cabbage starts for Heartfield

The berries are coming in.  You’ll find two raspberry patches in the back when  you come to pick up your shares.  They’re loaded.  So are the blueberries along the driveway.  Try some, they’re divine.

The snow peas at Old Man Johnson’s Farm and Heartfield are coming in.  This will supplement the snap peas from Alliester Field.  Heartfield lettuces and spinach are coming out to make way for tomatoes, squash, peppers melons and other summer delights, though the weather has kept these crops going longer than usual this year.

Spinaches, radishes, lettuces and endives will shortly be making way for carrots, scallions and beets.  Eggplants, zucchinni, tomatoes, cucumbers and basil won’t be far behind.  We’re out planting just about every day, so there will be an abundance for everyone.  In just the last week, a 1/2 acre plot in Damascus was planted out to 9 varieties of winter squash.  Planting of fall and winter crops continues unabated.

We hope you’ll come around on this Thursday, which promises to be a delightful, sunny afternoon and evening.

Willard! Wiiillard!

Spring has definately sprung at Geercrest farm, where 12 baby goats now frolik in the sun. We have had the great opportunity to become midwives in welcoming them into the world, and are thuroughly enjoying watching them grow, horns and all.  The future looks very bright for these little foragers, who have inspired us to work with local conservation groups to employ this herd in land reclaimation efforts. We are learning that goats have a very selective palate, and a foracious appetite for blackberry greens. In an effort to restore native habitat, our little goats have the potential to replace the use of herbicides, and play a key role in farming for restoration. Stay tuned as we discover more about what we are getting ourselves into, as well as photos of the kids! 

We’re starting early with cob projects like filling in the bare spots on the greenhouse to improve the insulation and give it a more earthy look and feel, and some seasonal sprucing up of our covered cob bench in the middle of the gardens.

We’re also going to be doing various garden projects, and getting our outdoor kitchen set up.

There will be plenty of time for strolling in the gardens, dipping your feet in Crystal Springs Creek, hanging out with the chickens, and just spending some time enjoying the day.

We’ll have some food to share, but bring your favorite dish as well, something to grill, and your favorite beverage. Bring chairs, musical instruments, cameras, lawn chairs, and your friends!

The party should go till late, but come early and share the day with us.

See you soon!

RiverHouse Farm also has a new email address: riverhousefarmsellwood@gmail.com . We’ll continue to check email for a while at the old riseup.net address, but it’s come to light that some of you are not getting email because of service providers like Hotmail and Comcast are blocking mail to and from Riseup addresses. Sad but true, and it’s important we use a method of communication that reaches all of you.

Thanks,

Nikki and Calliope

Calliope Sullivan of Calliope’s Table (www.calliopes-table.com) brings kitchen skills and a love of cooking and feeding people to her passion for growing the best available produce around. This year she’ll also be focusing on developing an outdoor kitchen and creating spaces to gather, cook and eat together.

These additions will also allow us to grow our subscriber base this season, begin growing staple crops on a bigger scale, and realize some economies of scale in our CSA operation. As this new season has taken shape we are pleased to see continued and future projects with Waldorf schools. We embrace Biodynamic practices in our farming and welcome the connection we feel with the students that visit.

RiverHouse Farm is also working to build the urban-rural connection among farms, farmers, and farm supporters. We realize that an urban center like Portland cannot produce the entirety of its food supply with current growing methods and land use issues. The most likely scenario is one where farms that ring an urban city, perhaps 50-100 miles away, will bring farm goods inward to city subscribers and markets.

The collaboration with GeerCrest Farms is an important link in developing this web of farms that cover our region. The work of transitioning this heritage farm to a new generation of farmers is taking place as well. This process must be explored and strengthened if we are to become effective at finding new stewards for our farmlands.

GeerCrest Farm is a little known gem of a farm that has been developed with a caring, feeling approach. It has created a farm that works in harmony with nature and the elements, and takes time to listen to their plans.

Because of our new relationship with GeerCrest Farm where they raise goats and chickens, we will be able to bring you some of the best tasting eggs we’ve eaten, and goat cheese as part of our CSA later this season as a separate subscription. Contact us if you’d like to be added to the list to be notified when this happens.

So we’re adding farms and adding farmers, and now we’ll be able to add subscribers too, so 2010 CSA Shares are still available! The 20-week season begins in June and is priced at $500.00. That’s $25 bucks a week for love-grown produce for 2-4 people. Produce distributions have now been set and are Thursday afternoons at RiverHouse Farm in Sellwood, and Sunday afternoons at the Hawthorne Farmer’s Market. Get in touch and we can hold a share for you.

Thanks, Nikki and Calliope

GeerCrest Farm           http://www.geercrestfarm.com

Nestled in the Waldo Hills area east of Salem, OR, GeerCrest Farm was established in 1848 by pioneers Ralph and Mary Geer, whose descendants still live here. The mission here is to live and teach agrarian culture, encouraging people to rely on each other and co-operate with nature to provide a livelihood for themselves and others.

We are part of a network of small farms, which allows us to support local and urban communities with a great variety of local, organically grown food and products.

GeerCrest offers several programs and opportunities that provide a Farm-Life experience for all ages from Family Stays, School and Homeschooled group visits, Field Trips, and a Summer Camp. GeerCrest is a farm site for the Waldorf 3^rd grade curriculum.

HeartField Farm

HeartField Farm is a new urban farm along the banks of Johnson Creek in Milwaukie. Currently home to chickens, fruit trees, and a kitchen garden, the large center space will now be growing veggies and herbs for the RiverHouse CSA. The land is now stewarded by Waldorf teacher April, her family, and a bevy of farm animals. There are plans for Waldorf classes to be held here starting next year.

HeartField has a tradition of hosting kids that come to see the farm and the animals, and spend time jumping on the trampoline. As the farm grows and takes further shape with upcoming permaculture projects planned, we maintain our vision of HeartField being a place for kids to wander garden paths, spend time in an agrarian setting, and connect with nature.

RiverHouse Farm

http://riverhousecsa.wordpress.com/

RiverHouse Farm is a community supported urban-farming venture and community gathering space located in the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. On the banks of the Crystal Springs creek lies a house where an adjoining duplex is no more. This land has been in some sort of community agricultural cultivation for the twenty or so years since.

Started in 2007, the RiverHouse Farm is an 8,000 sq. ft. biointensive, organic farm that believes a sustainable farm functions as a healthy ecosystem. We honor a commitment to nurturing the land, cultivating abundance and evolving in community.

These are some of the things that make us who we are:

We consider our methods and practices to go “Beyond Organic” as we hold ourselves to higher standards than organic certification currently does. By using practices from Biodynamic Agriculture, Integrated Pest Management, and Permaculture, we think what we do contributes more to embracing earth-friendly, people-friendly practices than being certified to the current organic standards. We work to improve soil health, create bee and bird habitat, and increase plant diversity wherever we farm.

We focus on growing quality heirloom varieties of vegetables, fruits and herbs using non-hybrid, open-pollinated seed wherever possible. During the 2009 season we grew well over 100 different varieties of vegetables, fruit and herbs and are planning to further increase the variety in the 2010 season.

We grow for seed saving as well as for produce, to assure seed stock for future seasons, develop and select new varieties adapted to our local area, preserve diversity in our food supply, and hold down costs.

Nikki Hill has a background in ecology and is a budding permaculture farmer and community networker. Her interests include a deep love of plants, inspiring community connections, nature based wisdom, ecosystem restoration, found object art and sustainable farming. Nikki lives and loves on planet Earth.

Calliope Sullivan is a farmer, community chef, and local food activist. She lives and farms in the Sellwood area of Portland, Oregon, and has been having a love affair with food most of her life. She is a student of Permaculture, Biodynamic and Mother Earth. Calliope’s favorite veggie is Zucchini!

RiverHouse Farm CSA

Nikki Hill and Calliope Sullivan

(503) 232-1482

• Lumber: 2×6 is best, but any size will make-do.
• Glass windows: either in frame or not
• Corrugated plastic sheets: clear would be best for the roof
• Random artsy what-nots: old car parts, door knobs, cheezy sculptures, garden gnomes, pink flamingos, colored glass things, unidentified ods and ends…. to fully embrace the patchwork funk style.
• Tables or benches to place plant starts

If you want to get creative with us and lend your labor, we welcome the collaborative effort.

In exchange for sharing  land, property residents will receive a full CSA membership. They will also play an important role as space holders for the urban food movement.  We can take care of all the the soil preparation, seed sowing, daily care and harvesting of crops. 

The communal gardens can be located on commercial/public or residental land. The idea is to create spaces where community members can join together to grow food for themselves and eachother within their own neighborhoods. This can be done at little to no cost. Combining the harvest from these communal gardens with abundance from neighborhood fruit trees, nut trees and backyard gardens will support a truly local food source.  For more inspiration on sharing food, visit Calliope’s Table.

More info on the idea of a foodshed can be found at http://www.foodshedalliance.org/

If either of these ambitions strikes your fancy, Contact Nikki or Calliope. We welcome any comments or questions.

Other events on the horizon include:

• Urban Farmer’s collective fundraiser; mid August: Meet other growers of  ultra-local produce, sample the fruits of our labor and sip on a home made brew. All this accompanied by local music TBA. As always, creative ideas and involvement encouraged. We are here to strengthen our community ties.
• Garden Art Walk; end of August: Looking to host a variety of local creative talent in the garen space, possibly to coincide with the Westmoreland last Thursday (?). Want to share your creative ventures? Contact Nikki or Dylan and we can start creating the scheme together.
• Kidz Day Camp; September: Kids teach great lessons with their frolicking through the garden. We would like to invite a herd of these little sages to spend an afternoon and maybe even overnight in the tepee. Creative activities TBA.

This is a list of intended community events. Any inspiration to help carry and expand this intention is most welcome!!