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Key of C Coffee House will be offering a .15 cent discount
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ATM & CCs are charged a small transaction fee.

Please forward this announcement; show the farmers your appreciation for all the hard work and love they put into growing our food. Let’s send the farmers home with empty trucks.

more information: 261-0577

This week at market:

• Arugula
• Rooted Basil !!!!
• Beets
• Green Beans
• Braising Mix
• Broccoli
• Scallions
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Carrots
• Chard
• Collards
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Kale
• Pearl Drop Onions
• Sweet Onions
• PArsley
• Strawberries
• Fingerling Potatoes
• Salad Mix
• Tomatoes
• Zucchini

So I’m hoping everyone can find something in that list that they like to eat.

If you haven’t heard, this Saturday the Ashland Market begins. Yep, it’s actually going to be a reality. Very exciting. It will be at the new parking lot across from the Post Office in downtown. The hours are 9 am - 1pm. We’re very interested to see what comes of the Saturday market and how it affects (or doesn’t) the Tuesday market. The best part of the whole thing is how many folks that can’t make it during the week will be able to attend. Tell your friends! Tell your enemies! Tell everyone you know that eats. We’ll be there with food, and so will others.

See you at market,

Chris, Melanie, and Demian

We were one of those interviewed.

If you’d like to check out the story it’s here

Really nice article, aimed at OSU extension supporters that read the magazine. It’s good to let people know there’s a few of us (farmers) left. And Lynn Ketchum takes some amazing photos. He and Tiffany were really fun folks to talk with too.

The only downside to the story is the fact that the farming couples are profiled with the implication being the man of the team running the show. Or so it is presented. That’s somewhat frustrating to me. Our farm wouldn’t be what it is without Melanie or I. But time and time again (not just this article, but throughout the ag movement) it’s assumed that the man is running the show. This has been true more often in the past, but I really feel this has changed in the last 20 years or so. At least it has within the organic farming movement. Couples work together as a farming team. You almost have to. When a farm grows 50 or more different veggies there’s just too much to be tackled for one person. And I feel that men and women have a very different eye for certain aspects too. Whether it’s noticing a bug infestation, or a bunch of carrots that were bunched too big, it works really well to have multiple perspectives. So I just want to put it out there that we and many other farms owe great respect to our respective partners and how equal of a part they play in the madness we call farming.

After thinking about this for a few and rereading the article, maybe it’s not that it’s implied that the man’s running the show so much as the fact that the “team effort” side of things is a really important angle to be addressed and paired with this upcoming/future generation of farmers. That’s maybe a clearer picture of what would have made me more content with the article.

At market this week:

• Basil (loose, the rooted basil is another week or so out)
• Beets
• Braising Mix
• Broccoli
• Scallions
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Carrots
• Chard
• Collards
• Cukes (The first few.)
• Kale
• Lettuce (Probably the last of it for a month or so)
• Pearl Drop Onions (How do people like these? Grow again next year? Comments?)
• Walla Walla Sweet Onions
• Parsley
• Strawberries (Making a comeback)
• Fingerling Potatoes (Yes, potatoes are back)
• Salad Mix
• Spinach
• Tomatoes (The first few)
• Zucchini

That’s all we have for the week. Guess it’ll have to do.

See you at market!

Smoke.

Oh and veggies too.

• Arugula
• A tiny bit of basil
• Beets
• Braising Mix
• Broccoli
• Scallions
• Cabbage (Savoy and Smooth)
• Cauliflower
• Carrots !!!!!!
• Chard
• Collards
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Pearl Drop Onions
• Walla Walla Sweet Onions
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Salad Mix
• Spinach
• And a bit of Zucchini

With the latest warm spells we’ve just been watering everything. A lot. Every day. We’ve never grown head lettuces this late into the season so this year is a good year to challenge our capabilities. I think everything has survived the heat pretty well so far. And things are growing in a manic way. We like that. It means more food for you at market.

Eggplant growing nicely

Peppers getting ready to set more fruit

A view to the north

And this last picture is looking southeast over the gardens. The pasture in the foreground is where the overwintered garden will be this season. That ground will be turned under this week.

There are a lot of sugar snap peas right now. Really. A bunch.

This year we are trellising our peas for the first time. I don’t think we’ll ever go back to not trellising them. The picking is so much more efficient as well as the quality of the pea. And we’re getting more peas off of less bed space. So it’s a win all the way around.

This week at market:

• Arugula
• Beets !!
• Braising Mix
• Broccoli
• Scallions
• Cauliflower
• Chard
• Collards
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Walla Walla Sweet Onions
• Parsley
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Salad Mix
• Spinach
• Turnips (The last week for the turnips)

Summer Squash and Cabbage are on the way!!!!!

Here’s a nice picture I took the other morning as we arrived early to pick peas:

It was a fantastic day at market! The weather was perfect and the people were out in droves. The tables were definitely empty at the end of the day.

The first snap peas are here. Finally. It’s taken forever. But a very nice stand indeed that we’re hoping to pick off of for many weeks.

So here’s what’s at market this week:

• Arugula
• Braising Mix
• Broccoli
• Scallions
• Cauliflower (Just a bit)
• Chard
• Kale
• Lettuces of all types
• Walla Walla Sweet Onions
• Parsley (Flat and Curled)
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Strawberries
• Radishes (The last week for these until fall)
• Salad Mix
• Spinach
• Turnips
• Garlic Scapes (I really remembered these this week. They’re in the truck not the cooler.)

Now for some pictures

Tomato plants cruising along. This cool weather has allowed them to grow super thick stalks. Great for holding up the weight of many tomatoes.

The current state of the main season onions. These are the storage and red onions we grow. The Walla Walla Sweets at market right now are at the other end of the field- left of the picture about 400 feet.

A couple of successions of lettuces and broccoli and cauliflower. Notice the big gap in the broccoli on the left? That would be the handy work of gophers. Let’s just say we’re not big fans of gophers.

And the ever growing potato patch. That’s nine 400 foot beds of potatoes. There will be a few tubers to come out of this field.

• Arugula
• Braising Mix
• A little bit of Broccoli
• Rainbow Chard
• Cilantro
• Collards
• Garlic Curls
• Kale
• Every Lettuce under the Sun
• Walla Walla Sweet Onions
• Curled and Flat Parsley
• Strawberries
• Radishes
• Salad Mix
• Spinach
• Turnips (Salad, Red, Purple Top)

A pretty nice list for June. Snap peas are slowly happening. Broccoli is being weird about happening. I think all the successions may come on at once. Or not. We’ll see.

So I was driving to the new farm the other day and saw these clouds and kept expecting the words “The Simpsons” to come floating out. What do you think?

And then the next morning at the farm I caught the light right as it came over the hill. A pretty cool picture considering I took it with my phone…

We’ve been having some troubles on the home front. It seems that our cat Rubin has decided that he prefers Demian’s car seat over anywhere else in the house. Probably just a phase but you can see Melanie and Demian are trying to coerce him elsewhere. Didn’t do any good, Rubin still took his nap there.

Wow, we’ve been busy. Busy doing everything. The strawberries are really starting to come into swing now. Hopefully it doesn’t continue raining. We’ve also been trellising our two successions of sugar snap peas. They’re not too far from being ready. Maybe another week or so.

We’re really excited about a few of the new veggies we’re bringing to market this week. One being the Walla Walla Sweet Onions. They are incredibly mild and very sweet. Great on the grill or just in a salad.

The other new veggie is the Red Romaine (We brought a bit of it last week.) The heads we have this week are huge! It really likes the mild weather we’ve been having. No sign of bolting, just good Romaine goodness.

We’ll also be bringing scallions (green onions) in the next week and the first rounds of broccoli are just starting the “heading up” process.

It’s been a very strange and interesting spring so far, but we have a lot of food regardless. See you at market tomorrow! (Rain or shine?- yes it’s supposed to be another wet one tomorrow—-oh well)

This week at market:

• Arugula
• Bok Choy
• Braising Mix
• Chard
• Cilantro
• Collards
• Kale
• Lettuce (Red and Green Romaine, Oakleaf, Leaf, & Butterhead)
• Walla Walla Sweet Onions
• Parsley
• Strawberries
• Salad Mix
• Spinach
• Turnips (Red, Purple Top, & Salad)

Here’s a nice picture from Growers Market on Saturday. Love the berries!

And a picture of our potatoes after I hilled them for the first time yesterday. I just love how it cleans things up after a hilling.

My truck’s starter was out yesterday too. But I had to get over to the new farm to mow down more cover crop for an area that will be planted in a week or so. So I hopped on the tractor and away I went. It’s only six miles. On the highway. Along the Applegate River. It was great. I got to see so much of that route that I take everyday at 55 mph, from a nice slow 25 mph perspective. And if you didn’t know, when you’re driving a tractor on the road, you’re literally everyone’s friend. Everyone waves. It’s really a hoot. Kind of like being back home in Missouri where everyone waves regardless. (I’ve actually seen enemies wave at each other, “Cuz, it’s wat ya do”)

So I thought a picture of my journey would be nice.