After a couple of years of dilly-dallying with our beloved Red Flint ‘Floriani’ corn (growing one acre in 2009, then five acres last year) we’re finally taking the plunge with a much larger crop for 2011. Eighteen acres were planted in Woodland, CA along with another ten acres in Lodi, CA.
Also in the mix are…
We love our Floriani Red Flint corn, we think it makes the very best polenta. So, when we started to ask farmers to grow it for us several years ago, we found that the Rominger Brothers were up for the adventure. Their first crop, about an acre and a half, yielded 2,300 lbs pr acre, but we thought…
On Wednesday we drove up to Winters, CA to help with the harvest of our Red Flint corn. First, we did some hand-picking in hopes of selecting some quality seed for next year’s planting. Lesson learned: hand-harvesting corn is hard (and itchy) work! Thankfully, the John Deere 9600 Combine showed up and…
Yesterday, I drove up to Rominger Brothers Farm in Winters, CA to visit our Floriani Red Flint corn and to see how our first crop of Otto File (another revered Italian heritage variety of corn for polenta) was doing. It just feels good to be up there, and I always learn something–occasionally amazing:…
The Oliveto Wheat Project unofficially started in June 2007 when a group of local farmers, millers, bakers, and distributors got together for a series of meetings to discuss the possibility of a local grain (wheat and heritage corn) economy here, in Northern California…
We frequently get the request to repeat a special dinner we offered in 2006 to celebrate polenta. Just last month, we harvested Trentino Red Flint corn grown here in California, which definitely merits a whole new polenta celebration.
Polenta is a meal meant to be eaten communally. Traditionally, corn porridge was…
The farm was originally a nut tree orchard. The Toms sold almonds and walnuts to local bakeries (for 25 cents a pound!) Gradually the orchard gave way to…
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