SpringRain Farm and Orchard joins Sequim Farmers Market

What’s new at the market this week is SpringRain Farm and Orchard. I interviewed John Bellows who co-owns the farm with his wife Roxanne Hudson. This is a 28-acre farm in Chimacum.

What’s new at the market this week is SpringRain Farm and Orchard. I interviewed John Bellows who co-owns the farm with his wife Roxanne Hudson. This is a 28-acre farm in Chimacum.

We began talking about the animals that dwell at the farm. I didn’t get actual numbers, but when it comes to poultry, they have an abundance of birds. He tells me they are producing about 350 dozen organic pastured eggs a week. They also raise broiler hens, heritage turkeys, pastured rabbit and Katahdin lambs for meat. All the animals are on pasture and are raised organically.

I had to ask about the rabbit meat. Apparently the demand for organic pastured rabbit meat is large and they are unable to meet the demand. They distribute all they produce to local restaurants. He mentioned when you eat at the Alder Wood Bistro or Bella Italia, to name a few, you are likely eating from his farm. Additionally they have honeybees and will be bringing honey to the market in the fall.

Hudson creates a line of jams from their own fruits, pectin and honey. “The jam tastes better that way, not just sweet, but full of fruit flavor,” Bellows noted. They also make seasonal pestos, including basil, arugula and currently a nettle pesto. They use their own garlic crop, which sounds large, it’s in the pestos.

When I asked about the future of SpringRain Farm, Bellows shared that their mission is to create sustainably grown food for Jefferson and Clallam counties. They have planted about 700 fruit trees, mainly apples and pears, plus some stone fruit. Other perennial fruits we will be seeing the harvest of are currants, gooseberries, dozens of varieties of raspberries and blackberry/raspberry hybrids and they have couple of acres of blueberries, some 2,400 plants.

So this Saturday at the market you may find the first of the strawberry crop and perhaps the end of the asparagus crop. You will find their stewing hens and broilers. I roasted a broiler of theirs last week and it was outstanding! Bellows tells me each Friday is a slaughtering day for the broilers, so they are fresh at the Saturday market. They also have salad and spinach greens washed in bags. They will have their first lamb harvest for sale starting in June.

Play on

In the music booth on the May 31 we will have Sequimarimba. Don’t miss the fantastic sounds of Sequimarimba from  11 a.m.-2 p.m. Then just as exciting on June 7 will be the Young Fiddlers, same time, same place. These will both be great days at the market.

The Suzanne Arnold Community booth will be hosted by Rotary, selling ducks for the last week on May 31. On that same day the Greyhound Rescue team will be walking about and teaching us all about greyhound adoption.

Come visit me and my market assistant Katherine Landoni to sign up for our new e-newsletter and purchase one of our colorful new Sequim Farmers Market T-shirts!

 

Sequim Farmers Market

May 31 and June 7

Open Saturdays 9 a.m.-3 p.m. through October at Centennial Place (downtown Sequim), farmers market lot off Washington Street

Contacts: www.sequimmarket.com;  manager@sequimmarket.com; 460-2668