Amid the pea patch and the loganberry field, a few hard-working people are expanding agriculture at the Greenbank Farm while learning the basics of organic farming.
Seven people have been selected as farmer trainees in the Community Supported Agriculture training center, which started its first class January at the Greenbank Farm.
The seven students, which range from a college student to a retiree, are working from the ground-up preparing fields, planting crops, growing them and then learning how to sell their products to the community either through shares in the CSA or selling them at farmers markets.
The project provides the trainees with with exposure to farming and gives them the skills to get started.
“I can test if I really want to do it,” said Bellingham resident Chris Dillard while he was raking carrot beds.
A counselor helping at-risk youth, Dillard also maintains an organic garden at his home and he has been looking for ways to expand into farming.
“For me, frankly, it was perfect,” Dillard said, referring to the Greenbank opportunity. He, along with his Australian shepherd, Molly, trek down from Bellingham three to four days a week to work the fields.
He noted how much work needs to be done to get the fields ready for planting. Students spent time removing rocks that were littered throughout the field and using manure to form the raised mounds.
John Burks looks at organic farming as a second career. The former chemist was hoping to grow a vineyard on his 10-acre property near Coupeville. Unfortunately, he said it looks like it will be too cool for a vineyard to be successful on his land, and he hopes the CSA program will teach him about alternative ways to grow on his property.
On a recent visit to the farm, Burks was teaming up with Landon Primrose, slicing potatoes that will be planted in the field.
“It’s exciting to finally get some plants in the ground,” Primrose said.
Primrose, a student at Evergreen State College, said the CSA program provides him with an internship opportunity.
There are several additional participants in the first-ever program offered at the Greenbank Farm.
Todd Peterson is a 30-year Whidbey Island resident who is a recent graduate of the WSU Master Gardener Training Program and he is also a board member of the Whidbey Camano Land Trust. Aracely Knox is a transplant from the San Francisco area and is trained in the culinary arts, while Erik Swanson was raised on Whidbey Island and recently returned to the area from Oregon.
Anza Muenchow, CSA program coordinator, said the students are farming on five acres of land. The budding farmers are planting a plethora of crops ranging from lettuce, chard and other greens to tomatoes, squash and corn.
She said the program is a benefit to the farm because it helps expand farming at the publicly owned Greenbank Farm. At one point years ago, the Greenbank Farm was the largest loganberry farm in the United States.
Participants are also busy selling shares of the CSA program. Residents purchasing a $500 share are entitled to two grocery bags a week of produce for 20 weeks. The produce selection would change throughout the growing season. Approximately 30 shares have been sold to date. Muenchow said 80 shares need to be sold for the CSA to work and he hopes to sell around 100.
The first harvest that will be available to shareholders is scheduled to take place the Tuesday after Memorial Day.
In addition to the CSA, the students will sell their crops at the Greenbank Farm and Tilth farmers markets.
For more information about the training program, or to purchase shares in the CSA program, contact Muenchow at 360-222-3171.
