Sara here!
I know that we’ve said this before, and I don’t want to come off as an amateur, because I’ve learned a lot, but Jared and I have absolutely no experience with agriculture prior to 3 years ago, this being the 4th, so we are still encountering new experiences almost everyday. We are also a newly married couple who are working out the kinks of sharing life, work and a business. I’d love to brag and say that we’re handling it all with amazing finesse, but, well, I’m not going to do that ![]()
That said, we both very much enjoy what we do, and each other (most of the time) and are so grateful for all of the opportunities that have been afforded us, and are so thankful to be a part of the community where we reside. We both have no desire to do anything but this, and will continue to do that as long as it makes financial sense for us, and if we need to take a break from it, will return to it as soon as we can afford to.
We had the first Poulsbo Farmers Market this week, and all I can say is WOW! it was a blustery day, but we had a great turn out. The market it’s self has doubled since last year, and was maxed out, vendor-wise, which is very exciting. I didn’t have a chance to snap any photos, but hope to have some for next week.
We’re very much looking forward to the new market that we will be a part of in Suquamish which has it’s opening day on the 14th.
Jared and I have been seeding, transplanting, and hardening off all of our little darling plants. This year will be the first year that both Jared and I will be able to spend a majority of our time on the farm, so it will stand as a template for future decisions and are very much looking forward to see what the results will be.
back to the field!
Today’s rain is allowing us to take a break from the outside work, to hopefully catch up on our planning, and take a deep breath.
Matt has been working on converting a 10’ x 20’ car canopy into a greenhouse, as well as building a couple of top-bar bee hives from scratch. In the meantime, I’ve been preparing beds, getting our first batch of seeds started in the small (8’ x 10’) greenhouse, and getting the rest of the perennial crops into the ground (the latest were artichokes and more blackberries) ahead of the rain.
We have a relatively short growing season here on the northern California coast (our place is about 1 mile inland). The farmers markets in coastal Mendocino, where we are, run from May to October. There is so much to do, that we are glad we still have a couple of months to get ready before the markets start… although we know the time will go quickly!
They are turning the dirt and hoping to be successful enough to turn a profit, and to become a valuable part of their communities as suppliers of organically grown food.
Peaceful Valley is giving them a head start by offering them special pricing as part of this Freshman Farmer program.
| Freshman: | |
| New Farms Coming Soon! | |
| Sophomores: | |
![]() | Daily Grace Farms Crescent City, CA |
![]() | Freestone Family Farm Vernal, UT |
![]() | Wise Moon Farm Redding, CA |
| Graduates: | |
![]() | Coyote House Farm Palermo, CA |
![]() | DeepSeeded Community Farm Arcata, CA |
![]() | Driftwood Farm Fort Bragg, CA |
![]() | EarthDance Farm St. Louis, MO |
![]() | Ellwood Canyon Farms Goleta, CA |
![]() | Four Frog Farm Penn Valley, CA |
![]() | Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm Poulsbo, WA |
![]() | Home Plate Organic Farm Orleans, CA |
![]() | Honey in the Heart Farm Nevada City, CA |
![]() | Willow Springs Farm Penn Valley, CA |
| Coyote House Farm Palermo, CA |
| Daily Grace Farms Crescent City, CA |
| DeepSeeded Community Farm Arcata, CA |
| Driftwood Farm Fort Bragg, CA |
| EarthDance Farm St. Louis, MO |
| Ellwood Canyon Farms Goleta, CA |
| Four Frog Farm Penn Valley, CA |
| Freestone Family Farm Vernal, UT |
| Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm Poulsbo, WA |
| Home Plate Organic Farm Orleans, CA |
| Honey in the Heart Farm Nevada City, CA |
| Willow Springs Farm Penn Valley, CA |
| Wise Moon Farm Redding, CA |