Happy March and congratulations on surviving the first two months of 2026!!
It has been quite a while without a blog from us; in fact 2025 passed without any entries. There are always hard moments in the life of a small business but it was a good year for Araceli Farms. Just as we all must do as human beings, we cried, we laughed, we persevered, and we turned to the future with hope. In this time of intense uncertainty, where trust in each other and our communities is at risk, it is monumentally important to reconnect with the people around us. Whether this involves a quick chat with a neighbor, a visit to a local business, getting involved in community outreach, or any other avenues; the impact is clear. It is all we have to truly hold on to; community and interpersonal connection. Every bit of good you want to do in the world can be started here, in conversations, at city hall, and in the love we express for those around us. Even as we falter in the face of hatred and fear, it is imperative that we should refocus the volume of those feelings into protection, support, and understanding. In uncertain times, find certainty in the trust you have in those around you, and the knowledge that your shoulders bear the weight of their own trust.
We missed sharing the goings-on with you all!! Here is what you missed, and what we are currently working on.
We have some beautiful new helpers in our efforts to mitigate weeds! They are very cute and fluffy (and are much smaller than their predecessors ha-ha). Yes you guessed it! We have goats again!! The three newest members of the farm are named Frank Jr, Gustavo, and Matilda, and they are joined by our two sweet sheep. Although they have some issues (one being a propensity for destroying their rain shelters), we wouldn't trade them for the world. Our sheep friends are much shyer, and we are hoping they all learn from each other; just as we all should.
This year we are expanding our work with native plants in our effort to cultivate natural balance and growth in the image of what once was. By the end of the year we plan to have a couple thousand native plants and shrubs. This work is made possible by land grants and focused effort, and we are both grateful and proud that these efforts are supported by the State of California, the Resource Conservation District (RCD), and Point Blue. The evidence of these efforts will be visible to all who visit the farm.
Now, for some updates from Justina! I asked her a few questions about the farm and our goals for the next month, and we would love to share them with you!
Farm
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What are the lavender plants doing during this month/season? (regaining nutrients? etc)/how does this weather affect them
We need to prep the field for the bloom season and to do that we have to prune the plants down to make way for new growth. In the past we have done this, what feels like, right before the bloom season which can result in shorter stems on the new growth. This year we are hoping to get it done soon so that they get a decent amount of time to grow and create beautiful long stems. One of the great things about having our goats in the field right now is that they have been munching on a lot of the lavender. This might seem like a bad thing, but lavender can actually be pruned pretty hard, so we welcome their munching! The only thing that could end up being a problem for us is the goats splitting the Lavender plants by walking through them, but they have been staying between the rows as of now, so all is well!
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How is the garden doing
We are hoping to start a garden plot in the space in front of the culinary lavender in the field! We would love to take you on the journey with us, partially because it is so important to grow our own food right now and also I don't really know what I'm doing so I think it would be kind of fun to show people what I'm doing from the ground up and how I learn from my mistakes. I would love to donate any excess food we grow and also invite people to be a part of it as well!
I am thinking of discing the space because there are a ton of weeds and the ground is already pretty broken up. The area also used to be mounted so I would really like to flatten it out. Discing is not ideal in most situations because it disturbs that top layer of soil, but I always try to weigh the benefits if I am thinking of doing something. In this case I know that the way I farm will be beneficial for the soil and I would not be discing every year or every quarter; if I am able to disc once and be set for the foreseeable future I am okay with it.
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What is our main goal for projects/farm work
Staying proactive in general is a huge goal! I feel like this is the first time in entirety of the business that we have gotten started as early as we did as far as prepping for the bloom season and keeping that up is going to pay off so much in the long run. I'm super excited to see what the season looks like with this new approach and all of the new projects we have; including some baby sheep some time in August hopefully!
There are two grants I am working with right now, so my workload is pretty heavy with that, and the time of year makes weeding a pretty endless battle. After you get a spell of rain and some sun everything just shoots up. Grant (the admin for one of our grants) said something very funny and accurate the other day when we were planting and strategizing weed competition and that was "I think I can hear the grass growing", and I chuckle at that often now because it’s so true!
The main idea though is just staying ahead of things and working out whatever kinks we can before the season. June is always going to be busy no matter what, but if we can work out stuff like the irrigation before it gets hot then that will be awesome.
BTS
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How is Frankie?
He's thriving, he's never not thriving. He's such a happy little guy, I’m so thankful for him and honestly all animals lol. He really loves the farm and now that we say a small dachshund dog was the farm dog of the year, Frank has his 2026 goals set.
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Are there any life lessons you learned last month
I have this tendency to give myself these imaginary deadlines that are so urgent and so critical, and then I take a step back and realize..i’m doing “it” again. She loves to create a little chaos and stress for no reason apparently?? I think it’s just old habits from the corporate world, grind culture and not having someone tell me what needs to be done - instead it lives mainly in my head. Like I said earlier, this is the most we've been proactive at this stage maybe ever. I feel like usually May comes around and we're like "oh crap time to kick into gear, we're open in two weeks", but we've been on it since January and we also have the tractor which has been revolutionary. I think I have just been so used to living in chaos that I start manufacturing it in a season where we are very on top of thingsand which is all in all pretty chill. Just taking a step back to remind myself of where we're at and that I don't have to create stress where there is an absence of it, is important. It’s also just comes with years of learning and every year it gets better and better.
I am also proud that I have not been getting ahead of myself with admin stuff. For example, I received an invoice for $3000 for something I had already paid for a little while ago. Normally I would have gone into a panic need to solve it now and figuring out how we were going to pay, but instead I was just like, it was probably a mistake and if not, we'll talk about it and figure it out. I didn't immediately go to doom and gloom, and some days that works and some days it doesn’t, but it felt good. I feel very fortunate to be as proactive as we have been, but I also feel like it's just part of being in business; it's a privilege to keep learning over time because it makes life easier gradually.
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What was the hardest part of work last month
Admin stuff definitely, there are so many bills, permits, license renewals, red tape, and other admin related expenses and time drains. January is the time when a lot of stuff renews so there's a lot of paperwork. The federal government is obviously a mess right now too, typically we will get an extension for taxes because were so busy, but they were saying we didn't file this year. Really what happened was that they were so backed up because of the shutdowns that I guess the extension paperwork just never hit anyone's desk. So then it was just this thing of like trying to get ahold of them.. This stuff is honestly the hardest part of the business for me, the mental battle of getting started with these tedious things. I honestly would rather weed whack for 2000 hours than do all of the invoicing and paperwork. That was definitely the hardest part of work last month, but also just in general, but that being said; I do feel like we're doing a good job with it.
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What are your current obsessions
Oh I love this question because I will go through phases. Okay right now it is hot chocolate and buttered toast; it has to be together. I'm probably three weeks into that so I give it another two weeks before it will switch up, but I have to have it every day right now. Especially right before bed usually, I make the hot chocolate and butter the toast, I'll put some salt on the toast after I butter it.
I also listen to this podcast from John Delony. He has like two PhDs in something to do with mental health and people will call in with questions that he answers. I like those kinds of shows sometimes.
The last thing I've been really into is watching this show called Alone, where people get dropped off in the wilderness by themselves and they have to hunt and make shelters. It'll be places like Alaska or something where there are bears and moose and things. It's so funny because some people admire like Kim Kardashian and I'm over here obsessing over people making fishnets, and thinking this is like the pinnacle of success. Really though, a lot of them tap out because they can't deal with the solitude; it's pretty crazy and so interesting to watch.
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Thank you all so much for your continued support and interest in Araceli Farms as a whole, we could not do this without you! Lavender season seems so far from us as the sky remains so gray, but as sure as the new buds pop up under the slivers of blue above, we know summer will be here before we know it. Look out for updates about the season and our products in future blog posts and on our Instagram page @aracelifarms. We look forward to seeing you when the weather gets warmer, for now; stay safe, stay warm and stay connected with your community.
