Fairytale Farm

Fermentation 101 Sunday June 10th

debbie — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 15:35:31 +0000

FERMENTATION 101: Sunday, June 10th from 1 – 6 pm

Have you ever wanted to create yogurt or sauerkraut? Do you buy kombucha every day and wish you could make your own? Come to our Fermentation 101 Party! Our class will be in two parts: 1:00 pm we teach how to make your own yogurt and kombucha. We’ll have a little break and then start up at 3:00 pm with sauerkraut, beet kvass, and lacto-fermented vegetables. Come to one or both parts of the class. Dinner begins at 4:00pm and includes a buffet of garden delights, with plenty of ferments to sample and complement the food.

Live music with the Harmony Honeys, a bluegrass band extraordinaire!

Classes costs $10. Please bring a few clean glass jars to take your ferments home with you. Dinner is $20 per person, including coffee, tea, and dessert. Or get dessert and coffee/tea only for $10. You can just come and enjoy the music if you like, no purchase necessary.

Solar Eclipse Dinner

debbie — Mon, 21 May 2012 22:27:40 +0000

Our Fairytale Farm kick-off was so much fun! The chairs were waiting for the first guests to arrive…

We had two tables set in the garden.

The guests arrived, we laughed, we feasted.

We played with our shadows as we sat under a full solar eclipse.

The dinner was divine.

Mustard, kale greens,and carmelized onions with nasturtium and borage blossoms

We ate the mustard greens that grew all around us.

Even the chickens had a good time.

As sweet peas and roses scented the air.

Karsten was asked to sell his recipe for the herbal pesto, it was so good. We’ll soon start a recipe section on this site, so stay tuned! Maybe when our pumpkin pedicab arrives, we can sell pesto as well a produce!

All in all, it was another truly magical evening. Thank you all for coming and contributing to our happiness!

Sunday May 20th Urban Farm to Table Dinner

debbie — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:36:02 +0000

This Sunday, May 20th, you are invited to a Fairytale Farm kickoff dinner in the garden! We are featuring produce from Fairytale Farm and Berry Blessed Farm, where we get our deliciously sweet strawberries. Dinner is by donation, $25 – $40 suggested. Please RSVP by Friday, May 18th. Choose between lamb or vegetarian option. Please choose wheat flour/sugar or almond flour/honey tart. We hope to dine with you this weekend.

Two free dinners in exchange for dishwashing help. Invite your friends! Bring a date! Also bring a sweater, the nights are still chilly.

2012 Spring!

debora — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 02:50:33 +0000

Emunah pauses, mid egg hunt, to have a little rest.

Spring has come to Fairytale Farm. The borage is blooming. The cherry tree is plump with blossoms. Flowers, everywhere.

Look how the strawberry spiral has changed from mid February to April :

The lupine is doing well. The giant red mustard and nasturtiums are doing better…

A few days ago, we got blessed by a swarm of bees that moved into our empty hive. It was amazing. The sky was filled with bees, 1000′s of them covering the entire garden. Over an hour, they slowly moved into the hive. We all happened to be outside, the neighbors, the kids, in awe.

Meanwhile, the yellow and purple peas are getting ripe. The purple ones are” Blauwschokker” soup peas, though I eat them when small and flat.

The yellow peas have a fruity, sweet flavor. They are stunning when served together. We eat the “flashy trout” lettuce everyday.

The blueberries are in blossom:

I cleared out a large part of the garden to install a pond. Behind, is the circle herb garden, waiting for the seeds to grow.

!

So, happy Spring to all. May your garden grow. Stay tuned for Fairytale Farm’s coming events!

2012 February’s Garden

debbie — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 01:10:36 +0000

There is a lot growing in the winter garden, despite my not planting most of it. The giant red mustard has self-seeded everywhere! And it is giant. We found if you just dunk it in boiling water for a minute or two, then plunge it in an ice bath, it’s glowing green and loses its mustard pungency. I’ve got baby mache growing in between the mustards, another prolific self-seeder, but with a mild flavor.

Giant red mustard in the sunlight.

Aren't they just so purple and georgious?

My current favorite beauties are the purple peas. Their fuscia and lavendar flowers are as lovely as sweet peas, but edible. The peas themselves are too fibrous as snow peas, but if you wait until they are plump, there are tasty (but disappointingly, green) peas inside. I also have yellow peas growing. Green peas are boring!

Purple pea blossoms.

Last week’s project was to separate the strawberries and move them to the borders of the garden. First, I decided to create a “strawberry spiral”. I planted tall yellow lupine, 3 different poppies, and some dahlias. If they all grow to their reported 4 feet, you will be invisible as you sit on the wooly thyme in the center of the circle.

I built this for the little children. I thought they'd enjoy walking in a spiral, snacking on strawberries along the way.

And then it became time to prune the grapevine. Note we skipped pruning it last year, due to sickness and neglect. Which meant that there was an amazing amount of grape wood that is now littering half the yard.

Grapevines, grapevines, everywhere!

We turned most of the vines into wreaths.

Since I now have over 40 grapevine wreaths, I’ve been experimenting with adding flowering branches, such as quince blossoms.

Isn't the quince bush so pretty?

So I cut some quince branches… and tucked them into the grapevines…and the result is lovely! Doesn’t last long, though.

A grapevine, twisted into a wreath shape, with some flowering quince cuttings....

I just twisted the grape vines around and around until I had enough bulk to make a wreath. Then, you need clippers and a few flowering spring branches. I tucked these in one at a time, using no twine or wire, the grape vines held them into place.

I think the wreath could use even more quince branches, but I was being stingy. I especially like the pink blossoms against my pink livingroom walls. Nice!

I also planted 4 new trees : a chocolate persimmon, a black mulberry tree, another cherry, a wolfberry bush (goji berry). I’ve never tasted a fresh goji berry…I hope it’s good! And I added a few more yellow raspberries, 4 “pink lemonade” blueberries – yes, they’re pink! Now I just have to wait several years to see if the varieties are tasty enough to keep.

Grow, garden, grow!

We’re starting up Fairy-Tale Farm events in May, so stay tuned! The greenhouse is packed right now with tomato seedlings, peppers, sweet peas and edible peas galore, and other herbs and vegetables. Now if everything escapes the wrath of gophers, birds, the one chicken who flies out everyday, and assorted insects, then in a few months, the garden will look like paradise! Come back and see…

Oh, the possibilities!

2012 Happy New Year from Fairy-Tale Farm

debbie — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:42:17 +0000

2011 at Fairy-Tale Farm was hard. In Spring, I had to take some time off of hosting events in order to tend to my health. Here I contemplate what to plant next.

Spring Diva

Months later, the fava beans behind the rocking chair grow into 6 foot towers. The triple compost system that Karsten built out of old wood pallets against the back fence slowly rots. Sweet peas bloom on the left next to the chicken coop. Giant red mustard continues to grow, and red lettuces snuggle in with baby carrots.

The migrating birds don't eat the red lettuces and they look pretty with the slowly growing carrots.

By early summer, sweet peas blossom on the left while red mustards bolt and shoot up yellow flowers in the background. Poppies line the path. The garden is glorious.

I grew some exotic poppies this year. I call the red and white one “poppy from outerspace”. The pink peony-like one was a volunteer. Red pom-pom type from Annie’s Annuals. Can’t wait to see what combo I get wildly this year.

I had so many sweet peas and fava beans I sold them at the Corralitos Farmer’s Market:

Fava beans and sweet pea flowers. The scent of the sweet peas is so delicious.

We also sold edible flowers. Nasturtium, borage, calendula, pansies, oxalis.

Then, I unfortunately ended up in the hospital with my sweet peas.

Trying to make the best of it at UCSF as I am here for 3 long weeks.

But in the summer I am free, and I spend hours sleeping on the porch as the garden slowly grows around me.

Fairy-Tale Farm is quiet with only the cat for company.

We get a farm dog named “Kia”. The purple, yellow, and red potatoes are dug up. Rainbow tomatoes are harvested. Pears.

The winter comes to a close and we harvest pumpkins and peas. I slowly mend, and contemplate what to do for 2012. Happy gardening, all. Stay tuned for upcoming events.

Sometimes you have to get out of the urban farm and visit cornfields up the coast for inspiration.

2010 Fairy-Tale Farm is In the News!

debbie — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 15:37:57 +0000

From the Santa Cruz Sentinel article found at: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_16109132

Living a Fairy-Tale: Santa Cruz family ‘grows’ community at their downtown area farm

By Justine DaCosta

Posted: 09/18/2010 01:30:39 AM PDT

Saskia Wade will help set the tables at her family’s Harvest Festival. (Shmuel Thaler/Sentinel)

Nestled among multiplexes not far from downtown Santa Cruz is a garden where 10-foot-high sunflowers overlook the winding vines of pumpkins and the soft ferns of overgrown asparagus. A few chickens wander through the aisles full of tomatoes and tomatillos, part of the 50-by-50-foot garden, which is shaped like a star, a red, circular wooden platform positioned in the center.

“It’s a magical garden,” said owner Debora Wade, pointing to a giant sunflower whose head has begun splitting into two sections. “It grows weird things.”

This is Fairy-Tale Farm, a community gathering spot where monthly dinners promise plates full of fresh, locally grown food. Debora and her husband Karsten began hosting dinners in the garden a couple of years ago as a way to bring the community together. With live music and dancing, and several courses and dessert, people can come and get a real taste of what’s local. Karsten, a community organizer for a software company, was a professional chef in another life, and whips up gourmet meals that include Thai, Mediterranean and French cuisine. He enjoys cooking for people, and seeing them gather together for a meal.

“It gives us a lot to look forward to,” Karsten said. “There’s a lot more feeling of connectedness.”

The Wades have lived in their modest, yellow home, adjacent to the garden, for about eight years, but the land that’s now the garden became theirs two years ago. They had long admired the large, un-manicured backyard next door, and cringed at the idea of a multi-unit building filling the land, which had already happened to some other lots in the area across the river from downtown. When new neighbors moved in, the couple decided to take a chance. They asked if they could purchase a portion of the yard, and the answer was yes.

The Wades sold their car to help pay for the property, which was several hundred thousand dollars. It was a blank canvas, and Debora, an artist with very little gardening experience, began planting the seeds to their future. Initially, the couple thought they would grow vegetables to sell, but quickly learned that wasn’t a profitable option for them. Instead, they thought, let’s enjoy this beautiful space and share it with others.

“I almost feel guilty owning all this property in a place where so many people have nothing,” Debora said. “I don’t deserve to have so much.”

Debora and Karsten met about 12 years ago, at a time when Debora’s Crohn’s disease had forced her onto a liquid diet. Karsten, who then worked at India Joze, would make her meals. While her health has improved, there have been struggles, and the garden has always been a place of hope and healing.

“I went for so many years without being able to eat in restaurants,” Debora said. “I’m so spoiled because we eat the best of most things.”

She has to smile when she sees her daughters Malakai, 12, and Saskia, 9, helping in the garden or chasing the chickens at an event. Their chores include tending to the garden, and the youngest has even found that picking potatoes is actually great fun, telling her mother, “This is better than Disneyland!”

Michele Swanson is a regular at Fairy-Tale Farm. She said the Wades are dedicated to bringing their community closer together.

“I went to their first dinner and quickly became a fan,” Swanson said.

The dinners are a way to meet new people, and are an alternative setting to restaurants or bars.

“Everybody comes together with a sense of curiosity,” she said.

During the summer, the farm hosts soirees, where people contribute to the event by bringing art, or food, or, in the case of last summer, a goat for the children to milk. There’s also figure drawing in the garden. Fairy-Tale Farm brings together a cross-section of people who may never have otherwise met but who enjoy the same experiences.

Community support can start right at the dinner table, and for Swanson, eating outside with the people who live in her town is a way to embrace old ideals that have been lost over time. Add to that the ambiance and food, and one’s belly and soul will be well-fed.

“Being outside, with the stars above your head and a great meal under your nose,” she said. “What could be better?”

Pulling together a dinner for 30 to 40 people requires a lot of work; Fairy-Tale Farm hosted weekly dinners this summer, and Debora said she’s looking forward to being exhausted just once a month for while. But it’s all worth it, because the Wades see that they planted a seed, and from that grew a community.

“There’s magic to the Fairy-Tale Farm,” she said.

2009 – Harvest Festival and Dancing!

debbie — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 17:08:21 +0000

Sunday, September 26th at 5 PM we will have our next formal dinner event. Come dine on freshly picked organic produce…among the produce! Tables will be set up all over the garden. “Monterey Spantalian” menu now available. Please bring your own wine.

Come through the roses and have some appetizers.

Dinner is from 5-7 PM followed by a community dance!

Dance Around Molly a live Irish band, will be playing from 7-9 PM and we will have Linda Preston, our caller teaching us all how to line up and swirl to the music! No experience necessary, just come prepared to dance the night away.

Dinner and dancing: $40 suggested donation. If you’d like to just come for the dance and desert, only $10 suggested donation. Come at 7 PM for dancing and desert.

As always, one free slot for dishwasher, but you will work for your supper! If you’d like free dancing and desert, we could use two dishwashers, so contact us.

Children are welcome for the dancing and desert. Well behaved children are welcome for the dinner. We will have intimate tables for 4 as well as larger community tables for 8 +. Seating is first come first served, so arrive on time and grab a seat in your favorite part of the garden.

Reservations are required and must be made by September 24th. Let me know how many people are coming:

reservations@fairy-talefarm.com

Come join your host for some magic.

2009 Summertime Salon

debbie — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:52:59 +0000

Last Thursday, Fairy-Tale Farm had a sheep and a goat! The goat needed to be milked, so children were invited to join in, and pet the sheep.

Of course, there are always chickens to cuddle…

And crafts to behold!

You must not miss the last Farm Market.

Last week, we had a Bluegrass Band! Page Brownton and Sidetrack !

And as always, figure drawing…bring your own supplies.

So come on down and eat delicious food in a delectable setting…and buy your produce and goodies for the week. 5-9 PM Drop in any time.

Figure Drawing is from 6 – 7 PM. Contact us for our address. We hope to see you here.

Summertime Salon and Urban Farm Market

quaid — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:45:39 +0000

This Summer, beginning July 1st, we have our Summertime Salon! Every Thursday evening, from 5-9 PM, we have a wonderful dinner from the garden, figure drawing with a live model, Music jams, a nap corner, and various kid-friendly activities! You can figure draw for an hour, then join in with the musicians and sing a few songs. Or just eat pie.

Music over here (bring your instrument, and just play with whoever shows up)
Art/figure drawing over there (to make this free, I need free models! Sign up now for summer. You don’t have to be nude, come in costume if you’d like. I have a few easels, but bring your own art supplies and extra easel if you have one.)
Collage on that table (bring your own supplies, especially magazines to cut!)
Games on this table (bring a game you want to play)
Kids craft table (anything from feather hair clips to nosegays. Craft from the garden.)
Or just chase the chickens

We have coffee, tea, a delicious vegetarian dish from the garden, and pie for sale. Menu is dependent on what’s fresh from the garden. Pie is seasonal fruit. Sometimes we have biscuits and fresh jam.

Urban Farm Market: Now every Thursday of the month bring your excess produce, flowers, honey, homemade cheese, art, jewelry, sweet treats, etc. to our Urban Farm Market tables to sell or trade with the other vendors. Our intention is to grow a farmer’s market for the DIY community who don’t make enough to sell at the Farmer’s Market. This could also be a great time to barter. Just bring your goods and a fair price for them, and we can begin the underground market! If this is popular, we could do it every week, and into the Fall. It’s proving popular, so we’re extending the Urban Farm Market to every week.

You don’t have to RSVP to come play. Please let us know if you’d like to sell at the market, though, or if you’re interested in becoming a figure model. Tell all your friends, and come hang out into the night with us and dust off your talents! May your community, artistic, and creative dreams come true.