County Line Harvest
In my post about Etheridge Farms, I mentioned that I’ve known Gene for 12 years, but it’s likely I’ve known him since I was 9 years old, shopping with my Mom at the Encino Farmers Market. Similarly, I’ve likely crossed paths with David long ago since my Step Dad and his Dad were Doctors in the same Hospital.
County Line Harvest is an organic farm in Coachella Valley that provides us with the most beautiful, rare varieties of greens, making cooking an exciting adventure. Since they farm in the desert, we don’t have their produce during the summer heat, and it’s worth the wait. The benefit to farming in this area in the Winter, is that everything really thrives when other areas struggle with the Weather.
David Retsky started County Line Harvest 20 years ago on April fools Day. I’m not surprised because he’s a very funny guy, so it seems like perfect timing. A good sense of humor is pretty important when you’re working hard, running two farms! He farms 120 acres in Coachella Valley, and 40 acres in Petaluma. Both farms are phenomenal. Specializing in rarely seen greens, and other varieties like Hinona turnips; County Line has brought many smiles to peoples homes with generous bunches of the highest quality greens you can find. (Update (2024): Petaluma is closing this year, and I’m looking forward to the next Chapter in the desert.
County Line supplied a lot of the vegetables in our boxes back in 2014. One day they told me they weren’t able to deliver to us anymore, and we carried on with our other wonderful sources. But I always missed County Line, and talked about their farm often. 5 years later, about a week or two into the lockdown of 2020, I answered the phone to hear David’s voice asking if I remembered him. I was so thrilled to hear from him, that I came down for a visit to make a video on the farm a couple days later. Since then, our orders with County Line have been consistent, and I’m so happy to share my favorite varieties like Spigarello, purple tat soi, mizuna, and more!
And now 2024, I’m on the ranch with my Partner David, Owner of County Line, and Wisker the big friendly dog! I have the pleasure of getting into the field with everyone at times, as I attempt to learn a little about farming. With a lot of encouragement and persistence, I fumble around, and have been hard on myself sometimes. My shoes are never quite right (sometimes got stuck in the mud), but everyone is always so sweet to me. You can see more stories about our little adventures, and Davids words of wisdom, in my blog stories and newsletters.
These fields are hand picked by people with charisma, beautiful smiles, high spirits, and a lot of love. Which is reflective of who David is as a grower and resiliently brave human. It’s amazing to see how he handles tough situations with gentleness and care. County Line is a special place.
