Fresh from our farmers: Twin Dog Farms in Penngrove

Richard Soss of Twin Dog Farms has been a vendor at the Rohnert Park Farmers Market on Sunday morning since it launched in April. His specialty is basket-roasted chilies, which he prepares to order at the three markets he now attends.

Soss currently grows about a third of an acre of chilies. He sells mixed varieties for $5 a pound; customers who buy at least a pound can have them roasted on the spot at no extra charge. Soss is also currently growing tomatoes, summer squash, winter squash, greens, carrots and other root vegetables. The chilies have been so successful that he plans to double their acreage next year.

Soss spent a season as an intern on a farm in New Mexico, which is where he got the inspiration for his roasted chilies; they are ubiquitous in the state. After returning to Sonoma County, he spent nearly a year working at Mix Garden in Healdsburg, where he divided his time between farming the fields and working in the nursery.

Now’s he’s stepped out on his own, on two acres off Roberts Road in Penngrove. The name of his farm was also inspired by his time in New Mexico, where he took two puppies from a litter delivered by a mutt the farmer he worked with rescued.

Richard Soss is one of a growing number of young farmers who bode well for the future of local agriculture. Although he is not currently certified organic, a process that takes a few years to establish, he uses no sprays, pesticides or chemical inputs on his land. He has access to a tractor but most of his work is done by hand and he is interested in learning more about no-till farming. There is no farm stand and no direct-from-the-farm sales at this time.

Twin Dog Farms, founded in 2015 and owned and operated by Soss, attends three farmers markets, the year-round Rohnert Park Farmers Market on Sunday morning and the Wednesday Night Farmers Market in Petaluma and the Friday Night Farmers Market in Rohnert Park. When these two seasonal markets end later this month, he expects to join another market until his pepper season concludes.

Michele Anna Jordan has written 24 books to date, including the new “Good Cook’s” series. Email Jordan at michele@saladdresser.com. You’ll find her blog, “Eat This Now,” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com