Tree Swallow Farm

Pop-up - This Saturday, October 11, 9am - 1pm

It’s our last official weekend! We’re going out in a burst of sunshine but the rains are coming soon and the land desperately needs it. We dug two new wetland ponds that are waiting to be filled as soon as the water table rises again. We have oaks, elderberry, pine, aspen and maples needing planting in November. So lots of restoration work to keep us busy during the off season!

In the meantime, enjoy the last full banquet of produce. The peppers, beans and greens are still coming in strong. Unfortunately, the deer made an early buffet of my winter squash field so the few I could restart aren’t ready yet. But we made a trip down to the farms on Sauvie Island outside Portland and brought back a nice variety of butternut, delicata and kabota squash for folks who are wanting to round out their veggie shopping with some autumnal notes.

Keep checking your inboxes for any updates from us. If we have enough produce for November harvest boxes, or if I can keep critters out of my Radicchio fields, we’ll let you know. We have so appreciated your support, recipes and recommendations this year! Thanks for being an amazing community.

Jenny and Brian
7707 28th Ave NW

Seed Garlic Still Available!

For those of you interested in growing your own garlic, late October is the time to do it. All Tree Swallow Farm garlic is an excellent option for purchasing as seed garlic. Unlike supermarket garlic, our garlic is never treated, either with chemicals during its growing season or with growth inhibitors after harvest. We also have not experienced any disease problems while growing.

When selecting garlic to plant, look for the largest heads since bigger cloves will give you a potentially bigger plant. Hard-neck varieties will also give you garlic scapes in June.

Happy planting!

This Week’s Offerings

Tomatoes (possibly needing some ripening time)
Romano and green beans
Carrots
Zucchini
Peppers
Beets
Salad greens
Arugula
Kale
Bok Choy
Radishes
Potatoes
Garlic
Onions
Winter squash (from Sauvie Island farm)
Bouquets
Ornamental gourds
Bev’s Bees honey
Sofi Soap

Pop-up Honor Table - Sat., Oct 4, Sun., Oct 5, and Mon., Oct 6

Hello Everyone

Thanks once again for all who came out this morning. We had so much variety yet again. And, such beautiful offerings. We still have both produce and flowers available. Reminder that this is our second to last pop-up for the season!

Here’s what’s left as of this writing:

Tomatoes - small boxes and slicers

Various sizes of zucchini

Lots of green beans

Various ‘sweet’ peppers

A few eggplant

A few bunches of kale, mustard greens, and bok choy

Plenty of salad greens

A few bunches of carrots

A few bunches of specialty Slovenian breakfast radishes

Lots of delicious garlic and various kinds of onions

Full array of bouquets

Some apples and pears

Bev’s Bees honey

Sofi Soaps

We’ll have items out on honor table until this evening, again tomorrow, and then Monday daytime as well if there are items remaining.

See you soon. Jenny and Brian

7707 28th Ave NW

Pop-up - This Saturday, October 4, 9am - 1pm

What a difference a few days, a few degrees, and a couple of inches of rain makes! Fall is officially settling in. Work in the farm now is done in quick bursts between rain showers, with harvesting, last bits of fall crop planting, and habitat restoration work all clamoring for our attention.

Luckily I love soup and stew season, so the heaps of carrots, potatoes, green beans and peppers are making fabulous meals at the end of the long days outside.

This week we’ll have lots of green beans, peppers, onions and potatoes. I harvested tomatoes before the rain could split them but they might need a few days to finish ripening up indoors. We will also have lots of bouquets and some ornamental gourds to get your fall decorations started.

Reminder—this is our second to last official weekend so plan your menus now! Thanks to those who have been sharing recipes. We love to be inspired!

Jenny and Brian
7707 28th Ave NW

Seed Garlic Available!

For those of you interested in growing your own garlic, late October is the time to do it. All Tree Swallow Farm garlic is an excellent option for purchasing as seed garlic. Unlike supermarket garlic, our garlic is never treated, either with chemicals during its growing season or with growth inhibitors after harvest. We also have not experienced any disease problems while growing.

When selecting garlic to plant, look for the largest heads since bigger cloves will give you a potentially bigger plant. Hard-neck varieties will also give you garlic scapes in June.

Happy planting!

This Week’s Offerings

Tomatoes (possibly needing some ripening time)
Romano and green beans
Carrots
Zucchini
Peppers Eggplant
Cucumbers
Salad greens
Mustard mix
Kale
Possible other greens
Radishes
Potatoes
Garlic
Onions
Apples
Pears
Bouquets
Ornamental gourds

Cook’s Corner

We’ve been lucky to have a new crop this fall of the Slovenian radishes. Everyone admires their beauty but asks what the heck to do with them besides putting them in their salads. Well, we have some answers for you.

Our wonderful customer NP sent this magazine worthy picture of a poke bowl she made with our radishes and cilantro and added avocado, edamame, sesame seeds and other yummy seasonings. Looks delicious!

For a hot meal I tried roasting the radishes when I was making a sheet pan meal of potatoes and other roasted veggies. It turned out great! The roasting mellows and sweetens them out. It would be a fabulous side dish or complement any time you are roasting up root vegetables.

Give it a try!

Ask a Farmer

Our question this week came from customer HC who asked what to do when you have limited garden space but want to plant after peas are removed mid-summer to get another harvest in.

This is an excellent question and one I had to get very adept at when I only had backyard space to work with.

First I would say take some time in the winter to map out the garden for the year (and yes, I’m sure there are apps or something for this but I use a plain old notebook).

Next, put in your non-negotiables. What does your family absolutely love that the supermarket cannot come close to? For me it was tomatoes, snap peas and green beans.

Then take a look at when those need to be in the ground and how long they take. If you love peas, they can go in in March but you’re pulling them by the end of June or early July. That’s too late to put tomatoes in, but bush green beans, quick maturing zucchini, lettuce, carrots, herbs, late onions and leeks, kale, chard, arugula, Asian greens and my new winter favorite, Radicchio, can all work.

Another tip is to be on the lookout for veggie starts. I like to grow by seed if possible but I’ve started tons of plants indoors or purchased seedlings if I need plants to start growing before I have the bed space available.

Finally, the toughest lesson I am still learning is Knowing When Call It Quits! You can keep trying to milk out a few more dry starchy peas out of the plants…. Or, you can call it good and free up the bed space for a brand new crop just a bit earlier. It’s tough but you’ll appreciate the bounty come fall.

Thanks for the question!

Pop-up Honor Table - Sat., Sept 27, Sun., Sept 28, and Mon., Sept 29

Hello Everyone

Happy, lovely Autumn to all! We had a great harvest this week with lots of variety, but quantities are slowing down. We still have a decent amount available. Here’s what’s left as of this writing:

Tomatoes - small boxes and slicers
Various sizes of zucchini
Lots of green beans - remember the canning recipe from this week’s email!
Various peppers - mostly sweet, a few spicy Cozumel peppers
A few small eggplant
A few cucumbers
A few bunches of arugula and chard
Some salad greens
A few bunches of specialty Slovenian breakfast radishes
Lots of delicious garlic and various kinds of onions
Full array of bouquets
Apples and pears
Bev’s Bees honey
Sofi Soaps

Come on by and check it out and spread the word to all the folks you know. We’ll have items out on honor table until this evening, again tomorrow, and then Monday daytime as well if there’s stuff remaining.

See you soon. Jenny and Brian

7707 28th Ave N

Pop-up - This Saturday, September 27, 9am - 1pm

It’s been a beautiful week on the farm. The heat and sun have been great for the green beans, peppers and eggplant. There are still lots of green tomatoes on the vine so I did a hard pruning and stopped the irrigation to give us a shot at a last blast of tomato harvest in the next week or two before rains and frost.

We also started our next phase of restoration work this week . We’re excavating a new portion of the wetland, digging out the invasive reed canary grass to a depth that will create a new pond area deep enough to keep the weeds at bay while we establish the willows, dogwoods and other wetland natives. That will make pond section number three! It’s always so exciting to see the new critters that flood in as soon as we get an alluring habitat for them.

In the meantime, we have another treasure trove of goodies this week. Along with the great veggie assortment of last week, we’re thrilled to offer some fruit! We’ve sourced some fruit from our neighbor Bev (of Bev’s Bees fame, if you’ve enjoyed her honey) so we will have organic local Honey Crisp apples and pears for sale.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions or special requests. See you Saturday!

Jenny and Brian
7707 28th Ave NW

This Week’s Offerings

Tomatoes
Zucchini
Carrots
Eggplant
Sweet and hot peppers
Green beans
Radishes
Lettuce
Bok choy
Arugula
Chard
Kale
Onions
Garlic
Apples
Pears
Herbs
Bouquets

Cook’s Corner

Our green beans are at their peak and I’ve been learning how to can as a way to enjoy their bounty all year. Refrigerator pickles are a great way to extend the green beans season if canning seems too daunting.

This recipe comes via our wonderful friend and farmstand helper, Terri. We are the lucky recipients of her various pickle endeavors! This was her take on last week’s green bean harvest:

Terri’s Pickled Green Beans

Makes 2 quarts

Bring to a boil:

2 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

2 tbls salt

1-2 tbls sugar

Turn off brining liquid right after reaching a boil. Refrigerate until completely chilled.

In quart canning jars, add:

Dill, peppercorns, and smashed fresh Tree Swallow Farm garlic at a baseline. You can also add mustard seed, sweet or hot peppers, or other picking spices to taste preference.

Fill jars with prepped, raw green beans (ends trimmed and cut to fit). Pack jars fully with green beans and then pour brine over.

Let it set in the fridge for 48 hours and then enjoy! These will last in the fridge for up to three weeks

Pop-up - This Saturday, September 20, 9am - 1pm

We’re back! The wedding was joyous, the flowers (I hope!) looked amazing, and the farm survived and kept growing without us. And we came back to a week of sunny days and cooler evenings so the fall crops are putting on some growth before the daylight hours fade.

Folks have been asking us how long we will be open. At this point, we hope to be open until mid-October (though, last year, first frost was the first week of October and killed some crops early). That means 4 more popups, so plan those recipes now! After that I hope to have some smaller sales of greens and things occasionally as the growing allows.

In the meantime, we have another bounty of warm weather crops and greens. It’s the last couple weeks for tomatoes before they start splitting. And for those who are wanting to grow their own garlic, I’m hoping to sell seed garlic in the next week or two. (technically however you can plant any of my garlic as seed garlic because I never use any chemicals or preservatives that would inhibit growth.)

Hope to see you all Saturday!

Jenny and Brian

7707 28th Ave NW

This Week’s Offerings:

Tomatoes
Green beans
Zucchini
Sweet peppers
Hot peppers
Eggplant
Cucumbers
Salad greens
Specialty Radishes
Carrots
Kale
Arugula
Italian red onions
Garlic
Herbs
Beautiful bouquets!
Sofi Soaps

Pop-up Honor Table - Saturday, August 30 and Sunday, August 31 - Harvest Bounty!

Good Afternoon Everyone

Wonderful morning of greetings and produce as usual. Today was the start of peak harvest with the most variety of the season. We have some of most everything available still to sell - with a lot more than some of a few items like tomatoes, zucchini and flowers. Here’s what we have:

Plenty of tomatoes - small boxes, big boxes, and slicers
Bunches of carrots
Various sizes of zucchini
Small and large boxes of potatos
Various sizes of cucumbers
A bunch of kale
Lots of delicious, fresh garlic
A few onions
Full array of small and large bouquets
Honey by Bev’s Bees
Sofi Soaps

As always, come by and check it out and tell folks you know. We’ll have items out on honor table until this evening and again tomorrow for remaining items. Like last week, if there are still items remaining, we may continue a mini honor table into Monday.

See you soon. Jenny and Brian
7707 28th Ave NW