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Red Russian Kale and Pears

New Prices

Before I delve into the world of fall on the farm. Starting the week of October 19, we will be raising prices $1.50 to each of our standard boxes. It has been a few years since our last price increase. We appreciate your continued support as we all navigate living with the Covid cloud that hangs over our nation. 

Back to the farm

We are busy wrapping up a few loose ends on the farm getting ready for winter and for spring. This is the one season where diligence really pays dividends. Every season is time sensitive, but in the spring, you have more good days to get your work done, the weather trend is in your favor. In the fall that script is flipped, with less days to get your work done. 

Like many of you, Joelle and I are busy taking care of those last few home and flower bed projects. It is the same on the farm, just a larger scale. Most of our crops are finished for the year and the winter crops are located together in one section of the farm. After we harvest the last of the cabbages, winter squash and celery we can spread the compost, assuming we get a few good weeks of weather. 

Last week, all my neighbors were as busy as beavers. The dairy farmers are harvesting the corn for silage and the potato guys are digging like crazy. In the Stillaguamish valley, unlike the Skagit, we can get an early flood or if the weather turns wet, you might not be able to get into the fields. A century of faming this valley has taught the local farmers to not dilly dally and last week, a whole lot of harvesting got done. 

Because Klesick Farms is less mechanized, we can get into our fields much later into the season. That doesn’t mean we like to put on rain gear and brave the elements, it just means we can ?. The large farms have really big equipment, and they would get stuck in the mud, we don’t have that issue. 

This week we are harvesting a smooth leafed kale called Red Russian. It has a soft red tint to it and is equally as nutritious as it well known curly green cousin. You might see a few cosmetic blemishes on the leaves, because the fall season imparts a weathered look and a few bugs have nibbled here and there, but it is tasty and healthy. 

We have also harvested the Conference and Bosc pears. The pear harvest was smaller this year. The pears are sweet, but the spring was less kind to pollinators, limiting the pollination windows, which resulted in a smaller harvest than previous years. These two types of pears are my favorite, but I am pear person. I like them firm, crunchy and often. 

Enjoy your box of good,

-Tristan Klesick