Tag: strawberries

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Pre-Order Your Local Berries, Canning Veggies, and Herbs!

bulk produce 2015

 

For 17 years, we’ve been bringing the local harvest to you.

Each season, while the Northwest harvest is at its peak – we deliver it to your door!

How can you get your share of the local good? It’s simple. Contact us to let us know which of the bulk fruits and/or veggies you’d like, and we’ll put your order on our reservation list. When the harvest is at its peak. We will contact you before sending out your order, so that you can prepare for its arrival.

locally and organically grown

 

Please note, all harvest dates are approximate and are subject to the laws and whiles (and wiles!) of nature. 

  • Strawberries: Half Flat (6×1 pint): $24 – Available now!!
  • Harvest dates: June-August (note, some gaps in between harvests to be expected)
  • Blueberries: Full flat (12×1 pint): $40
  • Half Flats (6×1 pint): $22
  • Harvest dates: late June-August.
  • Raspberries: Half-flats (6×1/2 pint): $22.
  • Harvest dates: late June-August.
  • Pickling Cucumbers: Order as many as you need!
  • 5-lb. units. $7.50/ 5 lbs.
  • 40 lb. boxes. $50
  • Harvest dates: August-September
  • Dill: 1 bunch is a 2-3 inches in diameter. $4/bn.
  • Harvest dates: August-September
  • Green Beans:
  • 5 lbs. $15
  • 20 lb. boxes. $45
  • Harvest dates: August-September
  • Bulk Basil: available in 1 lb. units (about a grocery bag full). $8.50/lb.
  • Harvest dates: August

Click here to email us your order.

*Important note: delivery week for these bulk orders are determined by harvest dates. If you will be away on vacation during specific weeks this summer, please let us know so that we don’t schedule your delivery while you are away. 

These items are served on a first-come, first-serve basis. Availability may be limited. 

Bulk orders will be delivered on your regular box of good delivery day. 

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Farm Update

This is the part of the season where farmers are planting, weeding, and harvesting as well as planning for the next season. Last week, the harvest rotation was cucumbers, snow peas, snap peas, raspberries and zucchini. This week, we have the same harvesting schedule, but less of some and more of others. Raspberries will taper off, with peas, cucumbers and zucchinis kicking in to high gear. We will also be harvesting red leaf lettuce and kohlrabi and a few bunches of chives and sunflowers. Once the harvesting is finished, we have weeding, and lots of it.

Now we are adding irrigation. Irrigation—some farmers lovingly refer to it as “irritation” J. No water, no crops, no food—funny how that works. Fortunately, our soil has a good water-holding capacity, so we get by with a lot less “irritation” than most folks.

Wedding

Our second son, Aaron, has found the love of his life and asked her to be his wife. We are delighted to add Emily to our family and host their wedding in late August on the farm.

The wedding date has precipitated a change in our annual farm festival, which has traditionally been the third weekend in August. As parents and hosts of our son’s wedding, we have decided to change the festival to a series of educational farm walks and events.

So, in lieu of our annual farm festival, we are hosting two farm tours, a fun run (tentative), our squash fest and a garlic planting day. We are excited to share our love of farming and our farm with each of you through these fun, interactive and informative farm days. Each of the listed events are free to our customers, except the Harvest 5k Fun Run. If your school group, church group, book club, etc. would like to come see the farm on a different day, give the office a call and we would love to schedule a farm tour.

Schedule of farm events:

Friday, August 1st, 7pm and 8pm, 1 hour farm tour with wagon ride through the farm.

Thursday August 28th, 7pm and 8pm, 1 hour farm tour with wagon ride through the farm.

September 27th Harvest 5k Fun Run, supporting the Port Susan Food and Farming Center.

September 27th (same day as the Harvest 5k Fun Run) noon to 5pm. Come and help farmer Tristan harvest winter squash and potatoes.

October 12th Garlic Planting, 9am to noon. It will be a clove-popping, garlic-planting party.

See you this summer,

 

tristan-sign

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Farm Update Wednesday

Every week for the last few months, I have been vlogging (video blogging) on Wednesdays about something on the farm.  It has taken me a few years to warm up to the idea of vlogging. I have been writing a weekly blog since 1998, but vlogging that took some coaxing. But eventually Marty, our social media and menu planner, was able to talk me into it. And she is quite faithful to send me reminders, but this week I beat her to the punch and sent one in before she even asked!

 

I have covered berries, apples, pruning, potatoes, chives, sunflowers, winter squash, and greenhouses. It has been a lot of fun to chronicle what is happening at that moment and what is going through my mind at that same moment. If you could hear the bloopers! I usually take three or four videos before I get an acceptable 45 – 60 second “winner”. I always seem to start with, “Hey, Klesick Family Farm customers, Tristan Klesick here……”  Last week, we talked about raspberries. This week’s topic will be decided on Wednesday morning, where I will find something that catches my eye and get to vlogging.

 

My hope is to communicate how we grow your food and the importance of growing good food.  It is about a way of farming that nourishes you physically, emotionally and spiritually. Our message is one of hope through good farming and good food, hope through good customer service and hope through being a part of a community that cares about the environment now and in the future.

 

So when Wednesday rolls around check out our Facebook and Twitter pages and see what is on my mind and what is growing on the farm!

 

See you Wednesday,

 

tristan-sign

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Berry Time!

The berry season started early this year. I shudder to even mention the weather, but we could use a drink for a lot of our crops, but it would be a disaster for hay farmers and berry farmers now. But it is what it is and if we get rain, great, and if we don’t we will drag out the drip tape and get to watering.

I have already dragged out the drip tape for the strawberries to keep the moisture sufficient to keep those berries growing. We plant a variety called Albion. It is a day-neutral variety, which means that it is not affected by the increasing day length like many of its June-bearing cousins. The advantage of day-neutral varieties is that they produce all season, well into October. The disadvantages are that the fruit set or production and they do not have that classic NW flavor. So we end up picking a little all season instead of a bunch in June.

The June bearing varieties produce copious amounts of strawberries in June and have that classic NW flavor, but are extremely delicate to handle. The disadvantage here is that if it is a rainy June, mold becomes an issue and you can lose a year’s worth of work pretty quick!

While I love the Albion berry for a lot of reasons, I find myself missing the bigger harvest of June bearing berries. So I decided last week to order 3000 plants of Puget Crimson. It is a newer variety developed by WSU for northwest growers. In addition to the Puget Crimson, I am also ordering Black Diamond Blackberry plants to trial them on our farm. We will start with 200 feet and go from there. The Black Diamond is also a newer variety that seems to do well in our climate and to top it off it is “thornless”!

May your health be vibrant and days be merry!

 

tristan-sign

 

Local Organic Berries & More!

Blueberry Flats…. Full $38, Half $22

Raspberry Flats…. Full $38, Half $22

Strawberry Flats. Full $36, Half $20

Pickling Cucumbers……. 5 lbs. $7.50

Bulk Basil……………………… 1 lb. $7.50

Green Beans……………….. 20 lbs. $40

Garlic & Dill will also be available – notify us to request some with your pickling cuke or other bulk order!

To place your order, please call our office (360-652-4663) and we will add your name to our reservation list. Once the items are ripe and ready, we will contact you and schedule a delivery. Orders are on a first-come, first-served basis.

 

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Hang On To Your Hats, It's Time To Farm!

Hang on to your hat, because these next few weeks are going to be a class 5 kayak ride!  We were behind a few weeks ago, but now we are getting nervous.  If the weather doesn’t break soon so that the rain lets up, I won’t be harvesting anything until August.  At least we have snuck in (mudded in) a few plants in between rain storms. Our first plantings of peas are up and our second plantings are just emerging. The strawberries and raspberries are sending out new leaves every day and those two nice weekends we had gave the bees enough warmth to get out and work in the orchard.   Now,it is a waiting game to see if (and how much of) the fruit will set. 

After last year’s horrible spring, I decided to diversify and plant some more perrienels , like raspberries, strawberries, apples, pears, plums as well as herbs.  Even the beef help to mitigate springs like these. Every season has its ups and downs, challenges and triumphs. By diversifying we are able to cover expenses and even out the waves of life or seasons.  Looking forward to calm waters ahead.

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Fresh This Week Tips – May 17th, 2011

STRAWBERRIES

STORE: Leave strawberries unwashed and loosely wrap the container in a plastic bag or paper towel and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

PREP: Wash the berries and trim the caps just before using.

USE: Strawberries are perfect in pies, just right in jams, and a sweet-tart touch in salads. But they’re at their best raw, served at room temperature, topped with freshly whipped cream.

GREEN LEAF LETTUCE

STORE: Refrigerate in a loosely closed plastic bag; do not seal tightly. If roots are attached, wrap them in a damp paper towel before placing the lettuce in the bag. Lettuce is delicate and should be eaten within 5 days (iceberg lasts up to 2 weeks); discard any leaves that are wilted or slimy. Do not separate the leaves from the head or wash until just before using.

PREP: To toss a picture-perfect salad, first tear (don’t cut) leaves from the core, then clean and dry them well. The best way to do this is with a salad spinner. Fill it with cold water, add greens to the basket, and swish. Lift out greens, dump the water, and repeat until the water is grit-free. Spin the greens until thoroughly dry (in batches, if necessary). Excess moisture dilutes the dressing. Oil can cause greens to wilt, so dress them just before serving with only enough dressing to nicely coat the leaves without pooling in the bottom of the bowl.

USE: Perhaps the most versatile vegetable in existence, lettuce is a great accompaniment to almost anything your heart desires. Most notably found in salads, check out this recipe for a strawberry green leaf salad that is sure to satisfy your taste buds.

FRESH STRAWBERRY SALAD

4 c. leaf lettuce

1 pt. strawberries

2 kiwifruit

DRESSING

1/4 c. honey

1/4 c. wine or tarragon vinegar

1/4 c. salad oil

1/2 tsp. dill weed

  • Wash, dry and tear lettuce. Wash, hull and quarter strawberries. Peel and slice kiwifruit. Toss gently in bowl. Combine dressing ingredients and shake until well mixed. Drizzle over salad.

RHUBARB

STORE: Keep unwashed stalks in a loose plastic bag, leaves attached, in the vegetable drawer. Rhubarb will last up to a week; use it before the stalks become soft.

PREP: Just before using, wash the stalks and remove the leaves (they contain oxalic acid, which is toxic if eaten in large quantities). If you’ve got a tough bunch, you can peel them with a paring knife or a vegetable peeler.

USE: Rhubarb is quite tart and is best cooked with sugar in sauces or compotes or used as a filling in pies, crisps, or cobblers. It is lovely paired with the sweetness of strawberries or raspberries.