By the Bottle Now Open SUNDAYS!

From the 8/2008 By the Bottle E-Newsletter:

It's official! By the Bottle is now open on Sundays from 11am to 4pm beginning this weekend, Sunday, August 31st, just in time for your Labor Day festivities.

Stop By the Bottle this week to stock up for your road trip. If you're just hanging out for the holiday, you'll definitely want to stop by because we will be closed on Monday for Labor Day. Hey, a girl needs time to play, too!

Include great beer in your plans, always. You deserve it. Check out some weekend beer ideas and some of "Arlene's Picks" below.

Cheers, my good beer people! Happy Labor Day and be safe out there.
Arlene
By the Bottle

By the Bottle Web Site
(360) 696-0012
104 W Evergreen Blvd,
Vancouver, WA 98660
BTB Store Hours
Mo-Th, Noon to 8pm
Fr-Sa, Noon to 9pm
Su, 11am to 4pm (hours may vary as we check out the Sunday crowd)
Closed on Monday, September 1, 2008, for Labor Day
We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday.

Awesome beer ideas you'll love...

Going on a road trip?
Throw some of our award-winning canned beers into the cooler. They chill faster, stay fresher, lighter to carry, and easy to crush for recycling. Try some old favorites like Oskar Blues Old Chub Scottish, Dale's Pale Ale or Arlene's Pick, Caldera Pale Ale.

Here's some of our newer canned beer selections:
Zywiec, Murphy's Stout and Old Speckled Hen.

Just hanging out for Labor Day weekend?
Add an at-home beer tasting for your family, friends, and neighbors, or just for yourself! Go on a road trip without ever leaving your backyard by tasting various beer styles each from a different state or country.

Here's the Arlene's Pick West Coast Road Trip 6-pack:
Everett, WA: Lazy Boy Porter
Seattle, WA: Hale's Kolsch German-Style Ale
Newport, OR: Rogue Smoke Ale
Ashland, OR: Caldera Pale Ale
Scotia, CA: Eel River Triple Exultation, American Strong Ale
San Diego, CA: Port Brewing Hop 15 Double IPA
Wo!


Amazing Beer & Food Pairings for Your BBQ Menus
Choose the right beer with your food and you'll have one heck of a party for your palette and your friends, and remember, the best pairing is the one you love.
Here's some ideas:

Lagers/Pilsners with chicken, grilled seafood, or hot & spicy dishes-
Try Silver City Keller Bier, Baron Pilsner, or Germany's Bitburger Pils. For a little more attitude and hops, check out Skagit River Dutch Girl Lager or Lagunitas Czech Style Pils. For something a little darker, but still palette cleansing, try a black lager like Baron's Schwarzbier or the bittersweet San Miguel Dark Lager.

Hoppy Pale Ales/IPA'S with sharp cheeses, spicy dishes, pork, beef, prime rib, steak, or grilled fish-

Try Boulder Beer Hazed & Infused Dry-Hopped Ale, Marin Brewing Mt. Tam Pale Ale, or Green Flash West Coast IPA. For a little more kick, try the 90 Minute IPA, or Port Brewing Hop-15.

Ambers/ESB'S can go with just about anything. Some easy-going choices that won't overpower your meal are Anderson Valley Boont Amber and Sierra Nevada ESB. For roasted, herbed veggies and peppers, you'll need something with a little more spine like Unibroue's Maudite, a more spicy Belgian-style Amber, or the hoppier Speakeasy Prohibition Amber.

Brown Ales/Lighter Smoked Ales can be amazing with a variety of green salads. Add some walnuts and a Lost Coast Downtown Brown, or c
andied walnuts can be balanced by the drier Snipes Mountain Coyote Moon Brown. For super-mega-deliciousness, add some smoked bacon chunks and roasted sunflower seeds with a Rogue's Smoke Ale and OH MY GOD!

Alts/Dunkels/Doppelbocks
will stand up to meatier, spicy, bratwursts perfectly. Try Pinkus Alt, Allgauer Cambonator, or Arlene's Pick, Der Hirsch-Brau Doppelbock for a hearty combination.

Porters/Stouts can take on any robust grilling from roasted peppers to BBQ sauce-drenched hamburgers, but consider them also for an after dinner stand alone or paired with creamy desserts. With something as simple as vanilla ice cream, these styles can make the magic
happen, especially Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout, or Arlene's Pick Nogne Porter.

Moment Beer: OK, the party's over, most of the clean-up is done, and it's time to visit with the remote and the ottoman. This is when you crack open a Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine and say to yourself, "You know, I do deserve great beer."

Upcoming Tastings:

Your next Beer Tasting 101 class is next week! No registration required.

Educate your palate on the bold and eccentric ales of Lagunitas Brewing Company.

Event Details:
Thu., Aug. 30, 2007, 6-8 pm
Tasting fee: $4 (cash only)

By the Bottle (360-696-0012)
104 W. Evergreen Blvd.
Vancouver, WA 98660

- Free street parking after 6 pm, or, park across from BTB after 5 pm
- Valid photo ID required, must be 21 years of age to sample

SAVE-THE DATE:
Sat., Sept. 15th, 2007, 6pm-8pm
North Coast Brewing/Leiffman's

Camas Farmers Market Hosting Farm to Table Gala

Camas, Wash. (August 20, 2008)— The Camas Farmerʼs Market presents the FARM TO TABLE GALA to benefit the Camas Farmers Market. Join us for the event of the season, celebrating the harvest and community. Dinner will be prepared by Peter Echeverio, using produce and ingredients from local area farms. Echeverio was previously the sous chef at Roots and was trained at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York. Echeverio will design and direct preparation of your delectable dinner using seasonal produce and ingredients from local area farms. Entertainment will be provided and a raffle will take place as well.

When:
Saturday September 6, 2008

Where:
Farside Farms
4510 NW McIntosh Rd, Camas - MAP LINK

Schedule:
6:00 pm Wine Tasting and Appetizers
7:00 pm Multi-course Dinner

The Details:
• $50 per person
Please purchase your ticket by August 31st online at http://www.camasfarmersmarket.org, at the Camas Farmers Market on Saturdays from 9:00am-1:00 pm or at The Uncommon Gift or by mailing a check made payable to Camas Farmers Market to:

The Market office located within The Uncommon Gift
415 NE 4th Avenue
Camas, WA 98607

• Be a gala sponsor and get a table for 10, plus special mention and signage for your group, preferential seating, plus extra goodies: all for $750

• Donations are welcome and vital to the continual growth of the market—your source for fresh and local food!

• Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.camasfarmersmarket.org

Farm to Table Gala Menu

Fresh from the Farm Appetizer Buffet
Mediterranean Salsa
Hummus
Fresh Seasonal Fruit
Marinated Goat Cheese
Roasted, Seasonal Vegetables
Garlic Crostini
Breadsticks and Flatbread

Salad Course
Local Greens with Plums & Blue Cheese tossed with a Sherry Shallot Vinaigrette

Dinner
Grilled, Spice Rubbed Pork Loin with Herb Rice & Summer Ratatouille

Dessert Platter
Heavenly Brownies
Seasonal Berries
Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

Contact: Carren Senn Walker at 360-838-1032
http://www.camasfarmersmarket.org/

Farm Connect Delivery List - 8/28

Mint Tea (our evening delivery location at 21st & Main St.) is now serving food! They serve food Monday-Saturday from 8am-6pm, Sunday 10am-3pm. Anna Petruolo is chef'ing -- if you don't know Anna, you'll get a chance to meet her at the VFC Harvest Dinner on 9/19th! More info coming on that! Meanwhile, visit Mint Tea for some yummy foods, made with many local foods -- be sure to request DCF cheese ;-)

The "CSA" discount pricing options are for people who pre-pay for the month, and pick up weekly. Ask for details! You’ll find us this week in our brown/grey minivan. ~S

To order, click here and specify what you would like.

All checks go to "Dee Creek Farm", or bring cash.

**BRING YOUR OWN BAG**

We fill pre-orders first, then it’s first come, first served! We do mostly pre-orders at deliveries, rather than Farmers Market style.

Please help us in this by pre-ordering what you can!

Pastured Poultry Chicken Livers & Hearts, $3/lb
We will have FRESH livers & hearts this Thursday. Livers are in 2# packages, hearts are in 1/2#'s.

Cheeses,
Aged Feta, $5.50/container retail, $5.00/container CSA
Creamy crumbles of unpasteurized aged feta from DCF to top your salad, pasta, or olive ciabatta from Julia Bakery (yum!). The perfect treat for a warm summer day! Hoping to be inspected Thursday morning for chevre (soft cheese), but that means it won't be ready until Saturday at the VFM.

Eggs,
$4/dozen retail, $3.75/dozen CSA $2.75/dozen for the "small and/or stained" eggsWe will fill DCF egg CSA's first, but this week we have extra from our farm. Also recycle your DCF egg cartons with us!

Raw Honey,
Pint $7Quart $12Honey in Comb, $12 per packageTaking orders for next week: Half Gallon $18, Gallon $32Packaged in glass or plastic jars, this delicious raw honey comes from Honey House Farm in Brush Prairie.

Produce,
Blueberries, $3.75/pint, $2.60/half-pint (or $25/half-pint flat, $38/pint-flat -- 12 per flat)Heirloom Tomatoes, $3.50/lb -- they're absolutely beautiful & delish!
Walla Walla Onions, $1.50/lb
Red Torpedo Onions, $2.10/lb
Cipollini Onions, $3/lb
All of these fruits & veggies comes from NW Organic in Ridgefield, certified organic!

Pickling Cucumbers, 5 for $1, or 60 for $10
Slicing Burpless Cucumbers, $.75/each
Zucchini, $0.65/each
These are spray-free (not certified organic) and come from Wiggins Farm in Woodland. The pickling cukes are about 3", the burpless are up to 16"+! Everything will be picked Thursday morning!

Wild Eats,
Fresh Picked Wild Mountain Huckleberries, $4.50/half-pint, $25/for 6 half pints (a half flat), $45/12 half-pints (a full flat)
Mushrooms, Fresh -Cultivated Maitake (Hen of the Woods), $4/bag
Organic Shitake, $3/bag
Yellow Chanterelles, $4.50/bag
Lobster, $4/bag
The above comes from Nature's Choice, a Vancouver business, operated by a couple who collects & sells wild eats. The mushrooms come in white paper bags, weighing 1/4# each.

Fresh Herbs,
$2/bundle 3 large sprigs of sage, or 6-8i nch sprigs of rosemary. These are organically grown (no chemicals, sprays, etc). "My pesticide is ladybugs and birds" says this city gardener - with an extra large herb garden! She'll be at the downtown delivery only with these yummy fresh herbs!

All-Natural Soap,
$4/bar Garden Guardian from DCF is full of wonderful essential oils that are beneficial for hard-working hands, and is a great exfoliant for those dirty finger nails. Go and dig in, you can still look nice for dinner guests! Friendly to sensitive skin, as it's all-natural.

Produce & Poultry CSA's Reminder
This week is the middle of the season for poultry and produce. We generally take this week "off", but our POULTRY CSA's will be delivered as usual. This means that your last CSA date will be 10/25 instead. For folks who get PRODUCE, we are taking this week off, and will see you next, through 10/31! For all CSA'ers, this week and next are when the second half of your CSA payment is DUE.

To order for later:

Grassfed Beef
Taking a waiting list for grassfed beef to be harvested in September. They are Limousin cows, fed from a pasture and orchard ground fall - no grains ever. Anticipated price is $2/lb hanging weight (approx. 500lbs whole), plus butcher fees (Battle Ground butcher shop). More coming, but you can join the waiting list now for details!

Pastured Poultry Chicken - $3/lb and upTurkey - $25/bird deposit to order for Fall, $3.50/lb at harvest (minus deposit)Our weekly CSA is SOLD OUT. We are taking orders for 10/31. If you order 5 or more, you get 10% off. Remember we will have NO chickens again until May!

Nourishing Traditions Cookbook, $15 - note better price than expected! Nourishing Traditions "cookbooks" are on the press, and will arrive in 2 weeks. Since we are buying in bulk, we can get them for 40% off, at $15 each, no shipping/tax. Great price! If anyone wants to pre-order one, let me know!

Summer
Email: summer@deecreekfarm.com
Farm Phone: 360-225-9711
Cell Phone: 360-903-6956 (no service at the Farm)

Cheapest Worm Castings Anywhere!!

This is a HECK of a deal from Doug Knippel @ NW Redworms and just in time for your fall gardening too.

Northwest Redworms

Vermicompost(redworm castings)

5 gal (1/4" screened) vermicompost $8 per bucket ($1.60 gal)
5 gal (1/16" screened) vermicompost $12 ($2.40 gal). Perfect for brewing worm tea.
30 gal(1/4" screened) $40 ($1.33 gal)
30 gal(1/16" screened) $60. ($1.67 gal)

Compost runoff also available $1 per gallon. Very limited suppply. It's as black as coffee and very concentrated.

BYOB (Bring your own bucket) or buy a bucket for $3

While supplies last. I am in the process of emptying several of my compost bins and I have lots of castiings, but they do go fast. The unscreend vermicompost will still have several redworms and egg capsules.

Customer verified "good stuff"!! Mix with your garden, around your trees or add to your potting soil.

This is the real black gold that is super concentrated, water soluable and naturally bonds with your plants root systems, preventing the nutrients from washing away like your standard chemical fertilizer. They are also full of benificial organisms that strengthen a plants root system and resistance to disease.

Northwest Redworms
806 NE 202 Ave, Camas WA 98607
360-513-7251
dpk1962@hotmail.com
http://northwestredworms.com

Medium Can Be Beautiful Too - by Jim & Diane Hunter

When Ossie Bladine came out to interview us for his "Is farming dead in Clark County?" story, he kept trying to bring us back to the theme of solutions and alternatives. He mentioned plans for the Clark County Railroad, so we figured that base was covered. But the plans he reported on for a network of walking and riding trails wasn't exactly what we had in mind.

Basically, in the press we've seen two polar opposite ideas for the railroad. The conventional development community wants to build a heavy industrial park, right here in Brush Prairie. The "green" folk want trails, paths and greenways. A few folks have pointed out that the two visions are incompatible. When a train loaded with gravel spooks your horse on the bridle path, will the County be liable?

Our vision is somewhere in between. Jim articulated about a year ago in the following piece:

DREAM A little DREAM, CLARK COUNTY, May, 2007

I have a confession to make. Six months ago I turned into a NIMBY. It wasn't the asphalt plant proposed for half a mile away that made me a NIMBY, it was the news that in revising our County's Comprehensive Plan,our government officials had given up on agriculture as a resource in our county, and that they planned to convert 4700 acres of land they had previously protected as a critical resource to residential and industrial use.

Now let me say right up front, that I don't think NIMBY is a fair term.If someone calls you a NIMBY, your first response should be, "OK, how about your back yard." Unless your accusers says yes to their backyard,don't let them cow you.

Now right about the time I was becoming a NIMBY, County Commissioner Steve Stuart was dreaming a dream. It was a dream of a sustainable Clark County, and he presented it in his "State of the County" address. In preparing for my NIMBY-ish appointment with Stuart to express my concerns about agriculture resource land, I read the speech. At first, my NIMBY rage blinded me to the possibilities.

When Stuart spoke of a "sustainable street of dreams," and a "sustainable technology research park," I imagined a street of multimillion dollar energy efficient "McMansions" and a sprawling single story industrial park in the middle of the thousand acres of dairy land about a half mile from our little farm, and I said, "NOT IN MY BACKYARD."

And so for the last six months I have been downloading reports and maps,talking to county officials and trying to stir my friends and associates to action. After watching Bleak House on OPB for the second time, my wife Diane turned to me and said, Jim, the Comprehensive Plan is your Jarndyce and Jarndyce.

Well I had all the passion and pallor of Richard Carsten when I marched into the County's Open House on the plan last Wednesday, and instead of a court room where I could plead my case, all I found was a roomful of county planners, working late to answer my questions about the plan. It soon became clear that they weren't the folks that could judge my case,they were just lowly clerks. One might have been the ambitious Mr.Guppy, another Mr. Tulkinghorn's world weary Clem, or the earnest Mr.Snagsby.

I told them my concerns, trying not to brow beat the messengers, and went home with my usual post-meeting headache. But, behold, in the night my NIMBY fever broke and scales fell from my eyes, and I awoke, no longer a NIMBY, but transformed to a WIWIMBY.

Now what in the "dickens" (pun intended) is a WIWIMBY? "WIWIMBY" stands for "What I Want In My Backyard." You see, that evening I learned something. The Comprehensive Plan is an opportunity for folks to dream.I also learned that folks that don't live in my backyard, do my dreaming for me. Some agencies out there came up with a whopper of a dream forthe Dairy in my backyard. You see a railroad runs through it. And a regional agency thinks we need more industrial land. And an entrepreneur from far away dreams of making money on that railroad. And the county owns the railway and leased it to the entrepreneur, and they said they'd help him make it pay. And so the County is rezoning our neighborhood dairy agricultural resource land to industrial.

Well I quizzed our county planners about this dream, and it really is just a dream. Besides the asphalt plant, there are no tenants for this industrial park. There are no plans yet developed for how to manage the conflict between rail traffic and automobile traffic. It is all"conceptual" (read "a dream"), and it may never happen. The dairy will be grand fathered, but it won't be able to expand, and when the dairyman is ready to retire, it will be reserved for industry.
Well the scales fell, when I realized if all these other folks are dreaming about my back yard, why can't I. And in fact, when I went back to look at Commissioner Stuart's speech, he asked us to tell him our sustainable dreams.

And so Mr. Stuart, here is my dream for my backyard. I dream that that dairy will stay right where it is. I know folks say that the dairy industry is dying in Clark County, and much of it has. The farmers who left said it's a whole lot easier to meet environmental regs east of the Mountains where it's dry and that's where I get my hay from anyway.

But this dairy has been refined in that firestorm. Those wide flat acres that look so good for an industrial park are the perfect place fora dairy waste lagoon and good drainable class I soil to absorb the excess liquid waste. Those acres also grow a whole lot of feed that doesn't have to be shipped over the mountains. And at least some of those dairies that shipped their herds out to Idaho are now growing feed for the one dairy and raising its heifers. That's one pretty substantial reality to push out of the way for a dream. So let's keep that dairy.Maybe some of that stinky gas we complain about could be captured and scrubbed and sold to the neighborhood as bio gas. Maybe we could start a little cheese factory.

And what about that railroad. Well maybe it's a sustainable alternative to all that traffic congestion we'll generate when we put McMansions on the rest of those 4700 acres of agricultural resource land. What if we hop skipped over that farmland. And what if we used that railway we own as the trunk for extending planned sustainable development into the less productive lands in the east of the county. Small densely populated developments could be sited along the line. Villages like Brush Prairie, Old Town Battle Ground, Heisson and Yacolt could be revitalized. And rather than one big industrial park, what about zoning small areas in these villages to employ people right there, adding value to the agricultural and forest products these areas produce. Each could also have small commercial areas for a grocer, a baker, a local foods restaurant and a local hardware. Those that couldn't find work in the village could ride a commuter line into the city. Or how about we use the rail line to bring goods and services to the villages. The Vancouver Food Coop or a Countywide farmers market could ride the rails, spending a day in each village, a book rail car could hold a lot more books than a bookmobile, a mobile health clinic could serve the growing population of aging boomers who could live in condo villages along the line.

These villages could be tightly built, sharing walls for energy efficiency, but they would be spread out in natural settings, where many more could share the vistas that the McMansions now compete with farmers to purchase, and the small but dense development would leave room for community gardens to serve the villages and "fields of dreams" where new young farmers could grow the County's budding local food sector.

This rail line into rural Clark County could also carry our crowded urbanites out for a day in the country, passing within walking distance of such attractions as Bi Zi Farms, The Cedars Golf Course, Old Town Battle Ground, Battle Ground Lake, The Historic Allworth Mill, Historic Heisson, Pomeroy Farm, Lucia Falls Park, Moulton Falls Park, Historic Yacolt and Historic Amboy.

Well it's just a dream, but it's a sustainable dream, and that's what the good commissioner asked for.

So that's this humble farmers dream for our backyard, what's yours? Write it down and send it to the Clark County Board of County Commissioners, subject line: input on the Comprehensive Plan Update. [In 2008, send that to the Rural Lands Task Force or the Agricultural Preservation Advisory Committee]

Postscript, August 2008. It warms our heart to see that someone else shares at least a portion of our vision. A new development in Battle Ground, called "Battle Ground Village" borders the city's industrial area and offers buildings where folks can live and operate a business. They have graciously agreed to host the nascent Battle Ground Farmers Market, and guess what, they're gussied up right next to the Clark County Railroad.

Just one more idea for the hopper. Fifteen years ago when I worked on a small private timber farm, the local tree farmers were just discovering alder as an alternative crop. Those trees ought to be maturing any day know. Could the rail line haul that alder out from those private tree farms to a local furniture factory in Battle Ground Village or somewhere else along the line?

Diane & Jim Hunter
Hunter's Greens CSA
http://huntersgreens.com
Brush Praire, WA.
(360) 256-3788
greens@huntersgreens.com

TONIGHT - Speaker to address Food’s Role in Washington State History

Date: Thursday, August 21, 2008 7 PM
Where: Clark County Historical Museum, 1511 Main Street, Vancouver, WA 98660
Contact: Museum Staff, (360) 993-5679 or tissots@pacifier.com.
Admission is FREE

CLARK COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM HOSTS:
Food for All Ages:
What the Meals We Feed Our Children Reveal About Washington State History
A Lecture by Dr. Candice Goucher, Professor of History, Washington State University & Affiliate with the Center for Columbia River History

The Clark County Historical Museum, VANCOUVER, is featuring a free lecture in conjunction with their hosting of the Smithsonian exhibit, Key Ingredients: America By Food, which delves into the historical, regional and social traditions that merge in everyday meals and celebrations of the American table.

Working in cooperation with the Center for Columbia River History and Washington State University, on Thursday August 21, 2008 at 7 PM, Dr. Candice Goucher will speak on, Food for All Ages: What the Meals We Feed Our Children Reveal About Washington State History. The lecture will be given inside the Clark County Historical Museum and is free and open to the public. Participants will also be able to view the current exhibits at the museum, including Key Ingredients, Boomer! and Woven History: Native American Basketry.

According to Dr. Goucher, food memories from childhood provide the most intimate and earliest traces of cultural identity and collectively build the foundations of the individual’s lifetime in the shared community beyond the walls of home. The study of food can stimulate comparisons of “then and now” and “mine and yours,” fueling the historical imagination in ways that offer unique insights into cultural identity and place our own personal experience in relation to the wider world. This lecture will focus on the last two centuries of the history of food in Washington State from the unique perspective of childhood. Among the most vulnerable in society, children can reflect both the cultural continuities inherited from families and the changes forged through wider social interactions. Together these forces create the dynamic experience of the modern world, at once a recipe for exploring the global dimensions of multicultural differences and the homogenizing sameness of our twenty-first century cuisines. Ultimately, what children ate and what they didn’t eat reveals much about our shared values. What food choices have we made in the past? What can the meals from the past tell us about how our future tastes are likely to be shaped? The lecture will be illustrated and presented in a PowerPoint format.

WHAT”S UP NEXT: On Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 7 PM Chef Aaron Chapin will speak on the, Culinary Footprints of Clark County. Chapin’s lecture and demonstration will focus on sustainable cooking with an emphasis on buying local and eating what is in season. For more information contact the Clark County Historical Museum at (360) 993-5679 or visit: www.cchmuseum.org or www.keyingredients.org.

CLARK COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM INFORMATION: The Clark County Historical Museum is housed in Vancouver’s 1909 Carnegie Library which is located at 1511 Main St. Vancouver, WA 98660. Regular museum hours are: Tuesday through Saturday 11-4 PM. Admission rates apply. The museum is also open first Thursday evenings from 5-9 PM for First Thursday Museum After Hours. A wheelchair accessible entrance to the museum is located on the east side of the museum building accessed from 16th street.

Farm Connect - Addendum for Today's Delivery

Lacto-fermented Sauerkraut, $7/pint
We have a very limited amount of lacto-fermented sauerkraut (made with spray-free cabbage from Martinez Farm - found at the Vancouver Farmers Market). Refund of $.50 per jar if returned clean.

Chicken Livers & Hearts, $3/lb
Livers are in 2# packages, hearts are in 1/2#'s. They're fresh!

Produce,
Heirloom Tomatoes, $3.50/lb -- not as large because of late season
Walla Walla Onions, $1.50/lb
Red Torpedo Onions, $2.10/lb
Cipollini Onions, $3/lb
All of this produce comes from NW Organic in Ridgefield, certified organic!

Farm Connect Delivery - 8/21/08

The "CSA" discount pricing options are for people who pre-pay for the month, and pick up weekly. Ask for details! You’ll find us this week in our brown/grey minivan. ~S

We'll be at the Vancouver Farmers Market on Saturday!

To order, click here and specify what you would like. All checks go to "Dee Creek Farm", or bring cash.

**BRING YOUR OWN BAG**

We fill pre-orders first, then it’s first come, first served! We do mostly pre-orders at deliveries, rather than Farmers Market style. Please help us in this by pre-ordering what you can!

Grassfed Beef
Taking a waiting list for grassfed beef to be harvested in September. They are Limousin cows, fed from a pasture and orchard ground fall - no grains ever. Anticipated price is $2/lb hanging weight (approx. 500lbs whole), plus butcher fees (Battle Ground butcher shop). More coming, but you can join the waiting list now for details!

Pastured Poultry Chicken
$3/lb and upTurkey - $25/bird deposit to order for Fall, $3.50/lb at harvest (minus deposit)Our weekly CSA is SOLD OUT. We are taking orders for 10/16 and 10/31. If you order 5 or more, you get 10% off. Remember we will have NO chickens again until May!

Cheeses
Aged Feta, $5.50/container retail, $5.00/container CSA Creamy crumbles of unpasteurized aged feta from DCF to top your salad, pasta, or olive ciabatta from Julia Bakery (yum!). The perfect treat for a warm summer day! We’re hoping to have soft cheeses possibly as early as next week!

Eggs
$4/dozen retail, $3.75/dozen CSA $2.75/dozen for the "small and/or stained" eggsWe will fill DCF egg CSA's first, but this week we have extra from our farm, as well as the Taylor Made Ranch, so order if you'd like some. Also recycle your DCF egg cartons with us!

Raw Honey
Pint $7, Quart $12, Half Gallon $18, Honey in Comb $12 per package. Packaged in glass or plastic jars, this delicious raw honey comes from Honey House Farm in Brush Prairie.

Produce
Blueberries, $3.75/pint, $2.60/half-pint (or $25/half-pint flat, $38/pint-flat -- 12 per flat)These berries come from NW Organic in Ridgefield, certified organic!

Pickling Cucumbers, 5 for $1, or 60 for $10Slicing Burpless Cucumbers, $.65/each

Zucchini, $0.50/eachThese are spray-free (not certified organic, but otherwise up to par) and come from Wiggins Farm in Woodland. You can take a bundle to pickle, ferment, or slice up at home. The pickling cukes are about 3", the burpless are up to 16"+! Everything will be picked Thursday morning!

Dill Pickles, Naturally Pickled, $5/pint ($.50 refund w/returned jar)Made here at DCF with Wiggins' Farms delicious cucumbers, mustard seeds, and dill from the Martinez Farms, who 'booth' at the Vancouver Farmers Market.

Wild Eats
Fresh Picked Wild Mountain Huckleberries, $4.50/half-pint (or $25/half-pint flat, $45/full-pint flat)]Mushrooms, Fresh -Cultivated Maitake (Hen of the Woods), $4/bag
Organic Shitake $3/bag
The above comes from Nature's Choice, a Vancouver business, operated by a couple who collects & sells wild eats. The mushrooms come in white paper bags, weighing 1/4# each. We are very excited to have these to offer! As all things, varieties will change with the season!

Fresh Herbs
$2/bundle 3 large sprigs of sage, or 6-8inch sprigs of rosemary. These are organically grown (no chemicals, sprays, etc). "My pesticide is ladybugs and birds" says this city gardener - with an extra large herb garden! She'll be at the downtown delivery only with these yummy fresh herbs!

Nourishing Traditions Cookbook $15 - note better price than expected!I'll be placing an order in one week (hopefully) for a couple of boxes of Nourishing Traditions "cookbooks". Since we are buying in bulk, we can get them for 40% off, at $15 each, no shipping/tax. Great price! If anyone wants to pre-order one, let me know! We need 8 to get at least one box.

Kombucha Scoby
Dairy Kefir "Grains"FREE For anyone up for the task, I’ve a couple of extra kombucha scoby’s and some dairy kefir grains. If you don’t know what it is, Google it!

All-Natural Soap,
$4/barGarden Guardian from DCF is full of wonderful essential oils that are beneficial for hard-working hands, and is a great exfoliant for those dirty finger nails. Go and dig in, you can still look nice for dinner guests! Friendly to sensitive skin, as it's all-natural.

Produce & Poultry CSA's Reminder
For those who have signed up for monthly or seasonal CSA's with Dee Creek Farm, don't forget to pick up your fresh produce straight from the gardens, and natural, pasture-raised poultry, eggs, and cheese! Any extra will be available for sale at deliveries.

WIN FREE FOOD THIS WEEK – How Well Do You Know Your Farm?

Quiz Question:
As per a few questions last week, what does "DCF" stand for throughout this email?

EMAIL YOUR ANSWER!

The first person that emails me the right answer* will win a bag of FREE organic Shitake mushrooms from Nature's Choice, to be redeemed at Thursday deliveries. The correct answer will be emailed shortly!

*1 answer per email address.

SummerEmail: summer@deecreekfarm.com
Farm Phone: 360-225-9711
Cell Phone: 360-903-6956 (no service at the Farm)

Clark County Agriculture: CSAs Matter - By Jim & Diane Hunter

When Ossie Bladine of the Vancouver Voice was out to interview us for his "Is farming dead in Clark County?" article, we handed him the Globalwise, Inc. study. If we'd been scripting the scene for a movie, Jim would have slapped it down on the table and said, "Read it and weep, kid."

And Ossie did us proud, evoking our own angry tears with the following,

In the section about the future of agriculture in Clark County, the 2006 report stated "agriculture as a 'side line' or lifestyle activity will probably continue" The tone of that kind of thinking negates many farms' reason for existence.

Right on, Ossie! The "lifestyle activity" characterization of farming angered Jim long before we took up the gauntlet and bent our backs to the hoe twelve years ago. It's just another way for those with other agendas to dismiss what we do as unimportant or irrelevant. But until the last year or so, we have sometimes had difficulty justifying our tiny existence in the big picture. How does feeding vegetables to forty of the tens of thousands of families in Clark County make a difference in a globalized food system.

To fully appreciate the difference made by Hunters' Greens, Davie Maxwell's Hidden Oasis and the umpteen new CSAs that have popped up in Clark County, it might be interesting to take an IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE look at Clark County if we weren't here.

First of all, if the Hunters and the Maxwells hadn't gone out on a limb and started their farms over a decade ago, where would the CSA movement be in Clark County today? It would be the Storytree Farms and Rosemattel CSAs of the next wave, that would be breaking new ground, and the CSA explosion of the last year might be another ten years off. The CSA movement might be serving a couple dozen families, rather than pushing the thousand mark.

And if the Anne Lawrences, Brenda Stantons and Summer Steinbargers were busy breaking new ground starting the first CSAs, would they have the time to be out starting new farmers markets, advocating for agricultural preservation and building the food co-op movement.

And if all these folks weren't out ringing the bell for a local food system in Clark County, would any of us have anything to answer to the question: "Is farming dead in Clark County?"

But let's back up and look at the small but significant difference that these farms are making to other aspects of life in Clark County. Growing veggies for forty families may not seem like a lot, but over ten years that's one big "manure" load of lettuce. And speaking of manure, growing all that lettuce has converted uncounted pick up loads of manure from a non-point pollution source to a valuable resource. Now multiply that lettuce and that manure by the umpteen CSAs that are now operating in the county. And at the current rate of growth of CSA's we'll be multiplying those lettuces by a hundred before you know it.

Now take the ten acres of prime wildlife habitat that Hunters' Greens is providing, contributing to the riparian buffer along Salmon Creek. Now multiply that by umpteen, now multiply that by a hundred.

Now take those ten acres times umpteen or a hundred, and times that by the six Mcmansions to the acre that would pop up if we all had thrown up our hands, said farming is dead in Clark County and sold out to developers. Think about the roads, schools, police and fire protection, sewer, water, power and telephone lines that all of our taxes would be stretched to provide. Think about the two wage earners in each of those houses that would be commuting across interstate bridges to jobs in Portland, generating wealth and tax income for Oregon, and likely spending a lot of their consumer dollars there.

As farmers we don't earn and spend the $40,000 family wage jobs the County thinks will solve our problems, but we earn our humble umpteen thousands by creating wealth from water and sunlight right here in Clark County, we spend it here, we pay taxes on it here, and we don't need new Interstate bridges to create it. And perhaps the modest umpteen thousands that we live on may seem like a "sideline" to the hundred thousand dollar executives that want to run our lives, but they provide enough for us to live humbly and sustainably. That's two times umpteen or a hundred family wage jobs that the County doesn't need to chase asphalt plants and sprawling industrial parks to create. And what if some umpteen thousand of those $40,000 family wage earners saw how happy and fulfilling our humble lives were, decided to jump off the corporate commuter treadmill and decided to start small, sustainable, home grown Clark County businesses of their own. How would that change the face of Clark County? So to paraphrase Bob the Builder and his crew: "Do CSAs matter to Clark County?"

"YES WE DO!"

Diane & Jim Hunter,
Hunter's Greens CSA

Brush Praire, WA.

(360) 256-3788

http://huntersgreens.com
greens@huntersgreens.com

Wedding Bells Are Ringing...

So I got a call from my good friends Laura and Bill today asking me if I'd dust off my frock and officiate at their marriage ceremony in November. Many of you know Laura as a former mover and shaker at the Vancouver Farmers' market. Bill is the proprietor of Nature's Choice Wild Foods, but many of you probably know him as the Mushroom Guy from both the VFM and other local farmers' markets. What many of you may not know is that I'm a licensed minister. Pretty neat stuff, right?

Anyways, the reason I'm blogging about this is that my good friends would really like to have their ceremony at a local farm...but don't have a personal enough relationship with any of our local farmers to ask if they would be willing to rent some space in their barn (or their historic granary building...hint, hint). If any of you good folks are interested in helping out a couple of late-blooming lovebirds, who have a desire to join their families together on the fertile ground of a Clark County farm, please shoot me an e-mail and we can talk about it.

Thanks for entertaining my request and thanks for reading Clark County Food & Farm.

Free Farm/Garden Space Still Available

free organic garden

Reply to: sale-795310060@craigslist.org

Date: 2008-08-13, 1:00PM PDT

Organic farm/garden on 3 level irrigated acres. Must operate natural/organic gardens and maintain acreage. Produce stand included. Water and irrigation drip system included. Small orchard. Excellent location in center of historic Amboy village. Part of 4 acre complex including winery/distillery operation, tasting room, art gallery and crafts and local products market. Overall complex includes two historic homes, outbuildings, a winery/distillery building and barn/warehouse. Owner operates distillery, gallery and event/music venue. Formal tiered flower/herb gardens and patios.

360-686-3342

Nice Tractor, Jim!

Here's a picture of local philosopher, activist, animal rescuer, and author, Jim Hunter...Oh yeah, I heard a rumor that he moonlights as a CSA farmer as well. I guess this photo does provide a modicum of proof about the farmer thing. Check out the most current version of his ever-evolving and very cool website and sign up for a subscription to Hunters Greens CSA while you're at it. And it really is a nice tractor, Jim.

Drop the Appeal - by Jim & Diane Hunter

Drop the Appeal
Written by Jim and Diane Hunter
Sunday, 06 July 2008

Do Commissioners Steve Stewart and Mark Boldt care about farming in Clark County? Do they care about the community food security of our urban residents? Well maybe it's time to stop beating around the bush and ask them.

If Boldt and Stewart do care, they will join together, assert their independence and vote to halt the appeal of the Growth Management Board's ruling on farm land in Clark County. This action could save at least a thousand acres of prime farmland from being paved over.

Some may ask, "But what about the poor farmers who can't make a living on their land any more?" Well, we need to care about them too, but selling to developers isn't the only answer to their plight. The County could utilize designated funds, which can be matched with State and Federal dollars to offer these farmers a cash settlement to agree to keep their land in agriculture. Under this plan, called purchase of conservation easements. the farmers could withdraw at least a portion of the development value of their land now. When they decide to retire and sell the farm, they can capture the remainder of the value in sale to another farmer, at a price the farmer could afford.

Will it be as sweet as the deal the developers are promising in their other ear? Probably not, but given the state of housing economy, farmers need to ask whether that deal will come through in time to do them any good.

We need to save farm land in Clark County. Then we need to start building up our local farm and food economy.

The world and our economy are on a crash course for some serious hurt. When the hurt comes, do, we, the people of Clark County want to be able to feed ourselves? Or will we be content to spend more of our declining dollars lining the pockets of a few world traders, buying food of questionable safety, grown by poor people who don't have the right to protest the injustice of their working conditions?

Every crisis offers danger and opportunity. Write Commissioners Boldt and Stewart and tell them which future you would choose for Clark County's food system.

Clark County Agriculture: Do CSAs Count? - Jim & Diane Hunter

In the August, 2008 issue of the Vancouver Voice, Reporter Ossie Bladine asks the question: "Is farming dead in Clark County?" About a year and a half ago, our County Government was poised to answer "yes" to this question, and they had a Globalwise, Inc. study to back it up. As the land use debate heated up, plans to receive public comment on the study and its conclusions were dropped and the study was buried in an appendix. Without the controversial study, the main text of the County's Comprehensive Plan EIS contained less than half a page addressing plans to convert four thousand acres of agricultural resource lands to McMansion style development.

Back in early 2007, Jim and Diane were poised with pages of comments to submit to the hearing regarding the Globalwise study, but that hearing never came. So Ossie's article, dusting off this important question, offers us another chance.

First, allow us to point out ia glaring hole in the Globalwise study's data: fresh fruit and vegetables. The study admits that its data on Clark County contains no numbers on the value of fruits and vegetables grown in Clark County for fresh rather than processed consumption. And there we have Globalwise's answer to our title question: CSA's don't count, because Globalwise didn't bother to count them. Farmers like Joe Beaudoin of Joe's Place Farms or Bill Zimmerman of Bi-Zi Farms don't count because their businesses involve selling fresh produce direct to the public. Farms that sell fresh produce at Farmers Markets in Vancouver or Portland weren't counted. Even the rare large commercial farm that may have a contract with a supermarket for fresh produce doesn't count. None of us count from the Globalwise perspective.

Now, all the blame doesn't rest with Globalwise. They were just processing and manipulating the data that the U.S.D.A. census provided them. Fresh local produce didn't get on the U.S.D.A. census counters' questionnaire until this year. We anxiously await their results.

How much this changes the numbers Globalwise was working with is not the most important issue. The important issue is that the study glossed over the emerging nascent agricultural sector that offers the greatest hope for Clark County farmers and consumers.

But small farmers like ourselves were most alarmed by how Globalwise chose to define "commercial agriculture." The definition of "commercial agriculture" was critical to the County's plans, because in the Growth Management Act, it is "commercial agriculture" that is protected by the "agriculture resource lands" zoning designation. Globalwise chose to define "commercial agriculture" as agricultural business enterprises that generate forty thousand dollar per year "family wage" jobs.

Now in the hard nosed world of the neoclassical econometric measurement of the high tech North American economy, forty thousand dollars may seem a reasonable figure to apply to public policy choices. There's only one problem: agriculture never has and never will fit neatly into that econometric model. Ignoring this fact has far reaching and dire consequences.

Relying on the same U.S.D.A. source as Globalwise, somewhere around seventy percent of farms in the United States have GROSS receipts of less than $25,000. That is for the business. Net family income from the business that would meet Globalwise's "family wage" standard must by definition be a fraction of this figure. Conclusion: seventy percent of the farms nationwide don't even come close to this standard, from which we can infer that the percentage that do is a single digit figure.

In other words, measuring " commercial agriculture" by a forty thousand dollar family wage standard leads to the conclusion that commercial agriculture is viable in only two places: on a tiny number of U. S. mega farms that rely on mechanization, chemicals and a poorly paid transient labor supply to generate enough net dollars to pay for the overseer's family wage job, or in the third world where no such standards apply. The only conclusion that to be reached using the Globalwise standard is that agriculture is dead, not only in Clark County, but in ninety-nine out of a hundred counties in the nation.

Is this a standard by which we want to plan for the future of our food supply?

It's time for Globalwise, Inc. and the Clark County Commissioners to get "LOCALWISE".

Diane & Jim Hunter, greens@huntersgreens.com
Hunter's Greens CSA,
http://huntersgreens.com
Brush Praire, WA.
(360) 256-3788

Clark County Agriculture: A Fresh Voice - Jim & Diane Hunter

A special thank you from Jim & Diane Hunter of Hunters' Greens CSA

Clark County Agriculture: A Fresh Voice

We want to send out a huge thank you to reporter Ossie Bladine of the
Vancouver Voice for jolting our muse out of her late summer slumber.
Check out his article: "Is farming dead in Clark County?" in the August
issue. And a thank you to Hunters' Greens CSA member Mike Williams
for providing us with a clipping service during our harvest madness.

Ossie is brand new to town, and as such is able to approach the
agricultural crisis in Clark County with the fresh eyes of an outsider
(like an anthropologist describing a remote Pacific Island culture for
the first time).

What Ossie has done for the jaded eyes of our muse is to raise a whole
range of issues to which she is dying to sing, such as: "Do small CSA
farms count as commercial agriculture?", "Bringing Schumacher Home to
the First World", "Development Rights: Who's Selling What to Whom?",
"Medium can be Beatiful Too". So let's get started. And Thanks again
Ossie.


Diane & Jim Hunter, greens@huntersgreens.com
Hunter's Greens CSA, http://huntersgreens.com
Brush Praire, WA. (360) 256-3788

Farm Connect Availability List for 8/14 Delivery

What is Farm Connect you ask? It's the BEST way to get farm fresh products from local farmers...at least when one of our excellent farmers' markets aren't open for business. I wrote all about it here

Be sure to order today if you'd like something tomorrow. And remember, anyone can order anything. Notice the extended times, and new location!

The "CSA" discount pricing options are for people who pre-pay for the month, and pick up weekly. Ask for details! You’ll find us this week in our brown/grey minivan. ~S

To order, send e-mail to summer@deecreekfarm.com and specify what you would like.

All checks go to "Dee Creek Farm", or bring cash.
**BRING YOUR OWN BAG**
We fill pre-orders first, then it’s first come, first served!
We do mostly pre-orders at deliveries, rather than Farmers Market style.
Please help us in this by pre-ordering what you can!

Grassfed Beef
Sold out! More coming in late-September! Do you want on the waiting list?

Pastured Poultry
Chicken - $3/lb and up
Turkey - $25/bird deposit to order for Fall, $3.50/lb at harvest (minus deposit)
We are now taking orders for DCF chickens, mid-August through late-October, turkeys for Fall. Possible delivery options with other produce CSA farms as well. Email for info!

Cheeses,
Aged Feta, $5.50/container retail, $5.00/container CSA
Creamy crumbles of unpasteurized aged feta from DCF to top your salad, pasta, or olive ciabatta from Julia Bakery(yum!). The perfect treat for a warm summer day! We’re hoping to have milk & soft cheeses by late-August!

Eggs,
$4/dozen retail, $3.75/dozen CSA
$2.75/dozen for the "small and/or stained" eggs
We will fill DCF egg CSA's first, but this week we have extra from our farm, as well as the Greyfields Farm, so email if you'd like some. Also recycle your DCF egg cartons with us!

Raw Honey,
Pint $7
Quart $12
Half Gallon $18
Gallon $32
Honey in Comb, $12 per package
Packaged in glass or plastic jars, this delicious raw honey comes from Honey House Farm in Brush Prairie.

Kombucha Scoby,
FREE
For anyone up for the task, I’ve a couple of kombucha scoby’s. If you don’t know what it is, Google it!

All-Natural Soap,
$4/bar
Garden Guardian from DCF is full of wonderful essential oils that are beneficial for hard-working hands, and is a great exfoliant for those dirty finger nails. Go and dig in, you can still look nice for dinner guests! Friendly to sensitive skin, as it's all-natural.

Produce,
Garlic, $3/lb. small heads (7-8 heads)
Walla Walla Onions, $1.50/lb
Red Torpedo Onions, $2.10/lb
Cipollini Onions, $3/lb
Blueberries, $3.75/pint, $2.60/half-pint (or $38/pint-flat, $25/half-pint flat -- 12 per flat)
All of this produce comes from NW Organic in Ridgefield, certified organic!

Pickling Cucumbers, 5 for $1, or 60 for $10 -- requested that they be smaller than last week
Slicing Burpless Cucumbers, $.65/each
Zucchini, $0.50/each
These are spray-free (not certified organic, but otherwise up to par) and come from Wiggins farm Woodland. They have them in boxes, and so you can take a bundle to pickle, ferment, or slice up at home. The pickling cukes are about 3", the slicing are up to 16"+! Everything will be picked tomorrow morning! Since working with us, they've connected with the Camas Farmers Market - they'll be there Saturday!

Nourishing Traditions Cookbook, $20
I'll be placing an order in two weeks (hopefully) for a couple of boxes of Nourishing Traditions "cookbooks". Since we are buying in bulk, we can get them for 30% off, at $20 each, no shipping/tax. Great price! If anyone wants to pre-order one, let me know! We need 8 to get at least one box.

Produce & Poultry CSA's Reminder
For those who have signed up for monthly or seasonal CSA's with Dee Creek Farm, don't forget to pick up your fresh produce straight from the gardens, and natural, pasture-raised poultry, eggs, and cheese! Any extra will be available for sale at deliveries.

Email: summer@deecreekfarm.com
Farm Phone: 360-225-9711
Cell Phone: 360-903-6956 (no service at the Farm)

This Lawn Is Your Lawn...

...a YouTube video made by some folks who are double-dog daring the next dingus who will be be our President to plant a vegetable garden at the White House and utilize the produce to feed his family. Can't say I've heard of a better idea lately....aside from installing taxi cab meters in police cars...but that's a whole other story. Anyways, it's well worth squandering four minutes and fifty two seconds of your life to watch.

This Lawn Is Your Lawn

P.S. - Anyone know if our "Green" county commissioner Steve Stuart or Mark "Good ol' Boy" Boldt has a vegetable garden planted? Or maybe they are members of one of Clark County's many fine CSA farms? Both claim to be very concerned about preserving local agriculture....

Eat the View

Food Preservation Hotline

Wondering what to do with an abundance of fruits & veggies from your garden this year? Always wanted to "put up" some jam or tomato sauce like Grandma used to do, but not sure where to start? Well you're in luck! The good folks at WSU Clark County Ag Extension offer a Food Safety Hotline that you can call and get qualified help. Here's the scoop:

Food Safety and Nutrition Hotline

An educator or a trained volunteer can answer your questions about food safety, food preservation or basic nutrition issues Monday through Friday 9am – 4pm, at 360-397-6060. If no one is available to answer your call, please leave a message and you will receive a return call within 24 hrs.

Also, here's a link to the Extension's Frequently Asked Questions page on their web site:

WSU Extension FAQ web page

Another Vermicomposting Class @ NW Redworms

This just in from vermmeister, Doug Knippel of NW Redworms:

September 15, Vermicompost Class, 1 pm.
Seats available - $12 (Camas)

Redworm Compost (Vermicompost) Class

I have enjoyed meeting many of my customers and now friends in the process of getting them started on composting. I have given many facility tours while answering questions, due to a lack of time I can no longer do that for each customer. So, I have created this class for those who want to: I will be posting additional information on my website www.northwestredworms.com under vermicompost class. Learn about composting organic waste, types of compost, types of compost systems and how they work the use and benefits of composting and using redworms, soil biology and chemistry, worm biology setting up a compost system, building up your compost and harvesting your product.

This Seminar will include approximately one hour of instruction, visual displays, handouts, a facility tour, and time for questions. About two hours total time. There is room for 10 adults (sorry no minors).

The meeting location will be at the "In The Woods Cat Chalet" at 806 NE 202 Ave, Camas WA 98607. The cost is $12 per person. If you wish to attend you may call (360)513-7251 or e-mail to reserve your seat.

Credit card payments are accepted through PayPal and by phone. Seats are paid for in advance (non refundable unless cancelled 3 days prior to class date or the class is cancelled).

I will be posting additional information on my website www.northwestredworms.com under vermicompost class. Don't let springtime catch you unprepared for your gardening fun. Also check out the Giant pumpkin contest.

Northwest Redworms
806 NE 202 Ave
Camas WA 98607
360-513-7251
To go to our website to sign up follow this link http://www.northwestredworms.com

Got Bees? How about Cucumbers? Ready to be a Farmer?

Want Bees?

I'm going to pass on a local source for bee hives to you. Here's his craigslist ad:

Bee Hives (Vancouver/Hazel Dell)

Reply to: sale-785276638@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-08-06, 7:41AM PDT

I got beehives for sale. Honey is GOOD. If interested please let me know 503-702-5938. Tony

Want to make pickles but can't find a good, affordable source of fresh pickling cukes? Give these folks a ring:

CUCUMBERS (Woodland)

Reply to: sale-787003364@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-08-07, 10:33AM PDT

No commercial fertilizer and no pesticide spray. Just picked this morning!
Pickling ten for $1.00. Slicing and burpless extra large $0.50 each.

793 Whalen Rd
Woodland, WA 98674
360-225-9380

Ready to give up the cubicle and try your hand at farming? (I heard a rumor that this site is also the location of the future Vulcan Spirits tasting room...talk about a great location!)
Check this out:

free organic garden

Reply to: sale-784712181@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-08-05, 5:56PM PDT

Organic farm/garden on 3 level irrigated acres. Must operate natural/organic gardens and maintain acreage. Produce stand included. Water and irrigation drip system included. Small orchard. Excellent location in center of historic Amboy village. Part of 4 acre complex including winery/distillery operation, tasting room, art gallery and crafts and local products market. Overall complex includes two historic homes, outbuildings, a winery/distillery building and barn/warehouse. Owner operates distillery, gallery and event/music venue. Formal tiered flower/herb gardens and patios. 360-686-3342

Camas Fresh Produce

Man oh man...I never cease to be amused by the old adage, "You learn something new every day." In fact, if you just keep your eyes & ears open, you'll probably learn two or three things every day. So one of the very cool things I learned today was that the folks in Camas have the good fortune of patronizing a locally owned, sustainably conscious, US farmer supporting produce market. I am positively green with envy. I have to shop at Fred Meyer if I can't make it to the Farmers' Market or the garden isn't producing....and let me tell you folks, even if you live close to the new, fancy Freddie's at Grand Central, the produce selection is usually sub-par, over or under ripe, and often over-priced (even when compared to New Seasons or Food Front).

Enough about me and more about Camas Fresh Produce. Apparently this small, locally owned market has only been flying under the radar for since 2004 and is being extremely well-received by the community. In fact, rumor has it, that they are optimistic enough about the future that there are plans for moving to a larger location and adding a bakery and butcher. Nice!

Here are a couple of links that will tell you a bit more about Camas Fresh and how to find them:

Article from the esteemed Vancouver Business Journal

Google Maps Info

NW Organics Farm New Website

OK. I'll admit the new NW Organics Farm website may have been up for a few months already, but I just found out about it today. Anyways, it's always nice to see another local farmer staking out a piece of virtual real estate on the WWW.

So now you know about the new website too. Go check it out, head on over to the farm, buy some of the best tomatoes this side of anywhere, and support the good folks at NW Organics.

FYI, if you're in the restaurant biz, NW Organics would looooooooooove to take on your produce needs. If you care about serving your patrons the highest quality product, then you owe it to yourself to see what Joyce & Greg can do for you and your kitchen.

NW Organic Farms
17713 NW 61st Avenue
Ridgefield, WA 98642
360-573-4868

Tour d'Organics Bike Ride/Farm Tour in Clark County

2008 Ride Details
OrganicAthlete Portland invites you to join us on September 6th, 2008 for the Tour D' Organics Portland. This year we are going to explore Vancouver and Clark County, Washington. We will have three ride options, 35, 65, and 100 mile routes.

Start/Finish Location:
All rides will start and finish in Portland at the Natural Capital Center, 721NW 9th Ave. Click here for a map.

Routes:
The ride options will all follow the same route into Vancouver and the first stop. From that point the 35 mile route will split from the 65 and 100 mile route. The 65 and 100 mile riders will ride on to the second stop at that point those routes will go in different directions. The 100 mile route will then join back with the 65 mile route on the way back to Portland. The course is a gentle rolling course with only a few short climbs.

We are currently working with the local farms to set up rest stops. We will have full details of each stop in the near future. Lunch will be provided after the ride and details of this will be posted soon.

Registration:

The 2008 Portland event fees are as follows:
35 mile - $40
65 mile - $50
100 mile- $55

10% discount if you register before June 30, 2008.
5% discount if you register before August 1st, 2008.

On the Road:
This is a fully supported ride. Bicycles are expected to be in good repair and riders should have a patch kit, pump, and tire irons. Helmets are required.

More informationContact Ride Director, Jim Stuck.

North Vancouver CSA Festival - August 16th

North Vancouver CSA Festival
Saturday, August 16, 2008
10:00am - 4:00pm

Rosemattel’s CSA (10311 NE 72nd Ave) and Storytree Farm (6227 NE 124th St) will host a tour and festival at their North Vancouver farms, the weekend of August 16th 2008.

This free event illustrates the growing popularity of the CSA system of food production and distribution while celebrating small, diverse farms in Clark County. Attendees will learn about intensive low-input farming on the urban fringe, while discovering the benefits of eating healthy, local food.

For more information, go to http://www.localharvest.org/member/M18289

Farm Connect - Local Food from Local Farmers

Well, it seems that the awesome and innovative folks from Dee Creek Farm and the Vancouver Food Coop have joined forces to bring our fair community a new and ingenious plan to get the freshest food from our local farms to your table. The new venture is called Farm Connect and every week a variety of farm fresh produce, meats, and other locally crafted delicacies will be available for order/pick up. These products are delivered to multiple drop off locations weekly. In order to stay updated, be sure to subscribe to the "vfc_buyersclub" Google group http://groups.google.com/group/vfc-buyersclub/about . Also, please visit the Coop website and see what they're all about. The VFC is working very hard to open a physical location in the near future and could use your support. Please consider becoming a VFC member. It is ABSOLUTELY one of the best investments you can make in our local food system.

Here's a sample of what you might find expect if you sign up for info. from Farm Connect:

Anyone can order for Thursday deliveries, not just CSA’ers. For those who are new to this, the "CSA" discount pricing options are for people who pre-pay for the month, and pick up weekly. Ask for details! You’ll find us this week in our brown/grey minivan. ~S

To order, click here and specify what you would like. All checks go to "Dee Creek Farm", or bring cash. **BRING YOUR OWN BAG** We fill pre-orders first, then it’s first come, first served! We do mostly pre-orders at deliveries, rather than Farmers Market style. Please help us in this by pre-ordering what you can!

Grassfed Beef $2/lb. hanging weight + processing fees. This meat won't be ready for pick up at deliveries, but I wanted to share a good opportunity for anyone interested. Email me off-list and I can connect you to the farmer that has the cows ready for harvest, and you can go from there! Nearly all sold!

Pastured Poultry Chicken - $3/lb and up Turkey - $25/bird deposit to order for Fall, $3.50/lb at harvest (minus deposit) We are now taking orders for DCF chickens, mid-August through late- October, turkeys for Fall. Possible delivery options with other produce CSA farms as well. Email for info!

Cheeses, Raw Aged Feta, $5.50/container retail, $5.00/container CSA Creamy crumbles of unpasteurized aged feta from DCF to top your salad, pasta, or olive ciabatta from Julia Bakery (yum!). The perfect treat for a warm summer day! We’re hoping to have milk & soft cheeses by late-August!

Eggs, $4/dozen retail, $3.75/dozen CSA $2.75/dozen for the "small and/or stained" eggs. We will fill DCF egg CSA's first, but this week we have extra from our farm, as well as the Greyfields Farm, so email if you'd like some. Also recycle your DCF egg cartons with us!

Raw Honey, Pint $7 Quart $12 Half Gallon $18 Gallon $32 Packaged in glass or plastic jars, this delicious raw honey comes from Honey House Farm in Brush Prairie.

Kombucha Scoby, FREE For anyone up for the task, I’ve a couple of kombucha scoby’s. If you don’t know what it is, Google it!

All-Natural Soap, $4/bar Garden Guardian from DCF is full of wonderful essential oils that are beneficial for hard-working hands, and is a great exfoliant for those dirty finger nails. Go and dig in, you can still look nice for dinner guests! Friendly to sensitive skin, as it's all-natural.

Produce:

Garlic, $3/lb. small heads (7-8 heads) Walla Walla Onions, $1.50/lb Red Torpedo Onions, $2.10/lb Cipollini Onions, $3/lb Blueberries, $3.75/pint, $2.60/half-pint (or $38/pint-flat, $25/half- pint flat -- 12 per flat) All of this produce comes from NW Organic in Ridgefield, certified organic!

Produce & Poultry CSA's Reminder For those who have signed up for monthly or seasonal CSA's with Dee Creek Farm, don't forget to pick up your fresh produce straight from the gardens, and natural, pasture-raised poultry, eggs, and cheese! Any extra will be available for sale at deliveries.

To pre-order or for inquiries, please contact Summer @ Dee Creek Farm
E-mail: summer (at) deecreekfarm (dot) com
Farm Phone: 360-225-9711