This is the
best tasting crop, and it only lasts for only a few weeks! And we
got them earlier than ever to boot! That incredible stretch in March is
paying dividends now.
For some reason, I remember picking peas on June 11th in
1999 when our farm was located in Machias. That is the earliest we have ever harvested this
variety. We have tried to have peas for the box of good this early every year,
but so much has to go “right” to get an early crop off and this year a dry March,
wet April, and hot May was the right mix of weather. Go
figure??!?!?!!? But this year, it happened!
So, it will be Klesick Farm pea season for the next few weeks. You can order extra’s as well. If you love sweet, plump and juicy peas, now is the time to treat yourself!
Soil is
critical to human health! Healthy food comes from healthy soils, and a
healthy citizenry comes from healthy food. That means the
health of our citizens is tied directly back to the health of our soil.
And sadly, one doesn’t have to look very far from the farm
to see that there is a burgeoning population of unhealthy folks today. In addition, any healthy food
that is being grown is converted into a myriad of processed products which, I would
contend, have
substantially lowered the quality of food.
And, sadly, sugar, fat, and alcohol are all the rage in the food scene, organic or
otherwise. It is called “value added,” but overly processed foods, organic or otherwise, are
not the solution to America’s health crisis.
I am a huge fan of veggies and fruit staying as close to
their original, recognizable self as possible. Eating foods grown in soils that
are minimally processed is the only viable solution to curb America’s health
crisis. Will eating more fruits and veggies, solve every disease problem? NO.
But clearly the Standard American Diet (SAD) isn’t curbing anything either and, if
anything, it is
making us worse off.
Almost all the treatment is just that, it is focused
on treating the ailment instead of changing the underlying cause – poor
nutrition. The hard part is that we need to attack these illnesses from a
dietary perspective and treat the condition to provide some
relief. Eventually, if our food policy could switch to more fruit and veggies
and less of the current food system, there would be less need for the expensive
and intrusive procedures we default to today. But for now, we mostly have a
“treat the condition” model.
I know that there are educational advocates and government
programs encouraging the American population to eat a more balanced diet, all
things in moderation. This is America, of course they are going to say that.
Our political system guarantees us a diet that can never be healthy, because of
lobbyist groups.
So, the only choice we have to remain
healthy or be healthier is to make the choice ourselves. At least for the
moment we don’t have to buy “their” food, we can take charge of our health. It is at the
fork or spoon where healthy food enters our bodies and, if we
put good food on that fork or spoon, our bodies will absolutely put it to healing,
nourishing, and cell-building work.
For 21 years, Klesick Farms has been growing, sourcing, and delivering food that your body will be able
to put to good use to nourish itself.
This is the hardest time of the year for me as a
farmer. We are primarily vegetable farmers but also grow some fruit and hay.
Vegetables are incredibly slow growing in the spring, and then all of the
sudden – BAM! A little heat and little water with increasing day length equals
growth. This time of year, everything is just getting started.
As an organic farmer, I spend a lot of time thinking
about how to get my soil as alive and healthy as possible. It is pretty simple
for me. Take care of your soil, and it will take care of the plants. It is
similar to: “you are what you eat.” If we as people choose to eat good food,
our bodies will do the rest. Of course, just like the soil, our bodies have an
incredible ability to absorb lots of toxicity and still function, but not
thrive.
As a farmer, I know when a plant is starting to show
signs of stress. It comes from knowing your crops. It is almost as if you are
listening to what the plant is telling you. It is not mysterious. Good parents,
doctors, counselors, farmers, you name it, are all good listeners. Paying
attention to what the crop is telling you is what a farmer has to discern. Does
it look piqued, why is it not growing, does it seem dry? And even if I have
properly prepared the field, fertilized, planted and watered in the right time
of year, some plants just aren’t feeling their best. But when I have done the
right things at the right time, almost always, most of the crops do great.
I consider myself a good listener, maybe I have
always been or maybe raising 9 children (5 married so far) has further tuned my
sense of hearing. Really, farming and parenting have taught me that you do your
best. You try to prepare your fields and children for the next season, and then
a lot of other factors, most out of your control, come into play. And yes,
often the next seasons will keep you on your knees because so much is out of
your hands.
Ironically, it is that part where we have influence, where we can lay the foundation is, also, critical. It is where diligence pays dividends. Equally important is recognizing that the process is bigger than any one person. Understanding what you control, and what is out of your control, is also freeing.
I do believe that in farming, parenting, or eating,
little decisions in the right direction and over long periods of time, lead to
healthier crops, healthier children, and a healthier us. Our crops, our
children, and our bodies will use the foundations we have laid to finish their
race. And amazingly, as if it is a miracle, crops do get harvested, and people
are healthier when they eat better food, and children can even navigate Seattle
traffic when they are 16!
We
are getting so close to the local season exploding! The next few months are
going to roll in like morning fog, and then heat up like hot summer day. The
rain last week has hydrated the crops and added moisture to the fields. The
moisture is especially helpful this time of year for 2 reasons.
The
first is what you might expect, it waters the crops, and after that hot
stretch, the peas and lettuce are happy for the cool weather and a drink!
Plants are so amazing. When you look at a plant and study it’s leaf structure,
you will notice how they have a center rib that funnels water towards the roots
and/or the outer circumference of the plant. This is sometimes referred to as
the drip zone. The leaves are accumulators of moisture and funnel it to where
the plant needs it most.
Another
interesting tidbit about leaves is that the leaves “open up” in the morning to
capture the dew and then “close off” to conserve the moisture and nutrition.
There is also really good evidence that the birds chirping away are one of the
mechanisms that causes the plants to open up and take in the nutrition. Joelle
and I have intentionally planted trees, all types, on the borders of our
property to encourage a diverse ecosystem.
Starting
in the spring, and running throughout the summer, it can get really loud at
sunrise with all the avian activity on our farm. I would venture that a rooster
didn’t get the farmer up at the crack of dawn, it was all the wildlife singing
to the plants!
Another
use for moisture is to help breakdown the remaining residue from our winter
crops that we plant to protect and nourish our soil. Moisture and heat are
critical for the fungi and bacteria world to turn the fibrous plant material
into nutrients. Which, in turn, build soil health and feed the plants. Making
sure the crop is incorporated into the soil, and there is adequate moisture,
speeds up the process and frees the nutrients to feed the plants.
Feeding
the soil bacteria and the other host of unseen workers is job one for an
organic farmer. Without healthy soil you can’t have healthy food, and without
healthy food you can’t have healthy people. If the national health trend is any
indication, our nation’s soil is not producing very healthy crops. And to
compound the issue, the agricultural crops are turned into a myriad of overly
processed foods that are even more unhealthy.
Organically
grown fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and legumes consumed as close to
their original state is the silver bullet to America’s health crisis. A simple
solution, but one that eludes most.
When I think about small
things, I am thinking about the little decisions that can elevate a
conversation to optimism or an argument. Or on the farm, getting ahead of the
weather by a day or two can also have lasting impacts on the crops.
Last
week, we saw temperatures climb from the low 60s to the high 70s/low 80s. This
is the season where a small decision can really influence a June/July harvest.
Ideal weather doesn’t exist. The weather is just what it is. Which means, as a
farmer, I do my best and then move on. Farmers have an edge about them, it
comes with the territory. Some crops do great, some not so great and others
just don’t make it.
Years
of farming inform many decisions. A collective wisdom that has been passed down
season by season and crop by crop, which means that the weather plays a big
factor. But it is out of my control, and when a crop flourishes it probably has
more to do with the weather than I give it credit. But the little things like
depth of tillage, timely weeding, and timely watering can go long ways towards
working with nature to help that crop flourish, too.
80s
in May can have a lasting impact on cool weather crops, and the variability of
weather can really mess with a plant’s internal clock. Cilantro is always
looking for a reason to bolt or “go to seed,” as is spinach. We have chosen to
focus on crops that are less temperamental like lettuces, cucumbers, tomatoes,
winter squashes, and garlic. We have tree fruits and raspberries, too.
We
no longer grow blackberries. We had two varieties of thorn less blackberries.
One came on early; I mean a month before any wild blackberries were ready to
harvest, but every bird within a few miles descended upon them and feasted
away. The other challenge was that a warm March and cold April with a late
frost, killed about a half of them. Their shoots for next year will be fine,
but the combination of bird predation and frost susceptibility have made them
less desirable to grow.
The
other blackberry came on in late August and the birds had plenty of wild
blackberries to feast on, but I didn’t like their flavor. They were prolific,
big and juicy. I would always walk by them and look for the plumpest berries
and eat one and think “meh”. Every time I always thought “meh” when I tasted
them. So last fall, I took them out and took out their trellising.
The
beautiful thing about farming is that there are lots of choices when it comes
to what crops to grow and every farmer gets to match the crop to their microclimate,
their personality, and their temperament!
And
with the weather changing, we have
new opportunities to grow different crops. But the warmer weather has also come
with new pests. I noticed new birds flying over the farm that are now in the
valley. Changing weather patterns come with lots of new variabilities and that
definitely keeps a farmer on their toes!
Growing good food for you that loves to grow in the Stillaguamish River Valley.
When your world revolves around the farming
calendar, some
memories are forever with you. It was 1994 and I had begun my career in the
produce business. That was a long time ago! During these early years, before
Joelle and I started Klesick Farms, I worked in specialty produce in
Portland Oregon. It was here that I met my first organic farmers. Hard working
folks that were working outside from sun up to sun down and making their own
deliveries, because that was their only option.
It was inspiring! We didn’t
have any land, but we did have a beautiful Purple Lilac in the front
yard. It was full of blooms, and I harvested some stems and sold them to my work.
Lilac blooms were my first agricultural or floral sale! And every spring since
1994 I get to pause and smell the lilac flowers and reminisce about those early
days.
Last week Joelle
harvested some white lilac blooms that beautifully adorned our table. Once
again, lilacs will hold a special meaning for me. Our son Andrew and his wife Abby have
decided that Pittsburgh is where they want to live. I am excited for them, but
sad at the same time. Andrew wasn’t born, though he was in the “oven,” when Joelle and I started Klesick Farms. Now 21 years
later he and Abby are finding their way. As our families gather to say good
bye, pray for them and send them off, lilacs once again signify that a change
has come to the Klesick Family.
His older brother
Micah lives in Michigan, and Abby’s grandmother also lives in Michigan,
which is comforting. Technology softens the move with messenger or facetime,
but the sadness will persist. So far, all the grandbabies still live near us,
but that too will change. Not sure when we will have all nine of our children
together again, probably weddings and funerals. I do know that when we see them
again, the embraces will be long and teary, much like the night before they
left. Tears filled with excitement and mixed with sadness as we will now watch from a far.
Change is hard and
it is good. Now every spring when the lilacs bloom purple I will remember how Klesick Farms began
and when the white lilacs bloom, I will be reminded that another Klesick is
making their way in this world.
For many of you, our lives through a box of good have been intertwined for those same two decades. And for you, too, the agricultural calendar has created many memories. Spinach and peas, raspberries and cherries, nectarines and blueberries. We have a rhythm to our menu planning, and it is heavily tied to local food. And for the next several months, Klesick Farms and my local farming neighbors will begin to share our bounty with you. Stay tuned, the box of good is going to get a lot more local!
Inevitably, we end up planting our 1st, 2nd, and
possibly 3rd rotation of lettuce transplants all at once. This not a big deal,
it just tends to stack up a lot of lettuce at one time. Thankfully, lettuce
mostly matures at the same time. “Mostly” being the operative word.
All
crops have a range of maturity, and with lettuce we will be harvesting the over
achievers first and letting the laggards mature for a later harvest date. For
now, I am happy to report that 2500 red leaf, green leaf, and romaine lettuce
starts are in the ground. And it is a good thing, because plantings 4 and 5 are
close behind!
This
weekend we are also driving T-posts and stringing the peas. The same weather
that tossed a wrench in our transplant schedule also impacted our ability to
cultivate the peas with the tractor. In a perfect situation, we would have been
able to “hill” them and smother the weeds in the row and kill a bunch of weeds
outside the rows. This year there wasn’t a dry enough window to do that and so
now we are going to be hand hoeing.
It
isn’t a big deal, maybe an extra 3 hours compared to 10 minutes with the
tractor. On the bright side, the peas look great! They just grew beyond the
point where I was comfortable tractor weeding. Those peas are off to a great
start! Think mid to late June for a harvest date.
And
since we are talking about peas, next week we are harvesting Pea Vines and Tendrils.
I know, you are thinking “fancy.” Actually, I am thinking that the cover crop I
planted last fall to protect and nurture the soil is lush and green and ready
to harvest. We didn’t plan to harvest these for food, but I am now. They taste
absolutely amazing. The tops of pea plants are very tender and taste
surprisingly like peas. They will make a great addition to salads or stir
fries. Joanna and I just graze them like Peter Rabbit or Bambi might, helping
ourselves to a top here and another there as we mosey along.
Now
to be clear, while pea vines are very tasty, I am not willing to harvest Pea
Vines that will become SUPER SUGAR SNAP PEAS in the near future! Nope, nada,
never. So, I essentially have two different varieties of peas, Austrian Winter
Peas and Sugar Snap Peas. Both produce tasty pea vines and tendrils, but the
Sugar Snap Peas produce those big, plump, juicy, green peas and it would be a
culinary shame to eat those vines. That being said, the Austrian Winter Peas
are ready to harvest and provide a splash of local farm goodness!
Fitting in work here and there, we have been
waiting. After such a great start to March, April showers have certainly put a
damper on field work. It’s alright though, the fields were looking and feeling
a little too dry for the start of the farm season. So, in many ways,
I am grateful for the early start and the rainy April patch.
And besides, if we
hadn’t got the nice weather in March, I couldn’t have snuck in another
unplanned planting of those tasty sugar snap peas!
Now it is fruit
blossom time. Our one cherry tree didn’t care
that it was raining during blossom time, but I DID! On the brighter side, the
Italian prunes have burst into full blossom, and the rain let up at the perfect
time. We use Mason Bees for most of our pollination. Those little pollinators
tend to work rain or shine, unlike Honey Bees. The Mason Bees do require a
little more maintenance than do the other pollinators, like Bumble Bees. The
Mason Bees need a water source nearby and a clayey mud puddle. With the rainy
weather all of our tractor
ruts serve as an excellent source of water and mud to make their nests.
Another interesting
fact about Mason Bees is that the males emerge first, and then the females a
little later. And since each little nest has 5 eggs in it, it is really
important that the female Mason Bee lays 2 female eggs in the back of the
nest and 3 male eggs in the front. Nature is truly amazing. How does the female
know that it is laying female eggs in the back and male eggs in the front? This
is absolutely critical too, because the males emerge first, and if the female
mason bee lays a male egg in
the back of the nest it will wake up first and destroy the eggs in front of it.
Now I am not an expert, but every year we see Mason Bees emerging and building
nests, so something is working right. One thing for sure: no pollination, no
fruit!
Farming is a
humbling and exhilarating adventure; you can do so
many things right and then it can rain during pollination, and next thing you
know you’re caring for trees for the whole year without a crop to harvest.
Ouch. Thankfully that doesn’t happen very often, especially in our orchard. The
reason that we usually have fruit to harvest is because, we haven’t “put all
our eggs in one basket.” We have 3 varieties of Plums, 3 varieties of pears and
4 varieties of apples and they all bloom at slightly different times,
essentially spreading out our risk over a few weeks.
We have chosen to be small diversified fruit and vegetable farm. Focusing on a couple dozen crops that grow really well in our climate and on our farm and we grow them for you!
It is officially farm season. Normally our
first crop of every season is chives. This year we had garlic greens and kale
from our farm earlier than chives, but for me and my “biological farming”
clock, harvesting chives is when I think farming has begun. This culinary
delight has been gracing tables for 5000 years. Of course, even though I am
north of 50 years old, I am not able to verify exactly how many years it has
been cultivated. I am good with 5000 though.
Now, mind you, we
grow around 400 linear row feet that we harvest several times throughout the
growing season. We also weed it several times throughout the season. This year
I wasn’t sure that the chives were going to come out of the winter very well.
About a month ago,
I was quietly lamenting the loss of the chive crop. It just didn’t look normal,
but really how many of us
were starving for a little warmth this last winter too. But like the champion
of Spring they are, they came roaring back! These chives have been cultivated
from one 4″ pot that we planted in 2003 in our herb garden.
Chives love to
multiply; no, they EXCELL at multiplying. Every few years, when the weeds begin
to take over and compete with the chives, and the grasses move in, we dig up
the healthiest clumps and break them apart and replant one lonely single chive
every six inches. And within a few months one has become 6. Last week I spoke
about the miracle of seeds. Plants that propagate by multiplying are equally
amazing.
All this to share
that for some of you who have been customers for over 15 years, we have been
harvesting and tending this crop of chives for your health. It is rewarding to
think that with a little attention, and intention, such a healthy allium can
feed thousands of families in its life.
All the
onions/alliums are incredibly healthy and are off the charts as a health food.
Scallions, leeks, red, yellow, white, and sweet onions, and shallots all have
incredible cancer fighting components. I know that the saying is an apple a day
keeps the doctor away, and that is true,
but adding an onion or garlic to your daily plan will definitely keep
you healthier than not.
Chives, unlike its
other onion relatives, are best added at the end of the cooking process. For
soups or potato dishes cut them in into 1/8” sections and add them on top. For
scrambled eggs and souffle’s add them at the end as well. And for a salad, mix
them in.
To keep your chives
fresh, treat them like flowers and keep them in a vase.
I am always in awe. We planted Super Sugar snap pea seeds two
weeks ago and last Saturday, they emerged. The miracle reminds of a children’s
book that we read to our kids. The book was called “Look What God Made.” Every page
was filled with a natural wonder and the toddler exclaimed, “look what God
made!” That deep “WOW” moment when a little one discovers something new is so
precious.
That is how I feel
every time I see seedlings emerge. One would think that after a lifetime of
growing vegetables, I would know what is about to happen. But something happens
every spring. Every time I plant a seed, the excitement grows. The
anticipation increases every day, and then it happens! Germination!
I check every day; I know
that the first few days the seeds are gathering moisture to burst and push
through their coats. It is all happening, but nothing appears to be happening. I dig a
few seeds and the once dry shriveled seeds are now plump and soft. A few
more days and a tiny sprout is breaking
through, and then a few more
days, I gently brush back the soil and now there is a green shoot ready to
emerge.
It happened! I
know, I know it is going to happen, but every year, every crop, they are so
special. It doesn’t matter if it is peas, or cucumbers, or apples, or raspberries. The amount of simplicity, and
complexity, and diversity that working with nature
manifests every season of every year is a miracle.
And even though I
know what will happen every time I plant a seed. Even though the seed packet
tells me when to plant, how deep to plant, and how long it will take to
germinate, I feel like that little one in the book that Joelle and I read to
our little ones, and I find myself saying, “WOW! Look
what God made.”
There is a whole bunch more work between emergence and harvest, especially with Sugar snap peas, but when you bite into a Klesick Farm hand planted, hand trellised, hand weeded, and hand harvested Super Sugar snap pea it is as if the world stops for a moment. A pause where something so special, so beautiful, so nutritious has culminated at that moment. And at that moment, your farm team relishes in a job well done as your taste buds relish in the simple, sweet, and juicy organic goodness of the Sugar snap pea.
That’s it, but it sure feels like more. It is
more…productive hours. Our bodies adjust to the extra energy coming from the
increased day length and we get more done. Or different things done, anyway.
Now is the time to banish social media, cable, and electronics, and embrace
Spring. There is so much to do and before you know it… well let’s not go
there yet.
Taking advantage of
beautiful weather is such a gift. The warmth, the sunshine, and the outdoor
chores! Now it is time to mow the lawn, weed the flower beds, add the compost,
mow the lawn, go on a hike. Oh! I forgot sleeping and eating! We will
need those two elements to maintain our strength.
This time of year,
eating outside is the best! less mess, and you are outside. We tend to
gravitate towards salads and fruit. Eating raw veggies and fruit is so simple
and can be a great strategy to maintain your health. Also, eating fruit and
veggies is really good for our
bodies, and eliminates a lot of packaging. Sadly, the packaging companies are
the winners of the time crunch we experience during the nice weather, since
many folks go for convenience and, convenience often means less healthy and
more packaging.
The beautiful thing
about our service is that you can tailor your order to your preferences. You
can shift to veggie boxes or fruit boxes. You can add additional fruit or
veggies to meet your families changing schedules and taste. You can even call
us a few days before your delivery, and we will
help you place an order.
We have several
families that routinely check in with our office team to add additional items
to their order. If that sounds like something you might like, please don’t
hesitate, call us and we will help you. Serving you and helping you reach your
health goals is a privilege for us.
Tis The Season:
The first round of Super Sugar snap peas is in the ground! And the second round, which was our first round, is still in the greenhouse. But those transplants will be ready in a week or two to go in the ground. With this nice weather, we decided to direct seed an extra crop of peas. If things go well, we will have some, big, fat, juicy peas in early June. Peas have to be the most heralded crop of the spring. Carrots are awesome, cucumbers are incredible, but peas have such a short window that when they are ready for harvest, it is as if time stands still and everything magnificent is encapsulated in a little green pod full of sweetness!
This kind of weather really
messes with the farming community. Fortunately, we had a plan to start the
season, so we are able to take advantage of the heat wave. I will confess that I
have an uneasy feeling about the Spring, I’m not sure if it is going to stay
hot from here on out or if it will moderate to intermittent warm and rainy.
I realize that the weather is out of my control so,
as I have shared in earlier newsletters, we try and affect the margins and work
with the weather. Everything is a little later this year. As of last Wednesday,
the Asian pear trees have not blossomed yet. The Asian pears bloomed at early
March last year. Which means that the harvest will be pushed back a little,
too. Thankfully, the trees have lots of fruit buds. The Orchard is absolutely
beautiful when it is in full bloom, which will be soon.
We are also taking advantage of the dry stretch to
put compost down on the farm. Lenz Sand and Gravel in Stanwood is our supplier
and the quality of their products are really good. We like to apply the compost
in the spring and then “work” the soil. We have tried many different
farming systems on our farm. It can take several years to factor in the
variables and develop a cohesive plan.
The greenhouses are starting to fill up with lettuce
plants and sugar snap peas. The cold weather set back the greenhouse transplant
production, but I am fairly confident that those tender plants will catch right
up.
Lastly, we planted a crop of garlic greens. We have been digging those the last few weeks as they have come ready. Hopefully, you enjoyed this early taste of garlic.
It is really hard to
believe that our family has been serving our local community with organic
goodness for that long. One crop of garlic leads to another and before you know
it 21 years have snuck right up on us. Joelle and I have had the privilege of
serving many of you for 2 decades. Some of you even remember us when we opened
the Organic Produce Shoppe at Manna Mills in 1998.
I met my first organic growers in Portland
Oregon in 1994. Who knew that meeting a farmer selling lettuce would have such
an impact on our life? We still buy vegetables from that farm today. Ironically,
lettuce is my favorite crop to grow. Really, I just love to grow food and I
love to serve people.
It was hard to start our little farm business
back in 1998. Home delivery was so new, only a few of us were doing it. We
transitioned to home delivery in 1999 full time and started with just 50
customers, but I believed it would work. Absolutely crazy! Our first crops were
garlic and sugar snap peas. We still grow those today plus lettuce.
I remember one time when Andrew, who was 3 at the
time, went missing. And so was Chaps, our golden retriever. At this time, we
had a much smaller home and farm in Machias. When I look back on that first farm it was really just a big backyard, but we were farming! It
must have been the end of June or so and the search was on! We wandered towards
the pea patch and found him and
Chaps. Chaps was laying down in front of him with his head up, crouching down,
but ready to jump at a moment’s notice. And Andrew had not one but two handfuls of
sugar snap peas, which he was sharing with his “babysitter.”
Fast forward a few years and we had finally
found our farm, 39 acres in the beautiful Stillaguamish River Valley. Chaps
made the trip, of course, and while we were remodeling the old farm house he
continued his babysitting duties. Like most dogs, he loved us, and we loved him. One day the kids were
tired from throwing the ball for Chaps. Like any retriever, if you took the
bait and started throwing the ball…Let’s just say you would wear out before
he would. One time, Micah decided to put the ball in the Walnut tree out of
jumping distance. Wouldn’t you know it, Chaps climbed that tree.
A lot of life has happened in these last 21
years. When we started, we had 5 children. Now we have had 5 weddings and added 5
grandkids. We have been blessed to journey with so many of you for so many
years.
The organic food movement is in transition again. It is always a
challenge to stay current in a constantly changing environment. So many new
fads, trends, and research reports. How does one settle in and choose a course? What
we eat affects so much of our lives, and if the current health trendline
continues, Americans are still choosing the wrong course and eating the wrong
things. The Standard American Diet is appropriately abbreviated SAD, and the
food processors and pharmaceutical companies are really “giddy” that
Americans overwhelmingly choose their food offerings. In the end big Pharma
reaps the long-term gains.
Crazy as it sounds healthy food is important, really important. It is really important to our health. Healthy food is really important to our local, regional and international
ecosystems, too. With plastic islands emerging and tainted water supplies from
chemicals/pharmaceuticals, it is even more critical than ever to choose
organic and less packaging.
By shifting our dollars to local farms and
sustainable products, we are investing in both our personal health, and the
environment. Every choice we make has an impact. The more we shift dollars
towards companies we believe in, the greater our impact will be.
And you know what is really amazing? Eating more fruits and vegetables is the
solution to our national (personal) health and our environmental woes. And I
believe that the human body wants to nourish itself every time we take a bite,
and I also believe that the environment begins to heal itself every time we
choose organically grown fruits and vegetables. We are made to be resilient!
Resiliency is such a gift, we have to embrace it and feed ourselves the best food,
and the benefits will follow.
For the last 21 years, Klesick Farms
has partnered with other local organic farmers and organic suppliers to deliver healing
foods to your family that impact your health, and at the same time impact the
health of the environment.
We love being a part of something bigger and definitely better.
Winter is still hanging on in this part of the world, but for some
crazy reason the lawn is “asking” to be mowed. Mowing the lawn is a sure sign that
spring is on the way. Now all we have to do is determine if it is going to be a
wet one, dry one, or a combination of the both.
I am sure we will have ample moisture to work with from the snowy
deposits. Ironically, the moisture can be “sucked” right out of the field if we
get a few hot weeks in April! You never know the weather you are going to
wrestle with until you are in the midst of it! I suppose that is why they say,
“hindsight is 20/20.” But the past helps to inform the future and we are planning
on a glorious summer. And, given the weather trends, we have made some bold
predictions, like we are exclusively growing all our tomatoes outside!
We like growing tomatoes, and it is way more enjoyable to be
harvesting them outside than inside a sweltering greenhouse. But even more than
that, the tomatoes are growing just fine for us outside and, as mentioned a
sentence ago, farming outside is rather enjoyable!
So, what do we do with our greenhouse? We use them to grow
cucumbers and start our transplants. We have started seeding lettuce and
will keep that up for the foreseeable future. We grow a red leaf, a green leaf,
and a green romaine. Pretty exciting stuff! Really, it is pretty exciting. We exclusively delivered Klesick lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes to you
for several months last year. We also support several other organic growers
throughout the growing season and deliver their produce to you, too.
Klesick is a good food hub of activity year-round, and it is all
possible because of our customers who say “yes” to local farms and want to eat
healthier foods grown organically.
Soup. I love to make it and I love to eat it. And a hearty bowl of
soup is just what is needed to warm a person up! Soup is great because it is so
easy to make and can be a good use of leftovers. You can make a broth one day,
add veggies another, then add some rice, or quinoa, or a protein. Literally,
soup can be a ready-made base to feed any family for a few nights during the week. And
there is absolutely no way that a homemade soup would ever need
to have 1000 milligrams of SALT per serving!
If I have learned one thing about eating healthy, it is way easier when you cook at home!
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!
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.
