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Persephone Farm

Sustainably Grown Vegetables & Flowers – Indianola, Washington

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Internship Program

Our annual low-tide walk and other farm joys

July 8, 2021 By Persephone

(Excerpted from our CSA subscriber weekly newsletter) The days are busier and busier, as the daylight continues to linger on, the plants have been growing at such a fast rate that it’s hard to keep up! Some of the interns just reached the halfway point in their internship, and for others, the halfway point comes in a few weeks. 

Our internships, as part of a larger Kitsap County Farm Intern program run in coordination with WSU, are all about immersive, intensive, and experiential learning. 

This time of year is special to us, of course. In many ways, the solstice marks an important moment in the life of a farmer, both with regards to the plants and spiritually. The plants get to experience an unbounded opportunity for growth, with daylight stretching outwards into the evenings and early mornings. We mark the summer solstice with gratitude, and the bittersweet knowledge that the days will grow shorter now — the inevitable end of the season likely not far away. 

The lowest tides of the year happen right around the solstice, and we always make a point to take a long lunch and explore the beach at low tide! We found a moon snail and other sea critters, identified some seaweed types, and ate lunch on the beach! There were plenty of creatures, rocks, and plants that usually spend time under the water – it was special to walk out that far on the shore.

  • woman looking at moon snail at low tide
  • low tide excursion for farm interns on Indianola Beach

The internship centers itself around learning — encompassing both the natural environment and the ways of farming sustainably. While we take classes and do learning in more structured ways, a beach walk this like is a super neat chance to connect with and experientially learn about our maritime environment! One of the most wondrous parts of the internship program is that we get to grow together while learning.

If you were around last year (or even longer!), you might already know about our low tide walk, and be familiar with the folks that were around last year! As an ode to the particular nostalgia that this time of summer tends to spark – a sort of “Keeping Up with the Persephone Interns” — I thought I’d throw in some updates! In particular, Willow and Davis from the internship program last year have started their own sustainable veggie and flower farm in South Carolina!

They’re braving much more heat and humidity than we are, and it is so fun to watch our friends and colleagues take the tools that we’ve gleaned from Persephone, get out there, and do it! Willow and Davis are just one of many of Rebecca’s interns that have gone on to start their own farms. Oh, the places you’ll go, you know?

We’ve been appreciating even more lately our ability to gather and appreciating our friends, natural spaces, and the critters that reside in them. July, July. What a wonderful word. 

Enjoy the harvest (and these cooler temperatures – phew!)

Caitlin
(she/her)

And Beets!

Freshly-washed beets, ready for bunching

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Indianola beach, Internship Program, low tide, moon snail

Meet the 2019 Interns

March 10, 2019 By Persephone

Left to right: Sarah, Emily, Rebecca, Vanessa, and Emma

Please welcome our fabulous new interns!

Sarah, 26, is a librarian from MI who has been volunteering at the Lansing Food Bank Community Gardens and MSU student farm CSA for the past year.  She says that “honoring her commitments” is a core value for her.

Emily, 23,  has been managing a permaculture homestead in IN. She’s been living and working on the 75 acre property in a very solitary environment and is happy to be a part of a team at Persephone Farm. 

Vanessa, 22,  is originally from upstate NY. She has 30 stamps in her passport and I interviewed her while she was in Vienna. Her pet peeve is food waste.

Emma, 23, has been an intern for the last two seasons at Hayshaker Farm in Walla Walla which is owned and operated by Chandler Briggs, a past Persephone intern from way back in 2007. How’s that for a full circle connection? 

We’ve been potting up the seedlings and learning to use our beast of a rototiller to chop in the soil, building cover crops. We’re seeding broccoli, cauliflower, kale and many gorgeous new varieties of flowers. We’ve learned canning with some plum chutney I made to stay busy on a recent cold winter night. And we’re building the community which is Persephone Farm. Thank you for being a part of that community.  ~ Rebecca

Filed Under: News Tagged With: farmers, Interns, Internship Program

End of the Season

October 26, 2016 By Persephone

Rainbow over Persephone Farm
A rainbow over our last CSA harvest yesterday.

Happy (last) CSA Wednesday, everybody! What a season! As the CSA wraps up this week, so does our season here at Persephone. Our last official day of work is Friday, then we’ll all move on to our next steps in the next week or so. Looking back over the past 8 months it is really incredible how much this farm has transformed. Brand new areas have been turned into productive farmland, and all of us workers have grown and learned so much valuable knowledge. This week we’re wrapping up any loose ends, getting as much cover crop in the ground as possible, and harvesting our last rounds of flowers and vegetables. The weather today is a nice full-circle reminder of when we got here at the end of February, and the farm is starting to look more and more like it did when we arrived. Our few over-wintering crops are being prepped for colder temperatures to come, some by being nestled in the greenhouses or others by being sprayed with a cold-toughening kelp spray.

Five Persephone farmers posing with flowers
A throwback to one of our late Fridays making bouquets for market as a crew! From left to right, Brian, Kristina, Rebecca, Taylor, and Brooklyn, Persephone crew 2016

We hope that you all have enjoyed sharing in the bounty of the season with us. By supporting our farm you have allowed all of us flower-novices to learn the full cycle of flower growing, harvesting, and arranging — an experience we will all cherish for a long time. We have also all learned so much about vegetable production as well, and have been exposed to delicious regional treats such as pea shoots, sweet turnips and purple sprouting broccoli! From all of us at Persephone Farm 2016, including all of our pollinators like the one below, we would like to thank you for your kind words and continued support, and hope that you have a nice and relaxing winter.

– 2016 Persephone Interns

Farmer Rebecca holding a flower with a honeybee

Filed Under: CSA, News Tagged With: apprentices, CSA, Internship Program, local flowers, Rebecca Slattery

Intern Update: Squash, Farmers and Flowers!

July 14, 2016 By Persephone

Yellow and green summer squash
Summer squash ready for our CSA subscribers

Summer squash means it must be summer, right? We were warned about “Juneuary” but “Januly” is a whole different story. Luckily today seems to be warming back up – this sun is definitely a sight for sore eyes. This week we welcomed some new and old faces to the farm! Previous years’ interns stopped by to help out around the farm, and two new interns have been added to the mix (welcome Kris and Gracie). Be sure to say hello if you see them!

If you stopped by the Bainbridge Island Farmers market on Saturday (or saw our Facebook page), you already know we set a new Persephone Farm record of sweet pea bunches – 63! Those and all the other flowers bursting into bloom have been keeping us plenty busy, and us interns are getting to learn more about the flowers and how to harvest them. The most exciting part to me, though, is getting to use them in bouquets! Our intern bouquet making school, taught by Rebecca, is always a highlight of our Wednesdays and Fridays, and we hope you all are loving the beautiful flowers! Here are some pictures of our flowers we harvested this morning, and some of the bouquets we’ve made so far

-Intern Taylor
(Persephone’s note – Brian and Brooklyn are our other awesome 2016 Interns.)

CSA subscriber bouquets at Persephone Farm in Indianola , WA
CSA subscriber bouquets waiting for pickup

Freshly harvested flowers ready for bouquet making lesson
Freshly harvested flowers ready for our bouquet making lesson

Filed Under: CSA, Flowers, News Tagged With: Internship Program, local flowers, summer squash

Intern Update: Planting and Harvesting

July 7, 2016 By Persephone

Tomato harvest
The interns’ first tomato harvest!

Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July! We had a lovely day of harvesting salad greens and lavender before our community dinner and fireworks over the water. Over the past few weeks our greenhouse and hardening off tables (where young plants live in between the greenhouse and moving to the great outdoors) have been getting emptier and emptier as the last of our summer crops and successions are moving to their permanent homes. The last plants waiting patiently (some more patient than others) that we have been working on transplanting this week are beans, sunflowers, cauliflower, broccoli, and a few others.

We’re sad to see some of our favorites, such as raspberries, on their way out but are so excited to be learning about new vegetables and flowers! This week us interns learned about harvesting tomatoes, string beans, and summer squash, and soon even more summer delights such as peppers will be on the list! Hopefully our subscribers enjoy some new sights in their boxes this week!

– Intern Taylor

Filed Under: CSA, News Tagged With: apprentices, Internship, Internship Program, tomatoes

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The best carrots are star crossed lovers 🤩 what The best carrots are star crossed lovers 🤩 what kind of carrot is your favorite?! 
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#persephonefarm #flowerfarmers #womenwhofarm #farminternship #carrot #justfarmingthings #starcrossedlovers
Sign up for next years CSA by October 19 to lock i Sign up for next years CSA by October 19 to lock in this years price! 🌞 We had such a wonderful season and we are close to the finish line. If you loved your veggies and flowers and want more of them secure your spot!🍅🥒🧅

To those of you who missed out on being a subscriber this year, sign up for next season at this years price! We would love to add you to our Persephone family. 😊
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#persephonefarm #flowerfarmers #womenwhofarm #farminternship #justfarmingthings #persephone #csa #farmseason2022
This is what our Wednesday morning fridge looks li This is what our Wednesday morning fridge looks like! With gorgeous vegetables galore we prepare for our weekly deliveries 🚚 first stop @kitsapfresh, second stop @blackbirdbakerybainbridge , third stop @bayhayandfeed , fourth @helplinehouse pantry, and last our CSA pickup location on Bainbridge. 

Our team works tirelessly Tuesday and Wednesday to get your fresh food to your door! See you next week 😉
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#persephonefarm #flowerfarmers #womenwhofarm #farminternship #snakes #justfarmingthings #wildlife
It’s fall and we just want to remind everyone to It’s fall and we just want to remind everyone to get their peppers now! We grow the strongest peppers around 😉 they can do all the heavy lifting in the kitchen

Pick them up at @bifarmersmarket and on @kitsapfresh 
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#persephonefarm #flowerfarmers #womenwhofarm #farminternship  #justfarmingthings #peppers #bellpeppers #sweetpeppers
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