RussianRiver.TV

Juicing Apples to Save the Gravenstein

Paul Berg — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 19:00:09 +0000

Here’s a great idea from the Slow Food Russian River convivium to promote Sonoma County apples. From August until November, anyone can make use of a hand cranked commercial apple press to make delicious apple juice. Our 5-minute video explains the details.

Slow Food saves the Gravenstein Apple

Paul Berg — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:53:29 +0000

In collaboration with the Russian River chapter of Slow Food and Sonoma county libraries, we explore a simple, clever program to raise awareness of a unique local treasure. In August, at the height of the Gravenstein apple season, free apples are given to library patrons, raising awareness of their taste and seasonal nature.

Blankity-Blank Potatoes & Produce

Paul Berg — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:52:37 +0000

RussianRiverTV visits a small farm on Blank Road in Sebastopol, CA.

Owner/Farmer Denny Hunt is a part time farmer with a day job and he chose to grow potatoes because they offer a generous harvest ‘window of opportunity’ and so allow time for the 9 to 5 side of his life. Join us now to hear about his start-up adventures and how he is amending the soil on the property that his family has owned for over 100 years.

Special Thanks to Phil Graf for Allowing us to use his archival footage.

Greenstring Farm Event

Paul Berg — Fri, 13 May 2011 23:20:11 +0000

In the SF Bay Area during the early 70’s when people like Alice Waters, Jeremiah Tower, and Chuck Williams were changing the way we thought about food and cooking, one of the most pressing problems was to find dependable sources for fresh local ingredients. In accordance with the newly developing sensitivity toward the land, it was necessary to build an entire network of producers from scratch. One of the early shining stars in this network of farmers was Bob Cannard of Greenstring Farm in Petaluma, California. Bob’s approach to farming mimics nature by design and is well beyond anything you might call organic. It is imminently sustainable, it is productive, and it is delicious. Fertility increases year after year due to careful attention to natural processes, and the food produced is amazing.

Hearing Bob Cannard speak about the soil is like hearing Euell Gibbons talk like Jack Kerouac writes. The information comes fast from every direction, crossing from the mineral nutrient-cycle to California history to the importance of ducks or the history of the carrot, all in a few sentences.

This event was was held on February 12, 2011 in celebration of the graduation of a new crop of interns from the Greenstring Institute, the educational component of Bob’s farm. With an introduction by Michael Dimmock of Roots of Change, the afternoon was a wide-ranging discussion of some of the issues facing future farmers.

Quetzal Farm: A Working Partnership

Paul Berg — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 05:09:22 +0000

Last year it was our great pleasure to meet the fellows who run Santa Rosa’s beloved Quetzal Farm, Kevin McEnnis and Keith Abeles. We visited the farm 3 times across the year and talked to them about marketing, seed sourcing, dry farming, employees, and a host of other things.
Join us as we learn just a little bit more about what it takes to make a living growing food in California, and how these two very different men combined their skills to produce and distribute the goods.

Joel Salatin at Tara Firma Farms

Paul Berg — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:45:46 +0000

In Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan introduced us to Joel Salatin, a farmer who’s been practicing a complex form of rotational grazing in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. In the past few years Joel has become a folk hero in certain circles of farmers seeking to challenge the conventional agribusiness model. We read as much as we could about Joel’s Polyface Farm, and got to wondering how his methods would translate to Sonoma County’s different climate. I have to admit, I sort of stalked Joel’s schedule for a while, spying a little item that read “private farm consultation- Sonoma March 17”. After some detective work, I discovered that Joel would be coming to TaraFirma Farms in Petaluma, and got invited to a reception and talk at the Institute of Noetic Sciences in Marin.

PART 1: Reception and Lecture part 1

PART 2: Lecture part 2

The following day, we were fortunate enough to tag along as Joel walked the farm with Craig and Tara Smith, giving his observations of how well they were following his ideas. Joel was incredibly generous and patient with hundreds of questions, from the big picture ideas, down to the minutiae of caring for newly-hatched chicks. After you’ve absorbed this inspiring talk from the evening, hear Joel’s critique of Tara Firma Farms in the next segment.

PART 3: The Onsite Consultation