278. Chefs turned Farmers | Confluence Organic Farm | Julia Henderson | Sebastopol, CA
I’m super excited to introduce my guest today Julia Henderson from Confluence Farm who is not just a gardener but a chef who is going to share their garden journey from restaurants to organic farming and more!
Sorry folks show notes to be completed in the future! Enjoy the audio!
Rockstar Millennials
Confluence Farm is an organic vegetable and flower farm located in Sebastopol, CA along the picturesque Green Valley & Purrington creeks. Julia and Andy are chefs turned farmers who truly understand high quality products and making people happy. We focus on generating the healthiest soil we can in order to grow the most nutrient dense and healthy vegetables possible. A confluence is when two entities come together, be it water or people. Our food and flowers bring people together, whether it be at on our farm, self grown and catered events, or nurturing our own community and family through markets. Our motto is “Come Together, Eat Well”.
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Julia I own a 3 acre farm
an hour north of SF
certified organic
vegetables
I used to be a pastry chef
my husband
we met in San Francisco
always had a garden
only a small amount
about 4 years ago
we were both looking to transition away from the restaurant world
we still wanted to do something with food
the property where I grew up
it had been bought to be a farm when my flimsy original moved there
saw the potential for it to be a farm
we decided to move back
having worked in the food industry
committed to working with local growers
for the ingredients we used in the food
husband especially had the green thumb out of the two of us
inspired by what he saw
dove in headfirst
neither of
3rd year
exciting
backstory
farmers mart
Tell me about your first gardening experience?
my mom has quite a green thumb
always had a garden
some vegetables
still has a garden to this day
right next to the farm
- flowers
- perennials
- least
- cherry tomatoes
- lettuce
- swiss chard
what ever else she was interested in
can’t say I had a super green thumb
interested
later in life
learned a lot love for plants
first ex
How did you learn how to garden organically?
her garden was always pretty small
when we decided to start the farm it was important to be organic
getting certified from day one
Tell us about something that grew well this year.
I was happy with was our carrots
Is there something you would do different next year or want to try/new?
bringing someone on full time
needed more help to be productive
bringing on hands and help
Tell me about something that didn’t work so well this season.
biggest pest pressure are flea beetles
love baby greens
brassicas
Which activity is your least favorite activity to do in the garden?
moving materials
moving plant material out
- tarps
- row cover
feels a little bit like straight manual labor
What is your favorite activity to do in the garden?
I really love greenhouse work
seeding
tending to the baby plants
one of my specialization on the farm
love the
harvesting flowers
we don’t have as much flowers as vegetables
What is the best gardening advice you have ever received?
Um, I think well one thing I think is the idea that there is a difference between dirt and soil
you really want to keep your soil alive and active
A favorite tool that you like to use? If you had to move and could only take one tool with you what would it be?
greens harvester
baby greens
lettuce mix
cuts it extremely fast
A favorite recipe you like to cook from the garden?
we do is kind of an easier go to
rice bowl
grain bowl
veggies on top
one of my favorite things he make is incredible tomatoes sauce
A favorite internet resource?
youtube
is really great
a lot that we have learned from youtube
Curtis stone
learned a lot from his videos
about growing is really helpful
A favorite reading material-book, mag, blog/website etc you can recommend?
Jean Martin Fortier Market Gardener he focuses on especially for a smaller farm
certain resources
geared towards
maximize efficiency productivity
how to
small farm
how to really be more
If you have a business to you have any advice for our listeners about how to sell extra produce or get started in the industry?
I think that one of the advice that I would say is to really think about where your farm is and where your market would be
do some research
Final question-
If there was one change you would like to see to create a greener world what would it be? For example is there a charity or organization your passionate about or a project you would like to see put into action. What do you feel is the most crucial issue facing our planet in regards to the environment either in your local area or on a national or global scale?
yeah that’s a hard one there’s so many thing
moving towards renewable energy
create jobs
effectively implemented on a large scale
see in my life time
it would make a big difference
talk about
more solar
farm and property
that’s something I would really like to see change
within my own work
responsible ag practices
sustainable ag practices vs not
really important to support farms that are really doing it right
small medium larger scale farm
supporting
putting our dollars towards those farms
ag practices have a large impact on the land and
environment
really complicated
global economy
need to feed the world
really supporting farms that are making it
an effort
gives back
that’s something I really hope in my lifetime we more support for
really funding
more support and research for that
actual
funds to help people to implement things on their farms to soil
our markets most are fairly small
we’re gonna be at one a little bigger next year
most are small to medium farms
a lot of people are organic
some are not certified
some do not
conception from people
all farms
common misconception that all farms at a market are organic
hard to compete with other farms that are not
pretty good awareness
smaller
most of the other farms
if they’re not certified
growing organically using good practices
hard to compete
relay why there’s value
in what you are growing why it might be more expensive
work on our messaging
value in our product
Do you have an inspiration tip or quote to help motivate our listeners to reach into that dirt and start their own garden?
you would be amazed how much you can grow in a small space
plants s
easy and prolific
tomatoes
summer squash
if you are interested
grow a lot of food
just a yard
few pots of different vegetables
really rewarding to
bias both cooks
rewarding to cook with fresh ingredients
extra satisfying
fresh ingredients
don’t be intimidated
that’s such a good point
my sister was asking what should she grow in her backyard
even if you don’t use them all
snip some herbs
cook with them
bring in so many
How do we connect with you?
our Instagram is @ confluence farm
website is confluencefarm.com
great way to get a sense
my one of my really close friends
her mother did it
really talented artist
farming
politics
how i built this
farmsmall/farmsmart
farming focus
ted radio hour
doesn’t
listen with forage beautiful all about herbs
herbal studies
really
every episode dived into an herb
have another herbalist on
growing of it
I was gonna say
a flower farmer who would be amazing to talk to
Heather
full bloom flower farm
wealth of knowledge
young
andy’s age
wealth of knowledge
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