Christina Waters

Or at least that’s the rhetoric du jour being hustled in the O-Ring. Like many demagogues, the tall, dark candidate is a Rorschach for the disappointed entitlement of the masses. (Is there a Leni Riefenstahl in the house?) He appeals to “those who want to believe,” he says. Believe in what? He reaches out “to those who believe in change.” But change from what, to what? Without any content, he can be all things to all people, just like other demagogues who whipped “the people” into a frenzy over a half century ago. But then, hey, who remembers that stuff? It’s the past, and in this post modern climate, the past is just a four-letter word. More…

UCSC Farm & Garden’s Annual Fall Plant Sale — next weekend! — offers gardeners a major selection of organically raised vegetable seedlings, perennials, and California natives. Sponsored by the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems, the sale takes place on Friday and Saturday, September 7 and 8. The sale will be open from noon to 6 p.m. on Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, in the Barn Theater parking lot at the intersection of Bay and High Streets in Santa Cruz. (My orchid, Cassandra, posed for this quickie image.)

“Fall is a great time to plant fast-growing greens and other vegetable crops for late fall and winter harvest,” says UCSC Garden manager Christof Bernau. This year’s offerings include spinach, kale, lettuce and salad mixes, chard, collards, kale, and leaks, along with broccoli, and cabbage. Annual flowers available this year include sweet peas, larkspur, bachelor buttons, nigella, statice, stock and mignotte, which can be planted in the fall for late winter and spring blooms.The Farm & Garden’s plant sale is one of the largest all-organic events of its kind in the Monterey Bay Area. All of the flower and vegetable starts were propagated using organic methods. No chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides were used in growing the plants from seed. None of the hardwood cuttings were given artificial growth hormones. More…

How unfair that we compare gluttonous humans to pigs! Pigs are absolutely sensational creatures — playful, intelligent and curly-tailed. I love pigs and I love pork. So that means I was curious to see TLC Ranch, home to a hundred free-spirited, free-range pigs. TLC Ranch overlooks the pastoral paradise that lies somewhere between Aromas and Watsonville. On the generous easements of a 200 acre spread, rancher Jim Dunlop raises hundreds of chickens, lambs and pigs. Big fat gorgeous Berkshire and Blue Butt pigs. All of these animals live in ways that would make even animal liberationist Peter Singer happy. The word “free-range” doesn’t begin to describe the prime wandering, foraging, rooting and lazing around Dunlop’s animals enjoy on their idyllic acreage.

I’d been interested in the pastured products of TLC Ranch since discovering them at the farmers markets last year, so I jumped at the chance to join a dozen or so folks, plus plenty of kids, for a walking tour of the Ranch, which is tucked into acres devoted to horses, organic strawberries and raspberries. Under the oaks, nestling in the soft dark forest floor of ponderosa groves, the fabulous pigs slept, ran around and rolled in deep troughs filled with mud. Weighing in at up to 400 pounds, the animals forage their way through one section of the property, and then are moved to another where their ability to eat anything is put to good use. Dunlop describes them in colorful ranchers’ terms, as “bulldozers with manure spreaders on the back.” More…

I spent an enchanting hour up at Love Apple Farm, where Cynthia Sandberg — grower for Manresa Restaurant — is busy experimenting with biodynamic techniques and rare varieties of herbs, leafy greens and root crops. (My story on Sandberg in March 8 issue, p. 19 of GT Weekly.)

In addition to two acres of raised beds, Sandberg cares for a flock of chickens so beautiful they might as well be sculpture. They share gourmet grub with Cynthia’s pot-belly pig, Dali, when they’re not out foraging on compost, bugs and other luscious morsels.

Eco-artist Laura Parker blurs the boundaries between art and cuisine with an irresistible installation called Taste of Place, which makes a strong case for the unique terroir of a region as a mineral flavor. More…

This is easily one of the most beautiful places on earth. Not convinced? Click on the image for a more sweeping vista of Wilder Beach, looking toward the Carmel Highlands and Monterey.

The magnificent Farm up on the UCSC campus is one of the treasures of the central coast. But it’s only one aspect of the complex and multi-faceted Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. Read my cover story in GT Weekly and be enlightened!