I thought this would be a nice alternative to the giant, crowded, carnival-like pumpkin patches in…read morethe area and I was right. Peterson's Farm is a small working farm in a hilly rural area just outside of Petaluma. Don't expect a huge parking lot, jumpy houses, sprawling corn mazes and haunted houses. Peterson's is small, intimate, quaint, and low-key. The grounds are very pretty with many trees, barns and fields, etc. However, the patch is rather small and I agree with another reviewer who mentioned the pumpkin selection was pretty slim for early October. They probably have a lot of schools going there to pick up pumpkins during the week. On the grounds you'll find adorable cows, bunnies, ponies, chickens, and geese that you can feed. There are many beehives, a couple apple trees, and a small barn where you can purchase honey and other things like tomatoes and soap (if they have any in stock). The farm is perfect for small children or babies. I wish the areas surrounding the patch were a little more maintained. There are a few dilapidated fences and structures that are laying around in piles and instead of being removed, just have caution tape around them. These "props" did not look good in the background of the photos I was trying to shoot of my toddler picking a pumpkin. Overall this place is really cute and perfect for small children. They have wagons that you can take out to the field to haul your pumpkins back. Luckily, Peterson's doesn't get too crowded on the weekends and there was plenty of parking in their small lot. The pumpkins are reasonably priced according to size, rather than weight. Bring cash because they don't take cards.

Went here today for a hunt through the pumpkin patch. This is a small, family owned farm. If you're…read morelooking for a spot to pick up a pumpkin, have your child (or your friend's children, or your dog, or your boyfriend) pose next to a giant cardboard cutout of Elvira or Frankenstein, or Divine... This isn't the place to go. If you're afraid of dirt and mud, chickens, honeybees, cows, ponies, or, well... REAL LIFE, like where your food really comes from... Don't come here. Like I said, Peterson's is a real live working farm. The pumpkin patch size was on the smaller side, we got fantastic pictures of my daughter sitting around a bunch of pumpkins in, OH MY GOD, the dirt!!! I was totally stoked to come here and am thrilled that my money has gone directly to helping a family farm thrive. My husband and I laughed at a family that showed up dressed, well, for a stroll in the city... The mother all but had high heels on. Clearly, they were really looking for a place where their spawn could jump in bouncy houses and have a Disney-fied experience of a harvest tradition. They never took the kids out of the Armada and split as soon as they realized that they'd be walking in dirt to peruse the pumpkin patch. Peterson's offers educational tours for children on honey farming, and they grow other seasonal delights in addition to pumpkins - tomatoes, persimmons, dried flowers... I can't wait until my daughter is a bit older to bring her back here, perhaps in the spring, so get another gander at the chickens and cows and ponies (OH MY!!!).

What an amazing and magical place to spend a day. Thank you for showing us your incredible farm and…read moresharing your delicious cheese. Loved every second. Highly recommend a visit to all in the area!

We have been happy CSA members of Tara Firma Farms for 3+ years now and highly recommend for anyone…read morelooking for a local, sustainable farm co-op! The eggs are wonderful, delivery prompt, online store very accessible, and they conveniently partner with other local farms to provide veggies + fruit in addition to their sustainable meats (most CSAs will only provide one or the other). We came across Tara Firma initially via online / yelp searches shortly after moving to the Bay Area in 2016. When my husband and I initially started looking into vegetarianism for animal welfare reasons, I suggested we visit a farm that employs best practices of ethically and sustainably raised meat to help inform our decision. Tara Firma offers free educational tours every weekend and so we drove up one day with our 2 dogs (leashed dogs welcome!) and another family with their 3 (non furry) children for a fun Petaluma outing. The tour was informative and our guide was clearly super passionate about their mission. The farm was very beautiful and the lands idyllic -- we loved the fact that the cows were so free range that we could just barely make them out as a tiny dot in the distant hills. We all enjoyed observing the chicken dynamics around their mobile coop with their rooster guard, and they showed us how unperturbed the hens were when removing the eggs from the nest-- evening letting the children carefully take a couple out. Ultimately, we decided to pursue a vegetarian diet (especially after my husband met the pigs there), but we joined the CSA for their eggs and veggie share + cheeses (sourced from partner farms). We also have purchased meat occasionally for visiting carnivore families and friends, as we wanted to ensure if they were going to eat meat -- they were getting it from a farm like Tara Firma that does it in the right way. The best part of the CSA was their pet share as we realized buying offal from this farm would be a great compromise for our dogs (who were rebelling against our plant-based diet experiment) as we just wanted to provide our dogs protein with leftovers / byproduct without creating additional demand on the meat industry. Our pet share included amazing proteins like heart, tongue, cheeks, as well as more indulgent items like liver and kidney. Even the trotters and bones I would use to make broth in order to flavor / disguise our dogs' vegetarian kibble haha :) We also occasionally received some freezer burn meats, which cannot be sold for human consumption but safe (and very drool-worthy) for our dogs! Unfortunately, the pet share program has been discontinued but there are still plenty of diverse offal options in the farm store! Overall, a great local farm to support and highly recommend a visit!

We traveled to the Red Hill Ranch in Petaluma mainly to learn about MALT (Marin Agricultural Land…read moreTrust). Kitty Dolcini, the co-owner of the farm and a MALT representative whose name passes me at this time were there to greet our enthusiastic group. From Kitty we learned how she and her siblings inherited the 600 acre ranch after their dad had passed away. Five of her siblings wanted no part of the ranch, but Kitty and her brother Doug wanted to keep the ranch and carry out the family's farming tradition. The Red Hill Ranch had operated as a dairy farm. With a net worth of $5 million at the time Kitty and Doug needed help to buy out the shares from their five non-interested siblings. That's where MALT entered the picture. To make a very long story short MALT secured the dollars necessary to buy out the five siblings in exchange for the development rights to the property. Under the agreement with MALT the Dolcinis remain the owners of the land, but the land is protected for agricultural use only. The agreement is permanent and there is no opt out. Kitty now happily owns 3/7ths of the property while her brother Doug owns the remaining 4/7ths. For the time, Kitty, who also owns a landscape design company, operates her share of the farm raising nearly 400 chickens in an open pasture for their incredibly fresh eggs. Several acres of her land are leased out to other farmers, and she also operates a company on the ranch cooking up farm fresh dinners to large groups. On weekends she has a farm stand on the property offering farm fresh eggs and an assortment of beautiful produce harvested by the other farms on the property. Our group got a sampling of Kitty's ranch dinner practice when she prepared lunch for us during our visit. With some fabulous rosemary-infused lemon water to whet our appetite, our group sat down to amazing egg salad sandwiches served on fresh flaky croissants and multi-grain bread and a crispy, fresh green salad drizzled in a vinaigrette dressing. The egg salad using Kitty's super fresh farm eggs was incredible, and there were so many sandwiches left we got in on third and fourth servings. For dessert our group when gaga over four different flavors of rich, creamy ice cream from the nearby Straus Family Creamery served with edible flowers. Not usually one to partake in any ice cream action due to health reasons I sampled a bowl of the butter brittle ice cream and was so glad I did for it was outstanding. After the amazing meal Kitty led us on a walking tour of her ranch teaching us some history about the family farm, the land and her chicken pasture. While the ranch is not certified organic Kitty does feed her chickens organic pellets and farm fresh produce. We witnessed the chickens going crazy over a clump of fresh lettuce tossed into the pasture. When we noticed an occasional hawk soaring overhead we talked about the threat of predators to her chickens. Kitty estimates she's lost about 100 chickens over the years to Red Tail Hawks and raccoons. She has plans to bring in two canine shepherds specifically trained to protect birds in the fall in hopes of losing fewer chickens. We toured the old dairy barn which is primarily used for storage these days and looked out at some of the vintage farm machinery on the ranch. There is so much history on that land I'm glad Kitty and her brother made the decision to keep it. In 2018 the farm celebrates 100 years for the Dolcinis. Kitty said she doesn't have specifics yet but she's throwing a big party at that time to celebrate.

I just returned from their ranch, after reaching out for egg availability. I was able to get fresh…read moreeggs for 2 older SIP clients and my parents as well as our household. What a treat, kind, easy to work with and my clients and my mom was thrilled as they know Kitty's eggs from the Farmer's Markets they attend. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Buy Local, Support Small Independent Businesses!

Farmers market truck that sharpens your cutlery, drop your knives off .. shop.. come back and they…read moreare like brand new. Friendly service, super convenient and they also have new knives if you are looking for replacements. They have a physical location in Novato but I find the farmers market truck very convenient. I would suggest calling ahead to double check that he is there because he is not there consistently every week.

Every year for Halloween we make the pilgrimage to the farm. Its such a wonderful day with wagon…read morerides, pumpkin picking in the field and Yukon Gold or Purple Peruvian Potatoes. Food tent or bring a lunch. They sell their own organic cheeses and pumpkin ice cream. YUM ! ! ! There is a corn maze, a corn feed pit for kids to dive into, hay bale pyramid to climb, play town for selfies, petting zoo. Heck, you can even milk a real cow. And the live music is always great. Bring the entire family. Plenty of parking.

Our grandsons - 7 and 4. - reveled in the farm experience. Corn "bath", maze, hay wagon ride,…read morepumpkins on the vine and they even dug up 2pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes ! BBQ was terrific. Well organized site with plenty to keep the boys busy for 2 hours plus. Young calves, ponies, goats to pet and even a chance to milk a cow ! Also a wide selection of organic cheeses and butter for the adults. The farm setting is classic West Sonoma County rolling dairy farm hill country. For City "dudes" like our guys, it was more than a pumpkin patch visit. We will be back in 2018 !

While I was between jobs, I spent a lot of time doing what I love most: taking long drives through…read morethe backroads of Marin and Sonoma. One day, I stumbled upon The Farm Stand, and it felt like discovering a hidden treasure. It is, without question, one of the best farm stand experiences I've ever had, and I've been to a lot of them. Jim could probably sell anything, but that's because he's genuinely passionate about what he does. He curates only the very best, though truthfully, the produce and goods largely sell themselves. What sets this place apart is the care behind it. The attention, the pride, the hospitality - all the things that feel like they're are waning from our country. We've become so accustomed to transactional experiences and mediocre service that they've almost become the norm. Then you encounter a place like this and realize what you've been missing. It's like waking up from a fever dream and wondering, "Why isn't everything this good?" I now drive from Sebastopol to visit The Farm Stand regularly. Not just for the incredible food, but for the experience itself. It's a reminder that places built with intention, passion, and genuine human connection still exist. And somehow, that nourishes something much bigger than an appetite!!!

After being made to stand about six feet away from all the produce, i'm assuming so we couldn't see…read morehow rotten it was, the over-eager guy in a cowboy hat assured me that their peaches were excellent and ripe. Only after arriving at our campsite, I discovered that the peaches were both incredibly firm and completely unedible. Our nectarines, however were not firm but had rot in every single one of them. Don't fall for their lies and just go to Good Earth in Fairfax instead.

We saw a wine tasting sign on Old Adobe Rd and stopped by for a tasting and we are so happy we did!…read more The wines are delicious (sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, rosé pinot noir, pinot noir) the wines are aromatic and have wonderful fruit notes. They are refreshing and easy to drink, I easily consider the first 3 to be "porch pounders", and though they pair great with food they can be enjoyed alone as well. Lucas, the winemaker for Koch was there and provided our tasting. We enjoyed his company and level of service, he made us feel at home the entire time. Lucas was also kind enough to give us an early taste of some of the wines still in barrels and to offer us some of their upcoming empanada tastings. It was nice to feel amongst friends and be in a relaxed setting and the whole experience was awesome! The tasting room is on the family property where there are animals and farming, it has a beautiful view of vineyards and the east outskirts of Petaluma. We also confirmed beforehand that they are pet friendly so we were able to take our little macaw with us. She enjoyed a delicious strawberry that was grown on the property. If you plan to bring a dog, there are two great pyrenees that are guarding sheep and pigs behind an electric fence, they are super friendly and won't bother, but just something to note for other dog owners. If you enjoy great wine and a homey environment and friendly service I definitely recommend visiting Koch Family Vineyards. They are currently open Wednesday - Sunday, 11am - 7pm so there's no pressure of having to make the winery before 3 or 4pm like most places. We look forward to visiting again and enjoying another glass of wine. Thank you, Lucas!

Such a great winery located on a beautiful property. The outdoor tasting area is relaxing with…read morebeautiful vineyard views. My husband & I were happy to find a new winery with delicious wine & open past 4, we enjoyed a wine tasting & empanada pairing which I highly recommend! The prices for tastings & bottles are very reasonable. My favorite wine, which we took a bottle of, was the Rosé -- so crisp & refreshing, perfect for these hot days we've been having. Our host, Lucas, was excellent as well he was very attentive & hospitable.

If you aren't keeping your eyes peeled for this spot, you might miss it. Angelo's actual store is…read morelocated inside a cute little cottage/barn off the road. This is a meat lover's paradise. The jerky was truly the highlight. The employee let us try all of the jerky samples (generous portions) we wanted, and talked about what kinds of flavors and textures would be best for our tastes. My favorites were the teriyaki turkey jerky and garlic beef jerky. Both varieties have a sweet, tender chew. No dried out jerky here. Make sure to check out the grab and go refrigerators opposite of the cash register. I made sure to grab a bag of smoked bacon ends/chunks which made an absolutely divine addition to my cherry tomato and Marin French Cheese angel hair pasta a few nights later.

Meeting Angelo felt like catching up with an old friend we just hadn't met yet. From the moment we…read morewalked in, his warmth and kindness made the whole experience feel personal and genuine. If you get the chance to meet him, you'll understand why people talk about him like he's an icon. And the food... wow. The jerky is absolutely to die for. He even told us to stop back by before we headed home because he was making homemade focaccia. We came back, and he wasn't there, but he had the focaccia waiting for us anyway. That small gesture says everything about the kind of person he is. We left with jerky, his amazing garlic horseradish mustard, and summer sausage, and we already can't wait to come back. Next stop will definitely be his deli. Angelo is the real deal, kind, thoughtful, and unforgettable.