Goodbye 'til Next Year!

This is the end of our 26^th year as a CSA. As far as I know, we were the second CSA in the US.  The first year we had 20 members, and I was the only “employee”. The farm grew rapidly after that, and although we could be proud of our success, I realize that the success really is due to you, our members.

In the early years, there was nothing here but the land – lots of mud, no power equipment, no driveways, no buildings, no “luxuries” like the Honey Bucket.  Most of our members lived in Seattle (no drop sites then), and were willing to drive to this little patch of our Earth every week, and pay up front on the promise and hope that there would be food in their box.  With only 1 acre as a start, we were the pioneers of the CSA movement.

The price of a share back then, 26 years ago, was $475. The selection and quantity of vegetables was a lot more erratic too, as we learned through experimentation.  Back then, income from the farm was put back into the business to expand and build all the infrastructure.  I spent days at the farm and nights cleaning dentist offices – fortunately, a lucrative enough business that I could wait for 15 years before drawing a salary.

Some of our members have been with us since the beginning, and many more for over 15 years.  I often hear a teenage child of a member comment that they remember coming here as a toddler.  What we have developed together, farmers and members, is a take on the “I remember my Grandma’s garden”, that I so often have heard from members as a reason why they were motivated to join the CSA in the first place.  I like to think that many of you will be thinking about “your CSA” when you have gone from here.

The Root Connection has been a model for other farmers to follow and start their own CSA’s. Many have failed, but despite that, there are now over 500 farms in Washington that have some form of CSA.  The management at The Root Connection has elected to continue with the original CSA model, with most of the members coming to the farm and being able to access the farmland.  The development of the inclusion of “u-pick” items was a really good idea, I think.  It’s been encouraging to see all the people enjoying the farm, and learning about the importance of saving our local farmland.

We sell around 400 memberships each year, and with all the people involved, that’s probably over 1,000 people who eat right from this 16 acre farm – really remarkable.  It’s been a tough decision to stick with the open campus model – with pressure coming in recent years from organizations that use a box delivery system composed of not-so-fresh produce purchased from other locations.  I know we lost a considerable amount of business (coming to the farm takes time!).  But it is gratifying to see people starting to come back, realizing that they want more of a connection to the roots of our food supply and this Earth.

In addition to our wonderful group of members, another group of people who deserve the credit for our success are our workers!  From the beginning, I decided that workers should be viewed as the number one asset of the farm (well, maybe number two after the incredibly fertile land itself).  Even in the early years, we have never paid our workers minimum wage.  It takes an incredible amount of skill and dedication to work a farm like this, and they deserve more.  True “sustainability” has to include more than being organic, taking care of the land – it has to include the humans too.  Unfortunately, according to the Dept of Labor statistics, farming is one of the 10 most hazardous occupations, and is the lowest paid.  Health issues are one of the reasons – on non-organic farms, people who work those fields have bodies that are so full of toxins from the chemicals that when they end up in hospitals medical personnel have to put on Hazmat suits before they can operate on them.  Children as young as 12 years old are allowed to work in the fields.  Life expectancy for farm workers is very short, usually die to cancer.  In fact, farmers and their families are in the top percentage of occupations that have brain cancer, breast cancer, testicular cancer, and miscarriages.

 Several of our wonderful field workers (the Laotian family) came here 14 years ago looking for farm work.  Since they were already working on a farm in the Puyallup Valley, much closer to where they live, I asked Dang why he wanted to work here.  He said “they pay little  and they poison us”.  They started work the next week and are still here. This year, a woman who was getting a farm tour from Stephanie, noticed the Laotian crew and asked “so how much to they get paid?”  I assume that she was thinking that they may have been getting paid a very low wage.  Actually, Dang earns more per hour then the General Manager (that’s me), and his brother not much less then that. The average wage for all our field crew is $14 per hour, and they take home all the food they can eat, for free.  I think that’s probably at least double the average wage for farm workers in the U.S.  Many of them have worked here for over 15 years.

Another component of sustainability is using any possible resources to encourage and support people who need help, and the agencies that are set up to help them.  Healthy food is primary – since farmers grow food, figuring out a way that farmers can afford to distribute part of their harvests to these people is sustainable for the community as a whole.

In 2009, Root Connection members formed Farms for Life (FFL), which is a link from local farmers to those in need.  Our members have been very supportive of this organization – thank you!  In 2012, with 5 farms involved, FFL donated over 18,000 pounds of produce from local farms to over 12 agencies, including food banks.  This was enough food to provide the vegetables in over 50,000 meals for an adult or child.  Please think about a year-end donation to Farms for Life so we can keep up and even expand the work next season.  And if you or someone in your family is a Microsoft employee, a donation to FFL can be made through the Microsoft Matching Fund which doubles the donation.

So all the components ~ the workers, charity, and the land ~ work in this wonderful dance. This is a model of true sustainability, and no one here is dying to grow your food. Thank you so much for helping to make it all happen!  Please spread the word to others, and come back next year.

Claire

Steph’s Picks: Über Tuber Soup – or Golden Beet & Turnip Potage

I would suggest a small chopped bundle of flavorful cherry tomatoes and herbs be placed on top of the sliced baguette .  There ~ you have used 5-7 items you find at Root Connection! ~ Stephanie

One obvious reason to make root vegetable soup, besides it being so good for you, is that it lends itself to a luscious creaminess without necessitating the addition of cream or butter. … . The soup was so velvety rich that the toasted bread crouton pretty much floated on it briefly. Here’s my easy recipe.

Ingredients:

3 medium golden beets
3 medium turnips
one 11-oz can golden sweet corn
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sweet orange pepper sauce* (optional)
1/4 tsp each of the following powder herbs/spices:  ground star anise, cumin powder, coriander powder, ginger (powder or minced), turmeric
3 cups chicken stock
Salt & white pepper
toasted slices of baguette
jalapeño slices and/or coriander or parsley leaves for garnish

* I happened to have about 1/4 cup left over orange pepper sauce which I added to the soup. It had been made by roasting several peppers, removing the blistered skin, processing the flesh in a blender, and straining it through a sieve.

Method:

Boil beets and turnips, let cool, then peel and cube. Transfer cubed tubers to blender, add the corn and milk and pulse until puréed. Add all the powder herbs and orange pepper sauce, if using, and continue to blend.

Place a chinois, or other fine mesh strainer, over a bowl and using a silicone spatula, push the blended vegetable mixture through the strainer. Discard the pulp in the strainer. (If you prefer a coarser textured soup, skip the straining step). Pour the smooth liquid that’s been strained (or the mixture from the blender, if not straining) into a saucepan, and heat over a medium flame. Begin adding the chicken stock, stirring well to blend and reducing for about 20-30 minutes. Season with salt and white pepper, garnish with jalapeño slices or chopped herbs, and serve while piping hot with a toasted slice of baguette.

RSA

Enjoy!

Recipe reprinted from http://www.2gourmaniacs.com/fine-food-food-photography/ber-tuber-soup-golden-beet-turnip-potage/

Preserving the Harvest

It is that time of the season when there are plenty of greens to harvest. There's mizuna, kale (3 varieties), mustard (two varieties), collards, vitagreens and swiss chard. It is impossible to eat them all within one week so here's a way to eat what you can and preserve the rest: freezing.

 

These instructions and the recipe are from the Root Connection recipe file here:

http://rootconnection.com/rec-greens.html

FREEZING GREENS

Remove stems and cut or tear greens into large pieces. Put in a large pot with 2 inches of water. Cover, bring to a boil. Quickly stir greens until they are all wilted. Take off heat. With a slotted spoon, remove greens to another bowl to cool. Save liquid from cooking and let cool.

When cool enough, put greens into a zip-lock bag. Then pour some of the reserved liquid over greens in the bag to 1/2 inch from the top. Close the bag and put inn freezer. (When doing several bags, space them out in the freezer until frozen.) To serve, remove frozen greens and liquid, heat slowly in covered pot, then season and cook to desired consistency.

---

RITA'S SPICY GREENS

4 cups chopped greens (spinach, kale, chard, etc.) 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced 2 Tbsp. corn starch 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup cider vinegar 2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp. red pepper flakes 1/2 cup water 12 oz. spaghetti

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat a large pan or wok. Add greens and cook for 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook 2 minutes more. Mix together corn starch, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, pepper flakes, and water. Add to pan. Stir to boil and thicken. Serve over pasta.

Steph’s Picks: Roasted Beet and Corn Salad

Corn is here! This combines this week’s first harvest of corn and beets.  Delicious! ~ Stephanie

Ingredients 

3-4 beets (about 1-1.5 lbs)
2 cups corn kernels (about 2-3 ears of corn)
Olive oil
2 tablespoons Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
Juice from one lemon
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 shallot, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1.    Roast beets at 400 degrees F for 50-60 minutes. Take them out and let them cool for 20-30 minutes before peeling and dicing them.

2.    While beets are roasting or while they are cooling, roast the corn. Coat the corn with olive oil, spread on a cookie sheet or roasting pan, and roast at 400F for 15-20 minutes. When cool, use a paring knife to cut off the kernels.

3.    When beets and corn have cooled to room temperature, combine them in a medium/large bowl with the parsley, lemon juice, vinegar, and shallot.  Mix well.

4.    Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve room temperature or chilled.

Enjoy!

P.S. For  more instructions on how to cook beets, scroll down to view an earlier post titled "Instruction manual for beets".

 Recipe reprinted from  http://willblog4food.wordpress.com/2009/06/30/roasted-beet-and-corn-salad.

Steph’s Picks: Zucchini and Cucumber Salad

Cucumbers in this week’s harvest got me thinking in a different way.  Try this ...~ Stephanie

Instructions

1 lb zucchini (thinly sliced)

1/2 cucumber (cut into 1-inch cubes)

1 sweet onion (cut into thin rings)

2 1/4 ozs black olives (pitted and sliced)

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup italian parsley

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce

1 garlic clove (minced)

1/8 tsp black pepper

In a large bowl, combine zucchini, cucumber, onion, olives, tomatoes, and parsley.

For the dressing, whisk together oil, vinegars, mustard, salt, hot pepper sauce, garlic, and pepper.  Add to zucchini mixture; toss to coat.  Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if needed.  Cover and chill up to 24 hours.

Enjoy!

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Makes 5 servings.

Recipe reprinted from http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Zucchini-And-Cucumber-Salad-Recipezaar

Steph’s Picks: Zucchini, Basil and Chickpea Soup

1/2 cup chickpeas, about 3 ounces
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1/2 packed cup fresh basil leaves, washed, dried
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup tubetti pasta or other small soup pasta
4 zucchini, about 1 pound, 1/2-inch dice
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Excellent quality extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Pick over the chickpeas and discard any stones. Place the chickpeas in a saucepan with enough water to cover by 2-inches. Simmer uncovered until the skins crack and the beans are tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Drain the chickpeas and cool, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

Warm a small dry frying pan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and cook, stirring and shaking the pan constantly, until the pine nuts are light golden, 2 minutes. Remove from the pan immediately.

In a blender or food processor, process the basil, pine nuts, garlic and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to make a smooth paste. Season with salt and pepper and reserve.

Warm the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 10 minutes. Add the chickpeas, chicken stock, 4 cups water and pasta and cook until the pasta is tender, 10 minutes. Add the zucchini and simmer until tender, 5 minutes. Add the basil mixture and stir well. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top with a spoonful of the grated Parmigiano and a drizzle of olive oil.

Serves 6

Recipe reprinted from www.joanneweir.com

Rita’s Picks: Roasted Root Vegetables

This recipe uses our gold beets to perfection! You may have the other vegetables “still lurking in your fridge” from last week’s harvest. Enjoy! ~ Rita

Ingredients 

   Gold beets

   Onions

   Fennel

   Carrots

   Potatoes

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a shallow pan with foil, and coat the foil with olive oil.

Add vegetables in a single layer to the pan and rub each one with a bit of olive oil (use no more than a teaspoon of oil for every cup of vegetables.  Dust with salt & pepper or your favorite season combination.  Try rosemary or basil, parsley, marjoram ...

Bake until veggies are lightly browned in areas, and tender.  Check your roasted vegetables after 25-30 minutes, turn them over with a spatula, then cook until they’re tender and nicely browned around some of the edges (about 25-30 minutes more.)  They are ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Recipe reprinted from The Root Connection 1997 Community Supported Agriculture Recipes.

For more recipes go to http://www.rootconnection.com and click on “Recipes”.

Steph’s Picks: Vietnamese Cabbage Salad

This recipe showcases three herbs from the Farm ~ basil, cilantro & mint!  Really delicious salad, especially as a side dish to grilled chicken or fish.  Enjoy! ~ Stephanie

Ingredients
Dressing:

1 large shallot thinly sliced (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 tsp chili paste with garlic
2 tsp fish sauce
3 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp sea salt
3 tbsp light brown or turbinado sugar
2 tbsp water
2 tsp rice wine vinegar

Salad:1 small head Napa cabbage shredded, or 1 12-ounce package shredded white cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 English cucumber, halved vertically and sliced thinly into half-moons
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, torn into smallish pieces
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, left whole
a few basil leaves torn into pieces
3 tbsp unsalted peanuts coarsely chopped

Preparation

Combine dressing ingredients in small mixing bowl or 1 cup Pyrex measuring cup
Toss together all salad ingredients except peanuts.

At this point, salad and dressing can be refrigerated separately and refrigerated until just before serving.
Before serving, toss salad with dressing, then add peanuts and toss again.
Recipe reprinted from www.epicurious.com

Steph’s Picks: Rosemary Red Soup

I like this recipe as it highlights two vegetables from this week’s harvest; three, if you grate the napa cabbage onto the soup as a garnish. The two herbs come straight from the Farm’s herb garden. Enjoy! ~ Stephanie

This soup is a gorgeous red color with a deep, satisfying taste to match. Because of the combination of legumes and vegetables, all you need is some whole-grain bread and salad to make this into a beautifully balanced meal. Serve it with cornbread ….~ Cynthia Lair

3 medium carrots, chopped
1 beet, chopped (2 if small)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried
1 tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
1 cup dried red lentils
2 bay leaves
4-5 cups water or stock
2-3 tablespoons light miso

Scrub and chop carrots and beet. Remove tops of beet if present. No need to peel unless vegetables are not organic. Heat oil in a 4-quart pot; add onion and sauté until soft. Add carrots and beet; sauté a few minutes more. Finely chop rosemary and oregano leaves, if using fresh herbs. Wash and drain lentils. Add herbs, lentils, bay leaves, and water or stock to sautéed vegetables; bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 40 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Let soup cool and puree in small batches in blender or use an immersion blender. Dissolve miso in ½ cup water and stir into pureed soup. Gently reheat before serving if needed and garnish with sour cream if desired.

Preparation time: 50 minutes
Makes 6-8 servings


For new eaters: Steam a few extra carrot slices and puree with water.

For experienced eaters: Reserve some pureed soup before adding the miso and serve.

For children: Make a face in the bowl with crackers!

Recipe reprinted from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair (Sasquatch Books).
For a video, go to http://www.cookusinterruptus.com/index.php?video_id=99.

Beets: An Instruction Manual

Veggies are coming along nicely; we're having Chiogga Beets in this week's harvest.  Pretty with their stripes, sliced thinly and put into salads.  Try just steaming them for dinner, with a touch of butter, salt and pepper.



If you've wondered how to cook beets, go no further than this link:  http://www.rootconnection.com/rec-beets.html.  You'll find this:

Here is some useful info about beets....Recipes are below!

Baking beets is the best way to retain their flavor and juices, but requires the longest cooking time. Steaming is a very satisfactory method, for there's only a slight loss of flavor and the cooking time is shorter. Baking a 1 ½ inch beet takes an hour at 300° while the same beet steamed takes 40 minutes. Boiling beets is the least satisfactory method of all, because so much color and flavor is lost in the water. So, try baking and steaming beets, you'll be amazed at the difference.

Beets are done when pressure upon their skins causes them to move. To be sure they are tender you can test with a sharp pointed knife or a fork but remember some color and juice will run out. I think beets are easiest to peel when they've cooled a little; just run them under cold water, as you would with hard-boiled eggs, and their skins should slip right off with the slightest pressure. If the skins are hard to remove, the beets probably need to cook longer.

Storage and Preserving

Left in the refrigerator vegetable bin, beets stay in good condition for 2-3 weeks. For longer storage, layer in sand in a cool, moist cellar with a temperature below 45°. I find that higher temperatures cause beets to lose moisture and shrivel up.

Canning is a good way to preserve beets. To can, cook beets, remove skin, and pack immediately in hot sterilized jars, leaving l/2 inch headroom. Cover with boiling water and I tablespoon vinegar to preserve color. Adjust lids and process in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 30-35 minutes. Check seals when removed from canner and tighten if necessary.

Frozen beets lose texture.

Hints and Tips

• Grate raw beets into a salad.
• Hard water may cause beet color to fade, but you can correct this by adding a little vinegar to the boiling water.
• Steam or boil beets with cloves in the water. The beets will pick up a slight clove fragrance.
• Always mix beets with other ingredients just before serving so the color doesn't bleed over other ingredients.

Microwave

One pound whole beets (5 beets, 2-2 l/2 inches across) placed in a covered dish with l/4 cup liquid will cook tender in 10-11 minutes. A fast and easy way to cook beets.

Leftovers

• Pickle leftover cooked beets (see Pickled Beets).
• Use in composed salads (see Beets Vinaigrette). They go particularly well with endive and potatoes. For a German touch, toss with caraway seeds, onions, ground cloves, sugar, and vinegar.
• Any leftover whole beets can be hollowed out and filled with egg or ham salad or served as an appetizer or luncheon dish. Or make Red Flannel Hash.
• Turn into a puree.

Over our twenty-plus year history, members of Root Connection Farm have created a recipe file of family tried-and-true recipes.  We hope you'll find one that will become a family favorite!!

Tuscan Tuna Salad and Fennel : Steph's Pick

STEPHANIE’S  PICKS :
Fennel is new this week and the weather is sunny & hot … I think you’ll like it!!
Tuna Salad:

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped tarragon (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
2 (6-ounce) cans tuna in olive oil, drained
1 small head fennel, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 of a small red onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
OPTIONS : Shred some carrots and chopped bok choy .

Salad Mix:

1 pound mixed greens (romaine, butter lettuce, radicchio, and arugula) or spring mix
Tuna Salad
1 red or orange bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives

Using a whisk or an immersion blender, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, tarragon, and parsley. Lightly chunk the tuna, then toss it with the fennel, celery, onion, and most of the dressing. Reserve.

If you're using mixed greens, trim, wash, dry, and slice them cross-wise into 1-inch-wide strips. Toss the mixed greens or spring mix with the remaining dressing.

Arrange on serving plates.

Top with the Tuna Salad, and garnish with the bell peppers and olives.

Enjoy!

Read more http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tuscan-Tuna-Salad-with-Fennel-236731#ixzz20Kb1GrSX

Zucchini, Summer Squash, & Fennel Salad: Steph's Pick

Stephanie’s Picks 

A very simple usage of fennel for the new user. Let me know what you think!

This simple salad is made exactly how it looks – thinly sliced zucchini, summer squash and fennel dressed with lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper and crumbled feta cheese. It couldn’t be easier and it tastes delicious, light and fresh. ~ Stephanie

ZUCCHINI, SUMMER SQUASH & FENNEL SALAD

The easiest way to slice the vegetables into thin ribbons is with a mandoline.

Slice the zucchini, summer squash and fennel on the thinnest setting (or approximately 1/8").

For the dressing, combine equal parts lemon juice and olive oil; add salt and pepper to taste.

Toss dressing with vegetables and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Before serving, top with crumbled Greek-style feta cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

Chocolate Beet Cake ~ Red White & Blue

It's 4th of July today. I'm going to a potluck picnic and needed a dish to pass; this cake is just the thing!  My share included red beets so I whipped up this Chocolate Beet Cake using a cake mix.
Easy, so easy ~ now it is time to go have fun in the sun ...

Ingredients / Serves 8

1  18-ounce package cholcolate cake mix plus ingredients called for on box
3  cups organic beets, shredded
4 tablespoons organic butter, melted
1/2 cup organic confectioners' sugar

Prepare and back cake according to cake mix instrucitons, folding beets in as you add wet ingredients.

Allow cake to cool slightly.

Whisk butter and confectioners' sugar together with a fork.  Drizzle cake with glaze.

Enjoy!

Regrowth

For the first time this summer season, we’ve closed UPick plots of spring greens for 3 weeks.

SWISS CHARD and PARSLEY are now open for UPick as are the mizuna, vita greens and mustards.

The spring greens of kales and collards are closed now for regrowth.  They’ve been cut by members over the first two weeks; You’ve  probably noticed how thin they got last week. The solution is to re-grow their leaves.  By picking the outer leaves, the plant's center is able to grow more leaves!

So now we spray an organic foliar fertilizer, give them a deep drink of water, trim dead leaves and let the sunshine do its magic of chlorophyll creation.   You’ll see growth each week until so that in three weeks, the leaves will be large and green, ready for trimming again.

Why can’t you pick during this stage?  Even though it is organic, the foliar fertilizer (on the leaves) is not safe to eat.  The plants need time to digest their food and grow, just like we do. 

Why have we instructed the proper picking technique of the outer leaves?  Greens grow from the center outward; keeping the center intact means there is a plant to nourish when it is time for regrowth.  You’ll see other plots closed for the same “re-growth-ing” process throughout the season.

Enjoy!

For our junior farmers out there, here’s the scientific explanation of foliar (leaf) fertilization:

“Surprisingly, plants generally take in nutrients more efficiently through foliar feeding than through root uptake.  Foliar fertilizers are mixed specifically for foliar feeding, optimizing nutrient uptake through stomata (plant pores) in the leaves.  Foliar fertilizers are also an excellent way to revise and stimulate stressed, tired, or diseased plants immediately. … Tests have shown that foliar feeding can be 8 to 10 times more effective than soil feeding … .“ (Source: www.planetnatural.com)

Nursery open with new tomato starts in gallons

Bush Early Girl has started producing tomatoes.  Gosh, that's what I like to see on June 1st.
That means summer can't be far behind with my favorite sandwich: BLTs. Yum!
My mouth just starts watering when I think of that first bite.  (The tears come when I've
had the last bite.)

Then there's the cherry tomatoes: Sungolds and Supersweet 100s.  Just walk out on my
deck and pluck the ripe fruit and place it ever so gently in my mouth.  How sweet it is!

We've planted more starts to replenish our nursery.
It is open today and tomorrow (Sat), 10am to 6pm.  We'll look forward to seeing you.

Next week, the summer shares begin on Wednesday.  Right now you can pick spring
greens; swiss chard may be ready when you come in.  That is, if the sun shines! ~

Replenished stock of gallon tomatos starts

The nursery has a new stock of gallon tomato starts this morning.  We open at 10am today.
Come on in to get yours!

Soil Temperatures Warm for Planting ~ Our Plant Starts are Ready!!

It's now the third week of May. We've brought out new starts that include:

Basil: Italian plus several more varieties

Beans, several varieties

Broccoli

Cabbage, red or green

Chard

Corn, yellow, bi-color

Cucumbers: pickle, lemon, oriental, slicers

Dill

Lettuces

Onions, walla walla

Parsley, Italian

Peas, shelling, snow, snap

Spinach

Summer Squash, crookneck or zephyr

Tomatoes in gallons (bye, bye those little guys, they're growing!)

Winter Squash: acorn, honeyboat, sunshine

Zuchinni

It unbelievable but the leeks are sold out!

 The tomato gallons are flying out the door; gardeners are folks with hope in their hearts

for this fruit. Weather forecasts have been sayin' back to the normal NW spring and summer temperatures.

Garden soils are warm enough for planting according to Cliff Mass who says on

KPLU's Weather with Cliff Mass: "At least, for vegetable gardeners, the warmer temperatures that we've had over the past month raised soil temperatures, says Mass."

http://kplu.org/post/has-june-gloom-arrived-early-not-garden-soils-warm

 Got your trowels ready? Let the garden season begin!

Going to Market ~ Redmond Saturday Market

Opening day at Redmond Saturday Market!  Joe's there with tomato starts in gallon containers, herb starts and veggies starts in 4" containers.  Marching band playing, lots of folks picking out flowers and cheeses and natural dog treats and more!!

Supersize My Tomato Starts, Please

Today the Farmstore begins selling the gallon-size tomato plants.
I wait for this day all year long; I know these starts will live in my
Earthbox on my deck.

A complete list of the starts is available in an earlier post.
Here are the 4" starts in the nursery today:

Vegetable Starts

Beans (several varieties)
Broccoli
Cabbage (red or green)
Chard
Collards
Corn (yellow, bi-color)
Kale
Onions (Walla Walla)
Leeks
Lettuce
Mustard (red or green)
Peas (Shelling, snow, snap)
Tomatoes, 4" (limited quantities)
Tomatoes, Gallon-size
Spinach

Herb starts like chives, oregano, marjoram, etc. are here.

Planted in organic medium and fertilizer without chemicals,
these are hearty plants. 

Every week will feature additional starts; next week look for summer
squash and parsley and others.  Yum!

Come on down and get yours today!

Tomato Starts

Early Girl

Early Goliath

Big Beef

Brandymaster   (Heirloom variety)

Chocolate Cherry
Sweet 100   

Sungold

Yellow Pear

Bush Early Girl (NEW!)

Bush Goliath

Sunny Goliath

Viva Italia

Husky Cherry Red

We grow all our tomatoes from seed without artificial heat.  

We use no pesticides, fungicides or growth stimulants.  

This makes the plants healthier to acclimate better to life outdoors.  

Each pot is fertilized with Walt’s Organic Fertilizer and we recommend this for all vegetables.

'Enuf said.  4" size of selected varieties go on sale Saturday 28 April.  See you then!

'E

Farm opens Saturday, 28 April

At 10 am, these new doors swing open for the 2012 Season at Root Connection Farm. 

It’s the nursery you'll see first; starts of vegetables and herbs and yes, our famous tomato plants, will be available for you to buy (adopt?) and carry home for your own garden.  All starts are grown from seed. 

Stay tuned for the List of Tomato Starts; there’s been a request from folks who are gearing up their home gardens and MUST have those beauties! (Hint: new this year is Bush Early Girl.) 

The first harvests will be in June; for info on what’s in a share, how to sign up, go to www.rootconnection.com/csa.html

Excuse me, I must go find my trowel, gloves and knee pads.  Must get my garden ready for these annual guests.  Time’s awasting!