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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Working Hands Farm CSA 2013 Week 8

Posted on 8 Jul 2013

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The admiral in all her glory… she sure is a fine farm truck..

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Hello friends & farm-ily,

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It’s been a crazy first week of July here on the farm. We hope you all had a happy and safe 4^th of July celebration! The dry summer weather sure has returned and we find ourselves looking for shade and water whenever we can. July is busy time on the farm – between the bountiful harvests, keeping the water flowing, seeding for the next succession of crops, transplanting, weeding, planning etc – it’s got these two farmers pretty busy! We have started our most epic “to do” list yet.. we call it THE GREAT TO DO LIST OF 2013. Many things have been added but few have been checked off. Everything we are doing this time of the year we’ve been busy doing through the Spring plus harvest and hot days thrown on top.. it’s a wonder we get it all done but there’s a reason that longer days and sunlight…

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The hard work truly pays off though. Everything is growing very well in the garden. The tomatoes are beginning to bulk up as well as the peppers… shouldn’t be too long now before we have a new flush of summer veggies in the crates! We hope you’ve been enjoying all the greens, Spring/beginning of summer goodies, and the first of many crops to come (you know there aren’t carrots that are sweeter!) The first flush of raspberries (last years canes) have finished but we’re already seeing fruit on this year’s canes which is exciting! There’s always something to look forward to on the farm…

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These cows bring such light and magic to the farm… we love them so!

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Speaking of that.. we hope you plan on coming to our CSA member Potluck!

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The CSA Member Potluck is only a few Saturday’s away on July 27^th from 11 – 2pm. Attendance is highly encouraged as we look forward to spending time with our members. Both Farming & community are at the heart of the CSA farm model and one would not exist without the other. Visiting the farm helps build that sense of community, a moment to enjoy each other’s company and talk about stuff that matters. There are so many interesting & inspiring members that are a part of the CSA and it’s great to bring everybody together over some delicious potluck food & good conversation.

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In the quiet of a Monday evening before our first harvest…

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Plus, that means you get to meet all of our sweet animals! Besides the heat, summer is their 2nd favorite time on the farm (after Spring and all those lush grasses). Any extra chard, squash, greens, etc that would go “to waste” take a trip to the barn where we find many a fine animal awaiting a garden snack or two. As for the heat, we’re doing our best to keep the animals cool on these hot days. The ladies of Chateau Poulet have a brand new industrial style fan as well as a new dusting pit and the pigs got some pretty sweet misters. All in all everyone is adjusting and we’re doing our best to keep ourselves and the animals healthy and safe!

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Movie Nights. We’re still on the hunt for a digital projector! Let us know if you or anyone you know would be willing to lend or donate a projector for movie nights on the farm. It stays light out so late right now that we still have plenty of time to get to evening sunsets that aren’t around the same time as farmer bedtime (before 10pm)!

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Our chatty cathy’s strike a pose – otherwise known as our “ninjas”…

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Crates, berry hallocks, egg cartons, rubber bands…. thanks again for all the good work with returning the vessels in which you receive farm goodness! We appreciate it!

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So get ready, here comes Week 8! We’re looking forward to the harvests ahead & hope you have a great start to the week! We’ll see you all soon!

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All our best,

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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p.s. Here’s a great video we watched at the end of last week. This video is amazing and is exactly why we love and believe in what we do. Everyday you choose to nourish your body with the simple food choices you make. “Dr. Terry Wahls learned how to properly fuel her body. Using the lessons she learned at the subcellular level, she used diet to cure her MS and get out of her wheelchair.”

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Working Hands Farm CSA 2013 Week 7

Posted on 1 Jul 2013

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Howdy friends & farm-ily!

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It’s Week 7 of the CSA (yippee) and happy 4th of July! These newsletters are always nice for us farmers to look back upon because so much can change in just one weeks time. The weather, notably… 90 degree days, sunny, absolutely sweltering, really.. wasn’t it just rainy – albeit muggy – last week? Thanks to the long days and sunshine everything continues to grow,grow,grow in the garden. Whether it enjoys all the heat and sun or is holding on for dear life – it’s hard not to grow on so much sunshine. Despite all of the rain last week we are on a pretty good watering cycle already. All the greens, cabbages, broccoli, cauliflowers all perk up when the sun finally sets (the dewy morning is their favorite). We did pick out first tomato though! It’ll be a little while before the rest follow but there’s nothing more motivating than finding the first ripened red treasure (they’ll all be here before you know it!) The animals have been laying low the past few days – seeking shade in the barn which gives us lots of opportunities for cow cuddles *here’s a really sweet video proving that Ellie is really good at those*… all the hot weather doesn’t give you much of a choice in taking a siesta during the hottest part of the day!

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By now everyone is getting into the groove of the CSA. Making more homecooked meals, feeling more confident in the kitchen, being open to trying new veggies! We decided to keep the encouragement high as we near the halfway mark of the Spring & Summer CSA with some helpful tips for CSA success! These aren’t all the ways to be successful as each person’s journey is there own but eating well, preparing food at home, being conscious of our own food journeys, and staying inspired and curious about nourishing ourselves, our families & friends is what it’s all about. If anything, reading through these should encourage and make you feel great about the choice to sign up for CSA and be a part of your local farm!

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The more veggies the better on homemade pizza! Beets & feta… mmmmm

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Meal planning. This is a great way to utilize each weeks bounty. For those who have their meals planned each week you know that planning goes as follows, pick recipes, make a list, purchase groceries. That’s because we cook from the recipe, not from its ingredients. With CSA cooking the idea is to start planning your meals after you pick up your share. If meal planning seems overwhelming, start with just a few planned meals a week. This change in the process means cooking with what’s in season, and it’s a good habit to get into even without a CSA share.

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Freezing and canning. Our Week 4 newsletter is full of helpful information and places to start. Don’t forget that although you’re enjoying your veggies now there’s something satisfying about saving your extras for later in the year! We are on our last dozen jars of homemade tomato sauce and can’t express how lovely it is to pop open a jar of our summer tomatoes!

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Leftovers. If you have leftovers share with others or bring it back to the farm to feed the pigs/chickens or fuel the compost pile! Throughout the week put any veggie scraps that you may have in a bucket or tupperware to bring to the farm and we’ll leave out a compost bin & animal bin to toss them into. The farm works in a circle, as does nature, and we are all a part of that. There is no waste!

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Enjoy eating new vegetables! One of our greatest examples of this is the amount of people who grew up on boiled to death beets.. or worse, canned tasteless beets. When people try the beets from the farm in a new way (roasted, in a salad, as burgers or even in brownies) they change their minds and there are so many things that contribute to that. Mostly, it’s the openness of trying something new or trying something in a new way. Branch out and explore your palette and see what tastes great to you. You have your farmers to consult and a wealth of resources at your fingertips so don’t hesitate to be inspired!

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It’s beginning to rain rainbow carrots here on the farm…

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Get inspired by Seasonal Cookbooks & Recipe Blogs. Books, such as, An Everlasting Meal, Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Vegetables, The Four Season Farm Gardener’s Cookbook, Simply in Season or The Flavor Bible . Blogs, such as, The Year In Food, Smitten Kitchen, Naturall Ella or any of the others listed in the week 3 newsletter!

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Eating in season! We live in such a fertile part of the US and should relish in all the wonderful things that grow where we live. Waiting for those first seasonal crops can be hard after a winter of root veggies, brassicas, soups & bread but everything tastes that much sweeter (because it’s fresh, in season and grown just down the road in the dirt & in the open air!) It’s easy to enjoy the conveniences of the grocery store (that’s what it’s their for) but we tell ya that waiting all winter and spring for that first seasonal vine ripened tomato is the best thing for ya!
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Getting your fridge ready for fresh goodies! Take the time the night before to make space for a new box of goodies, and to take inventory of any veggies that would love to be used up in a ‘end of the week’ stirfry or soup! Making vegetable stock is always a happy solution for extra veggies – rough chop them, simmer them in a few quarts of water (a cup or two of veggies to one quart of water) for 30 – 40 minutes, and you have stock. Strain it, freeze it, and so versatile! Flavorful, rich in vitamins and minerals.. we included a recipe in the Week 3 recipe sheet that has some helpful guidelines for making vegetable stock!
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Our first tomato to ripen – of the extra early Siletz variety we are trying (one of 25 different varieties we’re growing)!

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Processing & Storing your veggies for the week. It’s many hours, days, love & light that go into producing vegetables. From the seed starting process, to being transplanted, weeded & taken care of, to harvesting.. it can be anywhere from 2-5 months before a veggie is brought to your home. So it’s important to properly process the vegetables in order to preserve their integrity through the week. Such as washing all your greens, chopping them up and putting them into a pyrex with a damp towel. This helps make more room in the fridge and maintain their moisture better. It’s also helpful to separate your greens from the root veggies (as they tend to draw the moisture out of the veggie). Something appear to be wilting? Throw it in some icy cold water for 30 minutes and it will perk right back up! See next bullet for a video on processing!

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An Everlasting Meal. In this book Tamar Adler reminds us of ‘forgotten skills such as boiling, suggestions for what to do when cooking seems like a chore, and strategies for preparing, storing, and transforming ingredients for a week’s worth of satisfying, delicious meals.’ Here’s a little video that reminds us of the practical pleasures of eating – of just how washing or soaking the greens, pre-roasting/cooking, & storing veggies can make for many more homemade meals in a busy week, increase the longevity of the produce and make cooking enjoyable (as it should be!)

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When in doubt – roast! (then you’ll be doubly sure of it next time… MMM)

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More veggies, please. Add or double the amount of vegetables in your meals! See how many different vegetables you can pack in to what you’re already cooking,

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Eat or drink vegetables for breakfast! For breakfast try a simple sautee with greens & garlic, biscuits, with eggs, in a quiche or veggie pancakes. Drink your veggies! There are so many great veggie drinks out there (heck, we just enjoyed an apple, kale, strawberry & carrot smoothie) – whatever is in there give it a go!
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As your CSA farmers our responsibility is to provide you with the most nutrient rich, organic, thoughtfully- grown – with love, fresh picked, local produce! To grow produce according to the seasons and to the best of our abilities. To introduce you to new kinds of produce & new ways to prepare it! To encourage you to enjoy your time in the kitchen, be playful and to have fun. After you pick up that crate full of bounty we pass the torch to you. We’re a part of each others food journey and we look forward to hearing week to week about what you’re cooking, what was eaten first and what you really enjoyed. It completes our food journey here on the farm to hear and see how the hard work is being utilized and enjoyed!

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A new perspective of the farm from the window of a friend’s 60 year old single prop plane… amazing!

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Enjoy the journey and stay inspired! We hope you have something fun planned for the 4th. Don’t forget to set out or bring back your crates & berry boxes. We’ll see you all real 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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Fall CSA Week 4

Posted on 26 Nov 2012

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Farmer Jess’ dad working his oyster grant in Barnstable, MA.

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Greetings farm friends!

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It seems like forever since our last CSA week and we’ve missed it oh-so-much! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday with friends and family and are getting into holiday cheer with Christmas just around the corner. After a 12 hour adventure from east to west, Farmer Jess’ is fresh off the plane today and has many wonderful photos to share with you all from her trip back east! Be sure to look for them later on this week.

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Even though it’s only been a week and a half since our last harvest, everybody on the farm is growing up so fast… we hardly recognize the baby chicks and Maribelle is looking more and more like her mom. We’ve also had some very stormy weather here in Oregon and have seen a lot of rain, cold temperatures and wind (we’re just happy the greenhouse is still standing!). Thankfully Jess has brought the sun back with her today but the fact remains.. it’s almost December and it’s starting to feel like it. And even though the days are getting shorter, we look forward to harvesting up some veggies for you for the next three weeks. As the colder weather encroaches in on us… it’s a great time for being creative, thoughtful and spending lots of time in the warmth of your kitchen. Spring has never looked or felt so good!

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We look forward to seeing you all this week. And just a friendly reminder to leave out your crates (tomorrow) or return them at farm pick up on Wednesday!

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Our best to you and yours,

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your farmers

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dirty hands, clean hearts

Fall CSA Week 3 (& giving thanks)

Posted on 13 Nov 2012

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Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

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– Mary Oliver

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Hello farm friends,

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We hope everyone is enjoying the change of season and first few weeks of November. Hard to believe that we’re already halfway through the Fall CSA, as it’s very different for our farmer bodies and minds to have a season shorter than 20 weeks. But with a shorter season comes shorter days and we find ourselves with a bit more time to sit down, to reflect and begin brainstorming ways to make the 2013 CSA better. We know our strengths and our limits and where we want to push and encourage ourselves just a little bit more. It’s been inspiring to make lists, prioritize and start to turn those lists into reality. Figuring it all out for the first time can be hard at times but we are having fun doing it and find that when we trust our hearts the possibilities are endless… and this life really is too precious not to try.

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Feeling grateful. With more time to reflect and Thanksgiving not too far away we’ve also been feeling really grateful for all the goodness we have in our lives…

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Our girls. So much has changed this year on the farm and we can’t really imagine how it was before with out all our gals. They’ve all made such a wonderful addition to our lives and our community and are so thankful to have them here with us. Their life here provides a circular motion on the farm, one that coincides with nature and brings everything together. They fill our days with purpose.

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And, as a side, they’ve been getting a lot of extra love and attention these days… and despite the sometimes gloomy weather are as happy and healthy as can be. Our little chicks are growing fast and we can hardly keep them contained. We’ve repurposed an old table into a very roomy brooder for them to stretch their wings and grow. Ellie and Maribelle are eating plenty of fresh green grass and appear to be very healthy in their winter coats as we head into the darker days of winter. We love them all so much.

-=

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Farm-ily, Friends & Family. We’re so grateful for the people that inspire us day in and day out. The light that we find in others is very much a driving force of the farm. That hope is the thing that gives us purpose and makes us want to do our best. Being on the farm attracts some of the most positive energy that you can find. It helps us to all slow down, listen and enjoy each others company. We feel so blessed that you have chosen to keep company with us and for us to share with you what we believe in with all our hearts. Your support is always appreciated and you inspire us to continue on and grow and become better farmers and people. So thank you so very much for that, as we’re better people knowing you all.

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We’re grateful for this farm and for the love & support that we have in our lives. We’re thankful for new opportunities and friendships. We’re thankful that we have each other because this life, this bounty, this dream could not exist (as it does) without one or the other.

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There are so many other things that we are grateful for this year and we feel that it’s important to say them out loud for all to hear (because, sometimes, saying it out loud makes it more real). We hope that you all share what you are thankful for and have a wonderful week with family over the holiday! *Reminder – there won’t be any delivery or pick up the week of Thanksgiving. We will pick back up the week of the 26th for the last 3 weeks of the CSA.

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Be sure to click on the slideshow for some great photos of all of our gals (both big and small).

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Until then… be happy and well.

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Faithfully yours,

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your farmers

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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Fall CSA Week 1 & 2

Posted on 5 Nov 2012

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Hello farm friends!

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Our warmest welcome to you as members of the 2012 Fall CSA! Whether you are new to Working Hands or are already a part of our “farm-ily” we are so happy to have you aboard. We are two farmers (Brian & Jess), one 2-acre veggie garden, 65 chickens, 50 baby chicks, 1 jersey cow (Miss Ellie) & 1 jersey calf (our 2 month old, Maribelle) who all run freely on 3 acres of pasture. We’d be happy to introduce you to the gang and welcome you to visit us when you have a chance! Just let us know and we’d be happy to arrange a time.

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Things have surely slowed down since the height of our summer season and we welcome the change of pace.. although our bodies are reminding us now why it’s so important to take the time to take time. Many mornings and evenings have been spent stretching, rejuvenating and recuperating from our season and getting the chance to sit back and enjoy the beauty that is all around us. Oregon is such a beautiful place this time of the year, the leaves are changing, the gray skies make the evergreens pop and more time is spent in the warmth of the kitchen.

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The change of seasons means a whole new forecast, fungus, bugs & longer (and wetter) harvest times. Our first frost was a week or two earlier than expected, during the first week of October, but we haven’t had a frost since with temperatures only falling into the 40’s and 50’s at night. And we are officially in the rainy season as October was a record month for rain! The rains may bring a whole new slew of bugs but they also bring milder temperatures and when that sun finally pops back out.. let me tell you (or maybe I don’t have to) it feels glorious and we know the plants appreciate it too!

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Our bounty. Until the second week in December you will be eating seasonally from our garden. Which means leafy greens, root crops, herbs, brassicas, winter squash and to our surprise some summer crops, like tomatoes. Every week we will include a few recipes featuring a few items in that week’s CSA box. There may be times where you’re unsure of the best way to use or cook your goodies which is why we’re sharing some of our favorite recipe blogs below. Adventuring through old cookbooks or on the web is a great way to utilize all of the farm fresh goodies each week. And if you happen to have any left over greens or kale, try your hand at Kale Chips , a simple soup or saute or maybe even a green smoothie (with a spoonful of peanut butter, Farmer Brian’s favorite!) .

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Happy Yolks
Smitten Kitchen
Mollie Katzen
101 Cookbooks
Naturally Ella
Sprouted Kitchen
My New Roots

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Get creative. Everything in the box was picked just hours before it reaches your home. Be inspired. Cook meals with family, friends and just for you. Find solitude in the kitchen, share it with others… it’s one of our favorite places to be. Do something zany like making Beet Brownies! Don’t fear being too wholesome or earthy because you are having fun. You know exactly where most of your food came from and who grew it and that’s empowering! And please feel free to share what you might find and discover along the way. Us farmers are inspired by our members journeys everyday.

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Crates, cartons & jars. Our setup is simple around the farm in order to be efficient (as it’s just the two of us) and we try to make it just as easy for our members. At the beginning of the season we build our farm crates and for 20+ weeks we pack them full of bounty. Each week, members return or leave them out the morning of home delivery – exchanging an empty crate for a full one – not a bad deal. We also reuse the egg cartons, as well as our 1/2 gallon milk jars, so feel free to leave them in your crate as well. If you forget your crate and miss a week, we will of course forgive you, but just know it makes these 2 farmers harvest days a lot easier to have what we need! Many thanks in advance and if you have any questions please feel free to ask!

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Farm Photos 2012. We also posted some of our photos from the 2012 season for all those wanting to revisit or see just how far we’ve come in the last year! It’s been a blast and we look forward to seeing what the next month or so will bring.

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Thanks for supporting our little farm as we couldn’t take this journey without you. Enjoy your week and we’ll see you soon!

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Your farmers,

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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CSA Week 19

Posted on 16 Oct 2012

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Hello farm friends!

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The rains really have come and it’s starting to sink in just how many weeks we have left in the CSA. On the one hand, things are finally start to feel like they are slowing down over here and we find ourselves with a few more moments in the day to sit down and relax in between chores. We were beginning to wonder if we’d ever slow down but the weather certainly helps with that….

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One more week after this one… it’s incredible. You never really know what to expect when you start the season. You hope and stress that you have enough members, you seed until there is no room left in the greenhouse, on the ground and on the outdoor seedling tables. You transplant ferociously for months, lay irrigation, plant perennials, plan crops & pray for good weather. Not to mention, marketing yourself like crazy while you day dream about the future and figure out the ways to grow better, not bigger. And there’s always trellising tomatoes, weeding, creating new recipes, weeding, squashing bugs, weeding, harvesting with headlamps, hand milking the cow and did I mention, weeding? From sun up to sun down we are busy bees.

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Gratitude. And here we are 8 months after starting up the farm season. A lot of lessons have been learned and we know it will all get easier with time. We’re excited about the future and we’re so excited that you’ve helped to make this year such a success! We were amazed by all the thoughtful gestures and conversations we had with you last week… about what the CSA has meant for them and what it will continue to mean for their lifestyle into the future. Talk about putting your farmers on cloud 9…. It’s seriously the best kind of compliment when people acknowledge healthy change in their lives and love it! We understand as food is at the very core of why we’re able to do all that we do. Without it, it would be impossible to do the best job we could do.

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CSA Survey. Speaking of that… this week we will be including a CSA Survey in this week’s share that can be returned to us next week. They can be filled out anonymously as we will have a big box for putting them in next week. Or, if you prefer, we will also send out a digital copy so that people can email them back. As a CSA member, your responses to the survey will influence the forward progress of the farm and the direction it takes. Your response to this survey is the best way to meet your needs and the needs of future CSA members. Not to mention, the importance to us as we really strive to work smarter, not harder and better, not bigger. We thank you in advance!

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You all are great and we really hope that you will all join us again next season (2013!). After the winter we know you all will be craving those first tender greens and sun ripened veggies… it gives all of us something to look forward to! But for now, let’s enjoy the time that we have! Here’s to 2 more weeks!

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p.s. EGGS. After the weekend we have lots of farm fresh eggs to sell this week. So come prepared to the drop and purchase some delicious extra protein! The ladies of Chateau Poulet thank you in advance!

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faithfully yours,

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your farmers

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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Farm Fresh Eggs. Delicious.

Posted on 15 Oct 2012

Our eggs are available through becoming a CSA member, where you you will receive the priority, and on a first come first serve basis at our farm. Our flock is 100% free range and fed a supplemental diet of organic/certified GMO free whole grains from Scratch & Peck, a local feed supply that we feel lucky to be working with. We keep 14 different heritage breeds in our flock in order to maintain the healthiest birds via bio-diversity, the corner stone of our farming methodology. We love our chickens and we love feeling deeply connected to a valuable source of essential fats and Omegas. Click this link to meet our chicken of the chicken of the week. Every dozen is rich in color, nutrients & flavor. To learn…

CSA Week 17

Posted on 2 Oct 2012

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Hello friends,

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Happy October and many wonderful greetings after another sunny weekend. The days are getting shorter but the beautiful autumn weather is helping our fall and winter succession crops gain a big jump start before the rain and cold sweep in. Our bodies, minds and hearts couldn’t ask for anything better.

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We’ve come leaps and bounds this weekend after Maribelle took her first bottle of milk. We wanted to keep calf and cow together for as long as time would allow but as Maribelle is getting bigger and stronger it’s time to really form that bond as farmer and cow. She turned one month (for adorable calf photos, click the link) on Saturday and since then has been on the bottle full time. She has already begun to eat some grass and grain for protein and within a few more months she should be well on her way to eating that diet full time. It will be wonderful, as Maribelle gets older, when Ellie and her will be able to roam together in the same pasture and be the best of friends (although I have a feeling I know who will be the boss….)

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Self Sufficiency: Dairy. We have also been busy trying our hand at making new dairy products. Some of our list includes raw yogurt, milk soap, soft & hard cheese. So far, the yogurt has been the best we’ve ever tasted. Perfect consistency and delicious creamy flavor (and it only took 12 hours overnight!) We’re looking forward to the week ahead when we try our hand at making mozzarella, extra sharp cheddar & soap!

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Self Sufficiency: Veggies. I recently purchased this book which has been of high interest to me as we try to work smarter, not harder here on the farm. It’s a collaboration of old world techniques and recipes using drying, cold storage and lacto fermentation methods from the folks at Terra Vivante. It inspired us to make our first drying rack for herbs, peppers, etc in the barn. We are using the resources around us to make less frequent trips to the grocery store. If it involves a few more steps in the process of harvesting the bounty then so be it (that’s what it’s there for, right?) Last night, before, after and during dinner, we canned 27 more quarts of sauce. It came out beautifully and we can’t wait to put away a few more before the long road ahead (sans tomatoes) is upon us. *Speaking of which.. has anyone had luck canning, fermenting, or freezing salsa without it changing too much? We are always craving heirloom salsa in the winter months…

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Helping Hands. We’re happy to have a few friends of mine (Jules & Jared) visiting from my home state of Massachuetts as they make their way down to California for a change in scenery and way of life. They will be here for the next few weeks so give them a friendly greeting if your paths cross. They’ve been helping to fill the gaps on the farm and they are making a big difference in their time here. Many hands make light work… and really nice company. We’re definitely feeling blessed for a little extra help when it’s hard to feel caught up on rest! ( winter = should be farmer rest time.. perhaps for a few weeks, we hope!)

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Fall CSA. If you are thinking of signing up for the Fall CSA, let us know! We’d be happy to answer any questions that you may have. Feel free to spread the good word to friends or invite them along for the ride for NEXT season. We’ve had such a blast growing food and getting to know you all. All of it is just pretty amazing….

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Thanks again and we look forward to seeing you all during the week!

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p.s. If you have forgotten or are unable to bring back your crate this week, please bring a bag. We are short again and it looks like the brown bags will be making an appearance again at the pick-ups!

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Faithfully yours,

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your farmers

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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CSA Week 14

Posted on 12 Sep 2012

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Hey everyone, –

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We hope all is well and the end of summer transition is going smoothly for everyone so far. We are also trying to get into the swing of things here at the farm. Trying to find a balance between all the responsibilities, the harvests, the plantings, and the animals. Although there are even less hours in the day (both literally and figuratively) we’re confident we’ll find a way to balance everything out. With certain types of responsibilities comes certain simplicities. Like all new things you only truly understand it when you see it through the whole way. So here’s to seeing it through… –

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Tomato harvest this week has been the biggest it’s been all season with the heirlooms finally kicking into gear. We’ve had some pretty chilly nights the past few days with temperatures in the high 30’s so if you’re planning to can or freezing extra vegetables now is the time to do it! Chop up all those peppers, bag those tomatoes whole and stick them right in the freezer. Save it for later to make some homemade sauce or soup when you have some time to do it on one of those chilly winter nights. If you’re looking for any extras this week or next we have 10, 20, 30+ lbs of saucing tomatoes available for purchase. Just send us an email and let us know. –

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Also, if anyone is interested in doing an egg share for the next 6 weeks please let us know! The girls are getting into the swing of things over here at the farm and if your enjoying our veggies it only makes sense to be confident where your eggs are coming from too! They are wholesome and delicious and we guarantee these ladies are the best loved chickens around. Help support these hard workin’ little ladies and the farm. These are all things that you can feel really good about. –

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Friday Night Films on the Farm. We are so excited to say that we’ll be showing The Fantastic Mr. Fox this Friday at dusk. Please arrive 10-15 minutes early to enjoy the sunset (it’s at 7:20) and we’ll be starting the movie shortly thereafter. Bring warm clothes and a blanket to wrap in incase it gets a little chilly. A $5 donation is appreciated. –

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Thanks (as always) to everyone for your encouragement and support! We couldn’t do it with out you. And for those who have been asking, we are planning on sitting down in the next few days to finalize our CSA extension for this season and put it out there to everyone by early next week. Thanks for being patient and understanding while we learn to juggle all these new exciting possibilities… –

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faithfully yours, –

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your farmers –

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dirty hands, clean hearts –

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CSA Week 12

Posted on 28 Aug 2012

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Hello friends,

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The adventure begins yet again! We sure have had some funny weather since we saw you last but it looks like the sun is shining and we’re back up into the 50’s at night. Everything looks great in the garden <sigh of happiness> as August and September are such bountiful months in the season. Farmer Brian and myself will be working on numbers, dates, etc for the winter CSA and will be happy to share those with you hopefully by next week! We truly believe in what we’re doing and see a very bright and rewarding future in growing food for the community. This season has led us to amazing friends, new and old, and we couldn’t be happier to have you all aboard!

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Thanks to those who came out for our first movie night last week. This friday (August 31st) we will be showing Singing in the Rain a fantastic musical comedy made in 1952. It stars some of the greats, Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor & Debbie Reynolds who are singing and dancing about all things Hollywood and the change from silent films to “talkies.” Movie starts a little after 8pm but feel free to come a little early to enjoy our beautiful farm sunsets. Make sure to bring a few layers with you for when the sun goes down. A $5 donation is suggested.

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Our girls are laying a few more eggs each and every day. We’ll have eggs available at a first come, first serve basis this week for all that are interested. They are fed a glorious diet of pasture and Scratch & Peck feed so eating them is something you can feel really good about. Finn, short for Huck Finn, is our chicken of the week. As soon as the girls are let out at first light Finn is the first one to jump the fence and find her way over to the shade structure. There you will find her for the majority of the day, snacking on tomatoes, scratching up the grass, eating slugs or lounging in the sun. Like clockwork, before we even step out of the coop, she is there. We also have a lemon cucumber and summer squash loving cow named Ellie. We have recently discovered that she loves eating our split carrots and looks adorable to boot. We might be biased but we think they are the happiest dairy cow and chickens this side of the Mississip!

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Just a reminder about TOMATOES! The time is now! Several of our members have purchased some day old tomatoes which are great for canning season! 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, sundried tomatoes, ketchup, jam and more for filling up your pantry or giving as Christmas gifts! Last fall we put together a little tomato canning how-to and you can check it out here.

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Also, on Tuesdays, due to the nature of the season, we will be making several deliveries before the drop and CSA pick up begins at 4:30. We hope to be there a little earlier to slang some vegetables to the happy folks in NE/SE Portland but members should plan on the pick up starting at 4:30.

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Thanks for all of your encouragement! We look forward to seeing you all this week! Don’t forget to bring your crates or any extra you might have laying around!

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Faithfully yours,

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your farmers

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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Movie Night 8.24.12

Posted on 24 Aug 2012

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Tonight we will be showing our first film in our succession of outdoor Movie Nights on the farm.

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Paul Newman & Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

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Come an hour early (at 7pm), pack a picnic, bring a blanket & a warm sweater

and watch the most amazing sunset from the farm!

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Movie starts at sundown. All are welcome. $5 donation suggested.

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Paul Newman & Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Support your local farm by sharing!