Author: Tristan Klesick

We mostly grow crops outside of a greenhouse! Our greenhouses are more akin to propagation houses, especially this time of year. The first week of March is when we sow our first lettuce plants. We typically use what are called 128’s. 128 is an abbreviation for transplant trays that have 128 cells in a 10”x20” tray. 

We will seed lettuce in trays every two weeks from March till the end of June, and hopefully plant 1000 plants every other week. Of course, that is the plan on paper. And I can guarantee one thing: farming with a pencil is a whole lot easier than the real deal! 

But without some planning, the odds of having a successful year get a lot slimmer.  I know that if I don’t have a plan to grow food for you, I won’t be as successful.   

The trick is to recognize that that plan is just a plan, and implementation is where the plan meets reality. Our farm plan allows us to flex when needed, but our farm plan is not designed to be always in flex mode. That is subtle a difference, but it is important to not always be in “flex” mode. Flex mode is used when a deviation is needed to course correct and then get back to the plan.  

We try to stick to our farm plan. It has been honed from years of trial and error. For us, we grow lots of staples. Our main crops are lettuces, cucumbers, tomatoes, peas, beans, raspberries, pears, plums, apples, and garlic.Last year’s plan worked awesome! The weather cooperated, and the weeds were manageable. If I could only order last year’s weather! 

-Tristan

I honestly can’t remember the exact date we had a snow storm that disabled the PNW. I do remember as a kid walking on Lake Stickney in the late 70’s. Even the Snohomish River froze over that year! But that was a snowy cold snap that lasted for days. This recent one was mostly cold, but not a deep-freezing, prolonged kind of cold. I do remember the storm in ‘97 that left its mark on our communities. 

In 21 years, we have only missed deliveries due to snow one other time. It was the week after Christmas in ‘05 or ’06. The weather forecast was for snow and then a deep freeze that wasn’t going to thaw in the foreseeable future. That year we cancelled all deliveries for the week. The hard part is that when we cancel deliveries, we have to make the decision 5 days in advance. The other hard part is no deliveries, no revenue – ouch! 

When we cancel deliveries early in the process it accomplishes a few things. First, it lets our suppliers know that we won’t be buying produce. Then it allows us to communicate with you to give you ample time to make other plans. And lastly, it keeps our drivers and packing team safe. 

We will make every effort to make deliveries, but safety is our number one priority when it comes to adverse weather. Fortunately, we live in the NORMALLY MILD PNW. Thankfully, for this last event, the weather prognosticators have really upped their game, and I am able to rely on their near-term forecasts better than ever before. It does make the unpleasant task of cancelling deliveries easier. 

The good news is that the Klesick Driving team (Mikey, Nate, John and Kathryn) did an excellent job! We were able to deliver all but four of our routes in the last two weeks. That was an amazing feat!  

Snow Geese: 

I wanted to give my beautiful wife, Joelle, a shout out. She captured some amazing winter images of nature at work on and around our farm. Thousands of snow geese descended upon our farm last week. Their black tipped wings glistening in the foreground of the Cascade Mountains. Breathtaking! 

I might write the newsletters, but when you notice an amazing photo, she is more than likely behind it. I am in awe of her ability to see things that I never notice. If you haven’t scrolled through our FB page or Instagram, take a “gander.”  

On this organic farm, not only do we raise food, we also coexist with nature.

Tristan

I was listening to Ocean Robbins on a podcast with the folks from Mastering Diabetes last week, and he said something that I had never heard. He said that “fear pushes, and vision pulls.” I believe that, and I live that, but I have never heard it said quite like that. Fear pushes and vision pulls. I like it.

Everyone tends to be driven by some fear, and we react out of fear sometimes. But what if we could be so comfortable in our own skin that we could be ourselves and not be afraid? There are lots of areas where people walk in fear. Of course, Ocean was talking about lifestyle choices, food in particular. I couldn’t help but be saddened by all the superficial things we do as people. The way we dress, where we buy our coffee, what gym we belong to (but rarely attend, or attend because we want to be seen there). Who eats Kale salads because you don’t want to get cancer, or stopped eating Mangos because you have Diabetes?

Fear, Fear, Fear. It pushes us to buy every last gallon of water in the grocery stores, and every comfort food because it is going to snow. Advertisers use fear all the time. Many of us are afraid to put down our phones, because we might miss something that someone just posted. But we are apparently not afraid to miss out on a conversation with the person in the same room with us.

There are no magic bullets, and no magic pills or diets, and the pursuit of them can lead to burnout and despair. Fear pushes us and vision pulls us. What if we decided to put down our cell phones and turn off our media? What if we just chose Kale because it was better for us?

What would a better world look like to you? What would a better you look like to you? Instead of wishing you won’t get cancer, heart disease, or diabetes…. or wishing you would lose 20 lbs. Think about how much fun it will be playing tag with your grandkids or climb Mount Pilchuck every year till your 80.  If you wanted to do those two things or pick another amazing thing that being healthy would allow you to do and use that vision to pull you to the tops of mountains, to not only out smart your grand kids (or kids) but out run them too!

What changes would you make today? Some of you are thinking, I could have done that 20 years ago or 20lbs ago or I never could do that, and you are probably right, but the goal isn’t to do the seemingly impossible today. The goal is to start to do the seemingly impossible thing today, based on your vision for the life you want to live and the legacy you want to leave. Small steps can equal miles of satisfaction and joy, step into a plan based on vision and enjoy this life even more.

Change is hard, but change is possible!

Tristan

Oh My! 

It has been a little chilly in Michigan! Michigan is where my oldest son and his wife live. My advice: “try and stay warm, son!” And as much as I miss him, I am not really interested in visiting anytime soon. However, we have been a little on the chilly side in the mornings and a little on the warm side after lunch around here.

As a farmer, I am asked about the weather quite frequently, especially now that we have had such a mild winter. For the record, there will be no “working the soil” ‘til it’s time. It is so difficult to fix a muddy mess that I have learned to be patient and wait for the soil to “speak” to me. There is a certain look to the land, a feel in the air, and an activity in flora and fauna that announces the Spring and the time to farm. 

Of course, I am referring to working outside and not in the greenhouses. For the greenhouses we try and anticipate an earlier or later Spring so we can time the plantings of our lettuce transplants. There have been years where we have planted 3 or 4 successions at once, and others where we have had to compost a couple thousand plants because the ground was too wet to plant. And no reasonable weather opportunity to plant was coming, either. Those plants made for some expensive compost! 

One year, I ordered a small planting of 4 trays for an early February planting in the greenhouse. Imagine my surprise when I received 40 trays. That was an expensive “0” to have added to my order. Thankfully, we had a funky February and we were able to work the ground and literally mud them in. We had the earliest lettuce of anyone that year. Let’s just say there is a reason that vegetable farmers don’t plant lettuce in February, unless it is in the greenhouse! 

We have learned that there is a time for everything, sowing and harvesting included. We will wait, maybe push the envelope a little earlier this year, but not much.  

We have just about finished pruning the fruit trees, and good thing, because they might wake up early this year. And our greenhouse is full of garlic greens, which we will be harvesting in the near future. Think green onions, only they are garlic. I will share more about the impetus behind that crop at a later date. 

We are here to serve you.

Your Farmer and Health Activist,

Tristan

The other day I was listening to a Bible devotion on the Youversion app from Your Time of Grace. I really like their devotions. This one was about tackling sin in our lives and how to get victory over it. 

As I was thinking about the concept of Count, Curb, and Confess, I thought about the last 4 or 5 newsletters and how I have been sharing strategies to win with food. Food isn’t a sin, but our attitudes towards food can certainly manifest in addictive ways, prideful ways, shameful ways.  

Disclaimer: I have only 500 words to share each week in this format and will never be able to fully unpack any of the concepts that I introduce or am writing about. There isn’t enough space in this newsletter to go very deep.  

For people who are addicted to anything, getting/trying to get back to “normal” is why they use harmful drugs. From the research I have read, many addicts do drugs, alcohol, sugar; not to escape, but to feel normal. The book “Brightline Eating” does a really good job of explaining this. Having a good relationship with food is important because we don’t want the pursuit of food to be consuming our lives, we want to consume food to help us pursue life and health and happiness.  

Getting back to Count, Curb, and Confess. The pastor encouraged the listener to Count the sin and how many times a day they were engaged in it (swearing, or drinking excessively, watching bad movies, …) and then Curb the inappropriate action or attitude, and lastly Confess it. What I wanted to share with you is that changing habits is hard, and taking a real honest look at ourselves is hard and humbling. But I believe people can change and win, but sometimes we don’t really know how big the problem is. That is why the pastor said “Count it” so you could know how big the problem is. How many hours did I spend on Social media today? How many sugar laden foods did I eat today? Personally, I am not a calorie counter. I don’t like to count calories, but I could surely count how many unnecessary treats I ate or look on my iPhone to check my screen time.

Once you have a good understanding of how big or small the problem is, you can Curb it, and finally, Confess it. This is the hardest step for a lot of people. If you are addicted to anything or wanting to change something, you are going to need accountability. You are going to need someone in your life that will hold you accountable. That person has to love you enough to be honest with you, and you have to love yourself enough to be honest with that person. You might even have to switch friend groups.  

I would like to look at this idea of Count it, Curb it, and Confess it inversely. Instead of counting things/habits we want to change from a negative perspective, count them in a positive perspective. First of all, change is possible. You can make change, don’t let anything/anyone dissuade you. Is change easy? No. Instead of counting sugary treats or sugary drinks or calories from sugar, try counting servings of fruits or vegetables you eat in a day. Did I eat a piece of fruit, have vegetables, cook a meal with vegetables?  

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that 1 in 10 Americans eat enough fruit and vegetables. 10 percent! That is unacceptable. Use a Medium size apple (1 cup) as your guideline when thinking about servings and try to get to 10 every day. That is not a lot, but almost no one gets there. Your homework this week is, once you have read this newsletter, to think back one day and count all the servings of fruit and vegetables you ate yesterday, and your family ate yesterday. Then, if you believe that fruit and vegetables are important, make getting 10 servings a day your goal.

Your Farmer and Health Activist,

Tristan

The most important kind of exercise is one in which you exercise self-control! 1 pound of fat equals 3500 Calories. Which means if a person would like to lose 1 pound of fat, they would need to eat 500 calories less a day (7 days x 500 calories = 3500). For those of us who would like to lose 10 pounds over 10 weeks, we would need to eat 500 calories less a day for 70 days or eat 35,000 calories less over those 10 weeks.

That is crazy?!??? But that is just the math. Shedding 500 calories a day is not as difficult as one would think. A Cliff Bar or Lara Bar each have 200 calories packed into those healthy “cookies”. A Grande Latte averages 200 calories. Snacking on nuts, even a small handful = 180 calories. And who can eat just one handful of nuts?

Exercising a little dietary discretion can really jump start your diet and health goals. Just losing the extra weight improves your A1C, blood pressure, and cholesterol numbers. America could sure use a course correction in the world of healthy numbers!

If a person did nothing else but cut out some “treats” or all treats and didn’t add anything to replace them, it would be enough to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks. What happens if you add walking one mile a day? A 150 lb. person burns 80 calories/mile. The pace is important but not that important.

The trap here is that most people “reward” themselves when they do something healthy with a treat! Don’t buy the lie! Just do the math! For a 150 lb. person to burn off one latte or Cliff Bar or a small handful of nuts, they would have to walk 2+ miles a day to ZERO out that treat. Do we have to mention ice cream as a reward???? The deck is figuratively stacked against healthy choices and healthy gains.

What can a person do? I believe that eating mostly whole plant-based foods and exercising are critical steps to losing weight and being healthier in the long run. But exercising only accounts for 10% to 15% of calories being burned. It is important for heart health and strength, but not as important for weight loss. If a person would like to lose weight the biggest factor is eating better and eating less. Our bodies burn 70% of their calories just by doing body things: thinking, breathing, digestion, pumping blood, etc.

Adding exercise to your regimen is great but exercising self-control over what you eat will have the biggest impact at the scale. For me, the real goal is to live as healthy a life as I can for as long as I can. Which means that today, tonight, and tomorrow I get to make another healthy food choice for a healthier me, and you get to make the same choice for a healthier you.

I believe in you, cheers to a healthier you in 2019!

Your Farmer and Health Advocate,

Tristan

 

Motivational speaker and author Zig Ziglar had a lot of great quotes, and the two ideas that always come to mind from Zig are “No Stinking Thinking” and “You don’t have to, you get to!” For Zig everything was a positive, the glass was never empty, never half full – it was always full.

To make changes to anything (diet, working out, not swearing, showing up to work on time, cutting down on social media… you pick it) you have to have a “can-do attitude.” All of us have a list a few blocks long that we would like to work on. So much to accomplish and so little will power to do it.

But starting with the right attitude is the first step in making changes. Let’s assume you already are wanting to make changes. Wanting to change is a good place to start but wanting is not starting. So, if we are going to turn a want into a start, we have to start. And the best time and place to start is now and where you are. Don’t let time hold you back, don’t let where you are hold you back, and for sure don’t let the past hold you back.

Last week I shared that it is best to pick one goal/lifestyle change and get after it. When you pick one new goal it will require a lot of will power to change and at any given time you only have 15-minutes’ worth of will power to use. 15 minutes is not very much and saying no to any temptation (donuts, cookies, mochas) takes effort and a plan. That is why I recommend only 1 change at a time. I know, you are thinking “I have so many things I want to change.” I hear you – me too!

But if you commit to one meaningful change and develop a strategy to help you “conquer” that goal you will end up winning in other areas of your life. I have seen it happen over and over. Someone cuts out sugar and loses weight? The reason is because when you cut out sugar, you cut out a lot of high fat and high sugar foods. And cutting out those two categories sheds pounds like nothing else.

However, you are going to have to commit to “no stinking thinking!” The reason you are making the change is because you want a healthier version of you. That is a great reason, don’t let any negative thoughts change your mind. You can do it.

The other thing that you have to train your mind away from “I have to do this” to “I get to do this”! Yes, you do get to do it. Other people have done it, which means you can do it too.

I know you can do it,

Your Farmer and Health Activist,

Tristan

Well how is the second week of the New Year going? Are you settling into a good routine? For us, this is the week the kiddos are back in school and everything gets back on schedule. Scheduling and automaticity are keys to making successful changes to many lifestyle choices. When habits become more of a routine/automatic, life can be easier, and goals can be achieved. So, a life that has automaticity built into it can be more fulfilling and healthier.

Steve Jobs wore the same “uniform” to work each day, he took “what to wear to work” right out of the decision-making process. For him, he had other decisions that needed his attention. Food can be like that, the more automatic the meal planning and prep, the easier it is to eat. This is especially true for people who feel they are addicted to food, especially sugar. We have to eat, so meal planning and making it as simple and automatic as possible can be a great strategy.

Last week I mentioned Susan Pierce Thompson’s book “Brightline Eating” in the newsletter. I feel like this is a really good book to read and program to follow. She totally unpacks why it is so hard to lose weight and why we are drawn to poor food. I would encourage anyone to read her book and arm yourself with good ammunition to fend off the wares of the processed food industry.

Think of the food industry like Visa or MC (sorry if you have a big Visa bill due ?). When we don’t have a plan or budget for our money, Visa is there to “help” us. It is the same for the processed food world, they are happy to “help” us when we don’t plan our food choices. It is really hard to plan for everything, but a plan catches most of the stuff that is easily planned. Don’t fall prey to the processed food world’s eating plan.

The Cutting Board 

I think that this is the most unheralded tool in the kitchen. Really!!! Last week, I cut up a boatload of veggies (2 bunches of carrots, one bunch of celery, one bunch of radishes, a watermelon radish and a cucumber). This was at lunch. By dinner they were mostly gone, and by bedtime they were polished off. No dressing, no hummus, just vegetables and gone! I was secretly bummed, at least as bummed as a parent can be when their kids are mowing down vegetables, but I thought I had cut up enough for two days! Oh well, back to the cutting board.

We have separate cutting boards for meat and cheese and then we have bamboo and wood cutting boards for fruit and vegetables. I use cutting boards morning, noon, and night. Every meal at our home has fruit or vegetables in it. Cutting boards are akin to a “canary in the coal mine” when it comes to our food eating habits. The more you use one, the healthier you probably are.

Wishing you a healthy start to 2019!

 

Your Farmer and Health Advocate,

Tristan Klesick

When did that get here! Thankfully, the new year is filled with fresh optimism and energy. And as a farmer, I really appreciate the increasing day length that comes with the turning of the calendar. We get to practice eating healthier for another year!

The New Year resolution season is upon us and more than a few of us are going to be getting after making some changes.  After 26 years of being involved in this organic food movement and 21 years at the helm of Klesick Farms, I have thought through and lived through a lot of food trends. I want to say: “our bodies are amazing!” Every time we take a bite of healthy, minimally processed, or raw food our bodies start a healing journey. We can eat poorly, never exercise and then as soon as we start the process to eat better and get a little more exercise, our body starts to repair and heal itself.

We must love ourselves, believe in ourselves and trust ourselves to do healthy things. Healthy habits reward us with healthy bodies, minds, and emotions. Adding vegetables, one big salad or cooked veggie dish a day, could be a goal for some. Eating more fruit and less packaged foods could be a goal for some. Everyone should KILL SUGAR in their diet.

Eliminating sugar is not so easy, especially because it is a very addictive substance. When I refer to sugar I am talking about processed sugars. I do not believe that sugars found in whole fruit are an issue because they come with fiber and a boatload of phytochemicals our bodies need to prosper. White sugar, sugary drinks, etc… no fiber, no nutrition and no phytochemicals.

I would encourage anyone who thinks they are addicted to sugar to read Susan Pierce Thompson’s book Brightline Eating and check out her Brightline Eating program. She really “unpacks” how to lose weight and the science behind how the processed food businesses keep us coming back for their food. I wish I could say that the USDA and FDA are on our side and want a healthier American population, but I can’t. The USDA’s job is to promote calories. The more calories we eat, the more the farmers make. Less calories, less profit. And the FDA regulates what products get to the grocery store and ultimately to us.

The bottom line is: health is a personal choice and a personal decision. And for anyone to succeed, they need a plan to eat better and move more. Only you can affect your health and only you can make the changes for your health. The awesome thing about change is, IT IS POSSIBLE.

The quickest way to get discouraged is to tackle too many lifestyle changes at once. If I could encourage one change for the new year, I would start with eliminating sugar, and then add more whole foods, water, and exercise. And if you slip up, just get up, or as Susan Pierce Thompson says: “just re-zoom” and make the next food decision better.

I believe in you,

Your Farmer and Health Advocate,

Tristan Klesick