Address: 1335 Dana Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Description:
Ten years ago, we went on a field trip to Half Moon Bay Feed and Fuel to learn how to start raising chickens and while we were there, the manager kept putting these precious 5 day-old-baby ducklings in our hands as we were learning all about Rhode Island Reds and all the different breeds of chickens we might raise – well, you guessed it, we came home with 3 baby ducklings and got busy building a duck pen and pond that has evolved into a brook flowing thru the backyard based on how nature works! When we arrived home with the ducklings our neighbor who grew up on a farm exclaimed “Duck eggs are to die for especially when you are baking as they make everything light and fluffy and we certainly concur! Over the years, we have enjoyed the hatching of 4 groupings of baby ducklings and we currently are loving 3 Welch Harlequin ducklings named Pitter, Patter and Carzone – yes, there is a story that goes with her name – the children name all the animals – and three adult ducks – 1 female mix of mallard and pekin (a wild mallard was flying over our garden one afternoon and noticed our pond with ducks swimming in it and decided to join in on the fun) and 2 male white pekin ducks. You will also meet Flower and Tofu, 2 sweet bunnies who live in a secret garden within our garden.
Uniqueness:
Our 1/6 of an acre urban farm in the middle of a residential neighborhood is planned, planted and cared for by the children of our neighborhood. Over the years together we have planted 19 fruit trees so that we are harvesting fruit every month of the year – apples, apricots, avocados, figs, grapefruit, lemons, limes, oranges, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums. In the spring, we plant seeds and seedlings in our portable greenhouse for a summer garden of corn, tomatoes, melons, peppers, green beans, cucumbers, carrots, radishes all the while enjoying our raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and grapes. In the fall, we plant cover crops in order to put nitrogen back into our soils. We also have a Kale forest mainly for feeding our bunnies! And we grow asparagus, artichokes, and potatoes. We work with Tom our beekeeper supporting our honey bees – our one hive is described by Tom as the strongest and gentlest of his 35 hives he tends. In 2010, our one hive produced – are you ready? 440 lbs. of honey! We water our seedlings with water from our rainwater catchment barrels and enjoy knowing our electricity is generated on site with our Sunslates solar shingle roof and our hot water warmed by the Sun shining down on our Alten solar panels on our roof! We learned through an energy audit of our home that the biggest user of energy in a home is the refrigerator, which runs all day and all night, so we decided we could do better with a Sunfrost Refrigerator, which has the best energy rating in the world and is manufactured in California!
Offering:
We will be serving fresh limeade along with fruits and herbs from our garden.
Silicon Valley - Tour De Coop 