Bountiful Harvest

Next year this might be what one of our CSA baskets looks like. This
year we took a gift basket to the chefs at CRAVES RESTAURANT in
Florence. They prepared a meal for us that featured the vegetables
they get from our farm. If you are ever driving down the coast or
find yourself in Florence, they are a must stop for a fantastic food.

http://cravesfinedining.com

Second Section Started

With the first section completed, we turned our attention to the second, with one determination... NOT to do it the way we did the first.

While we were able to minimize the grass that grew up in our beds by raking out the grass clumps rather than tilling them under... the man hours to do so were excessive. We think we've come up with a faster/better option, but we won't know until we actually plant something.

We'll keep you posted.

Farmer's Market

This is what our table looked like at the Organic Farmer's Market in Florence. We have spent most of this year getting the fields, greenhouses, irrigation and propagation areas functioning... so our selection is still somewhat limited when we go to market. That will all change as we go and grow, but for now we are happy to be able to provide a small contribution to the local market.

Corn is ready

We planted corn in our cold house for three reasons.

1. We like corn

2. We had no other place ready to plant

3. We hoped to be able to have corn early.

Well as you can see... we have our corn... and we seem to have it a bit earlier than most in our climate. It really isn't a sensible use of our cold house, but in this year of experimenting, it's a fun conclusion to another fact finding mission.

Apologies

In every blogger's life there comes a time when you ask yourself... is anybody reading this stuff?

And of course, since it is easier to not make a blog entry than to make one, you convince yourself that no one is really reading any of this and that it is all an exercise in vanity... and so no entry is made.

Well I was reminded this week that people (well, OK... one person) was anxiously waiting for updates on the little startup we call Whiskey Creek Organics. So for that person (yes Graham, I'm talking about you) and for any others who wish to follow the antics of some crazy people living on an island in Oregon... I promise to post on a regular basis.

Tiny weeds

One of the basic principles of the system we are using is to catch
weeds when they are very small. The bed to the right shows the
difference.

Kale Smoothie Anyone

If you've never had a Kale Smoothie... you're missing something. The Herb Jar in Florence sells this wonderful concoction made with kale, orange juice, banana, lemon juice and ice. Of course, they use Whiskey Creek Organic kale... and of course it is their best selling smoothie.

Our first farmers market

White Russian kale, green Curley kale, peas, mixed lettuce and
Cilantro. We had to go back to the farm on the boat to get more kale.

Weeding the Eliot Coleman Way

We use tools designed by Eliot Coleman for weeding. The tool is a
sharp hoe with a long handle that is designed to cut just below the
soil level using a motion that keeps the operator standing upright,
rather than bent over like the traditional hoe.

The beauty of order...

Eliot Coleman's layout is really a beautiful thing. While we won't say weeding is our favorite past time, but we can say that it is certainly manageable with this system... and the results produce a beautiful order to the garden.

One week more means less...

We left some of the pickling cucumbers in the greenhouse until June because the instructions said to transplant after June 1.

Guess what? They were wrong.

The small plant is the one with the extra week in the greenhouse... the big healthy one we transplanted at the end of May and it is doing much better. My hand is there to give some perspective.

Kale, lettuce, peas and corn

Jonathan and Cristina have nurtured every one of these plants from
seed. We are so thankful for their loving effort.

Kale for Sale

The Co-op in Florence, Oregon is the first store to sell our produce. Wow, From seed to store in 58 days.

What a difference 10 days make...

Compare this picture with the one we posted on May 1. 

We're farming now!

Our First Customers

Hayden and Dawn Sears take a bite of some fresh picked White Russian
Kale grown at Whiskey Creek Organics. Hayden was the previous owner
of the land and it seemed only fair that he and Dawn be the first to sample

our first produce.

The fruits of our labor...

This is the first salad made ever made from Whiskey Creek Organic
produce. The greens are organic White Russian Kale grown from seed on
the farm.

Look mom... here's your salad. (At least it's a start.)

Grama Pip wanted to know when she could have a salad... so here's the
answer. Right now. As long as it's a White Russian Kale or Baby
Spinach salad.

Kale, Peas, Spinach, Lettuce and Corn

This may look like a greenhouse, but it's actually a cold house. Without endwalls or a heating system, it's main purpose is to keep the spring rains off the crops and allow the sun to warm the ground. Once these crops are harvested we will wait a bit, then replace them with fall crops and use the coldhouse to extend the season.

Irrigation lines

Jonathan rented a trencher to get a new irrigation line to the
greenhouses. Hand watering was taking over 2 hours of valuable
daylight. Since our water pressure occurs naturally (Whiskey Creek

is above the farm and the water is delivered at 80 psi) we have a
zero carbon footprint when we irrigate our crops.

A warm spring day...

It's hard to believe that it snowed earlier this week, but for now we will bask in the warm sunlight of spring. Jonathan and Christina have finished laying out the beds in both greenhouses and have been busy getting plants in the ground. The beautiful order of Eliot Coleman's farm layout is starting to be seen.

Propagation Station

Jonathan improved our seedling's world with these rails close to the
ground (the ground stays warmer at night than tables do) that have
complete drainage for the trays and a 5% tilt toward the sun (which
actually makes the sun's rays equal to 300 miles south.

Emerging Peas...

Each one of these blocks has 4 pea seeds in it. We will not thin them like most gardeners do, but will let all four grow. These were planted on March 31st.

Compost

We are fortunate to have an OMRI certified compost supplier in the
state. This is about 3 tons of the black gold that we will spread on
our seed beds right before planting or transplanting. We are in the

process of making our own compost from grasses on the farm, but it
will take two years before it is ready to use.

In the ground...

With some help from Amy (a friend who took time away from her Master's thesis in Organic Agriculture) we set out our first transplants of Kale in the coldhouse. Since we didn't have the tool mentioned in the previous post, we used the old fashioned string method.

Don't look for what you want...

There is no picture with this post, because we don't have what we need at this time. We are laying out the planting patterns in order to transplant the soil blocks into the beds, but even at this early stage we have five different transplant patterns... and almost 6,000 square feet of greenhouses to plant. Since there is no pre-made pattern makers, we will have to make our own. We'll look around the farm and figure something out. That's why I always say... "Don't look for what you want. Look for what will do what you want." - David