40-year old camellias at the Ranch

I can now say I am among those that have had a major computer crash.  I now believe in the saying, “it’s not if your computer will crash, it is when”.  Needless to say we lost all our programs but able to keep most of our files.  As I learn how to  get things back in working order I am also updating the blog.

Spring is officially here and it is ever so obvious.  The fruit trees are pushing out new buds, the newly planted seeds are breaking through the soil in the hoop-house, the 40 year camellias are in full bloom and as the ground dries the tractors can work up the soil to prepare for the new plantings.  The seasons repeat themselves and the tradition of farming continues.

As Erickson Ranch continues on the family tradition we also look forward to new directions to enhance our business.  Projects in progress are:

1.  We will be participating in the Benicia Main Street Certified Farmers Market (info@beniciamainstreet.org) every Thursday evening beginning in early July.

2.  We are implementing and becoming certified in the Good Agricultural Practices or GAP program.  The purpose,  as a grower,  is to insure a safe food supply to our customers from planting, growing, harvesting and finally selling the product.  With the on-line direction of Primus Lab (primuslabs.com), which is a premier third party auditing company, we will complete the process of developing our own operationas Standard Operating Procedures manual.  This process is taking us in a  different direction than we are used to but in the long run it is by far the best program for us to implement to insure the best product for our customers.

3.  We are contemplating and setting the foundation to begin our own CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).  If all the parts of the CSA puzzle come together we may begin this year.  If not we will be ready for the 2011 season.

As a small business it is always behooves us to look forward and stretch our business sense to combine our traditions withthe present and into the future.

Every once in a while a family adventure and  experience comes along that  creates memories that last a lifetime.  Our family recently had a wonderful weekend together in Winters, CA,  of all places, that made our family bond even stronger.

Our family celebrated Raymond’s birthday at the the beautiful and welcoming home and cooking school of, renowned cookbook author, Georgeanne Brennan (www.GeorgeanneBrennan.com).

Ross and Kristen creating delicious tastes

Our weekend started when we met Georgeanne at the Davis, CA Farmers Market. She distributed Farmers Bucks, a slip of paper with the special ingredient for our purchases and directions to meet her back at her inviting, bright and comforting French kitchen.   Thus began  the first of two days of preparation, wonderful conversation and cooking that culminated in some of the most wonderful tastes we ’ve experienced.  To complete and compliment the palate of ingredients from the market we  walked through Georgeanne’s gardens and picked a basketful of fresh herbs, blood oranges, asparagus and Meyer lemons.

Once the menu was reviewed we began chopping,  slicing,  boiling,  baking and stuffing under  the forever kind,  gentle and watchful eye of Georgeanne as she provided  guidance.   Much gratitude to the ever vigilant assistance of Sophie and Melissa, the lovely “helper bees” that made the  process move along ever so smoothly.

Rustic Apple Tart

A partial list of the  memorable dishes we prepared and enjoyed at the long, inviting, beautifully set dining table  were herb and citrus stuffed pork roast,  winter vegetables with homemade aioli sauce and rustic apple tart with goat cheese cream, Chicken Provencal,  pizza made from homemade dough, cooked in the outdoor pizza oven with a variety of  toppings from the garden, finished  with the delectable garden picked orange and rosemary sorbet.

Erickson Ranch extends our heartfelt thanks to Georgeanne Brennen, her lovely husband Jim and of course the ever energetic and fetching pup, Louis, for creating a memory for our family that will fill several pages of our family album for generations to come.

Ray in the field grafting

The day was perfect and full of sunshine.   A change much welcomed from the rain we have had over the last few weeks.  Our daffodils,  a bit of sunshine right here on earth,  are in full bloom.  Though the ground is still holding onto the moisture we can get out and do the continued work of weeding, tractor driving to begin the preparation of the soil for planting and grafting new peach varieties onto the 3 year old trees.  The scion wood from the variety of peach chosen is trimmed to the specific size and shape to fit into the slit made in the pruned limb.  The size and shape of the fit are very important as both pieces of wood need to make an extremely snug and  tight fit to ensure the beginning of new growth in the spring.   The  peach, “September Sweet”, a delicious variety,  is being grafted by Ray.  In the words of Raymond, “We’ll have a few peaches from this graft  next  summer”.

A workday at the ranch seems like a silly thing to write about  in a post.  Isn’t every day a work day on the ranch?  Well, yes it actually is but this is a special work day.

During the “off” season or the time of year that we are closed to customers our time is spent repairing and making the needed changes we can only think about during the busy season.

Ray, Kristen and Ross after bringing down a walnut tree

We schedule several family workdays during the late winter, early spring with specific projects in mind to complete.  Our two grown children, Kristen and Ross, live close enough that they can spend the day at the ranch completing that chosen task.

The tradition of the Erickson Ranch family workday,  they will tell you, started when,  as young children  mom would scheduled workdays to get actual work done at home.  That tradition has fortunately, for me, continued to the present.

Our  job at the February workday was to cut down several trees that had outlived their usefulness.  This walnut tree took the combined effort of  shovels, chainsaws, tractors and lost of elbow grease.  The roots were as large as the trunk of the tree.  Between the gentle rains that fell during the day and lots of putting our heads together to figure the best way to pull the walnut tree from the earth, we called it a successful day!

We are all in the midst of winter!    The rain has visited us with promise of more to come.   No complaints from Erickson Ranch.   The changing seasons provide those of us that farm the chance to prepare  for the upcoming season.   As each month presents itself to us we “go with the flow” so to speak.  The winter gives us the time to enjoy a bit of down time, practice our citrus jellies,  cook winter soups with the veggies in our garden and make  needed repairs.

Clearing the Creek