A carrot year

(CSA Newsletter: Summer Week 7)

Meet this week’s vegetables:

Last year, with its intense heat, was definitely a fruit year: our melons, tomatoes, and peppers practically fell ripe off the plants before we could harvest them.

This year, with its cool temperatures, has been less exciting for fruits, but—boy—have those carrots been good. You can thank the mellow summer for our sweet carrot harvests, since they would have long ago turned woody in a hotter season. We like to think that the carrot gods smiled on us for naming our new kittens after our favorite carrot varieties (Nelson & Mokum). Or, more likely, it was just a happy coincidence. Either way, we’ve loved the abundance of tender carrots, and I think we will always remember this year for its carrots as much as anything else.

Although there will be plenty to rival the carrots in our memories, I’m sure. What a year. We can hardly believe we’re not even halfway through our second CSA season, and we haven’t even owned our land for an entire calendar year—the anniversary of our closing date is next month.

This week held its own small highlights, including breaking our market sales record again. We also received the good news that our water rights application is finally in the end stages of approval. Due to the slow bureaucratic process (and an under-staffed water resources department), we still won’t receive our actual rights for several more weeks, but we’re getting close enough that we can almost breathe a sigh of relief. And so far, the slough we’re watering from now is holding out. Again, we’re thankful for the cool, wet summer, since it certainly would not have lasted this long in another summer.

We are eternally grateful for infinite small mercies from nature such as this one. We attended a summer solstice party this year, where we were asked to write a summer prayer to burn in the fire. Casey and I both, individually, wrote one single word on our papers: water.

So far, so good on that hope …

Of course, farming is more complicated than just hoping for one thing and receiving it. We know that the cool, wet summer has not been welcome in every part of the valley. We’ve heard from friends involved with viticulture that the vineyards are showing signs of powdery mildew, and another friend who grows plums has missed entire harvests due to cracked fruits. So we take our perceived blessings with a grain of salt: this year, we are ok.

We’ve mentioned many times before that diversity is our lifeboat, and I suppose this year is a good example of that it action. We grow over 47 vegetable types (and over 180 distinct varieties)—not all of them ask for the same ideal growing conditions, and in any one year they certainly don’t all produce perfectly. But at this point, almost any condition will be good for most of them. It’s a safeguard for us and consequently for you. Regardless of cool weather, we have something in our fields that should flourish. This year, it’s carrots.

So, we ride out the seasons, hoping to stay on top of work and harvest whatever is ready. Since we only have two seasons under our belt here in the Willamette Valley, we’re glad that it’s been these two years: the stark contrast between the two reminds us how little we can rely on from season to season. After last year, we were convinced we had just moved to the Central Valley of California—this year we’re remembering that we are still in the Northwest after all. A fact for which we’re grateful.

We’ll continue to plan for heat when planting the veggie garden, because there’s no denying we get our share around here. In fact, this season may still have some heat waves ahead.

For now though, we’re enjoying the season we have at hand: with its mellow comforts and sweet carrots. Enjoy this week’s vegetables!

Your farmers,

Katie & Casey Kulla
Oakhill Organics

CSA Open House this weekend!

This Saturday, August 18, please join us on the farm for a fun-filled, casual open house. Since our first open house was rained out, we know that many of you have yet to walk the farm and see your vegetables growing in the fields. We hope that you can make it out to see August’s abundance for yourself.

Come by anytime between 1 and 5 pm. We’ll provide a self-guided tour, snacks, and activities for kids. Plus, you’ll be able to mingle with other CSA members to discuss what you’ve been eating this summer (as well as anything else that comes up). Also, if you’d like to pick some blackberries, bring an empty container and we’ll direct you to the patch on our farm.

Directions: From HWY-18, head south on Lafayette Hwy. Turn left (east) onto Fairview Rd (there will be a sign for Hauer of the Dauen winery). Stay on Fairview as it crosses Hwy 221-Wallace Rd, at which point Fairview will turn into Grand Island Rd. Stay on Grand Island Rd as it crosses the bridge. Turn right at the first intersection (there will be grapevines on your left & a cherry orchard on the right), onto Upper Island Rd. Our property is the second on the left. We’ll have signs to direct you to parking & the fields. Please be respectful of our neighbors as you come & go! Call if you have questions: 503-474-7661.

More local food sources:

In last week’s newsletter, I pondered the meaning of the word ‘local.’ To follow up that analysis, I thought I’d share some of the sources Casey and I rely upon for our diet:

Those are just a few starts. For more specific items, we recommend searching LocalHarvest.org and asking around. Happy eating!