April 1, 2011

“I could sell a lot more here, too, if I had all that free labor,” pronounced Leroy, our farmers market neighbor, many years ago. He was referring to the  gaggle of young people who were working on the farm that summer and coming to market with us. I just smiled, because I was pretty sure […]

Spring has officially arrived and we are frantically dashing about preparing for the impending season. In order to have a steady stream of material for mixed bouquets and bulk orders, I have taken extra care to stock the garden with a huge supply of foliage and filler plants. These simple but beautiful plants, often overlooked,

After my equipment profile of Sauvie Island Organics two months ago, a reader wrote me to ask about the spacing on the tractors at SIO.  Great question, and I have to apologize for forgetting to put that in their profile, but it also gives me a perfect opportunity to write up some of my thoughts

There are several species of beans, which do not cross-breed. Here I will be talking about  Phaseolus vulgaris, generally called snap beans or simply green beans. By choosing varieties appropriate for your farm, and giving thought to planting dates, it’s possible to get high yields and keep them coming till frost. Shelling beans (for harvest

“Imagine filling your CSA just by tweeting that you are open for signups!” 23-year-old Michael Kilpatrick said, referring to the potential of Twitter. Michael, owner of Kilpatrick Family Farm in upstate New York, is part of a growing number of farmers making social media the core of their marketing plan. While he grew up with

What one word might describe the perfect CSA in the year 2011?“Bigger.”At least that’s the main solution suggested in a recent workshop for operators of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms in the Mid-Atlantic region. The day-long session, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (www.pasafarming.org), was entitled “Growing Your CSA: What size is right for