Gerry Schultz's farm stand on Joy Rd. in west Sonoma County.

Our local farm stands take many shapes, from large commercial endeavors with full-time staff to tiny stands that sell eggs, flowers, fruit or vegetables on the honor system, with a lock-box or jar where customers leave money for what they take. I generally don’t write about the smaller stands because I don’t want them to be overwhelmed and on those few occasions when I’ve done so I’ve not mentioned the form of payment, as I understand it might tempt less-than-honest individuals with too much time on their hands. I worried that the money might be stolen.

But it turns out that’s not the only thing that’s at risk.

Last night or very early this morning, someone looted Gerry Schultz’s Joy Rd. farm stand, a little stand in the hills just south of downtown Occidental that I mentioned a few years ago in my column Mouthful.

The thief or thieves took:

14 “Seascape” strawberry plants in 4″ pots
1 red raspberry plant in a 1 gallon pot
2 yellow “Collarette” dahlias in 1 gallon pots
2 “Golden Rain” deciduous trees in 1 gallon pots
1 Lychnis in a 4″ pot
1 flower bouquet with unusual orange “lion’s mane” stalks
1 red Folder’s Coffee flower water can 

Gerry has operated her stand for nearly 20 years and although a few things have gone missing now and then, this is the worst ever.

“A big theft like this one goes right to the heart of how we operate, on trust,” she wrote in an email to me this morning.

She wants people to know and to keep an eye out for these items. If you see them, post the information here in the comments section, which I’ve encouraged her to monitor.

These farm stands are such a wonderful part of our community; it would be a shame if they vanished because of a few mean-spirited individuals. And, really, what kind of karma comes from stolen flowers? Nothing good, I’m sure.