Sam Writes: Raspberry Picking

The raspberry says,
Drink your wine, but forget not!
I too am sublime

We picked the season’s first few half-pints of raspberries last week. As with any new task in the field, I think about how to go about it most efficiently. Crouching down next to that first raspberry bush, instinct took over. I closed my eyes and stuck my head right into the bush! I mastered this technique as a child, when a very special place in my grandma’s yard would become full of ripe raspberries. Ask a kid to find berries, and he will find them…and eat them. I learned early on that there are always two buckets whenever you are picking berries: the communal one you’re holding, and the one between your nose and chin. So again, ask a kid to find berries, and don’t be surprised when he comes back with rosy mouth corners and an empty bucket in his hands. My mom, hoping to bring some berries home, compromised and came up with what became my mid-summer mantra – one in the bucket, two in the mouth. That was still a bit hopeful, but at least I learned to save some for later. I’m sure all it took was one bowl of ice cream with raspberries on top to get me to seriously consider putting more in the bucket in my hands. This is a very important moment in my life for you raspberry eaters. 

I haven’t picked many raspberries since my childhood, instead cavorting with thimbleberries, huckleberries, and anything else growing nearby. But here I come back to my oldest friend, and it tastes really good. However, this time I’m on the production end, where “success” is not measured by how many berries I get to eat later, bur rather by how many berries you get to eat later. Good thing my happiness is no longer attached to putting berries in my mouth. I am moving into the realm of happiness derived from bringing you all the finest food we can grow, raspberries included.

As the weather heats up and your motivation to move fades, come grab a half-pint or three in the market, and find a shady spot to sit and smile. Or is eating plain raspberries not your thing? What’s the matter with you?! Absolutely nothing! Get some ice cream and really chill out, or mix up a fruit salad, or butter up some toast and top it with honey and berries. Let your imagination go, it’s likely that raspberries will blend well with what you’re feeling in the moment. Check out some of the raspberry products our neighbors have come up with that we have in the market. As a sweet tooth, I’ve been digging on Anna’s Raspberry Creamed Honey and Honey Ridge Farms Raspberry Honey Créme.

Happy rosy mouth corners in the coming weeks!

Love,

Your rosy-fingered friend

Meet our new field crew!

Sam is our newest employee. Sam is a friend of a friend of Renae’s and is from Amery, Wisconsin. Sam’s love of dirt was rekindled when he studied soil science. When he’s not harvesting your CSA share in Chelan’s incredible soil, he’s biking or playing drums.

Josh is returning from working at the Sunshine Farm Market two years ago and we’re so happy to have him back two days a week harvesting and packing your CSA shares! Josh is extremely enthusiastic about organic agriculture and hopes to save the world one beet at a time. When he’s not out in the fields he’s perfecting his chocolate truffle with herbal filling - coming to the Market soon!

Renae Writes: High Tunnel Tomatoes

With the fall equinox approaching the cool nights are a threat.  Well maybe I am a little premature on the thought, but we did go ahead and put the plastic endwalls back up on the high tunnel.  The high tunnel is where we planted the first of the tomatoes back at the beginning of April and yes you are still enjoying those tomatoes!  After a little adjustment with the soil and figuring out how to moderate the temperatures in the heat of the summer we had a successful year with the tomatoes.  We had tomatoes in the high tunnel at least 3 weeks before our outside tomoatoes started to turn, and now hopefully we can prolong the tomato season with the endwalls up. 

The high tunnel is a 90’ by 30’ unheated structure that’s temperature is controlled by venting (i.e. wind blowing through the tunnel) and a misting system.  It is completely enclosed in the shoulder seasons during the winter, and during the nights in the shoulder seasons.   The two long sides have vented walls that roll up and down during the day.  And in the summer the endwalls are completely removed and the sidewalls rolled all the way down to allow for maximum ventilation.

Last year was our first year growing in the high tunnel, and the summer’s heat proved to be too hot for the tomatoes, reaching into the low 100s by 10:30am.  This year, we isntalled a mister system that extends from the rafters and would be on constantly from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm throughout most of July and part of August.  The mister system kept the temperature just where we wanted it--in the low 80s, even when it was in the high 90s outside.  We worried that the added moisture might lead to fungal disease, but we never saw anything, thank goodness.  We always made sure we turned off the mister with enough time for the tomato foliage to dry before nightfall.

Even with these cool evening temperatures, the high tunnel will hopefully continue to ripen tomatoes for another month or more.  The only conflict is that we'd like to get in there to plant our winter greens!  I guess we may just have to think about putting up another high tunnel...

Renae Writes: Raspberries and Perennials

I asked Daniel today as we were harvesting green beans (my favorite crop to harvest) what his favorite crop was to harvest.  Salad mix was at the top of his list followed by raspberries.  Maybe it is the newness of the crop or the fact that we enjoy a berry or two with a sunned blemish on it.  Either way he brought to my attention our raspberry crop and I thought it would be fun to tell you about it.  I'm getting excited for next years’ crop already!  Before I delve too far, I wanted to warn you--we have yet to bring in a big enough harvest for CSA distribution but we have been keeping them stocked at the market. 

First, back to the harvesting of the raspberries:  We harvest them using a harness that clips onto a cherry lug, in which we set the pint containers.  The motion is more efficient as the containers are just above our waist no matter if we have to bend down to get a low berry or stretch up. 

The raspberries were planted last spring, actually the day Rachel and Guy were welcoming Jessie into this world!  A year and a half later, we have healthy berries and a 17 month old that enjoys feasting on the berries on her morning walk with Grandma Jaclyn.  Raspberries are a perennial crop and many of you may attest to perennials being a challenge.  Not only is there invitation to perennial weeds but in our case neglect.  Annual crops are the majority of what we grow on our 2.5 acres.  Annuls, after we harvest them, are simply worked back into the soil.  Perennials need a little more TLC, year after year.  To be honest, seeing the crop that has come from the raspberry patch already makes me even more excited about caring for these new babies.  And maybe even adding some more plants next year? 

We planted a few different varieties in order to maximize the length harvest time.  For example the Joan J and the Prelude are an earlier berry whereas the Encore and Caroline are later.  There is the yellow, my favorite, surprisingly out beating the traditional red raspberries with its sweetness and texture. 

Keep your eyes open for an early spring crop of asparagus straight from the Sunshine fields.  Asparagus is another perennial we planted last spring and 2011 will be its third year.  Hopefully this post is not a tease, but will just spread excitement for the veggies (and berries) to come! 

Daniel Writes: Transitions

August passed by in the blink of an eye and September is settling in with crisp fall skies.  This is a time of the year when the garden produces both melons and winter squash, responsibilities include both seeding flats and gathering drip tape from beds that have seen their last harvest, the sun rises later, and the cool weather crops find new vitality.

The studious in the market and winery head back to school. Renae tells me there’s still plenty of work ahead, but it’s a surreal feeling to have the heat of my first full time summer behind me. 

With the desire to wander aimlessly through my free time this summer also passing, my mind can go almost anywhere thinking about what’s next.  But to be honest, I often times found myself realizing there was no place I’d rather be in the middle of work days. 

I’d like to share part of a poem called “The Sunrise Ruby” by Rumi that illustrates a helpful mentality.

Work. Keep digging your well.
Don’t think about getting off from work.
Water is there somewhere.
Submit to a daily practice.
Your loyalty to that
Is a ring on the door.
Keep knocking, and the joy inside
will eventually open a window
and look out to see who’s there.

As I gave thanks to the Evans-O’Neal family in an earlier blog of mine, I’d like to thank Renae for teaching me almost everything I know about gardening. Cheers!