and is carried out by the female. Feeds by drilling neat horizontal rows of holes into tree trunks and then returning to those holes later to feed on the running sap and the insects attracted to it. Unlike most woodpeckers, they forage in healthy trees and can actually kill a tree if they drill too many sap-holes around its trunk, although this is quite uncommon. Call is a soft, slurred "whee-ur" or "mew.
- Food: Feeds on sap, bark cambium, insects, especially ants, and some fruits
- Habitat: Woodlands, forest edges, and groves of aspen and alder.
- Range and time of year in Bay Area: Breeds from southeastern Alaska and British Columbia south to coastal California. Spends winters in most of its breeding range except interior British Columbia.
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11 February 2011
This Sunday we will come together to celebrate Hayes Valley Farm’s one year anniversary! We have seen the farm transform over the past year from an abandoned highway ramp to mountains of fertile soil, plants, habitat, and thriving community. Come celebrate the fruits of love and labor that so many dedicated and inspiring individuals have taken part in creating.
Roots to Fruits: Celebrating our First Year of Growth, Sunday at 3:00pm.
Workday will resume as usual at noon and transition into celebration at 3 p.m. We will begin by honoring our directors, who along with the hundreds of volunteers, have made the farm what it is today.
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10 February 2011
Food has the magical ability to transport us to beloved memories.
Macaroni and cheese recalls childhood memories in so many of us. Chocolate will bring back a first date in college. And crab cake sandwiches may just remind you of that special beach holiday you had with what’s-his-name. Whether you need to heal your body or boost your spirits, the right comfort foods can do it all.
Released by certain macronutrients (fats, carbohydrates & proteins), research shows that three little neurotransmitters - Dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin - are capable of bringing us joy and evoking tender memories. When protein is consumed and broken down through our digestive system, dopamine and norepinephrine are released in the brain and are largely responsible for memory recall. When starchy carbohydrates are consumed, serotonin is produced, triggering a anxiety-reducing, calming mood state.
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09 February 2011
Rooftops: surfaces with incredible potential. The rooftop garden at Glide Memorial Church exemplifies the possibilities.
Herbs, vegetables and flowers, a greenhouse, a picnic table, a vermicompost system (compost with worms) is a classroom, a community gathering space, a volunteer opportunity and a place to find nourishment. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to teach and learn with the students from the Family, Youth and Childcare Center.
This afternoon was beautiful, clear skies, sunshine and a light, cool breeze. I met the kinder class at the FYCC and we walked over to Glide, with a snack of goldfish in hand to feed the worms on the roof. We broke up the goldfish into little worm bite-sized pieces and sprinkled the bright orange cracker on the top of the pile. “Mmmmmm….it smells so good in here,” commented Joshua. We peer into the pile and notice that the top layer was laden with fresh herbs: dill, thyme, mint and parsley. Yum! These worms eat well!
What does a chapter 14 strategies discussion look like? I found out at the 
Our fall and winter have been very active due to the completion of our new greenhouse, thanks to Ron Stanford, Jason Hiller, Shoukry Kabbaz, Steve Humenay, Harshal Deshmukh and countless others who helped in its construction. Since its completion, we've been able to multiply our seedling production. As a result, our volunteers have been harvesting delicious Brassicas all winter long! This fall and winter too, we've been exploring sustainable soil blocking mixes, in the attempt to wean ourselves from non-local, unsustainable ingredients to more local and sustainable ones. To this end, with the good insight from our resident micro-biologist and lead researcher Aimee Hill, we've been working with combinations of worm castings and filtered compost.
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Over a thousand volunteers, neighbors, and community members have helped coordinate the farm efforts.