What's Happening on the Farm?

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

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On-Farm Stand

Greentree Naturals brings fresh, certified organic produce from our fields to your table during the peak of the harvest season. We always strive to offer the best in new selections of certified organic vegetables, berries, herbs and garden plants. The main purpose of opening up the Farm Stand was to provide an opportunity for our community and regular customers to be able to come to the farm and see where the food purchased from us at the farmers market is grown.

We will have to wait and see what the 2012 growing season brings for bounty before we can commit to having the Farm Stand open on a regular basis. We will, however, continue to have Thursday as a day that the farm is open to the public for self-guided garden walks from 11:00a.m. to 4:00p.m. during the growing season. We always say, if the vegetables are not from your garden, they should be from ours! Come out for a visit and explore our beautiful gardens this summer!  

About Visiting the Farm

Organic Wine Tasting on the Farm - 2012 event to be announced!

Greentree Naturals has been working with Pend Oreille Pastas since they opened in 1996. Planning for this type of event takes quite an investment of time for all of us during the busy summer season. The wine tasting only happens if we have a sufficient amount of people participating. If you are interested in joining us for a wine tasting this summer, plan ahead and let John and Valerie Albi at Pend Oreille Pastas know so they have your name on the event list. When a date is set for the wine tasting, they will be sure to email you and let you know the date and time.

We always feature an assortment of regional organic wines and fabulous appetizers created from our freshly harvested organic herbs, edible flowers and tender baby vegetables. Chef Valerie Albi is a true culinary artist and uses only the best our gardens have to offer, paired with organic wines that bring out the best of fresh flavors. 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)

Summer 2012 CSA Program

Over the last twenty years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from your local farmer. Basically, we offer a “share” of our gardens, which is one way for us to know what our market is going to be like before the field season begins. We have been working with the CSA model on our farm since 1995. Having a CSA has helped us be more self-sufficient and sustainable as a small organic farm. As a consumer, the advantages of becoming a CSA member are significant: you get to eat ultra-fresh, certified organic food with all the flavor and vitamin benefits, you will learn to eat new vegetables and new ways of cooking, and you will develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food and learn more about how food is grown.

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 2012 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.

U-Pick Pumpkin Patch

Frontier Girls 2011                                Waldorf School 2010

A traditional fall ritual is the search for the right pumpkin by taking a drive, enjoying the changing foliage and celebrating the change of season by walking through our small acreage farms colorful pumpkin patch. Grocery stores have piles of pumpkins, but there is nothing like wandering a pumpkin patch on the farm to get in the mood for the harvest season.

This autumn is the fifth year that Greentree Naturals will be open for our U-Pick Pumpkin Patch.  Pumpkins are ripe for harvest in October when the seasons change and there is a crisp fall breeze in the air.  We wait until after the frost is on the pumpkin to assure they are ripe and ready for picking, which is variable every fall.

We have sold out every year, so plan ahead and get on the call list so we can contact you when the pumpkins are ready! Pumpkin harvest is by reservation only as we are a working farm and need to work around pumpkin patch visits.  Make your reservations early for the best selection.  We are happy to host school tours and other groups by appointment.  Pumpkins $5.00 each any size.  Give us a call or email to find out when the frost is on the pumpkin at 263-8957 or email diane@greentreenaturals.com

ON-FARM WORKSHOPS - SUMMER 2012

Hoop House / Season Extension Workshop

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. Use of high tunnels and hoop houses can bring you success in crops that often fail out in the open. 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. We will also review ways of extending the growing season using an assortment of different kinds of materials for extending the growing season.

Date to be announced! We like to have this workshop as early in the spring as weather allows, but always have to wait for the snow to melt away and the earth to be ready for us to be in the fields to begin the season.  

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! We will only host this workshop if we have enough people signed up for it. Please plan and call ahead to reserve a space!

Cost is $25. Call 263-8957 or email info@greentreenaturals.com

Organic Gardening Workshop Series

The 2012 Organic Gardening Workshop Series: Scheduled every other Monday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. during the growing season beginning May 14 through July 23. 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!

These workshops take place outside in our gardens, rain or shine. Please be prepared for inclement weather and leave your dog at home.

• May 14 — Planning the Garden: Learn how to successfully grow a wide variety of vegetables throughout the summer season. Topics will include: preparing the soil for planting; direct seeding and transplanting; companion planting; intercropping and crop rotation; record keeping, garden maps and succession planting are all a part of planning for a successful harvest. If you are not able to come to this on-farm workshop, you may want to consider purchasing the “Planning the Garden CD.” This is a self-paced workshop that will teach you everything you need to know about planning for the gardening season.
• May 28 — 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; learn how to take a soil sample. Participants will test soil from their own garden to determine basic NPK and receive a composting chart.
• June 11 — 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 gardener's 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.
• June 25—  Pest Management: Participants will learn about the various life stages and hosts of insects and how they affect crop production. You will learn how to assess pro-active control practices, identification, natural pest formulas, trap/catch-cropping and plant-pest relationships for natural pest control. You will also learn how to make your own insect traps and natural insect spray.
• July 9 — Harvesting the Bounty: You invest time, energy, love and money into your gardens with hopes of producing abundant harvests that will fill the table and stock the pantry. Learn techniques for producing optimum yields of vegetables, herbs, cut flowers and how to get the most out of your garden harvest. We will also cover post-harvest handling to assure food safety guidelines are met.
• July 23 — Seed Saving: Whether you’ve saved seeds before or are a complete beginner, this is a great chance to learn about seeds and connect with other seed savers. By saving seed from your garden, you can produce plants best suited to your specific site and micro-climate; we will discuss plant selection, hand pollination, seed 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 info@greentreenaturals.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!