Sustainably Grown Vegetables & Flowers – Indianola, Washington
We survived the snowpocalypse pretty much unscathed, but boy did Rebecca spend a lot of energy scraping off the greenhouses, keeping fans and heaters blowing on exposed pipes and safeguarding the two vulnerable pump houses. Two long power outages added to the challenges.
It was beautiful; it was stressful.
Normal is nice.
Oh, it’s not too early to think about the upcoming season of bounty. You can subscribe to our CSA here.
Last week was a week full of firsts at Persephone. We harvested our first tomatoes AND raspberries of the summer (YUMM!) and we have our first haul of garlic drying in the barn. We also had our first order of bridal flowers, and they came out oh so beautifully. To celebrate a great week, we got an extra long lunch to go explore the tide pools during the lowest tide of the season on Friday. Highlights of that adventure were seeing a moon snail laying it’s eggs and finding a GIANT sea star.
Have a happy Summer Solstice, and we hope you love this week’s farm fresh treats!
If you or someone you know is planning a wedding or special event this summer and want beautiful local flowers reach out to us soon!
Our CSA orientation is June 6, 5:30–7:30 p.m. Please bring your family and join us for an evening at the Farm. See your summer vegetables growing! Enjoy hors d’oeuvres, taste a leaf of sweet fennel or sour sorrel as we stroll the fields and meet our hard-working interns. We’ll explain our pickup system and you’ll have the opportunity to signup for optional add-on shares. These will be delicious ways to support other local producers, and an opportunity to collect an even more abundant basket each week. At the end of the evening, take home your first vegetables of this season! (subscribers will receive an email from Rebecca with additional details.)
We are very excited to see this program starting for another glorious season. If you know of others who might be interested in joining us, please spread the word that shares are still available. If you refer someone who subscribes, we’ll thank you with a free box of veggies and, of course, a huge hug and many thanks.
We look forward to meeting all of our new subscribers and seeing the familiar faces of friends and neighbors. Contact Rebecca if you have questions. And be sure to follow us on Instagram @persephonefarmer!
Did you know? One handful of good garden soil can contain more organisms than the number of human beings who have ever lived!
The local flower movement is riding quickly on the heals of the local food movement.
Here at Persephone we’re passionate about fresh flowers! We grow dozens of varieties including many herbs, bulbs, greens, ornamental grasses and old fashioned favorites like sweet peas, dahlias, daffodils and sunflowers. We arrange them for weddings, bunch them for the farmer’s market, offer them in our CSA boxes and provide them by the bucket for DIY fun! It’s exciting to see horizons expanding. Customers are asking for more than the tired predictable blooms flown in from Colombia and Ecuador, flowers whose backstory is something we’d rather not think about. The first thing we naturally want to do when we pick up a flower is to stick our nose in and take a big whiff. But sticking your nose into a scent-less, chemically processed rose which might last for a week on your table, but without much heart, can be pretty unsatisfying. You even question at the end of the week: should I add this to my compost pile?
PLEASE, DON’T FEEL GUILTY ABOUT TREATING YOURSELF TO FLOWERS!
Flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees and other pollinators. Our precious bees need all the help they can get. The fact that we don’t use chemicals on our plants make them an excellent food source for all sorts of beneficial insects we rely on to help with the checks and balances of keeping our crops pest-free.
Having lots of flowers in our fields also helps tremendously in our crop rotations. Disease cycles build up in the soil when a relatively small representation of vegetable plant families are grown season after season. Inserting the huge diversity of flower varieties into the mix has noticeably helped give our soil a break.
Persephone Farm is an a long time, well-loved vendor at the Bainbridge Island Farmer’s Market Stop by on Saturdays from 9-1 at our grassy site behind City Hall and join the fun. The market opens just before Easter and runs through at least the end of October- sometimes until Thanksgiving, weather depending.
Our booth offers a colorful seasonal mix of organically grown vegetables and a knowledgeable, friendly staff excited to help inspire you with recipe suggestions. We are well known at the market for our outstanding array of fresh cut flowers. As soon as the opening bell rings, shoppers flood to our stand to snatch up our colorful bouquets presented in signature olive oil cans. Designers grab and go with single stems and flowers by the bucket to arrange themselves. Customers are always surprised what an amazing value our farmer’s market flowers are compared to other local outlets. Buying direct from the grower makes all the difference. The market is a great place for brides to visit and discuss wedding flower options, see our quality and attention to detail.
At the stand you will get a chance to meet the Persephone interns, the next generation of America’s young farmers. Our amazing team comes to spend a season learning the ins and outs of working on a small farm. Staffing the farmer’s market is a high point for them each week as they showcase the literal fruits of their labor. We take pride in our hard work and love what we do. The pat on the back we get on Saturdays at the market, customers grateful for what we do, is a grand finale to the week.
Don’t forget to follow the BI Farmer’s Market page on instagram!