|
|
Full Circle Farm - Dig It Blog
August 7, 2008
Chiogga Beets
DEAR HUNGRY Seattle-based ‘lunch-break-goers’ and ‘early-weekend-starters’….,
If you’re passing through the South Lake Union neighborhood tomorrow go by the Westlake Whole Foods Market
‘Mini-Market’ event! We’ll be there and we’ll be passing out ‘SAMPLES’
or actually whole HELPINGS OF herbs and veggies so that you may take
them home with you, get hooked, and immediately contact us …seeking
more of the goods we got. hehe…
But really…in a nut shell..check out our MARKET STAND, tomorrow- Friday August 8th - between noon and 3pm. *( Your palate will be pleased you did…)
Don’t forget to say hi to Jay, our market manager and Laura, the
uber-friendly & hip market rep…who reps the FCF at Ballard too on
Sundays! YOU MAY EVEN CATCH ME THERE TOO….before I head back into the
valley to ramp up for our super fun volunteer work party on Saturday!!
(–see yesterday’s blog).
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
August 6, 2008
Help us cut a trail to our berries this saturday from 10-2!
Take the opportunity to help fill the local food banks and experience what work is like here on our organic farm!
Help us build a trail to our Berry Patch
We need to clear a path to our berry field so in exchange for every hour of your time and hard work helping us cut a trail, we’ll donate 500 servings of organic produce to Hopelink Food Banks.
We’ll provide the tools, farm-fresh snacks and beverages–heck we’ll
even teach you a smidge or two about the seasonal organic crops,
harvest, local supply chain! DRESS for warm weather, clearing brush,
laying bark, & pickin’ berries!
For more information or to sign up for this month’s ‘berry trail building’ Experience Farming Project or to volunteer… visit our website EVENTS page. http://www.fullcirclefarm.com/events.html
Posted in Collaboration, Responsibility, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags: berries, donation, farm tour, food bank, Hopelink, volunteer
July 29, 2008
Produce
processing is a relatively simple process on our farm- nonetheless,
it’s an activity that we couldn’t be in business without- and why would
we wanna do without it anyways?…our processing process leaves our
harvested crops in top quality, cooled for maximum freshness, and rid
of the chunks of soil and other ‘buggers’ that might otherwise need to
be sorted through by our customer. So, once the field crew brings in
the harvest, such as the Napa Cabbage atop the flatbed in this photo,
Bringing in Napa Cabbage harvest July 08
our processing crew takes charge of the ‘just-picked’ produce by
hydro-cooling in ice baths, washing, sorting, and packing in portioned
boxes of ice- among several other intricacies along the path of Full
Circle Farm’s processing. 
(Though ‘they’ say you should wash any produce you buy before
you eat it…our processed product is vibrantly clean, beautiful, and I
lay claim that it’s ‘good enough to eat.’ …But that’s me…and I often
eat it straight from the field.  )
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags: harvest, hydro-cool, napa cabbage, processing
July 18, 2008
Our gracious EFP Habitat Restoration volunteers! THANK YOU!
We’re BAAAACCKKK!
As the primary contributor to this blog..it is to
my regret that I have been absent from filling your eyes with the
sights and news of our Farm. After spending a long weekend on the
beautiful San Juan Island with my family over the fourth and then
another long weekend in the Black Hills of South Dakota visiting over
100 of my midwestern relatives—I’m back and I’ve got some exciting news
to share from this past weekend!
In response to an overwhelming request from our CSA members and local community, we have opened up our barn doors to volunteers to come out to Carnation and experience what work is like on our organic farm! We have created the Experience Farming Project as means for community members to make a hands-on contribution to the development of a more sustainable food system.
Our first project, on Saturday, July 12th, was a
great success! Local non-profit, Stewardship Partners led a team of 20
volunteers on an on-farm habitat restoration project followed by an
educational seminar on
agriculture, salmon safe and ecology. Full Circle Farm is making an in-kind donation
for every volunteer that works. Saturdays event guaranteed a donation
of over 8000 servings of organic produce will be distibuted to Hopelink
Food Bank. The donation will be given in the EFP volunteers’
names. LUNCH served on the forest understory and everyone received a
Volunteer Work Certificate that one kid used for school credit! RIGHT
ON!
If you’d like to come out to experience what work
is like on our farm, have a delicious complimentary farm picnic, and
learn more about sustainable ag, choose from one of our 4 existing parties!
Calendar of work parties:
August 9, Full Circle Farm, farming practices and harvesting
September 13, Full Circle Farm, farming practices and harvesting
October 11, Ames Creek Farm, farming practices and harvesting
October 18, Ames Creek Farm, habitat restoration
To sign up, Please call or email Tim Bernthal at 206.783.3088 or tbernthal@gowebway.com
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
June 27, 2008
I sit in the dirt as I draft this blog. The sky
appears blue as a breeze wafts through, the sun is warm blanketing me
with vitamins, and the farm is busy. I ponder our human ability to make
choices, and as I enjoy the narrow spectrum of light filtering through
I furthermore consider the wide spectrum of choices that are made
moment to moment amongst the people of Full Circle Farm.
The people of the farm include those that work
here, as well as those that support us. From the simple decision to get
out of bed to the more complex decision to sustain a positive mind,
each of us faces an indefinite number of choices everyday. As a farm we
have a choice to not use chemicals and to care for the natural wildlife
and environment; as a business we have a choice to support other farms
and cultivate a positive work environment for those around us; as a
consumer we have a choice to buy organic and encourage healthy living;
as a community we have a choice to get connected and put forth effort;
as people we have a choice to stay present and create awareness…
This morning Andrew Stout, Full Circle Farm Owner, chose
to put on a wetsuit, slide into Griffin Creek, and incorporate a fish
screen device with an irrigation system. Full Circle Farm is located
between Griffin Creek and the Snoqualmie River, and is Certified Salmon
Safe. Read more about our choice to protect the local wildlife habitat
and participate in the Salmon Safe Certification at http://www.fullcirclefarm.com/benefits.html
-Jenny
Posted in Responsibility | No Comments »
Tags: choice, environment, habitat, salmon safe, wildlife
June 25, 2008
If
you venture out to any of the 25 Farmers Markets that Full Circle Farm
participates in this week (week of June 23-29) - Expect to see some
Local Color! Thanks to the cease of rain, warmer weather, and sunshine,
this will be the first week this summer we’ll be offering Rainbow
Carrots and Purple Radishes alongside heads of Brocolli, mixed pints of
Edible Flowers, and striped Chiogga Beets. This morning I did a
walkabout around the fields shooting photos of various produce
plants….and I think I got some pretty useful shots! I pasted a couple into this blog entry and the rest I added to the photo album…check’ em out.
Also, thanks to the cease of rain and sunshine— we have begun
irrigating in order to keep our crop colors coming in! We irrigate our
main crops with moveable pipes that can be pieced together at various
locations around the farm. The pipes are steel and can withstand many
years of use. Our farmhands have to move the piping many times
throughout the week during the summer and often long distances- hauling
them onto and off of tractors and then stacking them in heavy piles
when they are not in use- the wearability of these ‘watering tools’
must be sturdy enough to last for years…but it also makes them really
heavy. Here is a photo of Carlos preparing to move some of the
piping…piling an arm of a tractor full. 
Lastly, a haiku…
Rye nurses the Vetch.
Vetch makes for a healthy soil.
Healthy Soil brings life.
Posted in Excellence | No Comments »
Tags: Crop, farmers markets, fields, haiku, irrigation
June 20, 2008
So what does Rose the farmer and
gardener like to do in her off time? Well, cook and enjoy her harvest
of course! “I’m a sucker for a good hearty fall soup like butternut
squash or potato leek,” said Rose, “and in the summer a nice gazpacho!”
Rose enjoys kale whenever she can get it, and recommends the From Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook for cooking vegetables. Her favorite cookbook, however, is Sunday Suppers at Lucques
by Suzanne Goin . “It’s beautiful, split into seasons, gorgeous
pictures, great recipes,” said Rose, “I just love looking at it, it
makes me happy.”
Such a simple pleasure from someone who
works hard to make so many others happy, providing them with healthy
delicious food to eat, a positive work environment, and a warm smile.
She talks as she moves down the row and situates the lettuce in the
soil, and it is apparent she really has found her place in the world.
When asked if she had any last remarks Rose said, “I really hope you
enjoy the produce.”
If you have any interest in working with
Rose for a day, learn more about these and other volunteer
opportunities through Full Circle Farm’s Experience Farming Program.
-Jenny
Posted in Care | No Comments »
Tags: Crop, Experience Farming Program, farmer, greenhouse, Manager, Rose
June 9, 2008
Below
is a letter written by Full Circle Farm founder and farmer Andrew
Stout. He urges people to take a pro-active role in creating a
healthier food system by simply taking a minute to fill out a brief
survey…
June 9, 2008
Friends,
In 2007, the Washington State Legislature directed our state’s
Department of Agriculture to draft a strategic plan mapping out the
opportunities and challenges facing farming in our state, providing a
historic opportunity to help shape the policies and regulations that
will, in many ways, determine who grows our food, how our food is
grown, and how and where it gets to
market.
A Steering Committee has been put together representing various
segments of our state’s agricultural sector including wheat farmers,
wine grape growers, dairy producers, organic growers and small and
direct marketing farms. But there are many additional voices that are
critical to a sound, well-informed food and farm policy and a brief
electronic survey has been created to bring those ideas and opinions
into the process.
Farmers, ranchers, food producers, farm-related businesses,
nonprofit and civic organizations, even consumers all have a stake in
ensuring that agriculture continues to be a thriving, growing, sector
of our state’s economy as well as a visible part of our landscape in
Washington.
The Future of Farming process will examine and make recommendations
about how our state government should respond to key challenges for
agriculture like escalating land values and subsequent loss of
farmland, labor, transportation, water, and the regulatory landscape.
But there are also many opportunities like development of new markets
that can create and take advantage of rising demand for
Washington-grown and produced foods.
Please take a few minutes today
to fill out the survey. This is a process that will inform the
Washington State Legislature as they develop food and farm policies for
our state. Your voice is important in this process.
Take the survey today. Go to http://agr.wa.gov/fof/survey.htm
Please forward this to your friends and colleagues so they can be a part of this important process as well.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
 Andrew Stout, Full Circle Farm
Future of Farming Steering Committee member for Small Farms/Direct Marketing
Posted in Collaboration, Leadership, Responsibility | No Comments »
June 9, 2008
Seattle
Greendrinks is turning five years old on 10 June 2008! To celebrate, we
are throwing ourselves a party that you won’t want to miss. With
breakout space for socializing, exhibitors, music by DJ’s miss b.
wonder jones and KEXP’s
Riz, spaces for exhibitors, as well as amazing food and drinks from
local producers, this will be the green gathering for Seattle in 2008.
The location is 3200/3220 1st Ave S, in Seattle’s SoDo area.
http://www.seattlegreendrinks.org/
Posted in Care | No Comments »
Tags: Greendrinks
|
|
