It’s all about the education here at Pie Ranch, and while we have been spending a lot of time talking about the terrific partnerships we have with Mission and John O’Connell High Schools in San Francisco, and the budding relationships with Pescadero schools, our apprentice and intern programs offer an immersive, hands-on experience for those who are seeking to expand their knowledge base around sustainable farming practices.

Each Tuesday, apprentices and interns at Pie Ranch take a 1 1/2 hour walk through the farm with our co-founders and lead farmers, Nancy and Jered, for an in-depth look at the soil, row crops, orchards, irrigation infrastructure and watering schedules, pest & disease patterns, pastures, and animals during which time we make our to-do list for the week. The apprentices and interns have been assigned different crops to research and will be reporting on their respective crops at our upcoming field walks to enhance their understanding of crop culture, history, and cultivation. During the past couple months, the apprentices and interns have also had evening classes on soil fertility, tillage, and Community Supported Agriculture — with emphasis on the Teikei movement in Japan.

Yesterday morning, Nancy led a summer pruning class in the apple orchard with apprentices & interns. Summer pruning cuts are made into wood during the growing season, which remove photosynthetic surface (leaves) and stored reserves. Thus, summer pruning dwarfs and deinvigorates more than winter pruning. We summer prune to control tree height, shorten lateral branches to create strong supports for holding fruit, open up tree to sunlight and air circulation, form & direct growth, and develop fruit wood quickly and precisely.

In addition to these weekly farm walks and workshops, our apprentices and interns are also a part of the central coast CRAFT program (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training). Last month, they toured Potrero Nuevo Farm, just south of Half Moon Bay. Potrero Nuevo  is a 300-acre farm and wilderness property where food production, classes and educational programs take place. It’s also got the cutest red bike hut in the world with its very own Facebook page!

But it’s not simply about learning the art of growing food sustainably. For our apprentices and interns, learning what to do with the fabulous produce we grow is another critical element. In addition to managing our weekend farm stand, where we sell what’s been freshly picked on the farm, they also take part in developing our own line of Pie Ranch products. Currently the line-up includes pan pie mix and a variety of jams, but we hope to begin adding more items as the season continues. To help apprentices and interns learn more about the art of food preservation, our Director of Operations, Pei-Yee Woo, led a workshop where they created jam from Pie Ranch produce. The end results: olallieberry, strawberry, strawberry olallieberry, and strawberry rhubarb, can all be found at the farm stand now!