Drying Our Herbs

Have you ever wondered what is involved in drying our herbs? When a crop is ready it is hand harvested by our crew who tie the herbs into small bunches. The bunches are then gathered and brought into the warehouse where they are hung on wire racks to air dry. When the days are shorter and the temperatures start to dip, we may also use a drying chamber to completely dry the herbs. Typically, depending on the herb, it takes about two weeks before the bunches are fully dried. After drying, the herbs are carefully packed into large boxes for storage until they are needed for our next wreath creation.

Support Our Troops Wreath

We have designed a new wreath to help support our troops. The wreath will be available on our website starting July 5th. This beautiful wreath has a wonderful blend of natural herbs and is decorated with lavender, feverfew, straw flowers and fresh bay. We have added a yellow ribbon to show support for our troops. For every wreath purchased Creekside Farms will make a $10 donation to benefit wounded service men and women. If you or someone you know has a family member serving in the military, this will not only make a lovely gift, but will also make a difference.

We had a nice visit today from some local Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Pictured here with their bouquets are George, Lili Beth, Wendy, and Summer. In the back row we have Bernadette, Kristian, and Arlen. Thank you for visiting, we had a great time!

Antique Car Club Visits Creekside Farms

Creekside Farms had a visit from the Western Gaslight 1&2 Cylinder Registry, a division of the Horseless Carriage Club of America. This club is mainly compiled of vehicles dating back to the early 1900's. In essence, all automobiles are Horseless Carriages, but HCCA has defined the Horseless Carriage as any pioneer gas, steam and electric motor vehicle built or manufactured prior to January 1, 1916.

HCCA members got to see firsthand the rows and rows of herbs and lavender growing in our fields. Each guest received a bouquet of mixed herbs and flowers made by our skilled craftsman as they watched.  Creekside Farms welcomes the community and interested parties to tour our farm and facility.  If you would like to schedule a tour just give us a call 831-674-1234 or go to our website at www.creeksidefarms.com

Farm Day 2012

We had a great time participating in the South Monterey County Farm Day 2012. All 3rd grade students from the surrounding schools attend this annual event at the Salinas Valley Fair grounds. The Farm Day event provides information and hands on demonstrations about the agricultural industry of Monterey County. It allows the kids an opportunity to become familiar with how crops are grown, harvested and packaged for the consumer market. The kids seemed to really love all the fragrance provided by our display, especially the bowl of lavender buds. We look forward to participating in the next farm day event in our area.

Spring Has Sprung Early

Spring has certainly come early this year to our part of the world. Our almond trees are always the first to bloom each year and this year they blossomed out in full glory a little earlier than usual. I love driving in our driveway surrounded by such beauty. As the blossoms start to fade, they fall like snow with even the slightest breeze.

Our daffodils have been in bloom for over a week and they definitely brighten the garden when most of the landscape is still quite dull. As much as I am looking forward to Spring, I am certainly hoping we receive more rain. Our rainfall total for this season is approx. 5 inches. I know we live in a dry area, but this is just not enough rain. Seeing our hills still brown in places at the end of February is alarming. We need to learn a new “rain dance”!!

Spring Bees in January

Yesterday, I caught these bees enjoying a sun filled day on some of our blooming rosemary.