WWOOF!!

Last season we were lucky to have our friends stay on the farm for the summer. Those months helped us see just how much more can be accomplished with more than our hands alone.  To grow our family farm up, we knew that extra help would make it possible.

With the help of Patrick and Katie, we were able to add in piggies to the farm, put away chords of fire wood for winter, side the end of the house, finish the outside kitchen, bring on new chickens, retire our dear Dolly girl, build new garden beds, and so many daily chores were handled while we went on mini-vacations.

This year we've decided to bring on a "WWOOF-er" to live on the farm and help to keep the momentum going.  The Worldwide Opportunites on Organic Farms organization helps connect individuals who are looking to work and learn on a farm and in turn, the farm benefits from extra hands & ideas.  We've had fellow farm-friends who have raved about the organization and the great mutual experiences fostered on their farm.

This year we hope to expand our strawberry and raspberry beds, add new Guinea Hog breeding stock, begin our CSA program, lease out land for sheep and additional cows and add in several new growing beds.

We've just begun the process of evaluating who will be the best fit and it's exciting to see so many interesting people - from all over the world - with a depth of experience and interests - all looking to contribute to the greater good of Organic Farming.  Oh Spring, we are ready for you!

The List

We have made our list of items we are planning on growing/producing this season and our CSA customers will be weighing in on what is most important to them and any special varieties that interest them.  We invite you to read over the list and make any comments on what interests you most and any varieties you especially love.  And folks, there's still time left to sign-up for the 2014 Farm CSA (read more here.)

SEEDS!!

Today I was asked "where do you get your seeds?" and with the new year upon us, I thought it would be a good time to share those details with all of our farm customers, as we have our seed catalogs spread out and are beginning to order the new season's seeds.

There are many, many seed companies to choose from and many toot the "organic" horn and I'm sure that originally, they were reputable companies looking to offer wholesome seeds to the public.  After doing some research, we've found that many of the larger organic seed companies are now in the pockets of companies such as Monsanto, and, well, we just aren't willing to pad those pockets in any way.

The three companies we currently buy seeds from have a proven history of independent ownership, ethical land & seed stewardship and they offer a hearty variety of organics and heirloom seeds, with a pledge to non-GMO seeds. If you would like to check out these companies, follow these links:  Territorial Seeds, Siskiyou Seeds and Seed Savers Exchange.

In addition to purchased seeds, we save seeds on our farm each year from our crops that we can ensure are not cross-pollinated by GMO crops.  Sweet corn, chard and beets are not ones we saved last year as we were concerned with possible contamination from GMO crop fields within our wind-pollination zone.  Hopefully some day that will not be an issue.

Stay tuned for our list of seeds that will be planted in 2014.  Happy New Year!