Journal
Field Notes | How It All Began with Farmer Brooke
As a young adult, I dreamed of growing and selling farm to table foods for my own brand. Growing up in Southern California, I developed a love for the ocean and natural world. My affinity for the land, healthy living, and natural foods eventually led me to move north in order to study Agriculture at Humboldt State and then on to Arizona to complete my studies at Prescott College. My vision was to grow nutritious, organic foods, and sell them to my community in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the early days, I sold my crops at Farmers Markets. In 2000, my dream to own land finally became a reality when I purchased 88 acres of pastureland in Sebastopol. Over the next few years I planted orchards with olive, apple, and citrus trees and Gold Ridge Organic Farms was born!
Luther Burbank Called it one of the best climates in the world...
Located 50 miles northwest of San Francisco in West Sonoma County, the farm's proximity to the Pacific Ocean offers unique conditions for farming. Temperatures are cooler here, thanks to our ridge top location and breezes from the Sonoma Coast. I have found the single biggest factor that changes the quality of food is the climate. So here, there is a pronounced fog influence. Fog is a rare beautiful phenomenon, a natural wonder. During the summer, the fog is much more pronounced because there is a tug-of-war happening between the heat in the Central Valley and the cold air off of the ocean. This moderates the climate.
Where we’re located is called a cool coastal influence. What that means during the summertime is that we get a nice cooling effect starting in the afternoon and throughout the whole evening. Then it burns off at about 10 am and then comes back in the afternoon. That repeats most days. It’s this beautiful dance that takes place all summer. It creates what Luther Burbank calls one of the best climates in the world. The Gold Ridge soil is among the best in the country: the sandy loam possesses an ideal natural chemical balance and provides excellent drainage.
Why olives, apples, and citrus?
I started out back in 2000 with heirloom apples, a diversity of table grapes, plums, Euro pears, and Asian pears. I still have the pears, but it’s only a couple percent of what I grow. The table grapes didn’t really do what I wanted so I pulled those up and started putting Fuji apples on trellises. At that time, Honeycrisp was bursting on the scene. I was waiting to see how that transpired, but I did start planting them. Today, 90% of the apples I have are split evenly between Fuji and Honeycrisp and about 10% are still the heirloom apples. So I call the heirloom apples, ‘the spice’ and I call the Fuji and Honeycrisp, ‘the bread and butter. The olive trees not only struck me as incredibly beautiful, but they are able to thrive in dry, warmer climates. This bounty of fruit varieties produce crops that nourish and are able to be used in so many different ways — from Extra Virgin olive oils, apple cider vinegars and syrups, to citrus infused olive oils, soaps, and more.
I hope that you are able to come and visit us at Gold Ridge Organic Farms to see, touch, smell, and taste the difference that sustainable and organic farming makes. Until then, please enjoy our farm products and feel good about knowing where they came from - and know that they were made with love.
Brooke Hazen, Founder and Farmer
Field Notes | Seven Olive Pruning Tips from Farmer Brooke Hazen
Olive Pruning at Gold Ridge Organic Farms typically occurs in the mid to late winter months, several weeks following the conclusion of harvest and pressing of the estate olives. Learn best practices for caring for and tending your olive trees with Farmer-Founder Brooke Hazen.
1. Why do olive trees need to be pruned? Olive trees need to be pruned for several reasons. The first reason is to allow light to penetrate the canopy so that the fruits can ripen well. The second reason also has to do with allowing light penetration, but this has to do with reducing scale. The third reason is to allow air flow to reduce fungal disease, as well as better penetration of organic sprays. And the fourth reason is to control the size of the tree, both for in-row access of cultural controls and harvest, as well as topping them for light penetration to the food canopy.
2. When is the time range to plan pruning of your olive trees? We are limited mainly by how much time we have during the months we are not harvesting olives and apples to get this done. In general, pruning in winter will promote a stronger response of growth from the trees during the upcoming season. Pruning in summer slows down this growth simply because growth is already being stopped and even taken away. Spring pruning would straddle these two different effects. I prefer winter pruning because I want to take away vegetative growth for better light and air penetration. Most importantly, winter pruning allows for the trees to recover and produce flowers and fruit as quickly as possible. This minimizes the negative impact on fruit production.
3. How do you know the perfect timing and what do you look for? There really is no perfect timing to look for. When you have the time and energy, just go for it!
4. Is there a difference in pruning considerations depending on your climate/location? There are differences based on different harvesting techniques, such as Super-High Density or High-Density over-the-row harvesters, valley-floor mechanical arm-shaking harvesters, hand or pole raking, and, of course, good old-fashioned hand harvesting. Most of us use either hand or pole raking, or hand harvesting techniques. In this case, Open-Vase Bush pruning is the best shape because it keeps the trees shorter and allows light and air penetration.
5. What are the necessary tools for pruning? If you start early in the life cycle of your trees and stay on it annually or bi-annually, you really only need hand pruners and loppers. Felco brand makes great tools for hand pruning. Maintaining a sharp blade with a hand stone or file is important. Keeping your tools clean is important too, in order to present the potential spread of disease from one tree to another.
6. What are the steps in pruning? Avoid pruning the outside of the tree, unless necessary for access. This is what I call the Food Pantry. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Early in the life cycle of your tree, you will want to form a main scaffold of the strongest branches. Central branches and suckers that block light and suck energy should be removed. Suckers at the base of the tree should also be removed. And lastly, the trees should be topped around 11 feet to enable easy harvest, as well as allow light and air flow.
7. Any other considerations? You can learn this, and you can do this! Farming is a wonderful process of intuition, observation, and constantly growing. I learned all of this myself over my 30-year career from trial and error.
What Makes Olio Nuovo so Exceptional?
It’s Olio Nuovo season at Gold Ridge Organic Farms! Now’s your chance to taste the freshest, liveliest olive oil from West Sonoma County. These Organic California olive oils from our 2023 harvest are only on offer during the next couple of months. Robust and racy, bold and bright, our unfiltered, first of the season olive oil offers a wallop of big flavors and big health benefits. Sign up for a guided Olio Nuovo tasting in our warm and welcoming Sebastopol Farm Shop or order a selection of our four estate Olio Nuovo olive oils from our web shop. This is a seasonal offering, and when it’s gone, it’s gone until next year.
What is Olio Nuovo?
Olio Nuovo is Italian for “new oil.” It is what we call the first, freshest oil pressed at the beginning of the year’s olive harvest. The harvest typically begins in late November through the end of December. This year, the olive harvest at Gold Ridge Organic Farms continues through January. It is unfiltered, bold and piquant.
When is it available?
Olio Nuovo is the first olive oil we make during the harvest and milling season. We typically begin with our Picholine blocks. This year, the French blend of olives were picked, milled, and bottled just after Thanksgiving 2023. It was followed by Minerva in early December and Tuscan Blend in mid-December. We are currently picking and milling the last of the Arbequina blocks now, in late January.
Our Olio Nuovo will be available for sale in our Farm Shop and online through our website during the first few months of the year. We will typically end sales of Olio Nuovo in early spring, when our 2023 Extra Virgin olive oils will become available.
What makes Olio Nuovo special?
You'll taste the difference! Olio Nuovo is the freshest olive oil we offer. It is unaged and unfiltered, bottled directly after milling and still containing the bits of olive sediment that remain after milling. These tiny, flavor-packed particles remain suspended in a thick, luscious olive oil that tastes vividly fresh, spicy, and fruity. While the oil is green when first pressed, it turns more golden as these fine, pulpy solids settle. Our CCOF Certified Organic olive oils are grown and milled onsite in our modern, state-of-the-art Itallian Rapanelli olive press After the olives are shaken from the trees and gathered in nets, the olives are whisked away from the orchard directly to our mill for processing within mere hours of harvest. This ensures the freshest flavor and highest medicinal quality.
Does Olio Nuovo offer unique health benefits?
Like all fresh produce, olives (and olive oil) have the highest health benefits when they’re really fresh. Since our Olio Nuovo is made and sold right after milling, it delivers higher levels of polyphenols (the antioxidant compounds that support good heart health) and tocopherols (fat-soluble vitamins) than any other type of extra virgin olive oil, making it one of the healthiest fats you can add to your diet. Olive oil’s polyphenol levels will decline as it ages, so we suggest enjoying your Olio Nuovo within two to three months of opening.
Is Olio Nuovo Extra Virgin?
Yes, all our Estate Organic California olive oils are Certified Extra Virgin by the California Olive Oil Council (CCOC). All our olive oils have undergone a rigorous third-party testing process, including both lab-based chemical analysis and evaluation by trained tasting panels, to verify that the oil is free of flaws and adulteration and reaches all the sensory (color, aroma, flavor) benchmarks established for top-quality olive oil.
What’s the best way to serve Olio Nuovo?
We suggest using our Olio Nuovo as a condiment, dipping or finishing oils, so their robust flavors can shine. Drizzle them on soups, use them for dipping bread or focaccia, swirl them over hummus, gloss up your avocado or ricotta toast, give a generous glug over a radicchio and citrus salad or toss steamed kale, broccoli, or cauliflower with Olio Nuovo and your favorite salt.
