Announcements, Market

5th Annual Spring Salad Social!

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Spring has sprung here on the farm! We at Fred’s Homegrown Produce are harvesting our very first salad greens of the season, and that means we will soon be having our 5th Annual Spring Salad Social! We will be hosting a community potluck in our Upper Greenhouse, attached to the barn. We will be serving salad and the first pizzas of the year. The event will be held Saturday April 12th, starting at 1:00pm. Please bring a dish and come share in the luscious spring harvest with us! We look forward to seeing you there.

Also that means that soon we will be starting our weekly email letting you know what we have available on the farm. If you are not on the list and would like to be, please email us at fredshomegrownproduce@gmail.com

Announcements

FREE Awareness Training for Disaster Preparedness

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Sponsored by The Wahkiakum County Sheriff’s Office Department of Emergency Management

 DATE: SATURDAY, MARCH 29th, 2014

TIME: 9:00am to 4:00pm

 LOCATION: The Wahkiakum County Courthouse (64 Main Street, Cathlamet)

 Program Itinerary Topics

 ·         How to create a Family Disaster Plan

·         What to include in a Family Disaster Kit

·         Developing a Community Resource Data Base

·         Crisis Response

·         Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, & Explosive information

·         Terrorism Awareness

·         A Desktop Exercise specific to Wahkiakum County

This will be a one day seminar on citizen preparedness and response should a major incident ever occur in Wahkiakum County.

The class will be from 9AM to 4PM on Saturday, March 29, 2014.  There is no cost for attendance. The doors will be open at 8:30 am for check-in.

To attend this seminar, you must register by contacting:

 Beau Renfro at: 795-3242, 465-2202,  renfrob@co.wahkiakum.wa.us or register online at: http://www.co.wahkiakum.wa.us/Register.htm

Announcements, WSU

Two new publications from WSU Extension

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Growing Day-Neutral Strawberries in Western Washington
By Wendy Hoashi-Erhardt and Thomas Walters

Day-neutral strawberries with repeat flowering have long production seasons highly suitable to fresh market sales, allowing harvest of high-quality berries over a period spanning four to five months. These strawberries are often grown as an annual, and can be a profitable crop for specialty crop producers who are seeking to diversify further, as well as for dedicated strawberry growers. The value of fresh-market strawberries in Washington and Oregon increased 144% between 2000 and 2012, and producers and commodity groups are preparing for further growth, which is favored by strong consumer interest in local foods and health benefits of berry fruits. This publication introduces day-neutral strawberry production to commercial growers who are interested in exploiting the long season and fresh market capability of day-neutral strawberries.

You can download a full copy for free here.

Beneficial Insects, Spiders, and Other Mini-Creatures in Your Garden
Who They Are and How to Get Them to Stay
By David James

An ecologically-healthy garden or landscape has a diverse fauna of insects, spiders, mites, centipedes, and harvestmen—each with a unique, and usually beneficial, role in keeping your backyard habitat healthy and function­ing efficiently.  This colorful publication provides photographs and describes the life-cycle and beneficial activities of the  “good guys” and “natural enemies” that inhabit garden landscapes in the PNW.

You can download a full copy for free here.

Announcements

Women in Agriculture Conference

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You can now register for the 2014 Women in Agriculture Conference which offers women in Washington, Oregon and Idaho a unique opportunity to gather in 28 locations for a 1-day event featuring knowledgeable speakers, inspiring stories, practical advice for improving farm management skills and networking with other women producers.”Women are uniquely tasked with the demands of both farm and family, which can make travel to one state location a challenge,” said WSU Douglas County Extension Director and chair of the conference Margaret Viebrock. “The format of this conference enables us to offer our headline speaker at all locations, while also tailoring the conference content for each region.”

This year’s event, “Change Happens: Make It An Opportunity,” covers topics including farm business decision-making, using financial records to improve the bottom line and problem solving for change.

“Last year nearly 500 women attended,” said Viebrock. “Many attendees reported it was one of the best conferences for women producers because it presented practical information they could use right away for handling their finances, communicating with other businesses, networking with other women and improving their business operations.”

This year’s keynote speaker Heather Darby, a seventh generation owner of the 200-year-old Darby Farm in the Lake Champlain Islands near Alburgh, Vermont, will share her strategies for success. The 130-acre diversified farm a produces a wide array of vegetables and fruit, a small apiary, CSA program, farm stand and operates a custom grazing service for local organic dairies.

Heather will discuss how change has been a constant in her operation presenting her with a variety of opportunities related to financial issues, organizational management, employees, starting a family and handling risk management issues related to weather, prices and work-life balance.

The keynote will be broadcast to all 28 conference locations. In addition to the keynote address, each location will feature three local women producers who will share their experiences with change.

This conference is designed for women who have been farming for years, as well as for new and aspiring farmers.

The registration fee is $25 before March 1, and $30 after. Registration includes the workshop, light breakfast, lunch, handouts and a book.

 To learn more, view specific event locations, or to register, visit www.womeninag.wsu.edu.
Announcements

Cold Snap Coming!

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From NOAA:

...VERY COLD AIR RETURNS TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST THIS WEEK...

CONFIDENCE IS HIGH IN A PERIOD OF VERY COLD CONDITIONS FOR THE
MIDDLE TO LATTER HALF OF THIS WEEK. CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY
STILL EXISTS IN HOW COLD IT WILL GET. WHILE COLDER AIR WILL
ARRIVE ON TUESDAY...THE COLDEST PERIOD WILL BE WEDNESDAY THROUGH
FRIDAY...WITH THURSDAY LOOKING TO BE THE COLDEST DAY.

EXPECT TEMPERATURES WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY TO BE AT LEAST 15 TO
20 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL IN MOST AREAS. HIGHS WILL BE IN THE UPPER
20S TO MID 30S...AND LOWS WILL BE IN THE TEENS IN THE VALLEY.
EVEN COLDER CONDITIONS WILL BE FOUND IN THE CASCADES.

IN ADDITION TO THE COLD...EXPECT GUSTY EAST WINDS ACROSS THE
AREA...WITH BREEZY NORTH WINDS IN THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY.
THEREFORE...WIND CHILL READINGS WILL DIP INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS IN
THE VALLEY...BELOW ZERO IN THE GORGE...AND APPROACHING MINUS 20 IN
THE CASCADES.

CONFIDENCE IS MODERATE TO HIGH THAT A PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM WILL
ARRIVE ON SATURDAY THAT LOOKS TO BRING A PERIOD OF WINTRY WEATHER
TO PARTS OF THE REGION. SNOW...SLEET...AND FREEZING RAIN ARE
POSSIBLE...BUT CONFIDENCE IS LOW ON THE SPECIFICS AT THIS TIME.

RESIDENTS ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE CASCADES SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR
AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF VERY COLD CONDITIONS. THOSE PLANNING
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES SHOULD STAY TUNED TO THE LATEST FORECASTS.

Serving Western Wahkiakum County Since 1902