Tierra Vegetables

FARMLAND: 28 acres in Santa Rosa and Healdsburg, about 65 miles from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

PEOPLE: Brother and sister team, Wayne and Lee James, along with 2 full-time and 2 seasonal field workers; Wayne’s wife Evie works full-time in the office

FARM HISTORY/PHILOSOPHY: Brother and sister team, Lee and Wayne James, began farming in 1980. The farm is renowned for the over 50 varieties of sweet and chile peppers that they grow and process. In 1992, James began smoking their chile peppers to make Chipotles. They begin the smoking process in August, when the chiles reach their full ripeness, and continue until the end of the harvest in December. Wayne and Lee smoke the red ripe chiles in a backyard wood burning oven, built by Wayne, for one week over a grape and fruit wood fire, which requires 24-hour tending to keep the fire going. Chipotles are used to spice up tacos, grilled chicken, meats, veggies, and tangy chocolate-brown sauces. They come pre-packaged in bulk. Chipotle powder is also available. In addition to selling at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, Tierra Vegetables operates both a community supported agriculture (CSA) program and a farmstand in Sonoma and sells directly to chile aficionados around the country through their website.

SOIL: The farm's Yolo silty loam is built with compost, legume cover crops, crop stubble, organic mulch, raw organic matter, and organic fertilizer.

WEED CONTROL: Hand weeding, machine cultivation, and organic mulch to shield sunlight from the weed seedlings.

PEST MANAGEMENT: Maintainance of a habitat for beneficial insects, crop rotation, selection of resistant varieties, and occasional use of organic pesticides.

WATER USE: Well and rain water, sprinklers, drip irrigation, and by hand with a hose.

ORGANIC CERTIFICATION: None. Lee describes Tierra's practices as "the best possible sustainable methods, leaning towards biodynamic."