Summer is here!
Farmer Appreciation Day, Sunday, 8/4
This year with the turn from cold to hot, the weeds EXPLODED! You’re invited to a Rainshadow Community Weeding Day, Sunday, August 4, anytime, 8-noon.
We love Customer Appreciation Day and we know how much you and your friends love Customer Appreciation Day. This year, we need your help to make Customer Appreciation Day happen. Join us on Sunday, and we will all together weed as many weeds as we can in the big field and rescue all our storage crops. These are the very same crops that you glean during Customer Appreciation Day. Without a big push like this Sunday, all these crops might well choke under the weed pressure.
So come, join us and show your Farmers how much you appreciate them!
Bring your kids, your work gloves, your friends and family, and your water bottles. (But please leave your pets and pups at home.) Weeders of all ages and skill levels are welcome! Consider bringing your picnic lunch and enjoying the grass and the shade when you are done!
Summer is here
The last time I wrote you it was just about the Summer Solstice, the official beginning of summer. The month between the Solstice and now is truly what it takes to really get summer going on the farm. This year we went from cold to hot and everything, especially vegetables and weeds, finally started responding.
We spent the first couple months of our Summer CSA and Farmers Market season wondering what was growing out there in the cold. Now, we wake up on harvest mornings, gulp a little, and go harvest, harvest, harvest and wonder when it is we are going to be able to get everything else that needs doing done.
This time of year is also the halfway point for our Apprentice farmers. They have been with us for about 3 months now and all those early season lessons are really coming together. We spend a lot of time early on learning the efficiencies, ergonomics, and skills of farming so that when everything starts happening at once right now (big harvests, big days of weeding, planting, tending, etc.), all of us on the farm can fall back on our habits and really get it done.
This is the moment on the farm that all the crop planning, early season prep, and tending really comes together into a beautiful rainbow of color, nutrients, flavor, and teamwork!
Come visit us at our Farmers Market Booths or at our Farm Store! The market stands and Farm Store shelves are really reflecting the variety and abundance of the season. The only thing it is missing is your sweet face and smiles.
Where can you find us?
You can shop for Rainshadow vegetables, meats, grains and more 5-days a week in Central Oregon!
At our Farm Store, 71290 Holmes Rd
- Wednesday & Thursday, 11-3
- Friday, 11-5
- Saturday, 9-3
At the Wednesday Bend Farmers Market, Brooks Alley, Downtown Bend, 11-3
At the Sunday Sisters Farmers Market, Fir Street Park, 10-2
Here are a couple rounds of pics from the summer so far. The 25-acre is really turning on right now, the tomatoes are in, the chickens are happy and still laying eggs, and even with the smoky skies, beauty abounds.
This place is so wonderful and beautiful because of the parts of its whole. The animals, farmers, vegetables and you!
Summer Abundance CSA
The abundance of summer has arrived. Have you been waiting to sign up for the CSA just waiting for tomato season? Well, wait not more. Sign up today and enjoy the last 10-weeks of our Summer CSA.
August 7–October 9
Vegetable and/or Meat CSAs available
Choose your share size and type. Weekly share prices start at $31.50.
More information and purchase your share HERE or by clicking on the button below.
August Farm-to-Table Events
Join us on the Deck or in the garden for two deep summer farm-to-table opportunities.
Chef Bethlyn returns to Rainshadow the last two weekends in August. Join us on the deck for Brunch on August 24th and in the Market Garden for dinner on August 31st.
Freshly Caught Salmon
Some of you might have noticed the emails coming through about fresh Salmon for sale in the Farm Store. These emails will continue coming your way all summer as our friend Joe Martinez, a Warm Springs Tribal Member, fishes, filets, and delivers them to us.
When Joe fishes, he reaches out to me, and I let you know they are coming. Keep your eyes on your inbox. I usually hear from him on Tuesday or Wednesday, and I let you know as soon as I do.
The sockeye run appears to be waning, but the steelhead run is picking up. After the steelhead come the Chinook.
Steelhead are larger fish (usually 2-4lb filets) and are perfect to cook right then OR to take home, cut into the size you prefer, and vacuum seal and freeze for later use.
