News...
Radishes, Snap Peas and Beets, Oh My!
Sequim’s Community Garden Grows…
Many beds of potatoes are in flower, snap beans are coming along, and even corn and tomatoes look like they will make a crop on the 24 plots that were rented this first year of the Community Organic Garden of Sequim (COGS), a special project of Friends of the Fields. Under the committed leadership of Liz Harper, most of the gardeners are happily enjoying home-grown organic produce. Radishes were, of course, first off the blocks, and hearty broccoli, lettuces, kohlrabi, beets, cauliflower, snap peas and carrots have been harvested. The grasses that previously inhabited the site are not giving up without a struggle, but that is expected to ease with each new planting season. Read More...
Turning Strawberries Into Cash...
A cold, late 2008 growing season did not stop
Friends of the Fields’ annual summertime tradition of selling
refreshing and sweet locally grown strawberries from Graysmarsh Farm
in Sequim. Nearly 1000
pounds of sliced, sugared strawberries went into more than 2,000
strawberry shortcakes and strawberry sundaes sold to eager patrons
of the Sequim Open Aire Market, the
Friends of the Fields’ participation in the Lavender Festival Hoedown was a great success, netting the organization another $4,300 toward farmland preservation efforts. Cathy Angel of Sequim’s Angel Farm deserves big accolades for designating proceeds from this year’s Hoedown to benefit Friends of the Fields. More than 250 guests enjoyed the rockin’ music of Fat Chance in the barn and the delicious tastes of a specially created local menu and wine by chef Neil Conklin of Bella Italia. Posted: August 7, 2008
Friends of the Fields Submits Finn Hall Farm RCO Grant Application...
On May 1, 2008, Friends of the Fields submitted its application
to the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) to
purchase the development rights on Finn Hall Farm, 50 acres of prime
farmland in Agnew, between Sequim and
You can help keep the beautiful, productive and historical Finn Hall Farm in agriculture with your generous contribution. Please donate today! Posted: May 13, 2008
Saluting Nash
Huber, American Farmland Trust's Steward of the Land for 2008
To those who enjoy Nash Huber's delicious organic vegetables,
fruits and pork, it comes as no surprise that the Sequim farmer
would receive a prestigious national award for farming. But American
Farmland Trust's (AFT) Steward of the Land award is about more than
just the agricultural enterprise. It's about commitment to farmland
and environmental preservation and to farming sustainably.
On Sunday, October 5, Friends of the Fields held its Tenth Annual Harvest Dinner and, by all accounts, it was a tremendous success! Many commented that they had never seen the Guy Cole Convention Center in Sequim look so beautiful. FOF owes the wonderful ambience of the room to Suzi Schuenemann, Cathe Muller, Della LaCour, and Karen Kilgore, ably assisted by Cody Coughenhour, Jim Schuenemann, and Leilani Woods. Read More...
Friends of the Fields had another successful fundraising event at the Seventh Annual Crab and Seafood Festival in Port Angeles. We sold out of three kinds of pies—Apple Crumble (with apples from Steve Johnson’s Lazy J Tree Farm), Blackberry (from the Heintz Berry Farm), and Pumpkin (from Sunny Farms Country Store)—during the three-day festival. The desserts were so popular that when chef Tom Heintz and his son Rob finished with the pies, they created delicious Blackberry and Apple Crisps and sold out of those as well! All in all, Friends of the Fields netted $3,000 from the festival. We thank Tom and Rob Heintz for all their work and delicious creations. We also thank festival organizer Neil Conklin for supporting Friends of the Fields.
