Hot August Days!

We increased the amount of land we are farming this year.  It was quite a process.  We laid down almost 1000 feet of 1 inch pipe to get water to this new growing area this spring.  Last year, we experimented with a small run of drip tape on top of the soil and knew it worked well.  This method of irrigation conserves water and is used in as a tool in developing countries.  How fun for American agriculture to learn from how they do it in India! As with any new endeavor, the problems seemed to pile up.  And they are never what you anticipate!  But, all is going well now!  And these sure are some hot August days!  Here is the fruit of that labor - a new ~1/3 acre plot of vegetables.  Enjoy the pictures!

Looking at rows of corn, cucumbers, and beets

Rows of tomatoes, kale, and cabbages

Cabbage up close!

Lactinato Kale

Basil - and a peek at our drip tape that runs down each row

Swiss Chard next to Beets

One last picture of a portion of the field

Farm Fresh Eggs!

Our place has been home to chickens for many years.  Probably more years than any other animal.  When we first bought our acreage in 1999, we had no outbuildings.  Gradually my husband built all of our sheds and barns with his own hands - using many recycled materials.  The chicken coop was no exception.  

Previous owners left us a concrete pad.  It was a small rectangle shape probably used underneath a dog kennel.  My husband looked at it and decided to turn it into a chicken coop.  He extended the concrete pad and built a beautiful chicken coop on top of it.  

If you couldn't see the outdoor chicken run, you may mistake the chicken coop for a garden shed or kid's play house.  It is framed with 2X4 construction, has insulation in the walls, vinyl siding (removed from Grandma's house), a window (removed from our house), and roofing, and ventilation under the eaves. 

Our Chicken Coop

 In the picture to the left, you can see many of these features, plus our less than ideal electrical set up to run our electric fence charger and water tank heaters...  We lost one batch of chickens to a dog breaking through the screened window.  The window is now covered in a chicken wire frame that seems to work and hold up well.  It is hard to see in the picture, but we also had to screen our under eave venting to keep out small birds.  Every few years, the birds discover a hole in the screening and 20 or more small birds will be inside the coop eating the chicken food.  We shoo them out and repair the screening.

A Young Chicken Catching a Ride

Our chickens seem to do well inside the coop even during cold winter temperatures.  We are also particular about our breed selection.  We like Orpingtons, Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds (or whites), Americaunas (actually Easter Eggers since they don't meet all the breed characteristics), and Barred Rocks (Plymouth Rock). These breeds don't seem to mind the colder temperatures.

We use supplemental light during the winter months to give our hens the recommended 14 hours of daylight.  A great way to provide this is by using a outdoor Christmas light timer.  They are programmed to come on at dusk for the number of hours you determine by turning the dial.  We check day length online and adjust the timer as needed every few weeks.

Statistically, most egg laying is completed for the day by 10am.  Around lunchtime or early afternoon we let the chickens out of their pen and attached chicken run to free range.  They put themselves back into the coop once darkness falls.  We close them in for the night around 8-9pm to keep them safe from predators.

Our Farm Fresh Eggs

The end result is happy chickens and lots of eggs!  We collect our eggs once a day (more often in colder temperatures).  One of our youngest son's chores is to gather the chicken eggs.  I wash and sort the eggs.  Our oldest son will candle any questionable eggs for me using a dark room and led flashlight.  This is by far his favorite chore!  Then after the eggs dry I will package them into egg cartons for sale.  Currently, you can purchase our farm fresh eggs at the Main Market Coop in downtown Spokane.  We deliver eggs to the coop on Tuesday afternoons and I hear they sell out fast!

WIC and Senior Nutrition Program

We are an approved grower  for the Farmers Market Nutrition Program.  This means that we can take WIC FMNP and Senior FMNP checks.

If you or someone you know is a WIC participant, you can go to the local WIC office to get your Farmers Market checks.  Or, you can come to the Millwood Market and pick your checks up there.  This year, WIC participants are given $20 of checks in $5 denominations.

If you are a senior living on a low income, you may want to check out the Senior FMNP. 

• Seniors apply for SFMNP benefits through local agencies. Eligible seniors (income below 185% of Federal Poverty level, a gross income of $1,678.91 a month for one in 2011 AND 60 years and older.) ** Source WSU Extension

 Senior FMNP particiants are given $40 of checks in $4 denominations.





We accept both WIC and Senior FMNP checks.  Look for this sign to determine growers who are participating in this program.

At the market yesterday, we created a $5 special to match the amount of the WIC checks (and for anyone to take advantage of).  For $5, participants received 1 head of lettuce, 1 bunch of carrots, and one small box of potatoes.  This gave the buyer a $1 savings over buying all the items separately.

As always, contact us to purchase produce or to see when we will be at the Millwood Farmers Market.  We don't sell there every week because we have so many family obligations this summer too!

Lettuce, Radishes, and Kale

We are selling lettuce, radishes, and kale from our farm this week.  We will not be at the Millwood Farmer's Market.  We are taking Wednesday evening off since it is our wedding anniversary.  Fourteen years!

We will be open selling produce on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday this week from 1-5pm.  Come on out!

We have almost 50 heads of Red Cross Butterhead Lettuce for sale at $2/head.  This lettuce has a nice delicate texture and is beautiful to look at.

Red Cross Lettuce

Our kale is $2/bunch or $4 for a large bag.

Radishes are $2/bunch and we have two types of radishes available: a round red radish and a long french radish.

 Tomatoes and cucumbers should be available next week. Yum!

"Socrates" Cucumbers

"New Girl" Tomatoes

Pictures of cucumbers and tomatoes trellised in the greenhouse.  To see our greenhouse made from recycled materials, click here.  A recycled greenhouse was one of our projects last year.

This Week at the Market

I believe Spokane has joined the rest of the country in a heat wave. Temperatures in the 90's are expected all week. Heat loving plants like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant rejoice!

It is hard to keep lettuce and greens looking good and not wilting at the farmers market. We are careful to harvest our lettuce very early in the morning. The roots will still be attached to allow us to keep the plant cool in cold water. We will also offer produce for sale directly from our farm. Contact us to find a time to come and select your veggies!

Our Baby Lettuce Mesclun Mix comes bagged and is ready for the salad bowl and includes many types of lettuce and other greens. Currently we use red lettuce, green lettuce, spinach, chard, and beet leaves. We don't include any spicy greens in our lettuce mix. The spicy greens are found in our Asian Greens Mix.

Available this week:

Red Early Potatoes
Adirondack Blue Potatoes (All Blue)
Garlic
Lettuce
Baby Lettuce Mesclun Mix
Radishes
Sugar Snap Peas
Spinach
Kale
Swiss Chard
Turnips
Golden Beets
Pink Baby Beets
Kohlrabi

There is still time to reserve your all natural chicken too. These chickens are guaranteed to have no antibiotics or hormones and are fed a local blend of dry peas, wheat, and barley without any feed additives.