Local Farms in the West Sound
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Learn about local farms and producers in this section -- keep up on seasonal developments, what's growing and what's for sale. When you go looking for local food, find farms and producers on Sound Food's Local Farm Map.
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Production discussion generates ideas at Local Food Roundtable |
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Written by Admin
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Friday, 18 November 2011 12:37 |
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At the second Local Food Roundtable on November 3, farmers and citizens heard Dick Bergeron talk about his work with the Chimacum Grange and the state Small Ag Caucus. Following his remarks, the group engaged in a thoughtful discussion of the obstacles to increasing local food production. You might be surprised by some of the results: read the complete notes from the meeting.
Please share this information with anyone who might be interested, or
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if you'd like to be added to the email list for future Roundtable updates. the next Roundtable will be held January 5, at 7pm at the Bainbridge Grange Hall. the focus of this meeting will be on PROCESSING.
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Midori Farm: A Perfect Blend of Nature and Science |
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Written by Theresa Collier
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Thursday, 17 November 2011 11:48 |
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Young, college-educated and enthusiastic, Marko Colby and Hanako Myers are typical of the new generation of farmers in Jefferson County, however, their emphasis on seed trials and niche production of hand crafted food products is anything but ordinary.
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Marko Colby of Midori Farm
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Hearing about traditionally fermented sauerkraut and kimchi from organic produce, we knew Midori Farm would be the perfect farm to visit during the month of October with Oktoberfest in full swing.
Although Marko studied to be a history teacher and Hanako studied Asian languages, both worked on farms for several years before meeting at the Port Townsend farmer’s market seven years ago.
“We both love food,” Marko says.
They found and leased land on the south edge of Port Townsend and named their farm, Midori Farm, after their cat. Over the years, they have honed their farm wisely, and have a thriving relationship with the Port Townsend farmer’s market where the bulk of their produce is sold. “People who live in Port Townsend eat a lot of vegetables,” Marko explains, “We plant an average of one thousand starts of lettuce varieties every two weeks.”
The barter system also works well for the farm. “There are about ten volunteers who donate four hours of their time helping out with weeding and maintenance in exchange
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Seedpods harvested as part of a seed trial for the Organic Seed Alliance
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for fresh produce. “Not surprisingly, they are older folks who are very dependable and appreciative of the value of fresh, organic produce.”
Marko is most excited about shifting the focus of the farm to seeking the hardiest and tastiest seeds that will yield an almost-year round supply of produce. Taking us into a greenhouse we see tables filled with rows of seedpods of different varieties. Splitting open several of the pods, Marko explains that the colors range from a slate gray to a variegated pink. “These are part of a dry bean trial and a Delicata squash trial for the Organic Seed Alliance,” Marko continues, “We’re trying to find the best tasting and hardiest variety.”
The long-term vision for Midori Farm, like with most small farms, is to sustain a livelihood while focusing on ecological farm methods. Having fresh produce available during the growing season is desirable but having it |
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Middlefield Farm: Historic farmland comes full circle |
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Written by Sallie Maron
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Thursday, 20 October 2011 11:33 |
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Visible and modest. These two words speak volumes about Middlefield Farm and its owners, the Nakata family. The 13- acre farm, on the corner of Wyatt Way and Weaver Avenue, tells a visible and evolving story of one family’s history on the Island.
The community-minded Nakata family has made Bainbridge Island their home for more than a century. Jitsuzo Nakata arrived at the Port of Tacoma in 1899, one of the adventurous immigrants from around the world, drawn by the promise of a better life in America. He worked for the Port Blakely Lumber Mill before starting his own laundry and barber business in Winslow.  As an immigrant, he wasn’t allowed to buy land, so in 1924, when he wanted to purchase a working strawberry farm, he had a family friend sign the ownership papers. Four years later, when Jitsuzo’s Bainbridge-born son, Masaaki, turned 21, the ownership of the land was recorded under the Nakata name.
While the family worked long hours growing strawberries on the farm, Masaaki (later known as John), took a job at a local meat market, a step that would lead him into the grocery business and eventually to becoming a founder of Town and Country Market. Hard work and frugality were foundational to the success of many immigrant families, and the Nakata family was no exception. Working together, they became an integral part of the Island community. And then, along with all the other Islanders of Japanese decent, the Nakatas were forced to leave Bainbridge, and were imprisoned at an internment camp during World War II.
At the end of the war, the extended family returned to the Island, and began the challenging work of starting over and re-establishing their lives in the community. John Nakata and his family moved back to thefamily farm, and once again, began to establish a grocery business that was a forerunner of what is now known by locals as T&C, and considered by many to be the heart of Winslow.
But, what became of the family farm where strawberries were tended for so many years? It lay fallow except for a large home garden, and some grass harvesting over the years. Given its visibility, however, it’s easy to see that the last few years have brought a revival of crop a ctivity to the land. Recently, I visited the farm to talk with Larry Nakata about the current use and future plans for the property. Larry is the soft-spoken president of Town and Country Markets, the family-owned business that now controls the property. He said that the farm could best be described as a “work in progress.”
About six years ago, Brian MacWhorter, local farmer extraordinaire, was enlisted to transition the land back into active food production. As a farmer who had been selling his produce at T&C for a number of years, Brian had the skills to help the Nakata family begin to resurrect their farming heritage. While the long-range vision for the property is an ongoing family discussion, Brian has been busy amending the soil and planting crops. Using organic growing methods, he expects to have official organic certification in the coming year. He also works closely with the produce specialist at Town and Country Markets to determine the best crops to grow for local customers.
As we toured the farm, Larry explained that the name of the farm, Middlefield, comes from a translation of Nakata. “Naka” in Japanese means “middle”, and “ta” means “field”. It’s a name that speaks of the family heritage without fanfare. And, as Larry said he “feels fortunate that the family business still owns the property” and will be able to find ways to make it economically sustainable while ensuring that it benefits the community. Being in the food business is a “blessing for which the family is grateful”.
As you drive by the open fields that have been bright with orange pumpkins and yellow sunflowers, you may also have noticed the two greenhouses that have sprouted up, overlooking Wyatt Way. The greenhouses hold promise for more year-round food production. Even though they’re unheated, each one is 3000 square feet of growing space. Brian was able to grow 500 tomato plants as well as peppers, cucumbers and other heat-loving vegetables this summer. The produce is harvested, and delivered to T&C Market on Bainbridge and to Central Market in Poulsbo on a daily basis. One highlight of my visit was a tour of the greenhouses, after which Larry sent me off with a handful of red, vine-ripened tomatoes.
The tomatoes were a beautiful memento of my visit, and a delicious reminder of the importance of cherishing not only the Island’s agricultural heritage, but also the hopes and dreams of hard-working immigrants like Jitsuzo Nakata. More than a century after his arrival, and with a visible farm and store, as well as a generous spirit, the Nakata family continues to cultivate a modest presence while honoring a long tradition of commitment to the Bainbridge community.
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Tani Creek Farm: A Vision as Vast as the Setting |
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Written by Carolyn Goodwin
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Thursday, 29 September 2011 13:43 |
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Aronia berries, Shipova pears, Highland cattle, Shetland geese . . . spend any amount of time at Tani Creek Farm and your vocabulary will grow as quickly as seeds planted in the farm’s fertile soil.
Those words name just a few varieties of the heirloom flora and fauna that flourish on Tani Creek’s 20-acre hillside overlooking Rich Passage. It’s all a result of the vision and hard work of the Sassenfeld family. Helmut Sassenfeld and his wife Susan developed the home and farm buildings using old time materials designed to last – the house looks as if it was transported from a centuries-old European farm. One difference is that Tani Creek Farm is solar powered – the property includes the state’s largest residential solar installation, which provides more than enough power for the farming operations.
Son Max Sassenfeld grows vegetables on ¾ of an acre of the property. The amount of land in production might seem small, but the volume of food that comes out of it is not. Max’s intensive growing system produces an astounding amount of food per acre – in his second year on the far m he harvested 13,000 pounds of food from 1/4 acre of land. And he’s got even bigger plans for the future. We asked Max to show us what’s changed since we last wrote about Tani Creek.
A chilly downstairs room was our first stop. It does triple duty as the Sassenfeld seed room, root cellar, and wine cellar. Seeds of all colors and shapes fill jars lining one wall, representing Max’s commitment to acquiring and saving heirloom fruits and vegetables from around the world. This year he grew over 100 varieties of lettuce, which appear in all their spotted, streaked and multicolored glory in Tani Creek’s salad mix and are now going to seed. Some of the seeds are saved for future plantings, some are sent to the Seed Saver Exchange for safekeeping and distribution.
Saving rather than buying seeds is just one part of Tani Creek’s program as a biodynamic farm, which Max describes as “beyond organic.” Tani Creek is a certified organic farm, and is also one of only two accredited biodynamic training programs in Washington State. This year two apprentices, Lindsay Howells from Portland and Ali Odin from Milwaukee, will benefit from the lessons of Tani Creek as they help Max to plant and harvest the land in adherence to biodynamic principles.
 Biodynamic farming is a method of organic farming that treats farms as unified and self-nourishing organisms. A biodynamic farm needs to generate 75% of the inputs used to grow the food. That means most of the fertilizer must come from the property, which is where those Shetland geese and Highland cattle come in. Their manure is recycled to create the healthy soil that makes Max’s produce so beautiful and full of flavor. He also brews up big batches of nettle tea and other biodynamic amendments, including some rather esoteric formulations that include stag bladders and cow horns.
The livestock are Helmut’s domain. Just as Max is devoted to preserving heirloom vegetables, his father is working to bring rare livestock breeds back into production. One example is Shetland geese, which the farm will soon be processing and offering for sale. They are small (broiler chicken size, “not scary,” family members agree), with lean, fine grain meat that tastes “something like moist roast beef with a hint of duck,” Helmut said, continuing that “I want to see this breed come back!” In addition to the geese, he’s planning to raise goats for meat and milk, as well as Saxony and Welsh Harlequin ducks for meat and eggs.
We pass large food processing area filled with boxes of drying onions, garlic, and other produce in various stages of preparation. What doesn’t go to market will likely end up in the kitchen that’s run by Max’s mother Susan. On the day of our visit she was a bit frazzled after hours of transforming Cornelian cherries into jewel-like jars of sauce destined to accompany some of that fine goose meat. “Those little cherries are the pits!” she laughed, referring to the challenge of pitting such a large pile of tiny fruits. She led us |
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Modern-Day Homesteaders Take Root on Bainbridge Island |
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Written by Jessica Hoch
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Wednesday, 22 June 2011 21:39 |
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Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder would certainly smile at the small Rolling Bay Farm, where two reformed city-dwellers are learning from the land in a modern-day homesteading adventure.
The family of four embodies the possibilities for anyone looking to make small steps towards a life of less waste, deeper connections and discovery. It started small as Adrienne and Mark Wolfe began their adventure on their two-acre, micro-farm after leaving the city for Bainbridge Island seven years ago. Early this year they upgraded to an eight-acre parcel of land off Lovgreen Road that is now populated with chickens, lambs, a llama, turkeys and pigs on the way.
"This is an entire lifestyle for us," said Adrienne. "This is how we want to raise our family, this is the service we want to provide to our neighbors and the connections we want to make in our community."
The road to operating a farm has been a humbling learning experience for the Wolfe family. Both Adrienne and Mark work full-time jobs in Seattle, while caring for their seven and three-year-old daughters and a host of ever-changing barn animals. It's a process everyone takes-on, as they laugh and learn at their own mistakes and relish in the joys of their working farm.
The story Adrienne wants to tell of their Rolling Bay Farm is the story of its future. The vision is an operating farm providing customers with chicken, turkey, pork, lamb and eggs at a farm stand on their property. The stand will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. It will also be a venue for other home goods like soaps, fleece and eggs and a place where their commodities serve as an active symbol of a connected community valuing the land and hearts it works to feed.
This "community farm" is the payoff of the family's evolution from their original two-acre "neighborhood" micro-farm to a farm that will take on a bigger role and priority in the Wolfe's daily life. It's a life that certainly wasn't on anyone's radar, but a life they've come to cherish.
Adrienne, who grew up in the mid-west as a self-titled "stable brat," developed a love for horses and animals at an early age. But up until her mid-30's she found herself living in cities like Boston and Seattle. Mark, a city-bred Boston native, developed an expertise with pea-patch gardens in the city, but that is where his experience ended. When Adrienne urged their move to Bainbridge to raise horses they decided to get a little more use of the land, and thus their farm life began.
Adrienne said the farm has turned into a thriving part of their marriage dynamic. It is a shared, common interest with an important division of labor that provides a separate |
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