Mountain Creek Ranch
Mountain Creek Ranch
Origin Story & Identity
Our families have a long history of being farmers. Whether it be a history of sharecroppers and ranching or running soybean farms in Mexico, we have generations of farming leading us to our own experiences. Our farm produces through the efforts of Brent’s parents and the two of us. We often discuss our goals and plans together and we each contribute to these efforts.
Mountain Creek Ranch holds food handlers certificates.
Fun Fact:
Every project undertaken at Mountain Creek Ranch gives heavy regard to sustainability and accessibility. Our dream is to feed our community at large and we wish to learn about and create accessible means to accomplish this. We wish to feed the greatest number of people while impacting our environment as little as possible.
What do you grow, produce, and make?
We grow champanel grapes, mustang grapes, wild and cultivated blackberries, wild and fuyu persimmons, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers (jalapeño, sweet, bell, shishito, etc.), herbs (mint, Thai & sweet basil, rosemary, dill, etc.), peaches, plums (wild and cultivated), and microgreens. We make pickles, jelly/jam, salsa/tomato sauces, and vegan bar soap.
What are you most proud of producing?
Our Champanel grape vineyard is a 19 year family passion. We began with a few plants and have since expanded that to a few more. We have spent every year since cultivating the vineyard and learning different ways to present this variety to the public. Our champanel grape jelly, for example, exudes a similar flavor profile to the concord grape jelly most people know with a naturally less sweet flavor profile whilst maintaining the nuance we all love.
Shop Mountain Creek Ranch
Microgreen Salad Blend (1oz or 2oz)
Microgreen Salad Blend (1oz or 2oz)
$4.00 USD
Sale price
$4.00 USD
Regular price
Philosophy & Practices
We are minimally invasive in that we only remove the foliage that impedes the natural movement of our wildlife. We encourage native plants and are intentional about the non-native plants we introduce to our homestead. We have grown clover every year for at least five years to provide the soil a boost of nitrogen and collect the clover seeds for the following year. We are conservative in our use of water and try to grow food that can subsist largely on its own.
What’s something about your practices (soil care, animal care, sustainability, etc.) that most people don’t know — but should?
You can plant things which will be beneficial to your soil, creating a natural means of amending the ground on which you farm. We believe most people can come to this conclusion but the amount of information available can be overwhelming.
What’s the biggest challenge of growing/making food the way you do?
We do not spray our crops with insecticide or fertilizer, we are subject to the likelihood of crop failure but we believe in our efforts to minimally impact the land and food we grow.
Daily Life & Personal Connection to the Work
What’s your favorite part of the work you do every day?
Seeing the daily progress a plant is making and caring for it, especially our microgreens, gives us a great deal of satisfaction.
What’s your favorite way to enjoy something you grow/make?
We have enjoyed cooking with our microgreens very much. Adding them to our pasta dishes at the last moment or topping our pizza with it as it comes out of the oven, and using them as garnish in tacos has been fun. Our pepper jelly has been a fun addition to sandwiches and charcuterie board nights as well.
What are you excited to grow, offer, or dream up for the future of your farm?
We are excited to create complete salad kits. Whether it be in collaboration with another farmer or on our own, we want to create sand kits using our microgreens.
Champanel Grape Jelly (8oz)
Champanel Grape Jelly (8oz)
$8.00 USD
Sale price
$8.00 USD
Regular price