The Farmer’s Husband
Everyone can probably picture an image of a farmwife, a female Jane-of-all-trades equally capable with animals, crops, children and housework. Well in my family, I’m the farmer and my husband, Andy, is the farmer’s husband. I don’t think he really knew what he was getting himself into when we fell in love. “A farm! How picturesque! We’ll eat well! We’ll have a wholesome life!” These things are in fact true; farming is beautiful and meaningful, but it’s also tiring and dirty and frustrating more often than not. “The first sunny day in April,...
read moreLearning Tulips
There’s something really special about farming in the way we can watch the seasons meet one another. When one thing ends, another begins! And, even when things don’t go according to plan, things still seem to fall into place. A lot in thanks to the adaptability and hard work of our crew, alongside flexibility built into our systems. Right now is a bittersweet time of year when our tulip field starts to dwindle. Each variety ripens in its own time, and we are getting down to the last few varieties still waiting to be harvested. It’s been a joy...
read moreA Cold Spring Can’t Stop Our Growth!
This is the first Spring I have spent on the Olympic Peninsula, and even though I expected some rain, I certainly wasn’t prepared for it to be this cold and gloomy this long. And I know I’m not alone—it seems that everyone I talk to, whether they’ve been in the area for 2 years or 10, has been taken aback by the sheer scale of moisture and chilly temperatures we’ve had the past few months. We’re certainly seeing it here on the farm. The rain has prevented us from getting plants into the ground as quickly as we’d like, and the cold days have...
read moreVibing at the Farmers Market
With this week we have officially made it through the first month of our CSA! We’ve seen something like 10,000 tulips make their way off the farm and into your vases this month and what a sight it has been. With spring looking like many different things day to day, it is nice to have the consistently sunny faces of the tulips to remind us of all the fruits and flowers yet to come. This time of year has required maximal flexibility here on the farm. Our greenhouses are bursting at the seams with young plants and our fields look more and more...
read moreBouquets of Purple Sprouting Broccoli
Greetings, CSA family! With a mixture of gorgeous sunny days, pouring rain, and surprise hailstorms, it must be early spring in Chimacum Valley! Here at the farm, it is certainly starting to feel like spring, with our greenhouse looking more abundant every day, full of young plants getting ready to be transplanted in our fields. Last week saw our first transplant of tender young lettuce plants! As the weather starts to warm, we are enjoying the fruits of our overwintered brassicas, which are starting to go to seed and send off their delicious...
read moreThe Many Names at Red Dog Farm
What’s in a name? We all know and love “Red Dog Farm,” lovingly named after farm owner Karyn’s old farm dog, Rupert. But you might be surprised to know all the other places, things, and humans we give names to in order to run the farm smoothly.For example, with over 20 acres of fields, we give each field a name in order to know where crops will be planted, where to go for harvest, where to set up irrigation, and on and on. Most of our fields are named after old country musicians: Townes, Loretta, and Patsy, to name a few.Since we use radios...
read moreRenewal in Springtime
Welcome to 2022 CSA! I am so happy that it’s finally April and we can once again start harvesting and packing our beautiful produce and tulips for you! It’s been a busy winter, as usual, with projects and preparing for the new season. We have a lot of familiar faces in new roles this year. In fact, I think only one person is doing the exact same job as last year! So there have been a lot of conversations and training all winter. The farm crew has been busy cleaning and tidying and getting the farm ready for another big season. Our maintenance...
read moreThank You for Your Support This Year!
It always surprises me every year when we make it to the end of another farming season. Where oh where does the time go?! And yet here we are, on the tail of 2021 and our last CSA share of the season. One of my favorite things about farming has become these wonderful young people I get to meet and work with. Some of them stick around the farm for just four months, and others keep coming back for six years! Eventually they all move on and do some amazing things. This year, I am saying goodbye to some very talented farmers, many of whom are...
read moreCounting Down and Looking Back
As I begin my countdown to my last day at Red Dog Farm, I find myself reminiscing about the person I was when I first arrived here in July 2019. Who knew I would love farming so much! I have learned so much about vegetables, farming, the PNW, people, and about myself. A few skills that have become valuable in my day-to-day work at the farm are expert pallet jack operator and “human scale.” “Human scale” refers to the ability to guess the correct weight of an object “right on the money,” whether it be a 25# root bag, 40# box, 0.5# loose greens...
read moreAppreciating the Potent Flavor of Winter’s Salad
It’s that time of year again where I get to geek out about radicchios—winter’s salad! Perhaps I like radicchio because we share Italian roots, or perhaps it’s because I appreciate their winter hardiness and vibrancy. I like a vegetable that can endure the winter months. I find that people often like to admire their beauty, but when challenged to use them in the kitchen, feel at a loss. I understand! I didn’t know what a radicchio was before working at Red Dog and it took me a couple years into working here to actually take one home. Now...
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