Farm Fresh To You

Retail Store

Online Store

Home & Office Delivery

May Farm Tour Photos / Farm Work Day Info

March 12, 2008

The Frog Hole

When I was going to college at Cal Poly, part of the requirements for the Agricultural Engineering Degree I was working towards was to complete a senior project. I ended up completing a study about the feasibility of capturing groundwater for supplying our farm’s irrigation requirements. The general idea was that the field that bordered Cache Creek was pretty gravely and my guess was that the water table was relatively high. I wanted to know if a hole could be excavated and equipped with a pumping system that would irrigate that field.

The study went fine and the result was that no pump was put into the hole. The result was a college degree and a huge excavated a hole, at the bottom of which was about four feet of ground water. As the years passed I kept an eye on the hole and was interested to see that native wetland plants had made a home there. The trail down to the hole was packed with the footprints of deer, raccoons, turkeys and other little critters that had turned this year-round pond into their watering hole.

It was not until one of the large showers this winter that I realized the true value of my hole. Cache Creek is the only other source of year-round water on the farm and in general the creek serves as very good habitat for the farm’s native plants and animals. This particular day I was taking a walk and Cache Creek was roaring with water that had runoff the valley hills during the previous storm. The level of the creek was three to four times higher that it had previously been, the rushing water was passing through the willow trees and grasses that normally remained dry. The amount of energy that was being transmitted through the water was amazing and it was obvious that any creature that generally called the creek its home were either washed away or if they were lucky, they were able to find a place to temporarily reside until the creek settled back down. I am sure the fish were even hunkered down in the deepest parts of the creek.

As I got closer to my hole I was met with the sounds made by dozens of frogs looking for spring mates. It was the first time I had heard these noises for the year and I was amazed at how concentrated the population of frogs were. Then it all came together - the frogs were all in my hole because it is the only safe place to live on the farm. Hundreds of years ago when the Sacramento Valley was all wetlands these creatures had thousand of acres of marsh to live in and when the rains came these marshes got deeper but never washed everyone away. As the marshes were drained and water was managed more closely, the habitat for the frogs was reduced to creeks, ponds and mud puddles. That day I realized that without my hole those frogs would have been completely subject to the current of the creek.

Maybe the creek is their regular home and when they water level rose they moved to the hole for the week or maybe they just like the hole. Whatever the reason, that hole is a safe habitat for the frogs all year. When the construction of the hole began, I had no idea that it would be used like this and now I think our farm may have blindly stumbled onto a wetland restoration project. -Thaddeus

Watch for upcoming events !!

Our Next Farm Tour is May 3, 2008.

FFTY Events 2008

Open to all FFTY customers:

Saturday, May 3rd, 11:00 am FFTY Farm Event – Strawberry Harvest ⋅ Strawberry picking, farm walk, picnic
Saturday, August 23rd, 11:00 am FFTY Farm Event – Tomato Harvest ⋅ Tomato picking, recipe swap, farm walk, picnic
Saturday, October 18th, 11:00 am FFTY Farm Event – Picking Pumpkins ⋅ Selecting pumpkins for carving, farm walk, picnic
Saturday, December 6th, 11:00 am FFTY Farm Event – Grapevine Wreaths ⋅ Pruned grape vines will be used to make wreaths

Tickets Required (more information to come):

Saturday, July 26th, 4:00 pm Farm Fresh To You and Slow Food Yolo present an Heirloom Tomato Gala to celebrate the life and accomplishments of Kathleen Barsotti

Purchase tickets in advance; partnered with Slow Food Yolo
Tickets will be available in the beginning of April
Proceeds above expenses will go to the Kathleen Barsotti Non-Profit for Sustainable Agriculture. The specific purpose of the non-profit is to benefit the public by promoting sustainability in agriculture and life. The programs of the non-profit may include:
- Awarding scholarships to young women pursuing an education that focuses on integrating sustainable agriculture into our society
- Providing educational assistance to children of farm workers ⋅
- Educating the public about sustainable farming practices

Bring a picnic, family and friends to come out and see
the farm. Call or email the office with questions, and
we cannot wait to see you in Capay!

Farm News

April 16, 2008
Spring Heat

April 9, 2008
Farming Weeds

April 2, 2008
The Canal Season

March 26, 2008
Spring Overload

March 19, 2008
The Spring Rush

March 12, 2008
The Frog Hole

March 5, 2008
Light Brown Apple Moth

February 27, 2008
Herb Garden

February 20, 2008
Cental Valley Agriculture

February 13, 2008
Greenhouse Time