DIRTY DAVE'S FARM IT IS......

June 5, 2012

Check out them carrots!

Huh?

The big, beautiful, fat carrots are Danvers.  The one on top to the right with the giant bamboo sprouting out of its head is an Asian variety that I will not plant again - giant top, tiny carrot bad. The other one is very well hung.  Anyways, we are learning more and more about our site and soil. We have planted so many different items over the last two seasons that now we have narrowed down our favorites and those that produce best here at Dirty Dave’s Farm.

  

Dirty Dave’s Farm it is. Kelly Abney, BeachFire Marketing Director, came up with this after noticing I was always dirty in all the photos at the house. I’m sure she has her own reasons as well. I am always in some stage of dirt management. Dirty cars, dirty shoes, dirty dog, dirt under the nails, and sometimes clean. We are changing the name of the blog and starting the new businesses under Dirty Dave’s Farm. We are working as hard on the new business structure as we are on the growing. I have the farm planted to capacity and am anxious to expand into the pasture, but I’ll pause on the expansion while we get the new biz structure completed. We have the County of Riverside Agricultural inspector on his/her way up to license us as Certified Producers next week – Yeehaw! Now we are growing.

I am so excited about our future and scared shitless at the same time. BeachFire San Clemente is back open under new ownership with the same team – yahoo! I’m looking forward to celebrating BeachFire’s 10 year anniversary with them on June 21^st.  My health is returning both physically and mentally. I am sleeping through the night for the first time in years even though we are broke with no income right now. We owe everyone in the world money and will live with financial consequences for many years, but we are alive, together and healthy as a family. I can finally see a new future with possibility. It is scary, similar to the way it was twelve years ago when I was between Chart House and opening BeachFire. There I was all alone creating BeachFire out of thin air – exhilarating and terrifying but it worked. Here I am again creating something from nothing and it will work. We are developing several different business models from specialty food products to consulting to wild recycled furniture to art sales and a few other plans in between. We will start with those efforts that actually can pay the bills first. Generally I feel stronger than I have in years. Have you been to the new pools in San Clemente? I am loving the facility and back in the water a few days a week working my heart hard and it feels frigging awesome. I reread this paragraph and understand why my kids say I have ADD but it’s really just excitement about possibility. Boy do I miss owning downtown though. I have my sad moments too.

Back to the farm! We are still pulling out awesome winter veggies with great artichokes, broccoli, carrots, lettuces, and onions. The potatoes are just starting to finish and they are flipping amazing. We pulled out a bunch of Yukon gold new potatoes last night, broiled them with olive oil and fresh rosemary, and they are so good. New Summer crops getting ready to explode are our tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, green beans and sweet potatoes - plus a ton of different herbs. We will be ready for our first farmers market in three to four weeks. We are really waiting until we have our first line of bottled sauces and dressings which is well into the primary production stage. We have our production kitchen ready to go. We’re finishing up logos, labeling and some licensing details. I can’t wait to sell! Will you please buy? Please?

I forgot to report on the Valley Center Rodeo the weekend before last.  Paige and Clyde won 3rd place in the Junior Barrel Racing division.  She won $52.  It was one of our favorite weekends with friends and family camping, bbqing, rodeoing, partying, laughing, etc.

Anyway, that’s it for now – time to go water and weed. Eat healthy and love one another tonight!