By all accounts, the local area farm fields are exploding with growth. The first stirrings of early summer crops are percolating in from Quilcene, Chimacum, and Port Townsend. Gorgeous blooms like ranunculus and peonies have made their triumphant arrivals to the flower rack. And there is enough salad mix available to feed King County it would seem. Perfectly timed abundance for the dual-celebration of fathers and the conclusion of the academic year. As we inch so close to that special celestial day, Summer Solstice, remember that as so many lean toward vacations and pleasure, farmers are buried deep in the trenches of their own crop plans, straining in 5th gear to stay ahead of the task curve. Celebrate your loved ones and the hard work of the local farm crew by joining in to the abundance of early summer in Jefferson County. Follow along through these digital scrolls to earn your diploma in Locavorics!

 In Northwest farming, there is a concept called “the June gap,” which refers to that moment when a farmer has spent all of their early spring crops, while there is still nothing to harvest from all the newly planted summer hot crops. Much attention is paid to try to fill the gap, and shorten the low-yield window before July, August, and the full bounty of September. Yet at the Corner, it feels like summer has already exploded. A double miracle of Tonnemaker “Benton” strawberries coupled with some shots of local deliveries has got everyone “berried out” to the max. The latest fruit-news is a whisper of Tonnemaker cherries before the fourth of July! Make no mistake, we love all of our fruits down at the Corner. So if you’re feeling blue, orange, green, or just plain violet, come on down to the Corner for some good cheer, and remember, as Kacey Musgraves reassures us, “Darlin’ I’m just tryin’ to tell ya, that there’s always been a rainbow hangin’ over your head.”

It’s that time of year that separates the grill masters from the weekend warriors. Three letters: B,B, and Q. Summer officially arrived on Wednesday, with a cute little mini-heat-dome to turn up the pressure in the fields. It’s also the time of year when farmhands come into the Corner for lunch with semiahmoo-stained knees and burnt necks, wrung out from planting hundreds (if not thousands?!) of linear bed feet of transplants. The icing on this Chimacum Corner Cake? A one-shot-wonder delivery from Handsome Luke of Tonnemaker Hill Farm of the finest strawberries in the land. One cannot exist merely on strawberries, much to the CCF staff’s chagrin. Find out what delectable grillables are lining the cedar boxes and metro racks of our hallowed halls. 

It is that spectacular time of year when we have crossed the threshold of the average last frost date! While we can still be surprised (as we have been on Memorial Day weekend in a recent season), time is of the essence to get all of one’s cold-sensitive plants in the ground, to make the most of our short PNW summer! Hoophouses and greenhouses all around the region are being crammed full of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, and basil. Our larders here at CCF are also crammed full of yummy value-added items derived from local hot crops, plus an item or two from out of town to accompany them.

From a PNW farmer’s perspective, May is an absolutely critical, stressful, blown out month. Everything needs to be planted all at once, while simultaneously starting to harvest the early plantings you’ve assiduously babied along all the livelong cold spring. A song that perfectly captures the lived experience of a farmer in May is “Month of May,” by Arcade Fire. May is also an explosion of beauty in our ecosystem. Our deciduous brothers and sisters are all leafy and lush, lilacs are bloomin’ in the dooryards, and the crowned queen herself, Rhododendron, does the can-can all over town. And can you believe the festival in her honor is 90 years old?! It all goes back to Mr. Clive Buttermere endeavoring to show off his native bloom to the world, and lil Miss Myrtle Olsen, the first “chosen lady” who starred in the Hearst newsreel. Wild to think about what town was like in 1936! Rhody fest always seems like the beginning of all of the summer frivolity, which is part of its charm, we reckon. Before you get your (last!) slice of cake, come on down to CCF and see what’s blooming for us. One whiff of the Daphnes and you’ll need a whole hedgerow!

As the contemporary grunge band Blondshell puts it in their track “What’s Fair,” on the brand new album “If You Asked for a Picture”: “I know there’s nothing less perfect to a girl than a mom.” And so it is that we have arrived at that hallowed day when we honor and celebrate that most fundamental and core of relationships, between mother and child. We have some groovy gift ideas for ma all throughout the shop, whether they need a hanging basket for the porch, wine and chocolate for the pantry, fresh local tulip bouquets for the vase, or a bar of soap for the commode. The cheeriness of spring time and these glorious sunny clear days are a perfect occasion to take a break and create some memories with mom. After all, spending time with family is what it’s all about, right? Turnip thinks so. 

There’s a beautiful rhythm to the coalescence of a farmers market. First, the market manager and dedicated, selfless volunteers arrive and begin to build the container. One-by-one, canopies arise in rings around the space. A flotilla of box trucks, pick-up trucks, sprinter vans, and even a station wagon or two rumble in and rumble out, exhaling tent weights, folding tables, tills, coolers, and local product. Weary chatter percolates amongst the vendors, and then the cow bell rings and the chatter turns to small talk amongst patrons and the calling out of orders from prepared food vendors. The music kicks in, and the party is on. The Chimacum Farmers Market is back and more bustling than ever (and earlier than ever, too!). We are proud to host CFM on our grounds, and wish all the prosperity we can muster on all of the talented, revered vendors that co-create our local economy together out on the lawn. Follow along to take stock of what’s springing into action all about the store!

While Earth Day is perhaps the more popular sister of the annual eco-celebrations, Arbor Day has a stately, civic-minded sentiment that seems particularly special and suited to our bioregion. We are tree-oriented humans in the Pacific Northwest. Evergreens are perhaps the sine qua non of our local spirit and flavor. Did you know that the first documented “Arbor Day” of sorts was organized by the mayor of the Spanish village of Mondoñedo way back in 1594? Gifford Pinchot (for whom one of our state’s National Forests is named), head of the US Forestry Service under President Roosevelt, was instrumental in the creation of a US national Arbor Day celebration via his insistence that President Roosevelt spread the gospel about conservation to the American public. From the mighty Nolan Creek Cedar to the scraggliest vine maple seedling, trees are a potent and limitless life-force on our planet. The Corner has some of its best stock of trees of a whole panoply of varieties this year. Perhaps this is your year to join our owner Phil in his mission to repopulate the Peninsula with Giant Sequoias. Kendrick Lamar said “Money trees is the perfect place for shade,” but we would put our chips down on a nice Western Red Cedar for shade over a money tree any day.

In a recent video segment posted to her social media, Erin Benzakein of Floret Farm concludes her overview of the recent history of the local cut flower movement by (roughly) stating, “Every time you buy locally grown flowers, you’re investing in someone’s dream of making the world more beautiful.” We couldn’t agree more. Fortunately we are flush in amazing cut flower growers and designers in our county who are actively making our world more beautiful. The blooming bulbs of April are the first call-to-arms of the floral world in our bioregion. Arriving on the cusp of Earth Day and Easter this year, they are a perfectly timed gift from the fields for spring celebrations. In addition, full and thriving lavenders abound in the Nursery, a reminder that July isn’t far off. And there are bouquets of ingredients patiently awaiting your culinary hand in the Grocery Department, including cuts of local lamb from Humbleberry Farm in Quilcene. T.S. Eliot famously claimed April as “the cruellest month,” but we think it’s quite nice. Here’s to celebrating the earth in all her forms this week!

Everyone has their own image of a “food forest” in their mind: healthy trees underplanted with annuals and pollinators, alongside some rows of berries perhaps, maybe a few 50 foot veggie beds, and a row of nut trees as a wind-break for the space. Maybe it exists in the middle of a city (Beacon Food Forest) or on hundreds of acres of heartland (New Forest Farm). Perhaps the finest example we’ve seen of a Northwest food forest is the Bullock Permaculture Homestead on Orcas Island. Expertly pruned mature trees of unusual varieties completely blanket the hillside, dotted with small plots of annuals, ponds, marshes. Something we can all aspire to. So whether you are going as big as Mark Shepard or starting in your own backyard, we’ve got an entire forest of food waiting for you at the Corner Store. The Nursery is chock full of unusual, delightful varieties of berries, trees, and annuals. And the Produce Porch is welcoming more and more newcomers of spring favorites from the flagship locals. Read on to see what’s “in store” for you.

As Kermit once said, “it isn’t easy being green,” especially when you are a tender sprig of arugula or baby lettuce, just a-hoverin’, at the mercy of any passing pest. Fortunately for us, we have stellar local farms that prioritize healthy soils to grow vibrant vegetables that can withstand the pest pressures that come their way. Whether bunched, bagged, or by the head, local greens are coming on-line, and will be here to stay for months to come. Spinach and raab are the chief producers of the day. Whether you grow your own or prefer them pre-stacked in a delectable sandwich, the Corner is your stop for all things “Mr. Green Jeans.” 

There is an expression in small farming called “greenhouse tetris:” It’s when you have exceeded the amount of comfortable, most-usable space you have in your propagation zone, and have to turn to secondary make-shift set-ups to accommodate all of your plant starts, often leading to headaches and inefficiencies with moving things around. Greenhouse tetris is most acute in April, when you have been steadily seeding trays, but it is not entirely safe to plant out all types of crops yet. The Nursery staff at Chimacum Corner has been busy “tetrising” in all of the fresh and happy plant babes from Midori and Red Dog into our own greenhouse. And the Grocery team has tetrised in some new products and deals on the floor in the store. Meanwhile the Produce team has been busy playing “tray tetris” with all of the fresh local bunched brassicas. The best farmers are the ones who can stay organized amidst the accelerating chaos of nature reawakening. Perhaps the same is true of grocers as well. Spring is on, so spread your cotyledons and get growing!

This week we are manifesting that most pleasurable of seasons: the berry one! Local berries are still a glimmer on the horizon, but the Corner is chock full of berry flavored items to get your taste buds a-simmerin’. Whether in scones, ciders, kombuchas, or potted plants, there is berry much to get excited about in the store. Follow along to get your fructose on. Berries are our jam! 

There’s an old Irish expression: “You’ll never plow your field by turning it over in your mind.” Wise words for March, as the farmer’s to-do list metastasizes into a never-ending priority chain. Let us strive for action, then, this week. There is much ado in the kitchen and the garden this week. Those spuds don’t peel themselves, after all! Read on for all the ways CCF can help you get stuff done. A pot of brisket awaits you at the end of the flavor rainbow. 

One early sign of spring: the nodes of the osoberry bushes pushing tender vertical leaves in constellations through the understories. Osoberries are lean, resilient pollen providers. In many ways that is the essence of a “native,” in whichever biome it may be. As our culture awakens from the 20th century folly of “the lawn,” there is a small but mighty cadre of nursery growers creating the inputs we need to encourage native plants to re-take their rightful places in the court of natural spaces around us. Whether it is your lawn or your diet, we at CCF encourage you to “get wild” whenever possible. Shine on, you crazy diamonds! And read on for all the latest goodies down on the corner. 

Though the tractors may still be in the barn with all of this rain, soil and seeds are on the brain around town. Whether you are beefing up the garden, nourishing your body, or bringing cuisine to a gathering, there is something seedy going on at CCF. So much labor and energy goes into the production of a seed. Yet a seed has everything it needs. We’ve seeded some ideas below to get you on your way towards spring. With the return of the frogs, it can’t be far off! 

We’ve watched the snow melt slowly around our county, and for a few hours of an afternoon of late, you could almost feel a little warmth creep in. Once the soil begins to warm up to 45 degrees, the great dance of spring will begin again. Another chance to put down some roots! And we are bare root rich at the Corner Nursery this year. Local homegrown food is a cause we can all get down with. Whether you are adding the finishing touches on an established orchard, or planting your first blueberry, there is heaps to be excited about in the Nursery. Follow along for more news from the ol’ Corner, and then get out into your plots. We are rootin’ for ya!

In the citrus-less ecology of the Northwest, the true fruit nerds await mid-winter with utmost anticipation. For this is the time when you can get your hands on much more than a Valencia Orange or Red Grapefruit in the citrus department. In fact, inventory would suggest that mid February is the peak diversity moment in the citrus season. Rediscover all your faves (and new cultivars too) on the Produce Porch, as well as many other citrus flavored products all around the Corner. Now is the time to soak up that captured sunshine and reward the body with some Vitamin C. We know that the whole Corner crew will be!

Love and snowflakes are in the air this week, and we’ve got plenty to celebrate with at the Corner! Chocolate, Corner Kitchen sweet treats, Hawaiian ginger and turmeric, the first local tulips, and new fruit trees and flowers are all on tap with the influx of a cold snap. Shower your loved ones with thoughtfully chosen goods from the Corner.  Imbolc has passed and, though the snow might suggest otherwise, the promise of spring is on the horizon. A keenly selected gift is sometimes all the momentum one needs to chart their course to joy and dare we say, LOVE? Our mascot, Turnip, is a firm believer in joy and love spreading. 

Frost on the ground is a welcome sight these days, as it likely means a clear sky, crisp sun day. As we head into the dog days of January, the woodstoves trail little rivulets of smoke into the valleys all day long. The fires (some literal) remain lit in the ovens of the bakers as well, and this week we are celebrating all things leavened and unleavened. Whether savory or sweet, this county is a who’s who of scratch bakers. Follow the trail of breadcrumbs through our newsletter to find your way to tasty baked delights!