Every day, tens of thousands of people drive past Santa Cruz County’s farmlands. Some may have an idea of what’s being grown where, but few have had the opportunity to step onto the soil and meet the farmers that feed our community.
The 13th annual Santa Cruz County Open Farm Tours are back Oct. 10 and 11 to provide exactly that — this time with a couple of fresh additions to the menu.
Inspired by open art studio events and her personal interest in farming, founder Penny Ellis started the Open Farm Tours in 2013 with eight participating farms across the county. This year, the tour will include 13 farms divided by region across two days.
“It’s really to connect people with sustainable agriculture and good stewardship of the earth,” Ellis said.
Saturday highlights the South County farms, which include Dos Aguilas Olive Grove, Live Earth Farm, Esperanza Community Farms, Thomas Farm, Blossom’s Biodynamic Farm, Live Oak School District Farm, Birdsong Orchards and Luz Del Valle Farm.
On Sunday, participants drive up to North County for a tour of Beeline Blooms, Homeless Garden Project, Santa Cruz Permaculture and Swanton Berry Farm.
Though each farm will host its own activities, participants can expect a tour of the farm to learn about how each operation is run. Some farms feature u-picks, where visitors can pick their own produce or flowers, or farm stands for purchasing various products.
This year, Ellis is collaborating with Andrea Molinari , head of Cabrillo College’s culinary arts department, and an intern to introduce Fields of Flavor, where culinary participants will create small bites that showcase the farm’s products.
Live Oak School District Farm and Birdsong Orchards, a regenerative fruit and flower farm, will be joining the Open Farm Tour for the first time this year.
Live Oak School District’s Field of Dreams will be introducing visitors to what it looks like to have production farming on an elementary school campus.
“I’m really happy to have [Field of Dreams] on the tour this year,” Ellis said. “It just adds another element to why it’s important to have good, healthy food.”
The 1.1 acres of district-owned land is managed by farmer and instructor Geoff Palla, who joined the project two years ago, and his farm lab students from Cypress High School.
Farm lab is an elective that allows interested students to get involved in the day-to-day operations of agriculture. Students help Palla with farm management and run activities with participating elementary classes on Fridays, like picking the carrots and bell peppers that students will find on their lunch plates.
Field of Dreams falls under LOSD’s child nutrition services, whose mission Palla explains as growing a generation of healthy eaters.
“By exposing people to fresh fruits and vegetables and high quality proteins, you can hopefully inspire them to make fresh food choices as they grow older,” Palla said. “If we’re a K-8 district and we have a child from kindergarten all the way through eighth grade and they’re exposed to fresh food for those eight years, we’re hoping that makes a lifelong impact.”
The farm grows around 10 crops at a given time, with broccoli and carrots being signature crops that Palla aims to have available for students every week of the school year. Produce goes to LOSD’s central kitchen on the same campus to be washed and served at lunch.
A little further north on Highway 1, Santa Cruz Permaculture is returning for its third year with the program, something owner and founder Dave Shaw looks forward to every year.
“It’s like a farm festival,” Shaw said. “We meet tons of new people … it’s all about the community. People have a blast coming out here.”
Santa Cruz Permaculture’s tour of its 26.5-acre organic farm will highlight its permaculture design, water retention landscaping, increasing biodiversity and transition to no-till fields. Visitors can learn about the farm’s class offerings, community-supported agriculture program, enjoy food from a local caterer and check out a cooking demo by culinary program participants.
“We’re blessed to be in a region where there’s a lot of other local, organic, small-scale family farms right around us,” Shaw said. “This is a chance to see the whole operation up close and ask questions that they’ve always wanted to ask a farmer.”
This year also features a Monterey County element in partnership with Community Alliance with Family Farmers, highlighting three woman-owned farm operations through a sold-out tour on Sept. 12. Ellis hopes to further expand Open Farm Tours to the surrounding San Benito and Monterey counties to provide people with a look into the regional food system.
Weekend event passes are $25 per carload with up to five people. Ellis encourages visitors to carpool for a more enjoyable experience and to help reduce traffic. Farms are open for tours from 10 am to 4 pm both days. Tickets and more information can be found online at openfarmtours.com
