Transplanting Joy
We have two Karyns on the farm this year! Above, both return to the trucks loaded up with tulips.Thanks to Rod Just for the photo! Spring has sprung here on the farm, and that means it is all hands on deck to move our young seedlings from the greenhouses to the fields. The young veggie plants are popping out of their seeding trays and ready to grow big in the freshly tilled soil. Transplanting is one of my favorite tasks on the farm and I love feeling accomplished when I look back at the neat rows of plants we have rehomed.A typical bed on...
read moreA Farmer’s Soliloquy, Beneath the Dreaming Sky
(Enter FARMER, earth-worn and thoughtful, holding a beet. The sky is brushed with twilight.) The day now fades, and dusk begins to sigh,While soft winds stir beneath a painted sky.The soil has spoken in its quiet way—A gentle harvest on a golden day. First came the greens, all tender, fresh, and bright,A patchwork quilt of shadow, sun, and light.I gathered them with care, leaf after leaf,Each one a note in spring’s brief, blooming grief. Then chard, ablaze in crimson, gold, and flame,So proud it seemed too wild to ever tame.It stood like fire...
read moreTulips, Demystified
What goes into growing and selling tulips on such a large scale? Tulips are the farm’s most unusual crop throughout every part of the process, and I bet most people don’t know just how bizarre it gets. Tulips are unlike any other crop we grow, for many reasons. Most obviously, they are the only flower we harvest and sell, and the only thing we harvest purely for its beauty and not its deliciousness. They will be available for about two months, but their journey started many months ago, during late fall, when their bulbs were...
read moreWhat Laptops and Parrots Have in Common with Tulips
It’s tulip time! People have been admiring these richly colored harbingers of spring for centuries, and for good reason. The classic tulip is elegant and graceful, and innumerable stunning varieties have been bred over the years. For example, a “parrot” tulip has petals with distinctively frilly, lacy edges, somewhat reminiscent of the margins of bird wings. Tulips infected with Tulip Breaking Virus show multiple colors, often in bold streaks or dramatic flame-like patterns, with slightly different patterns on each side of...
read moreA Heartfelt Welcome!
Welcome to our 2025 CSA program! We are so happy for you to join us for another season of healthy, vibrant produce straight from our fields. I know that finances are hard these days, and your commitment to signing up for our CSA says a lot about how you value the opportunity to support your health and the vibrancy of farms in our community. Thank you!We really ramped up our early season greenhouse game this year, and I am so pleased at the spring greens lineup we have for you! Arugula, salad mix, spinach, cilantro, mizuna, bok choi, and more...
read moreWrapping Up the 2024 CSA Season
Another CSA season in the books! Thank you to all of you, our CSA members, for eating your way through the year with us! Spring, with its fresh greens and tulips, seems ages ago now. More recent memory is the summer abundance, particularly berries and cucumbers come to mind. Then fall still lingers firmly in mind with all that HUGE cauliflower! I hope that your bodies were nourished this season from the produce we grow and, whether you are committed to eating seasonally, supporting local agriculture, or whatever your motivation is to...
read moreRains and Rainbows
It’s wet season on the farm. In the past few weeks, heavy rains have rolled through the valley, the water table has risen, and those of us working outdoors have been thoroughly drenched. One week, we had rainbows every day – sometimes many in a day, arching broadly across the sky. There were single rainbows, double rainbow, partial rainbows. Rainbows that started and ended at Red Dog. Rainbows in the distance. We had a hailstorm. It came in a flash, thudding down all around us, bouncing off kale leaves and windshields. We’ve had...
read moreCozy Winter Squash Bread
Whether you’re seeking inspiration for what to bring to your next festive gathering or craving a seasonally sweet treat, winter squash bread is the perfect answer. It’s great for those that may be nostalgic for summer zucchini bread and may be a new dish for others. Altogether, this recipe takes about two hours to make between curating the squash puree and bread itself. I made squash bread this past weekend which not only was a scrumptious treat but a way to lean into the coziness of the season by sipping tea and listening to Amy Winehouse as...
read moreFinding Satisfaction in Muddy Places
I have had the recent honor of being appointed as one of the farm trench cleaners! The trench runs the length of our packshed at the center of slightly sloped floors and collects all the mud and debris left over from washed vegetables. At this time of year the mud is prolific. Clinging to our knees and shins in clumps that stick long after we stand up. Speckling our faces like fake freckles when we spray a beet at the wrong angle. And of course, completely coating all the root vegetables we pull from the ground. The crates we bring in from...
read moreWhat to Grow? Spreadsheets Offer an Answer!
How do farmers decide what crops to grow each year? So, so many variables go into that decision. Of course, we like to grow what our customers want to eat. (Speaking of which, keep your eye out for our annual survey that will be sent to our CSA members in a few weeks!) We take into account year-to-year crop rotations, negotiations with local grocery stores, sales volumes of previous years, and even how much the crew enjoys tending to each crop. We also have to make sure we’ll have time to care for each crop, and so we try to...
read more