Golden Rule Gardens is a farm located in Willits, CA on the 5,000 acre Ridgewood Ranch. It is a project of the Non-Profit, The Golden Rule Community. The farm grows food for a 50-member CSA, Farmstand, the MendoLake Food Hub, and a communal dining hall. The farm is split into two sites (The Buttercup Field and The Golden Rule Field) and run by three managers. The Buttercup Field primarily focuses on intensively managed crops like cut greens, herbs, flowers, beans, peas, and cherry tomatoes. Buttercup is managed by-hand using Biodynamic and organic principles. It also provides all necessary fertility by using cover crops and compost curated on the farm, from the farm, by hand. The Golden Rule Field offers a wide diversity of crops and approaches to production. It employs the use of a tractor for longer growing season crops like corn, potatoes, winter squash, and sweet potatoes. Additionally, a wide diversity of cucurbits, solums, asters, alliums, umbells, chenopods, and brassicas are grown intensively in “minimal-till,” permanent beds. This field also includes perennial grapes, blackberries, and raspberries. 

This position will fulfill duties at both sites, offering an opportunity to experience a wide array of farming scales, techniques, and tools. The Golden Rule Community is a member-run community that hosts several agricultural operations. We operate a community dining hall where meals are prepared and shared several times a week. Employees are welcome to participate in the broader community at Ridgewood Ranch! Comfortable, scenic housing on the Ranch and high quality, full-diet foods are offered as a part of this position.  

Location and Climate

Golden Rule Gardens is located on the Historic Ridgewood Ranch. The ranch has a fascinating history - it was historically inhabited and tended by the Pomo People. It is now well known for being home to the famous racehorse, Seabiscuit. It is currently the home of 3 vegetable farms, rotational grazing of cows and sheep and goats, two large orchards, a therapeutic horseback riding program, and more! There is a nice community of people that live and work at the ranch. There is also a swimming lake, some hiking trails and a small grove of old growth redwoods.

Willits gets HOT in the summer. During the hottest part of the year we take breaks during the middle of the day, but it can still be brutal. It takes some self discipline to get over the discomfort and learn to lean into the heat. Working in the heat is not for everyone, so please consider this seriously as you consider if this internship is right for you. Willits is a high fire risk area, so there is a chance that we could be evacuated or that the air will be smokey from nearby fires. There is a volunteer fire crew here on the ranch making us better protected than some other areas, but there is still definite risk.