What's Happening on the Farm?

You can find current information about our current happenings on this page, so check back frequently!

Farm Stand Opening Thursday, July 15, 2010

The Farm Stand will be open one day a week on Thursday afternoons from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. during the growing season, summer 2010. We will be selling whatever is fresh from the field. The produce, herbs, berries and cut flowers that we sell have been harvested within 24 hours of the day we sell it fresh to you. Our reason for opening up an on-farm stand is to provide an opportunity for our community to be able to come and see where the food that you purchase is grown. Having a connection to your farmer and the farm is the first step in building a connection to creating a local food system.  Farm Stand visitors are welcome to a self guided tour of our gardens!
 

Summer 2010 CSA Program

We have been growing our gardens to share with our community since 1990. We have been using the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model on our farm since 1998. Having a CSA has helped us be more self- sufficient and sustainable in all that we do here. Most of our customers have been with us for many years, which tells me that we are doing something right. (See the CSA page for comments from our members.) We offer a limited number of shares, so if you are interested in signing up for our 2010 CSA season, let us know so we can get you on the mailing list! When you support a CSA farm, you are supporting agricultural diversity and a local community farm. For more details and pricing, please visit the CSA page.

Pest Management Field Day

On Sunday, July 18th, 2010 the Washington State University will hold a Pest Management Field Day at Greentree Naturals Certified Organic Farm located twelve miles northeast of Sandpoint, Idaho. Several representatives from the WSU Department of Entomology will be presenting their unique research projects using natural pest control methods. We will take a closer look at trap cropping, companion planting and beneficial insects along with other techniques used on organic farms across the region. Diane Green will share some of the methods they have used at their organic farm for dealing with assorted pests over the past twenty years.

The event will start promptly at 11:00 a.m. Cost is $15.00 which includes a gourmet lunch provided by Greentree Naturals Chef Sora Huff highlighting local food fresh from the farm served at 1:00 p.m. Students $10.00; Rural Roots members receive $2.00 discount.

If you are joining us for lunch, Registration deadline July 14th. Late registration does not guarantee you a lunch. To register, contact Joyce Parker at jeparker@wsu.edu or call 509-335-7965.

Checks can be mailed to: WSU Department of Entomology, ATTN: Joyce Parker, P.O. Box 646382-FSHN 166 Pullman, WA 99164-6382

Please check http://www.greentreenaturals.com/ for schedule of on-farm events and more project information about the Pest Management Field Day.

Organic Wine Tasting on the Farm - Thursday, AUGUST 19th  2010 / Contact Pend Oreille Pastas

Greentree Naturals has been working with Pend Oreille Pastas since they opened in 1996. We will be hosting our tenth annual ORGANIC WINE TASTING this summer. We will be featuring an assortment of regional organic wines and fabulous hors d'oeuvre's created from our certified organic gardens and Chef Valerie Albi.

For details and reservations contact Pend Oreille Pastas at (208) 263-1352. Planning for this type of event takes quite an investment of time. The wine tasting includes a tour of Greentree Naturals beautiful organic gardens. PLEASE plan ahead and contact Valerie as early as possible to get on the list for this event. Space is limited and fills up fast so plan ahead! (Read an article about the 2007 Wine Tasting)

Hoop House Workshop

Date to be announced for some time in late April or early May* – With the creative use of season extenders, it is possible for growers of all sizes to lengthen their growing seasons by days, weeks, or months. Providing soil warmth and frost protection increases yields by allowing earlier planting and/or later harvests. You will learn how to construct an 18' x 13.5' Hoop House at this on-farm workshop.

Come prepared for any kind of weather as due to the busy spring planting schedule on the farm, we only have one day that we can have this workshop, so it will happen rain or shine! Class size is limited! This workshop always fills up early so call ahead to reserve a space! Cost is $25.

*We will only hold this workshop if we have 10 people sign up

Call 263-8957 or email greentree@coldreams.com

Organic Gardening Workshop Series

The 2010 Organic Gardening Workshop Series: Scheduled every other Monday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. during the growing season beginning May 24 through August 2. Sessions will cover all aspects of organic production and management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony in a rural farm and garden setting. You can sign up for the entire series or pick and choose individual workshop topics. We are aware that this timeline is prohibitive for people with regular work schedules; however, because we are a working farm, this is simply the only day that we can work this into our busy summer calendar of events. Participants will receive a certificate of completion. Plan ahead and make arrangements with your employer!

May 24 - Planning the Garden; soil preparation; direct seeding vs. transplanting; companion planting; intercropping & crop rotation; record keeping, garden maps, and succession planting are all a part of planning for a successful harvest.

June 7 - Fertilizing Organically;fertile soil is the first step in increasing yields and natural pest control; assessing soil health, organic amendments, compost, manures, organic matter and foliar feeding; participants will learn how to take a soil sample.

June 21 - Natural Weed Control; on any organic garden or farm, particularly newly cultivated ground, it is likely that weed control commands a major part of the gardeners time over the course of the season. We will look at using different types of organic mulches and weed prevention strategies used to control unwanted plants.

July 5 - Pest Management; assess pro-active control practices, identification, natural pest formulas, catch-cropping and plant-pest relationships for natural pest control.

July 19 - Harvesting the Bounty;we will review techniques that Greentree Naturals uses to produce optimum yields for vegetables, herbs, cut flowers; post harvest handling and on-farm food safety will also be discussed along with how to get the most out of your garden harvest.

August 2 - Seed Saving; by saving seed from your garden, you can produce plants best suited to your specific site and micro-climate; selection, hand pollination , cleaning and seed storage.

Class size is limited. Registration is required! Sign up for all six sessions for $150.00 or pick and choose individual workshops for $25.00 per session. Workshops are held at Greentree Naturals, located twelve miles northeast of Sandpoint. All workshops include handout materials. If cost is prohibitive, we welcome equitable trade for participation in these workshops. For registration, directions and more information, please contact us at (208)263-8957 or greentree@coldreams.com

Apprentices from local farms are welcome to apply for a scholarship to participate in the Organic Gardening Workshop series with permission from their farm host.
Registration required, as class size is limited. 

Garlic Braiding Workshop

The garlic braiding workshop will be held after the garlic harvest. We can't schedule this workshop until we harvest and we never harvest the same time each year, so if you are interested, let us know by calling or emailing us and we will put you on the contact list for when we do make a date for this event. This workshop is $35.00, and you leave with a beautiful garlic braid! Date to be announced……

We wish you a bountiful gardening season!