An Ode to the Season’s Last Corn
When I was growing up, corn always signified summer. Even though my family did not always eat an entirely seasonal diet, we saved corn for summer, knowing that’s when it would be the sweetest and the juiciest. During my time farming, my understanding of summer sweet corn has deepened as I learned the ins and outs of the crop. When I arrived in Washington in June, I remember walking through the fields and being excited to find the corn growing ankle high and feeling proud that I could identify its early leaves. As the summer progressed, the...
read moreTransitioning to Fall
The past couple of weeks have really started to feel like fall here on the farm. Mornings are a little chillier and days are becoming shorter. Here on the farm we have started harvesting fall crops which is very exciting. This week we are planning on harvesting the remainder of our potato crop for storage and our crop of onions were already harvested a week ago and now are all laid out in our greenhouses curing. I personally love the seasonal transition from summer to fall. While summer brings sunny days and abundance, fall offers cooler days...
read moreFall Abundance
Fall is certainly in the air with the brisk morning and cool wind. Today’s rain made it feel official- fall is just around the corner. Farmers love fall as it means we are one step closer to winter, which means we get to rest! Not yet though, still lots more work to do before the resting time. Fall is also when we get to see the fruits of our labor. Literally. We just pulled in our first storage crop last week in the form of pallets and pallets of onions. Good thing we built a second greenhouse last spring because we needed it to cure...
read moreThe End of Summer
When you’re in the heat of it, the summer feels like it’s going to last forever. The crops (and pigs) grow fast, the fruits are unlimited, and the days get so hot that it’s easy to forget that each day was slightly shorter than the last. Suddenly, it feels like we are passing the threshold between seasons. Our tomatoes, green beans, strawberries, sweet onions, melons and cucumbers are still in their prime—but now our sweet corn is here and multi-colored winter squash are decorating the fields. It’s a precious and fleeting time of the year...
read moreThe Life of a Red Dog Carrot
Most people think that I was created in the seed factory, where I popped out of a machine and then was tucked neatly into my packet, alongside around 100 identical seeds ready to be delivered to the farm’s mailbox. This couldn’t be farther from the truth, although I have nothing but respect for my fellow seed packet-mates. Their company and entertainment made the long bumpy ride to Red Dog much more tolerable and they reassured me that everything would be okay when we heard Maggie, the farm’s dog, barking at the mailman. While I wasn’t made...
read moreBonding with History Through Agriculture
When I began my time at Red Dog, only a couple of months ago, I knew that I was joining one of the longest, if not the longest, unbroken lines in history: the line of the agriculturalist. For as long as human civilization has existed, and probably for even longer, agriculture has also existed in its various forms. It is, in fact, one of the standards by which we often define civilization. From the terrace farmers of the Inca to the wheat farmers of ancient Germany, humanity has been practicing agriculture, for all intents and purposes,...
read moreCauliflower Bonanza!
CSA members might notice they’re receiving cauliflower in their shares for the second week in a row. Those of you who are home gardeners can probably sympathize with the paradox of the summer growing season: after so many months of preparation and effort and patient hoping for success, our plants are finally doing what we want them to do: making tons of food for us! (Sometimes literally.) How are we to adequately appreciate the overwhelming abundance of fruits and veggies July brings us? I aspire to be the kind of person who processes and...
read moreKnowledge and Wisdom on the Farm
Coming to the farm this year, I knew I would be learning a lot about farming. That was kind of the point. My background being in nutrition and farmers markets, I wanted to dive head/hands first into the growing and sourcing of organic food. I expected to learn how to grow food, but I didn’t expect all of the others ways in which I would learn on the farm. It’s immensely valuable to watch and participate while we all learn from our farmer and managers – the transmission of knowledge and wisdom. There are other less tangible ways in which...
read moreFinding Happiness and Peace in the Fields
Hello Red Dog Customer! My name is Jake Carson, and I am new to the farming life, having only started at Red Dog just over a month ago. Only months ago, I was convinced that my life would take the path that so many of my friends’ and family members’ lives have already taken: I was to go to college, get my bachelor’s degree and, because I chose history for a major, then it would be onto grad school. Raised to believe that this was one of the noblest lives I could lead, raised to believe that I would never be happy with a job which demanded...
read moreFor Love of Raspberries
As we enter into our first full week of July this season, the farm staff is especially excited to be starting the raspberry harvest. And that of course means this week’s CSA share will be including these exceptional berries as well. If you’re like me, you can never really have enough of these when they are in season. So we like-minded berry fanatics surely plan to establish our own raspberry bushes at home. That being said, I’d like to take the chance to help us familiarize a little with some facets and techniques of caring for these awesome...
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