Join us. We are attending the Westsound Small Farms Expo on Saturday, March 5, 2011. It begins at 8 a.m. and goes through 5 p.m.  It is at Olympic College in the Bremer Student Center at 1600 Chester Ave, in Bremerton. The cost of $55 includes lunch.  SIGN UP BY MONDAY 2/28/11 TO MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR GREAT LUNCH.

To register call (360) 337-7157, Fax: (360) 337-4864, or go on line to http://kitsap.wsu.edu/ag/index.htm. The button to register is near the bottom of the box.

This one-day regional conference is about farming, country living, sustainability and local food. Everyone who lives in Kitsap has a stake in eating, living the good life, and enjoying our beautiful peninsula will find something meaningful. There are four sessions with four tracks each. You have some good choices on what to attend. Click here for the Program Guide. 

The West Sound Small Farms Expo will feature guest speakers and workshops on raising livestock, sustainability, growing your own food and other rural lifestyles. If you want to grow your farming business, grow your own food, or eat locally, this event is for you! Read what Pierce County Extension wrote about it. This gives a sense of how important this conference will be.

The WSU Small Farms Expo features guest speakers, workshops, and vendors. There is something for everyone. Whether you are an experienced or beginning farmer in a rural, suburban, or urban area, you can learn ways to improve your farming skills! If you are interested in sustainability, locally grown food, and country living, you will learn more about what is involved in farming in our maritime climate.

Plus, you will enjoy a fabulous lunch and hear Amy Pennington -- Seattle-based food writer, organic gardener, owner of GoGo Green Garden, and author of "Urban Pantry" -- deliver a rousing keynote address on urban farming, sustainability and resourcefulness. Click on the link and start to see what the fabulous Amy Pennington is all about.

For a complete listing of workshops visit http://kitsap.wsu.edu and register today!

A project of the WSU Kitsap Small Farms Team

345  6th Street, Ste. 550, Bremerton, WA 98331

For info: shannon.harkness@wsu.edu or dfish@wsu.edu

Good Food

The first of the season Duck Eggs are here. There are not many eggs yet, but come on Tuesday and enjoy them.

We also have spinach and lettuce. The radicchio lettuce is great on sandwiches and adds an intense burst of flavor to your salad.

Good Company

After you enjoy the local fresh food from our farm, join us at the Westsound Small Farms Expo on Saturday, March 5, 2011, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Olympic College, Bremer Student Center, 1600 Chester Ave, Bremerton, for $55 and includes lunch.

SIGN UP BY MONDAY TO MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR GREAT LUNCH.

To register call (360) 337-7157, Fax: (360) 337-4864, or go on line to http://kitsap.wsu.edu/.

This one-day regional conference is about farming, country living, sustainability and local food. Everyone who lives in Kitsap has a stake in eating, living the good life, and enjoying our beautiful peninsula will find something meaningful.

The West Sound Small Farms Expo will feature guest speakers and workshops on raising livestock, sustainability, growing your own food and other rural lifestyles. If you want to grow your farming business, grow your own food, or eat locally, this event is for you!

The WSU Small Farms Expo features guest speakers, workshops, and vendors. There is something for everyone. Whether you are an experienced or beginning farmer in a rural, suburban, or urban area, you can learn ways to improve your farming skills! If you are interested in sustainability, locally grown food, and country living, you will learn more about what is involved in farming in our maritime climate.

Plus, you will enjoy a fabulous lunch and hear Amy Pennington -- Seattle-based food writer, organic gardener, owner of GoGo Green Garden, and author of "Urban Pantry" -- deliver a rousing keynote address on urban farming, sustainability and resourcefulness. Click on the link and start to see what the fabulous Amy Pennington is all about.

For a complete listing of workshops visit http://kitsap.wsu.edu and register today!

A project of the WSU Kitsap Small Farms Team

345  6th Street, Ste. 550, Bremerton, WA 98331

For info: shannon.harkness@wsu.edu or dfish@wsu.edu

Dear Friends,

Please join me at the KCAA Monthly Meeting
Monday, February 21
6:30 p.m. to
8:30 p.m.

Island Lake
Community Center
1087 NW Island Lake Rd
Poulsbo, WA 98370

Tim Trohimovich will highlight our discussion on how community planning can support agriculture in Kitsap County. Tim and Futurewise have been in the front lines preserving farmland around the state. He will be sharing that experience with us as our county officials draft the policies and regulations for all types of rural activities that will be set into code this year.

The discussion will include:
•     What Futurewise can do in Kitsap County.
•     What State and County right to farm laws mean.
•    What the key land-use related issues facing agriculture in Kitsap County are.

Join us in brainstorming some solutions, and hear how some other areas have addressed these issues. Tim is the Co-Director of Planning and Law for Futurewise and works on conserving the agricultural land base throughout Washington State.  Futurewise is a statewide public interest group working to promote healthy communities and cities while protecting farmland, forests, and shorelines today and for future generations. But how do they do that, and how can they help farmers and agriculture advocates here? Come and find out.

Back by popular demand. It's a Potluck! Bring something tasty and easy that can serve several people, or more if you like. Not a foodie? Don't cook? Bring a non-alcohol refreshment.

No reservation is needed for our Monthly Meeting. Please come to learn and share.

I am the President of the Kitsap Community and Agricultural Alliance board this year, and I need your help to keep Kitsap's rural character. Please join KCAA.

First: All things remaining equal, we should have more lettuce at the farm store on Tuesday. It is the Italian radicchio that is very mild leaf head not the tight ball head. It is green with red flecks.

This is the week of reorganizing the garden. Weeks ago, on paper we cut it into identifiable sections so that everyone can figure out where things are.

This week, some of the starts that went dormant for the winter were moved to more hospitable areas. Others were moved because they are in the way of progress.

In this case, progress means rotatilling, bed forming, and putting down drip irrigation lines and plastic mulch in preparation for planting.

Today, green onion starts were transplanted next to the garlic at the front of the house. A few plants from heritage seed were saved for seed saving, since they survived the frosts and freezes.

We have to get more areas tilled because the first of our seed potatoes will arrive soon. At least we hope they will. I was speaking with farmer in San Luis, Colorado who grows the seed and he thought maybe he could get them on a truck this week, but he was not sure because it was minus 25º and far too cold to take them outside and put them on an unheated truck. I have ordered about half of the potato seeds we will need this year. Last year proved a big challenge for potato seed growers, decreasing the availability of some varieties of seed.

It is still cold out, but our greenhouse is between 55 and 85 degrees, depending on the day and the sunshine. It is a heated area where we do our starts.

The high tunnels, or hoop houses, that you see on the other side of the barn are cool or cold tunnels. That means they are unheated, but they provide protection from the coldest temperatures and frosts.

The picture, at the right, is of our transplants in hoop house 1. These are scallions and carrots. We have beets for beet greens, several types of lettuce and romaine,  and leeks, that will be transplanted yet again.

In other hoop houses, we have spinach, radicchio, chard, pac choi and bok choy. Under the row cover is kale, waiting to make its appearance when the days are longer and the temperature warmer.

The first beds for peas are ready with the trellises strung. We will be planting these as early as we can. The garlic is still popping, the shallots are up, and we will be transplanting bulb onions in a week or two.

Kirsten and Kelly have begun planting the starts that we will be selling here at the Farm Store and at the Poulsbo Farmers Market.

This year we will have tomatoes, herbs, peppers, squash, and flowers. These should be ready for sale in April.

This is a good start on early Spring.