May Updates
May Updates
May Updates
April on the farm was filled with pig puddles, spring greens, and new energy. Spring has officially arrived. It has been a special time on the farm for the last month. With our Farm Store closure we were able to focus on the needs of the field and transplanted loads of food into the ground. Our 15 hoop houses are filled with spring greens and summer fruits (peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, summer squash). And our greenhouses are filled with ever-growing tomato and basil plants. Our 25 acre field is being filled with onions, potatoes, carrots, beets, brassicas, hemp, corn, dry beans, and more! With summer on the horizon, we are ready to feed our community.
We celebrated the end of our 2019-2020 winter CSA last week with a share filled with spring greens.
**Sign-up for our 2020-2021 Winter CSA will be open in the beginning of July.**
We also welcomed 6 new interns and 2 apprentices to the farm from the Rogue Farm Corps who will be learning and farming alongside Sarahlee for the next six months to understand the farming systems and techniques at Rainshadow. Their enthusiasm and positive energy has really begun to boost the farm in a way we’ve never seen before. We wish to launch them into the world after these six months so they can pursue their farming dreams. We hope you’ll be able to meet some of these stellar humans this summer at our Farm Store, the farmers market in Bend, or at one of our farm to table events.
Our 18-week Summer CSA program begins on Wednesday, June 3rd! Our beloved CSA members, keep your eye on your email as we will send out information on your first pickup this weekend. Our 12-week Summer CSA program won’t begin until July 15th. You will receive information about your pickup as the date becomes closer. We will also be at the Bend Farmers Market on Wednesday, June 3rd AND will be re-opening our Farm Store on Wednesday, June 3rd!Farm Store Re-Opening!
Our Farm Store will be open for business beginning on Wednesday June 3rd. We will be open each Wednesday-Saturday from 11am-3pm for our community to purchase our veggies, pastured meats, fresh milled flour, pickled goods, and more.
We will be serving farm to table lunches on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays beginning on June 4th. Reservations strongly recommended. You can email [email protected] to make a reservation. We will be serving our famous farm to table pizzas on Saturdays! Check out our website for daily lunch specials.
We will be seating lunch parties at least 6′ apart for lunch and will not seat groups over 10 people together. We require all guests and CSA members to our Farm Store to wash their hands before entering. We also ask that guests stay 6′ apart from other guests. Our Farm Store is small, so if you come to visit and it is busy to the point where you cannot maintain physical distance from others, please wait outside on our deck or in the sun.
Bend Farmers Market
We will be attending the Bend Farmers Market each Wednesday beginning on June 3rd. This is also our CSA delivery site. CSA MEMBERS: Welcome email and handbook coming this weekend.
We are thrilled that we are still able to attend the market to share our veggies, meats, and grains with the local community. The Bend Farmers Market will take place on Brooks Alley, behind the Tower Theater, and next to Drake Park.The Bend Farmers Market has implemented a COVID-19 response in the form of protocols that attendees of the market must follow. Please follow the link below to learn about these protocols to help prepare yourself for a successful summer at the market!
Farm to Table Dinners
We will be hosting many seasonal, farm to table dinner events through the summer! Our first dinner event will be on Friday, June 12th. ALL of our dinners will be capped at 20 people and we will not seat groups over 10 people together. We will be hosting two farm to table dinners per month. Check out our event calendar for dinner dates and to purchase tickets.
Our traditional Longtable dinners will be adopting this more intimate dinner model for the summer months. All dinners will be plated, artful displays of what we raise on the farm. Due to covid, we will not be offering any family style meals until further notice.
We can accommodate any dietary restrictions with prior notice. Please note any dietary restrictions in your party when you purchase tickets on our website.
If you purchased tickets to any of our Longtable dinners, you will still be able to attend for the date you purchased. We will expect you at the dinner unless you email us at [email protected] to change your reservation.
Yoga in the Garden!
We will be hosting three yoga classes through the summer months. These classes will take place on the lawn in our two acre garden. We are thrilled to work with Caroline Danielson, a certified yoga instructor and friend of the farm to offer these restorative classes. Classes will run from 8:30am-9:45pm.
2020 Yoga Classes:
Sunday, June 21st
Sunday, July 12th
Sunday, August 2nd
These classes cost $20 per person. Participants will sign a waiver upon arrival and are required to bring their own yoga mat. Participants will meet on the Farm Store deck at 8:25am and will walk out to the garden together.
One of our goals during this spring and moving into the summer has been to connect our community with other local farms and opportunities. We have a strong local food system in Central Oregon, and we believe it is so important to celebrate that. Read below to learn more about local food opportunities in the area.
Windy Acres Dairy
Looking to expand your support of local farms in Central Oregon? Windy Acres Dairy farm offers herd shares delivered to Bend so you can have access to locally raised raw milk, cheese, yogurt, and more! Windy Acres raises pastured heifers on 33 acres of land. An ethical, local choice for dairy!
Check out the link below to become a herdshare member, and learn more about local dairy.
Bend Urban Gardens
Are you hoping to supplement your CSA share this season with some of your own homegrown vegetables, but don’t know where to begin? Or maybe you’ve already had a frustrating spring trying to get things going? Perhaps you’d like some advice on improving your existing edible landscape?Bend Urban Gardens offers on site consultations, personalized crop plans, vegetable gardening lessons, and installs raised beds and cloches.
We are thrilled to safely invite our community back out to the farm. We have missed everyone dearly and we are ready to provide our community with locally-raised, nutrient-dense food for the summer season.
Local forever,
Rainshadow Organics Crew
