Vegetables

This weekend, visitors to Bloomfield Farms' u-pick event will not only be able to pick their own certified organic produce, but plant it as well! Bloomfield Farms was selected to help grow the heirloom squash, pumpkins, and gourds for the giant tower of vegetables at this year's National Heirloom Exposition at the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds.

Families visiting the for u-pick on Saturday and Sunday, May 4 and 5, can help plant these heirloom seeds (contributed by the Petaluma Seed Bank and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds). Then, come back in the fall to see how they've grown and pick a pumpkin, gourd, or squash (nature permitting, one per customer).

As usual, you'll also find a variety of great organic produce, including, kale, lettuce, chard, artichokes, leeks, broccoli, and more. We hear their new strawberry patch is in full swing now, too. Also, Chef John Lyle will be on hand again this Sunday for a "pay-what-you-can" Farm Fun Brunch. If you haven't been to u-pick yet this is a great weekend to check it out.

This spring and summer, the Indian Valley Organic Farm and Garden on the grounds of College of Marin's Indian Valley Campus is a great place to get organic fruits and veggies. A project of College of Marin, Conservation Corps North Bay, and the UC Cooperative Extension, this 5.8-acre certified organic education farm and garden is open to the public for produce shopping on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 am to 3 pm.

Bring your own bags and browse the farm stand for a wide variety of seasonal produce grown right there on-site. Right now, you can get artichokes, beets, radishes, chard, kale, leeks, and more. They also sell plants like poppies and other flowers, fruit trees, and several kinds of strawberry plants.

The Indian Valley Organic Farm and Garden is located on the Indian Valley Campus at 1800 Ignacio Boulevard. To get there, take Highway 101 to the Ignacio/Bel Marin Keys Boulevard exit and head west on Ignacio Boulevard. Follow Ignacio Boulevard all the way to the end of the road near the campus police station. There's a $3 parking fee during the week. The farm is a short walk from the parking area near the baseball fields.

U-pick time is almost here! Starting April 14, Bloomfield Farms will be open on Sundays for you and your kids to not only see where your food comes from, but to pick your own seasonal organic produce, too! This certified organic family farm is located in the rolling hills west of Petaluma, and it's a short scenic drive from anywhere in Marin. It's a lot of fun, and at $30 for a large box of vegetables, it's a great deal, too.

This year, the farm has plenty of new activities and events in store, including a farm stand featuring farm-made products and plant starts for your own garden, and visits from local chefs, musicians, and artists. There will even be a strawberry patch later on this spring and pumpkins and other heirloom squash this fall.

The Collins Family, general manager Nick Papadopoulos, and the staff at the farm are warm and welcoming and happy to help and explain about the different crops growing at the farm.

This time of year always has a way of making us long for the warm days of spring and summer. And of course with those thoughts of warm months come dreams of our spring and summer vegetable garden!

For the last couple of years, we've really made an effort to put in a substantial vegetable garden in our backyard. The children love to help pick out the seeds, plant them, water the plants, and pick the vegetables (and eat them, too), so it's a fun, educational, and tasty, experience for them. While last summer's cooler than normal weather made for mixed results, we had enough success to make us want to do it all over again this year.

Our first task of the season is always to go get our seeds. We always go the heirloom route—they're so much more fun than your plain old (ahem) garden variety vegetables—and we buy our seeds at the Petaluma Seed Bank, the West Coast outpost of the fantastic Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in Mansfield, Missouri. They stock a vast array of seeds for a wide variety of vegetables, many of which you probably didn't know existed.

In case you're not familiar with heirloom vegetables, they're the old-fashioned types, usually at least 50 years old, that have been handed down from generation to generation, and exist not because they are easy to grow or look perfect, but because they taste great! Baker Creek's seeds are also all natural, open-pollinated, and non-GMO, so they're good for your family and the environment.

Our friends at Bloomfield Farms, a family-run certified organic farm outside Petaluma, are offering a great winter CSA special! Sign up for 24 shares (boxes) of their amazing organic produce and get six for free. Bloomfield Farms offers two convenient pick-up locations for Marin families: the Tiburon Tavern in Tiburon and Marin Country Mart in Larkspur, as well as numerous location in Sonoma County.

Boxes run $20 to $35 depending on size, and include goodies like lettuce, potatoes, kale, and broccoli. Learn more about Bloomfield Farms' CSA program here, or sign up online on Farmigo if you're ready to subscribe.

This special CSA offer is valid only until midnight on Sunday, February 24!

CSA stands for "Community Supported Agriculture," and by buying your veggies this way you get great healthy food for your family, help support a local farming family, and help build a healthy and vibrant local food system.

This holiday season, why not give the gift of fresh organic produce? This Christmas, our friends at Bloomfield Farms, a family-run certified organic farm outside Petaluma, are offering CSA gift certificates for you to give to family, friends, and colleagues. It's the perfect gift for a family that enjoys delicious, healthy, and locally grown food!

Gift certificates are available in amounts of $75, $100, and $150, and the recipients can redeem them at one the convenient drop-off locations in Marin or Sonoma Counties. Learn more about giving a CSA gift from Bloomfield Farms here.

Bloomfield Farms is also offering an "80 for 80" holiday special—80 pounds of certified organic, dry-farmed Yukon Gold potatoes for $80. Yes, this is a large amount of potatoes, but the price is much lower than what you'll pay at a market like Whole Foods for the same thing (Bloomfield Farms supplies Whole Foods in addition to a number of other local grocery stores).

Go in with friends and neighbors and split up a bag! After all, it wouldn't be the holidays without mashed potatoes, would it?

Bloomfield Farms, a family farm located west of Petaluma, is a fantastic place to spend a day on the farm picking your own certified organic produce. But there are even more reasons to come out this fall with guest appearances by renowned local chefs who will be creating delicious and fresh family friendly fare using veggies from the farm and nearby producers.

Stop by the farm, dine on some fantastic food, and then go out in the fields and fill a box of fresh produce to take home. U-pick at Bloomfield Farms takes place Sundays, through November 4, from 10 am to 3 pm.

• This Sunday, October 7, locavore chef Brandon Guenther of the acclaimed Rocker Oysterfeller's in nearby Valley Ford presents a Table to Farm picnic, it's another pay-what-you can-dining event.
• The pay-what-you-can Farm Fun Brunch with Chef John Lyle and Hardcore Farm to Face returns on October 14, 21, and November 4.
• Paella expert, locavore, and food forager Gerard Nebesky of Gerard's Paella (and winner of the Food Network paella throwdown against Bobby Flay) will make an appearance on October 28; cost TBD.

At its next u-pick event, Bloomfield Farms is offering families more than just fresh certified organic veggies. This Sunday, September 23, the farm is partnering with Hardcore Farm To Face's Chef John Lyle for a Fun Farm Brunch from 10 am to 2 pm.

This gourmet brunch buffet features a delicious menu that will appeal to everyone in the family, and of course features Bloomfield Farm's fresh produce as well as items from other farmers in the area. The Fun Farm Brunch is a "pay what you can" brunch. No reservations are necessary, just come on over to the farm and enjoy!

This Sunday's Fun Farm Brunch menu includes mini pancakes with fruit toppings, homemade Gravenstein applesauce, fresh fruit, mini grilled cheese sandwiches, heirloom tomato soup, Bloomfield Farms veggie fritters, carrot bread, blackberry bread, apple bread, vegetable quiche, fresh fruit juice, lemonade, coffee, tea, and more.

Come to the farm and eat your veggies, then go pick some veggies to bring home. Bloomfield Farms offers families the opportunity to pick their own organic vegetables, including kale, squash, celery, lettuce, green beans, Swiss chard, potatoes, and more. Fill a box for only $25. U-pick at the farm takes place Sundays through November 4 from 10 am to 3 pm. Read more about the u-pick experience at Bloomfield Farms in our article here.

Bloomfield Farms is open this Sunday for u-pick! Bring the family and pick your own certified organic vegetables, including broccoli, kale, potatoes, zucchini, green beans, cabbage, lettuce, and more. Make sure you bring jackets in case it's windy, sunscreen, hats, a wagon (if you have one—there's a limited number available at the farm for you to use), and a knife for mom or dad to harvest tough veggies like broccoli.

This Sunday, check out their new chicken sled, which allows the farm's 100+ heritage breed free-range chickens to roam the fields and eat insects and weeds. And of course you can buy their amazing farm-fresh eggs, too.

Bloomfield Farms is a certfied organic family farm located just west of Petaluma in Sonoma County. They sell produce at farmers markets, supply local markets, and provide CSA boxes to subscribers, but decided to offer a u-pick event so consumers could come experience how their food is grown and harvested.

It's a great deal too—fill a box with the freshest organic produce imaginable (after all, you just picked it!) for only $25. The kids love to choose and pick their own produce, and you can add your some tasty and healthy fresh veggies to your Labor Day cookout menu!