Diggin’ Roots Farm

I wanted to share a link to the blog entry that I wrote about my experience in DC. Also I wanted to encourage everyone who’s reading this to call their senator and help push beginning farmer programing. More information on this can be found on the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s website. Please share your thoughts. If I learned anything in DC, it’s that there are real human beings there fighting an uphill battle and they need support!

I am in DC right now after having finished a morning of meetings with folks from the USDA and FSA offices. The hope is to share our challenges and experiences in order to contribute to improved access to capitol and funding to get more of us on the land! Tomorrow I am attended a conference tomorrow focused on beginning farmer policy/land access/issues. It has been an interesting experience but so far I am still feeling hopeful.

As far as pictures go, a professional photographer friend came out last summer and I wanted to share the link to her fantastic photos!

Lastly, I wanted to encourage everyone to check out our new enterprise- vegetable starts! There is a tab above and they can be purchased from Naomi’s Organic Farm Supply in Sellwood. We also offer a discount for wholesale-direct orders.

Thanks for reading!

At February’s InFARMation (and Beer!), guests will be Lynn Youngbar from the Oregon Board of Agriculture, Representative Brian Clem, and Steve Cohen, Manager of Food Policy & Programs for the City of Portland. This moderated panel will talk to us about how policy is made in our state and what their experiences have been working within their respective policy-making body.

http://www.friendsoffamilyfarmers.org/?page_id=601

Come support farmland and hear what they have to say!

We divided and conquered last night. Conner went to a very important hearing on preserving the rural reserves surrounding the Portland Metro area and I attended a meeting for the Oregon Agriculture Reclamation Act.  It is truly amazing to see so many people working to give family farms a place at the table. Ironic, isn’t it?! It was empowering to hear that there really are a lot of people out there who want to reclaim agriculture, make it sustainable, and make sure the voices of our farmers are heard. Please check out the links and show your support!

Speaking of farming, we’re really looking to claim some land! This afternoon we are meeting with a lender… Hopefully the last and most helpful of many.  Sounds like she has some great ag. lending experience. Yesterday I also spoke with Equity Trust, n organization helping farmers acquire land and build their businesses, and they were incredibly helpful. Things finally feel like they are rolling in the direction of a purchase. Couldn’t be more excited and terrified!

What a combo! Right before Thanksgiving we stumbled upon an Allis G tractor for sale. It happened to be a pretty good price and locally available so we jumped on it. It feels crazy buying a tractor before we even own land to really put it to use on but we have faith…It is a 1949 cultivating tractor. Basically the whole purpose is weeding, which happens to be a lot of the work you do on an organic farm. In the long run this new edition to the farmscape should pay for itself again and again and again.

We’ve also been doing everything we can think of to find ground to grow on this next season. I drove around Clackamas County for the better part of a day posting Farm Land Wanted signs in food/farm stores. It was a fun way to get to know the county but not so fruitful in offers. This past week we’ve been lucky enough to visit 3 potential sites and one of them is relatively close and has water. For the time being we are going to see how things pan out with the land we are on (buying/leasing/renting) and if we don’t know by the the end of the year we’ll probably move forward with something else. Cross your fingers for us!

This temperature has been strange and beautiful. We somehow managed to talk ourselves into going on a hike up Dog Mountain Monday and were greatly rewarded. It has been a while since we’d walked on snow and the clear sky allowed views of all the close mountains, the Columbia, and more… Pretty phenomenal but not so much for the veggies still outside. We’ll see how the thaw goes.

I love the fact that we are already getting inquiries about next year. That really speaks phenomenally of the local food movement here in the Portland metro area.  A brief update of where our farming life is at the moment:

For a while now we’ve been really striving to produce the highest quality veggies that we know how. We’ve looked at our experience here, as an urban farm, as an opportunity for learning and experimentation.  We’ve dry farmed, we’ve crop planned (again and again), we’ve tried numerous combinations of cover crop, we’ve raised and butchered poultry and lamb, and we’ve learned more than we probably could ever truly articulate.  We love Milwaukie and our proximity to our customers, our social life, and our off-farm jobs.  Really, it has been ideal.  At this point though we are yearning for a deeper connection to land that we can, not only call our own, but have long term security and understanding with.  

At this point we are unsure of exactly where this desire will lead us. There is the potential for us to stay right where we are and continue growing with this unique urban acreage.  On the other hand, there are larger, ‘more farmable’ plots out there that we could possibly rent or buy…. In the end we just don’t know.  We have every intention of continuing our CSA next season but it will largely depend on the ground we are on.  

Please email us if you’d like to be added to the 2010 wait list.  We will send out an email in VERY early spring for sign-ups.  In the meantime, check back and we’ll keep you posted on our life!

Thank you!!! We have learned an incredible amount this season and look forward to shared harvests ahead. We’ve greatly appreciated all the feedback from this season’s survey…Please feel free to add more as you think if it! 

This last share includes:

Lots of carrots- I am so glad that we ended on a high note with the carrots.  Some of these are a bit on the larger (or smaller) side but all are delicious. We’ve been enjoying them roasted and in soups. They go great with butter and lemon basil.

Lemon Basil

Fennel- These would be great sauted with garlic and roasted winter squash! And lemon basil!

Winter Squash, Sweet Dumpling- These are our favorite variety of winter squash. They’re a cross between acorn and delicata. We halve them and roast them in the oven until soft. You can also peel them (don’t worry about the skin in the creases) and put into soups and stews.

Mustards- These young mustards can be chopped and added to lettuce for a spicy salad or steamed and added to soups….

Lettuce

Eggplant

Peppers

Garlic