Rancho de Rodney

12/22/2025

In 2025, Rancho de Rodney delivered over 6,900 pounds of fresh produce and home-backed sourdough to the needy in Fresno. That's 21,000 pounds for the past 3 years.

12/19/2025

We had 20 volunteers come out from Fresno City College today. Thank you FCC!

12/01/2025

Family distributes fresh collard greens in Trinity Gardens >>> https://www.fox10tv.com/2025/11/26/family-distributes-fresh-collard-greens-trinity-gardens/

12/01/2025

Taught a class on lower-cost food preservation techniques at My Homies for the public today. Refrigerator pickle tastings were enjoyed by all as the finale. Thanks to Alex Fresno for providing the venue and some amazing pickles of his own.

11/25/2025

Today we delivered 250 pounds (exactly!) of food to the First Presbyterian Church in downtown Fresno: dino kale, collard greens, rainbow chard, limes, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, rhubarb sage, napa cabbage, meals in a jar, pickled cauliflower, and scads of sourdough bread.

11/20/2025

This week it was raining like crazy, so no field produce (we sink up to our thighs in the mud). We were able to gather and deliver oranges, limes, lemons, and a few grapefruits from the drippy backyard and make lots of sourdough bread, 97 pound worth. Trying out some square foot gardening for root crops in the back as well.

11/16/2025

https://ucanr.edu/blog/fresno-gardening-green/article/distasteful-invasive-worm-pest-found-fresno-county-backyard

Worms found under a pot in a west Fresno backyard.

11/15/2025

This past week we delivered 274.5 pounds to Bethany Church downtown: canned goods, home-baked sourdough bread, chard, limes, lemons, oranges, meals in a jar, and the first collard greens and rhubarb of the season.

11/09/2025

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/recall/byheart-baby-formula-recalled-state-outbreak-infant-botulism-rcna242783

Thirteen babies have been hospitalized with the illness, which can be fatal, federal heath officials said. No deaths have been reported.

11/03/2025

This week we are delivering 120.5 pounds of home-baked sourdough bread, chard, arugula, lemons, limes, a few oranges, and meal fixin's in jar - each of which should put out 8-10 servings of 1 cup each. We'd like to do more of the meals in a jar - donations can be made at https://ranchoderodney.org, or send us some quart jars, navy beans, 8 oz cans tomato sauce from Amazon or where ever you shop. 3821 E Huntington Blvd., Fresno, CA.

11/01/2025

Things we think about during seed buying season . . .

A Squash by Any Other Name

Did you know that pumpkin pie is made with squash?

It’s true!

That’s because pumpkins are just winter squash with a particular look: round, ribbed, and orange.

Squash that we call pumpkins come from all three major branches of the squash family: Cucurbita pepo (Sugar Pie, Jack Be Little), C. maxima (Amish Pie, most jack-o’-lantern types, the giant ones grown for competition), and C. moschata (Dickinson, the variety commonly used for canned pumpkin, which is closely related to butternut squash).

Be aware that while most winter squash are delicious, the ones bred for jack-o’-lanterns are often stringy and watery, so they may not be the tastiest squash for cooking. Winter squash are grown in the summer and harvested in the fall. “Winter” refers to them being a winter food source, not when they’re grown.

Photo: Winter squash come in a wonderful array of shapes, sizes, and colors, Karen Schaffer

11/01/2025

Baked like a nut this week, teaching a class on homemade gifts from your kitchen this am. Bread will be distributed to those in need on Tuesday.