Newsletter 5/16/18 – Eat your carrots!
Eat your carrots! Is that a familiar phrase from your childhood? It’s true, carrots are exceptionally good for you. Vitamin A helps prevent vision loss; antioxidants protect from cancer; and beta-carotene reduces risk of heart disease. In addition they are touted to boost immune system function, improve skin, improve digestion, detoxify the body, and provide a whole host of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Need more reasons? They taste DELICIOUS! Especially the baby carrots in your share this week. These babies are from our greenhouse (un-heated...
read moreNewsletter 5/9/18 – From Getting Going to Going Strong!
After my complaining last week of all the breakdowns and effort it takes to get going, this past week we definitely switched gears from getting going to going strong! The farm has been a flurry of activity. We had two new crew members join us- Corey and Lizz, for a total of ten of us busily buzzing around the farm. Blake got trained up on tractor driving and has been spreading manure and lime like a champ. John has been steadily plugging away at all kinds of field prep. Last week at one point, we had four tractors going all at once! Feels...
read moreNewsletter 5/2/18 – It’s harder to get going than to keep going!
I was talking to John, tractor and maintenance lead, the other day. We were discussing yet another recent equipment breakdown and lamenting how things always seem to breakdown in the spring, just when we need them. He made the observation that in general, it is harder to get going than to keep going. Like in the spring, we suddenly bring dozens of pieces of equipment out of hibernation and expect them to do their thing when they’re a little sleepy and not particularly wanting to work. Sound familiar, like when you first get out of bed in the...
read moreNewsletter 4/25/18 – Daily Tulip Devotion
There are many aspects of farming that require commitment, dedication, and even devotion, but none so intensely as growing tulips. Sure, it starts innocently enough: On a fine fall day before the rains have come, we plant the bulbs. With three people, it is a job that can easily be done in a morning. A coveted task even, as the rest of the crew hauls in heavy loads of winter squash and potatoes. Then, over the next five months, the bulbs hide underground and no work is required. One late winter day, they start peaking above ground and I begin...
read moreNewsletter 4/18/18 – Have you met Raab?
Have you met our pal raab? Our friend raab is a flowery fella’ with a funny name. He never would hurt a fly, plays with the birds and the bees, and smells good at the end of a long day in the field. He hardly does much work at all but he battles the elements better than us farmers, because of which he’s mighty hearty and always healthy! Talking is not his strong suit, in fact most of us have never heard a peep from good ole’ raab. He is welcoming, kind, and leaves you with a satisfying feeling once you get to know him. Raab is a flower bud...
read moreNewsletter 4/11/18 – Meet the Red Dog Farm crew
While every season has its triumphs and challenges, over the years I have found that the best predictor of how successful a season goes is how well the crew works together. This year, I am thrilled to be working with such quality, fun and skilled individuals. Many of these folks have been around for a couple years, but everyone is in a new role to them this season. Lane, farm manager, is the leader of the pack. He is such a talented people person, has the drive to get tasks done quickly and efficiently, and has a lot of fun while doing it!...
read moreNewsletter 4/4/18 – Welcome to the 2018 CSA Season!
Welcome to the 2018 CSA season! All of us at the farm are excited to start off another season, which really seems to kick off this week with the beginning of both CSA and Saturday Farmer’s Market. Although the weather is dreary, and the fields never seem to dry out fast enough, luckily we have a few tricks up our sleeve to be sure everyone experiences spring through our produce and tulips. Spring has traditionally been the time for cleansing and lean eating. Although it seems like nature is bursting forth, most of the edible items available...
read moreNewsletter 5/14/14 – Greens Storage Tips
This warm, sunny weather has more than just us farmers humming to ourselves. Our local feathered friends also seem to be mighty content with themselves. A gulp of barn swallows (yes, that really is the name for a group of swallows!) has taken up residence in the eastern eaves of our barn. There are currently seven nests in that particular neighborhood, with 14 busy parents-to-be building on additions daily. The thrum of activity is so fun to watch, and is Ru and Maggie’s favorite job. Who knew that watching, I mean herding, swallows was...
read moreNewsletter 5/7/14 – Hakurei Turnips
has been yet another fabulous farm week! This past week we welcomed a new crew member, Jillian. Jillian just moved here from Bend, Oregon where she was working as a ski instructor. She also very recently graduated from Cal Poly Tech, where she studied nutrition and got her hands dirty working at the college’s Organic Farm. Jillian was drawn to Port Townsend because she had heard that it had an exceptional farm community and local food movement. Plus, the opportunity to live “so far North” was really appealing to her. In her...
read moreNewsletter 4/30/14 – Transformation in motion
This week the farm has undergone a full transformation and it feels we have emerged into another phase of the spring season. Ben (pictured above) and Jeff spent cumulative days on the tractor spreading the basis of our applied fertility- chicken manure in the form of dried pellets known as Nutririch. After spreading, we follow with another tractor pass, this time tilling the manure into the soil. Then, we form the beds with a final pass of the tractor. Once the beds are ready, we get to plant! And plant we did this week. All by hand, or what...
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