Windrose Farm

Windrose is a small family farm located east of Paso Robles, near Creston, in San Luis Obispo County. Tucked in a unique valley of 50 acres, 12 are in vegetable rotations, 6 are in apples and stone fruit and 5 are sheep pasture. The rest is habitat - full of animal, bird and insect life who usually help them. Owners Bill & Barbara Spencer have been... registered as an organic farm with the State of California since 1993 and certified with C.C.O.F. since August 1999. The farm has been "clean" for ten years; since its purchase in 1990. For the first three years, Bill worked to bring life back to the soil with compost and cover-cropping yearly. Windrose has the luxury of adjacent horse farms, one of whom delivers! In 1993 Windrose began going to the Farmer's Markets with produce from their first small market garden. At that time both Bill & Barbara were involved in other occupations. Bill was in real estate locally and Barbara was commuting weekly from Los Angeles, working as a studio musician. Then at the end of 1995 they took the plunge into full-time farming. Having already discovered the enjoyment of growing many "specialty" varieties of vegetables - most particularly heirloom tomatoes and potatoes, they also found they loved selling to wonderful restaurants as well as to their friends at Farmer's Markets. It has been a joy for the Spencer's to see the tasty dishes prepared by the talented chefs at restaurants such as Patina, Campanile, Melisse and Lucques in Los Angeles. In 2002 , Windrose became a member of the Santa Monica Farmers' Market. 1998 saw the addition of the apple orchard. Working with Terry and Carolyn Harrison of Sonoma Antique Apples, Windrose planted 40 different varieties - including antique types that are specific for eating, baking, sauce and cider. It has been amazing to Bill & Barbara to see and taste how different apples can be. They are now in the process of evaluating which are the most successful on their farm. In addition to tomatoes and potatoes, Windrose grows onions, garlic, green ...Read More