First pick up day of the first pick up week of the season 🌱 The Farmer really enjoys presenting the boxes in person. It’s a great time to check in with customers – our investors – about the farm. And Loki loves loudly announcing visitors, tail wagging the whole time!
Both Tatsoi and Pac Choi are in your boxes this week – you’ll know Pac Choi by the bulb at the base. Last year we introduced 10 Minute Pac Choi, which really is a delicious, easy side. Just yesterday we tried this Tatsoi Salad, which turned out great even without the cucumber (not in season 😉) and substituting flax seed for hemp hearts.
Enjoy your first boxes, and we’ll see you next week!
CSA boxes and farm letters awaiting pickup in the cool of the walk in.
Stop by the Farm for plant starts: Saturday May 13, 9am-2pm. Cash or check only. Updated plant list below.
1/2 off on all 6 packs and tomatoes. Free plant for all Mothers! See list below.
Lots of peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, zucchini and winter squash.
After Saturday, sales by appointment only. Call or text 360-338-8654.
Farm Tip of the Week: Don’t put all of your eggs in in one basket. Plants lots of different things. And lots of different varieties. Take notes of what works and what does not. Adjust accordingly. Become intimate with your microclimate.
Stop by the Farm for plant starts: Saturdays and Sundays, 9am-2pm. Cash or check only. Shop early for best selection. Updated plant list below.
Farm Tip of the Week: Test your soil! It’s inexpensive and the only way to know what you need to add – or need to avoid – in order for your plants to thrive. Local testing is available through the Thurston Conservation District. More information is available at https://www.thurstoncd.com/working-lands/soil-testing/
Stop by the Farm for plant starts: Saturdays and Sundays, 9am-2pm. Cash or check only. Shop early for best selection. Updated plant list below.
Farm Tip of the Week: When choosing plants, make sure to choose varieties that are appropriate for your climate and micro-climate. The plants we sell at Urban Futures Farm are proven to thrive in Olympia.
FarmFest, our annual solar-powered celebration of music and community takes place July 28/29. This is an intimate outdoor festival with lots of room to spread out, enjoy great music from national and regional bands, and dance if the spirit moves you. Tickets are going fast – only 38 left! Also a fundraiser for Community Farm Land Trust. To see who’s playing and to purchased tickets check out our website.
The Pine Hearts will be taking the stage again in 2023!
Stop by the Farm for plant starts: Saturdays and Sundays, 9am-2pm. Cash or check only. Shop early for best selection. Updated plant list below.
Farm Tip of the Week: Never turn or till your soil when it’s wet and saturated. This practice will destroy the structure of your soil and could take years to recover. Patience is a gardener’s best friend.
Stop by the Farm for plant starts: Saturdays and Sundays, 9am-2pm. Cash or check only. Shop early for best selection. Plant list below.
Farm Tip of the Week: Due to the unseasonably cold spring, plants like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers should wait to be planted out. We will offer heat loving crops when it’s the right time to plant.
The continued cold weather has delayed the plant sale by about two weeks, but come mid-April our baby plants will be ready to go out into the wild world! Next week we’ll have the first plant list out on our plant start page, which will be updated each week as stock turns over. From April 14 until further notice, stop by the Farm Saturdays and Sundays from 9am-2pm. Our supplies are limited, so early bird gets the best selection. Cash or check only please.
Over the winter we discovered crock pot chicken with our Riverbird Farm birds, and wow, is it a game changer! Season your (thawed) chicken, set it in the crock pot (we set it on some canning rings to elevate), turn it to low and walk away for 5-6 hours. So tender and juicy! We get two meals plus stock bones from each bird. While some might argue a certain infamous $4.99 rotisserie chix is cheaper and faster, our response is “at what cost?” Buying local pastured meat creates a smaller carbon footprint, is kinder to the animals and healthier for you. So check out our friends at Riverbird Farm! We are the Eastside pickup location for their CSA, and our members can sign up to pick up a chicken whenever they are picking up their veggie box – one stop shopping for delicious local food!
Speaking of pastured poultry, our laying flock is in full spring egg production mode! $7 a dozen. Text the Farmer at 360.338.8654 for pickup.
It may be frosty and freezing outside, but inside the warmth of the propagation room, tomato seedlings are emerging! Fact is, our PNW growing season is so short that most all our plants need a head start. Are you planting a garden this year? Whether for the pure joy of biting into a vine-ripened tomato from your patio pot, or wanting to control your food budget a bit, growing yer own can be a rewarding pastime.
Each spring we offer a limited amount of veggie starts grown right here on the farm for our neighbors to plant in their gardens. Having the Farmer nearby is a great additional resource for when you have questions throughout the summer. With 30+ years experience growing veggies, he’s ‘pert much seen it all.
What do you want to eat this summer? Post your comments below and we’ll get those seeds started. Talk about concierge service! And free consultation to boot!
A: CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. When you buy a CSA you are actually investing in a share of a farm. Usually a flat fee is paid to a farm at the beginning of the season while the customer receives farm fresh products at agreed upon intervals (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc). This arrangement provides financial security for the farmers and allows the consumer to share in both the bounty and risks throughout the harvest season. If you have the ways and means to buy a CSA, that money goes directly to the farm. They are able to invest more in their farm business while continuing to grow more food for our communities.
While Urban Futures Farm operates on a CSA model, we are sold out for the season. We are fortunate however, to have a lot of farmers in our community happy to provide you with fresh, healthy food! Learn more through the Community Farm Land Trust and their 2023 CSA guide.
Sample of a CSA box. Most come in different sizes, some come with add-ons like meat, eggs or dairy.
urbanfuturesfarm.com 