By Jondi Gumz
Blossom’s Biodynamic Herb Farm is looking for a new home, according to co-owner Carin Fortin, who has been growing crops with her partner Delmar McComb at 358 Merk Road in Corralitos.
Carin Fortin and Delmar McComb founders of Blossom’s Farm
“Our 5-year lease ends this February and has not been renewed,” she said. “We have to find a permanent home since we farm mainly perennial crops and starting all over again is very costly and draining.”
Those crops include biodynamically grown tinctures, bitters, skincare, hydrosols and herb powders, plus biodynamically grown foods, including vegetables, sauerkrauts, kimchi, kombuchas and kefirs, which are produced for the community with “lots of love.”
Her goal is buy a piece of land with 12 usable acres with a well and ample water and sun for the farm within an hour of their farmstore & coffee shop in Watsonville.
“Ideally we find a piece that is in the 20-40 acres range to have space for our animals which provide fertility for the land. And we need housing for ourselves,” Fortin said. “It has to be farmable land, at least 3-5 acres flat open land, the rest can be trees and for animals/ grazing. Our animals: 5 cows, 4 pigs, 3 sheep, 26 ducks and chickens and 3 rabbits and Popeye, our farm dog. And we need water to cultivate a farm/garden.”
The couple draw inspiration from Rudolf Steiner and have hosted meetings of the BioDynamic Association of Northern California.
Blossom’s also is a regular at the Aptos Farmers’ Market Saturday morning at Cabrillo College.
“We are looking for a permanent home for both the farm and ourselves, so purchasing land is our preference,” Fortin said. “We are willing to make compromises if they make sense. Leasing again is not one of the compromises we want to make — this is the third time we have to move our farm, which is not only exhausting, but also costs a lot of money and keeps us from rooting and becoming sustainable as a business.”
“We definitely help farmers look for land,” said Andrea Levy, senior associate with California FarmLink, which is based in Santa Cruz and serves farmers across the state.
“We have a portal on our website they can register,” she added.
Two Santa Cruz County properties are listed on California Farm Link, but Fortin is not sure they offer a solution.
The parcel on Pleasant Valley is not for sale, only for lease, she noted, with a limited amount of water, which an issue for growing.
An address was not provided for the second property, but Fortin said she would will look into it.
Two weeks later, both listings were gone.
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To see a 4-minute video about Blossom’s Farm go to vimeo.com/496078519
Send any options to [email protected] or call Delmar at 831-234-2965 or Carin at 831-246-1137