Upon request from Lauren, here’s the skinny on seeds at Rainshadow.

Do you sometimes grow your own seeds so you can save them to raise specific varieties that are more adapted to your specific climate?

  • Great question!  Seeds that are grown out where you farm have a much higher likelihood of success.  They are adapted to the climate, the pests, the soil, etc.  And that improves over years of saving.  I must say its challenging to coordinate seed selection and saving while harvesting a full diet.  Most seed farms only raise seed, but we tackle it anyway.
  • The picture above is a great example of seeds we save.  When we get our first beans, tomatillos, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, etc…. we mark them with flagging and leave them to ripen on the vine.  We want these crops to come to fruition earlier each year because our growing season is so short.  You always want to eat your first things, but must wait for the second things.
  • On the flip side, we save salad mix seed and we don’t want to save the first lettuce to go to seed because it is more likely to “bolt” in our hot climate.  We chop down those first flowers and take the next wave.  We do chard the same way.
  • Onion seed does really well for us.  We save onions for our full diet and winter members and we choose whole onions from storage that have not rotted or sprouted and then we plant them whole and let them flower then save the seeds.  We are selecting for storability, especially in our very basic infrastructure that has minimal control of temp and humidity and NO chemical assistance (commercial storage crops are heavily sprayed to keep them from sprouting and rotting).  We do beets and carrots the same way.
  • Potatoes are a wild card.  We buy tissue culture from the University of Idaho and grow it out in pots in the greenhouse.  It produces “pre-nuclear” tiny potatoes.  We plant those out for three consecutive seasons (keeping careful track of them along the way and not eating them!), yielding more and more seed each year until we plant them for food.
  • We grow out all of our own wheats, barley, buckwheat, corn, etc….. It saves for years in a shipping container and we grow out some grain each year to keep our stores full.  I am bringing in a couple new varieties from Azure Standard this year, so that’s exciting!  Durum, White, and Spelt.

Do you buy local seed from other neighborhood growers?

  • There aren’t any local producers of seeds that we grow.  At least not varieties that we don’t grow ourselves.  When we buy seed, we get almost all of it from High Mowing, which is 100% organic seed.  Highly recommend.

Do you grow lots of heirloom varieties?

  • We absolutely prioritize buying heirloom seed.  Heirloom seeds are open-pollinated plant varieties that have been passed down through generations of gardeners, often for at least 50 years. They are known for their unique traits, interesting histories, and the ability to be saved and replanted, producing offspring with similar characteristics. Because we believe in seed freedom (versus patented seeds), and we save so much of our own, Heirlooms are the best option for us.  Do y’all know about patented seed??  You really should read/listen to Vandana Shiva for more info on this.

Are there times hybrids just work best?

  • There are a few varieties that we lean on hybrid seed. Bok choi for instance.  The Black Summer variety is the only thing we can get to grow without bolting in the heat of our summer.
  • It is important to know that Hybrid seeds and genetically modified (GM) seeds are both products of human intervention in plant breeding, but they differ in their methods of development and the types of genetic changes involved. Hybrid seeds are created through cross-pollination of different plant varieties within the same species, while GM seeds are created by directly inserting specific genes from other organisms into a plant’s genome (Like Round-Up-Ready Corn and Soy)
  • Hybrid varieties can be certified organic.  GMO Cannot.  At least not yet…. ***Watch out for this administration and what they are doing with the USDA Organic Label.***

There’s still room in our Summer CSA!

Might as well get it when the getting is good!  The summer food tsunami is ready to crest and its a great time to join! If you’re a planner like we are, you can join the Winter CSA as well!

Agriculture as culture

By Isabel, the Rainshadow Markets Manager

Recently I was gifted a copy of the second edition of The Rooted Journal. I highly recommend checking it out if you haven’t heard of it. Its a wonderful collection of inspiring stories and good art. One page stood out to me in particular.

Lincoln Geiger, founder of Temple Wilton Community Farm in Wilton, New Hampshire, runs one of the oldest continuously operating CSA programs in the country. Geiger was driven to start a CSA because he believes that “all people are, by nature, farmers, but not all have to farm. Some of us can take on active farming and the rest of us will share the cost of the farm, support the economic and cultural life of the farm, and share the food.” 

I couldn’t agree more. It feels like human nature to cultivate, whether it’s the land, relationships, work, or joy. We’re all growing something. And lucky for you, we love growing and sharing food.

Otherwise you can find us:

  • Every Wednesday at the Bend Farmer’s Market from 11am-3pm
  • Our Farm Store at 71290 Holmes Road on Thursday & Friday: 11am–5pm and Saturday: 9am–3pm
  • Every Sunday at the Sisters Farmer’s Market from 10am-2pm

Upcoming Farm-to-Table Events
Summer’s buzzing, and so are we. With a packed calendar of private events, we’ve carved out just one night this month for a public dinner. Snag your seat before it’s gone!

August 30th – Garden Dinner with farm tour!