Tuesday, May 27th, two trusty associates and I took a field trip to the WSU Organic Farm to visit "Our Organic Northwest" partner and WSU Organic Farm Manager, Brad Jaeckel. Brad is also an instructor for WSU's academic major in organic agriculture (WSU also offers the nation’s first online certificate in organic agriculture).
When we arrived at the three acre farm, the crew had just finished boxing up produce to deliver to Moscow, Idaho for the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. They have 100 members now, individuals and families who pay a little each month in exchange for fresh, organic produce.
That muggy day they had harvested greens and rhubarb to the sounds of jazz over the truck radio (Miles Davis was playing in the background when we got there). It was obviously early in the season. Neat, bare rows of soil were in evidence everywhere, with the occasional row of greens and some covered crops that bulged from their long, white blankets.
The modest farm also includes a small cluster of buildings - a tool shed, two hoophouses, a worm (vermiculture) bin and a large composting area. Brad and I began our conversation under the harvest shed next to boxes of cilantro, lettuce and other early crops, neatly stacked for delivery. They were already anticipating their Friday Pullman delivery obligation, which means another day of picking and packaging their crops.
We then walked through the hoophouses, which are currently incubating carrots, peppers and the most beloved and perhaps most controversial of fruits, the tomato!
The farm grows some hybrids and some heirloom tomatoes. Brad is particularly fond of their cherry tomatoes.
Esther Anderson, our photographer, found color among the greens. She got on her knees and shot a particularly charming moth atop a lavendar-colored chive blossom. Check out our photo album.
Meanwhile Arlie Sommer got to know the crew members and reminisced about her childhood in an organic herb business in southern Idaho.
We surveyed the rest of the operation which included rows of garlic under straw and lots of onions. It wasn't until we headed back toward the harvest shed that my eye fell on an incongruous site: a bicycle hooked up to washing machine - a Maytag frontloader to be exact.
Turns out this interesting contraption is a salad spinner and it works quite well! Check out this video from YouTube!
It shouldn't be a surprise that this sort of ingenuity is part of the operation. WSU's Organic Farm is clearly a labor of love. Everyone we met was enthusiastic and welcoming.
This was the first of many visits to the farm this summer to take a look at the crops and, hopefully, sample their bounty!
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