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We were happy to welcome a group from Stroller Hikes to the farm last week for a walking tour. Stroller Hikes is a not for profit that encourages parents to get outdoors and enjoy beauty, exercise, and camaraderie. Each week a small cadre of volunteer hike leaders lead hikes in South Bay locations such as Cupertino, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Milpitas, Santa Cruz and more. They also organize camping trips and rock climbing all free of charge. Stroller Hikes offers Frog Hollow’s CSA fruit on their excursions for parents and toddlers during snack break.
Debbie Frazier, Stroller Hikes founder and president, hike leaders Jenn and Andrea, and their children Mark, Scott, Aida, and June were troopers. They spent about two hours with Matt and I exploring the Orchard. The walking age boys reveled in piles of soil left from our gophers and were thrilled to catch a tractor in action. We started tilling up soil on the day of their visit for the 4,000 tomato starts Matt has been nurturing in our new greenhouse these last many weeks. We all got a chance to see one of the pesky gophers following the tractors passes in the soon to be tomato field – also a highlight for the boys.
Debbie is a high school science teacher and was eager to learn about our methods of pest management and soil fertility. We discussed our Integrated Pest Management strategies, compost tea, habitat plantings, and inter row management. We stopped at a block of pear trees and she was quick to notice that the leaves were full of lady beetles (a beneficial insect). She marveled at how much science goes into organic farming. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to make it out to our compost piles because little legs started to get weary. But the kids and adults a like enjoyed a beautiful day in the Orchard and were able to learn a lot about our farm and operations.
