COVER
Going
World Famous Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies Monday–Friday 6:30 AM–3:30 PM 5685 Gibraltar Drive, Pleasanton, CA 94588 925-847-2911 Fax: 925-847-8217 www.sweetandsavory.com INDUSTRY LEADER SINCE 1996
NORCAL Weight Loss Center
natural Farmer Shawn harvests 5 acres of organic produce for local consumption
After
Lose weight...and keep it off! s 2APID 7EIGHT ,OSS s -EDICALLY 3UPERVISED "Y #ARING 0HYSICIANS .URSES s ,ATEST &$! !PPROVED -EDICATIONS s ! 6ARIETY OF (EALTHY $IET 0ROGRAMS s (UNGER #ONTROL 3UPPRESSION 0LANS s $AY %VENING 3ATURDAY !PPOINTMENT
Before
Shauntrell lost weight on our program and you can too!
Also Offering BotoxÂŽ / RestylaneÂŽ Treatments Dr. Moshe Lewis, MD Dermatologist 925-846-5614
Unretouched clinical photo taken while frowning before and 14 days after treatment with BotoxÂŽ Cosmetic
.%7 "OTOXÂŽ 3ERVICE for underarm perspiration problems!
$10 per Unit
BotoxÂŽ Treatment
plus Free Consultation to new clients only Not valid with other offers.
WWW NORCALWEIGHTLOSS COM FREE CONSULTATION
New clients only
Pleasanton 374 St. Mary St. 925 846-5614
AUG 20
cocktail monkeys
San Ramon 2701 Crow Canyon Blvd. 925 837-6400
AUG 27 RUCKATAN LATIN ROCK
rock/motown Sponsored by STATE FARM
Sponsored by Y.A. TITTLE
LARRY DAMASER
DOLORES FOX CIARDELLI
Above: Shawn Seufert farms 5-1/2 acres in Sunol and Pleasanton, with the harvest going mostly to members of his Community Supported Agriculture program, who pick up boxes of produce each week. “The focus is on fresh,â€? says Seufert. Right: Flowers amid the crops serve as “beneficial attractants,â€? drawing harmful insects away from the produce. Newly picked peppers gleam as though they were waxed. Page 12ĂŠUĂŠAugust 20, 2010ĂŠUĂŠPleasanton Weekly
BY DOLORES FOX CIARDELLI
Farmer Shawn Seufert strolled down t covered dirt road next to his fields on a re summer morning, extolling the benefits o foods. “It’s part of the slow food movement,� munching on a freshly picked red peppe in the field at 5:30. We like to pick lettu morning, a hybrid iceberg that’s natura nutrient-rich.� Seufert specializes in tomatoes, pep melons, raising more than an acre of tom sells to local restaurants and at farmers ma mostly to members of his Community S Agriculture program, known as CSA. “We have 250 members who come to each week and pick up a fresh box of sea ganic produce,� he said. “The focus is on Whatever harvest is less than perfect g chickens. “They eat better than most people,� he Suddenly Seufert spied a gopher pee from a loose mound of dirt between rows plants. Seufert hurled the pepper core at t then headed for the shed to get a trap. As pests, said Seufert, a high fence keeps ou and the dog, Bella, takes care of squirrels Such is life at Terra Bella Family Farm Seufert raises 46 edible crops, certified org flowers too varied to mention. “We try to keep diverse and as small as at a sustainable size,� he said. “That wa forecast what we can produce.� It’s a family business he runs with his w They started in 2006 on 1-1/2 acres on Road just south of Castlewood Golf Cou recently Terra Bella began farming anothe near the Sunol Water Temple at the 18-a AgPark, founded in 2006, and run by based SAGE (Sustainable Agriculture Edu Seufert says he learns a lot from the ot farmers, such as the Mien from Laos w strawberries. He followed their example irrigation tubing, using it to tie the cucum bean plants. The produce is planted compactly. Flo interspersed and on the roadside to serve eficial attractants,� drawing harmful inse from the vegetables. “We grow as many flowers as possible said, pointing to a sunflower that was hos and a cucumber beetle. “Each flower has a time of year to feed bees and to feed insec the ecosystem balanced.� Rows of herbs grow together, as do pep squash. Artichokes are interspersed with t flatleaf parsley. “They’re nice companion plants,� said “Their root systems are different, they’r competition for nutrients, and you don’ water the artichokes as much because th green canopy of parsley over the bed.� “I read in the Farmers Almanac that it cool enough for artichokes this summer,� h Otherwise this time of year sees toma plants and squash, “all heat loving.� His melons will peak in late September, handheld melons, French cantaloupes an melons planted from seeds from kibbutzim The farm has about six employees, an said he never needs to look for help. come to us.� Boxes of gleaming Spanish eggplant and were waiting to be trucked to the Pleasanto CSA members. “They look like we’ve been waxing morning,� pointed out Seufert. “They hav ral luster.� Seufert, 30, didn’t always plan to be a fa Beth was a teacher for five years. “I’m from L.A. and I never grew anythi even a houseplant,� Seufert said. “I liked and being outdoors. But elementary educ my focus at UC Santa Cruz.� While there he noticed a 15-acre farm pus and learned about the university’s C Agroecology and Sustainable Food System