By Alice Bamford
on November 26, 2014
I run One Gun Ranch in Malibu, California, and this week we are taking over the Modern Farmer Instagram.
Malibu is a wonderful city; everyone thinks of it as a beach town but it has a rich farming history as well. Being so close to Los Angeles, we are not your typical ranch. The ranch gets its name, One Gun, from its original owner: Matt Sorum of Guns n’ Roses. The ranch is also used for locations: People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive was shot here this year. But we also have our own celebrities at One Gun. I think our Donkey Waffle is the biggest celebrity in Malibu, you will see plenty of him this week on Instagram.
Being close to L.A. also allows us to work closely with diverse communities. We really want to open the ranch up to the public. We have programs with UCLA and Pepperdine university as well as local charities. Students from kindergarten through university come to the ranch a couple times a week. I hope they get inspired to plant themselves; I want everyone to leave with a good experience of a green thumb.
Originally I was from Baltimore, but grew up in England. I found myself working in film and on the family farm. I was traveling up and down the West Coast meeting lots of growers and I was lucky enough to meet Alice Waters and spend time with her. She very much inspired me and I started looking for land and ended up here five years ago.
I grew up on an organic farm with the most incredible soil, black gold. I wanted to replicate what I grew up with but realized that wouldn’t happen here. I found the Malibu Agriculture Society, through which I found a man named Jack McAndrew, or “Farmer Jack” as we call him. He is our biodynamic guru. We started by taking two plots of land, side-by-side, and growing vegetables, one just in the soil and one using biodynamic practices. Within a month you could see the difference. The biodynamic patch was rich green and lush, while the other plot was short and sparse. Haven’t looked back since.
We joined Instagram about two years ago. It is such a wonderful way to keep in touch with friends and family. Some of our animals are real personalities, like Waffle who comes to the farmers market every Saturday. It’s a most brilliant invention. I am so excited to share it with you.
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