#inBEND
They say “time flies when you’re having fun”, therefore we must have had a blast in July! Honestly, farming has proven rewarding on so many levels but July presented us with probably the most rewarding experience of all – to see our hard work of previous months come to fruition. Everything we’ve spent so much time sowing, potting up, transplanting, and nurturing once in the ground is alive, thriving and providing us with many bountiful harvests. In fact, it has become a challenge to keep up with our harvests, but thanks to a few hardworking volunteers, we have managed to bring all that we can to market.
We are really starting to pick up steam at market too! We have many loyal … customers? Feels wrong to use the word customers because for us, this is so much more than just a transaction … client? Nah, client is way too formal. Fans – that’s it! I’m going with fans. We have many loyal fans that visit us each weekend with their families, young and old. We have had some of our fans visit the farm for a tour so that they can feel more connected with their farmers and the food that they eat. We have been blessed with some of the kindest, positive and constructive feedback about our product. It is so cool for us to hear folks say that they feel connected to us through our story and the food and flowers that we bring each week. Sure, we do love spending our days in the field observing the plants telling us what they need and providing for them, but what really keeps us going is being able to bring happiness to people with our flowers, and bringing health to those same folks through delicious nutrient-dense food. One of our fans comes back every weekend to buy the kohlrabi that we grow because it gives rise to happy memories of her grandmother. Another fan shows up to market promptly at the opening hour to procure much of what she needs for the week – always buying whatever new thing we are excited about that week also content that we consistently provide her staples. We are so grateful to be able to connect with people in such a genuine way.
It is tough to think about July and not arrive in a fiery place. Forest fires are raging all around us and we are once again reminded that the scary reality of Summer on the West coast is that the fires are inescapable. July was so dang hot, it couldn’t have been below a high of 90 more than a couple of days. The weather in the high desert is a force to be reckoned with — nightly lows in the 50s and daily highs in the 100’s are not uncommon. Farming in 100 degrees is not ideal so we have been rising early to get a head start on the heat. A lot of the veggies and flowers that we grow need to be harvested in cool weather, so we really have become productive morning people. We have added so much to our weekly harvests – tomatoes, many different peppers, eggplants, cabbage, cauliflower, onions, cucumbers, beets, and so many different flowers. August will be full of all that plus so much more – beans, melons, and leeks to name a few. We are very excited about who/what is to come in August. We will be hosting many visitors this month which is exciting and helpful, because visiting a farm in August means helping out on that farm. Good thing we have plenty of pairs of clean gloves!
It is pretty easy to live in the moment of peak season and forget about future farm-related things. Most of our planting is done and our priorities revolve around keeping things trellised and harvesting as much as we can. One thing that has been on the back of our mind throughout this year is that we are farming on leased land; we don’t own the land. We are therefore somewhat “free agents” not really bound to the land by any fiscal duties unrelated to the lease. The time has come for Fibonacci Farm to evolve. The owner of the land that we lease is selling the property and heading back to the Rockies to be closer to family. We will finish out the season here, but this will be our last season farming at this location in Redmond.
By some amazing stroke of luck in timing, we became aware that Brian over at Golden Eagle Organics in Northeast Bend was beginning his search for tenants to lease the garden of his existing vegetable farm operations. Having visited the farm as volunteers this Spring, we knew that we were at least interested in visiting again and talking specifics about what leasing there might entail. After that visit and through some very agreeable back and forth with Brian, we have agreed to lease the 1 acre market garden and continue as Fibonacci Farm there. We are very excited about this opportunity as it will allow us more space to plant which could mean the ability to grow vegetables that are new to us, and also the ability to succession plant more of our favorite things! We will share pics as soon as we can, but we are pretty confident that we are going to be able to grow some really amazing vegetables and flowers at the new space. The soil there is a farmer’s dream and we are stoked to see how our no-till methods can positively contribute to an already healthy soil ecosystem. We are also still determining what next year will look like when it comes to markets, but will keep everyone posted once that is finalized.
That’s all the news we have for you for now. Thanks for being a part of our story! Stay safe + stay healthy.
