Farm Visit: Dog Mountain Farm – Carnation, WA No comments yet

This post was originally posted to Fresh From The Market – my food, farm, cooking blog.

I had promised more details about our adventures visiting the farms…

I received a Local Harvest event posting for an Open House at a nearby farm in Carnation.  In researching the farms in the area I’d come across Dog Mountain Farm in the past and it had captured my interest because they were hosting their own farm dinners.  Additionally we’ve been considering a farm dinner style event for our wedding and would love nothing more than to have it hosted at a local farm.  We had also seen Dog Mountain at the Carnation Farmers Market selling plants and eggs.

There were some conflicting details between the farm web site and the Local Harvest event so we weren’t entirely confident of the date and time for the Open House.  After a call to the farm, we ventured off to the farm anyway.  The weather was pretty terrible having been cold and drizzly all day, but we were cheerfully greeted by Shelby the farm dog upon our arrival and there were no signs of the weather dampening spirits.  We began chatting with David and Cindy while a string band played and then got a personal tour of the farm. 

We first spent a little time with their two Percheron horses, feeding them carrots and admiring just how insignificant an animal us humans can be.  The horses were stunning in their massiveness standing at 17 and 19 hands.  Cindy has been working to get the horses prepared to work the land and later hitched them up in order to give the children rides. 

After admiring the horses Cindy began a tour of the rest of the land.  They are growing a great variety of fruits and vegetables including quince which isn’t something you see that often.  Cindy was happy to share some tips and tricks that they’ve learned over the years.  We admired their flock of ducks, geese, and chickens while listening to Cindy describe the various natural predators they’ve faced over the year and how they’ve improved their housing while accepting that there is a natural balance at work. Despite the threats and loses, they still turn out a quantity of stunning duck eggs.  We also marveled at the approximate 150 chicks and 30 ducklings that were cruising around under warming lights in a nearby building that will rebuild the flocks.  We took in the stunning views and happily tromped around reading planting stakes to see what varieties they had chosen for the environment. 

Following the garden tour, we began touring the greenhouse with David.  He is growing hundreds of tomato plants in the greenhouse using an impressive set up that ensures the plants are well feed and watered and allowed to produce to their fullest.  He also shared their cut lettuce garden that allows them to harvest greens multiple times from the same selection of plants.

Conversations during the afternoon flitted around about tips, techniques, and local resources. We were happy to learn that Cindy is involved with the new Snoqualamie Valley Slow Food Convivium as well as the Sno-Valley Tilth organizations.  We were also happy to share our wonderful experiences with Outstanding in the Field and some things we had observed there that might help them grow their own farm dinners.

Both Cindy and David were incredibly friendly and helpful and we look forward to seeing them again through one of the many organizations or better yet, one of their future farm dinners. 

Unfortunately I did not take pictures on the visit!  I’m completely forgot in my excitement in visiting the farm.  Sorry!