Working Hands Farm 2014 CSA

Posted on 1 Jan 2014

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“No man is born in possession of the art of living, any more than of the art of agriculture; the one requires to be studied as well as the other, and a man can no more expect permanent satisfaction from actions performed at random, than he can expect a good crop from seeds sown without due regard to soil and season…Nothing is more conducive to happiness, than fixing on an end to be gained, and then steadily pursuing its attainment.”

— J.C. Loudon – An Encyclopedia of Agriculture, 1825

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Happy New Years friends & farm-ily!

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We hope the winter and holiday season is treating everyone well. Although the winter has its perks, your farmers are feeling antsy for Spring and another year of farming ahead! We’ve been keeping busy with many little projects around the farm to get ready for the coming season (clearing & cleaning the front of the property, re-building the greenhouse & shade structure/veggie processing area, putting in irrigation, as well as animal infrastructure for the pasture and clearing out the last bits of farm stuff at the old farm). We still can’t believe we get to do this every year.. we love what we do and couldn’t be more appreciative of the community around us. We are so excited for the endless possibilities that 2014 holds..

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This time of the year we’re surely missing homegrown, fresh, organic goodies from the garden.. we’re getting hungry for the 2014 season already!

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As for this year’s winter (so far), it’s surely been a funny season since the end of the Fall CSA. The end of November and December have been awfully cold for this area and we’ve only had 25% of the rain that we usually do this time of the year. But because of this we’re making headway on the new property and are VERY excited for the coming season on the new farm. Spring is just around the corner (thank goodness the days are now getting longer) and we’re gearing up for our seed order, raising of the greenhouse, seed starting and planning in anticipation of our greatest year yet! We’re so excited to continue on in this journey and to share it all with you. And as always.. a great many thanks for all your appreciation, support and love through one of the busiest CSA seasons we’ve experienced to date!

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CSA Sign-Up Starts TODAY! 2013 was not only our busiest season but it was also our most productive year yet (over 36,000 lbs of produce grown) and we have a feeling that 2014 will be even better! As you know, our 2014 sign up starts TODAY January 1^st with a 2 week priority sign-up for our previous 2013 CSA members. We will be limiting our CSA to the first 85 members to sign up so we encourage you to sign up as soon as possible.

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The piglets are growing up so quick and are as cute as the day they were born!

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2014 CSA Info. You can read all about our 2014 CSA here – for the Who, What, When, Where, Why & How (much). We have some exciting new CSA updates in store for you all so please read carefully (below)!

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28 week CSA. Our 2014 CSA season is 28 weeks and now includes the “Fall CSA.” We had initially started the Fall CSA 3 years ago with hopes that we could grow successfully through the cooler Fall months. Well, the last two Fall seasons have been a success (the most recent Fall CSA was probably our favorite CSA season to date) and have decided to permanently extend the CSA to 28 weeks. We love eating seasonally and there’s nothing better than seeing the seasons through when you’re eating fresh out of the garden! As the seasons vary the CSA may begin up to two weeks before or after our estimated start – the week of May 20th and continue on from that date for 28 weeks.

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The bees taking a moment a few weeks ago on a 50 degree day to clean out the hive.. they might have moved farms but haven’t skipped a beat!

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Crops. As we prepare for the 2014 season we feel more confident – about the varieties of crops that we grow – than ever! Last year we grew the most diverse produce we’ve grown to date. We did this to get an idea of which plants grew the best, produced the most, tasted the best and survived throughout all the seasons. We have selected the best from 2013 and are excited to incorporate a few new varieties of veggies that we know our members are going to love. We will be investing in some new perennial crops this year like Artichoke, rhubarb asparagus, apples, pears, etc… and our raspberries we planted last season for this year are looking great – as do the strawberries and we’re excited for that first taste of homegrown berries…

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Sign-Up & Deposit. Once you’ve read about the 2014 CSA season you can sign-up online. In order to reserve your share we require a $250 deposit that is non-refundable and is applied to the total cost of the CSA. The deposit is due within two weeks of submitting our online CSA form. Once your deposit of $250 is received we will send you a confirmation email welcoming you to our CSA program.

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We encourage those members who can, to pay more than the deposit upon signing up, this helps your farmers absorb the initial expenses that happen at the beginning of the season. Our farm is a livable wage farm and by being part of our farm-ily you are directly investing in a sustainable agricultural model that doesn’t make compromises! Because of your investment we will be able to provide safe, delicious and nutritious food for many years to come. Remember that our CSA operates on a first come, first serve basis so sign up ASAP!

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The ladies of Chateau Poulet LOVE their new home and can’t wait for the coming of Spring!

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Egg Shares. The ladies of Chateau Poulet appreciate all the love and support this past season. We will be keeping a flock of 150 heritage birds in the 2014 season and that means a lot of eggs! They are raised on fresh pasture as well as an organic, non-gmo feed (no soy, no corn) made in the Pacific NW by Scratch and Peck – a local feed supply that we feel lucky to be working with. Our chicks are due in January which means they will be laying come the start of the CSA season. Egg shares will be available for purchase in May coinciding with the start of the CSA season. Remember eggs are limited and will go to CSA members on a first come first serve basis.

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Farm Pick-Up. All weekly CSAs are collected at our farm from 4-7pm. You will be able to choose the pick up day that you prefer while space is available (Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday) and the pick up day you select will be your assigned day for the duration of the season. Your famers make a point of being available from 4-5pm at each drop and do this to facilitate a sense of community within our CSA with good food at its core. Our farm is located in Hillsboro at 7705 SW River Rd 97123 – just 2 miles north from our old farm (on the other side of Farmington).

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Ellie & Maribelle are queens of the barn in their spacious new barn stall & can’t wait to let them loose on pasture in the Spring. What a glorious day!

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Quick Links: 2014 CSA Season (the Who, What, Where, Why, When & How Much) & our 2014 Sign-Up Form. If you have any further questions be sure to check out our Q&A section or send us an email. We hope you will be joining us again this year as we can’t imagine a season without you!

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And a quick but very important favor for your farmers… word of mouth is the best way to help us grow and sustain our small farm. Please encourage interested friends, family, neighbors & community etc… in signing up for their CSA share. Many thanks for your help from all of us at Working Hands.

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Check out the slideshow below for wintery updates from the farm as well as this link to our favorite photos from our 2013 season.

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May 2014 be filled with love, adventure, laughter and all good things for you and your family!

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Happiest of days to you all!

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Jess, Brian & the rest of the farm-ily… Ellie, Maribelle, Truffle, Otis, the piglets & the ladies of Chateau Poulet

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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Working Hands Farm Fall CSA Week 7 & 8

Posted on 18 Nov 2013

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Hey Friends & Farm-ily,

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It’s Week 7 & 8 of the Fall CSA, which means the last pick-up of the season! We can hardly believe it’s been 28 weeks since we started our 2013 harvest season. Little did we know what a season we would have when we began seeding trays back in January. We’ve come a long way this year and what a fruitful season it has been! Thanks for believing in your farmers every step of the way and for being a constant reminder of why we do what we do everyday. We look forward to serving this community for years to come. Y’all are the best.

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We hope you all had an inspiring journey during this 8 week season (and for many, all 28 weeks) – we hope many meals were shared and enjoyed in the warmth of your kitchen, that you enjoyed trying out some new veggies/varieties & won’t miss the farm fare too much during the winters months… we’ll all be dreaming of tomatoes come the middle of January <sigh>. This week there will be a “Week 7” share table and a “Week 8” share table in the barn for pick-up – be sure to grab one of each! There will be another table with greens, eggs and a few other choice items. Your farmers will be there to greet you until 5pm and will leave the barn lights on until 7pm.

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The Fall CSA shares all averaged in at a weight of 30lbs per week! And for organic, fresh picked, local produce we think $1.20 per pound is a great deal! All of the Fall shares contained 13-16 items with a great variety of crops and delicious tasting veggies that have inspired many fantastic home cooked meals (thanks for sharing all your delicious accomplishments in your kitchens!) Thanks so much for your recipe contributions, affirmation and excitement. We have enjoyed the Fall CSA so much and feel great about ending the 2013 season on such a high note!

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Fun Farm Fact. We’ve grown, harvested & distributed over 36,000 lbs of produce to our members and community this growing season. Who says small farms can’t feed the World? This is a number that we’re super proud of (and more then we initially projected..) as it’s a lot of food being produced on 3 acres of land by two people! And…12,000 lbs of the total number were produced during the 8 weeks of the Fall CSA! Cheers to our biggest (and best) year yet.

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Feelin’ blessed. We’ve been enjoying the variety (over 60 different kinds of vegetables and even more varieties) and bounty these 28 weeks. We feel blessed as farmers in the Pacific NW to be able to grow such a beautiful array of vegetables for our community. From berries and melons to brassicas and winter squash we can grow just about anything here! Every season we try out a few dozen or so new veggies and varieties. Making our seed list in January is one of our favorite things to do in the winter… checking our notes and remembering which varieties grew the best, tasted the best etc. What we’re some of your favorite veggies this season?

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Keep Moving forward. We’ve made some awesome headway on building winter housing for the animals in the barn. Ellie & Maribelle’s spacious stall is built out and then we’ll continue on with the pig stalls in hopes of moving everybody over at the end of the week. We’ve moved all our hens over this weekend into their new coop far away from the barn (and are so happy we’ll never have to do THAT again.. what a ta-do…). They seem to love the new coop and have plenty of space in there. With breezy windows, better roosts and egg boxes what’s not to like? Plus, we’re pretty pumped that we can “build stuff now.” The year of learning (all around).

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Ending the season with a bang. Looks like we’re in for a chilly double harvest for our last CSA week (with temps in the 40’s during the day and high 20’s at night). But, luckily, for us, we have our dear friend – Farmer Beth – who will be helping out with our double harvest and with her help we haven’t any doubts that cold, wind, rain, or double harvest will slow us down! All the hard work will keep us nice and warm anyway…

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Winter Veggies & Eggs. We’ll keep everyone updated about any veggies we may have available during the month of December. Eggs will be available for purchase during the Winter and Spring months as well and will be taking orders via email!

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2014 CSA sign-ups will begin in January and we’ll keep everyone in the loop (our members will have the first chance to sign-up before we open it up to the public). Whoo hoo! We’re excited to overhaul the website, make a new farm-y video and nestle in a bit and get creative! Keep in touch with your farmers through our website, facebook and instagram!

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Crates. Just a friendly reminder to return any CSA crates – that you may have at home – this week! We’re missing a dozen or so and are hoping to get them all back as it’s the last week for pick-up. This week’s “double share” pick-up will be in the barn (just too many goodies to fit under the shade structure) and there will be a spot to leave them there. If you have any at home be sure to set them out or put them in your car to make it easy! Thanks so much in advance.

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Hope it’s a great start to the week. We look forward to seeing you all soon!

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Many thanks and the happiest of holidays next week,

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your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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Working Hands Farm Fall CSA Week 6

Posted on 11 Nov 2013

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Hey Friends & Farm-ily,

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We’ve made it to week 6… which means there is only one more week of pick-up left for our Fall CSA! We’ve had an amazing time with the Fall CSA this season – such a wonderful bounty with incredibly thoughtful & amazing CSA members!

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Turnip the beet! Next week’s “double share…” Next week you will be picking up shares for week 7 & 8. This is a great way to spread the love during the Thanksgiving holiday! Most of the veggies are storage crops and can be kept for weeks and weeks (some even months). Storage onions, potatoes, winter squash will all keep in a cool place. Root veggies such as carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, rutabaga & leeks & cabbage too 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, or broccoli.

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Depending on what Mother Nature is up to we might have some extra goodies for harvest during the month of December. For those interested in purchasing greens, storage crops, eggs & other goodies throughout December please let us know and we’ll keep you updated week by week of what we have available here on the farm.

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Progress, progress, progress… We are getting there! Thanks to the help of our dear friends – Beth & Erik – we were able to disassemble our green house this weekend. It took about two days but we did it (thanks to the help of our tractor… that machine gets MVP for all the things it’s helped us accomplish this year…)! The new chicken coop is finished and awaiting the arrival of our ladies. This week, we’ll begin building out a few stalls in the barn for Ellie and Maribelle and make plans for pig shelters and fences. We’re cruising right along now and it’s only a matter of time before we’re moved over completely! <big farmer smiles & high fives>

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It’s been an exciting process this year and we’ve never worked harder. We welcome the hard work and although it’s made for some long days we have chosen to live this life because we believe in it. Thanks for believing in us and being the best kind of positive reinforcement these two farmers could get. We so appreciate it and can’t wait to share in the beauty, the bounty, the hard work and the excitement during the 2014 season at the new farm! Cheers to that!

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Crates! As we begin to wind down our Fall season we will be keeping an eye on our crate inventory. If you have any crates piling up at your house be sure to bring them by to this week’s pick up. You have all been great about returning crates this season and we so appreciate it! Thanks so much in advance.

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Favorite Thanksgiving Day recipes. Have any veggie related turkey day recipes that you’d like to share? Feel free to email them our way for next week’s recipe handout! Yum.

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Just a heads up… we have taken the green house down but most of its metal parts won’t make it to the new farm until next weekend. The metal pieces are around the periphery but please be mindful when parking and exiting the parking lot this week!

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Enjoy the start of your week and we’ll see you all soon…

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Our 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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Working Hands Farm Fall CSA Week 5

Posted on 4 Nov 2013

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Hey Friends & Farm-ily,

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Here we go, Week 5! We missed seeing you all last week – your farmers have been unbelievably busy with building/creating new infrastructure for all the animals and moving the farm (piece by piece)! Our heads are still above water so no need to worry about your farmers – all the “sweet” treats we received last week surely put smiles on our faces. We appreciate our amazing CSA members – such thoughtfulness and inspiration is found in our connections to our community. We think you guys rock!

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We hope you all are appreciating that “extra hour” of sleep this week. We can get the day started a bit earlier but of course that means sunset is now around 5 pm (those long summer days are gone…) It’s officially Autumn in our minds.. even though the weather is just starting to show signs of November the shorter days and colder nights remind us that the season is slowing us down (even though there is much to do).

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We’re keeping it short and sweet this week as we make our way through the longest farmer to-do list of 2013… Thanks for all the love and support! Remember your crates. Eggs will continue to be available for purchase and email us any recipes you might have discovered with the help of your CSA bounty!

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We look forward to seeing you all this week. Stay dry and enjoy the warmth of your kitchens.

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Our best,

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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p.s. You might notice that our Farm Sign is no longer out on display on the road (we’re slowly taking down and moving all our farm stuff this month). We are still there and pick-ups will continue at this farm for the remainder of the Fall season!

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Working Hands Farm Fall CSA Week 4

Posted on 28 Oct 2013

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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Week 4! We’re half way through the Fall CSA season and nearing the 1^st of November (can you believe it?) We never thought we’d have quite the sunny season extension.. we knew we’d be busy, busy this Fall but never thought we’d be this productive! All season our mantra has been January (as a short period of rest for your farmers and marks the calendar at a little over a year since we began the new farm project) – here’s hoping that we get there…

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We seriously love it though (otherwise I don’t think we’d willingly choose to be farmers) and the slowing down/end of Fall hibernation will set in soon enough. Looks like tonight might be the perfect opportunity to light up a fire with temps in the lowers 30’s – high 20’s. ‘Tis the season to nestle in and get into hibernation mode (reading, writing, creative projects, cozy fires, comfy sweaters, warm kitchens, big meals, planning… our favorite!)

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Happy Farmer News…

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Happy Farmer News! Ok, so, we have some happy news to share with you all this week… your farmers are gettin’ hitched! Brian asked Jess – in the company of a few really amazing friends – and was pleasantly surprised to hear a big, glorious “yes!” We’re both pretty excited to see what the next year will bring. Thanks for all your encouragement thus far. We are truly humbled by the amazing community that surrounds us (both near and far). It’s the best!

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Farm-ily updates. All of the critters are happy and healthy and the piglets will be a month old this Thursday. The veggies look pretty great, we’ve officially moved out of our old house and into the new, we’ll be finished siding the barn this week and have moved all our storage crops into the barn, the garlic is already sprouting!, progress on the chicken coop continues and we’ll begin “operation move lots of farm stuff” starting with the green house this weekend. One step closer all the time… <high five>

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Just a friendly reminder… the last CSA pick up will be the week before Thanksgiving and on that week you will receive a double share (week 7 AND 8). Plenty of goodies to share around the Thanksgiving holiday… yum!

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A big thanks for bringing your crates last week! Your farmers sure do appreciate it – keep up the good work!

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Enjoy the start of your week and we’ll see you all soon! If you tried any new and inspiring recipes recently email them our way…

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Happy Hallows Eve,

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Your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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Working Hands Farm Fall CSA Week 3

Posted on 21 Oct 2013

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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Hope you all have been enjoying the goodies so far! We’re pleased to be going into our 3^rd week of the Fall CSA (and still without our first real frost). 70’s during the day and in the 30’s a night is a very stark contrast and it’s got your farmers wondering what’s up with Mother Nature this Fall (must be making up for all the rain in cold we had in September). In any case, the sunshine and good weather sure does help when you’re moving one farm to the other.

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We feel like we blinked and it was the start of the week already… must be all of the sunshine and productivity here on the farm. Farmer Brian and crew have made some serious progress on the barn siding. We’re hoping by the end of the week we’ll be able to move all our storage crops inside as well as Ellie & Maribelle’s food source for the winter. A dry place also means the beginning of moving all our farm, equipment, animals, greenhouse, tools, shade structure etc. We imagine taking it piece by piece for the next 5 weeks or so.

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More of our summer crop blocks have been tilled in awaiting to be cover cropped. The new Chateau Poulet is also coming along. We’ve been working on it in the wee hours before harvest/siding and just before sunset. Hopefully we’ll be able to put in some serious man-hours this weekend and get Chateau Poulet up and running so that sometime in November we can move all the ladies over.

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Harvest went well last week (with Farmer Jess on her solo mission) and we’re both feeling blessed for the endless energy, inspiration, excitement and sunshine. Not to mention, our awesome members who keep us smiling and stored up on good energy! Thanks for that!

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Miss Truffle’s piglets are thriving and are starting to look like little linebackers. These days, despite the chilly morning temperatures and the call of the heat lamp and a good pig pile, they are just as eager to be fed in the morning as mama. They are in and out and all over Truffle’s feeding trough eager to see what’s for breakfast (besides mama’s milk). So far their favorites seem to be beets, rotten melon, apple & pumpkin. We are still figuring out their accommodations at the new farm but know they will be excited for there are many a fallen walnut and rotten apple at their disposal aka piggy paradise.

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Eggs. Just a friendly reminder that “egg shares” don’t carry through to the Fall CSA and we are offering them for purchase during the pick-ups at $7.50/dozen. Their supplemental feed is made up of whole grains that are local, organic AND gmo free. Can’t get these delicious pasture-raised eggs at the grocery store!

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Crates & Recipes. Please remember your crates this week. And if you’ve enjoyed any new recipes be sure to email them our way! We love sharing and trying new recipes!

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Enjoy the week! It’s another double duty week for your farmers (with siding the barn and harvesting) so wish us luck! We’ll be available from 4-5pm at the pick ups and look forward to seeing you all soon!

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Many thanks,

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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Working Hands Farm Fall CSA Week 2

Posted on 14 Oct 2013

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily!

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Happy second week of the Fall CSA! We hope you all enjoyed the first week’s bounty. It was such a pleasure meeting all our new members and welcoming back familiar faces. We’re happy to have a community surrounding us that loves food as much as we do! Feel free to email any favorite recipes you find along the way… or if you’re in need of any ideas we’re there to talk about food at the drop!

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Fun little produce note: You’ll notice as the cooler weather comes in that the brassica crops will sweeten up! Plants produce more sugar to keep their cell walls from bursting and we benefit greatly in terms of the flavor.

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Updates from the field. Thanks for all your well wishes of sun… it looks like we finally got our wish! At the end of our harvest week, we began our Fall/Winter prep and covered all our more “tender” greens with frost protection. In the summer months we use a lighter weight fabric as a bug protectant (a much better and easier method than spraying) and in the winter we switch to a thicker weight that protects against frost. We had a few nights dip into the high 30’s. Our first frost last year was October 1^st so we’ll see just when this year’s frost will be. It’s amazing to us how different each season can be.. and the 10-day forecast looks like we’re all in for a real treat!

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Thanks to the beautiful weather we also planted all our garlic! We’ve been slowly building up our garlic seed over the past few years and this year was our biggest planting yet. Organic garlic seed ain’t cheap (at $20-24 per pound and at 10lbs per bed it adds up quick) but we use garlic in every meal and believe it to be important as a part of our CSA. We hope to include more and more garlic as the years go on. Enjoy all the richness you will find – different levels of spice, earthiness, vigor. We just can’t get enough of the stuff.

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The bees are gearing up for the winter. Upon our inspection last weekend we found that the majority – 6 out of 9 hives – had high bee numbers, there was plenty of food stored for the winter and that there is a healthy, laying queen. Three of them appeared to be weaker and showed definite signs of the varroa mite (which weakens their immune systems indefinitely). Did you know that worker bees live 4 to 6 weeks during the active season and those reared in the fall may live as long as 6 months? They are such awesome creatures. We hope that the odds are in our favor and that they live through the winter. The Pacific NW is somewhere in the midrange of overwintering loss (at 30%) so we’re hoping for the best! We’ll be moving over the bees come November to their new home on the farm.

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Updates from the new farm. Operation build new chicken coop also began this weekend. So far we have the bottom floor in and have begun framing the sides. The new coop will include a place to store feed and a space for a brooder (for new young chicks!) Checking off a few more items on our 2013 TO-DO list aka the longest to-do list ever! The barn roof continues to go up and Farmer Brian and friends will begin siding the barn this week coinciding with our harvest (go farmer Jess, go)!

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Updates from the barn. Our little piglets sure are thriving. At just a little over a week old they are beginning to stretch their legs and even their bounds (we found one had escaped into the field just the other day). They are mimicking all of mom’s gestures – making a nest and burrowing in it, distinguishing where the food is, where to go to the bathroom, have started rooting in the dirt etc – they are such smart creatures! We’re excited to share the piglets with our members and welcome those who are interested to accompany their farmers into the barn to take a look. We ask that folks enter quietly as the tiny piglets sleep most of the day so the less stress the better – for mama pig too! Interesting pig fact: Pigs hate being picked up off the ground! They squeal and squeal. Turns out they like having all their feet on the ground at all times…

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Chicken update. Thanks to our friend, Naomi – at Naomi’s Organic Farm Supply in Portland – we believe we’ve come up with a much better system for feeding our layer hens! Over the past few weeks we’ve changed our system and feel as though they are now eating a more adequate amount of food paired with their forage on pasture. We now use just a simple feeder bowl on a cinder block and mix in a little water so that the fines (minerals and other nutrients) don’t just get flicked or left behind. We can’t believe how well it works with little to no waste (and chickens can be the most wasteful of the bunch)!

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Eggs. The gals of Chateau Poulet thank you for all your support last week! There will be eggs available this week for purchase.

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Thanks again for your support and encouragement! We had a great start to the Fall CSA and feel pretty wonderful about the next 7 weeks! In this blog post we mention some of our favorite recipe blogs. And, if you’re looking for ways to preserve your extra goodies and get creative in the kitchen click here! Don’t forget – all of the root veggies and winter squash should store for several weeks. Enjoy and we’ll see you all soon.

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Remember your crate! Also, we reuse rubber bands, egg cartons & berry boxes.

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Many thanks,

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your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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Working Hands Farm Fall CSA Week 1

Posted on 7 Oct 2013

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Hey friends & farm-ily,

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Welcome to the beginning of our Fall CSA! It’s hard to believe it’s already October but we couldn’t be happier to extend our season for another few months into the 2013 season. With all the mix of sun and clouds of late we’ve been able to get a lot of work done on both farms. Putting our beds to rest, shucking garlic for a fall planting, harvesting the rest of our winter squash and rolling up irrigation lines until we need them next season. We haven’t had our first frost yet which means that things are growing while they still can. Everyday we are losing a little bit of light which means the plants, the animals and the farmers have to slow down just a little to reserve their energy for the winter ahead.

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And if you didn’t hear the news already…. (or, see one of these amazingly cute videos we posted over the weekend – one, two & three)

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The piglets are here! Our sow Truffle had her first litter of piglets during the ‘tail end’ of the CSA drop on Thursday. They sure are an adorable bunch (the little girl even has a spotted pink nose). Ellie & Maribelle stood outside Truffle’s stall chewing their cud to watch the new piglets in action (too funny). The first few days were long for us – checking in on mom and babies to make sure everyone was a-ok and getting what they needed. At first we thought Truffle had a bout of mastitis but now we believe she just hadn’t let down her milk (a farmer friend informed us that first time pig mamas can sometimes take up to 3 days to let down their milk). After a few sleepless nights things seem to be going well. Truffle has been a great mama through it all. The animal barn will be closed this week to visitors, as we want to keep the stress factor down for mama while we all adjust to this new change. Thanks so much for understanding!

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How the CSA works. For those of you who are new to the CSA – WELCOME! We are so excited to meet you and your families and to feed you for the next few months. For all those lovely folks returning, and for those we’ll see back in the Spring we appreciate all the goodness you bring to the farm and hope you all enjoy the bounty ahead!

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Have fun with food! Get creative & be inspired. Ask questions & be open – you’ll be surprised what you might find as the season unfolds. Past members have suggested going to the grocery store after you have received your crate. It saves you trips and also may save you from going to the grocery every week (your farmers know that you always leave the grocery with way more than you intended) thus cutting down on food costs! We include weekly recipes with the box that guide you through that week’s bounty. We grow over 60 + types of vegetables and fruits over our 28 week season – all brought to you during their peak ripeness – and “time” in the season! We grow several varieties of each kind of veggie/fruit which makes for 100’s of delicious varieties to enjoy throughout the season.

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Find a little community in this farm – be proud to be part of something important – and to pat yourself on the back for taking care of yourself (and loved ones.) These veggies (and eggs) that you will be nourishing your bodies with for the next 8 weeks are grown with love, passion & happy living soil. We pride ourselves on offering the best possible produce to our community and we believe all that hard work shows. We hope that you truly enjoy all the benefits of eating fresh (picked THAT morning), eating seasonally (sorry, no tomatoes in December), and local (your local farmer, Brian and I, need the support of his/her community)

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Pick-Up times. We sent out emails last week with your pick up day and time and location. Please let us know if you have any questions. On your pick up day just follow the sign where you will find parking between the greenhouse and the white barn. We’ll have pick ups in the shade structure until the weather turns and we’ll leave a light on for folks who come from 6-7pm. Your farmers will be available at Fall pick ups from 4-5pm to say hello, answer any questions, take part in food related chats & general farmyness, share recipe ideas etc. If you are unable to come pick up your share, you can either arrange for a friend or family member to pick it up for you or give us 24hr notice and we can donate your box of goodies. All unclaimed boxes will be donated as we don’t have any means of storing them (i.e. refrigeration) on the farm.

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Crates. Our CSA crates are hand built (by your farmers) as the hope is to use them for years to come. We believe this to be a more sustainable practice as the alternative (cardboard, paper etc) only last a year or two – not to mention we love the aesthetic and nostalgia it brings together with all the fresh bounty nearly toppling out of it. It is an extra thing we do for the CSA (at cost to your farmers/farm) and we love it. In order to keep producing crates, it’s very important to return them each week. It’s one of those things that makes a huge difference to your farmers in performing at our highest efficiency as it’s just the two of us harvesting for 25 families everyday (if we don’t have enough crates there is nothing to put your produce in.) Past members suggest leaving it in the trunk of you car, or by your back door (so you remember to grab it.) It’s a small but very important role that you play in order to make this CSA flow smoothly! We thank you in advance for helping us in that regard.

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Compost. In keeping with a more sustainable farm model (and since everything in nature moves in circles) we will be keeping a few bins at the farm pick ups for our compost pile. If you happen to have any leftover greens, tops, bit n pieces etc from Working Hands Farm produce waste (please, only waste from our farm) feel free to bring it in your own container and empty that container in the farm bin provided.

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Reduce, reuse, recycle. For all those who purchase eggs or buy eggs at the store we reuse our paper egg cartons! Please save up your egg cartons for us and return them (please no plastic or styrofoam.) We also reuse all berry boxes (1/2 pints, pints, quarts) so you can return those as well. We are a thoughtful farm in terms of minimizing waste and reuse what we can!

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Eggs. Our delicious pasture raised, organic, non gmo certified, no corn, no soy eggs will be available a la carte (separately) for the Fall CSA. $7.50/dozen. The grass is green and those yolks are brilliantly orange! The ladies of Chateau Poulet give thanks for your support (and by the end of this month we should have some new baby chicks…!)

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We look forward to seeing you all this week! Be sure to check out this week’s farm slideshow for more adorable pictures from around the farm!

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Your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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Working Hands Farm CSA Week 20

Posted on 30 Sep 2013

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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Well, we made it… here we are at Week 20 of the Spring & Summer CSA! We hope you all survived the storm that has been making its way through the Northwest the past 4 days. Those days of never ending rain, gray and wind made us believers that Summer has indeed left us and that Fall is here. Despite the gloom, the temperatures are still fairly mild and we don’ t see a frost on the near horizon. The warm(er) rain has turned our tomato plants to mush and we’ll be busy harvesting “green tomatoes” this week in hopes to extend our tomato season into the Fall/early Winter.

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The sun finally made an appearance this afternoon and it felt like instant energy. It felt so good to get our hands dirty without all the sideways rain, gusty winds and sinking muck boots. Those days where you feel like you can never get dry. Thanks to the sun we finished up the task of collecting all our winter squash so that it can cure for a few weeks and store for the months ahead! We’re praying for a succession of sunny days this week so that we can begin our sweet potato harvest, lay some irrigation pipes, grab up our second succession of beans, begin rolling up and storing all our drip tape for irrigation, collect storage tomatoes, hang up all our hot peppers to dry etc. So, if you think of it, send a little sunshine your farmers way!

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Ellie looking out longingly… awaiting a break in the rain (the animals were “cooped” up in the barn all weekend)

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The rain gave your farmers a chance to pause for some reflection and appreciation. Every year, it gets a little better and this season has been our best yet! The past 5 months have truly been an amazing and successful season. All the variety, all the fruits, all the sun kissed, fresh picked goodness! We’re proud and happy to grow, feed and nourish our community. Thank you for trusting in us to feed your families and for making the choice to buy direct and to invest in your local farm. You have all made a positive impact on your farmers ( your environment, your family & friends) and we appreciate the support, encouragement and thoughtfulness! Farming is in our bones and we feel so thankful to have a community that values nutrient rich, fresh food, thoughtful growing practices, good ol’ fashioned hard work and heartfelt passion. It’s been an amazing ride and we’re so excited for this year’s Fall CSA & the Spring/Summer season of 2014! Keep your eyes open for sign ups in January of next year.

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What have been some of your favorite vegetables this year?

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The winter squash is harvested and curing awaiting some magical roasting this Fall..

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The Fall CSA begins next week! We’re super excited to slow down a little bit and enjoy the cooler weather with some home cooking, baking, roasting, toasting yeah! Remember to check which day you signed up for in the weeks ahead. CSA pick up will now be from 4:00 – 7:00 pm. Your farmers will be available during pick up times from 4-5pm during the Fall CSA and will leave the lights on for folks who come later on (can you believe it will be dark by 5 again?) There are plenty of crops to look forward to this Fall so get ready!

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Last minute crates! If anyone has any crates hanging around from the Spring & Summer CSA please bring them with you to pick-ups (or leave them out for delivery) this week. Most of them have been returned (A BIG THANK YOU) and there are just a few out there roaming about in the World. You guys rock!

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Storing up for the winter.. it’s how these farmers survive the 6-7 months of rain

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Truffle update. We’re on piglet watch this week (her due date is on the 4^th!) and we’re getting excited. We’re happy she decided not to have the piglets during the storms over the weekend and are eagerly waiting for those little ones to arrive. Hopefully there will be some piglet pictures in next week’s newsletter!

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Thank you again for all your support. Two farmers, One farm, dirty hands, clean hearts…

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All the best and see you soon! Stay dry out there.

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Ms. Houdini might make it into our Christmas card this year…

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your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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Working Hands Farm CSA Week 19

Posted on 23 Sep 2013

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Hey Friends & Farm-ily,

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Happy Fall! We’ve made it through yet another wonderful summer season albeit very different from the last! Looks like we have some mild Fall weather ahead in the next few weeks and shouldn’t have to say goodbye – just yet – to all our summer crops. Although, our poor heirloom tomatoes have seen better days… the rain and colder temps have caught up causing a serious late blight to the plants. A few remain so enjoy them while they last! Just two more weeks left of the Spring/Summer CSA… then it’s onto Fall..

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2013 has been such a long and glorious season. We’ve been enjoying the variety (over 60 different kinds of vegetables and even more varieties) and bounty these past 17 weeks. We feel blessed as farmers to be able to grow such a beautiful array of vegetables for our community. Every new year we try out a few dozen or so new veggies and varieties. Making our seed list is one of our favorite things to do in the winter… checking our notes and remembering which varieties grew the best, tasted the best etc.

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Thanks again to our members for making it out to the new farm this weekend! Despite the wet(ter) weather, you stayed true to your Oregonian roots, and braved the elements and welcomed in the first weekend of Fall with open arms. It was great to see you all and we look forward to many seasons ahead there.

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We appreciate your encouragement and excitement as we gear up for our big move and transition. It will be bittersweet as this place was the first farm, the first opportunity to fall in love with farming, and with each other.. where it all began. We’ve learned a lot over the past 4 years and are excited to put all that knowledge to good use, to take on new challenges and to keep moving forward. The new garden is brimming full of crops, we’re planning, building and constructing new homes for the animals, and will be moving the greenhouse, shade structure, animals, tools, you name it over the Fall and Winter months. We have a long way to go but are excited for the challenge and excited to share it all with you!

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As we near the 3/4 mark of our season we begin to look to our projections for the year and see where we stand. The topic of late has been our laying hens and an interesting conversation was started over the weekend in regards to production, feed cost, etc… “Every two months we order a one ton tote of verified GMO free, organic and locally produced chicken feed. It is the most expensive and high quality feed in our area. We believe this feed as a supplement to fresh pasture and organic veggies produces the best eggs possible for our members. Every year we spend about $6,000 on chicken feed. We sell all of our eggs which totals to 850 dozens and we sell them for $6.50 per dozen. That means this year we will lose about $800 on our eggs. So the question becomes, do we raise our prices? or do we buy poorer quality feed resulting in poorer quality eggs? This is a question that the farmer faces everyday but the consumer is the one to answer it.” We really enjoyed and appreciated the feedback from our farmer friend’s over on instagram (you can find thoughtfully written responses here) and opens the conversation about what it takes to grow and produce healthy, sustainable goods and produce. We’re still learning and the layers aren’t going anywhere, we love our gals.

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Miss Truffle the pig is due this upcoming weekend and we’re excited for piglets! She hasn’t begun making her nest yet but when she does…. you’ll be the first to know! We got the official word today that after 9 months of waiting, Ellie isn’t pregnant. The vet did a check and said she gave a false positive last time as usually one side of her plumbing would be bigger than the other if she took to being bred… come to find out Ellie is naturally just a little bit bigger on one side due to the amount of calves she’s had… now we know I guess. Kind of a bummer (we’ll miss seeing a brand new baby calf on the farm and all that fresh milk, yogurt & cheese) but ultimately it makes sense… as we have this big transition and have a lot on our plate to get ready for the winter and season next year! Ellie is healthier than we’ve ever seen her and we’re excited to get her and Maribelle established at the new farm and to see a brambling calf (or two) next season.

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Stay dry out there and we’ll see you all this week!

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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

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Working Hands Farm Week 18

Posted on 16 Sep 2013

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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It’s Week 18! Only 2 more weeks remain for our Spring & Summer CSA. The autumnal equinox is upon us and we are slowly transitioning into our cooler weather crops and Fall CSA season. We harvested the first row of winter squash (good ol’ spaghetti) that are now curing in the lower level of the new barn. We are growing 8 different varieties of winter squash this fall and are excited to try them all (and to find new & enjoy old favorites). The summer crops are still performing but as the weather/season changes so will the veggies. The 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 75 shares) can add up to a lot of pounds of food being carried around this little farm…

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This week, we have another fun fact from the farm… so far, we’ve grown, harvested & distributed a little over 20,000 lbs of produce to our members and community this season. Which means around an average of 1,100 lbs of produce that is being harvested and distributed each week.. on our little 3 acre farm by two people. Who says small farms can’t feed the World? Amazing!

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–Otis can’t get enough when it comes to melons. Check out this funny little video of our pigs on our instagram…

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We’re also giving ourselves a pat on the back this weekend as we made our final pass on the tiller (after 12 hours) and seeded in our pasture mix for next Spring’s forage on 12 acres of beautiful soil. We got it in just before the rains came on Saturday and are pleased as punch with ourselves… it only took 5 months to prep with our little tractor/tiller but day by day we’re getting there!

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Pick a Pumpkin Day! This Saturday, we’ll be picking pumpkins with our Spring/Summer members in celebration of the Autumnal Equinox. We tried our hand at growing 5 varieties of pumpkins this year (an extra little treat) and they are ready! For those Spring/Summer members that are interested, we will have one pumpkin available per share and will be ready for pick up from 10am – 1pm come rain or shine! Due to the forecast of rain this week, we are canceling the picnic/potluck portion of our gathering as we don’t yet have a covered/dry area to sit under. Please RSVP so we know how many members to expect.

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It will be a great opportunity to visit the new farm before we make the big transition over this Fall & early Winter.

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Spring & Summer members, come pick a pumpkin from 10am – 1pm this Saturday (rain or shine)

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Little Critter Watch. Ellie’s due date of Friday the 13^th has come and gone and we are watching like hawks for any signs of calving. Due to her older age it is common for cows to go over their due date up to 10 days so we’ll keep you posted. Truffle on the other hand is showing quite a bit this past week. We still have a few weeks to wait for piglets but we’re oh-so-excited for them to join the farm-ily!

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Fall CSA. Thanks to all our friends and farm-ily for signing up and supporting our farm through the Fall season! We’re excited for the short but very sweet season and look forward to feeding you through the months of October and November. Now, we just need to figure out a growing season here on the farm for the months of January – May…. Also, instead of Egg Shares, there will be “a la carte” eggs available during the Fall CSA pick ups! We decided to go the a la carte route for the Fall due to less light/production during that time of the year and generally a simpler model for the end of the season.

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A different kind of view of the new farm from the second story of the barn!

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Crates! As we begin to wind down our Spring/Summer season we will be keeping an eye on our crate inventory. If you have any crates piling up at your house be sure to bring them by to this week’s pick up/delivery. We’ve been short about a dozen or so crates the past 3 weeks and are hoping they magically reappear! Thanks so much in advance.

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Enjoy the last few weeks of summer and beginning of autumn! We’re still a few weeks away from the first frost here on the farm so enjoy the sun kissed fruits and the bounty of your farmer’s labor!

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Have a great week and we’ll see you all soon!

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We’ve been working hard on our off-harvest days. Here’s a little video of our final transplanting for the Fall.

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With regards,

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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Working Hands Farm CSA Week 17

Posted on 9 Sep 2013

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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Here we are at Week 17 and it looks like summer is holding on here in Oregon with highs in the 90’s and many sunny days ahead. How’s everybody feeling? We know we’re feeling lighter and stronger these days – eating straight from the garden in very high quantities. Picking up and hauling 100’s of pounds of produce each day… this time of the season really is something.

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Savings. Here’s a fun little farm factoid for you all… last week the produce in the crates weighed 25lbs! Which means all the produce in the box cost $1.30/lb (can’t beat that!) There was also a total of 15 items in the box. We’re having a great growing season this year but it also means that you’re farmers are becoming better growers and who better to reap the rewards than the community that supports us. It’s what it’s all about!

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The barn goes up!

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Picnic-and-a-Pumpkin Potluck. On Saturday, September 21st from 11 – 2pm we invite our members to come visit with us at the new farm and to celebrate the start of the autumnal equinox. We tried our hand at growing pumpkins this year (an extra little treat) and they are almost ready! For those members that are interested, we will have one pumpkin available per share and will be ready for pick up during the potluck. Food will be enjoyed around 12. Pumpkin picking around 1:00.

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This will be “picnic” style potluck – members should bring either a picnic blanket or chairs, a potluck dish and their own set of forks, knives and plates as it will make clean up easier for everyone. It will be a great opportunity to visit the new farm before we make the big transition over this Fall & early Winter.

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Fall CSA. We’re a little less than a month away from the start of our Fall CSA. Check out our Fall CSA page here. We’re growing lots of delicious food and are excited to share it! Spread the word and support your two favorite farmers.

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Canning. If you’ve always wanted to try it now is the time. The tomatoes are at their peak and it’s such a wonderful thing to eat homemade sauce in the winter months. We made some heirloom tomato sauce over the weekend and it’s delicious. We use the skins and all. The way we work our sauce magic in the kitchen is to put a bunch of maters in our vitamix (or food processor) and puree them before throwing them into the big saucepan. They cook down beautifully this way and we love it.

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If anyone is interested in purchasing 10, 20, 40, 60 + lbs of tomatoes please let us know. They make great sauce, soup, salsa, ketchup and more for filling up your pantry (when you’re missing the taste of fresh, homegrown goodness).

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We hope you all enjoy the week. Stay cool and we’ll see you soon!

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p.s. Ellie’s “due date” is coming up quick. No signs yet but you will all be the first to know.

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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

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Working Hands Farm CSA Week 16

Posted on 2 Sep 2013

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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We hope everyone has made the smooth transition into September – although it still feels like summer in the air! We hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend as we know school is starting back up for the little ones and the change of season will be upon us in the coming month… it’s definitely a time of transition.

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September is one of our favorite months here on the farm. The days are still holding on to the light but the nights feel cool enough for a light sweater. Those pesky flies lessen and the cows are much happier for it. The summer crops give their heaviest bounties in preparation for the gray days ahead. The kitchen slowly becomes the place to be again..with thoughts of roasted veggies and soups lingering in the distance. Autumn is our favorite (especially mine, having grown up in New England) what with the leaves on the trees all changing color, the squashes and pumpkins ripening, the root veggies & kale plants becoming sweeter, things slowing down just a little, with cooler mornings and warmer days and on and on and on…

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Our not-so-little Miss Maribelle turned 1 on the 1^st and we expect a new baby calf sometime in the next week or two. Truffle (uffagus) is due with piglets on the 28^th. If all goes to plan it’s about to get pretty rowdy up in these parts. Stay tuned for updates on all our sweet gals.

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Movie Night on the Farm. We’re happy to announce (thanks to some awesome members) that this Friday (September 6^th) we will be showing The Princess Bride. A classic fairy tale, with swordplay, giants, an evil prince, a beautiful princess, and yes, some kissing (as read by a kindly grandfather). Movie starts around 8:15pm but feel free to come a half hour early to enjoy our beautiful new farm along with the sunsets. Make sure to bring a few layers with you for when the sun goes down, as well as some snacks and a blanket and/or chairs. We’ll be at the new farm 7705 SW River Rd. Hillsboro. Let us know if you’ll be joining us so we know how many people to expect!

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Picnic ‘n’ Potluck. On Saturday, September 21^st from 11 – 2pm we invite our members to come visit with us at the new farm and to celebrate the start of the autumnal equinox. This will be “picnic” style potluck – members should bring either a picnic blanket or chairs, a potluck dish and their own set of forks, knives and plates as it will make clean up easier for everyone. It will be a great opportunity to visit the new farm before we make the big transition over this Fall & early Winter.

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Our Fall CSA. We’re almost a month away from the start of our Fall CSA and have a handful of shares available! Check out our Fall CSA page here. Your farmers will be available during the CSA pick ups if you have any questions.

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Just a reminder about TOMATOES! The time is now! We’re offering them at a steal of a price, in bulk for canning purposes. If anyone is interested in purchasing 10, 20, 40, 60 + lbs of tomatoes please let us know. They make great sauce, soup, sundried tomatoes, ketchup, jam and more for filling up your pantry or giving as Christmas gifts! We just finished up our last quart from last season with homemade pizza… mm mm mm!

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We look forward to seeing you all this week. Enjoy the start of September and we’ll see you all soon!

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with regards,

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your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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Working Hands Farm CSA Week 15

Posted on 26 Aug 2013

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Hey Friends & Farm-ily,

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Week 15. It’s the week before labor day (did anyone see that one coming..?) and it makes you ask yourself.. where does the time go? Despite the warm temperatures there seems to be a shift in the air… autumn doesn’t seem too far away. It’s almost starting to feel like the halfway mark of our farm’s 7 month season is here. Sometimes the slight change in weather helps process just how fast time really does go by. It seems like we’ve been blessed with such sunny and lovely weather since April and feels somewhat strange to see clouds, wind and even a few rain showers here and there. It’s been a great season though and we have no doubt that mother nature will ease into autumn and fall (our favorite time of the year)…

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Harvest has been keeping these two farmers busy 5 out of 7 days a week. It’s the time of the season where most of our hours are spent reaping what we’ve sown. It’s amazing how many pounds of produce can come out of just a few cultivated acres. We had estimated a number of 25,000 lbs for the season… and have been keeping track of the weight of the weekly boxes (last week they weighed 19lbs!) and will let you know the final numbers come November. The days that we’re not harvesting we’re prepping 100 ft beds at the new farm for our last successions of crops, tilling in grass and prepping the new pasture for a fall planting (which will be forage for the critters in the Spring), staying connected to the health of all our girls (who will soon be calving & farrowing – fingers crossed!), prepping our new perennial herb beds, weeding, storing crops, seeding, sowing, transplanting, finishing up our honey harvest….. the list is always long and plentiful and keeps us young, productive & motivated! 🙂

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This year’s tomato varieties!

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Tomatoes.

‘Tis the season… for sauce, sundrieds, ketchup, jam, stewed, paste, chili, salsa, soup, you name it! For those of you who are interested in purchasing sauce tomatoes in bulk for canning purposes we will begin taking orders from now until the first frost (generally the first week of October) upon availability. We sell our “sauce tomatoes” or “seconds” in quantities of 10 – 50lbs or more for a steal of a deal. And we promise that a pantry full of sun grown sweetness will help to keep you happy and warm all winter long! (and also make great Christmas gifts!) In our farm pantry we are just getting to our last quart of sauce…. just in time to make some more….

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And peppers and eggplant… same goes for bell, hot peppers (jalapenos, Hungarian hot wax, anchos, carrot pepper, fireball, habanero, thai chiles, cayennes etc) for any relish or pickled peppers. Eggplant is also available for pre-cooking/freezing for ideas visit this page.

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This year’s sweet & hot pepper varieties!

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Our Fall CSA. Get inspired, sign up, tell your friends about your favorite farmers and encourage them to sign up for our Fall CSA and read about it here if you haven’t already. We’ll be available at the pick ups this week for any questions you may have. We look forward to seeing you all this Fall on the farm.

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Eggs (à la carte). We’ll have some à la carte Chateau Poulet eggs available for purchase this week! Look for the à la carte egg cooler for any extras you might need for the holiday weekend!

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Crates. We were short on crates last week, which means that we’re starting the week short on crates as well. Be sure to set out or bring back your crates during delivery and pick up as it helps out your farmers efficiency immensely! Many thanks in advance!

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Enjoy the week and we’ll see you all soon! Here’s hoping to some drier weather along with good ol’ fashioned sunshine (send some your farmers way)! Be sure to check out this week’s slideshow for updates on how things are growing over at the new farm… we’re excited! Stay bee-sy!

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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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Working Hands Farm CSA Week 14

Posted on 19 Aug 2013

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Hey friends & farm-ily,

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Week 14. Hope you all have been enjoying those extra summery boxes last week…we know we have! We’ve been making lots of salsa fresca and so many beautiful veggie dishes with all the bounty of our summer crops. What have you been making with yours?

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With a little help from our friends we’ve been able to sit back and slow down (even just for just a second) and enjoy a few moments with the simple gifts of summer…a swim in the Yamhill River, early evening archery sessions, endless summer meals beneath the shade structure, and even an evening by the fire on the new farm. Our list of farm chores never gets any shorter this time of the year but it’s so important to find and maintain a balance especially in the company of others. It felt incredible to meander down the river, soak in some sun and shade, enjoy the company of friends and cut into our very first watermelon of the season. It’s the little things… and the funny thing is it makes us hungry for the good work i.e. the farm.

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‘Tis the time of the season to sign up for our Fall CSA. The cooler weather crops are growing at the new farm at an impressive rate and we are looking forward to a whole new season of inspiring veggies! We love spending our afternoons and evenings in the kitchen when the cooler weather hits. Turning the oven on and letting the veggies roast in olive oil and garlic. Making crust and filling the contents of summer and fall within its boundaries. Enjoying the last few tastes of the summer sun and welcoming the smells of hibernation, inspiration & warmth. It’s all too hard to picture it as summer is still upon us and the days are still long… but oh it’s nice to dream. Get inspired, sign up, tell your friends about your favorite farmers and encourage them to sign up for our Fall CSA and read about it here if you haven’t already 😉

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Farm Dream Update… our new little farm is growing quite rapidly. With only one 100×100 foot block empty and ready to be filled with our last successions of fall crops we have successfully filled two farms – their contents brimming. It’s an amazing challenge that appeared before us this Spring and so far we have come prepared to meet and conquer. We are getting better at our craft and enjoying every second of it.. the good stuff, the hard stuff.. it’s all worth it. It’s exactly what we dream of and believe in. This week begins the excavation for the barn (the heart of the farm). We’ll build the bones in hopes that there will be a roof and soon enough (in the next few years) proper wooden siding. Come October – December we’ll be calling on all those friends who said they’d lend a hand in the breaking down and moving of structures, implements, farm stuff & our animals. It’s almost time to make this new farm the heart of this farm-ily.

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Thanks for all your encouragement, kindness and general awesomeness. We are humbled and blessed and feel like two very lucky farmers amidst a pretty wonderful community. We hope you all enjoy the week and we’ll see you soon.

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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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Working Hands Farm CSA Week 13

Posted on 12 Aug 2013

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Hi friends and farm-ily,

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We hope August is treating everyone well. As farmers this time of the season always feels like the “in-between” time. When most of the fall crops are in and the summer crops are just beginning to really go off and ripen, when we anxiously await the arrival of a new calf, piglets and anticipate celebrating the first year of our young heifers life.

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It’s a great time of the season to remember the magic.. to stay inspired and appreciative of all that the season and warm weather brings. A time of the year that brings the bounty that sustains us throughout the winter months… it’s a wonder how it all works but it’s so neat. Harvest becomes a longer part of our days but hopefully by now (after so much love) the plants are being productive on their own. We are still amazed when the tomatoes decide to turn on the light switch and begin ripening hundreds at a time vs. the slow trickle of ripe fruit in the beginning. All that anticipation and then the inundation… and just when we think we can’t harvest or eat another one the weather shifts and turns our efforts indoors where we can, plan and put up food for the winter.

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As the summer bounty gets started think of all the ways to put up your extra veggies! Pickled cukes, beans, squash, beets, onions, peppers etc. Freeze or dry herbs, peppers, tomatoes, squash, beans etc. And tomatoes.. so many things to do with tomatoes! Stewed, sauce, salsa, jam, ketchup, paste & sundried! Sunshine in every bite all winter long. If you find yourself with more time in the Fall & Winter months (vs. the busy-ness and heat of the summer) .. it’s always great to put tomatoes in a freezer bag to process later in the season when there’s more time. Here’s an easy little how-to for sauce that we put together at the end of the season in 2011.

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Pickling Cucumbers. We have pickling cucumbers for sale for those of you who are interested in putting up some pickles for winter or gifts. Please let us know how many lbs you would like and we can let you know availability and get those orders ready for you for the coming week. $2/lb.

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Sign up for our Fall CSA continues… you can read more on our Fall CSA Page where you will find the sign up at the bottom. We’ve been working real hard and are SO excited for the fall season ahead. In order to be added to our official member list be sure to sign up online and drop off/mail your CSA deposit as soon as you can. CSA shares are available on a first come, first serve payment basis and we expect to fill up quickly. We look forward to sharing in the bounty with you through the Fall season!

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Enjoy the week and we’ll see you all soon! We have some visitors this week from Austin, Texas (and might recognize them from our CSA Farm Video) so be sure to say hello and welcome them back to Oregon! They’ll be here for the next couple of weeks.

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Wishing you all the best and enjoy another beautiful summer week in Oregon!

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your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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Working Hands Farm CSA Week 12

Posted on 5 Aug 2013

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Hey friends & farm-ily,

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Week 12. We’re well on our way into the summer season and your farmers are lovin’ it! We know you could get used to fresh veggies all year round, couldn’t you.. It’s funny how you start to miss certain veggies or even begin to crave them. With the change of the season comes the change of the bounty and as we make our way into August, the colors on the farm are beginning to resemble all colors of the rainbow.. red, yellow, purple, white, striped, gold…. it’s getting really pretty in these parts. We spied a few sizeable melons (water, honey dew, cantaloupe, tropical, Asian – to name a few) this weekend, which means they can’t be too far away (aka sunshine in every bite). And there’s a whole lot of baby green as we get ready for fall crops… new successions of greens, brassicas, root veggies, vines of winter squash bearing loads of tiny fruit… too exciting! It’s been such a great season so far and we’re excited to see what’s in store over the next few months!

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Bee update. The bees are keeping ‘beesy’ as they make their way into the final push of storing up for the winter. It’s their first year here on the farm so we want to be sure they have plenty of food to keep them nourished and strong through the winter. This means we’ll have a smaller harvest in order to better their chance of survival. As you all know the winter honey bee survival rate has been at all time lows in recent years with colony collapse disorder, nosema (disease bearing parasites), pesticides etc. According to a recent article on the subject, Scientists discover what’s killing the bees and it’s worse than you thought, “it has wiped out an estimated 10 million beehives, worth $2 billion, over the past six years.” Although the odds aren’t in their favor for winter survival we will do our best to give them what they need to flourish, grow and survive through the wet grey winter months. We love keeping bees and they are vital to our little farm and are doing our best to work with and better understand our relationship with them. They are such a fascinating creature.. did you know that worker bees live for 6 weeks during the busy summer, and for 4-9 months during the winter months? We just love having them on the farm!

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A BIG THANK YOU to all those who came out over the weekend to get their hands dirty & to help out with the great WHF potato harvest. We can’t thank you enough. What took us 2 months last year (just the two of us, digging with our hands in the dirt, no tractor, implements etc) only took us 3 days this year. Your encouragement, hard work and big hearts really made the difference and we can finally cross potato harvest off the list for this season! We had a great time with you all and are seriously amazed at the wonderful members and community that surrounds us. We are blessed.

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Our Fall CSA sign ups are here and we’ve been thinking a lot about what this time of the year means for us as farmers. It gives us a chance to slow down (for just a minute, in the height of the season) to reflect on all our experiences thus far, what we’ve learned and what the farm needs in order to sustain. As a farmer you are constantly looking at the puzzle – building piece by piece – learning – growing and moving forward. Each year on the farm is different (with weather, life changes, etc) but as the members of our CSA you hold an important piece – the backbone and foundation of this farm – you support and believe in what we do, this farm and the food that is produced as a result of all the hard work & love.

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The Fall marks a time in the year in which the farm receives the remainder of it’s income in order to sustain through the late summer and fall. This is always a scary time of year. A time where we have to ask ourselves, “is it working?

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As we reflect on all of this we’re reminded of a blog post that farmer Brian wrote more than a year ago call The Scary Part. Here’s a little excerpt…

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We want to build a community of people that are passionate about the pursuit; the pursuit of healthy living, healthy food, healthy relationships and healthy conversations over wine at old wooden farm tables. We want to see families on the farm playing catch with dad and watch children munching on veggies straight from the soil. All just because their favorite farmer told them that it was delicious and safe. To watch parents watch their kids eat veggies for the first time and then glance at me like, ‘how did farmer Brian get them to eat that?’ And to see our “lost generation” of young professionals invest their money in a CSA because they want to choose a sustainable lifestyle, to pursue a diet that keeps them energetic and their healthcare costs to a minimum. We want to attract those folks who take time to do the math. All of the math. Folks that realize that the produce we are growing is cost effective. That it costs about forty bucks a week and it is enough food for three people to share. That breaks down to thirteen dollars per person per week and the food is fresh, it is harvested just hours before you have it in your home.

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We hope to have the types of members who’ll take the time to understand that their farmer works eighty hours a week and make $1,500 a month, which equals four dollars and sixty three sense per hour, half of the minimum wage in Oregon. And we want those people to know that this salary is not a problem because we are happy and we love what we do. For that we are so grateful, we are living our dream.

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It is the families, the friends, the time we get to spend alone, thoughtfully harvesting our carrots or watching a community of strangers come together to watch ‘Cool Hand Luke’ in the pasture on a hot summers night. These things are a gift.

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We believe that the CSA business model is sustainable for us and for our community, we have to believe it . Through this process of learning to be better farmers/small business owners we have come to a new definition of wisdom. That wisdom is the renewed faith in ones self that leads them to believe they are capable of surmounting all fears that lie ahead. Now is the time when we choose to believe that we are capable. We believe that small farms are necessary for the health of our communities and our local economy. And maybe that is just it, maybe community isn’t something that one finds but is built by all of us.

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And the funny thing is… it is happening! The potluck was such an amazing time to share and be challenged by likeminded folks and the potato harvest this year went off without a hitch thanks to the help of a dozen friends/members. We continue to move forward and we continue to build this Community Supported Agriculture farm. Thanks for believing in us and for investing your time, energy and money into something we believe in. With all of us here we make one heck of a farm-ily!

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And with that being said, Sign ups for our Fall CSA are now open to everyone! We’ve been working real hard and are SO excited for the fall season ahead. In order to be added to our official member list be sure to sign up online and drop off/mail your CSA deposit as soon as you can. CSA shares are available on a first come, first serve payment basis and we expect to fill up quickly. We look forward to sharing in the bounty with you through the Fall season!

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Thanks again for all your love and support. We look forward to seeing you all this week and to sharing in all that the garden has to give us this week.

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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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Working Hands Farm CSA 2013 Week 11

Posted on 29 Jul 2013

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Hi friends & farm-ily,

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Boy-oh-boy did we have a productive weekend. From starting and finishing our onion harvest, to trial runs of a potato harvest, planting fall crops and building onion storage shelves, to weeding the entire (almost) new farm and having the most glorious potluck with our fabulous CSA members! We’re feeling tired and fulfilled, as we get ready to begin our harvest week tomorrow morning..

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Our Fall CSA. Early registration for our current members continues this week. Next week we open up registration to new members and at that time it will be first come, first serve. We have been busy planning, prepping, seeding and planting and are excited for our best Fall CSA to date! Check out our Sign Up Page for more information.

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The member potluck was a huge success! We had such a great time and we hope you did too. Beautiful weather, lovely conversations, and a variety of potluck dishes… we couldn’t have asked for anything better. We certainly felt your support and love and we thank you so much for making it fun, easy, and an incredibly enjoyable experience. We feel blessed. We did miss those who could not make it and look forward to seeing you all this week at farm pick up.

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During the potluck Farmer Brian gave a short speech and encouraged the members to share the reasons why they joined the CSA. Folks shared that it was to know the source of their food, who it’s being grown by and the farming practices that go into it – to be a part of the whole cycle (not just the product). All of the other things.. health, community, farmer-member relationship, your own specific food journey, lifestyle changes and how you feel are all a part of it.

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Farmer Brian went on to share our intentions as CSA farmers. To produce not only the best possible produce but to encourage our members to eat healthy, nutrient dense foods that facilitate long, thoughtful and active lives. We also shared the most exciting news a couple of young farmers could, “We have bought a beautiful piece of property just down the road!” With the help of our families and our friends we will have a permanent home in the Hillsboro community. With access to land of our own we have renewed our commitment to grow better not bigger. We will continue to limit our membership every season in order to facilitate maximum farmer member interaction. It is important to us that we know our members and have a few minutes at every drop to talk food, nutrition, recipes, desserts (Farmer Brian’s favorite topic), food politics, documentaries, plants, animals, etc… We believe these interactions to be a corner stone of our CSA and an integral part of building community.

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A view of the new property from the sky..

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This also means, and this is the part you should be very excited about, we will be establishing perennial crops! i.e. asparagus, artichoke, rhubarb, blue berries, currents, plums, cherries, peaches, pears, figs, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc as well as a CSA member u-pick for harvesting in bulk and saving up for the winter. And we will over the next few years be establishing a grass fed beef operation and pastured meat chickens and turkeys. These changes will not come over night but they will come. We believe that is it through both organic vegetable production and thoughtfully practiced animal husbandry that we can continue to build healthy soils as well as provide the most nutrient dense organic foods.

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Farm dreams…

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On that note, we encourage you all to listen to this interview on NPR ‘Eating On The Wild Side:’ A Field Guide To Nutritious Food. Author Jo Robinson speaks about her new book Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health. The book talks of how wild forage that our ancestors used to eat was way more nutrient dense than the food we eat now – deciding to “cultivate the wild plants that were the most pleasurable to eat,” she writes. More pleasurable generally meant less bitter and higher in sugar, starch or oil. It’s a great listen and we can’t wait to read the book! She has some interesting facts too.. like how it takes 10 cups of iceberg lettuce to get the same amount of nutrients as ½ cup of loose leaf lettuce. Or, “compared with spinach, one of our present-day “superfoods,” wild dandelion leaves have eight times more antioxidant activity, two times more calcium, three more times vitamin A, and five times more vitamins K and E.” It’s why we grow the diverse crops that we do… and probably why you joined the CSA – for the diversity, to eat seasonally and to feed your body the best that you can. If anyone is inspired and wants to read the book and have a book club type discussion on it let us know.. we think that would be fun!

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Potato Harvest Volunteers. With one row harvested that means we have 14 more to go. We plan on harvesting potatoes this Saturday and invite those who like to get their hands dirty to come out to the farm and lend a hand. Adults will be digging and kids will be picking up the bounty. Although there’s a slight chance of rain so it will of course be weather permitting (taters don’t store if they’re wet). We’ll be digging at the new property (just a few miles down the road from where we are now) 7705 SW River Rd Hillsboro from 9 – noon. Come out for an hour or stay a few – we appreciate any help we can get. Let us know if you’re thinking about joining us!

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Remember those crates…

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Many thanks & see you all soon!

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Your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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Dirty hands, clean hearts

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Working Hands Farm 2013 Week 10

Posted on 22 Jul 2013

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Farming is all about successions, thinking ahead & a bit of good luck…

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Hello friends & farm-ily,

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We’ve made it to the half way mark and there are so many things to look forward to! Brian & I have been on our hands and knees in our 5 foot tall tomato rows seeking out red, yellow, purple, orange & green gems! They are so laden with fruit we know that it will only take a flip of a switch & all at once they will be ripening (so worth the wait). Same goes for all our green fruit on the peppers (both hot and sweet), cherry tomatoes and tomatillos! Our eggplants are the size of our fingers and we expect the beans to be here next week… all of it is on its way as we creep into August…

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A few of our onion varieties are beginning to fall – a sign that means it’s almost time for a bulk onion harvest (all 8,000+). And for some reason this Spring we decided to plant 15 100ft rows of potatoes (besides harvesting we were thinking seed for next year too – as they get pretty expensive!) That’s all well and good until you have to dig, sort & build big potato crates in 80+ degree weather. In the last week our Yukon Golds potatoes have really fallen back so that means we can begin harvesting them (the fingerlings, reds & blues will all follow). We’ll be trying out a new method this year with our middle buster that will hopefully save our backs, fingers and minds. Diggin’ taters is hard stuff.

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CSA Member Potluck. We hope to see you this Saturday from 11-2pm at our summer potluck. If you haven’t yet RSVP’d or told us you’d be attending in person please let us know this week. We ask that folks bring a potluck dish and their own set of forks, knives and plates as it will make clean up easier for everyone. Don’t forget water bottles, sunscreen, hats etc. Your farmers will be giving a little talk around noon and plan on eating shortly thereafter around our big farm table in the shade. Mostly it’s a great opportunity for conversation, delicious food, meeting/getting to know new friends/community and enjoying time on the farm. Can you guys believe it’s almost August?

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You guys have been treated wonderfully by the berry gods this season!

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Fall CSA. Planning, seeding & prep has begun for our Fall CSA and this week we’ve opened up registration for the Fall CSA shares! Yippee! Current CSA members have an early bird sign up for the next 2 weeks (July 22nd – August 3rd)! New members looking to join can sign up on the website starting August 4th (so be sure to tell all your friends & family). This year we will be expanding to an 8-week Fall CSA season starting the week of October 8^th and ending the week of November 19^th. The last CSA pick up will be the week before Thanksgiving and on that week you will receive a double share (week 7 AND 8). For all the details please visit our 2013 Fall CSA & Sign Up Page. We have lots of goodies planned and look forward to extending your CSA season into the Fall!

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Beautiful Write-Up. 2013 is a big year for Working Hands Farm and both your farmers. Meaghin Kennedy did a beautiful job capturing the essence of our little CSA farm and is a truly gifted writer & photographer! She is currently writing a farming together series featuring young full time farming couples in Oregon. We jumped at the chance to meet with Meaghin and are so glad we did. If you haven’t read the article already please visit here – Cultivating Food & Community – to read a little bit about your farm & get to know your farmers better! We didn’t know what the season would bring farming two different properties this year, but to be honest, Brian and I have never felt more energized or purposeful. There’s also a bit of happy information in there about the future of the farm and where we’re headed! Cheers to that!

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Photo taken by Meaghin Kennedy of These Salty Oats

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Projector, Recipes, Crates… We’re still on the hunt for a digital projector and would love to have a few movie nights on the farm in the coming months! If anyone has any leads let your farmers know. Recipes. If you’ve whipped up anything in the kitchen that has knocked your socks off or has become a go-to in your kitchen feel free to send it our way as we’d love to include it in our weekly recipe hand out. Crates. You guys rock at bringing back your crates! Thanks for all the good energy, support and love you bring to the farm.

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Keep cool out there and we’ll see you all this week!

With fondest regards,

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your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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Working Hands Farm CSA 2013 Week 9

Posted on 15 Jul 2013

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Hey friends & farm-ily!

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Can you dig this heat? 85, 88, 95, 88 degrees…. phew these farmers have been a sweatin’! It’s been early, early mornings for us and late evenings too. Workin’ outdoors this time of the year is best just before the sun goes down.. while seeding some Eastham Turnips (my dad’s seed from back home!) I caught myself wondering why can’t it always be dusk for a farmer in the summer? Alas, the plants sure do grow like wild flowers with it and we really have been blessed thus far especially when weather across the U.S has been testing some farmers more than others.

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A very dear friend shared with us an article (Calling All Localvores Why you Should Hug A Farmer Today) – that was written by a farmer in the southeast who has been experiencing an incredible test of her spirits due to the torrential rains, and all that comes with it (pests, fungus, rot, disease, shortage of crops, etc). It’s easy to empathize and to feel the heartache they must feel. It definitely helps to put some perspective on a few things – such as the importance of the community’s role in supporting local farms, the labor of love that is farming and the uncertainty that Mother Nature can bring to a farmer. Most of all, it allows us to take a step back, enjoy and really appreciate the moment and all that the season has brought to us with each passing week.

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As we near the half way mark, it feels great to take a step back. We feel blessed to have a community that supports and believes in us no matter what the season may bring. The kind of trust can bring certainty to the most uncertain of situations. It truly lightens the load when the weight is carried with many instead of just one (or in this case two). It’s the belief and trust in each other, our members and ourselves that gives us the energy, drive, passion & purpose to do the very best job that we can do. We’re looking to leave this place a little bit better than we found it and if in doing so you believe in yourself a little bit more each and everyday.. well, then we’d say life is pretty good.

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So, thanks for believing in us. We hope that as we near the middle of the Spring & Summer CSA season that you, your friends & your family are enjoying this food journey as much as we are!

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Feelin’ hot, hot hot. Some high temps are expected these next few days so your farmers might be taking the opportunity to beat the heat and spend their late afternoons after harvest in cold bodies of water. Home Delivery – if you have a big cooler we suggest leaving it outside for us to pack your goods in or ask a friend/roommate to bring your bounty inside where it’s cool. Farm Pick Up – Any bunched greens that make there way into the box this week will be left in cold water for you to grab at pick up – otherwise we’re afraid they might get wilty! We’ll leave signs so you don’t forget!

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CSA Member’s Potluck. We hope you’ll be joining us a few weekends from now at our Members Potluck on Saturday July, 27th from 11-2 pm. We sent out an e-vite this afternoon so please RSVP! We ask that folks bring their own set of forks, knives and plates as it will make clean up easier for everyone.

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Cow Appreciation Week! July 15th is ‘cow appreciation day’ so in celebration we are have deemed it cow appreciation week! Over the weekend we celebrated our one year anniversary with Ellie and are so appreciative of all that she does for the farm. She’s a hardworking lady with a heart of gold and makes our lives that much better. We honestly can’t remember farming without her here with us… she really is the sweetest. And our little Maribelle – well, she’s not so little anymore – she will be turning 1 in just a few months time… my oh my how time does fly! All we know is we’re fond of our cow-calf pair and look forward to many years ahead.

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Crates! Oops, we were short on crates last week so please make sure to bring back any extras you might have at home. Thanks to everyone for their great efforts so far – we realize that summer can be crazy around the homestead and appreciate all your help!

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Enjoy the week & we’ll see you all soon!

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With fondest regards,

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Your farmers

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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