Organic Flowers and Produce Grown Right Down the Street

by Holly Madrigal & Evan Peterson

At the far end of Chestnut Street in Fort Bragg, the pavement ends at the edge of the forest. There, on the urban fringe of Fort Bragg, sits Good Things Farm. Nestled in the shade is a handcrafted Farm Box which feels like a treasure chest when you peer inside. And that’s exactly what it is in a way, a treasure chest of hyper-local food.

Some neighbors hoped that word would not get out about the wonderful farm box at the end of Chestnut Street. But they want this wonderful couple, Evan Peterson and Kirsten Cesario, to be supported beyond this little corner of Fort Bragg. So we asked the farmers of Good Things Farm to tell us their story.

It’s just the two of us here on the farm. I am full time on the farm and my wife, Kirsten, is a full time, awesome, veteran middle school science teacher. We aim to have a diverse range of products, with harvest and planting times spread out through the year so we can handle the work.

We started fencing and planting in January 2018. Our idea was to have a biodiverse, in-town family farm that produces high quality, organically grown foods that are affordable and easily accessed by our neighbors and community. We really focus on soil health through intensive and voluminous composting. We use waste products from horse stables, tree trimmers, feed store spoiled hay and straw, and occasional brewery slops. I compost it for a year and then add it to the soil. We use no tractors, tillers, or chemicals.

Our focus right now is on the tree and perennial crops. We have planted about 150 fruit trees, and they will be in production soon. Also, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries are such wonderful coastal crops. We have a lot of them and rely on them for income through the summer. Artichokes and asparagus have been successful, and we’ll be adding more to the farm this year.

Flowers! Flowers have been a success for us as well. We sell them throughout the season at Harvest Market and at the farm box. They really have increased the biotic action at our farm!

And we love our bees! This year we received a grant from the Good Farm Fund (a local nonprofit that supports the local food system with direct grants to farmers) to purchase more bees as well as electric fencing to protect the hives from bears. We hope to have honey and bees for sale next season.

The farm box came about sort of on its own. It started as a way for friends and neighbors to stop by and pick up eggs and veggies, and just kind of grew. Now, we rely on it for the bulk of our sales. It is based on the honor system—and it works! People are good. We rely on word of mouth and haven’t yet used advertising or social media. People seem to really enjoy the farm box. They get to come when they want, and get what they want. We keep it open all day, every day.

We attend the Fort Bragg Farmers Market (Wednesdays on Franklin Street near City Hall) for about half the year, when we have extra products to sell. This summer we can begin more interaction with our customers and neighbors through tours and hands-on experiences on the farm.

We are really proud that we provide protein year-round. We tend a flock of about 70 laying birds including a variety of chickens and ducks. We raise and harvest 12-15 pigs a year and make that available to our customers as a pork share (buying part of the animal ahead of time), or they can purchase meats out of the farm box that have been processed at the butcher.

We rely on our two Pyrenees guard dogs to protect the farm from exterior threats. They do a great job and are awesome, special animals. Of course, there is the obligatory barn cat, and we now have a small herd of milk goats that will be in milk in early summer through early winter.

We make all sorts of value-added specialties including pie, jam, and pesto. Our jams have flavors like strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, plum, peach, apple, and more. Pies are apple, pumpkin, and the very popular chicken pot pie. Our pesto is delicious and is a customer favorite.

This summer we will just keep charging ahead. One highlight is the fresh fruit, and we should have a nice mix of coastal produce available including greens of all types, beets, carrots, onions, garlic, and potatoes, as well as cucumbers, basil, and tomatoes from the greenhouse.

Fall changes our focus to apples, pears, fresh pressed juices, corn, beans, and winter squash.

The sheer amount of diversity Evan and Kirsten coax forth from their modest farm is staggering. Be sure to swing by the farm box to see what treasures are in store, or meet Evan at the Farmers Market in Fort Bragg on Wednesdays from 2-4 pm at the corner of Laurel and Franklin. You have to love it when a place can be described by such simple directions: Turn onto Chestnut from Highway One, and when you reach the end, Good Life will be waiting.

Good Things Farm
East End of Chestnut Street, Fort Bragg
GoodThingsFarm.com