Molly Myerson grew up in a sixth-floor apartment in Washington Heights, a northern neighborhood of New York City, surrounded by concrete. It was not the usual starting point for a farmer, but as a child she was always drawn to plants. Any green growing things in her family’s apartment invariably ended up in her bedroom. She studied ecology, anthropology and economics at Bard College and went on to vast and varied kinds of experiences: researching ecological systems and Lyme disease, sleeping next to (caged) lions at a wildlife rescue and rehab sanctuary, and teaching gardening to children. At the Regenerative Design Institute in Bolinas, she studied permaculture, including animal tracking, bird awareness, medical skills and scouting. Molly never consciously decided to be a farmer: she felt her way there.
In 2013, Molly started Little Wing Farm in Bloomfield, selling her produce and quail eggs to restaurants in West Marin and at the Point Reyes Farmers Market. At first, she planted, tended and harvested everything herself, but when a fire destroyed her barn in 2016, she moved the operation to Black Mountain Ranch, about two miles outside of Point Reyes Station. There, armed with a $5,000 credit card, she built a seedling greenhouse to give plants a head start, and a farm stand to sell her goods on the honor system. She planted a hedgerow for bird habitat and pollinators. She converted horse sheds for use as storage and as a staging area and built a cooler box to eliminate field heat in freshly harvested produce. Now, a year-round farm crew helps Molly plant and care for almost two acres of produce and a half-acre of flowers.
Black Mountain Ranch sold last year, and the new owner, Marcel Houtzager, is committed to strengthening the property’s sustainability and productivity. He is building Molly an equipment shed, an improved produce wash-and-pack facility, and a flower studio where she can create fresh arrangements and dry flowers for everlasting bouquets and wreathes. For a protein-based food source and to differentiate her farm, Molly raises Japanese coturnix quail, after whom Little Wing Farm is named. A flock of 150 freckle-chested female birds lives in a well-designed coop with several separate runs that provide a lush green habitat to explore and lay their unique and beautiful speckled eggs.
Molly believes in tending the land in a way that makes the soils richer, passes on clean water to the creeks, gives shelter and forage to wildlife, and provides food uncontaminated by poisons that tastes sweeter and is more vibrant as a result. She sees our time as a critical moment in history and wants her work to increase our understanding of nature and how to build better systems. She doesn’t plant her crops in traditional straight rows, but in curves; as a woman in a male-dominated profession, at first she didn’t feel like a “farmer,” and rather than referring to herself that way, she would say she “grew food.” But Molly says the image of farming is shifting to include more women and BIPOC people. Now, she calls herself a farmer.
Recently, Molly joined the board of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust to represent the next generation of farmers. She is the only board member who does not own the land she farms. She says she is especially interested in helping the organization focus on farmworker housing, alternative conservation models, access for new farmers and regenerative farming practices.
For the first time this past winter, Molly closed her farm stand for two months. But this wasn’t a vacation. She studied spreadsheets and seeded early flower varieties. She planted some crops that she knew would ripen quickly, insuring there would be produce to harvest as quickly as possible. Molly says that although she would welcome more balance in her life, her desire to farm with values that benefit both people and the land requires sacrificing a certain amount of personal comfort and financial cushion.
And farming is addictive, she says, full of exciting moments that keep her motivated: tiny green seedlings pushing through dirt in the greenhouse, flowers cut at the ideal three-quarter bloom so they will open fully in someone’s home, quail eggs discovered in the grass. Molly even appreciates a young hawk hunting overhead, knowing it is a sign of nature’s balance on her farm.
At her stand on Point Reyes-Petaluma Road, the arrangement of produce is as important to her as how she grows and harvests. Vibrant vegetables sit in baskets and ceramic vases on wooden counters or are laid out on burlap. Small chalkboard signs identify what’s available, and an honor-system box receives her customers’ payments. On the wall, photographs of her crew show the people behind the produce.
Molly says it is important to be patient this spring, as not everything will be ready at once. She is on her plants’ timetable, not the other way around. Collard greens, kale, Tokyo turnips, beets and Swiss chard will come first. Fennel bulb, radishes, arugula and lettuce will follow.
From the flower field, brightly colored ranunculus will soon be available. A steady spring-to-summer succession of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, alliums, carrots, radishes, squash, eggplant, lettuces, peppers, basil, tomatoes (San Marzano and cherry) and cucumbers will then unfold. And for the first time, Molly will have strawberries available for U-pick at the farm in April or May. She’s looking forward to giving people the opportunity to visit.
Sautéed Quail Eggs and Mushrooms on Miso Toast
by Molly Meyerson
Molly will often cook this for breakfast before a day at the farm. A little miso goes a long way.
1 teaspoon diced or finely sliced shallots
2 ounces mushrooms—chanterelles, hedghog,
oyster or shiitake—sliced
5 quail eggs
1 piece of toast
1 to 2 teaspoons miso
Heat a little olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Sauté shallots for a couple of minutes and then add mushrooms. Cook until soft, about five minutes.
Crack the quail eggs on top. Cook for a couple of minutes until the whites are set. If desired, you can flip the eggs and cook for 30 seconds on the other side. It’s not as pretty but just as delicious.
While the eggs are cooking, spread the miso on the toast. Place the mushrooms and eggs on top.
Note: Quail eggs can also be quickly hard-boiled. This is how Gaby Maeda, the executive chef at State Bird Provisions restaurant in San Francisco, where Molly sells the bulk of her eggs, prepares them: Carefully drop room-temperature eggs in boiling salted water and cook for exactly two minutes and 20 seconds. Place in ice water and cool. Tap on the countertop and then roll to loosen the shell. Peel in the ice water.