• Goats and sheep worked the blackberries all summer preparing the Orchard. Sammamish Valley 4-H won Blue Ribbons at the Fair and their leaders, David & Lila Chapman, are our new livestock managers. Read goat bios

Farmers had almost five acres in crop production during the growing season. People made a bee-line for our farm produce available at several farmers markets, while produce sales continue to increase at local, Seattle restaurants, including weekly supplies of 21 Acres collards to Kingfish Café on Capital Hill. The most popular crops were tomatoes and everlasting strawberries.

• The Spiral Garden, grown in partnership with Growing Washington, was planted, the bat house is up and an Apiary is established.
  

• We are currently installing a solar powered (artesian well supplied, gravity feed) irrigation system that will be collecting data, to help us determine the most efficient watering systems directly related to crops grown. Plans are to surround this storage tank with a showcase living wall, complete with bird habitat by Living Roof designer, Patrick Carey.  
  

A solar powered pump is also being used at the Garden Shed pond. The water is clear and tadpoles and honeybees abound. The living fence is growing nicely.  Special thanks to Landtec,  Nick Whitman; Comcast employees and friends; Permaculturist, Wolfgang Mayr; Vince Carlson, Evitavonni Architecture; Steve Dahl, 21 Acres Volunteer Coordinator, and to everyone who helped pull the many parts together.

• The Conditional Use Permit (CUP) has been received and permitting on the  Agricultural Building is moving forward with ground breaking anticipated in June, 2008.

• At the many farm lunches and dinners, hundreds enjoyed produce from the Back 18 bounty enhanced by the culinary skills of our talented farmers and chefs and offered amid this beautiful, bucolic setting with an unplanned grand finale of hot air balloons landing -  huge, colorful parachutes you could almost touch on Farmer Brown's adjacent fields.  Thank-you, Mike Dash for your flavors blended in your wood burning oven pizzas. I've never seen people go back for 3rds and 4ths like this.  Just plain, good food.  We appreciate the many volunteers who worked tirelessly for hours chopping fresh ingredients that made Mike's pizzas the best.
  

Orchard at 21 Acres

The first planting in the Orchard is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday,  November 17.  Come join us to learn about how to take care of your own fruit tree.

When to go Organic

The New York Times says  there are times when it really pays to buy organic. According to a recent Times post, switching to organic is tough for many families who don’t want to pay higher prices or give up their favorite foods. But by choosing organic versions of just a few foods that you eat often, you can increase the percentage of organic food in your diet without big changes to your shopping cart or your spending.  What are the five most important choices?

 Keep 21 Acres in Mind for the Holidays

21 Acres is participating in the King County Waste Free Holidays program. Reducing waste is especially important during the holiday season. Americans throw away 25 percent more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year‘s Day than during any other time of the year. The Waste Free Holidays program rewards the public for reducing waste, and supports local businesses and organizations. And, don’t forget the 21 Acres Gift Registry is always available on our website. Consider making a contribution to 21 Acres before the end of the year. Your unrestricted gift of cash will go directly to our capital campaign.

Recent activities and events

• A continuous stream of volunteers assisted Growing Washington and the 21 Acres Farm crew: a class of youth volunteers led by Sommer Whitmarsh with Americorps, under the guidance of Vincent Felice, worked in the fields for two weeks in August planting and harvesting;

Secondary Academy for Success continued their semi-annual work throughout the farm and demonstration garden areas in September; Cascadia Community College and University of Washington-Bothell teachers and students conducted classes at 21 Acres and are working on several projects throughout the fall.

• 21 Acres currently has an operating Resource Library thanks to volunteer, Bev Dickinson. Access by contacting: generalinfo@21acres.org

• The Community Gardens thrived and the new Raised Beds saw their first season of harvest gardened by several seniors and disabled from our local community. The Children’s Garden was an unexpected addition and a welcome learning experience for our garden youth. Thank you to Mitzi Rants and Monique Kenney for their creation, coordination and unending dedication to this endeavor.

We also participated in:

Sustainable September
United Way Day of Caring
King County Harvest Farm Tour Celebration
Woodinville Rotary Auction (as a beneficiary)
Celebrate Food and Farming,
      a  first ever Woodinville Harvest Festival event

A recent Hartman Report stated, “62% of the consuming public now wants to buy food that is consistent with their values.”

Photos by Brenda Vanderloop,  Jay Munro & Katie Munro