Author: Tristan Klesick

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Preparations for Your Holiday Meal

Every year at this time we offer an additional special Holiday Box ($35) full of traditional organic Thanksgiving meal items for your celebration. Not only can you schedule a Holiday Box to be delivered the week of Thanksgiving, but also the week before and the week after (available Nov. 12-Nov. 30). You can have this box delivered along with your regular order or in place of your regular order (when you place your order please specify). The box menu is as follows (*denotes local):

 

 

Holiday Box Menu

Granny Smith Apples, 2 lbs.*
Cranberries, 8 oz.*
Satsumas, 2 lbs.
Garnet Yams, 2 lbs.
Green Beans, 1 lb.
Carrots, 2 lbs
Yellow Potatoes, 3 lbs.*

 

Celery, 1 bunch
Yellow Onions, 1 lb.*
Acorn Squash, 1 ea.*
Breadcubes for Stuffing, 1 lb.*
 

**Please note:  Coffee and bread orders for the week of Thanksgiving need to be received by noon on Thursday, November 15. Coffee and bread orders received after this time will be scheduled for your following delivery.

 

 
Remembering Neighbors in Need
If your celebration includes helping the less fortunate who live in our community, we would like to partner with you by giving you the opportunity to purchase a discounted Holiday Donation Box for only $25, to be given to local food banks the week of Thanksgiving. Last year 168 Holiday Boxes were donated and this year we’d love to have a greater impact. The volunteers at the food banks have expressed again and again how wonderful and satisfying it is to be able to supply people with fresh produce. Please call or e-mail us to set up this donation.
 
Holiday Delivery Schedule
Our office will be closed Thursday and Friday the week of the Thanksgiving holiday, so that week we will have an adjusted delivery schedule. After reviewing the general delivery schedule below, if you are still uncertain as to your delivery day the week of Thanksgiving please give us a call.
 
For delivery
Monday, 11/19
• Tuesday customers
• Anacortes & Oak Harbor customers For delivery
 
Tuesday, 11/20
• Wednesday customers, except those in Anacortes & Oak Harbor
• Thursday customers, except those in Marysville south of 88th St NE For delivery
 
Wednesday, 11/21
• Friday customers
• Marysville customers south of 88th St NE
 
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Wisdom

I remember when I was newly married (before farming was even a thought in our minds), Joelle and I were visiting her grandfather Henry at his house on the banks of the Snohomish River. Henry was a sawyer by trade and a man full of wisdom. From the vantage point of his home, he could see all of the farmland between Silver Firs and Snohomish, an area known as marshland, and for the most part had lived all his life in that area. 

 
He had told stories about shipping eggs to NYC by rail during the Great Depression. One time he was recounting a story about how his sisters would help wash the eggs. They used a dry brush system, much like a golf ball washer that one would find on any course around here. Grandpa Henry was industrious, always a tinkerer, so I am sure he designed that washer. As Grandpa would tell the story, he would be outside fixing this and that, when all of the sudden there would be this clamoring from the “egg processing area.” Then a wry smile and twinkle in his eyes would appear as he paused and said, “She broke another egg.” While funny to him and us, when that egg washer came across a soft shelled egg, it would send the contents everywhere. I never found out if he improved on the design or his sisters went on strike. Sadly, his generation is now passing quickly and soon we will have to have those rich history lessons only from history books.
 
Another time we were visiting, he showed us the tractor he had made, designed for mowing hillsides and, by adding a counter- balanced buzz saw, for cutting rounds. It definitely was not OSHA approved, but back then people took personal responsibility for their actions—sadly, there were accidents, but also great discoveries.
 
But the most profound things that Grandpa Henry ever said to me had to do with the seasons. Although I can’t remember the exact context of our conversation, we were talking about the change in weather and how winter was coming. I do remember that it was around this time of year, maybe early November, and it was getting cold. I commented, “Looks like winter is coming early.” He thought about my comment and said, “The coldest months are January and February.” I knew he was talking to me, but you could tell that he was fondly remembering another era. Those moments are priceless when you get to step back in time and relive them with someone.
 
Our conversation wasn’t small talk, I was actually trying to garner some wisdom and Grandpa was teaching me some important things about life. He and his family were impacted by the seasons—spring, summer and fall were for the winter. And when it came to something as simple as a comment on winter, he made sure he and I got it right. 
 
As a farmer now, some twenty years later, I am much more attuned to the seasons, even to the salmon berries and the walnut blossoms. I will never forget that spring, summer and fall are for the winter. Winter is its own gift, when the land rests and so does the farmer.
 
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Squash Fest at Klesick Family Farm

When:
October 12th and 13th (this Friday and Saturday)
 
Time:  
1:00 p.m. -5:00 p.m. (both days)
 
Where:  
Klesick Family Farm
24101 Miller Rd., Stanwood
 
What to bring:
• Boots or good walking shoes (remember this is a farm and the terrain is uneven)
• Cash or check, all the squash will be $0.75 per pound (we can charge your purchases to your account)
 
What not to bring:
• The flu (our family doesn’t want to get the flu)
• Pets (our dogs think they own the place ☺)
 
All silliness aside, Squash Fest is a harvest opportunity and another chance to come and hang out on the Klesick Family Farm and get your hands dirty in a non-pesticide/herbicide/any kind of “cide” environment. This is a simple, low-key opportunity to harvest some squash, not a farm festival like our August event. We will have Cinderella and Sugar Pie Pumpkins, and Acorn, Carnival, Delicata and Kabocha Squashes.
 
Being a farm that doesn’t use synthetic chemicals is important to us. Our kids live here and play here, and Joelle and I don’t want to have to worry about when chemicals were applied or residuals left on a crop. The only thing my kiddos need to learn about living on a farm is that tractors need to be respected and so does the hot wire. With the tractors we pay attention to where the children are, but they usually figure out which wires are “hot” on their own ☺. 
 
With that said, Joelle and I are eager to host you and your family and others from the community for a simple harvest event. Good clean fun and good clean food. Now that is a recipe for health!
I hope to see you Friday and Saturday!
 
 
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Sweet corn needs more fertilizer next year

 

I just finished planting the cover crop for this winter in time for last week’s “heavy mist,” so we should see germination very shortly. Most of our plantings from June and July are coming to fruition and we should be able to harvest those in the next few weeks, except for corn. Ugh! Corn has been a bummer all season. It really needed a lot more summer than what we got this year.  The joke around here is that I have corn for the end of October, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  In a normal year we would have sweet corn by now, with the second planting close behind and the third planting for mid-October. This year hasn’t worked out as well. We got it in early enough, but it just didn’t get going. I am not giving up on it, but if that acre is going to pay for itself we are going to have to have the most incredible Indian summer ever.
 
If I could have gotten water on my last planting of corn, it might have done the best because of the hot weather that blessed us soon after planting it.  Of course, the third planting is always a gamble.  In hindsight, corn needs a lot more fertilizer than other vegetables, and based upon what I see, it needed a few more nutrients and heat units this season. Oh well, that is farming—not every crop pays the bills. We will have corn and it will be sweet, but a smaller harvest than planted and planned for. 
 
With that said, I participated in a WSU research trial using Cedargrove Compost this season. Here is what I have noticed. In the cover crop trial there was a noticeable difference in the compost areas to non-compost added areas. The potatoes were markedly larger plants and the corn plants are greener and taller where the compost was applied. 
 
Compost definitely works and I would encourage everyone to use it around your flower beds and vegetable gardens. We apply compost in the spring before planting and right now. Appling compost now will mimic nature because fall is the time that nature sheds its summer growth and the microbial and other ground critters make those nutrients available for next spring. In the fall we apply compost more like a mulch and in the spring we apply it more thinly and work it in. So after you clean those flower beds, muster the extra energy to mulch with compost. Your spring growth will be better and your soil happier!
 
 
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I thought summer was my busy time!

At last, fall has arrived, the geese have returned and the mornings are crisp! This time of year is full of hustle and bustle on and off the farm. It seems that during the summer we are busy farming and tossing in a few family outings, but when fall rolls around and school starts up, hang on.
 
It is the convergence of harvest, school and SOCCER! Does anyone else feel like you need a summer vacation to get ready for fall soccer? This year we have three soccer players and one ballerina. Between all the practices and games I can scarcely find a free night. I do love this season though. 
 
This year, I got the “your son’s team doesn’t have a coach” phone call. So I volunteered to coach, after all I was going to be at practices, anyway. It has been nearly 40 years since my parents were coaching my 5 year old teams. Hmmm, is this a generational commitment? Really how hard can it be to coach 5 year old boys? Pretty easy. My motto: keep them moving, ask them if they want to do the drills the big boys do, and take frequent water breaks. We are having a ball with the ball, playing games and scrimmaging. It is so much fun. 
 
But, we still have the farm work to fit in amongst school, homework and soccer. That is why this season is so busy. So for a few months our family will be harvesting crops, doing homework and playing soccer. Then just about the time soccer ends, the farm work will come to an end as well and then we will rest.
 
So, in between coaching, watching soccer or helping with homework there will be more fruits and veggies coming your way.
 
 
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Jeffery Smith is coming to the San Juan Islands.  Jeffery has lead the way in exposing the health risks of GMO’s. “Eating genetically modified food is gambling with every bite.” In his new book, Genetic Roulette, Jeffery shatters the biotech industry's claim that genetically modified (GM) foods are safe.
 
Jeffery Smith on San Juan and Lopez. Jeffery will be presenting on the evening of the September 17th on San Juan followed by an afternoon and evening presentation on Lopez on the 18th. He will also be presenting on September 19th on Orcas.
 
This is a great opportunity to further our efforts to pass Initiative 2012-4 and keep San Juan County GMO-Free.
 
 
 
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Planting & Harvesting

This is the time of year where I want to be done, but all the energy of May, June and July are coming to fruition now. During this season we are mostly harvesting and getting ready for flood season. Flood season???? Yes, I am getting ready for flood season. I realize that we haven’t had any significant precipitation for over a month, but now is the time to start preparing for it. We haven’t had a flood of any consequence for two years, which means this year can be benign or  devastating, so we plan for the worst and pray for the best.

We plan for flooding by planting cover crops on our farm. The cover crops are multi-purposed. If/when it does flood, a good stand of wheat, rye or vetch will help keep unnecessary soil from escaping to the river and also scouring our fields. While that is important, cover crops also hold our soil nutrients from leaching away with the incessant rains we have. Leaching of nutrients from farm fields has huge environmental impacts, from dead zones in bodies of water to contaminated aquifers. Another, advantage to cover crop planting is that the soil stays uncompacted, which makes it easier to prepare for spring crops. If you haven’t noticed, I am a huge proponent of cover crops. 
 
So this week on the farm we will be putting part of the cover crop in the ground and continuing to harvest other crops. Harvesting…what are we harvesting? This week we finished digging the potatoes—I am sorry they are dirty, but they do last longer if they are not washed. We are also bunching beets, picking carrots, zucchini, cucumbers and a splash of fall strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.  This should also be the last week of our green beans—my farm crew is pretty happy about that! They have hand-picked over 3,500 lbs. this season and have bent over those bush beans for what seems like forever.
 
There is still corn, winter squash, cilantro, spinach, beets, chard, some apples, Italian prunes and Bosc pears to come. I better stop writing and get busy!
 
Enjoy the bounty of your local farms, we are in full swing.
 
 
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Experiencing Farm-Fresh Produce

The sun was warm and the kids were ready. Their eager feet carried them out of the car and into the sprawling field, without stopping until well into our drive back home when their weary heads finally succumbed to sleep. A chance to run around, play in the dirt, and to see, feel and taste where their food comes from is such a treasured experience for my little city kids. 
 
Those of you who were at the farm day had a chance to see my two boys eagerly “assisting” me throughout my demonstration. To them it was as if we were at home in the kitchen helping mom with dinner. But this time was a bit different – I was sharing with you all. Not the voice behind a newsletter, but face-to-face and it was such a joy.
 
At the event, I shared three salads that use raw vegetables. I could go on and tell you how eating raw preserves many of the nutrients in your food and that eating raw can reverse or stop the advance of many chronic diseases. But instead I’ll tell you why I love using raw vegetables in salads – it is so quick and easy. In the course of my twenty minute demonstration I made these three salads, while trying to wrangle my “assistants” and talk into a microphone. Making the salads was the easy part. 
 
I also love the taste of raw produce. As I opened up the box of fruits and vegetables that I was to use during the demonstration, I was giddy. There is little better than a sweet carrot just plucked from the earth. Or fresh fennel, so crisp with a soft licorice flavor. With great produce there really is so little you have to do to elevate it. 
 
These salads are also a great way to get a bite of freshness in the dead of winter when you want nothing more than a crisp, bright taste to remind you of summer’s bounty. 
 
Thank you to all who joined me at the demonstration. It was so great to meet a few of you. And for those who couldn’t make it, I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we do.
 
by Ashley Rodriguez
food blogger
 

 

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Your delivery the week of Labor Day

 

Our office will be closed Monday, September 3rd in observance of the Labor Day holiday. Because of this closure, our deliveries for that week are scheduled as follows:
 
For delivery Wednesday:  Tuesday customers. Wednesday customers in Anacortes and Oak Harbor.
 
For delivery Thursday:  Thursday customers, except south Marysville (south of 88th St NE); remaining Wednesday customers.
 
For delivery Friday:  Friday customers; Thursday customers in south Marysville (south of 88th St NE).
                                                      
If you need to skip your delivery that week, please remember to let us know so that you do not return home to find your box of good gone bad. If you’d like to donate a box of good to the food bank in your absence just let us know.
 
If you have any questions about your delivery please do not hesitate to contact us.
 
Wishing you all the best for a safe and happy holiday!
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Teamwork

 

Coming off the heels of our farm festival, I am reminded of how important it is to work together or, more importantly, how important each piece is to completing the puzzle. Our annual festival and our weekly “box of good” only happen because people come together and complete the puzzle.
 
Accomplishing these two things is much easier when it is not the farm season. The farm season, at times, seems like a tidal wave crashing upon us, especially when we are planting, harvesting, weeding and trying to maintain some semblance of family life. As the farmer, I am constantly surprising my team with extra vegetables or fruit that they were not planning for because I happen to discover a patch of strawberries or onions or spinach that is ready earlier than I expected. My team is very nimble and can change menus and directions in seconds. 
 
The other day was a prime example of teamwork. Maleah and I are the flower farmers. We have a system in place when it is time to pick flowers. She runs around and gets the asters, cosmos and dahlias and I get the sunflowers, amaranth, calendula, marigolds and straw flowers. She has quite an eye for picking beautiful flowers. Well, the other day she was at a sleepover birthday party and had left earlier that afternoon. The rest of our family was doing some last minute weeding and harvesting for the festival. Maleah and I always start harvesting flowers about a half an hour before dark. Of course, out of habit, I started the flower harvest like normal. At that moment I thought to myself, “What was I thinking, letting Maleah go to a birthday party during harvest time?!?!?” I ran around cutting my usual flowers and then I ran around getting Maleah’s usual flowers, barely finishing as the sun left the horizon. Then it took twice as long to bunch them.
 
That night, I experienced the importance of my seven year old’s help. I got the flowers harvested and arranged, but pinch hitting for Maleah isn’t nearly as much fun or efficient as working with her. I will still let her go to birthday parties, but I will definitely start earlier next time!
 
Farming as a family and a team,