Woodleaf Farm

FARMLAND: 26 acres in Oroville, about 149 miles from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

PEOPLE: Carl Rosato and Gina Colombatto along with 2 part-time employees and 2 seasonal employees

FARM HISTORY/PHILOSOPHY: Carl has been farming organically for 32 years. After 4 years of hog farming in Eastern Washington, Carl and his family bought Woodleaf Farm in 1980. Carl's priority is to create the healthiest soil possible by testing the soil and adding needed nutrients. Healthy soil produces vigorous plants that resist diseases and yield delicious and nutritious fruit.

Though the tending of his fruit trees consumes Carl and Gina from late spring into early autumn, the rest of the year leaves a little time to pass along the wisdom they have gained on the farm. At Woodleaf Farm, teaching sustainable farming and lifestyle is vital. On the farm, Carl teaches organic farming and gardening classes, and Gina hosts workshops in environmental and health education. A longtime soils consultant, Carl has also been instrumental in the California Certified Organic Farmers GOING ORGANIC program, mentoring conventional farmers as they transition to organic practices.

SOIL: The farm's clay loam is augmented with six tons of compost per acre per year, planted with grass and clover cover crops, amended with kelp, yucca extract, and molasses, and mineralized with gypsum, limestone, and soft rock phosphate based on soil analysis.

WEED CONTROL: Carl hand-hoes and mows all of the weeds that crop up at his farm.

PEST MANAGEMENT: The farm maintains habitat for beneficial insects, employs crop rotation, and sprays peach trees at bloom time with Bacillus thuringiensis, a naturally occurring bacteria that kills certain insect larvae. Rock dust, sulfur, and copper are also used to control plant diseases, and soil is kept as “alive” as possible.

WATER USE: Water is sourced from a small lake above the farm. Gravity moves the water from the lake to sprinklers in the orchard.

ORGANIC CERTIFICATION: CCOF since 1982