Shrouded in smoke from raging wildfires that have been fueled by 100 degree temperatures these past 2 weeks, it can be difficult to notice the changes that signal the coming of harvest. But it is now still dark at 4:30 in the morning and a loudly honking V formation of geese flew south over the orchard yesterday, so harvest time is surely approaching. And as always, it has been a busy summer.
In June we hosted a Farm Walk sponsored by the Tilth Alliance and Washington State University Food Systems. Farm Walks are designed to share knowledge and practices of organic and regenerative farming systems. Our walk focused on soil fertility practices in our newly planted high density Sugarbee block, mitigation of water quality issues with the installation of a sulfur burner and our new packing facility with cold storage which has been made possible by a USDA Local Infrastructure grant.
The first week of July we were busy with an abundant black currant harvest, beginning each day at 5 am to beat the heat. Are you unfamiliar with black currants and wondering why? Though widely grown in Europe and Canada, black currants were illegal to grow in the US for many years because of lobbying by the white pine timber industry. Packed with nutrients, we love black currants! Try our 100% organic certified black currant powder or black currant preserves and see if you do too!
