Made Local Magazine, May/Jun 2024

Twenty years ago Wayne James harvested garlic with a pickaxe. Today, on the exact same plot of land, all that’s required is a light tug and those bulbs slide right out from soft, dark earth. That’s because Wayne, together with his sister Lee, have spent the past two decades rotating crops, applying compost, and cultivating soil that’s now rich with life. That investment in the land—together with installing irrigation, erecting a barn, and growing a loyal customer base—has paid off in the form of one of Sonoma County’s best-known farms: Tierra Vegetables.

The only problem: all those investments sit atop land they don’t own.