IT’S ALL STARTING NOW, BABY BLUE

How often do you draw a crowd of 300 people in the Eastern Sierra? On a Thursday? At 4:30 p.m? 

But that’s the crowd Rachel Kulchin drew for her farm tour and mixer on April 10. 

Kulchin bought the Apple Hill Ranch from Lauralee and Rick Devore about two months ago. 

And the girl in the overalls and bare feet hosted the renamed Blue Heron Farm debut in collaboration with the Bishop Chamber of Commerce. 

Ms. Kulchin, whose partner in crime is Aki Stankoski, is a nine-year local resident. 

A 2010 graduate of UC-Santa Cruz with a degree in Agro-Ecology, Kulchin began building a local reputation as a backyard gardener during the pandemic. 

Within four years, she had negotiated for the use of eight different backyard plots throughout Bishop and had a CSA (community suppported agriculture) subscriber list of 25. 

The acquisition of Apple Hill means she no longer has to criss-cross Bishop to farm in various locations – now she’s got an established 10-acre farm with 1,300 fruit trees. 

And she’s got Aki, a software engineer who works remotely for a living, but who will be using his tech skills to catalogue and gather data for every tree and crop. 

Which is juxtaposed by the raw enthusiasm of the irrepressible gal in the bare feet. 

Who is on a mission: To grow local food for local consumers. 

With the acquisition of the farm, the sold out 20-week CSA will now serve 50 families this season. 

But if you didn’t get in on the CSA, you can still get in on the fun. 

Starting in about a month, Blue Heron will not only have its farmstand  open every Friday-Sunday, but the orchard will also be open those days for “you pick.” 

To find out exactly when the season opens, sign up for the newsletter at www.theblueheronproject.com.

Kulchin says year one is mostly about “learning what we’re working with.” 

And adjusting to the vagaries of season. She believes her growing season in Wilkerson is slightly ahead of Bishop’s. “We’re in a bit of a banana belt here,” she observes. 

“By the end of May we should be rolling … apricots, eggs, arugula and more.” 

The address, when the time comes, is 475 Sierra Grande. “Just drive down to the barn.” 

Blue Heron also plans to be a fixture at the Mammoth Farmers Market.

And she is of course thrilled that the Devores left such “good bones.” 

“I certainly pay homage to Rick’s vision,” she said. “I’m honored to carry the torch.”