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

Port Ludlow Voice Article

Port Ludlow Voice, May 2020

Page 10

Gardening to Support the Community

Quimper Grange Garden.

With the restrictions in place for mitigating the COVID-19 outbreak, gardening can be a wonderful outlet for working off tensions, as well as taking in some fresh air. It can also be a way of helping our neighbors who are thrown out of work by the lock- down restrictions and may be having difficulty paying for food.

The Food Bank Farm and Gardens of Jefferson County (FBFG), an all-volunteer group founded in 2013, has seven gardens in the east county from Port Townsend to Chimacum, that are currently being planted with vegetables. An eighth garden is planned and will be started in a couple of weeks. When the harvest comes in, the fresh vegetables are given to the local food banks for distribution. And boy, do the gardens produce! Last year the total given to food banks was over 8,000 pounds of fresh produce.

Volunteers can work in the gardens in a variety of capacities, all while maintaining the recommended physical/social distance. Looking to learn more about gardening in this area? There is no better place to do it; you’ll be working with experienced and master gardeners who can answer questions and show you how.

If you would like to know more or see a map of the gardens that are already in place, visit socialbody.org. To volunteer, send an email to [email protected].

If you can’t work in the gardens, how about a donation to FBFG? Donations pay for seed, soil amendments, tools, deer fencing, and other supplies the gardens need to produce abundantly. Send donations to Food Bank Farm and Gardens of Jefferson County, P.O. Box 1432, Port Townsend, WA 98368.

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Birchyville Garden expands

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Quimper Grange seedlings

Swan Farm – March thru June 2020

Only one work party in March 3/31st-20 volunteer hours, no harvest.

Swan Farm data month of April: 
-harvest 4/10 29# produce

harvest 4/28 34# produce
Total volunteer hours: 129 hours spent weeding, transplanting, watering, sowing seeds into flats

May total pounds of produce-106.5#

May Volunteer hours-85 hrs.

June total pounds of produce-516.5

June Volunteer hours-76.5 hrs.

Recently harvested produce from Swan Farm.

Purple top turnip along with purple and green lettuce!