FARM CAMP UDATE!!

FARM CAMP UPDATE!

15 campers per session guided by one fantastic counselor!

At p.e.a.c.h. Community Farm, we offer 3 programs for any kids (and teenagers!) lookin' to get their hands dirty... and not be told to wash them! ;D

1) Roots Camp June 14-18, June 21-25, and August 16-20

The Roots camp will be an exploration of farm life. Kids will learn basic farming skills such as soil health and the planting, harvesting, and preparing of organic food. They will also learn permaculture techniques (intercropping, systems thinking, etc.) in a setting that strengthens their awareness and focuses on fun. Roots camp prepares campers for Sprouts camp while building traditions, friendships, and leaving any kid wanting more of the farm! This camp is designed for beginning diggers ages 7-11.

2) Sprouts Camp July 26-30

The Sprouts camp will be a continuation of lessons learned at Roots camp. From veggies to chickens, herbal medicine to goat cheese, farmers who go to Sprouts camp will be learning the particulars of farm life. They will also be exploring the more in-depth the intricacies of a permaculture farm, from indicator species to beneficial bugs. Whether a new camper or "an ol' time favorite", participation in Sprouts camp will deepen your love for farm life and all of nature's gifts! This camp is designed for farmers ages 7-11.

3) Shoots Camp August 2-6

Callin' all teens... this is one experience that won't compare to anything else. Shoots campers will spend a significant amount of time on the farm, learning from personal experience and mentorship. They will be working with the goats, our vegetable and herb gardens, greenhouses and at market, cultivating teamwork and self-sufficiency; wacky moments and strong skills to last a lifetime. These farmers will learn seed saving techniques, basic farm skills, permaculture principles and self-reliance. Don't think this is all work and no play! This camp is designed for teenagers age 12-15 (exceptions for the young-at-heart teen). Farm Camp enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis.

COST: $200* per week

THE ONLY WAY TO GUARANTEE A SPOT IN CAMP IS TO PAY IN FULL.

Fees are nonrefundable unless enrollment is full.

TIME: Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm

Farm Camp Location:

p.e.a.c.h. Community Farm at Pine Meadow

10425 S. Andrus Rd. Cheney, WA 99004

United States

For more information, contact Katie Trujillo,

p.e.a.c.h. Executive Assistant

509-981-8560

katie@peachlocal.com

From the outside to inside... or the other way around?

Have you ever sat and pondered what life on a farm would be like? Have you ever attempted to imagined what it takes to live, to really survive and be nourished? You may ask, 'Isn't farming (let alone sustainability) rather intense hard work? How can laboring the land day in-and-out be joyful with the heat of the sun blanketing me in a salting sweat?! What about when it rains? Or the tracker needs fixin'?'

I have never been much of a farmer, myself. Simply because I never grew up on a farm nor spent much time interacting with the daily intricacies of one. I never grew to love the chickens that laid my morning scrambled eggs, or drank the sweet milk of my dearest goat. At night I did not cuddled up in exhaustion with my dog, who spent his days keeping the farm organized and protecting its inhabitants. Instead, I have sat and pondered, 'Have I missed out on something wonderful, something intensely joyful beneath the aching back, calloused hands, and tired bones?'

While I am entering into the life of a farm for the first time with p.e.a.c.h., I am quickly realizing the truth in how much effort actually does go into sustaining a farm... and inseparable from the effort put in is an instant gratification in return. Thus, I spend my days thinking of how to get others to lavish in the splendor of the environment, our relationships with one another and ourselves.I have come to recognize that p.e.a.c.h. offers the Spokane community exactly that in so many ways. Although there are a variety of ways to engage, I would like to highlight our summer Farm Camp, dedicated to teaching children and teens the joys of sustainability and farm life... p.e.a.c.h. Summer Farm Camps are weeklong day camps that emphasize making connections between Farm Camp communities and the camper's communities at home. Campers spend their days immersed in a hands-on, field based experience within the ecosystem of the p.e.a.c.h. Community Farm. Lessons and games cover topics such as "compost cakes", "poison Hemlock tea", "caterpillar crawls", dreamcatcher crafting, and many other permaculture techniques and principles. Our curriculum is versatile, interactive, and loads of fun. Campers are in small learning groups of a 10:1, child:counselor ratio and learning occurs Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm. Respect and care for the environment and each other is the underlying theme of Farm Camp and campers are encouraged to transfer the lessons learned at Farm Camp to their own lives at home.

Spots for our camps are filling up so call today to register. Cost of participation is $200, with limited scholarships. As know you, p.e.a.c.h.'s mission is committed to providing access to low-income families, and Farm Camp is no exception. We acknowledge that children do not have any control over income and we will work with parent(s)/care provider(s) in need of assistance to get these children to be a part of a memorable experience and new relationships that will last their lifetime.

Contact Katie Trujillo 509-981-8560 for more information, inquiries, and registration. Pre-registration and payment is required to ensure a spot. More information is also found on our website www.peachlocal.com/farm-camp

Rain or Shine...

YES, tomorrow is the Country Fair! Rain or shine, p.e.a.c.h. Community Farm will be serving up the fun and some delicious yak burgers! Don't miss out. We're only ten minutes out from town.

Please do not bring dogs.  

Get a farm map for location of events at the Gate.  

SCHEDULE OF THE DAYS EVENTS  

9:30 am ~goat milking ~ try your hand at goat milking, meet the goats and learn about what they eat and how they live.  

10 am to 10:30 am ~Tour of the farm and talk on farm programs by Brightspirit, p.e.a.c.h. founder.  

10 am - noon & 1 pm -3pm ~Stone Age Circle in the woods. Primitive survival instructor Kyle Chamberlain will be demonstrating the skills our ancient ancestors used to survive. Observe the techniques used to chip stone blades, start fire with sticks, twist cordage from plants, fashion bows and arrows, forage for wild foods, and more. Strengthen your connection to the earth and the deep past by remembering this way of life. For $5 you or your child can learn fire making on your very own take-home bowdrill set.  Kyle Chamberlain has traveled, foraged, and taught all over the Western US. He is a self educated naturalist and an aspiring permaculture designer. He last worked as an instructor at a wilderness therapy program for troubled teens.   

11 am - 7 pm ~Grill is open. 

12 noon ~Beer & Wine Garden open  

11 am -1 pm ~ Mobile Chicken Tractors. Learn how to construct and use chicken tractors in the urban home setting. Ed Bryant permiculture design professional consultant will elaborate on construction of chicken tractors. Ed will also be talking about HES a permiculture design series of workshops that p.e.a.c.h. Community Farm will host in the spring of 2011.  

11 am – 5 pm ~Young Children’s Circle, This area has hands on for young children with organized games at 1 pm.  

11:30 am ~Compost 101 Join Brightspirit for lesson on the importance of composting.   

1 pm ~Gardening Questions ~ Farmer Chrys, p.e.a.c.h.’s Director of Farming Operations will answer your gardening questions large or small.  

1 pm ~Scavenger Hunt $1 to play ~ Pick up Scavenger hunt details at the information table. There are three levels small child, older child and youth/adult.  

1 pm ~Horse Shoe Championship ~ $1 to play ~ Sign up for this at information table.  

1:30 pm ~Corn Hole Championship ~ $1 to play ~ Sign up for this at information table.  

2:30 pm ~Pie Eating Contest ~$2 to play~ All ages. We only have 15 spots so sign up for this when you get to the fair. First come, first served.  

2 pm ~Basics of Soap Making  2 pm ~MUSIC by Sound Travel  

2 pm ~Wild Birds on the farm ~ Tour. Kate Healy, p.e.a.c.h. Community Farm resident and wild life biologist will teach you how wild birds are important to the farm culture.  

3 pm – 5 pm ~Practical Healing in the Fourth Dimension - Astrology for a New Age. Visit Tara and get a new spin on astrology.  

3 pm -5 pm  ~Reiki by Roseanne Lassiter stop by and find out how this ancient form of healing can help with your everyday aches and pains.   

3 pm ~Tour of the farm and talk on farm programs by Brightspirit, p.e.a.c.h. founder.  

3:45 pm ~Three Legged Race ~$1 to play~ all ages   

4:30 pm ~Seed Spitting~$1 to play~ all ages  

7 ~MUSIC: Quarter Monkey requested additional donation for attendance  

For more information contact Brightspirit 509-435-5210 brightspirit@freshabundance.com

Dear Friends,
The Spring has brought us an array of miracles at the p.e.a.c.h. community farm. We have seen sprouts coming up in our greenhouse, over 80 children come to our farm for educational programs, and over 75 volunteers come to our farm to plan, plant, and create local food and community. Through this blog we hope to share with you a sampling of our wisdom gained through these experiences. Engaging children in nature is my personal passion, Chrys will be answering garden questions, and Arelya will be sharing some raw food recipies from the garden of her knowledge. Kids, gardening, and good food tips. What more could you ask for in a blog? A perfect combination for an afternoon read.

Engaging the child:

It's amazing how a child will react when left to their own devices. This past farm camp session, I was tired. We were teaching the children about some hard-to-grasp concepts about soil microbes, "soil citizens" we called them. We taught them how plants can talk to fungi in the soil and the fungi will go and get whatever the plant needs, bring it back to the plants, and the plants will excrete a sugar to thank the fungi, therefore creating what we adults know as a symbiotic relationship. After a long morning of exploring this, the kids were tired too. I noticed a drop in energy and so after lunch was done, just let them go explore the woods for a while. As I did I noticed their energy coming back, their curiosity rising, and their questions starting to flow again (which is how I gauge if I am doing a good job of teaching). "What's this plant? What does this do? Can we eat it?" They had brought back a yarrow plant, one of my favorites to teach about. I showed them how you can chew it up and stick it onto a wound to stop the bleeding right away.
Later in the day we ended up in the forest and I went to take one child to the bathroom. Before I left I gave them loose directions saying to find a tree and get to know their tree like a friend. When I came back the children were either exploring their tree or leaning on it and all of them had created a space for their tree, decorating it with flowers or putting a ring of pine cones around it. They sat quietly by their tree and even asked for a second opportunity to sit with their tree, which we did later on in the day.
Children love unstructured play! It is a child passion as Jon Young puts it in his book 'Coyote Mentoring', and when we give it to them, especially as Spring is coming, their curiosity will peak, they will find new discoveries and more questions, and they will become more engaged in the world around them.

Rachael Fairbanks

Farm Camp Director and Farm Hands Coordinator




Engaging the earth:


April is here. This is my favorite month in Spring. This is the time to go completely wild with planting things. Sure, March is a good time to get that super early jump on the season, but April is when things really begin to happen. It's a perfect time to start your tomatoes, peppers and eggplant indoors for transplanting out in June. It's a good time to get your Cole crops going indoors as well (these are the broccolis, cabbages, kales, cauliflowers, etc.). And don't forget flowers, many of which can be started indoors and some outdoors in April (check the planting instructions). The more flowers you have in your vegetable garden, the more insect diversity you will have. Plan ahead to try and have some varieties in bloom at all times during the season. As a result, there'll be less tendency to have damaging invasions of pest species, since all the different kinds of bugs you'll attract keep each other's populations in check. Good insect attracting flowers are Annual Candytuft, Siberian Wallflower, Coreopsis, Flax, Annual Gaillardia, Black Eyed Susan, Cilantro (Coriander), California Poppy, Baby Blue-Eyes, Gayfeather, Shasta Daisy, Bishop's Flower, Dill, Globe Gilia, Purple Prairie Clover, Rockcress, Sweet Alyssum, Forget-Me-Not and New England Aster. In April you can also begin to sow some vegetable seeds directly into your garden soil. These include carrots, beets, lettuces, chard, peas (pre-soak 24 hours first) and spinach. Although these crops can get started on their own, to speed things up, try making mini hoop houses over them after sowing using eight gauge sturdy wire or 3/4" black polyethylene tubing

for your framework and "Remay" or floating row cover for the covering (available by the foot at local garden supply centers). Just make sure to pin down the edges securely with rocks or ground staples to guard against gusty spring winds, ventilate during the day if temperatures rise into the 70's and keep your seed beds moist. Okay, Go!

Chrys Ostrander, Director of Farming Programs
p.e.a.c.h. Community Farms and Gardens
People for Environmental Action and Community Health




Engaging the belly:

You've got to love the joy of a good meatloaf on a cold winter's day, but what about when it starts to get warmer and you don't want to eat heavy protein-rich food? This nutritious variation on meatloaf will be sure to tantilize your tastebuds, leaving you well-fed and satisfied.

Mock Meat Loaf Recipe
contributed by Michele Homer
1 beet,
grated1-2 sweet potatoes,

grated1-2 white potatoes,

grated1 turnip

grated 1 onion

cut-up 3 celery stalks, with leaves

1 pound raw peanuts

Put each item in a food processor individually.

When each item is processed, place in a large bowl.

Mix together and refrigerate overnight.

Next day, shape into a loaf. Enjoy!

Upcoming P.e.a.c.h. Events:
visit www.peachlocal.com for more information

April 24th- Organic Gardening: Starting your first vegetable garden
May 1st- Country Fair- A fundraiser for p.e.a.c.h. community farm
May 8th- Final fruit tree workshop
May 8th- Farm Camp: A day on the Farm

Sign up your children for summer farm camp now!!!

$200 for a week of education and entertainment

www.peachlocal.com/farmcamp

Them Itchin' Green Thumbs

During the month of February we are starting to see little green shoots coming out of the ground, and what an exciting time it is! New life is coming and slowly turning over in the soil, baby goats are being born, and spring is just around the corner. The green thumbs are starting to twitch. This blog is dedicated to all those Spokanites who delight in soil and sprouts. We at the Peach Community Farm and Fresh Abundance will be offering a speckling of knowledge about getting your kids involved in their surroundings, gardening tips, and how to integrate more veggies and local food into your plate and onto your palate. We hope you enjoy it!



Kids- Early Soil Sagas


This time of the year it's hard to motivate kids to do anything. It's gloomy out and summer vacation isn't even close enough to think about. It's what we called the "grey daze" as kids. If only we could break through with a little sunshine.The folks at kidsgardening.com have a great way to break through those winter clouds and get your kids gardening early. They have outlined a way for you to set up a lighting system which will keep your indoor seedlings happy and healthy: http://www.kidsgardening.com/Dig/digdetail.taf?Type=Art&id=2300

Another great thing to do this time of the year is map out secret places in your neighborhood. Take kids around your neighborhood or send them on a quest (with friends) to find secret places and map them out in as much detail as they can, naming trees and plants. They can visit these secret places throughout the year and add to their maps as plants and animals pop up!

And of course you can send your kids to farm camp. They'll learn about greenhouses, sprouts, season-extension, beneficial bugs, and a whole variety of topics to keep your children entertained and learning about their environment. And, best of all, you'll have the Saturday off! www.peachlocal.com/farm-camp




Gardening- Tips from Farmer Chrys




Spring certainly seems to have come early this year. One might even say we didn't quite have a winter at all. Nevertheless, it's almost March and seed planting is already underway here at the p.e.a.c.h. Community Farm. We're planting onions in flats, indoors, since these slow-growing, cold tolerant plants need a long time to get going and size up. If you haven't started your onions yet, you still have time. Even if you wait until well into April, you'll get a crop, but you won't enjoy full-sized onions until very late in the season. Many other seeds will be planted here in flats beginning mid-March with a good portion of our varieties sown every two weeks from then on to stretch our harvesting through the season.

So, where should you obtain your seed for the 2010 growing season? Let's start with the type of seeds to look for. If your home garden is an organic garden (as it should be), you would do well to look for organically grown seeds. Not only will your purchase help support the organic seed growing industry and help reduce the amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides applied to the Earth, organically grown seeds are very likely to perform better for you. They have been grown under, and have, through careful selection on the part of the seed growers, become accustomed to organic management. Plants grown from organic seed aren't expecting an artificial (and toxic) free ride. They're geared towards finding the nutrients they need the old-fashioned way-- through natural interaction with soil microbes and the nutrients they provide, not a soup of soluble synthetic chemicals. They're also more prepared to use those natural nutrients to fend off pests and disease without reliance on chemical warfare agents (war against nature).

So, where can you get organic garden seeds? You can find some organic seeds at local garden centers and seed racks. Look for the word "organic" on the label. Some stores put all the organic seeds in one place while others intersperse the organic seeds among the rest.

I must confess that I'm a bit too fond of the tradition of getting those colorful seed catalogs each winter to thumb through. I have quite a stack of out-dated catalogs to send to the recycling center each year.

One of my pastimes is collecting the names and Internet addresses of seed companies that offer organically grown seeds and compiling them on my personal website http://www.thefutureisorganic.net/. As of this writing, I've collected 49 companies. Here are ten of those to get you started. You can see the complete list by clicking on the picture of the germinating bean seed on my website's home page.

Abundant Life Seeds (Oregon)

Bountiful Gardens (Calif.)

Fedco Seeds (Maine)

High Mowing Seeds (Vermont)

Irish Eyes Garden Seeds (Washington - Organic Potato Seed too!)

Johnnys Selected Seeds (Maine)

Seeds of Change (New Mexico)

Seed Savers Exchange (Iowa)

Turtle Tree Seeds (New York)

Wild Garden Seed (Oregon)

Have a great growing season. I look forward to offering these tips to help you achieve successful results from your organic gardening efforts.


Nutrition- Arelya's Restorative Ra Ra Raw Recipies


I love raw food! It is not only nutritionally superior to many cooked foods but it is also delicious. As the growing season percolates into our mind, let this great recipie bring you a taste of summer! For more raw food "cooking" tips visit me in the kitchen at Fresh Abundance (2015 N Division). Bon Appetite!

Spaghetti Alla Bagutta

1 package of Kelp Noodles
1 cup water
1 fresh tomato or 4 sun dried tomatoes, soaked
1/4 cup cashews
1 garlic clove
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 red bell pepper
1 tsp sea salt
Parsley or Basil, chopped
Cherry Tomatoes
crushed red pepper

Rinse Kelp Noodles in warm water, cut and drain and place in a large mixing bowl. In a Vitamix mix all the remaining ingredients except the basil/parsley and cherry tomatoes. Toss the cream sauce with the kelp noodles and add the remaining ingredients.
This makes great left overs. You can place in the dehydrate at 200 F for 15 minutes to warm. It will not be 200 F and if you use too much red bell pepper it will overpower the creamy flavor.


Here is a brief yet beautiful video describing the mission of Peach (though we have moved & this is a two year old video) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hsS_48XTSg

Upcoming Greenthumb Events

March 6th- Fruit Tree Workshop series with Orchardist Ray Gilbert

March 13th- Saturday farm camp begins

March 20th- Groundbreaking Ceremony @ Peach Farm 10am



March 27th- Starting Seedlings class @ peach farm



For more information about peach visit: http://www.peachlocal.com/

Form more information about Fresh Abundance visit: http://www.freshabundance.com/