Good Food from Healthy Farms
Dan
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Posts by Dan
Harvest Fest Preview
Sep 6th
Here’s a sneak preview of all of the activities we have lined up for Harvest Fest, at Tahoma Farms in Orting, October 2, 10 to 4.
- Pumpkin Patch and Hay Rides
- Scavenger Hunt
- Market Stand, with all of our farm fresh, fall staples
- Live music all day
- PCC Chef’s Cooking Demonstration and Samples at 1pm
- Cascade Harvest Coalition and PCC Farmland Trust Info Booths
- Corn on the cob and fresh apple cider
- Kid’s activities, including face painting and crafts
It’s still a month away, but be sure to mark it on your calendar now! And look for a coupon in your box in the coming weeks. We hope to see you there.
Humpty Dumpty
Aug 19th
On one end of the spectrum, you have flocks of two to three hens, kept in your or your neighbor’s backyard, where the one dozen eggs produced each week is enough to feed the family that cares for the chickens.
On the other end of the spectrum is an egg factory in the middle of Iowa, where millions of birds lay millions of eggs per day (32 million egg cartons recalled times 12 eggs per carton divided by 90 days of production equals 4,266,666 eggs per day where the average hen lays one egg per day).
It’s hard to imagine how far and how fast we got away from decentralized and local production of food. The recent recall by Wright County Egg has now reached 17 states (including Washington) and the number of reported cases of salmonella linked to the eggs is over 2,000.
Nationally, only 0.4% of all food purchased by consumers comes direct from the farmer. We’re working with you to grow this number, and as our distribution network grows so does our ability to keep local farmland in production, plant heirloom seeds and raise heritage breeds of animals, keep dollars in our community, and, not least of all, deliver incredibly fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables.
If you are free on Sunday, please take a drive out to Tahoma Farms, at 21108 Orville Rd E, Orting. We will be there from 2 to 6 pm. There will be guided farm tours at 2:30 and 3:30, and a potluck dinner at 5:00. We hope you can join us!
Greenwashing & Other Fine Tales
Aug 6th
We have the first in a new series of podcasts posted on our blog for those interested in hearing an impromptu conversation about McDonalds, Wal-Mart, sustainability and how local food production, and Terra Organics, fits into the mix.
There’s also a graphic that I’ve been holding onto for a while, and it now seems timely to share it.
The subsidy regime pits commodity growers against vegetable and fruit growers, and McDonalds and others buy fillers and subsidized meat, dairy, and grains at an artificially low cost. The foods that should be accessible to the least healthy amongst us have little to no price supports. So long as corn syrup and factory meat and dairy dominate the $60 billion a year farm program in this country, McDonalds will always dominate the way food is produced and consumed in this country, no matter how many new farmers markets are springing up around the country.
But, of course, that doesn’t mean we can give up the fight.
Terra Organics, Now With More Pacific NW
Jul 29th
It’s safe to say that we look forward to this week more than any other over the course of the year. When we added the Pacific Northwest Box 18 months ago, at the suggestion of one of our longtime customers in Buckley, we weren’t entirely sure that we were up for the challenge. Seasonal eating becomes more difficult the further you live from the equator. So, with some reservations about whether we could pull it off and uncertainty about what sort of reception it would receive, we added the “local only” box as a way to challenge ourselves, and those that wanted to eat with the seasons and as close to home as possible, to see what it would take.
And in the middle of winter – when the only variety that we can offer is to alternate between rutabagas and turnips, apples and pears – we always have one eye to the summer when virtually all of our produce is sourced from local farms. And so this week marks the convergence of the Pacific Northwest box and the Small box, as every item in both boxes is from Washington this week. And this is only the beginning. If last year was a good indication, it will be November before we see the two boxes taking a divergent path again until next summer.
We hope you enjoy the variety and selection of our freshest, most local produce of the year.
Ack! Pump Trouble
Jul 23rd
The call I received from the farm on Monday was the last call you want to receive this time of year when you’re trying to grow food. The pump for our irrigation system was out.
Because our sprinklers run 10 to 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, and new transplants and seeds were sown in the days before the pump failure, we are working overtime to try to get our well back online. In the mean time, we have a 4″ “trash pump” pulling water at a rate of 250 Gallons Per Minute (GPM) out of the Puyallup River. We are very fortunate to have both ground and surface water rights for our land. If we didn’t, and without any other possible recourse, the crop loss would devastate the farm.
The good news is that once we replace the pump we won’t have to worry about another unbudgeted $8000 expense (at least not the same unbudgeted $8000 expense) for another 15 to 20 years.
Terra Organics Events!
Jul 15th
Yesterday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack penned a blog post for the USDA’s new website, “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food.” In it, he says, “Local and regional food systems are an important vehicle for many consumers to actually get to know a farmer. Everyone depends on a national network of farmers and ranchers, but I want to make sure we all get to actually know one. I believe it is important that those of us living off the farm better understand the struggles and sacrifices farmers, ranchers, and their families make to feed our nation. It’s not about one particular type of agriculture, it’s about all of agriculture and making sure that folks appreciate and understand that connection.”
It wasn’t that long ago that Kim and I did everything for Terra Organics ourselves – all of the growing, harvesting, packing, delivering, etc. But now it’s turned into a bigger operation, one that we feel can have a bigger impact on promoting local and organic agriculture, and one that also now relies on many wonderful, creative, hard-working and dedicated individuals.
We’d like to invite you to come spend some time with us – get to know your farmers and those that make the farm and distribution business work – at two upcoming events at Tahoma Farms:
- The first is a monthly event, geared towards the little people. July’s Kids Day at the Farm includes a Children’s Garden, a strawberry patch to graze through, a picnic party and baby pool!! Thursday, July 22nd, 10am – 11am. 21108 Orville Rd E, Orting, 98360;
- Terra Organics Member Appreciation Day – Sunday, August 22nd. We will be hosting farm tours during the day and are making plans for a potluck/BBQ in the evening. More details in the coming weeks but put it on your calendar now!!
We hope to get the chance to meet you, the one who makes it all possible, at one of our upcoming events.
Welcome Summer…Now Cool It!
Jul 9th
Nine months out of the year, temperatures are more or less ideal for leaving fruits and vegetables at your doorstep. Rarely do we have a problem with spoilage due to extreme temps.
But last year, after a long string of days of record heat right in the middle of berry season, it was clear that we needed to do something to keep the contents of the boxes cooler. We installed air conditioning in the warehouse so we could assemble the boxes in a climate controlled environment. The two vehicles that we’ve purchased since last summer are both refrigerated (it adds about $10k to $20k to the cost of a van for it to be refrigerated). And the big improvement so far this year has been the introduction of thermal blankets in all of our vehicles, that insulate each box and keep the cool air in and the warm air out. Our efforts to maintain the cold chain are being tested this week, and so far it seems that our investments are paying off.
However, the point at which the box is finally left on your doorstep is the missing link. Our drivers know to seek out shade, and to consider where the sun is going to be shining over the course of the day. But even in the shade, the highly perishable items are not going to like being outside of a refrigerator for several hours. We love to see coolers out that we can transfer the produce into, but we know that’s not a solution for everyone. (But if it works for you, please leave one out and we will be happy to make good use of it!)
What we’re working towards, and what we need your input on, is whether you’d be willing to put down a $20 to $30 deposit on an insulated cooler, like what Smith Brothers uses for their milk and dairy products. We also think this is part of the puzzle that will get us closer to handling more perishable products, like dairy and meat. So, if you would welcome a Terra Organics cooler on your doorstep, please click here to let us know. Thanks!
Update on Hama Hama
The feedback we’ve received about the quality of Hama Hama products has been encouraging, and this week we’ve moved to simplify the program a little bit. The bad news is that we won’t have in-the-shell oysters or clams for sale individually. The good news is that the Weekly Pick of Hama Hama shellfish can now be ordered like all of the rest of our add-ons, by logging into your account and clicking on Manage Add-Ons. This week it’s 3 pounds of Manila Steamer Clams for $20.
Like all other add-ons and changes to your order, we need to receive all requests by 10 AM, two days before your delivery.
What a difference a week makes.
Jun 24th
Last Thursday at this time I spoke to Jeff Miller (chef turned organic farmer from Willie Greens in Monroe) and he said it was quite possibly the worst year that he has seen in his 25 years on the farm: 5 flats of berries a week vs 250 last year; 20% germination in the chard and spinach, leaving whole beds virtually empty; wet, soggy ground and no change in the weather on the horizon.
And it was doom and gloom on our farm as well. The productive spring we had came to a screeching halt as our list of crops ready for harvest shrank to just a handful and the quantity available was way down. Stuff just hasn’t been growing for the last month! It’s scary (still) to think that a lousy summer around here can wipe out a farm’s income for the year. (That should offer a little insight into why we started Terra Organics in the first place…)
Looking back at last year’s newsletters, by the second and third weeks of June we were already into local cherries, broccoli, summer squash, beans(!). Yet last week the availability of local produce was so wiped out we only had bunched spinach in the small boxes.
So with the warming this past week, things have started to grow again and Eastern Washington is finally coming on with some fruit. It looks like all is not lost yet, but we’re still not out of the dark. It’s going to be an interesting summer for everyone growing food out there.
Please remember to cancel or make changes to your order by 10am, two days before your delivery.
Thank you for your support!
Eggs Are Back! Woot!
Jun 17th
Image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/aresauburnphotos/
Eggs are back – and cheaper, too! $4.50 per dozen for Stiebrs Large Brown Organic Omega-3. If you had Terry’s eggs as part of your standing order, they have since been deleted from your list of add-ons. Stiebrs eggs are now listed as an add-on for one-time or ongoing delivery.
The partnership with Hama Hama Oysters is coming along and we’ve devised the ordering and tracking system necessary to add these to our network. For the first round of deliveries, we will leave the order form open all week, meaning that any order placed between now and next Friday at noon will be for delivery the week beginning June 28. Beginning next week we will have to shorten the window for ordering to roughly 24 hours. Specifically, we will only be able accept orders for the upcoming week through noon on Friday. At the same time, we will provide a link for you to place an order for the following week, so that if you miss the cutoff for your next delivery you can make sure you get your order in for the following week. It’s more confusing than we’d like, but these orders are being custom-filled and we need exact numbers for an entire week’s worth of deliveries the Friday before.
So, here’s what you can order by clicking here:
- The weekly pick, $20 (This week, 2 dozen raw oysters)
- Pound of clams, $7
- Dozen Raw Oysters, $10
Each order will be packed with gel-packs, transported in coolers and sealed for freshness. We will assess a $5 charge for any packaging not returned to us at the time of your next delivery.
Groupon Redemptions
Jun 14th
Dear Groupon Customers,
Due to the increased volume of customers thanks to our wonderful Groupon partnership, Terra Organics will not have the capacity to redeem all of the Groupons at once but we will honor all Groupons as soon as possible. We regret that this means that you may not be able to receive your first delivery as soon as you might like, but we are confident your boxes will be delivered while the tomatoes are still local and red.
If you are not comfortable with waiting for your produce box, you are more than welcome to seek a refund from Groupon, but we sincerely hope that instead you decide to take advantage of our great offer and know that your time will come.
Click here to redeem your Groupon online.
)NOTE: You will receive a confirmation email within one to two weeks. Thank you for your patience.)
If you have already placed your order with a Terra Organics staff member then you do not need to fill out this form.
If you purchased the five week deal for the Tahoma Farms CSA box, the CSA is now sold out for the year and any redemptions coming in after June 28 will be at the top of the list for next year.
We know that you did not buy into this offer thinking that you would end up on a wait list, and for this we apologize. Our network of growers and our own farm cannot instantaneously increase production as rapidly as demand requires. Please understand that this plan ensures that the quality of our product and a level of service that we pride ourselves on does not deteriorate. We thank you for your understanding and we look forward to delivering some really good food from our local farmers to you soon.
Sincerely,
Dan Hulse, owner
Terra Organics
