Dolores's Rhubarb Cake

Rhubarb is in abundance this year. 

Let’s make yummy-use of it ! 

Here is a rendition of Dolores’s Rhubarb Cake by Jane Brody from the Good Food Cook Book.  This is a super moist low-rise cake that reminds me a little of cheese cake with out the cheese.  Jane Brody made changes to the original recipe to increase the nutrient value and decrease the sugar and calories in the original recipe.  I have made some additional changes (noted) keeping up with the times.


Cake: 
1 1/4 c white flour
3/4 c whole-wheat flour (I use only whole wheat flour (2cups))
1 t vanilla
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t cinnamon
1/8 t salt, if desired
1/2 c butter or margarine ( I prefer oil)
1/2 c packed dark-brown sugar (I don’t use this)
1/4 c white sugar
1 egg (I use two)
1 c buttermilk 
1/2 pound fresh or frozen rhubarb finely diced (2 cups)

From the Good Food Cook Book by Jane Brody courtesy of my friend Polly.

Topping:

You get the gist of it. To save space we've uploaded the whole recipe to our recipe blog at : 
1/4 brown sugar
2 t cinnamon
1/2 c chopped walnuts

[ t = teaspoon, c = cup ] 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
1.) In a small bowl combine flours with the baking powder, baking soda, ¼ tsp cinnamon, and salt.  Set aside. 

2.) In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter (or oil) with the sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat again until fluffy. To this mixture alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk and beat until mixed well. 

3.) Stir in the rhubarb, then pour the batter into a greased 9×13 baking pan. 

4.) Mix together the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the batter. 

5.) Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center come out clean.

I hope you like it!

Little Bug-Eyed Creature—Friend or Foe?

My good friend Polly across the island from me.

Species Mantis religiosa - European Mantis

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Working in my garden early this September, I was surprised and thrilled to find a three-inch-long green Praying Mantis clinging to the underside of a drying allium.  I had never seen one outside of Eastern Washington or Oregon (I had always thought they were warm climate creatures), so naturally I happily snapped a picture and sent it off to all of my friends and family.

A week later, a friend from across the island sent an image back, ecstatic that they too had found a Mantis in their garden! Coincidence? Curious, I posted about it on Nextdoor.com/Bainbridge. Four more people reported Mantis sightings from this year. So, now I have to wonder: What is going on here?! And is this a good thing? A bad thing? Another sign of climate change?

While I’m certainly no Mantis expert (I’m sure that many of you know more than I do), I have done some reading since coming across my little (or not so little) garden guest. Here are a couple of things that I learned:

1. Praying Mantises are not, after all, native to the Pacific Northwest. In fact, they aren’t native to the US at all.

According to National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects & Spiders,

“This Mantid was accidentally introduced in 1899 on nursery stock from southern Europe. At a time when Gypsy Moth Caterpillars were burgeoning in the eastern states, it was recognized almost immediately as a beneficial predator. They were introduced in the 1930's into the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia for Grasshopper control. They have been for many years sold commercially as egg cases for garden insect control (as well as Chinese Mantids, and occasionally other species). However, Mantids are so cannibalistic that they are rarely numerous enough to have much effect in depleting caterpillar populations.” (p. 397) (Meaning they eat each other.)

2. They eat pretty much anything.

The Journal of the San Juans wrote the following in a 2017 article titled, “Praying Mantis—Beautiful but Invasive”:

“…several reports of the European Praying Mantis in the San Juan Islands, as well as a live specimen for confirmation. This is a concern for the conservation of pollinators and other beneficial insects that mantids will eat indiscriminately. Mantids eat everything they can subdue, and do not distinguish between, what humans regard as harmful or beneficial insects.”

(Read the full article here: https://www.sanjuanjournal.com/life/praying-mantis-beautiful-but-invasive/)

Now, this article in particular gave me pause. I’ve seen a video of a Praying Mantis killing a hummingbird and, sorry Praying Mantis, but if you touch my birds it’s a serious demotion for you in my books. And now, of course, I’m sitting in my garden imagining that strange little bug-eyed creature decimating my bumble bees. But on the other hand, there are plenty of pests out there that I wouldn’t mind siccing them on.

So, after all my reading (even that last article) I’m still on the fence. Are they good or bad to have in my garden? Does the possibility of pest control outweigh the danger to my birds and bees? And, if not, what can I do to protect from this invader?

Visitor in my garden this September

I would love to hear your opinions and stories, and to learn from any of you out there who might know more about the Praying Mantis and its possible implications for our Pacific Northwest. Drop me an email at: info@friendsofthefarms.org.

Thanks for reading,
Tami Meader

European Mantis Appearance

This species of praying mantis is light green, with a little variation in color tone. The species is easily distinguished from other species by the pattern on the inside of the front legs. Most species of praying mantis have small dots or specks at this part of its legs, but Mantis religiosa has a very clear pattern: at the top of the legs there is a black spot with a white dot in the middle. This mimics the eye of a predator. There are also yellow dots on this part of the forearm. The lower parts of the front legs have a yellow dot. The pictures will clarify this.

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In this image with my friend, you can just make out the black spot with the white dot in the middle identifying it as a European mantis.

Cider Release Party Was a Huge Success and Soggy Fun!!

https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=7f7e19d206b907fce3fe6c92c&id=418c6e39c1

Zachary Fulton

Zachary Fulton
Seed Saver Superstar

by Erin Hill

When I write pieces for the Friends of the Farms newsletter, something I’ve been doing for almost three years now, it usually starts with an interview. The subject and I talk (really they talk, I listen), and sometimes we tour their garden or farm or yard. Tami Meader, a current Board member, takes beautiful photos and in the end it’s easy for me to craft a small window into the person’s life.

This piece, on Bainbridge Island Farmer Zachary Fulton, stands out from all the others. To start, I didn’t interview him. Heather Burger (FOTF Executive Director) did, along with Tami. From their notes I’m attempting to create an idea in your minds about a member of our community that I’ve never even met! That would be hard enough, but after reading their notes I am absolutely kicking myself for missing the opportunity to sit down with Zac and hear his stories firsthand.

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Meet Zac

Zachary Fulton was born in El Paso, Texas. A move to Athens, Ohio at age 16 dumped a Texan teenager amidst back-to-the-earth hippies, and his growing awareness of farms, farmer’s markets and the local food economy lit a fire that continued to grow. Ten years later, at age 26, Zac was ready to be a farmer but hardly knew where to start.

A desire for adventure took him to Mancos, Colorado. where he interned at a local farm for $100 a week, living in a horse barn they called the "Zac Shack." Internship over, and still deciding his next career move, Zac set out on an 800-mile bicycle ride. His meanderings took him all the way to the headwaters of the Rio Grande and down to San Diego. Switching from bike to car, he headed east again, landing in Albuquerque. All these travels did add up to a big adventure but didn’t exactly pay the bills. At one point on the ride he ran out of food and water, and a friend gave him a beer and a pound of ground beef to get him through the night. But no water.

So how does a Texan in New Mexico end up farming on a small island in Washington?

Looking to dig even deeper into farming as a profession, Zachary searched for available internships on the ATTRA website (a great resource for anyone interested in pursuing sustainable agriculture). He came across Brian MacWhorter and Butler Green Farms and applied. Brian response was swift: "Come now!"

It’s not often said about farming, so when it is it’s worth printing in bold: for Zachary, interning at Butler Green Farms was “mind-blowing”. He had never before seen vegetable farming turn a profit and had never before seen a farmer lease farmland rather than owning it himself. Witnessing and being a part of what Brian MacWhorter has created opened his eyes to a different way of farming… sustainable for both the farm and the farmer.

All good things must come to an end, however, and after his first season at Butler Green Zachary set off on another bike ride, this time from Berkeley to Yosemite to Death Valley, Joshua Tree and on to San Diego. Only the young are able to sustain themselves on peanut butter, anchovies, and 12 cans of beer, but even Zachary was feeling the call for vegetables. Stumbling across a stand selling cucumbers, Zac bought a dozen and ate them straight, reveling in their crisp cool snap. His traipsing wound further south, into Baja California, before the siren song of another season of work on Bainbridge Island called and he turned his wheels back north.

The next three seasons found Zachary working full time at Butler Green as Irrigation Manager. It seems, this time, that life in the Pacific Northwest has stuck; Zachary now lives and farms on the north end of Bainbridge Island. Asked what his current favorite plant is, Zac told us “The Purple Hopi String Bean” that he grows from seeds gifted to him by Lee Ann at Laughing Wolf Farm. Growing seeds is more than just ensuring you have food; it’s culture and history, which resonates with Zachary. Last season he planted an 80’ x 200’ space with beans, garlic, flax, dill, onions and Root Beer Popcorn, all heirloom strains for the purpose of seed saving -- his passion.

Zachary is the first to admit that what he’s seeking is a “radically different lifestyle”, one that is built upon an understanding that we are on stolen ground. This is land that the Suquamish and other tribes farmed but did not own, and now other people own it. He's trying to wake up, listen, learn, and participate in a way that is not based on maximizing financial gain but by building community and feeding all people. His worldview is influenced by the people he’s met as he’s journeyed, and he envisions a world where food is not used to exploit land and people. Where people care for one another and no one slips through the cracks.

“I’m hopeful when I see the succession farming that's taking place, as Akio mentored farmers Karen Selvar, Betsey Wittick, Brian MacWhorter and others, they too are mentoring the next generation.” He admires local farmers like John Chang, who for years has donated to Helpline House 100% of the food he grows on half an acre of land owned by the City of Bainbridge Island and managed by Friends of the Farms.

He is inspired by the work being done at the Seattle BIPOC Organic Farm and Food Bank whose mission is for every single person to have clean water and organic food. They partner with farms and co-ops, and help promote and mobilize small farms, most of which are currently struggling.

He is committed to learning from places like Soul Fire Farm, an Afro-Indigenous centered community farm committed to uprooting racism and seeding sovereignty in the food system, training the next generation of activist-farmers and strengthening the movements for food sovereignty and community self-determination.

And he finds hope in an awareness that farming is part of an ecosystem as seen through the regenerative farming mindset espoused by Jean-Martin Fortier, a Québécois farmer, author, educator and advocate for ecological, human-scale and economically viable sustainable agriculture.

A rolling stone gathers no moss, and I wouldn’t hold my breath expecting such a traveling soul to stay on our small island forever. But, for now, for this moment, Zachary is here sharing his heart and his passions with us. We’re lucky to have him, and I for one, can’t wait to meet him.

-Erin Hill

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On Seed Saving

I am always looking for low hanging fruit. I tell myself it’s not laziness, but efficiency to start with what is within easy reach and then move on to the harder stuff.

There is plenty to tackle. Take your pick:

• The Anthropocene, where Humans have such an enormous impact on the planet that there is a mass extinction of other creatures.
• Climate Change. Turns out burning fossil fuels, diverting rivers, mining for rare earth metals… might not be great for the planet.
• Polar Bears. We should all be panicking about Polar Bears.
• Patented seeds. Did you know that lots of companies have patented their own seed? That means it’s impossible for the farmer (or backyard gardener) to save or share seeds. Do you ever even own something if you can’t save or share it?
  • The trouble with patented seeds: The Sobering Details Behind the Latest Seed Monopoly Chart

As fewer and fewer varieties take over market share, the same tomato available everywhere, all the time, genetic diversity is lost. All of our current foods evolved (many at our own hand) from their wild relatives. We rely not only on those heirloom plants, but their still-wild cousins to ensure there is a robust, diverse genetic pool.

Saving seed, selecting and growing old varietals, is one way that everyone with even the smallest plot of land can become a participant in protecting that diversity. When we grow seeds for their flavor, their beauty, their flower and fragrance, or their medicinal quality, we choose to ensure that seed’s survival to the next growing season, the next year. We participate as a caretaker, an enjoyer of that plant’s existence. We hand the present forward, before it becomes history.

This winter, when you’re dreaming about long summer days, watering barefoot or pulling weeds with one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, you can join other Americans across the country who grow heirloom seed, and take your place preserving the past and ensuring the future.

If you want to learn more you can check out the Open Source Seed Initiative, or Seed Savers Exchange.
Happy Growing,
Erin

Farmer Profile: Karen Selvar

by Connor Almon-Griffin

Friends of the Farms keeps the history of farming on Bainbridge Island alive and thriving. Through Public Farmland management, farmers like Karen Selvar are able to remain, farm and share their knowledge and wisdom of the land. Your support to Friends of the Farms this season helps keep a place in our community for growers and producers like Karen. Donate today, and read on to learn more about this incredible member of our community.

Local agricultural icon Karen Selvar has been farming on Bainbridge Island since she was nine years old.

During her first summer picking strawberries for Akio Suyematsu, Karen made a total of $4.50. At sixteen she graduated to delivering Bainbridge Island strawberries to sell at Pike Place Market. On a good day, Karen remembers, she could make it to the market and back to the ferry terminal just in time to catch the same boat back and take a quick nap.

When the opportunity arose for Karen to lease the fifteen-acre Manzanita property, she realized there was no way she could pass it up. Today, Karen continues to farm and live on the land where she grew up picking strawberries along with farming seven acres of public farmland at Day Road. You may have ambled about her pumpkin patch searching for your prized halloween pumpkin or u-picked raspberries at her raspberry field. Between the two farms Karen grows strawberries, raspberries, corn, squash, and other vegetables, as well as pumpkins, flowers, and Christmas trees for our community. Karen’s commitment to local farming, the community, and to honoring the legacy of Akio Suyematsu runs deep. When we interviewed Karen for this profile, her passion and connection to the land was both obvious and infectious.

She spoke with respect and gratitude of her predecessors who dedicated their lives to local farms and food.

Local farming is something that both nourishes and is nourished by the community around it and Karen certainly embodies those principals. She has been a significant partner to Friends of the Farms, as a former member of the Board, an advisor, and a strong advocate for the continuation of farming on the island.

Karen knows firsthand the obstacles our local farmers face today, such as housing for farm interns, the struggle the next generation of farmers face to acquire land, and the need to preserve and protect existing agricultural properties.

Friends of the Farms extends a huge thank you to Karen for all of the work she does and continues to do for farming on Bainbridge Island.

It's Christmas Tree Season! One of Karen's busiest times of year. The Suyematsu Farms/Bainbridge Island Farms Tree Farm is located at 13610 Manzanita Road, Bainbridge Island. There you will find seven acres with six different tree varieties ranging from three to ten feet tall. Cut your own or take advantage of pre-cut trees!

In addition to trees, there are also hand-made wreaths, garland, and centerpieces. More information can be found at www.suyematsufarms.com or at the Bainbridge Island Farms Facebook page.

Thank you Karen!

Farmer Stories - Part Two: Tayler

Housing first, farming second.

Farm Intern Housing is a critical issue on Bainbridge Island. Every year young, eager farmers like Tayler come to learn from our established long-time farmers. COVID-19, and the challenges of 2020 have highlighted the deeply important need for stable, safe housing. As land prices rise, and real estate becomes increasingly expensive, securing that housing becomes an ever greater challenge. Without housing, Bainbridge Island is losing the next generation of farmers.

Affordable, reliable intern housing can be a reality... with your help.

Small houses, made from recycled and reclaimed materials, just steps away from farm land? RIGHT NOW, Friends of the Farms is working with the Kitsap County Health Department and the City of Bainbridge Island to construction of a farm village of affordable housing dedicated to the next generation of local farmers.

We are committed to beginning construction of sustainably built farmer housing in the Spring of 2021. But we need your help.

Your donation to Friends of the Farms during One Call for All will support our work to ensure new farmers like Tayler can live and farm locally.

Meet Tayler

Tayler is a farm intern success story. You may have met this energetic young woman at the Bainbridge Farmers' Market or at Butler Green Farms' CSA stand where we ran into her last April unloading and sorting veggie starts grown in their green houses. We wanted to circle back to Tayler now that most of the farm beds have been put to sleep for the winter and ask her more about why she wanted to be a farm intern and what she learned along the way.

Tayler studied environmental science and took classes in Sustainable Agriculture at UC Santa Barbara. She worked in the Bay Area as a sea naturalist kayaking guide focused on outdoor conservation, and she had an office job, but agriculture has been on her mind since school.

One day while reading about sustainable agriculture opportunities she found a one-year internship with Butler Green Farms and farmer Brian MacWhorter. “What? They offer internships for farming?!!” Astounded, she submitted the Attra application (Attra.ncat.org) and a year later her season of hard work and learning began.

Brian MacWhorter has been an amazing mentor to Tayler "There is so much to learn from Brian. You can farm forever and not learn all there is to know because every farm is so different.”

Tayler was not surprised by the long hours she put in for her internship, or the early mornings in the cold and rain. She was ready for that. What did surprise her was the JOY of bringing home her own farm-grown veggies everyday rather than going to the grocery store to buy produce from Mexico. “I am so grateful for my lifestyle. It’s a niche, cut out the middle man and go directly to the farmer to buy good food!”

Seasoned farmers need strong, eager, young men and women to work beside them and to follow in their footsteps. Young people, like Tayler, who have a passion for farming, a boundless desire for knowledge, and a willingness to work tirelessly to feed others. This is key to the survival of regenerative farming and the creation of an equitable local food ecosystem.

Yay interns!!

We asked Tayler what support do young farmers need? Not missing a beat, she responded #1 is housing that’s affordable! She had considered a similar internship in Boulder, Colorado, which offered a larger stipend but “Having housing available made it possible for me to come to Bainbridge Island and work here on the farms.”

Tayler is inspired by the future and drawn to a life in agriculture. “At the crux, it’s connecting to the environment and being in a place where I can make an impact on climate change."

Tayler’s doors are wide open. Next spring, she will return to farm on Bainbridge Island, having accepted a salaried position at Butler Green Farm, something made possible by Farmer Brian's ability to provide her affordable housing. After that she is eyeballing graduate work in Agriculture.

Her parting thoughts for us were “There may be no monetary wealth in growing organic vegetables but I get a better lifestyle using my two hands and having access to just picked vegetables.”

Your donation to Friends of the Farms through One Call for All will support our work to ensure new farmers like Tayler can stay on Bainbridge and ensure a future for regenerative local agriculture.

Friends of the Farms extends a huge "Thank You" to Tayler and all our farm interns and the farmers for their hard work, positive attitudes and willingness to give back to the land.

Please make a donation to Friends of the Farms through One Call for All to support our work to ensure the future of local farming and build a healthier community through a resilient and equitable food ecosystem.

From Brian MacWhorter, Butler Green Farms
I posted farm internship positions available for next season and am having crazy amounts of response. Seems many young people understand the scary reality that we all are facing; the likelihood we will not be able to get access to healthy local food in the future. They are willing to do something about it and come work on a farm. Unfortunately, we have very limited affordable housing available for them. I have been farming on BI for a long time and next season it would be the 36th. Honestly, this is the first time I have questioned whether it is wise to even order vegetable seeds for next year. That's my reality.

Thank you for support local farming today with your donation to Friends of the Farms through One Call for All.

Please Donate

March 2020 NewsLetter