Falling Forward (week 26)

Posted on 10 Nov 2015

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“As the years pass, I am coming more and more to understand that it is the common, everyday blessings of our common everyday lives for which we should be particularly grateful. They are the things that fill our lives with comfort and our hearts with gladness — just the pure air to breathe and the strength to breath it; just warmth and shelter and home folks; just plain food that gives us strength; the bright sunshine on a cold day; and a cool breeze when the day is warm.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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Here we grow Week 26! Wow, it’s amazing that we’re just a few weeks away from the Thanksgiving holiday. After the long (mostly hot) summer it’s amazing how quickly the Fall season has passed by. We can recall so many detailed memories from the 2015 season. From opening the 2015 CSA registration last January to all the planning and hard work and bountiful harvests… we somehow have made it to November. Thank goodness for the seasons.. otherwise we would never know which way was up! But one thing is for sure – we’re deeply appreciative and impressed by all of our CSA members.

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We’re a community and a team and our success (both in the field and in the kitchen) depends on each other. To grow the food, develop the tools, run with it and live happy and productive lives. Each week we see, hear and witness the impact of eating seasonally, fresh and beyond organic.. which means more meals at home, stocking up the freezer, cooking meals with friends and family, feeling energized and maybe coming in a few notches on the ol’ belt . Eating good food is a way of life… something that we believe in. We wanted to thank you for believing in us and the food that we grow here on our farm. Thank you for your dedication and commitment – you’ve been coming to pick up you share for the last 25 weeks (or 13 week for our bi-weekly members) on your pick up day and every week you are inspired, challenged and ready to bring it all home and make glorious things happen. Thank you for sharing bits and pieces of your food journeys along the way. You guys rock and we feel so thankful to have you as part of the farm-ily!

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Some of the awesome posts from the CSA Members Group..

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High fives all around! Like we mentioned in last week’s newsletter, you guys are seriously kickin’ some butt. Thank you for all the contributions in the CSA members group. It is an absolute highlight of our day when we see the array of photos, ideas, links and cookbooks that are being shared in the members group. Seriously, so many high fives. We tried out a few of the recipes that folks recommended and they were all delicious. If you haven’t been there recently you should check it out! Here’s a link one of our members shared called Peels, Stems, and, Leaves: 22 Reasons No Scrap Should Go to Waste as well as this cookbook all about Roots by local Portland author, Diane Morgan. Keep it up y’all, we’re inspired!

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It truly has been a great harvest year for us throughout all the seasons – spring, summer, fall. Our fall season shares have been averaging around 28-30 lbs with 14-16 different items in the share which means we’ve had quite the bounty! And at 110 shares per week that means over the Fall months we’ve been distributing 3,300+ lbs of produce per week. We’re really looking forward to adding up our 2015 numbers for next week‘s newsletter… here we grow! And a date to remember: Sign ups for the 2016 CSA season will open on January 1st!

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NEXT WEEK IS THE LAST CSA PICK UP WEEK! As a reminder to all our wonderful CSA-ers: the last CSA pick ups for the Spring & Summer CSA will be November 17th, 18th, 19th.

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Weekly CSA Members will receive a double share (shares 27 & 28) to better prepare you for the Thanksgiving holiday (think storage crops!) Be sure to bring a big enough vessel or enough bags to carry all your goodies home in.

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Bi-Weekly Share Members All Bi-Weekly Share members will pick up on that week. Depending on your assigned weeks, you will pick up either Share 27 or 28!

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The pick up area will be set up into 2 areas (Shares 27 & 28) – so be sure to read the signs and pick up produce from your assigned pick up week. Your farmers will be available during the last pick up should anyone have any questions.

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Most of the veggies in the final shares are storage crops and can be kept for weeks and weeks (some even months). Storage onions, sweet potatoes, winter squash will all keep in a cool place devoid of light (around 50-55 degrees). Root veggies such as carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, rutabaga etc will all keep in the fridge (when preparing to store carrots, beets and other root vegetables in plastic bags in the refrigerator, sprinkle in a few drops of water as you pack each bag. Ideally, a few drops of condensation should form inside the bags after they have been well-chilled in the fridge.) Blanching and freezing is also great for any extra hardy greens, carrots etc.

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There is so much to look forward to as we move through November. We’re continuing on our quest of bringing in storage crops for our winter CSA – the days are growing shorter and we’ve been chasing the sun – oh so much mud! If you see us out there this week be sure to give us a wave!

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Enjoy this week’s goodies and we’ll see you soon!–

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With fond regards,

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Your Farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

Can You Smell What the CSA is Cookin’?! (week 25)

Posted on 3 Nov 2015

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“We have the world to live in on the condition that we will take good care of it. And to take good care of it we have to know it. And to know it and to be willing to take care of it, we have to love it.” – Wendell Berry

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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The month of November is here. Quieter days and longer nights. The first few days of November have been absolutely beautiful – crisp, blue skies, sun showers and rainbows… the slight change of pace and weather has truly rejuvenated our spirits! The first of the month also brought along daylight savings. We love starting the day earlier and heading in earlier – by 6pm! – which means an early dinner and farmer bedtime for us (two thumbs up). The change of daylight hours has us slowly adapting into new schedules… getting to animal chores earlier – around 4:30pm and buttoning up last minute farm chores before losing the last moments of light. Instead of chasing the sun during the peak of summer (to avoid the excess heat) we now make the most of the hours that we have from sun up to sun down. With the change of the season it automatically carves about 4 hours off of our typical work day which is a much welcomed change of pace.

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Our hearts and minds are gearing up for the 2016 season (there’s just so much to look forward to!) and now that November is here we are feeling ready to nest and write and look over notes and better prepare for the next growing season. Even though this season felt like a slog at times and we were challenged more than ever by the relentless heat our spirits are feeling lifted and we are so excited to start planning for next year. For the first Fall ever we still have energy to give ourselves and this farm and it feels like a big success.

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$fractalz$

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Part of it is for the first time this Fall, it actually feels like fall and we are loving it. The last few days of October brought the first real rainfall of the season. Over a 48-hour period we had almost an inch and a half fall from the skies. It saturated the ground, and gave your farmers a much needed break on Saturday afternoon. And the smell… the earth was alive with rich scents and sounds. The ground gurgled and the worms came to the surface. Our boots sloshed in the mud and we let out a huge sigh of relief.

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During the rains I cooked up a storm. As you guys know we make it a priority to cook 3 meals a day even during the busy season. Eating well has a lot to do with how productive we’re able to be on the farm and we honestly don’t think we could keep up with everything if we didn’t eat well. Plus, it’s fun to create fresh homemade goodies and it’s delicious to boot. For inspiration, I went online to the WHF Members Page on Facebook to try out a few recipe suggestions there that were bookmarked in my mind. This West African Peanut Soup – to which I added turnips, carrots, sweet potato and bell pepper & this Spicy Sausage, Potato and Kale Soup. Both of which were absolutely delicious.

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All throughout the season, the WHF CSA member’s page has been active and buzzing with many delicious recipes, helpful hints and encouragement. (Thank you to all our members for your continued participation and excellent efforts!) Way back in May, we posed a question to one of our 3^rd year member’s and asked her what advice she would give herself as a 1st year member. Here is one of the take a way she mentioned… “Make friends with your knife, cutting board, sink, dish towel, salad spinner, stove, and oven. They aren’t instruments of drudgery, they are keys to liberation. The time you spend prepping and cooking food is time to think and be present in the moment–“mindfulness” is a free benefit of CSA membership, so take advantage and enjoy it!” (for the rest of her sage advice check out the week 3 newsletter) We hope all of our members have enjoyed this free benefit of membership not to mention the many delicious meals that have been created and savored in all 110 households that our CSA program grows for.

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Proud Farmer moment: So far we’ve distributed 680 lbs per weekly share which means by the end of the Spring/Summer CSA we will have distributed close to 800 lbs of food to each weekly share member. Which is a $1.47/lb for fresh, local, organic produce! All while supporting the ecosystem of this farm, two full time farmers by ensuring a livable wage, and the best possible produce you can find…Amazing! (FYI the price point for our veggies last year was $1.67 per pound of goodness. Your farmers are getting more efficient and learning quickly which contributes greatly to the lower price point this year!)

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Remember when we shared this photo and fact at the beginning of the season? This is exactly one pound of veggies. According to Michael Pollan if you eat 1 pound of fresh veggies every day you will reduce your chance of developing cancer by 50%.

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For us, the Members Page is a really important component to our CSA. Hearing how everyone is utilizing all the fresh produce, pastured eggs, grass fed beef and pastured pork is an important part as it completes the circle. It acts as a window – in seeing how the fruits of our labour are being prepared. In the same way that our social media posts and newsletters provide a window into how your food is grown and harvested. It’s part of the conversation that farmers love to be a part of but often times don’t get to experience. In our own insecurity we wonder, “Is our produce being eaten? Are folks cooking more often? What are they making with the produce we have grown for them?” On the Facebook Members Page the conversation and experience continues well after the produce leaves the farm and the visual component really hit’s it home for us. The interaction and shared experience validates all the long hours and hard work we do. It shows that its worthwhile and the goals of the farm are being met because the food is being utilized and thoroughly enjoyed. This part of the experience is important to us… because beyond the delicious produce and pasture raised meat and eggs our CSA aims to improve our CSA members quality of life! We want to play a part in ensuring that they can live long, healthy lives and be productive members of society. This interaction helps us to see that our goals are making a difference in our community. And it is you our members who are making the upfront investment for the betterment of us all! Pretty amazing stuff!

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And this is the other reason why your farmers have energy this November.. The Members Page, the thoughtful emails and conversations, the mindfulness, all of it inspires us and continues to fuel us through the 2015 season. We must have one of the few jobs in the world where folks come to us and tell us how grateful they are and how important our role is in this community and for that we are so grateful. That kind of support from our members gives us the fuel your farmers need to get the job done. It’s amazing how energized we feel even at the tail end of the season because we are growing better and have some seriously cream of the crop CSA members. This year more than any other year we feel connected to community and deeply rooted in our vision. It all feels like it is coming together and we couldn’t be more proud or encouraged of what our community and our farm are accomplishing.

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Keep up the great work in the kitchen and keep sharing your experiences, recipes, etc. We hope you take a moment to reminisce about your first CSA share pick up of the season and how far you’ve come and all the beautiful meals you’ve enjoyed since then. A 28-week commitment is no small thing and we thank you all for choosing us as your farmers. Thank you for choosing to be a part of this farm and for investing in our small farm so it can provide the best possible food we can for you and your household.

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Beef & Pork Shares. A big thank you to everyone for your enthusiasm about Grass Fed Beef & Pastured Pork Shares! There is just one beef share left for the 2015 season (if you’re interested, be sure to order soon!) We expect to have our freezers stocked with pork through the winter so please check back on the site periodically as we will be keeping our inventory updated! Tis’ the season for soups, stews, braising, roasting and more so keep us in mind for the holiday season! Thank you in advance for your support! The Grass Fed Beef Shares & Pastured Pork Shares & Sausage Shares we have for purchase are available to both members and non-members so feel free to share the workinghandsfarmstore.com link with family and friends…
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We might be seeing our first signs of ol’ jack frost this week which means we’ll be busy covering up a few of our fall crops, boxing up the last of the cured squash, and harvesting the last of our peppers. This weekend we’ll be bringing in storage crops. Let the washing begin! If you see us out there this week be sure to give us a wave!

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With kind regards,

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your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

The Fall Hath Cometh (week 24)

Posted on 27 Oct 2015

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“Now constantly there is the sound,
quieter than rain,
of the leaves falling.

Under their loosening bright
gold, the sycamore limbs
bleach whiter.

Now the only flowers
are beeweed and aster, spray
of their white and lavender
over the brown leaves.

The calling of a crow sounds
loud—a landmark—now
that the life of summer falls
silent, and the nights grow.”

– Wendell Berry, October 10

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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We hope you are all happy and well and enjoying the last week of October! The rain gods have spoken and we finally got some rain worth talking about! 1 whole inch of the good stuff. It’s the first week all season that we haven’t turned on the irrigation for the crops. We still have a long way to go to get that water table up but it’s starting to really feel like Fall in Oregon. The colors, the crispy nights, the dewey mornings, the shorter days… it’s such an incredibly beautiful time to be outside and enjoying the true feeling of fall before ol’ winter comes knocking on our door.

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Over the weekend, we were able to get another 1/2 acre in cover crop before the rains came. It feels good to put the ol’ summer crops to bed and focus our attentions on harvesting the Fall and Winter roots. At the end of this week we’ll begin taking in our storage crops for the winter CSA. Since there are so many we’re starting as early as we can. It’ll be a lot of harvesting, washing, and packing bags between the two of us. We’re excited to “stock the larder” and ensure we have crops through the dead of winter. Time will tell if the predictions of a milder winter in the Pacific NW (thanks to el nino) will come true.. until then we’ll continue to do what we always do and go with the flow. We’re planting the last few crops outside to see how they do. These crops weren’t planned but we’re going along with the crazy mild weather. If that predicted winter rings true we should have plenty of fresh greens for our Winter CSA.

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We actually got pretty close to our first frost at the end of last week. Looks like we have another week before we’re in the 30’s again at night. A frost makes the Fall veggies sweeter because in order protect their cells from bursting they convert their complex carbohydrates (bonded sugars) into simple sugars! Although, after trying those Nelson carrots in the share last week we can’t imagine them getting much sweeter (and there will be more in the share this week! YUM!)

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On Friday we finished planting the last 600 ft of garlic (of 3,000 ft total) and tucked them in with straw. Feels good to cross something off the ol’ Fall list. This is our 5th season planting garlic together. And as Farmer Brian says.. garlic should be the foundation of any good relationship. And weeding it in the spring should be the test of that relationship. Here’s to many more years planting garlic together and to the first crop of the 2016 CSA season!

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New Online Farm Store! Yay! We’re excited to share that Brian & I put together a new convenient online farm store (click the link to visit)! It can also be accessed from workinghandsfarm.com (click on “Farm Store”) or you can copy and paste this into your browser: http://workinghandsfarmstore.com

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The Grass Fed Beef Shares & Pastured Pork Shares we have for purchase are available to both members and non-members so feel free to share the link above with family and friends…

A big thank you to everyone for your enthusiasm about Grass Fed Beef & Pastured Pork Shares! We only have a few beef shares available for purchase (if you’re interested, be sure to order soon!) but we expect to have our freezers stocked with pork through the winter so please check back on the site periodically as we will be keeping our inventory updated! Tis’ the season for soups, stews, braising, roasting and more so keep us in mind for the holiday season! Thank you in advance for your support!

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We hope you are all enjoying the change of season in your kitchens and are feeling more inspired than ever to get that stove going and those yummy homemade dishes created in the warmth of your home. These shorter days welcome time in the kitchen spent with loved ones around the table. Keep up the great job, enjoy this week’s bounty and we’ll see you all soon!

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With kind 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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Put Me In Coach (week 23)

Posted on 20 Oct 2015

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“Recall that whatever lofty things you might accomplish today, you will do them only because you first ate something that grew out of the dirt.” – Barbara Kingsolver

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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When Jess asked me to write this weeks newsletter I have to admit I was a little bummed. I don’t like writing newsletters because when I write I always seem to offend somebody and sometimes it can even be a CSA member or two. So I have sort of sworn off pros and stuck to short form and poetry. It’s hard for people to get too mad at a poet because rhyming is pretty adorable and it is almost impossible to mount a powerful argument in the small square that Instagram provides us with. I think folks tend to get upset because I laud honesty and transparency far above all else, which and this is my point, often falls in direct contradiction to their belief system as it pertains to food. I just get so hungry for folks to understand the real, true, honest, transparent, sincere, unfeigned VALUE of food and its COST that I often forget that emoticons and abundance of sheepish exclamation points that win hearts and minds. SO what do I do? I sit and write what comes naturally to me and I keep my fingers crossed..

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Jess has taken to calling me ‘coach’ lately because when I am making casual food and farm related conversation with members at their CSA pick up and notice when someone skips a bunch of dandelion greens or their collards I am compelled to ask them why? And if it’s for any reason other than a food allergy I switch over to coach mode. I can’t help it. I don’t do this because of the effort it has taken to grow those greens or because they will go to ‘waste,’ after all nothing goes to waste on our farm it is always reincorporated back into the ecosystem. I do this because it is my purpose. Because my goal is to see to it that the community that supports our farm eats healthier and as a result is more able, at least in a small way, to contribute to our society in a positive way. It’s a pretty high expectation you say? Well, I sure as hell am not doing this for the big bucks. It’s because I believe that the only work worth doing is work that makes the community and the environment better, so that those communities can make their communities better and so on and so forth. It’s pretty simple really. So why take those bitter dandelion greens? First off, because they are delicious and secondly because you’re a grown adult and if you don’t find bitter greens to your liking eat them because they are good for you.

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Time & Too Much. These are the two excuses I hear most often from folks that don’t eat their vegetables. And those excuses just are not good enough and they aren’t true anyways. The only real excuse is because they don’t have enough experience. After all, it takes the same amount of time for earth to rotate in and out of the light of sun for all of us. We all have the same amount of light and dark hours depending on our longitude not our perception of time. And don’t give me that it’s not time but free time jargon you know I’ll shoot holes in that bucket too. And the “it’s too many vegetables argument.” I know this may seem true for you now but thankfully you are a smart and adaptable member of a phenomenal CSA farm and your habits will change.

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Trust me I didn’t grow up on fresh vegetables either. It was frozen burritos and TV dinners for my adolescence for a myriad of reasons and the only fresh vegetables I ever really saw came out of the small garden my mom kept once a leap year when we had a landlord that would allow it. Trust me I get it. Even in my first couple years of vegetable farming I struggled to eat very much of what I had produced. I just didn’t think I had the time and to be completely honest I didn’t have all that much interest. I started farming because I thought it would allow me to have some peace and quiet and after all it was the vegetables that needed to be cleaned, cooked and prepared by the members not me.

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And that’s when Jess showed up and gave me a lickin’ you can’t believe. She taught me that you must lead by example. She taught me to fall in love not with just growing vegetables but cooking and eating them too. She taught me that cooking and eating isn’t something you do after all the other needs of the day are met it is something that you do so you can meet the needs of the day. She taught me that eating well is a matter of priorities.

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These days Jess and I prepare 3 meals during one revolution of the earth together and we always start with veggies. If we are making a dandelion salad we grab a bunch each, yes that’s two bunches and we wash them, cut them into large bit sized pieces, toss them with finally grated parmesan cheese and a homemade dressing of balsamic or apple cider vinegar, a strong Dijon mustard, a mayonnaise made from scratch, honey, salt and pepper to taste and we throw them in too large bowls and set them aside. Then we take a few tomatoes, eggplant, squash, carrots, peppers, onions, garlic, beets, basil, leafy green, broccoli(and if we want too we will add our own sausage from our sausage shares) and we cut everything up sauté or roast it and throw it with pasta and dinner is served. We typically make enough for one dinner and two lunches and that is with a ½ of a CSA share for just the two of us. And that provides us with 3 meals of the 21 meals in a given week. Let me repeat that a ½ of a CSA share for the two of us provides us with 3 of the 21 meals a week! So when folks say there CSA share is too much I frankly don’t understand what the hell they are talking about. We eat on average about 3-4 CSA shares a week just the two of us. Can you imagine how confused Jess and I get when we hear this excuse from a household of more than 2 people? Or when households are splitting shares. I mean come on – if this is the case it can mean only one thing you are simply not cooking! You are going out to eat or buying premade meals and that is not going to cut it in the CSA program. If you want to eat more vegetables it is a matter of prioritizing the time and being patient while you learn and gain experience. Understand that Rome was not built in a day and it usually takes more than one CSA season to get your skill level up to where you are comfortable. And it is my commitment to you (and as soon as you get comfortable) that your CSA coach will be standing there and waiting to challenge you and to help you out with extra greens on top. You are not a CSA member because it is easy you are a CSA member because you are a grown up who knows that importance of feeding their household healthy whole foods so they are more able to contribute to society in a meaningful way. It is not supposed to be easy, but it is supposed to be delicious.

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I am proud of all of our members because you have all made the decision to make a change in your life and you put your money where your mouth is and signed up for our CSA. For that alone you have my heart. That whatever brought you to our little CSA farm, whether it be health related, for reasons that help protect the environment, to support small farms, to know your farmers or simply because you were hungry for delicious food etc.. whatever the reason (s), you decided to make a change in your life happen and now you are here. I am proud of all of you. This is where change happens. When a community comes together with a united voice we are empowered to make positive change. And because of all of you this land, these two farmers and this farm’s members are becoming healthier, happier and more productive. Thank you for your trust and your support. We are making change happen one green smoothie, stir-fry, veggie kebab, beet brownie or whatever suits your fancy at a time! So here’s farmer Brian signing off fingers crossed.

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Through writing this newsletter I think I have learned something and that is that we are not a CSA farm that will size our shares according to what sells but will always size them according to what we believe promotes good health in our members and according to the bounty the growing conditions allows.

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So, keep up the great work, eat well, enjoy the seasonal bounty and remember to grab your greens.

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Enjoy the week!

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Your Farmers

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Brian & Jess

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dirty hands, clean hearts

To Adventure! (week 22)

Posted on 13 Oct 2015

caulichoi

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“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

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Hi Friends and Farm-ily,

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Ohhh October…. how we love you so! Here we grow Week 22 which means we have 6 more weeks to go in our main season Spring/Summer CSA! As a reminder to all our wonderful CSA-ers: the last CSA pick ups will be November 17th, 18th, 19th and on that week, our Weekly CSA Members will receive a double share (shares 27 & 28) to better prepare you for the Thanksgiving holiday. ALL Bi-Weekly Share members will pick up on that week as well (either Share 27 or 28 depending on your assigned weeks)!

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a few pictures from the first time that Brian and I met…

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October is one of my favorite months. Growing up a New England gal Fall was always my favorite season and October’s rich colors, shorter days and cooler nights have always inspired me. With all the inspiration that October brings, it’s no surprise to me that Brian and I met in early October (4 years ago) for the first time. At the end of last week we were reminiscing about when we first met and marveled at how fast time goes by, how much we’ve grown and all the things (big and small) that we’ve accomplished together in the past 4 years. It makes me smile to think about it … since the beginning it was full of magic and possibility.

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It was farming that brought us together in the first place.. followed by the coincidences and connections that still give me goosebumps! As young farmers, we both had a vision and shared similar goals of feeding our community and when we came together we were able to share that vision in the best way possible. Two farmers on the opposite ends of the country, living parallel lives. At the time I was farming back east as Powers Flowers & Produce while Brian was farming the soil in Oregon as Working Hands Farm. We met in the only way two farmers can meet (who’s got time for anything other than farming?) and that was following each other’s farm blogs online. Letters were exchanged and as time went by we rebelled against the 3 hour time difference and made time for phone conversations. A while later a hurricane completely wiped out my farming season back east and so I bought a one way plane ticket to Oregon to meet this Farmboy and help him finish out his season. A few weeks later Brian was offered a contract in Uganda to design and build sustainable cookstoves for vanilla bean farmers over the winter. His “past life” as he describes it.. working as a humanitarian before his farming days and throughout the winter months in the first few years of farming… those years brought him to Uganda for almost 2 years, Argentina, India and Haiti. He said that he didn’t have much interest in returning to Uganda.. only if I wanted to go because he could show me that country like nobody else could. I, of course, said yes, (I was learning how to jump) and Brian likes to tell people that was our “first date” …it truly was just the beginning of this lifetime of adventure..

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Demoing the stove project in the village, a “you shall not pass” moment with a bull elephant and working on a few stove prototypes…

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While in Africa we even got our first taste of really farming together. A 3 week work trip ended up becoming a 3 month long trip. The self made Ugandan man we were working for was really inspired and intrigued that we were both young, organic farmers. He had a 5 acre parcel nestled in the forest that he offered to us to start an organic farm on. With an amazing group of 8 young Ugandan women and men we cleared a fallow field with nothing but homemade pickaxes and hoes. Trees, stumps, 10ft tall clay ant hills.. all had to go. There were so many obstacles to overcome unlike farming here where so many things are at your disposal (where to get seed, building infrastructure, irrigation… etc). We became the ultimate team and got things done with help from our trusty home away from home – an 1980’s land rover defender. Despite the craziness of the World around us we made it work and we had a blast doing it. Half way through our time there (after finally locating some vegetable seeds on the black market!) we were able to plant our first crops and started to see things come to fruition. As well as seeing the stove project through with success. We figured if we were able to accomplish all we did that winter that we could accomplish just about anything no matter where we were.

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Our sister farm in chambogo, hand dug beds and getting our first crops in the ground!

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Since that October we’ve been steadily moving ahead. As a farm, as a couple and as individuals….

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4 years after meeting this farm boy, I can say with much confidence that Brian has taught me more about myself than anyone else and I’m so happy that the universe brought us together when it did. I am constantly in awe of how easy it is for him to try something new (to jump “all in”) and his ability to empathize and be an amazing listener. He knows himself so well and that confidence has reminded me that if you trust yourself anything is possible. His moral fortitude, intelligence and strong nature make him a natural born leader… one that I would stand next to in any situation. He is a person that gives me strength – he constantly reminds me of how wonderful, hardworking and smart he thinks I am. That I am strong and capable of doing all the things I want to do. I knew from the start that there was something special about Brian. And as the years unfold, and we continue on this adventure together I have never felt more sure about anything… as we grow food for our community (of all ages), make our little corner of the World better with time and grow to be better farmers and people… I know no matter what life and nature may bring that we will continue to seek out all the possibilities that this life has to offer and to always do our best. To practice patience, understanding, respect. “To adventure, We ride” – as we always say. And to endless possibilities…

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Helping Farmer Brian wrap up his 2011 farming season…

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I do hope that someday, maybe soon, Brian and I will be able to venture off this farm together and get a few days to think, breathe etc something other than the farm. It’s been more than 2 years since we’ve both been able to leave the farm for longer than 12 hours together. It sounds kind of crazy – I know – but with large bovine, it sure does make it harder to leave. This season more than any other we’ve learned about the old proverb, “necessity is the mother of all invention” and I know that without a doubt we will find a way to grow better with time – even if that means just taking some time to do a few other things than farming.

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For now, we will continue to enjoy this beautiful October.. those chilly mornings and warmer days, the changing colors of the leaves and shorter days… the month that allows for more opportunities to check in, take care, be inspired, to sleep and reinvigorate.

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This smile might be one of the best parts about farming..

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Thank you, Farmer Brian for believing in the magic and mystery of nature as well as all the handwork and for helping me to jump when I need it most. I love when this time of the year rolls around because for me, October will always be ‘our month.’

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Enjoy the week and the bounty!

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Our best to you all,

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Your Farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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In it together (week 21)

Posted on 6 Oct 2015

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“In the loss of skill, we lose stewardship; in losing stewardship we lose fellowship; we become outcasts from the great neighborhood of Creation. It is possible – as our experience in this good land shows – to exile ourselves from Creation, and to ally ourselves with the principle of destruction – which is, ultimately, the principle of nonentity. It is to be willing in general for being to not-be. And once we have allied ourselves with that principle, we are foolish to think that we can control the results. -Wendell Berry, The Gift of Good Land

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily!

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We hope October has been treating you well.

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This week’s newsletter was inspired by the Farmer to Farmer podcast. Farmer Brian and I have been enjoying the Farmer to Farmer podcast with host Chris Blanchard. Back in August there was an excellent interview with Dan Kaplan (long-time manager of Brookfield Farm, a non–profit 501(c)3 farm and one of the first CSAs in the U.S.) In this episode they discussed at length the core values of CSA and how CSA, like no other farming model, is about consumers and producers sharing risk (which means sometimes sharing loss). Check it out here!

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Farming is the ultimate adventure. (ad·ven·ture “an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity. bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome). Every growing season is different. It’s the same farm, farmers, types of vegetables, animals, etc but in nature things are constantly changing. A method that you might have used successfully in years previous may not pan out in years to come. There are new challenges, new pests, new diseases, crop failures, drought, extreme change of weather patterns and many other things in nature that are beyond our control.

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There are of course many successes throughout the season: abundance of certain crops, better management techniques, better successional plantings, more adaptable varieties, healthier soils, healthier plants, many bountiful meals, experiential learning, growth, and know how to get through the challenges mentioned above.

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At heart of farming there is risk. It takes the experience of these successes and losses to manage that risk and it is through its management that Brian and I become the most productive members of society we can be. And ultimately, it is this concept of shared risk that allows us to be the best farmers we can be.

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Our CSA members know the true meaning of shared risk. The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model is rooted in the transparency of relationship and immediate community that allows them to understand that they are in this with their farmers through the thick and thin of the season. And they also understand that nowhere else in our modern day lives does the producer want them to know about loss. Our culture hides it well. At its core is the modern day conveniences of finding an overwhelming amount of abundance at the grocery store any time of the year. This modern day model tries to create a very controlled experience and as much as this model tries to hide loss or risk it comes at a great cost… whether “the cost” is an underpaid farmer or the exploitation of migrant laborers, or the many miles food travels when it doesn’t have to, the fossil fuels it takes to get to where its going, the runoff and pollution of our streams and rivers, or the great disconnect between the consumer and their food (i.e. “Do carrots come from the ground mom?”) Our members understand that this system does not provide our community with the opportunity to live the most healthy and productive lives, or ensuring the health of our families and the health of the ecosystem its derived from.

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In nature, nothing is guaranteed. Months of planning, prepping, planting, and tending to crops can be lost in an instant. When I was farming back east, after months of tending to our tomatoes, the dreaded late blight would roll in and take the crop and sometimes before the crop had really even begun. Once a hurricane whirled through and shut down my season early. A whole seasons worth of effort shut down in a matter of 24 hours. Loss is a part of nature despite all the work and all the plans… nature waits for no one.

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As you guys know this year has been an unseasonably hot and dry season (and continues to be). At times it was unbearable to labor in the heat but it forced us to come up with better ways of working around the sun. In order to produce the same amount of produce we produced last season we had to work twice as hard and even then some crops never paned out. Our summer carrots had to be tilled under because they were enveloped in a carpet of weeds. The weed pressure among other things this season had us scrambling but again, forced us to come up with better strategies for management as we are just two people and there are only so many hours in the day (especially when it’s blazing hot outside). Through these challenges we come up with the best solutions that we can. Nothing is a silver bullet solution on the farm but we hope that being adaptable helps us to grow better and make the unpredictable nature of farming a little bit more controlled. Nature has a lot to teach us and by golly, do we learn.

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We experienced a major crop loss this year for the first time with our potato crop. Normally, this crop is a no brainer for us. For the past 5 years our potato crop has always gotten better with each passing season. For the last two years, we even had enough of a bumper crop that we were able to save our own seed potatoes so that we could plant even more than the seasons before. This year we’ve been watching our potatoes (all 2,000 ft) and although they all had “eyes” when they were planted, the plants that emerged were spotty. We wondered if water was an issue. So we replaced drip lines and watched closely. A little while later after we hilled it looked as if they were under attack by a new to us kind of flea beetle. Despite our best efforts of amending, composting, watering, hilling etc it is the first time where we have experienced a total crop loss. In June we were worried that the crop wouldn’t produce and we planted a few back up rows of taters for our Winter CSA. Thank goodness for the quote “the only way out is through” because when you’re digging up rows, upon rows of taters and coming up short it’s hard to stomach the idea of pushing through and continuing the job. But we got through it. It was a hard blow because we spent so much time composting, fertilizing, prepping, cutting seed, hilling, watering.. you name it only to experience loss in such a real way.

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It’s interesting, that as a farmer, even though you experience loss on a daily basis, that loss never leaves you.. it still very much affects you. I feel as though it is this connection to loss that we grow to appreciate nature and the world around us. We see things differently and our perspective changes. No matter what the circumstances, we do our best – giving it 110%. We respect the World around us and sometimes despite our best efforts it doesn’t always work out like you think it will. We work long hours and devote much of our time to growing the best damn food that we can for our members and our community. To ensure that everyone is fed well week by week. To build the soils and invest in this piece of dirt so that it will feed our community for generations to come. This model looks towards the future…

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Through loss our community is connected to the shared risk on our farm and I feel that is truly a special and unique thing. That by supporting our farm their understanding of nature, the seasons, the bounty, the loss …all of it brings them closer to their own place in nature with the added bonus of supporting a farm that they can get behind, know, trust and thrive with. That together we can live more productive and healthier lives and feel connected to the piece of dirt that nourishes us all. Together we are investing in the future… one that we believe in!

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And to put it in perspective just how quickly things do change.. just a few weeks after we harvested spuds, we harvested the most sweet potatoes we’ve ever grown in the past 3 years. One variety was even pumping out twice as much as we had projected for. In farming, you just never know what a season, week or day will bring…. and the success of farming is based in optimism… for both the farmer and the consumer (our members)… we have to hope for the best even if we’ve just experienced the worst. Through experiencing both the shared loss and shared bounty, both the Farmers and CSA members experience satisfaction of doing something and having it work. Despite all odds we’re in it together and whether things go smoothly or nature throws us a curve ball that community is there rooting for us every step of the way.

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Thank you all for believing in us and this farm and for partnering with us in this adventure. We will continue to give it 110% with the goal of feeding you all the best damn food possible while being good stewards to this land, learning from nature every moment that we can and growing better with time.

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All the best,

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Your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

Making it Count (week 20)

Posted on 29 Sep 2015

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“Geese appear high over us,

pass, and the sky closes. Abandon,

as in love or sleep, holds

them to their way, clear,

in the ancient faith: what we need

is here. And we pray, not

for new earth or heaven, but to be

quiet in heart, and in eye

clear. What we need is here.”

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– Excerpt from The Wild Geese, Wendell Berry

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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Wow, it’s already time to enjoy the last bits of September… time moving by quickly is no joke. We’ve been having some picturesque autumn weather though, haven’t we? 70-75 and sunny with crispy Fall mornings. Oh it sure does feel nice to be out there in the World.

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Thank you to all of our wonderful members that came out to CSA Farm Day this past weekend! It was a great opportunity to visit with your farmers, enjoy a farm tour, great food and a pumpkin pick! It sure was nice to chat with folks about the goals of our farm and the role it plays in our community. #dirtyhandscleanhearts

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We had a perfect turn out paired with perfect 75 degree weather! 60 folks joined us on Saturday and it’s crazy to think that those 60 members make up 17% of our total members (!!). It boggles our farmer minds to think of what a picture of all of our CSA community would look like! As we grow better as farmers and are able to produce more food for our community it sure does feel nice to take a moment to share that connection .. of our role in the community as well as our community’s important role in the farm.

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Folks had the opportunity to walk the vegetable garden, check out the Fall crops curing in the prop house, the chickens, honey bees, cows and pigs. They learned about our rotational grazing methods and about our ethical standards of growing safe, nutritional and thoughtfully grown produce/fruits. They were able to chat about food, recipes and seasonal eating with their farmers and other members in the community. To top it off, everyone brought potluck dishes that were enjoyed amongst good company on some hay bales. It was surely a great feeling looking around and seeing all the different people in the community being brought together by food..

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It’s a powerful reminder that food has brought so many people together over the centuries and it’s brought so many people together here on our farm over the past 6 years. Wherever you may be in your food journey there are kindred spirits here. Our farm is a place to discuss all sorts of food related things from seasonal eating to sustainable growing practices, to inspiration in the kitchen & new favorite foods and varietals or to changing lifestyles/habits – and feeling good about yourself – to being happy and productive members of society. All these things are part of it and we welcome you to share a little bit about your food journey over the next 9 weeks of the CSA. You are all doing a fantastic job and by doing so it’s the greatest motivation these two farmers could ever have.. here we grow Week 20!

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We even had a fun surprise for all those who joined us – Miss Rosie had 7 healthy and vibrant baby piggies a little over a week ago. On the farm tour everyone did wonderfully and even got a chance to go up for a closer peek while everyone was nestled in their pig hut. They have grown so much over the course of the week.. it’s amazing to see their muscles and strength. This batch of piglets sure have wiley personalities and are quite curious and friendly. Mom has been doing exceptionally well.. we really couldn’t ask for a better sow on the farm. She is top notch! Members also had a chance to visit with Kit & Dot our two gilts that we kept back from Rosie’s first litter. They are also full of personality and have the breeding traits that we look for in future mamas. We hope that they will become new mamas in the early Spring of 2016.

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With each passing, day, week, month, season and year there is something new that nature teaches us. We look forward to what the week and weather will bring. We are getting our last transplants in the ground in anticipation of late fall and early winter CSA crops. Soaking up the last bits of September and making this week count! Thank you all for your encouragement and darn-right awesomeness. Our farm would cease to exist if it wasn’t for the amazing community that surrounds it. Enjoy the week!
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All the best,

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Your Farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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Materials Handlers (week 19)

Posted on 22 Sep 2015

spinachsun

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“Another year gone, leaving everywhere its rich spiced residues: vines, leaves,

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the uneaten fruits crumbling damply in the shadows, unmattering back

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from the particular island  of this summer, this NOW, that now is nowhere

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except underfoot, moldering

in that black subterranean castle

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of unobservable mysteries — roots and sealed seeds

and the wanderings of water. This

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I try to remember when time’s measure painfully chafes, for instance when autumn

flares out at the last, boisterous and like us longing to stay — how everything lives, shifting

from one bright vision to another, forever in these momentary pastures.” – Mary Oliver, Fall Song

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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The Autumnal Equinox is just a few days away… nature is singing her last sweet songs of summer as we welcome Fall. We love this time of year. Starting the day with a wooly and a flannel and by mid-morning we’re in t-shirts. It’s been a nice change of pace from the unbelievable heat of summer.

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We started in on our sweet potato harvest this weekend and got a little over half way through! We plan on taking the rest of the sweet taters out this weekend and get them stored up in the propagation house so they can cure up well. The big greenhouse has been tilled up in preparation for planting winter crops (lots of greens and fresh eating beets).

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Farmers could be called “professional material handlers” (the term was mentioned in one of Chris Blanchard’s farmer to farmer podcasts) especially this time of the year. Harvesting the heavy loads of winter squash, sweet potatoes etc, loading, packing, curing until they are moved again to their final resting place for the winter. Come October and November, repeat all these steps with roots (carrots, turnips, beets etc) and alliums (garlic and onions), etc. The heavy lifting begins in June with squash and cukes, continues with tomatoes and melons and doesn’t end until November when the last harvests of winter stores that are coming in to the cooler etc. Infrastructure is so important on the farm and covered space is like gold. It’s also important to limit the amount of times you are handling everything so you’re not creating double work for yourself.. think: could this go on a pallet and be moved by the forks on the tractor from field to final storage place.. etc The better we get as farmers the more we’re talking TONS rather than 100’s of lbs. And nobody understands that more than our backs 😉 Gotta work smarter, not harder.

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It does feel good to have the barn loft filled to the brim, the propagation house is almost at max capacity and soon the cooler will be chock full of goodies too. Stocking the larder!

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We will also begin cover cropping this coming week. We’ve got our seed and are all ready to go. There will be tilling of summer crops gone by and readying the soil. We had such a beautiful stand last year and are hoping our timing is right on again. (it’s always about timing…) Cover crops are nitrogen-fixing, soil-conditioning, erosion-preventing, bio-mass-building things of beauty. You gotta feed that soil so it can feed you!

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There are many transitions for us this time of year… When we normally would do evening chores after the CSA pick up we are finding ourselves getting to all the animals chores in the midst of CSA pick up. It’s getting dark by 7:30/8:00pm so it’s nice to have things wrapped up before hand. A farmer’s work is never done so it’s nice to establish a routine that works with the sun and our bodies. We’ve been making supper and having it on the table by 9pm and soon we’ll be eating earlier and maybe catching a few extra zzz’s! So many things to look forward to this time of year.

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CSA Member Farm Day is coming up! If you haven’t yet RSVP’d please look for the email invite from “evite” and be sure to RSVP so we have a final number to plan for.

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WHF Pastured Pork! We have our fall USDA certified pastured pork shares and sausage link shares available! As well as unrendered leaf lard and pork back fat for all your cooking, baking and soap making needs. Check the email “Fall Pastured Pork Shares” for more info and email us to make your order.

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WHF Grass Fed Beef! Our 100% Grass fed, organic USDA certified beef shares will be available SOON. We will keep all our members posted with the details.

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Cheers to you all, enjoy the week and we’ll see you soon!

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With kind 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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Change is in the Air (Week 18)

Posted on 15 Sep 2015

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‘Space (on the farm) really is the final frontier’ – farmer brian

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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Here we grow Week 18! August and September are the craziest whirlwind months here on the farm. We keep saying “next week it will start to slow down” and we keep waiting for that to actually happen… ha ha crazy farmers… It will though! We are just about finished with our winter squash harvest so those precious fruits can be out of the weather and cure in the warmth of the greenhouse. Next up will be the sweet tater harvest. We dug up a few plants and found some beauties beneath so we’re hoping for a good yield! Did you know that sweet potatoes need to be “cured” like winter squash? The natural sweetness improves after curing but the primary purpose of curing is to heal injuries so that the sweet potatoes remain in good condition for storage/eating during the Fall and winter. We keep them at 85 degrees Fahrenheit and a relative humidity of 85 to 90 percent for 7-10 days.

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We got 4 loads of squash in and only a few more to go!

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All of these steps/big items on the list require other steps – getting infrastructure set up, hauling, loading, stacking, building tables, etc… it’s never as easy as just the idea of it. So, we remember, the only way out is through. And we accomplish by doing. You just gotta start – sometimes that’s the hardest part. At some point this weekend, we also found ourselves shuffling about in the barn in the darker hours to put up another 4 tons of winter hay for the cows. With the forecasted showers it needed to be done otherwise we probably wouldn’t have slept very well (even with only a 20% chance). It ended up sprinkling the next morning so we felt glad that we pushed through and got it done (farmer brian asked the next morning, “at what point are you just too old to lift all this stuff”). Between the hay, garlic, onions, storage maters etc it’s getting pretty full up in the loft of the barn. With only 4 more tons of hay to go our bodies are already excited to have that chore finished!

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Covered space on a farm is like gold… Crispy Fall greens and checking in on our sweet taters!

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Change is in the air. The autumnal equinox is coming up in the next week and the days grow shorter. With the coming of the equinox we will start to see the box transition into Fall! The rain showers will bring splits to the ol’ tomato patch and slow down all the summer crops. Enjoy these gems while they are here! It’s been one heck of a summer season and we’re not sure what the Fall will bring. . so we must enjoy what we have while we have it! Nature teaches us a lot and to live in the day is surely one of those things.

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Once the sweet taters are harvested this weekend we will begin to prep ground for seeding in a mix of cover crop seed. It’s that time of the season where we like to let part of the garden rest while feeding it the good stuff all winter long. Cover crops are nitrogen-fixing, soil-conditioning, erosion-preventing, bio-mass-building things of beauty. We look forward to building up the organic matter in the garden over time and feeding it the best we can so that all the plants that follow can have access to that wonderful nutrition. There’s nothing better than seeing a big old stand of cover crop in the early Spring months… so much possibility awaits and the growing season begins again!

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Stacking 4 ton of hay into the night and Gloucester making sure the job is getting done..

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CSA Member Farm Day is coming up in a couple weeks! Be sure to check your emails soon for an invite.

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Winter CSA! We are thrilled about all the interest in the Winter CSA! Our members sure do love them veggies as much as their farmers do. All of us here on the farm thank you for all of your support! We are excited for the winter season to begin and are so happy you will be joining us for the season ahead! If anyone else would like to get on the waiting list please let us know and we’d be happy to add you.

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With some as big as your head! The greens won’t always be so big… as the days grow shorter and there is less light available the leaves will naturally get smaller.. enjoy these jurassic park sized leaves while they are here!

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WHF Grass Fed Beef! Our 100% Grass fed, organic USDA certified beef shares will be available in the next few weeks. We will keep all our members posted with the details.

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Cheers to you all, enjoy the week and we’ll see you soon!
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Your Farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

– furryfriends

Chasing the Sun (week 17)

Posted on 8 Sep 2015

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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We hope the first week of September has treated you all well. It sure has been gorgeous weather with cooler nights and even some cloudy days mixed in. The 10-day looks like we’re back in the 80’s and 90’s but we know Fall is just a few short weeks away. Time to soak in all the goodness that the end of summer has to offer. To enjoy the bounty and flavors of the season!

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It’s getting to be time to cure the winter squash and sweet potatoes and we are looking forward to beginning that process this weekend (maybe after the 90 degree weather has passed…) It’s been a great season for squash and most of our pumpkins have already turned orange (it’s going to be an early Halloween this year!) And next thing ya know we’ll be planting garlic for next season! It’s crazy how time flies…

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Over the next month we will be slowly transitioning into our cooler weather crops. The summer crops are still performing with all the heat and sun but as the days get shorter and the nights get cooler the Fall veggies will start to shine. The summer harvests have been so plentiful… we’re looking forward to the shorter days, to give these farmer bodies a little bit of re-coop time. This is the time of the season where our backs feel it the most – 50 lb harvest crates x 3 days (and 100+ shares) can add up to a lot of pounds of produce being harvested and carried around the farm… Not to mention the walking. We haven’t put a pedometer on in a while but we’d bet we’ve been easily walking 20+ miles each day. Morning and evening chores will surely seem a bit easier when all the critters are moved up closer to the barn over the winter.

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We only have a few more loads of hay to go before the barn is stocked with goodies for the critters that will nourish them through the late fall and winter months. Miss Rosie the pig is due in less than a week with her second litter of piglets. She appears to be very pregnant and we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of her piglets. She’s been in great health the whole summer through and we are hoping all goes well for her and the babies.

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We’ll be prepping to plant and seed in the greenhouse this week and chasing the last of the summer sun. This will extend the season of our more tender crops as well as the first round of Spring crops come February… always thinking ahead…. Especially with our winter CSA this year!

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WHF Winter CSA! We sent out information over the weekend to our CSA members in regards to our first ever Winter CSA program! Thank you to all those who have sent an email and mailed/or plan to drop off your deposits! We will be limiting the Winter CSA so if you haven’t yet contacted us and would like to be on the Winter Share waiting list please send us an email and we will happily add you to the list.

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WHF Pastured Pork! We have our fall pastured pork shares, sausage link shares available! As well as unrendered leaf lard and pork back fat for all your cooking, baking and soap making needs. Check the Order Up! email later today for more details.

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CSA Member Farm Day! Mark your calendars.. Our CSA Member Farm Day is set for Saturday, September 26th from 11am – 1pm. This is a great opportunity for our CSA members to come out, see the farm, chat with their farmers and fellow CSA members as well as take a farm tour to see all our happy livestock and enjoy a potluck meal! Members will also have the opportunity to pick out one pumpkin per share. This is a weather dependent event with a proper invitation to follow! Please note: As we are two farmers and a small farm with limited space it is important to limit one household per share for the tour.

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Enjoy the week and we will see you all soon!

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All the best,

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Your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

The Only Way Out is Through (week 16)

Posted on 1 Sep 2015

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The only way out is through.

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This week’s newsletter is straight from the farmer’s heart…

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Farming is not for the faint of heart. I am discovering that you have to be a little bit crazy to be a farmer and by crazy I mean you have to love what you do because farming is not easy (it’s a labor of love). It is probably one of the riskiest jobs a person can do. Putting all your cards on the table season after season only to go along with what mother nature brings… where nothing is a sure thing. What is easy is the romantic picture of a farm and a farmer’s life. It’s easy to paint a picture of this romantic notion of the two farmers who are married and farm together and live this lifestyle that we’re all trying to get back to. Farming is romantic to us, not because it’s the dream life, but because farming is what brought us together in the first place.. our goals of feeding the community the best possible food and doing the hardwork it takes to make it happen is our version of romantic.. #thebloodsweatandtears kind of romance.

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Most older generations who grew up on farms will tell you they left their family farms because the work was hard and that they could make more money doing something else that didn’t require so many hours of physical labor, while enjoying the modern conveniences of living close to the stores, the lifestyle, the weekends off etc. Most people left the country to go to the city for a better lifestyle, a better wage, and better opportunities.

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Nothing about farming is “easy” and there sure are a lot of parts that aren’t “dreamy”.. the long days, shifts in the weather, a rainy season, a drought, the mountains of things to achieve each day, the things that come up unexpectedly and that can’t wait, putting the farm first before yourself and often before family & friends, and visits with those family and friends aren’t really possible during the growing unless somebody’s there willing to lend a hand because there never seem to be enough hours in the day.

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Farmer’s also educate. Informing the community and the consumer about why they should support the farm and why they should buy local and why buying food direct from the farmer costs more than the food at the grocery store… fielding questions all the time because education is a huge component of what we do and why do we do the things that we do – to feed the community well. One things for sure it’s not the big ol’ paycheck….

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Feeding our community is a huge responsibility and a privilege and an honor. Our days are purposeful .. brimming with purpose and hard work.. every decision we make impacts hundreds of people, the land, the soil etc and it truly is an amazing gift to be a farmer. There is freedom in being your own boss, being solely devoted to one piece of land, understanding and working with nature, working with the livestock , providing for your community in a meaningful way and through it all learning more about yourself and how to be a better person and farmer.

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Owning and running a farm is like one giant puzzle and if you really like the challenge of decoding said giant puzzle with a guaranteed lifetime of challenge, growth and learning then perhaps maybe you too could be a farmer. In order to succeed you need to keep a child like faith and to be inspired by this puzzle. Never let it weigh you down or fill you with fear because it will swallow you whole. You will be challenged each and everyday. Take a step back and change your perspective. Don’t be afraid to look at something closely to understand what’s really going on. Because let me tell you every season is different.. whether it’s a change in the weather, a whole new experience that pops up, or a disease is carried in on the wind.. a whole crop or years worth of work and preparation could be gone.. in an instant. You will need this child like faith and the challenge of this lifelong puzzle to pull you out from any obstacle that may come up. Otherwise you will feel as though all is for not and grow bitter and resentful… The “I get to’s,” “I can do this” – the positivity, the challenge and the change of perspective makes farming a life worth living for us!

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We’ve been tested to the limit this season as it has been the hardest season yet .. it has challenged us more mentally and physically than any other year. Working in the oppressive heat and drought for months on end is not something anyone can get used to. Besides ourselves, we also learned that most plants don’t do well in that kind of weather either and that we had to work twice as hard (and water twice as much) just to have all the produce we’ve had in seasons past. *even tomatoes eggplants and peppers and other hot season crops get stressed in the hot weather and drop their flowers which could mean a whole succession of fruit will be lost.* As a result we learned SO MUCH. We learned more about irrigation than ever before, we learned what the plants really need in a time of stress, how to work around the sun with out a complete meltdown etc… all while trying to find and maintain a sense of balance within our own selves, as individual people.

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In these times we struggle to find balance. And yet we get up every day willing (and freely so) to do it all over again because we can’t imagine doing anything else …because of the challenge, the puzzle, the drive, the passion, the pride, that child like faith and the result: the amazing food that we believe in and are feeding our community with, and the idea that we are leaving this land and its soils better off for generations to come.. For all those reasons it is all worth it. I only share with you the struggles now so that you may get a greater understanding of what it takes to be a farmer. We hear so much of the time “oh you guys live the dream #dreamlife/ I wish I had your lifestyle..” Well, if you’re crazy enough to do it you will find a way and you too will find out that it’s going to take a lifetime to learn everything a farm and the land will have to teach you. That lifelong puzzle. I realize the older you get the less you know and it truly is a humbling experience. The farm has taught me more about that than anyone can ever know.

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These experiences good or bad give me a chance to change my perspective.. to get a greater understanding of myself and how to make things better. To be kinder to myself, to let go more easily and to just be in the moment. Being a farmer there is no other choice.. the only way out is through. All of these things are easy to say aloud but sometimes, through trying times, they’re not as easy to live by and for that I am grateful to work with my favorite person and my partner who is my strength when I feel let down or tired or happy and everything in between. Together we ride, we endure and we thrive. We will continue to stride ahead, to enjoy the challenge of this amazing puzzle and boldly go where every farmer has gone before.

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With kindest regards,

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your crazy farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

Hazy Days (week 15)

Posted on 25 Aug 2015

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The first of the Fall kale, epic summer harvests and the tomato bounty continues…

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Hello Friends & Farm-ily,

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‘Tis the last week of August.. where did the time go?! It’s also Week 15 of the CSA which means we’re more than halfway through our 28-week Spring/Summer season. Over the course of 14 weeks, Brian and I have sown, grown, harvested and distributed 38,000lbs of produce to our awesome CSA members. That puts us on track for distributing close to 80,000 lbs for the 2015 season! Brian and I love what we do and we couldn’t do it without the exceptional group of CSA members that has rallied around our farm. Thank you for believing in us and in your community. Farmer Brian adds, “This is how we make it (change) happen. You give us money and we will grow you the best damn food we can while paying ourselves a livable wage and making the land we steward better for generations to come.” ‪#‎knowyourfarmer ‪#‎knowyourfood ‪#‎dirtyhandscleanhearts ‪#‎workinghandsfarmcsa ‪#‎twofarmersonefarm ‪#‎herewegrow ‪#‎eatyourveggies

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Week 14 CSA share!

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With the coming of September means that autumnal equinox is less than a month away, which means the days are growing shorter! It’s crazy how you go from hiding from the sun to chasing it as every minute counts! This summer (with it’s heat and drought) had some some long days in store for us so we’re feeling ready for a change of pace, the cooler weather and shorter days! But, in the meantime, we’re charging through these heavy, productive harvests and enjoying the fruits of our labor. (We have high hopes of beginning our potato harvest this week!) With hard work comes the bountiful harvest and we enjoy sharing the bounty/labor of love with all of you.

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Over the weekend the easterly wind brought smoke and haze from fires burning across Oregon and eastern Washington. We’ve been thinking of the many who are facing this head on and are thankful for the brave firefighters and volunteers who are helping the communities that have been impacted directly. It’s hard to imagine what those folks are coping with at this time and we are sending our best thoughts to them all.

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Hanging out with Ms. Rosie, the hazy days of fire season and the cows eating some fresh grass..

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The haze and heat made for an ultimate microwave while catching up on seeding, weeding and planting. At times it felt as though we were caught in the “thick of it” and we’d head inside because the air was literally thick and hard to breathe. It did feel really nice though to have a break from the sun. We are truly hoping for some relief (from the fires, from the oppressive heat etc) in the shape of rain (a real rain) and know that it won’t be long now.. Usually during our dry PNW summers we are blessed with some rain by mid-September. This year it feels like forever (it’s been since April/May that we’ve had measurable amount of rain) and you start to forget what it feels like.

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It helps that the days are growing shorter… giving us a greater understanding and deep appreciation for the seasons..

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This year’s tomato line up..

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Bulk Tomatoes. The tomatoes are ripening by the second. Don’t delay on making your order for Mixed Tomatoes (min. 25lbs) or Romas (min. 20lbs). You will thank yourself this winter when you do 😉 Send us an email with your order!

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Pork. Pork Shares and Sausage Shares are now available for order with pick up starting NEXT WEEK (CSA Week 16)! There are a few new exciting additions to the shares including Peppered Bacon (in the pork shares) and a few new kinds of sausage links: Special Blend (a delicious blend of spices: sage, etc with no sugar added – perfect for biscuits and gravy!) and Chorizo Sausage for all your soup making needs as well as old favorites Oktoberfest, Italian and Pork! We have a ton (literally, well, almost literally) of great USDA certified pork and sausage shares available! For those who have already emailed orders, you should have received a confirmation email in the last two weeks. We will send out reminder emails towards the end of the week/early next week for pick up.

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Working Hands Farm Winter CSA! We have some exciting news to share in regards to growing year round on the ol’ farm… stay tuned to the first week of September when we launch our first ever limited edition Winter CSA program. (yahoo!)

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We hope you all have a wonderful week!

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Summer lettuce heads, a perfectly prepped bed awaiting planting and the peppers just keep getting sweeter..

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All the best,

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Your Farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

The Hump (week 14)

Posted on 18 Aug 2015

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A bunch of bee-zy farmers making big Fall planting pushes through the heat!

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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Phew! The whirlwind that is August has scooped us up and we are anticipating the shorter days of Fall that are just a month away! We had a really productive weekend and are gonna gut through the heat the next few days for harvest and look forward to the cooler weather that is on the horizon! Unfortunately the predicted rain last Friday missed the farm entirely but the good news is we were able to get the remaining 3 tons of onions into the barn to cure (for a total of 6 tons – so many onions)!

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We were also able to plant over 3,600 linear ft of Fall and winter crops this weekend which feels amazing and even put up another 4 tons of hay for the cows. We have a few more “medium” sized plantings set for the next few weeks and it feels good to almost be over the August hump. (Is that you Fall?)

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We’ve been keeping the pace and taking good care of each other. Finding a balance while digging deep. It’s amazing to work side by side with the one I love. Together we rise. And to quote Farmer Brian’s most recent post on instagram, “We are a perfect match and on days like this everything just feels so right. We are almost over the August hump. So close.”

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The one thing that has been getting us through this crazy hot summer.. lots of water and electrolytes!

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It’s gonna be an early one today in order to beat the heat of a 100* day and these crazy, heavy lifting harvests! The last two weeks of CSA the shares have weighed 35lbs for a total of close to 8,000lbs of produce harvested for all our members in just 2 weeks time. That’s a whole lot of lifting, carrying, washing, displaying etc. We pride ourselves on our health and strength but boy we’ve been feeling these extra heavy harvests of late and it helps to know just how much you’ve been enjoying them (thanks for sharing the goodness of what you’ve been whipping up in the kitchen!) 😉 We’re taking care of ourselves though and eating well (so many calories) and getting a good nights sleep. As the work days grow shorter we look forward to the recouping and respite that the change of season brings. Until then, we ride! And we’ll do it all, one day at a time.

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To give a bit of perspective I thought I’d share a post that I made last Wednesday during harvest week, “I’m not going to lie. These past couple of days have been rough. High heat, high humidity and a whole lot of heavy lifting summer harvests. When I woke up yesterday I felt like I got hit by a bus. Farmers don’t get “sick days” and if they did I sure would have used it yesterday to sleep away the aches, pains and exhaustion.  Harvesting hasn’t been easy but I made it through with a whole lot of this good stuff and with my favorite farmer who was right there next to me.. In the exhaustion, the sweat, the bountiful harvest, the heat stress… It got me thinking that Brian and I feed a lot of families each week and in 6 years we have never missed a pick up day. This week we’ve harvested over 3,800lbs for our CSA members… which is an amazing feeling (even if my back is barking). Thank you to all our members for the notes or conversations that let us know you’re thinking of us (your farmers) on these long days and appreciate all the work that goes into growing good food.  On days like this I have to dig deep but feel rewarded knowing that it’s all going to a good home where it will be enjoyed and shared among our friends, farm-ily and community. We will continue to dig deep today – our last harvest day of the week. #dirtyhandscleanhearts #workinghandsfarm”

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Farmer Brian kicking some farming butt in the garden this weekend… tilling, spreading compost, fertilizer, making beds…etc

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p.s. A big thanks for all the Bulk Tomato and Pork Orders! We are continuing to take orders so feel free to send them our way when you’re ready!

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All the best and take good care in this next heat wave!

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Your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

The Big Push (week 13)

Posted on 11 Aug 2015

–Bees collecting pollen, a planting we will go, and the newest planting of kale should be ready in the next few weeks!

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Hi Friends and Farm-ily,

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We hope you all enjoyed the first weekend of August!

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We are almost over the big hump of planting and seeding out Fall crops… Greens of many shapes, some roots and winter veggies are all waiting in the wings this week. One of our favorite things about planting for Fall is the opportunity to start again. To wipe clean the mistakes of Spring, the last remnants of carrots that got away from you, or the tiny cabbages that for whatever reason you tried to plant too densely, etc… It’s the opportunity to transition and wipe the slate clean, to be renewed at the point in the season when it is most needed. The Big Push!

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A nice soak on newly seeded beds (awaiting a flame weeding), cultivating weeds with the Chalmers, and organizing pork shares! (farmers wear so many hats!)

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We have been giving mechanical cultivation a go while all the transplants are relatively small. It’s been working like a charm. Farmer Brian has found his swing with the Chalmers and his confidence can be seen in the cleaned up rows of brassicas, chard etc. In the thick of these hot, summer days, it’s nice to change the pace of working the ol’ back and to jump on the ol’ tractor to cultivate a bit. There’s still plenty of weeding to be done with the hand tools.. no doubt about keepin’ in shape and sweating it out. There’s so much to learn all the time so when something starts to feel like it’s working or helping you to work smarter – it is an unbelievable feeling.

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You wanna know what else is an unbelievable feeling? The amazing response we received about needing to sell pork shares! YOU (our members) are amazing every step of the way. Thank you for reinvigorating your farmers and reminding us of why we do what we do. We are continuing to take orders for pork and sausage shares and will fulfill them as we go.

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Twilight on the barn, Week 12’s bountiful summer share, and farmer B during a magic sunset hour..

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It’s amazing the feeling of community that grows year after year. Growing good food is such a positive thing in our lives and to share that with you all is truly a gift. Thank you all for your constant appreciation and use of everything that we grow. You all have been inspiring us with your posts on the Members Page and continually motivate us to grow better and be better. Thank you for believing in us and in a food system that is sustainable, healthy and that works with nature to provide for this community.

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Tomato-Time! ‘Tis the season of summer bounty! Our Bulk Tomatoes are available (and should be around for at least the next few weeks… it all depends on the weather). This is the 4th season in a row that we have had offered this unbelievable deal to our members! We have Mixed Varieties of our “Seconds” (25lb min order) and Classic Roma Tomatoes (20lbs min order) available. Please see the email titled “Bulk WHF Tomatoes” for more information.

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Ahab and B take an afternoon pause, the morning dew on the newest collards, and baby chick cruising around on mama’s back!

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The big push is on this week/weekend so send us all the good energy you can. We’ll be trucking along and racing the sun and shorter days. We can do this!

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We look forward to seeing you all this week!

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With kind 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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Agua fresco with watermelon, evenings in the garden and some quality time spent with Rosie in the mornings..

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Full Hearts, Tired Bones (week 12)

Posted on 4 Aug 2015

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“I have planted by the stars in defiance of the experts,
and tilled somewhat by incantation and by singing,
and reaped, as I knew, by luck and Heaven’s favor,
in spite of the best advice.” – Wendell Berry

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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We hope you all made it through that insane triple digit heat wave we’ve been suffering through for what seems like forever… haha! Seriously though, on Thursday it reached 110 on the farm, which is just totally not acceptable (especially on a harvest day). But the good news is, after a succession of 100+ days, the farmers, the livestock and the plants all made it out alive! Thanks to the help of shade, water, you guys rooting us on and commiseration texts with fellow farmer friends we were able to make it through the worst of it. It has us wondering though… when did Oregon become such a microwave?

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Summer sunsets, a rare sweaty selfie and all that glorious hay!

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Physically we’re feeling it. The sun and oppressive heat can take it out of you. Bucking 4 more tons of hay on Friday nearly wiped us out but we’re staying in the moment and in the day as much as we can. Mostly it’s the working around the sun that is getting to us. Not enough hours of sleep it seems especially when it’s an early morning wake up call and a late evening planting… which doesn’t leave that much room for sleep after dinner is made. We’re officially in survivor mode and are looking forward to 80 degree summer days again this week! Good thing we eat good! I often wonder how many calories Brian and I burn through in a day….

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do the best you can.

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Summer is here in the garden… let the tomatoes roll on in (especially after all that heat!)

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The heat wave also has up playing catch up this week with planting. Since it was unbearably hot we were unable to plant last week for fear of too much stress (on the plants and the farmers) but with ‘cooler temps’ we are getting them in one crop at a time. Planting the fall crops has got us excited about what the rest of the season will bring! And we’ve still got so many yummy things to look forward to for summer (tomatoes, corn, melons, pole beans etc).

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We’ve been listening to a lot of Wendell Berry interviews while planting in the field and found inspiration in this little snippet: “The answers will come, not from walking up to your farm and saying ‘this is what I want, [and] this is what I expect from you..You walk up and say, ‘what do you need?’ and you commit yourself and say, ‘alright I’m not going to do any extensive damage here until I know what it is you’re asking of me’. And this can’t be hurried.” – Wendell Berry

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one step at a time.

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His and her veggie quiches, our ode to coffee and gloucester hanging out in the morning shade (80*!)

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We LOVE farming which is what keeps us motivated mentally. Feeding our community amazing fresh food is just the best. The heat is just a whole other beast. If the weather was optimal (partly cloudy and 70-80 degrees everyday) we’d be running around this farm no question about it. Either way, our hearts are full as we go into harvest week/share 12. It’s been 11 bountiful weeks on the farm with so much more ahead! Many more endless possibilities…. Ohhh summer, sweet summer…

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Speaking of full hearts, we also celebrated our first year anniversary as a married couple over the weekend. Hard to believe we even pulled off getting married in the beginning of August (there’s no way we would have survived that this year). Thank goodness for all the friends and family who came and lent a hand the days leading up to it… I always think fondly of that time and experience and it’s definitely one of my favorite memories of our wedding. Besides marrying my best friend, of course 😉

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The piggies love to recycle, Brian doing some late evening bed prep and mama hen and her chicks..

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So many things can happen in the course of a year. Its been a wild ride and I feel so thankful that I have someone like Brian to move through these days with – there sure is something special and sacred that we share between us and I thank my lucky stars for the universe bringing us together. Farming is a mutual passion for both of us and one of the main reasons our paths first crossed. He is my other half (sometimes my better half) and my favorite person and I feel so lucky to walk through this life with him. I wanted to share a poem that Farmer B (the english major) wrote about our first anniversary… it’s a good’un…

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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1st anniversary

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We will mark this occasion by planting Fall crops,

Into freshly turned soil that has been given time.

By rotating our cows and pigs onto fresh grass that has regrown after,

A quick first pass in the cool spring.

And by tending to our flock of hens, watching them,

Watching their newly hatched chicks discover the world,

Learning to hide under mother hen as the Red Tails call.

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We will celebrate this day by doing what needs to be done

By setting future failures aside and focusing on the tasks at hand.

Making our way past the English Hawthorns down to the river and back.

We will do what gives us gravity, a place, a home and

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Gratitude.

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“Farm sweet Farm” said the screen print set in a good solid frame.

Our first wedding gift.

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After eating a good breakfast made with all good things,

We will make a list and make priorities,

And prioritize the things that cannot wait.

We will work side by side,

Begging the farm to give us permission.

Thinking of all the friends and our family that we carry with us.

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And we will first work under the light of the blue moon,

As the crickets drowned the noisiness of the world,

And we will sleep deeply with gratitude for all we have been given.

To adventure and to those endless possibilities.

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We will celebrate this day by doing.

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By Farmer B

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A few snippets from our wedding last season…

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With full hearts (and tired bones) we look forward to what this harvest week will bring. Send us your bottled up energy and well wishes! It’s amazing what a little encouragement and cookies (for farmer brian) will do 😉 And a big thank you to the food faeries in the CSA who have been leaving homemade goodies, snacks, cold treats and even dinners. You have been lifesavers for your farmers! Thank you for thinking of us!

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Oh, and be sure to check your email titled ‘WHF Pastured Pork & Sausage Shares!’ regarding the first of our summer pork and sausage (link) shares!

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Be well and take care of yourselves!

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With kind regards,

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

The Upswing (week 11)

Posted on 28 Jul 2015

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Flea beetle damage on the september broccolis but they are already bouncing back, sunnies and transplants galore!

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Hello friends and farm-ily,

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We hope you are doing well. It looks like we are in for another round of “unseasonably warm weather” (according to our weather app). We did have an amazing weekend for weather though with temps in the high 70’s and clouds to boot. We were able to plant 4,000 ft of fall kale, chard, collards, and broccoli. Next up on the ol’ planting list is romanesco, cauliflower, cabbage, kohlrabi and storage beets! It’s probably going to be another week of long evenings for us (to avoid planting in 100 degree weather or should we say “wither”) but we’re making a big push and getting it done one thing at a time. Send us your good thoughts and spirits!

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“But the real products of any year’s work are the farmer’s mind and the cropland itself.” – Wendell Berry

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It’s funny how one season you will discover something new – both challenging and inspiring (new could mean: methods, pest pressure, weed pressure or disease, plant successes, the perfect way to store things in the cooler, a new cultivating sweep that keeps you off your hands and knees etc) and some seasons you rediscover things you might not have revisited in a long while. “Ohhh yeahhh! I remember when this happened before” Everyday it feels like something new – a challenge to rise to in many shapes and forms!

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Gloucester is the ultimate companion planter, brussel sprouts interplanted with phacelia, and the piper in the pepper patch..–

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We are finding that systems are so important on the farm and we are constantly asking ourselves, “what is the most efficient ways to do this job”, “what is the best way to move this crop from field to curing to customer” Etc As a farmer you need to be efficient as possible for many reasons… especially if it’s just two of you managing the day to day farm tasks. The working smarter, not harder is the key to it all. How many times do you pick something up, how many times do you harvest any one crop during the week (can you harvest it all at once)?, how many times do you hand weed a crop etc etc. This year more than ever we are feeling less set in our established ways and more open to change. Sometimes you choose it and other times it becomes necessity otherwise it just won’t work out anymore… This old proverb comes to mind…

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“Necessity is the mother of all invention.” – English proverb

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These are all new methods that we’ve added to the mix this season to make the land and work more efficient (and things we are still learning about as we go along).. cooling and storing the produce with the cooler, harvesting and moving the vegetables with our CSA trailer, pre emergence flame weeding, direct seeding crops with our precision jang seeder, prepping beds with the compost spreader and fertilizer drop spreader, making dibble marks for planting with the chalmers (for ease of planting, equal measurements and uniform planting), stalebedding before planting, cultivating with the chalmers, investing more in organic compost and amendments for the soil, interplanting phacelia and alyssum as an attractant to beneficial predatory insects, building a permanent pick up area for the CSA members etc. These efficiencies seem to be working as we’re able to grow food for over 110 families (over 400 individuals) as two farmers on 4 acres of cultivated land. As we hone in on the efficiencies we are also us thinking about productivity…. How to make the land more productive and that has been inspring us to invest more heavily in the soils.

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The first of the heirloom tomatoes are rolling on in and the twilight hours in the flower garden are magic..

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“To be a successful farmer one must first know the nature of the soil.” – Xenophon, Oeconomicus, 400 B.C.

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SOIL! We have been talking a lot about our soil this season, how we feel the crops are doing with our custom organic fertilizer mix we blended in the Spring, the extra compost, our tilling and watering methods, etc. Every season we are diving just a little bit deeper and understanding more clearly of what our soil needs are specifically to this piece of land. We are excited to really hone in on soil fertility and to see how much the land will change for the better over time. It all starts in the soil and we really just want to become better soil farmers. Farmer Brian LOVES talking soil science and wishes he had more time just to devote to the science part. Bit by bit though and season by season.. we learn, grow and build. It’s easy to feel connected to the farm, the food and soil when you can look at a plant and decipher what it’s needs are just by observing. As farmers, we measure success by the quality of the soil. It’s all about feeding it well so it in turn can be taken up by the plant. We will continue to give, give, give and it too will return to us a bountiful harvest year after year. Same goes for our pasture that we planted in the Fall of 2013.

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The latest beet succession (on the left) and carrot succession (on the right) using the pre-emergence flame weeding..

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Feelin’ Inspired! So far the pre emergent flame weeding has been working very well for us. So well in fact it feels like we’re breathing new life into the season and into your farmers, which feels amazing. The Upswing as we’ve been calling it. The latest successions of storage carrots, beets, cilantro and greens mix have all come up beautifully. We have prepped and readied another 12 beds to direct seed into this week and will continue to experiment and learn more about this amazing new tool/method we are discovering. It really feels like we are on the right track. The plants have a big head start on the weeds and we are spending way less time hand weeding.. a win-win for us all!

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We hope you all have a great start to the week. It was nice to see some of you last week at the pick up – we were able to see about half our members which was a nice pick me up when we weren’t out there planting (it’s a crazy life we lead….) Thank you for your encouragement, appreciation and genuine awesome-ness. We look forward to feeding you all well into the summer and fall! Here we grow week 11!

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A note of encouragement and a thank you: as you may know the House voted to ban states from labeling GMO foods at the end of last week. Thank you for supporting your local farm/farmers! We couldn’t do any of this without you. (And keep voting with your food dollars!) “Shake the hand that feeds you.” ― Michael Pollan ‪#‎knowyourfarmer‬‪#‎knowyourfood‬

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With kind regards,

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Your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

Variable Quandary (week 10)

Posted on 21 Jul 2015

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Our first greenhouse tomato of the season, the view from the sweet corn patch and some time well spent with Ms. Rosie..

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Hi Friends and Farm-ily,

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Here we grow week 10! We hope this week’s newsletter finds you all happy and well. It was another extra hot weekend and we hope you all found a way to stay cool and hydrated! Despite the heat we really made a push this weekend from all angles. Building paddocks and rotating cows and pigs and chickens, direct seeding another round of carrots, beets, cilantro, rutabaga and turnip, seeding trays of late season crops, weeding, thinning, giving the solanaceaes an Epsom salt foliar spray, composting/fertilizing/tilling and prepping beds for transplanting fall crops this week – so many things. Big pushes all around!

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We are hoping to take advantage of the “cooler” weather (10 degrees makes a big difference to the plants and the farmers) during the week to begin transplanting the newest succession of kale, collards, broccoli etc. There never seem to be enough hours in the day to do it all so we have written out our big to-do list and have been prioritizing things as they come up. It’ll feel extra awesome to begin filling up the garden again with vibrant, young plants that will be productive through the late summer and fall.

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Our sweet mama cows Lucy and Stella, a view of the fall transplants awaiting their day in the garden and these two farm buds, Ahab & Una..

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As productive as this season has been, it sure has been a season of many new variables. The biggest variables being the drought and excessive heat. Each season we are learning and more and more we realize that nature is always changing – every minute, every day – and you have to be adaptable. Adaptability is the name of the game. Every minute, every day. Many of these variables we’ve never encountered before. Namely the extreme, excessive heat. None of the crops really love the heat and can only tolerate it so much. At some point in a very hot season even a tomato or an eggplant or a squash will stop putting up flowers because of the heat stress. We are actually already seeing signs of that in our eggplants and they’ve barely just begun. Water is another variable that you have to pay close attention to. We feel lucky that we have our drip irrigation really dialed in but it’s still a full time job making sure everything is getting the water that it needs. Different crops have different water requirements.. some plants need 2” of water a week or prefer a nice deep soak over a surface level soak. Some roots are longer and more prolific while others don’t get any longer than 4 inches. Most things want moisture to keep the roots cool and to avoid too much heat stress and going to seed.

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Another variable is weed pressure which is also up more than ever before due to the dry heat. It’s hard to keep up with the newly germinating weeds (especially with direct seeded crops) which has lead us to trial flame weeding. We start with stale bedding: prepping the bed, watering it, germinating weeds, seeding into a weedy bed and waiting a few days to flame (just before the crop emerges). It is not necessary to burn the weeds. The flame only needs to overheat the tissues and rupture the cells of the plants (weeds). So far we’ve had success with this as before we were flame weeding, the newly seeded bed would turn into a carpet of weeds (pigweed, amaranth, grass) before the crops even had a chance. Now that we’re flaming, a little handweeding/wheelhoeing once a week on these beds and we will be able to keep up with the crops. We took a chance and are excited with the results and know it can only get better from here. In these new (sometimes scary or overwhelming) situations, when it comes down to it, you just have to trust yourself and try something new and trust that it will all work out for the best.. in this ever changing world, every second, everyday. Now we just need to find someone to build us one of these and we will be in business! For those interested, here’s an article on Flame Weeding from Growing for Market

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Gloucester truly is the king of the barn, first cherry tomatoes, and #tbt to this moment with our sweet Ellie.. we sure miss our old gal..

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Whatever the variable, every season, every day there is something new to be learned or a different obstacle to over come. The more you pay attention the more aware you become… which is great because you are constantly learning, but it can also be hard to balance when you put so much blood, sweat and tears into something. With farming there is a process… it begins with a whole lot of hope and a little bit of know how based on the seasons past. When variables change there could be disappointment or frustration or fear or even sadness, followed in time by understanding and then, of course, letting go. After letting go comes inspiration and determination and improvement (even if it feels like it’s against all odds). It’s the hope and the childlike wonder from the beginning of the season that we try to remember and to feel, to start anew and to do better. It is this hope that will continue to help us become better farmers and in the process, better people too.

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After a couple of frustrating happenings (flea beetles causing destruction, birds enjoying tender seedlings, eggplant flowers dropping etc etc) I remembered a word that one of our members used to describe us last season. Stick–to–itiveness: the quality that allows someone to continue trying to do something even though it is difficult or unpleasant. Persistent determination.

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Practicing stick-to-itiveness. The variables will always be changing which makes sense because one year you might have an amazing tomato year and another year you might have just enough. Or, a new kind of pest or disease might wipe out a whole crop or a spring is too wet and soggy to plant. Through it all, I feel lucky to have my fellow farmer and husband to remind me that everything is going to be okay. I also feel lucky to have my friends, family and extra supportive CSA members. Without that community we would lose sense of perspective which is such an important part of this farming life. I am definitely the natural worrier of the two and farming has forced me to have less fear and do the best that I can do and let go of the rest. To grow better and be the best farmer and person I can be.

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Baby chard getting ready to be planted, “giant dahlia” zinnias and a view of the winter squash patch!

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Despite all odds, we will continue to trudge through the heat and dry and do our best. For those who are interested in learning more about the ins and outs of farming in the U.S. we have been lovin’ the Farmer to Farmer podcasts. http://www.farmertofarmerpodcast.com/episodes The Farmer to Farmer Podcast provides a fresh and honest look at everything from soil fertility and record-keeping to getting your crops to market without making yourself crazy. A lot of insightful conversations from farmers across the U.S.! Lots of “food for thought”!

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Enjoy the week and we send our best to you all from the farm.

With kind regards,

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Your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

The Gift of Good Land (week 9)

Posted on 14 Jul 2015

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Might be the earliest melon year yet (we’re patting ourselves on the back for trying two successions of melons this year) & putting up the first 4 tons of hay!

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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Whooie! What a weekend. Full of excitement, appreciation, long- hard working days and even some clouds (THANK GOODNESS). On Friday it was a calm, cool day and we were able to put up the first 4 tons of hay for the winter. We were a touch sore on Saturday but come September (once we reach the last of our 24 ton order) we should be in tip-top pitching hay shape. A wonderfully cloudy start to the weekend also meant transplanting crops (without them quickly turning into sadness), seeding fall turnips, rutabagas, storage carrots etc and weeding and trellising more comfortably than ever before! When you’ve worked through extremes suddenly the slightest change in weather (i.e. slightly lower temps) can broaden your perspective and appreciation!

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Lovely cherry tomatoes are getting their rosy blush, peppers are popping’ and seeding for the Fall!

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It feels like it’s been summer for a long while so it’s hard to remember that we’ve barely just begun! As we head into the harvests of summer, it’s got us thinking about how the C in CSA stands for many things: commitment, culture, community etc… what does the C in CSA mean to you? For our CSA, the community is at its core and we thank you all for your appreciate, encouragement and enthusiasm. We hope you are all feeling lighter, brighter and inspired in the kitchen. We wanted to extend our humble thanks and say ‘thank you for supporting our small farm!’ By committing to the 28 week CSA season you are investing in so much more than vegetables… you are investing in this farm, your two farmers and are helping to keep the dream alive: to provide the best possible food for our community so that they in turn can live happy, productive and healthy lives. By supporting the farm you are making this small part of the World a better place for generations to come.

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Pumpkins are taking form and so are the summer raspberries. Gloucester is always kind to help out in anyway he can…

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And on that note, in 8 weeks of harvest we’ve distributed 17,640lbs of produce to all of our wonderful members (and we haven’t even had our heavy end of summer/early fall CSA boxes yet)! Let us all be thankful for the bounty this year, the fertile soils of the Willamette Valley, and the farmers who love to toil the soil. ‘Tis a place of bounty and beauty where we can successfully grow a large array of produce that we should always be grateful for (we know we are).

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Big plump maters are just hanging from the tomato plants and the flower garden is buzzing with bees!

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There are so many amazing seasonal changes happening in the garden as of late. Melons are sizing up, pumpkins and winter squash are taking form, peppers are plentiful, tomatoes are getting ready to explode, beans are forming…. the summer palette is about to begin! As the box transitions out of Spring and into Summer we can look back and appreciate all those luscious, mildly spicy greens, first roots plucked from the soil and the cool brassica crops like broccoli and cauliflower. The carrots keep coming and the maters are ripening one by one everyday. The pepper plants are full of fruits and we look forward to them all turning red, orange, yellow and gold. The gods of cool-er weather are even blessing us with a week of 80 degree days and we will relish in a full week of “milder” temps.

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Baby bush beans are taking form, the squash keep coming and the sunsets are fiery and warm..

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We continue to do our best in taking care of ourselves! Maintaining a 40 acre property, 4 acres of cultivated veggies, 20 acres of pasture, a business, a small herd of beef cows, 2 dozen pigs, 100 chickens, etc sure does keep a few farmers busy. This season has got us thinking and talking a lot about continuing on the path of working smarter, not harder and we are hoping a few new ideas that we’ve come up with will help to make that happen. At times decisions and plans may seem daunting but when we take a step back and we allow ourselves to process and to be inspired it is then that we feel that we can do better. It helps having someone to bounce ideas off of all the time and neither of us could imagine doing this with anybody else…. So at the end of every busy day there is that!

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Speaking of smarter, not harder… we feel like a bunch of big kids playing with giant hoses this past week when we were getting the waterwheel set up in the pasture. In the future we are hoping that the waterwheel (which pumps water from our spring fed creek and irrigates the pasture) will help to offset rising hay costs so we can keep them on grass longer and not have to supplement feed before the Fall/Winter. With the drought and the hot weather folks are having to feed their cows hay starting in July and August. Part of the reason why we were able to purchase this property was that there was 10 acres on the south side of the property – where the creek and the tualatin meet – that floods out every year. It floods out anywhere from January until mid-March. This is also the area on the farm that stays green the longest (in the pictures above).

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The gift of good land. To another farmer this may seem like unarable land but for us it provides many things, a very important riparian buffer, a sanctuary for birds, beavers, martins and other wildlife, and this time of the year, possible forage to rotate our cows onto. We are thankful for the dynamism that this property has to offer as. To one pair of eyes, it may seem as though this property is not nearly as productive as the perfectly flat piece of land, but to our eyes it allows us the freedom to utilize the property the best way that we can, to get to know it with time, see it through with the seasons and to work with it.. not against it. It has so much more to offer than we could have ever thought and we truly look forward to seeing how it evolves over time.

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Rosie is seriously the most amazing mama pig. She’s due in September and we’re thinking the winter squash might be ready to cure before that! #crazysummer

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We hope you all have a great start to the week! Here we grow Week 9!

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All the best,

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your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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When the Farm Farms You (week 8)

Posted on 7 Jul 2015

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“Living without expectations is hard but, when you can do it, good. Living without hope is harder, and that is bad. You have got to have hope, and you must’nt shirk it. Love, after all, hopeth all things. But maybe you must learn, and it is hard learning, not to hope out loud, especially for other people. You must not let your hope turn into expectation.”
– Wendell Berry

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Hello friends & farm-ily!

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We hope everyone had an excellent 4th of July weekend and that you’ve been keeping out of the hot sun and drinking plenty of water. We are doing our best to stay sane in this hot and dry spring and summer and we feel like we are in survivor mode. We’ve been getting up before the sun to balance out the extreme mind melting heat come the 2-6pm hour range. It’s a hard balance to find with lots of Fall transplants needing to go in the ground in the next few weeks but we’re finding the time to do it to minimize stress on those little plants (and your farmers). Things just seem to take twice as long when the heat is oppressive like this. It’s got us wondering what August will bring…. we’re thinking lots of tomatoes!

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Thanks to social media and to local farmer friends it sure does help to commiserate with our peers in the Pacific NW and also with farmers across the country. Fellow Farmers in the Midwest and up and down the east coast have been getting record amounts of rain making it hard to work the soil or plant and harvest because the plants are in standing water. And here we are in the midst of a drought with record high temps! One of the farms we follow in instagram said this to us (and we couldn’t’ agree more),

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“A wet year will send you to the poor house and a dry year will send you to the crazy house.”

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Finding balance. It’s days like these (or, it’s that time of the season) where it’s a blessing to get a chance to sit down and reflect on the long days… and even better when you have someone right there with you to love and commiserate with. With each season we grow to love and trust one another even more than the season before. As the seasons pass we grow stronger together as a team and better within ourselves. We love farming and we love farming together.

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Although some crops really thrive in hot and dry weather, it also comes with many challenges: 1. Working in the heat (mainly 100* +) days really takes it out of you. There is no respite from the sun when it feels as though it is beating down on you. We’ve been taking lots of water and shade breaks but usually by 2 or 3pm we have no other choice but to focus on other tasks in the shade. 3.We’ve been burning through the calories and the water in order to tackle the ol’ to do list. We are SO looking forward to a promise of 85 in the 10 day… 3 weeks of 90+ days is starting to get to us mentally and physically. 3. Not all plants do well in the heat and they all need a lot of water! 4. Same for animals… if you’re hot they probably are too and since piggies don’t sweat you can be sure we refill their wallows at least twice a day. 5. Pests galore… the pest population in the garden is insane this year. Flea beetles and cucumber beetles galore. We have been using agribon row cover on most things that are ultra tender but due to the heat we are unable to cover some crops. Some tender greens have fallen prey to the flea beetles (little pinholes or burned brown edges from nibbling) and it’s hard to keep up with the population when the warm weather is promoting more gestation cycles! 6. Weeds are growing at a rapid rate and it’s been hard to keep up with all those buggers. We swear they grow an inch a day!

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We did manage to harvest all of our garlic a few weekends ago. Our crop of garlic was hit with the awful Rust fungus. While we are doing our best to salvage what is left we are beginning to give out uncured garlic incase it does not store well into the season. According to the Cattle Press (http://www.capitalpress.com/Oregon/20150617/leaf-rust-found-in-willamette-valley) Oregon in particular seemed to be hit with the leaf rust fungus this year in cereal crops. The fungus then gets carried by air (wind) and thrives in cool/wet conditions. We haven’t seen ay rust on the onions or leeks so here’s hoping! Preventative measures will include rotating our garlic crop (not planting alliums there for 3-4 years) and buying all new garlic seed since ours didn’t size up enough/we’re not sure if it will keep for a fall planting. Last year was the first season we grew all our own garlic seed (didn’t have to purchase any garlic seed) but we will need to bite the bullet this year and replace all our seed. 80lbs of garlic seed x $19/lb adds up quick but we are hopeful that next year will be better! So much to learn all the time especially with the changes in weather and seasons.

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All that to say, despite the struggles of working outside during the hottest summer ever there are many things that are thriving and growing well in the garden. We have a lot of fun crops in store for the summer and fall and are hoping the flea beetle pressure goes down a bit before we start planting our brassicas in the coming weeks.

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We are doing the best we can and appreciate all your encouragement. The break in the weather (never thought we’d be excited about 85*) in the 10-day will give us a chance to reset and get a few things checked off the list.

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For now, we welcome the quiet mornings and evening summer skies and the chance to check in with each other, to be still and to listen. We’ll remember these crazy summer days fondly in the dead of winter when all the canned goodies are lined up on the shelf once again….. We hope that you all have been feelin’ the love (22+lb boxes last week!) and have been braving those kitchens and eating well since we saw you last. Keep those recipe suggestions coming in the Member Group. We love hearing what some of your favorite varietals have been so far this season… never cease to be inspired or to share the love with your farmers!

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“Somedays the farm farms you.” – said eloquently by our friends at Even Pull (picture above is from last year’s epic fall planting day)

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We hope everyone is doing well and we’ll see you soon! With our hearts full of love and our minds on motivation…. it’s back to the mind melting heat we go…

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With kindest regards,

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

Keeping the Pace (week 7)

Posted on 30 Jun 2015

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Hi Friends and Farm-ily,

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We hope you were all able to stay cool with the extremely hot weather over the weekend. It looks like the 90’s are here to stay in the 10-day as we enter the very first days of July. We’re doing our best to keep the pace with these 15 hour days – starting with the rising of the sun and ending with the light of the moon. Time is moving by so quickly and we can hardly believe that the 4th of July is this weekend! Much to our surprise we even saw the first blackberries ripening on the vine which we don’t usually start seeing until we’re at least half way through with July. Crazy!

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Volunteer Work Day. Many Hands, Make Light Work… It’s (almost) July which means in the next few weeks we will be harvesting our storage onions (all 6,000ft of them)! Please send us an email if you are interested in coming to help (it will be sweaty, hard work) and we will keep you updated with all the details! Here’s hoping for a few cloudy days in our future…

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Happy Update! We finished up the last bits of construction on the 12ft x 20ft coolbot cooler in the back of our packing house. Fist pumps and high fives all around. This will be a gamechanger for us on the farm and we’ll spend the next few weeks figuring out what methods of storage work best for all the different crops that we grow. This will offer some flexibility to our harvest days especially with all the extreme heat that we’ve been experiencing. We’ve said it before and we will say it again, infrastructure is everything and we are so pumped for the exciting changes this will bring! Here’s to growing better!

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Speaking of crops, the summer veggies are coming along beautifully and we’re seeing lots of baby melons, peppers, eggplant, cherry tomatoes and the first baby winter squash etc. We’ve been checking the tomatoes everyday for the first ripe maters in the field and we feel like it’s close. It won’t be long now…

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Farmer Jess welcomed her 31st year over the weekend. To celebrate she spent some time with the bees and added another medium to all the hives and seeded another round of successions for fall crops. One of our really good friends (and fellow farmer), Farmer Beth (@evenpullfarm) was kind enough to drop off a big glorious birthday bouquet from their beautiful farm. It truly is the little things that matter especially with the kind of season we’ve had this year (busier than ever).

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It’s the little things… Thank you all for your encouraging notes, emails and cool treats that you’ve sent our way. We truly appreciate all your good thoughts. The long days continue on as we’ve been tackling projects of all sizes big and small. The bees even gave Jess an early birthday present in the shape of a heart on their hive this weekend (bees will “beard” on the front of a hive when they are trying to cool everything down… first time we’ve ever seen a bearding in the shape of a heart!)

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Here we grow Week 7! Be well and enjoy this week’s bounty!

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With kind 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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