Can delicious organic tomatoes be the answer to restoring our forests and making our communities more fire-safe?
When John Van Diepen, the owner of Cedar Mill Eco-Farm, an innovative greenhouse operating under the trade name Sierra Fresh Organics, went looking for a place to move his business, he settled on an abandoned sawmill site in the small Sierra Nevada town of Pioneer. With over 300 days of sunshine annually, convenient and abundant supply of water, biomass for heat, and access to appropriate markets, Amador County proved to be ideal for the relocation and expansion of the business. John knew that using wood to heat his greenhouse would shield him from the global fluctuation in fossil fuel prices (who would’ve known?!) and the economical BTU output of wood as a fuel source as opposed to propane or natural gas. What John didn’t know was that his operation would become a beacon of hope for forest restoration advocates and the local community by demonstrating how low-value forest thinnings can be converted into value-added products- in this case tasty, organic tomatoes and cucumbers. As a par
