Fresh From Our Farmers: Farming lives on at Foggy River

Last Saturday morning, Foggy River Farm's stall at the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market was full of beautiful spring temptations.

An entire table was piled thoughtfully with beets of all sizes and colors, fresh, pert greens attached, highlighted by a blue-and-white plaid tablecloth and attended by James Carp, who became the Healdsburg farm's new field manager in February.

A nearby table held plump orange carrots, turnips, celery, multi-colored chard, leeks, a basket full of garlic and a bin full of just-picked asparagus. Loose-leaf lettuce and bagged lettuce shared a bin and the pastured and soy-free eggs were stacked near boxes of tiny growing microgreens.

Three burlap sacks offered dried shell beans, and a sign at the front of the stand encouraged customers to inquire about the farm's 2014 CSA program, which runs from mid-May to mid-November.

The farm is also home to a herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats that are guarded by two Anatolian Shepherd guard dogs.

Foggy River Farm, located south of Healdsburg on Eastside Road, was founded by Emmett and Lynda Hopkins in 2008, on property where Emmett's family has farmed for three generations.

Emmett's grandparents sold pears at the Healdsburg Farmers Market in the late 1970s; today there are fruit trees and grapevines on the land.

In 2009, the young couple launched their CSA; today, they call it the heart and soul of the farm.

Membership gets you a weekly box of vegetables, but there are other benefits, too. You can visit the farm, enjoy a family picnic and harvest free you-pick items. You will have access to a weekly newsletter, seasonal parties, an annual tomato feast and farm olympics.

In 2010, Lynda and Emmett celebrated their wedding on the farm. In 2011, Lynda Hopkins's first book, "The Wisdom of the Radish and Other Lessons Learned on a Small Farm," was published by Sasquatch Books.

Over the next few weeks, you should see radishes, more carrots, more greens and spring peas from Foggy River. Before you know it, it will be time for summer's harvest of heirloom tomatoes, colorful peppers, sweet melons and more.

Foggy River Farm, founded in 2008, attends the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturdays and the Healdsburg Farmers Market, which operates seasonally from May through November.

For more information about the farm or to become a CSA member, visit foggyriverfarm.org.

Michele Anna Jordan hosts "Mouthful" each Sunday at 7 p.m. on KRCB 90.9 & 91.1 FM. E-mail her at michele@micheleannajordan.com. You'll find her blog, "Eat This Now," at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.