Tag Archives: Harvest

Last updated by suzlipman at October 19, 2012.

Shine on, Harvest Moon

Posted on September 28, 2012 | 1 comment

Songwriters have crooned about it. Farmers have counted on it. A Chinese festival honors it with special mooncakes. It’s the Harvest Moon, which traditionally shines its all-night beacon to help farmers gather their crops. In addition to being timed well for the job, the October full moon travels particularly close to the horizon in the Northern Hemisphere, so that it appears larger and closer than do other full moons throughout the year. It’s also visible for a longer amount of time than other moons — often all night — so that, especially before electricity, the harvesting needn’t stop at nightfall. And, if that weren’t enough, it also brightens the night sky for many successive days in a row.

All this week, those in northern latitudes have been and will be able to go outside on clear nights and witness the Harvest Moon. It’s due to be at its absolute fullest at September 30 at 3:19 Universal Time, or 11:19 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 8:19 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on September 29 in the U.S., so you’ll get good full moon shows all weekend, and fine shows throughout the week, whether you’re harvesting food, memories, or one of the last possibly warm full-moon nights.

Photos: Roadcrusher, Matthias Kobel

Digging for Potatoes at Peter Pumpkin Patch

Posted on October 27, 2011 | 4 comments

According to the Farmer’s Almanac the word, “hoedown” comes from the dance based on the movements done when hoeing corn and potatoes. (Think about it.) First used in the early 1800s, the term came to encompass the party that celebrated the yearly harvest.

Our family had its own hoedown after the delightful experience of digging for potatoes at Peter Pumpkin Patch in Petaluma, CA. We had initially visited Peter, along with some of our other favorite Bay Area pumpkin farms on a glorious fall day. We’d gone in search of cheerful orange pumpkins, and perhaps a gourd or two, along with the delights of visiting farms in fall, with their corn mazes and haunted barns. But when the surprise opportunity presented itself to dig for potatoes, we dug.

If you haven’t dug for potatoes, it’s a lot of fun and highly rewarding. Potatoes grow quite close to the earth’s surface, and you have to be careful not to stab one as you dig into the dirt. They grow very profusely on each vine, making it easy for people of any age to unearth a whole bounty in one motion, each one staring up like a treasure.

It was only after I took this picture that I realized that my family had inadvertently re-enacted Jean-François Millet‘s 1850s painting, The Gleaners.

Peter Pumpkin Patch offers five varieties of potatoes: Yukon Golds, Russets, Blues, Reds, and German Butterballs, along with stunning pumpkins in an extremely picturesque spot amid gently rolling land. The day we visited, there were other families digging for potatoes, searching for pumpkins, and posing their small children in the fields.

At the weigh-in, we each guessed how many pounds of potatoes we had. Anna was closest — we had harvested 13 pounds.

At home, they were washed, salted and roasted in olive oil. Though they didn’t last long, they were appreciated profoundly, as we knew the earth they had come from and had dug for them ourselves. We hope to visit there and dig for potatoes again soon.

Heed the Call of the Pumpkin at these Great Bay Area Pumpkin Farms

Posted on October 14, 2011 | 1 comment

Few people can resist the delights offered by a pumpkin farm. They’re wonderful places for urban and suburban families to slow down just enough to feel the turning of the year and maybe try some harvest or other activities from times past. And, of course, there are the pumpkins themselves — jolly orbs that lay in profusion among pastures until you, the visitor, pick the most perfect among them to take home.

With Halloween almost upon us, most pumpkin farms have gone into high gear, with lots of activities over longer hours, and a host of pumpkins still available for the picking. Included in this listing are working farms and special pumpkin patches in the North, East and South Bays.

Note: The 41st Annual Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival takes place October 15-16 this year. Enjoy a parade, entertainment, contests, crafts, food, and displays of the world’s largest pumpkins, before or after visiting a charming South Bay pumpkin farm.

South Bay

Half Moon Bay bills itself as the “Pumpkin Capitol of the World” for good reason. Many people know about the yearly Art and Pumpkin Festival. Less well-known is the bounty of area farms, many of which have been in families for generations, along Highways 1 and 92.

Farmer John’s Pumpkin Farm, Half Moon Bay

This delightful pumpkin patch offers an extremely large variety of pumpkins, all grown on-site. This working farm also features a hay pyramid, scarecrows, play areas, a Native American tipi, cornrows, U-pick sunflowers, and an antique John Deere tractor. The farm is wheelchair-accessible.

See Farmer John’s Pumpkin Farm for directions and more information.

Arata’s Pumpkin Farm, Half Moon Bay

Open since 1932, Arata’s is one of the oldest working pumpkin farms in the Bay Area. In addition to pumpkins, enjoy pony rides, animals, a hay ride, and a huge hay maze — clearly a labor of love — constructed out of 10,000 bales of hay.

See Arata’s Pumpkin Farm for directions and more information.

Little Creek Ranch Pumpkin Farm, Half Moon Bay

Just up the road from Arata’s, Little Creek is a delightful family farm and pumpkin patch suitable for very young children. Pumpkins lay far apart on flat ground, so there are no vines to trip over. The entire pumpkin area is surrounded by low hay bales. There is a play structure and pony rides, along with other animals.

Call Little Creek Ranch at (650) 726-2765 for directions and more information.

Pastorino Farms, Half Moon Bay

Pastorino Farms dates from the 30s and is known today for its huge assortment of pumpkins, along with its big orange-and-black decorated barn. Pastorino offers train rides around a small track, a jump house, pony rides, and a petting zoo. Hand-made signs that identify the many different types of pumpkins, some of them quite unusual. Also nice is the farm’s large selection of Halloween decorations and kitchen wares.

See Pastorino Farms for directions and more information.

Lemos Farm, Half Moon Bay

A working farm since 1942, this popular, charming spot offers lots of activities for all ages, especially young children. In addition to a good selection of pumpkins, Lemos Farm features pony rides, hay rides, a hay maze, a train for small children, a toddler-oriented play zone, haunted houses for older and younger children, and animals you can feed and pet. Lemos Farm retains a great deal of charm from the South Bay’s rural past.

See Lemos Farm for directions and more information.

East Bay

Smith Family Farm, Brentwood

Smith Family Farm has been in the same family for three generations and offers lots of great old-time activities on its large farm. There’s a leisurely tractor-pulled hay ride out to the pumpkin field, a corn maze, a hay maze, displays of antique farm equipment, live entertainment in a barn, a host of animals, and lots of fresh U-pick produce. The farm offers lots of places to picnic and play in a large, varied ranch setting.

See Smith Valley Farm for directions and more information.

Clayton Valley Pumpkin Farm, Clayton

Clayton Valley Pumpkin Farm, at the base of Mount Diablo, features a large variety of pumpkins and squash in all shapes and even colors. This working farm offers lots of fun activities for all ages, including a trackless train, a playland featuring old-fashioned games, and plenty of farm animals. The farm represents a part of the area’s rural past that is largely disappearing.

See Clayton Valley Farm for directions and more information.

Joan’s Farm, Livermore

This large, pretty working farm offers a taste of the Old West: There’s an Old West town, gold panning, antique farm equipment, a museum, and more. There’s also a large corn maze, hay rides, farm animals, and a farmstand with fresh produce for sale.

See Joan’s Farm for directions and more information.

North Bay

Peterson’s Farm, Petaluma

This working farm opens to the public for Halloween. Families may visit on weekends or after 2 on weekdays. In addition to two large, natural pumpkin fields, Peterson’s has lots of animals to feed and pet, including chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, cows, ponies, rabbits, pigs, calves, and a very big but gentle bull known as Wooly Monster. There are also fresh vegetables, flowers, free-range eggs, and an observational bee hive, all in a very intimate farm setting.

See Peterson’s Farm for directions and more information.

Peter Pumpkin Patch, Petaluma

This large, beautifully situated pumpkin farm in the Chileno Valley is also the home of Spring Hill Jersey Cheese. Visitors can milk a cow or dig for potatoes in a potato field, in addition to buying some of the best homemade ice cream around (pumpkin and vanilla) and specialty farmstead cheeses.

See Peter Pumpkin Patch for directions and more information.

Adobe Pumpkin and Flower Farm

This 30-acre farm has thousands of pumpkins and gourds for the picking, along with U-cut zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, and more. Adobe also has a great corn maze, a hay ride, a haunted barn, a jump house, animals, crafts, and food and live entertainment on weekends.

See Adobe Farms for directions and more information.

Nicasio Valley Farms, Nicasio

Along with a large, picturesque organic pumpkin patch, Nicasio Valley Farms offers U-pick strawberries, lots of gourds, and a farmstand featuring a complete array of fresh organic vegetables, as well as eggs, breads and cheeses. There is a hay maze, a jump house, musical entertainment and food for sale.

Call Nicasio Valley Farms at (415) 662-9100 for directions and more information.

Still want more? See Pumpkin Patches, Corn Mazes, Hayrides and More in the San Francisco-Sacramento Area.

Have fun this pumpkin season!

Photos by Susan Sachs Lipman

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Posted in Butter and Egg, Field Trip, Holidays, Nature, Seasons, The Great Outdoors

Tagged Autumn, Bay Area, East Bay, Fall, Farms, Half Moon Bay, Harvest, Marin, Nature, Pumpkin Patches, Pumpkins, Slow Food, Sonoma

23 Things to be Happy About in October

Posted on September 30, 2011 | 6 comments

I tend to be happy most months and seasons, and completely enjoy the continuity and mystery of the turning year. That said, there is just something a little extra-special about October, which starts tomorrow here and which some of you are already enjoying. What are some items on your Happy October list? Here’s mine:

Crisp air
Pumpkins in fields, farms and stands
Long nights
Scarecrows
Curling up with books and tea

Bountiful harvests
The slant of sunlight
Apples and cider
Riotously colored leaves
Fall movies
Meals with friends

Sweaters and socks
Gloves, mittens and hats
Leaves crunching underfoot
Birds in flight, migrating
Fireplace fires
Stock, johnny jump-ups and even mums

High school football
The smell of bays, oaks and wood duff
The prospect of Halloween
Children in costumes
Picking up sewing projects
Being at rest

Photos by Susan Sachs Lipman

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Posted in Nature, Odes, Seasons, Snapshot, The Great Outdoors

Tagged Autumn, Autumn Leaves, Fall, Fall Leaves, Flower Photography, Halloween, Harvest, Nature Photography, October, Photography, Seasons

Slow Down for Summer: Fun and Simple Outdoor and Seasonal Activities

Posted on June 30, 2011 | 1 comment

I had such a great time on the Slow Down for Summer webinar that I did with KaBOOM! and with the many participants. We shared tons of Slow Summer ideas that emphasized fun and ease over equipment and preparation. These include old-school playground games that are ripe for a comeback and can be played most anywhere, crafts to get you outside on a nice summer day, activities to help kids observe and enjoy their surroundings (be they nature or city), and garden and harvest projects to help kids appreciate the cycles of nature and of life. There was so much information and so many wonderful ideas, that we just skimmed the surface in the time allotted. I think it got everyone thinking about the possibilities for wonder and fun and how to create more of each in their everyday lives. I know I came away with some great ideas!

You can visit the webinar anytime to get an idea of some of the things we discussed. And, of course, many of them can be found on my blog, on in future blog posts, as well as in my upcoming book, Fed up With Frenzy: Slow Parenting in a Fast-Moving World.

Enjoy your Slow Summer!

Photos by Susan Sachs Lipman

Fall Begins Tonight with a Big Harvest Moon

Posted on September 22, 2010 | Leave a comment

The Autumnal Equinox will occur overnight tonight at 3:09 Universal Time (7:09 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, 10:09 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time), officially ushering in Fall. In a rare occurrence, a big, full Harvest Moon will be in the sky to greet it.

According to an article in the Salt Lake Tribune: Typically, the Harvest Moon arrives within days or weeks of the Autumnal Equinox, but rarely does it align within hours. There hasn’t been a comparable coincidence since Sept. 23, 1991. Such an alignment won’t happen again until 2029.

As I wrote last year, the Harvest Moon is quite a magnificent, miraculously timed occurrence. It traditionally shines its all-night beacon at precisely the time farmers are gathering their crops. Because it’s close to the horizon in the Northern Hemisphere, October’s full moon is also particularly large and bright — quite helpful in the days before electricity, and perhaps even now.

Here is a good explanation of the how the September Equinox works.

Happy Fall!

Walt Whitman’s Ode to the Harvest

Posted on October 26, 2009 | 8 comments

The peak of the harvest, at once miraculous and commonplace, calls for nothing less than an ode by one of America’s most enthusiastic and passionate chroniclers of the everyday, Walt Whitman. Whitman lived through most of the 19th century, in eastern and midwestern America, and his walks and observations survive through a series of moving and life-affirming poems.

As I turned to the Japanese haiku masters to help honor the turning of summer to fall, I turn now to Walt Whitman to give voice to the harvest and those who work tirelessly, often against time and weather, to glean it.

This Whitman poem is called The Return of the Heroes — fittingly, I think, as those who work the soil and care for animals to provide food for themselves and others are often humble heroes. The poem is accompanied by photos I took over the last couple of weeks in the vineyards of Napa Valley, CA, as the wineries prepare for their harvest, or crush.

The Return of the Heroes

(also known as A Carol of Harvest)

For the lands and for these passionate days and for myself,
Now I awhile retire to thee O soil of Autumn fields,
Reclining on thy breast, giving myself to thee,
Answering the pulses of thy sane and equable heart,
Tuning a verse for thee.

O earth that hast no voice, confide to me a voice,
O harvest of my lands — O boundless summer growths,
O lavish brown parturient earth — O infinite teeming womb,
A song to narrate thee.

All gather and all harvest ..

Harvest the wheat of Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, every barbed spear under thee,
Harvest the maize of Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, each ear in its light-green sheath,
Gather the hay to myriad mows in the odorous tranquil barns,
Oats to their bins, the white potato, the buckwheat of Michigan, to theirs;
Gather the cotton in Mississippi or Alabama, dig and hoard
The golden sweet potato of Georgia and the Carolinas,
Clip the wool of California or Pennsylvania,
Cut the flax in the Middle States, or hemp or tobacco in the Borders,
Pick the pea and the bean, or pull apples from the trees or bunches of grapes from the vines,
Or aught that ripens in all these States or North or South,
Under the beaming sun and under thee.

— Walt Whitman

From Leaves of Grass

Photos by Susan Sachs Lipman

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Posted in Holidays, Nature, Odes, Seasons, Sustainability, The Great Outdoors

Tagged Autumn, Fall, Food, Grape Harvest, Harvest, Napa Valley, Nature, Poetry, Return of the Heroes, Slow Food, Walt Whitman, Wineries

Heed the Call of the Pumpkin: Great Bay Area Pumpkin Farms

Posted on October 23, 2009 | Leave a comment

North Bay

Peterson’s Pumpkins and Dried Flowers, Petaluma

See the Peterson’s web site for directions and more information.

Peter Pumpkin Patch, Petaluma

See the Peter Pumpkin Patch web site for directions and more information.

Adobe Pumpkin and Flower Farm

This 30-acre farm has thousands of pumpkins and gourds for the picking, along with U-cut zinnias and sunflowers, and vegetables. Adobe also has a great corn maze, a hay ride, a haunted barn, a jump house, animals, crafts, and food and live entertainment on weekends.

See the Adobe Farms web site for directions and more information.

Nicasio Valley Farms, Nicasio

Along with a large, picturesque pumpkin field, Nicasio Valley Farms offers U-pick strawberries, lots of gourds, and a farmstand featuring a complete array of fresh organic vegetables, as well as eggs, breads and cheeses. There is a hay ride, a hay maze and a jump house.

Call Nicasio Valley Farms at (415) 662-9100 for directions and more information.

East Bay

Smith Family Farm, Brentwood

See the Smith Valley Farm web site for directions and more information.

Clayton Valley Pumpkin Farm, Clayton

See the Clayton Valley Farm web site for directions and more information.

Joan’s Farm and Pumpkin Patch, Livermore

See the Joan’s Farm web site for directions and more information.

South Bay

Half Moon Bay bills itself as the “Pumpkin Capitol of the World” for good reason. Many people know about its yearly Art and Pumpkin Festival, which occurs each year in mid-October. Less well-known is the bounty of area farms, many of which have been in families for generations, along Highways 1 and 92.

Farmer John’s Pumpkin Farm, Half Moon Bay

See the Farmer John’s Pumpkin Farm web site for directions and more information.

Arata’s Pumpkin Farm, Half Moon Bay

See the Arata’s Pumpkin Farm web site for directions and more information.

Little Creek Ranch Pumpkin Farm, Half Moon Bay

Call Little Creek Ranch at (650) 726-2765 for directions and more information.

Pastorino Farms, Half Moon Bay

See the Pastorino Farms web site for directions and more information.

Lemos Farm, Half Moon Bay

See the Lemos Farm web site for directions and more information.

Have fun!

Photos by Susan Sachs Lipman

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Enjoy October’s Full Harvest Moon

Posted on October 3, 2009 | 2 comments

All this week, those in northern latitudes will be able to go outside on clear nights and witness the Harvest Moon. It’s due to be at its absolute fullest at 1 am, Central U.S. Time, on October 4, so you’ll get good full moon shows all weekend, and fine shows throughout the week, whether you’re harvesting food, memories, or one of the last possibly warm full-moon nights.

Photo: Matthias Kobel

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Posted in Holidays, Nature, Seasons, The Great Outdoors

Tagged Astromony, Chinese Moon Festival, Fall, Farming, Full Moon, Harvest, Harvest Moon, Night Sky, October

Tag Archives: Harvest

Shine on, Harvest Moon

Digging for Potatoes at Peter Pumpkin Patch

Heed the Call of the Pumpkin at these Great Bay Area Pumpkin Farms

23 Things to be Happy About in October

Slow Down for Summer: Fun and Simple Outdoor and Seasonal Activities

Fall Begins Tonight with a Big Harvest Moon

Walt Whitman’s Ode to the Harvest

The Return of the Heroes

Heed the Call of the Pumpkin: Great Bay Area Pumpkin Farms

Enjoy October’s Full Harvest Moon

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Tag Archives: Harvest

The Return of the Heroes

Slow Family

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