4-H SUSTAINABLE LIVING SCHOOLS TRAINING - 10.9 & 10.14&15.2010

Date: Oct 9, 14, 15 

Location: The Dalles, OR(view map)

Contact Information:

The Wasco County 4-H Office at 541-296-5494

A perfect opportunity for beginners and experts alike, this 

20-hour 4-H training program is designed for teachers, 4-H 

volunteers, parents and community members who are 

looking for ways to create and use sustainable living 

projects in a school or club setting. Whether its planting a 

vegetable garden or wildlife garden, exploring renewable 

energy, living buildings (the built environment) learning how 

to start a backyard 4-H chicken project, food preservation, 

cooking with local foods, or other “back to basics skills” 

there is something for everyone.

TRAINING DATES: October 9, 14, 15

INFORMATION NIGHT: 

DATE: September 15th 

TIME: 7:00-8:30 p.m. 

LOCATION: Chenowith Elementary, The Dalles

REGISTRATION FEES: 

All three days: $150 (scholarship rate: $98) 

One Day only: $69 (scholarship rate - $35)

The 4-H Training covers: 

• Guiding principles for sustainable living projects, 

• Project management (sustainable school teams, keys 

to success, communications, working with your school 

district, etc) 

• Sustaining your Project (grants, working with 

volunteers, after-school clubs, building community 

support, using new media to support your project, etc) 

• Two Specialized tracks emphasizing best practices 

and hands-on curriculum: wildlife habitat gardens or 

Sustainable Food Systems (school vegetable gardens, 

urban farming and Food/nutrition)

2010 Home Orchard Society All About Fruit Show

Saturday and Sunday, October 9th & 10th, 10am to 4pm, at the Washington County Fairplex, Hillsboro, Oregon

 

It's "The Year of the Heirloom Fruit."

 

The Home Orchard Society's All About Fruit Show is the Northwest's and possibly the world's largest exhibit of fall fruit varieties. Find your old favorite or a new one from among hundreds of varieties of pear, apple, grapes, quince & more, including many that are rare or historical. Learn about growing your own delicious, local, organic and economical fruit. Get advise on selecting, growing, pruning and harvesting fruit trees in your own yard. Order your favorites for your own home orchard!

 

Our expert team will identify your "mystery" apples and pears (bring 5 or 6 samples). Other activities include Speakers, Pie Baking Contest, Largest Fruit Contest, Apple Peeling Contest, and Raffle. The All About Fruit Show is HOS's biggest annual event and you don't want to miss it. Share the fun and tell your friends, or bring them with you!

 

Free admission with new membership to Home Orchard Society. Member admission $4.00 per person or $8.00 per family. Non-member admission $6.00 per person or $10.00 per family.

 

The Washington County Fairplex is just off Cornell Road across from the Port of Portland Hillsboro Airport, 873 NE 34th Avenue, Hillsboro. Take the MAX, or park for free.

 

For more information, directions, speaker schedule and more, visit:

http://www.homeorchardsociety.org/aafs/

 

Contact us at 503 835 5040 or info@homeorchardsociety.org

 

See you there!

 

Find HOS on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=157391176775

Farmers Mixer & The Greenhorns @ Naomi"s Organic Farm Supply - 10.10.2010

Passionate farmers of all ages (as well as their friends and supporters) are invited to the event at  Naomi's Organic Farm Supply in Portland on October 10th from 3:30-8:30 p.m. as we welcome The Greenhorns (a documentary which explores the lives of America's young farming community, view the trailer HERE ) and help sponsor their Western Oregon Young Farmers Mixer. 
In addition to a variety of relevant workshops, delicious food and a screening of the Greenhorn's documentary film footage, the event will feature socializing, networking and dancing.

Je T'aime Bakery to reopen!

All of you Westsiders (like me) who have had a hole in their hearts and stomachs since Je T'aime Bakery suddenly shut its doors last week can now rejoice...Je T'aime will be reopening very soon!!

Stay tuned for more news...and yes, you may now do the Happy Dance.

Clark County Tour of Farms! - 9.18.2010

Brave the rain and head on out to the greatest annual farm tour in Southwest Washington!



These farms will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the tour:


Compass Rose Alpaca Farm, 32820 N.W. Pekin Ferry Road, Ridgefield.
Northwest Organic Farm, 17713 N.W. 61st Ave., Ridgefield.
Creative Outlet Farm, 11602 N.E. 192nd Ave., Brush Prairie.
Half Moon Farm, 14737 N.E. 159th St., Brush Prairie.
Scented Acres, 13804 N.E. 117th Ave., Vancouver.
Storytree Farm, 6227 N.E. 124th St., Vancouver.
Bi-Zi Farms, 9504 N.E. 119th St., Vancouver.
Kunze Farms, 6109 N.E. 53rd St., Vancouver.
Livingston Mountain Alpacas, 29714 N.E. 60th St., Camas.
Linda's Dahlias, 1525 S.E. Washougal River Road, Washougal.



Here's a link to a map and directions to the 10 farms participating in this year's tour.

What's Sprouting In Vancouver?

Laura Cole (the other half of the local wild food foraging company Nature's Choices) has started her own line of gourmet, ultra healthy sprouted things...aptly named Sprouts & Things. Laura's line of tasty sprouts will be available this weekend at Storytree Farm's open house, as well as at Bill Cole's farmers' market stand.


Here are a few of Sprouts & Things initial offerings:


Broccoli sprouts:  they are hulled and "greening"  right now and have 1 more day of growth . . . soooo awesome good we can't tell ya. Will be trying these as a micro-green in the near future too.
 Lentil sprouts:  French Black, yummm. These are hulled and drying almost ready to package up. Hearty, crunchy and mild. One of our favorites that we've been using this past year in green salads, soups, potato salad and such. Or even just a lentil salad with snipped chives or green onion, lemon juice & olive oil.  Yayuh baby!
 French Garden:  another leafy sprout like the broccoli, very interesting & gourmet'ish. Hulled and greening today. A delectable blend of mildly sweet, tangy, bitter and peppery. Perfect.  Clover, arugula, fenugreek, radish, cress and dill - all in one scoop.  Woo hoo.
 Yuletide:  mmmmm. red, green and white prettiness - the full bean flavor of the adzukis with the sweet bean flavor of the minimally sprouted mungs is exceptional, add a touch of Pea, magnifique!
 Sprouted Red Winter Wheat:  awesome sweet and nutritious, this one is especially for all you bakers out there. My goodness this stuff smells good!  Continues to grow even with refrigeration though, so for the maximum nutrition density you'll want to use these up the first few days.
 San Francisco Blend:  Peanuts, Mung, Adzuki, Black, Crimson, Eston, French Blue & Green Lentils, Green, Speckled & Bill Jump Peas, Black, Brown & Beige Garbanzos Whew . . that's a mouthful, literally. Beyond beautiful and tasty. Great raw or cooked.

Mushroom Hunting Adventures With Wild Bill Cole

Seriously folks. If you have ever met Bill Cole (co-proprietor of Nature's Choice), you'll know that he's a bit of a reserved, humble fellow.  But behind that charming, good ol' boy exterior he's a living guidebook to the edible flora of the Pacific Northwest and a bloodhound when it comes to hunting those edibles. When I heard that Bill was going to start taking folks out with him last year I told you to jump on the opportunity and well...I'm gonna tell you them same thing this time too. Eighty bucks is a BARGAIN for a day in the woods with Bill. Even if you don't come home with a big bucket of shrooms, you're still guaranteed to fill your noggin with some extremely valuable foraging information, you'll burn a few calories and you'll have a great time doing it. Go on and reserve a spot ASAP before everyone else does. 


Here's the official scoop from Nature's Choice:


FALL 2010
WILD MUSHROOM ADVENTURES


Book Your Trip Today!


Take to the woods on a full day trip with "Wild Bill"  and learn about the wonderful fall mushrooms, berries and edible plants available right here in Washington and Oregon. This year's format will be caravan style to allow more folks to participate. Only 6 weeks currently scheduled - Wednesdays or Thursdays Sept. 29-30, Oct.  6-7, 13-14, 20-21, 27-28 and Nov. 3-4.  Groups will meet up and head out together from Carson, WA by 9:00am and call it a day about 3:00pm.


Cost is $80.00 per person, bring your own lunch and rain gear. (Laura also recommends an extra pair of dry socks!)  Not recommended for children under 12 or so, as this is a long day and a good amount of walking.


A non-refundable 50% deposit is required to hold your spot, payable one week in advance.


Grab your spot as soon as possible because they go quick!!  You can sign up and place your deposit through Paypal by email today. 

Grassfed Beef Available from Shamrock Acres (aka Garden Delights)!

This just in from one of our awesome local farmers, Erin Harwood...


Hi everyone-


We are once again offering our delicious grass fed beef, and we are contacting you because you have indicated an interest in possibly buying some from us.  They steers are currently grazing on our pasture here at the farm in Brush Prairie, and will be harvested within the next couple of weeks.  They have enjoyed a good life, with farm friends, tasty treats from the garden, and some warm hay and alfalfa pellets during the winter months.  They are Holstein dairy steers who came from a local dairy and they have not been given antibiotics or hormones.


We anticipate that the steers we are offering for sale will weigh approximately 750 pounds.  Please note that we are over estimating a bit, just to be on the safe side.  Below is the breakdown of costs:


Chewbacca and Han Solo (the steers): anticipated weight of 750 lbs. x $2.00 lbs + $18 butcher fee = $393/ quarter


You can order a quarter or a half at the above price, which will be due in full by Monday September 13th.  Payment can be made via cash or check between 4:30 pm and 6:30 pm on any Monday up to Sept 13, at our normal CSA pick up time at the farm.  The total cost is guesstimating on their final weight; we are probably overestimating, in which case we will issue you a refund after harvest.  Although this seems a bit round about, it is the easiest way to legally sell beef without going to a USDA licensed facility – the nearest of which is some distance.  Cost, stress to the cows, time, and many other factors contribute to our choice of doing it this way.


The cows will be harvested at the farm, and then the meat will go to hang at Mayer’s in Vancouver (north of Costco) for a week or so before it is packaged and frozen.  We will let you know when it is available for pick up, probably around the first of October.  Upon pick up you will pay the additional cut and wrap fee of approximately $0.52/lb direct to Mayer’s.  When the butcher processes the meat, your packaged meat weight will be different than the original hanging weight – loss due to bones, fat, organs etc. 


Please respond by e-mail right away to let us know if you are interested in this tasty opportunity and we can get you directions to the farm so you can drop off your deposit.


The Garden Delights Gals
At Shamrock Acres Farm
Brush Prairie, WA


Erin Harwood & Eloyce O'Connor
Garden Delights CSA and Herb Farm
Fresh natural produce and wholesome herb products for people and pets
www.gardendelights.mysite.com 
E-Mail

Preserving the Harvest Class - 9.25.2010

Preserving the Harvest
September 25th, 2pm-5pm
Vancouver, WA
Hosted by Gertrude & Dee Creek Farm
$35/person - RSVP Required

"Preserving the Harvest is a fun, hands on class devoted to the understanding of traditional food storage techniques that use the basic gifts of earth, air, water and salt to put up food in a creative and individual way, to best enhance the flavor, nutrition, over-all health and pure excitement of fresh, local whole food and garden harvests. This class is poetry in motion and participants are encouraged to bring their ideas, questions and recipes, every class is unique!" ~ Gertrude

Attendees will have the opportunity to sign up to the instructors Google group, where there is continued shared interaction and bulk food buying opportunities. We also will have some herbs available for sale (and/or sharing - so please bring anything you have extra of) at class.

This instructor is a wealth of information, and could answer nearly any question, I'm certain (tho' won't hold her to it). She's easy to understand, and makes all of these things so simple & normal and encouraging.  She has been a long-time customer of DCF, and a committed Locavore in our community, with two boys needing maximum nutrition to keep their health maintained.

To register for the class, email me your interest,
And confirm with your admission fees (at deliveries or by mail)
Class space is limited
Bring snacks - for yourself, or to share!

I think there is no better time than now, when the economy is struggling,
to learn old-fashioned ways of living!

Email
Farm Phone: 360-225-9711
Cell Phone: 360-903-6956 (no service at the Farm)
Blog: http://summersperspective.wordpress.com

The Camas Farmer’s welcomes Recycleman!

The Camas Farmer’s Market will once again be hosting Recycleman on Wednesday, September 8th.  For over ten years, Recycleman has performed at schools, camps and fairs inspiring, educating and entertaining thousands of students. In his superhero costume made out of recycled trash - complete with a truck inner tube kilt - Recycleman is able to capture kids' and adults' attention and get them excited about recycling and other eco-friendly messages.


Peter DuBois, aka Recycleman, works during the day as Sustainability Coordinator  for Clark County Washington.  During his off time Peter assumes the identity of Recycleman and takes working vacations to tour the Pacific Northwest to promote his original music with a message. You may have seen Recycleman perform in his award winning music video "Away with Waste."  


The Market is a celebration of our region’s agricultural bounty. Each Wednesday the market fills up with freshly harvested seasonal produce, flowers, pastured meat, eggs, crafted cheese and prepared foods. Fill your shopping basket, chat with a farmer, get cooking tips from local cooks and enjoy local music—all in one place—or even speak to a Master Gardner about your garden questions.  This year the Market will run every Wednesday from May 26th to September 29th in Historic Downtown Camas.


When:
Wednesday, September 8th, from 3pm-7:30pm.


Schedule:
3 p.m. to 7 p.m.: The Kid's Connection booth will have recyclables available for sorting, making instruments and other related activities.
5 p.m. to 7 p.m:  Recycle Man will perform in our Market Music Tent, inviting children of all ages to join him in recycled music


Where:
In front of the Camas Public Library, on Fourth Avenue between NE Everett and NE Franklin.

Vancouver Farmers Market Heads East

Clark County’s newest farmers market, the Vancouver Farmers Market – East, will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays from Sept. 18th through Oct. 30 at the Evergreen Public Schools center at 13501 N.E. 28th St.

The market's grand opening will be on Sept. 18.

Vermicomposting Class at Northwest Redworms - 9.11.2010

Clark County's very own resident worm rancher, chicken coop builder and compost maker, Doug Knippel is holding another great vermicomposting (composting with worms) class next week.  Keep on reading to get the scoop straight from Doug.


Vermicompost Class 


I want to compost with redworms, but...? 


This is a class that is suitable for all levels of adult compost enthusiasts. Although if you are a beginner it would be a good idea to read some of the basics about composting on our other pages before you come out. We will cover: 


Types of compost and when you should use them 
Compost and redworm biology 
Compost systems for redworms and other types of compost 
Setting up, feeding and harvesting your compost 
Compost critters - good, bad and ugly 
Common problems and the solutions 
How long to compost and how to harvest 
and much more. 


This class is a little bit of lecture and then hands on or "hands in" to your compost. I think it's a good idea to see what you need before you get started, how it works and with what options. There is a 10 page hand out of information that comes with the class so you don't have to take notes (at least not too many). You must sign up in advance so we know how many copies of handouts to have on hand. 


Remember bring lots of questions!!! 


Vermicomposting is fun and it's a hobby that can have many questions. If you want be the neighborhood authority on "how to compost with redworms", these are the classes to take. See the tools we use and the systems we have available to make this an effective recycling adventure that anyone can do. . 


Northwest Redworms 
806 NE 202 Ave, Camas WA 98607 
360-513-7251 


See our compost class page to sign up! Compost class link 

My Contiguous County Companion...The Cowlitz Locavorian!

Check it out. Our neighbors to the north have a blogger who is writing all about food and agriculture ...just like me...except she writes all about the culinary capers of Cowlitz County. Very cool stuff, Elizabeth!

The Cowlitz Locavorian

Thar's OIL in Camas!!

Olive oil, that is.

I've been slacking on my Clark County gastronomic safari's this summer, but school and the wee ones have had me pretty well tied up. That being said I've heard some very nice things about a new specialty food shop in Camas called Navidi's Olive Oil & Vinegars. Although I can't give a firsthand review, I'd like to at least pass along a nice e-mail I received from one of the proprietor's, Ken Navidi.

Glenn,

I know we do not carry products grown in Clark County but we are a small Ma & Pa convenience store operating in small downtown Camas. We would appreciate playing a role on your website, maybe writing an article on the health benefits of the Medeterranean Diet (particularly Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Italian Balsamic Vinegars).

We carry a unique product line. We have over 48 different Extra Virgin Olive Oils & Balsamic Vinegars. We also have 22 different loose tea dispensers, 22 different Sea Salts, Pastas & Saffron. We carry products not found in Whole Foods or Trader Joes, such as French Roasted Walnut Oil & White Truffle Sea Salt.

We were a finalist in SW Washington’s Business Growth Awards, Startup or the year!

Please drop by our store, we have true “taste – before- you –buy” policy!

Ken Navidi

Navidi’s olive Oil & Vinegars

322 NE Cedar St.

Camas, WA 98607

(360) 600-9836

www.navidioils.com

So next time you're antique and boutiquing or grazing at the Camas Farmers' Market, sounds like Navidi's is a no brainer for a side trip. Hopefully we'll see some guest blogging here by Ken in the near future too!

 

More News On Chuck's Produce & Street Market

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/aug/31/grocer-plans-october-opening-in-joes-spot/