Category: Whiskey Hill

Edible Innovators: Still Farming: Organic vegetables and “the world’s second oldest profession” go hand in hand on Whiskey Hill

In this fascinating article in Edible Monterey Bay, Deborah Luhrman writes:
“What was once a giant packing shed now houses fermentation tanks and 12-foothigh distillation towers where Blume has been practicing what he calls “mankind’s second oldest profession”—making alcohol. The objective is to manufacture and sell distillation equipment that converts food wastes into alcohol, which can then be used for dozens of purposes from fuel to vodka….”

"Farmer Dave" Blume

3-Hour Farm Tours at Whiskey Hill Farms & Science Center

Now open to the public for the first time! For years, the Whiskey Hill Farms & Science Center tour has amazed, informed, and delighted students — from grade school through post-graduate, including permaculture/landscape students — and visitors from the U.S. Senate and House and public agencies such as the USDA, the DOE, and NASA; from tribal governments; from the UN and numerous foreign governments; and from a wide range of non-profit development organizations. Now open to the public, unabridged, and full of excitement!

Education & Outreach

Blume Industries & Whiskey Hill Farms Receive Another USDA / SARE Grant

April 22, 2022. “In 2021, biotech company Blume Industries and Whiskey Hill Farms became recipients of The Farmer Rancher Grant, a major grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Western Division of Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE). “The grant aims to support farmers and ranchers who are striving for sustainability; since 2009, BI…

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Education & Outreach

Aerial View of Whiskey Hill Farms

Here’s an aerial view of the Whiskey Hill Farms & Science Center, on 14 acres in Freedom, California, near Santa Cruz. The video also provides a quick look at some of our offices and our event spaces that may be available for rent. We also have some nice rooms in the main house and campsites available. Come stay with us!

Whiskey Hill

Where Did the Name “Whiskey Hill” Come From?

In the late 1800s, getting to the “Wickedest Town in the West” was a full day’s dusty ride from Santa Cruz, California. The coastal town of Whiskey Hill was home to bars, brothels, fistfights, gunfights, and bull-versus-bear fights — until they ran out of bears and started havin’ plain old bullfights.

Whiskey Hill

Binge-Watch Our YouTube Channel

Thirty-three videos and counting on our YouTube channel. “Farmer Dave” Blume loves teaching and farming, and it shows as he takes you through little vignettes of what’s happening in the greenhouses at Whiskey Hill Farms. You can also see some interesting videos about alcohol fuel, its history, Dave’s global vision for clean fuel, and even a look at converting cars to run on alcohol with Daryl Hannah and Ed Begley.

Whiskey Hill

Farmer Dave Answers: Why Does a Tobacco Plant Make Nicotine?

In this short video, regenerative farming expert David Blume gives us a close look at a tobacco plant he grew in the tropical forest at Whiskey Hill Farms near Santa Cruz, California. He demonstrates how hummingbirds interact with its funnel-shaped flowers — and answers the question, “Why does a tobacco plant make nicotine?” — that dangerous chemical that so many people are so addicted to.

Whiskey Hill

Whiskey Hill Farms & Science Center

“A permaculture nerd’s fever dream, a slick and multi-functional ecosystem that closes the bio refinery’s loop by transforming potential waste streams into more positives.” Good Times Magazine Whiskey Hill Farms & Science Center is an organic farming, research & development, teaching, and demonstration facility located on 14 acres in Freedom, California, near Watsonville, just a…

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