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Farming is all about successions, thinking ahead & a bit of good luck…
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Hello friends & farm-ily,
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We’ve made it to the half way mark and there are so many things to look forward to! Brian & I have been on our hands and knees in our 5 foot tall tomato rows seeking out red, yellow, purple, orange & green gems! They are so laden with fruit we know that it will only take a flip of a switch & all at once they will be ripening (so worth the wait). Same goes for all our green fruit on the peppers (both hot and sweet), cherry tomatoes and tomatillos! Our eggplants are the size of our fingers and we expect the beans to be here next week… all of it is on its way as we creep into August…
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A few of our onion varieties are beginning to fall – a sign that means it’s almost time for a bulk onion harvest (all 8,000+). And for some reason this Spring we decided to plant 15 100ft rows of potatoes (besides harvesting we were thinking seed for next year too – as they get pretty expensive!) That’s all well and good until you have to dig, sort & build big potato crates in 80+ degree weather. In the last week our Yukon Golds potatoes have really fallen back so that means we can begin harvesting them (the fingerlings, reds & blues will all follow). We’ll be trying out a new method this year with our middle buster that will hopefully save our backs, fingers and minds. Diggin’ taters is hard stuff.
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CSA Member Potluck. We hope to see you this Saturday from 11-2pm at our summer potluck. If you haven’t yet RSVP’d or told us you’d be attending in person please let us know this week. We ask that folks bring a potluck dish and their own set of forks, knives and plates as it will make clean up easier for everyone. Don’t forget water bottles, sunscreen, hats etc. Your farmers will be giving a little talk around noon and plan on eating shortly thereafter around our big farm table in the shade. Mostly it’s a great opportunity for conversation, delicious food, meeting/getting to know new friends/community and enjoying time on the farm. Can you guys believe it’s almost August?
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You guys have been treated wonderfully by the berry gods this season!
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Fall CSA. Planning, seeding & prep has begun for our Fall CSA and this week we’ve opened up registration for the Fall CSA shares! Yippee! Current CSA members have an early bird sign up for the next 2 weeks (July 22nd – August 3rd)! New members looking to join can sign up on the website starting August 4th (so be sure to tell all your friends & family). This year we will be expanding to an 8-week Fall CSA season starting the week of October 8th and ending the week of November 19th. The last CSA pick up will be the week before Thanksgiving and on that week you will receive a double share (week 7 AND 8). For all the details please visit our 2013 Fall CSA & Sign Up Page. We have lots of goodies planned and look forward to extending your CSA season into the Fall!
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Beautiful Write-Up. 2013 is a big year for Working Hands Farm and both your farmers. Meaghin Kennedy did a beautiful job capturing the essence of our little CSA farm and is a truly gifted writer & photographer! She is currently writing a farming together series featuring young full time farming couples in Oregon. We jumped at the chance to meet with Meaghin and are so glad we did. If you haven’t read the article already please visit here – Cultivating Food & Community – to read a little bit about your farm & get to know your farmers better! We didn’t know what the season would bring farming two different properties this year, but to be honest, Brian and I have never felt more energized or purposeful. There’s also a bit of happy information in there about the future of the farm and where we’re headed! Cheers to that!
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Photo taken by Meaghin Kennedy of These Salty Oats
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Projector, Recipes, Crates… We’re still on the hunt for a digital projector and would love to have a few movie nights on the farm in the coming months! If anyone has any leads let your farmers know. Recipes. If you’ve whipped up anything in the kitchen that has knocked your socks off or has become a go-to in your kitchen feel free to send it our way as we’d love to include it in our weekly recipe hand out. Crates. You guys rock at bringing back your crates! Thanks for all the good energy, support and love you bring to the farm.
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Keep cool out there and we’ll see you all this week!
With fondest regards,
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your farmers
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Jess & Brian
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dirty hands, clean hearts
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working hands farm 