This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Basil: It might be time to get out the food processor for pesto making, because basil is back again and even more bountiful than last week.

• Fava Beans: You will receive Fava Beans in your share this week and next week. They are a crop that is here and gone quickly, so enjoy them while they are around. WARNING– There is a rare genetic deficiency that affects some people and can lead to health problems if they eat fava beans. This condition is relatively rare and usually detected by childhood, but if you have never eaten fava beans before we recommend you check out www.g6pd.org to learn more.

• New Potatoes, Red Gold: Another round of delicious new potatoes. You may notice they are unwashed, and that is because we didn’t want to further peel their delicate “new” skins. Also, make sure to keep them refrigerated as they have not yet developed a thick and protective skin.

• Scallions (Green Onions): Enjoy the last early season round in your share this week.

CSA Split Payment Reminder

This is a friendly reminder that those of you set-up for split payments, your second installation is due by July 15.

Please send checks to:

Sauvie Island Organics LLC.
20233 NW Sauvie Island Rd
Portland, OR 97231

Beat the Heat

We’ve got some hot days in the forecast, and with that here are a few reminders for making sure your veggies  don’t get cooked early.

• Pick-up on the day of delivery. Picking up on the day of delivery is always your best option for optimal quality of your share, but this is even more true with summer heat.
• Don’t leave your share in the car.  Greens can go from happy and crisp to a sad and wilted in a matter of minutes in a hot car.
• Cool it off. Once home give your lettuce, chard, and bok choi a cool douse of water before they go into the fridge to keep them hydrated and perky.

Can You Help the Farm? We Need a Vehicle

Do you have an older (but loved) pick-up truck, mini-van, passenger-van, or car that is looking for the perfect place to retire. Send it here to SIO and we’ll happily welcome your old baby into our family of work vehicles. We are in search of a well-used, well-loved, no-longer-needed, automatic or manual transmission vehicles that can be used to transport people, produce and/or equipment from different sites. We are open to donations, or low-priced offers. Rest assured knowing that on our farm only rewarding work filled days and peaceful calm nights on the island lie in wait for your much deserving engined friend. Please email (csa@sauvieislandorganics.com) or call (503.621.6921) if you have just the right member for our team.

This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Basil: We hope you enjoy the first taste of basil in your share this week. This first “pinch” allows us to get to the plants before they set flower, encouraging abundant leaf growth so we can enjoy even more of their delicious aroma and flavor in several more weeks.

• Broccoli: Abundant once again this week; enjoy it while it’s here as the season for broccoli is brief yet prolific.

• Collard Greens: Enjoy the last early season round of collards in your share this week.

• Napa Cabbage: Also known as Chinese Cabbage, this crop is delicious used raw, lightly sauteed or in a batch of Kimchi.

Can You Help the Farm? We Need a Vehicle

Do you have an older (but loved) pick-up truck, mini-van, passenger-van, or car that is looking for the perfect place to retire. Send it here to SIO and we’ll happily welcome your old baby into our family of work vehicles. We are in search of a well-used, well-loved, no-longer-needed, automatic or manual transmission vehicles that can be used to transport people, produce and/or equipment from different sites. We are open to donations, or low-priced offers. Rest assured knowing that on our farm only rewarding work filled days and peaceful calm nights on the island lie in wait for your much deserving engined friend. Please email (csa@sauvieislandorganics.com) or call (503.621.6921) if you have just the right member for our team.

Save the Date

Your Invited to the SIO Annual Potato Harvest Party & French Fry Feast
Saturday August, 16th 10am-2pm

Mark your calendars to join us for our annual Potato Harvest Party & French Fry Feast. This is a very kid friendly event, and in addition to potato harvesting we’ll have fresh french fries at eat and sprinklers to cool you down. Please bring a potluck dish to share. Join us anytime during the event, even just for lunch!

This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Broccoli: Rejoice for bountiful broccoli in the share this week. Our yields came in so high we decided to leave the Lacinato Kale in the field to size up a bit more and enjoy in another week. Enjoy raw, steamed, roasted, grilled or sauteed, but be sure not to over cook. Feeling like the broccoli bounty may be too much for one week? Just blanch and freeze what you won’t use this week and save for using another day.

• Mustard Green, Red Giant: If you are new to mustard greens then give these a little nibble fresh first as they tend to be packed with spicy kick. The mustardy hot taste mellows when cooked.

• New Potatoes, Red Gold: Your Red Gold’s this week are young with tender skins. You may notice the potatoes are a bit muddy, and that is because we didn’t want to further peel their delicate “new” skins with abrasive washing. Just give them a gentle rinse to reveal the beautiful spuds.  Also, make sure to keep them refrigerated as they have not yet developed a thick and protective skin.

The Buzz: It’s National Pollinator Week

This year marks the 8th celebration of National Pollinator Week (June 16-22). Pollinating animals, including bees, birds, butterflies, bats, beetles and others, are vital to the earth’s delicate ecosystem, supporting terrestrial wildlife, providing healthy watershed, and more. Here at SIO we couldn’t farm with our the help of our pollinating friends, and we regularly include beneficial flowers in our row crops, as well as large beds of mixed beneficials called “insectory” plantings.  So flap your wings and dance like a bee, because it’s time to celebrate your favorite pollinators.

Pollination Celebration with the Sauvie Island Center

Join the Sauvie Island Center on Saturday, June 21st from 10 am to noon for our annual celebration of these hard-working friends of the farm. Pollination Celebration will offer attendees a sneak peek into the world of pollinators, the challenges they face and the important role they play in farming and our food supply. While everyone is welcome to walk the farm and native hedgerow with us, the event will feature games and interactive learning opportunities for kids from Pre-K to 5th grade. For more information and registration visit Pollination Celebration.

This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Lettuce, Magenta: The Magenta lettuce in your share this week is red summer crisp variety. The prolific heads are tinged with red, just the right amount of frilly to hold on to that yummy dressing, and still pack a bit of the Romaine like crunch.

• Turnips, Hakurei: The Hakurei turnip is a Japanese turnip that is truly best eaten raw. Its delicate flavor and crisp texture are perfect as is, and cooking tends to make it soggy. Just slice it, thick or thin as you prefer, and add it to salads, appetizer platters, or serve it on its own as a snack or side dish.  They are also great for pickling, so long after CSA season is over you can continue to enjoy the fresh crisp of turnips. The fresh turnip greens are also edible, and lightly sauteed will have a pleasant and slightly spicy flavor.

• Scallions (Green Onions): We are trying several new varieties of scallions this season in an effort to see which are best suited for our spring climate. The variety in this week’s share is called Parade, and it’s a Organic variety that we sourced from High Mowing Organic Seeds out of Wolcott, VT.

Behind the Scenes at SIO

Here at SIO we are lucky to have an amazing crew of individuals that come together each day as a team to harvest, wash, pack-out, delivery, tractor, weed, irrigate, transplant and otherwise help operate the farm. In the photo above is a snapshot of some of the SIO crew while on a morning break at the end of May.

The Blog: It’s Always Worth a Second Look

We try our best to make sure the blog is complete as possible when we post for the week, but from time to time notes are edited or recipes are added. Remember to check back later in week to see if there are any new recipes, or news from the farm you may have missed.

Save the Date

Your Invited to the SIO Annual Potato Harvest Party & French Fry Feast
Saturday August, 16th 10am-2pm

Mark your calendars to join us for our annual Potato Harvest Party & French Fry Feast. This is a very kid friendly event, and in addition to potato harvesting we’ll have fresh french fries at eat and sprinklers to cool you down. Please bring a potluck dish to share. Join us anytime during the event, even just for lunch!

Sauvie Island Center Offering Summer Farm Camps for Kids

Sauvie Island Center is a non-profit educating kids about food, farming and the land. They are offering several Summer Farm Camp programs in July, and you can find more information about those and how to register on their website (www.sauvieislandcenter.org/camps).

This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Collard Greens: This is our first season trying these out as a spring crop, and so far we are pleased with results. These broad , hearty, leathery leaves hold up well to long slow cooking and are a stronghold of southern cooking.

• Scallions (Green Onions): We are trying several new varieties of scallions this season in an effort to see which are best suited for our spring climate. The variety in this week’s share is called Pride, and it’s a Organic F1 Hybrid variety that we sourced from High Mowing Organic Seeds out of Wolcott, VT.

Important Things to Remember When Picking-up

Save the Date

Your Invited to the SIO Annual Potato Harvest Party & French Fry Feast
Saturday August, 16th 10am-2pm

Mark your calendars to join us for our annual Potato Harvest Party & French Fry Feast. This is a very kid friendly event, and in addition to potato harvesting we’ll have fresh french fries at eat and sprinklers to cool you down. Please bring a potluck dish to share. Join us anytime during the event, even just for lunch!

Sauvie Island Center Offering Summer Farm Camps for Kids

Sauvie Island Center is a non-profit educating kids about food, farming and the land. They are offering several Summer Farm Camp programs in July, and you can find more information about those and how to register on their website (www.sauvieislandcenter.org/camps).

This Week’s Share

Share Notes

Things are Heating Up at SIO

As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers. With nearly four inches of rain this month and a series of warm dry days upon us, spring is in full swing at the farm. March and early April kept the crew busy transplanting all of our onions, shallots, and scallions (see photo below) in to the field for the season. Beets, carrots, fava beans, potatoes, lettuce, garlic, fennel, kale, chard, and collards are in the field and growing day by day with the increasing daylight. As of last week a full house of heirloom tomatoes are in the ground of the first of our two unheated hoop houses, and have been double-leader trellised  (see photo above). We are growing Cherokee Green, Cherokee Purple, Tiffen Mennonite, Gold Medal heirlooms varieties this year, and several more varieties of slicers in the field.

Ava Gene’s Comes to Visit the Farm

Here at SIO we are proud to grow fresh, seasonal, nutritious produce for the people, families, and commercial kitchens of the greater Portland area. There are a few ways to access our delicious vegetables; you can join as a member of our CSA, purchase direct as a commercial customer, or sometimes find us through one of our wholesale partners (Organically Grown Company, Food Front Cooperative Grocery, Whole Foods: The Pearl) or at the Hillsdale Farmer’s Market in the winter. One of our favorite things to do with our customers is bring them out for a visit to the farm, and this last week we had the opportunity to hang out with some of the chefs and staff from Ava Gene’s restaurant on SE Division St. (CSA Members see below for your  personal invite to the farm).  Executive Chef Sam Smith and his crew were excited to take on the rain and mud for a tour the fields, harvesting some overwintered kale, and finding out more about how the farm works from the ground up. While the farm visit was relaxing and fun, it was clear the crew at AG’s takes the job of preparing the ingredients and coaxing the best out of them seriously. As farmers it’s always exciting to hear direct from the chef what crops are their favorites, and likewise we like to grow them if possible.

Save the Date: Come Join Us for the Spring Farm Tour & Potluck

Join us Saturday, May 17th to kick-off the season with a tour of the farm and a CSA Community Potluck. This event is from 11am to 2pm. Tours of the farm will happen at 11am & 1pm and we will share a potluck lunch at noon. Bring your family, friends, kids, neighbors, and anyone you think would enjoy a day on the farm, and don’t forget to bring a potluck dish to share. The farm fields are located at 13615 NW Howell Park Rd, just a mile past the Sauvie Island Bridge.

Now is the time–Sign-up for 2014

Sign-up now before we fill up. We have less than 100 shares left before we are sold out, so make sure to submit your sign-up form, mail in your payment and secure your share of the harvest this season. We have availability at all of our pick-up sites in the Portland area, and if you have any questions please email us csa@sauvieislandorganics.com or call our office at 503.621.6921.

Do you work at Providence and thought it was too late to sign-up? It’s not! Just fill out the sign-up form from our website, select your preferred payment option (PEP is no longer an option, but we can do a payment plan through the farm), and the farm will get back to you with a confirmation via email.

Spring is in the Air

It’s that exciting time of year. Cherry and plum trees around Portland and Sauvie Island are in full bloom. Bees are buzzing. Onion, shallot, scallion, fennel, chard, kale, broccoli and lettuce starts are warming and stretching their roots in the greenhouse. Carrots, radish, Japanese turnips, and beet seeds are trying to break through the soft spring soil with their first leaves of the season and say hello to sun and rain. The farm is busy with life, and the our seasonal crew is back a few days a week to help with seeding  and irrigation in the green house, preparing greenhouses and equipment for the coming season, weeding in the fields, potting up plants starts, and much more.

Now is the time–Sign-up for 2014

Although it’s only the end of March, the first week of the season will be here before you know it. Sign-up now for the coming season before we fill up. Know someone that kept eyeing your share last year? Have a friend/neighbor/co-worker that missed out ? Let friends, family and co-workers know about the joys of being an SIO CSA member now so they don’t miss out again, and if they mention your name in their sign-up form comments then we’ll send you a voucher for a free loaf of bread from Grand Central Bakery in Portland, OR. Grand Central has been a long time customer of SIO, purchasing a variety of our crops throughout the season. If you’re ever in one of their local bakery/cafe locations May-December just ask what SIO produce is on the menu.

Save the Date: Come Join Us for the Spring Farm Tour & Potluck

Join us Saturday, May 17^st to kick-off the season with a tour of the farm and a CSA Community Potluck. This event is from 11am to 2pm. Tours of the farm will happen at 11am & 1pm and we will share a potluck lunch at noon. Bring your family, friends, kids, neighbors, and anyone you think would enjoy a day on the farm, and don’t forget to bring a potluck dish to share. The farm fields are located at 13615 NW Howell Park Rd, just a mile past the Sauvie Island Bridge.

Calling all CSA Containers!!

Do you have any black CSA containers laying around your house, office or car? You are not alone, so get it off your chest and let us know. We are charged a fee by the company we rent them from for each container that is not returned, so please please please search your house, garage, trunk, and porch for any containers. We are happy to figure out a way to get it out of your way and back onto the farm.

Happy 2014 from SIO

Field Assistant (Aaron Bini), Harvest Manager (Jen Surdyk), and Field Assistant (Louis Kemp) hosting the SIO stand at the Hillsdale Farmers Market in late December.

Show Your SIO Spirit–Sign-up for the Upcoming Season

It’s hard to believe we’ve entered a new year (and are halfway through January), but that means we that much closer to the beginning of the coming season. For those of you already longing for fresh spring greens, crisp radishes, and pungent green garlic you can sign up for your share of the 2014 season now. Complete and submit the Community Farm Agreement at http://sauvieislandorganics.com/join.php and send in your $100 deposit to secure your spot.

Mail deposits & payments to:

Sauvie Island Organics LLC. 
20233 NW Sauvie Island Rd
Portland, OR 97231

Or call us in the office 503.621.6921 to pay over the phone by credit card.

We look forward to growing for you in 2014!

Still Wanting More SIO this Winter? Find us at the Hillsdale Farmers Market

Come find SIO at the Hillsdale Farmers Market this Sunday 1/19 from 10am-2pm. This is our fourth (and likely our last) appearance at the Hillsdale Farmers Market this winter, and we’d love to seem some familiar faces under our tent. We will have Red Beets, Celery Root, Green Kohlrabi, Delicata Winter Squash, Parsnips, and Yukon Gold Potatoes for sale.

The Hillsdale is held in the Wilson High-Rieke Elementary parking lot, 1405 SW Vermont St. Parking is available at the north entrance located at the intersection of SW Capitol Hwy and SW Sunset Blvd.

A Much Needed Expansion

Here at SIO winter is a time for us to rest up, plan for the coming season, and make improvements to our systems to ensure an even better season than the last. Each of the past several winters we’ve added capacity to our unheated greenhouse space, and well we’re doing it again folks.

This January we began construction on an additional 20ft x 78ft unheated greenhouse that will feature roll-up sides for manual temperature and humidity control, automated overhead irrigation system, and raised tables for the plant starts. In the photo above our wonderful Field Assistant, Aaron, is at the south end of the metal framing for the new greenhouse. This new space will be used for hardening off greenhouse start before they are transplanted into the field.

Behind the new structure (in the photo) you can see our current heated green house space, which will be attached to the new unheated space space. In the right of the photo you also see our other two unheated hoop house spaces, one built in the winter of 2012 and the other in the winter of 2013. With the addition of the new unheated greenhouse space it opens up our hoop houses, previously used for hardening off, for a variety of early spring planting and fall season extension possibilities.

This Week’s Share…Last Week of the Season

Share Notes

• Chicory, Pan di Zucchero: The beautiful elongated chicory in your share this week is a sugarloaf type, hence is sweeter flavor and long loaf like nature. This fall treat holds up well to sauteeing, but has great flavor fresh and hold up well against robust dressings, so why not treat yourself to a fresh fall salad.

• Winter Squash, Delicata: Winter squash stores best in cool, dry, dark place (garage, basement, cellar, etc), and should keep well if stored this way for 3 to 6 weeks.

2013 CSA Season Comes to a Close: Thank You & See you Next Season

That’s right, it’s here, the last week of the 2013 CSA season has arrived. Thank you to you, our members, for another great season. Thank you to our generous and patient site hosts and site coordinators for offering their space and time for another season of successful pick-ups. And thank you to our awesome and hard working crew for seeding, planting, weeding, harvesting, irrigating, tractoring, washing, packing, and delivering all season long in order to bring you your share of the harvest each week.

While our weekly CSA shares are coming to an end, we will be offering Bulk Vegetable Boxes  through mid-December with pick-up at the farm, and limited pick-up options in the city. We will also be at the Hillsdale (Winter) Farmer’s Market in December (Sunday 12/8 & Sunday 12/22; 10am-2pm).

Box Share Members: Please Return Your Containers

Please return your final empty bin (and any others you may have collected) to your site within 1 week of your final pick-up. We will be by to collect them on your usual delivery day next week. We are charged a fee by the company we rent them from for each container that is not returned, so please please please search your house, garage, trunk, and porch for any containers on the loose and return them to your usual pick-up site. Thank you in advance for returning your containers.

Show Your SIO Spirit–Sign-up for Next Year

It’s hard to believe the end is here, but wow, what a great season of eating is has been. For those of you already longing for fresh spring greens, crisp radishes, and pungent green garlic you can sign up for your share of the 2014 season now. Complete and submit the Community Farm Agreement athttp://sauvieislandorganics.com/join.php and send in your $100 deposit to secure your spot.

• If you decide to PAY IN FULL by December 13th, 2013 you’ll receive a THANK YOU BOX of STORAGE VEGGIES
  • 20lb Box for Full Share and 10lb Box for Half Share
  • Your choice of beets, carrots, celeriac, kohlrabi, fennel, potatoes, Delicata winter squash, Acorn winter squash (choose up to 5 crops).
  • Your Thank You Box can be delivered to a limited number of locations in town through mid-December, or picked-up at the farm by arrangement throughout the month of December.

• Pay your deposit by December 31st, 2013 to guarantee the 2013 share pricing.

We are also signing-up new members for the 2014 season, so pass along the word to friends, family, co-workers or neighbors that now is the time to sign-up, and if they pay early they too can get in on the SIO Thank You Box this winter!

Good Eats: Thank You Katherine for a Season of Cooking

We just couldn’t close out the season without giving a big THANK YOU to our weekly recipe extraordinaire Katherine Deumling. We will be teaming up with Katherine Deumling (pictured above) and her SE Portland based Cook with What you Have(www.cookwithwhatyouhave.com)  again in 2014 to bring you weekly recipes and other cooking tips related to your weekly share.

Katherine says “I help people cook more often and have fun in the kitchen by becoming confident, creative cooks using what grows in our fertile region. By offering tips, recipes and simple and creative ways to use the produce I hope to eliminate any fear or guilt of not using all the produce or the boredom of making stir-fries every night”.

You can always look back at Katherine’s recipes and tips from the season in our blog archives, but we also suggest following her on her blog (http://cookwithwhatyouhave.wordpress.com/) where she talks about the ups and downs and the whats and whys of feeding a family well in this busy world. Katherine also teaches classes focusing on what’s in season. The classes typically focus on straightforward weeknight dinners, and you can find her current offering on herwebsite.

Order Bulk Vegetables from SIO

Parsnips now available for Bulk Boxes. For this coming week please place your order by noon Thursday 12/5. All orders will be available for pick-up at the farm 12pm (Noon) Friday 12/6 through 5pm Sunday 12/8. To place an order email the farm (or reply to this one) with your name,  type of Bulk Box(es) you’d like, and the weekend you want them available for pick-up at the farm. You will receive an email confirming your order and directions for how to pick-up it up from the farm. Please invite your non-CSA member friends, neighbors, and co-workers to take advantage of this opportunity and get in on some of the SIO bounty as well.

Bulk Vegetable Box Options:

• Bulk Beet Box: $35 for 20lb box (red beets only)

• Bulk Carrot Box: $25 for 20lb box

• Bulk Celeriac/Celery Root Box: $50 for 20lb box

• Bulk Kohlrabi Box: $30 for 20lb box

• Bulk Parsnip Box: $40 for 20lb box

• Bulk Potatoes Box: $25 for 20lb box (yellow potatoes only)

• Bulk Mixed Box (Type 1): $28 for 20lb box

  • Mix of carrots, beets, parsnips and potatoes

• Bulk Mixed Box (Type 2): $32 for 20lb box

  • Mix of carrots, celeriac, kohlrabi and potatoes