RainCoast Farm Overview May 2020

a letter from Lys Burden, May 23, 2020

We gather at RainCoast Farm’s Food Bank Garden every Thursday at 10 am to 12 noon. This year is our first at this garden site, although the garden has existed for at least 15 years. This garden is on the smaller side with only 2,240 sq ft, but it has 22 raised beds and an established drip irrigation system, so it was a no-brainer when the owner/managers asked if we’d be interested in taking it over this year. They are focusing on their orchard and berry crops this year and needed someone to keep their vegetable garden looking vital and productive. We are happy to oblige! 


We have a nice-sized group of volunteers who mostly live nearby in the county, so we accomplish an amazing variety of tasks each week. We started working in the garden on April 23rd, 2020 and have done lots of weeding, revitalizing of the grow beds and spring planting so far. Bed prep has involved digging out tons of Red Cedar tree roots that have grown into the fertile soil over the years and replenishing and amending the soil before planting. We have also been spreading cardboard as a weed barrier on the pathways and topping it with wood chips that are produced on-site. This process should help keep weeds from overtaking those paths.
Next week we should be completing the pathway rehab and doing lots of planting of the warmer crops, so it should be a fun time to visit. We did deliver our first harvest of the year last week with 20 lbs of Rhubarb to the PT Food Bank!
The farm is located at 12224 Airport Cut-off Rd, Port Townsend, WA. The driveway has a nice sign, just past the county airport and Prospect Road, which leads back to the Kala Point development. The farm’s website can be found at this link: Raincoastfarm.org.


See you soon at the garden!


– Lys Burden, FBFG Board Member RainCoast Farms Food Bank Garden Manager

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.