One-Armed Cooking
I signed up to write this week’s newsletter about a month ago, anticipating being able to share with you all my first-hand account of what has been happening around the farm and highlighting my favorite produce that makes its debut this time of year. Instead, I find myself having been out of the field for 2 1/2 weeks now, writing to you with an ice pack on my arm and dancing feet still adapting to being idle after an elbow injury that required surgery and a lengthy recovery. Though I have to take a little time away from the farm, I have been...
read moreSourcing Supplies in a Supportive Community
“Farming is all about moving people and things around.” A veteran farmer in the Skagit told me this once and it struck me as exceedingly true. Get the carrot seeds, the tractor and the driver to the field to plant carrots. Get the irrigation pipe and people to the field to water the carrots. Get the people and the hoes to the field to weed the carrots. Get the truck full of crates and the people to the field to harvest the carrots. Get the harvested carrots to the packshed with people to wash them. Get the carrots on a truck to deliver to...
read moreOld Things are New Again
How far can something be stretched until it’s no longer physically viable? Making broken and old things new again seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life. Old trucks getting new parts, broken hoses getting replaced by new hoses, ripped greenhouse plastic getting patched with new materials, switching dull knives out for sharp knives, the list goes on. Today, I wear new boots. This is my third pair in my third season here at the farm. Today, I also wear patched pants from an old shirt given to me from a once new friend. It’s always a...
read moreBecoming a Farmer
June is an exciting month to work on the farm. The fields are filling up quickly with vegetables and fruit; the days are finally warmer and the longest they will be all year; and there are lots of new folks who are joining our crew. May marked one year that I’ve worked at Red Dog Farm, and after twelve months of learning and observing, June is the first month that feels familiar to me. Then, like now, I remember the garlic being almost ready to harvest, picking fava beans into yellow buckets, cutting long beds of salanova lettuce in the sun,...
read moreSpring Turnips Become Summer Tomatoes
The times are a changin’ here at Red Dog – such is the nature of farming! Our crew is expanding while our fields continue to fill up. As spring trickles on leading into summer, we’ve seen a huge transformation in two of our greenhouses. It seems like just yesterday Greenhouse Three was full of spring favorites like hakurei turnips, bok choi, mizuna, and baby carrots! Now, it’s home to rows and rows of beefsteak tomato plants. Next door, in Greenhouse Two, lettuces and green onions have been harvested and replaced with another summer favorite...
read moreWatering the Whole Farm
I grew up in a beach town, and maybe that’s the origin of my love of the water. I’ve been swimming for as long as I can remember, first with a patient instructor, then as a part of my local children’s swim team, and later as a sure-fire way to relax and let my cares float away from me whenever I can get the chance. When I’m in the water, I feel truly in my element.It’s no surprise, then, that I find myself deeply involved with the wet and wonderful world of water in my farming career. I had already taken a particular interest in irrigation...
read moreEssential Workers in a Healthy Landscape
I started farming at Red Dog when covid hit and I was looking for something meaningful to do with my time. Farming is the kind of “essential work” that makes me feel like I’m making a positive contribution to my community. And, with a CSA over 200 families strong, Red Dog is a major supplier of quality, organic food in our region, and that makes me feel essential indeed!But working at Red Dog is about more than the meaningful impact I can make. Working here is also a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend my days! On a regular basis, I am...
read moreTurn Up for Hakurei Turnips
Now is a great time to introduce you to the hakurei turnip, a unique, early-season turnip varietal. This hybrid Japanese turnip (Brassica rapa) contains high levels of iron, calcium, and thiamine. Its mild, tender and sweet flavors often see comparisons to some of our favorite apple varieties. The hakurei is best planted in late spring, growing more optimally in cooler weather when the soil keeps above the mid-40s.Here’s a crunchy recipe as unique as the hakurei’s flavors:Turnip & Apple Slaw4 ounces cruciferous veggies ( such...
read moreMay Flowers Brighten Spring Days
May is here – tulips and plant starts are the talk of the town! They sure do brighten up a rainy spring day. For a brief and joyous period in spring, CSA members, Farmstand shoppers, and market goers delight in all the tulip varieties. Working at the Farmers Market as well as on the farm allows me to interact with the community and our produce in a rewarding way. I love seeing the excitement on customer’s faces at the beauty of the spring harvest. A sweet couple told me a story at the market about their tradition of getting Red Dog tulips...
read moreA Perfect Blending of the Seasons
Springtime, really April, is my favorite time to be a farmer. Maybe because it’s my birthday month or the reappearance of sunshine that makes me think we might have made it out of the dark season, but I really just feel like a spring chicken. I feel energized, optimistic about the season, and ready to pick kale until my hands fall off. Bring it on, 2021! We have already welcomed three new people into our ever-growing crew – all making a seamless transition into the hustle and bustle of farm work. We have new plants growing in the...
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