Ever want to know which farm you could buy grass-fed beef from? Or maybe if there’s a great organic CSA near you? Maybe you’re wanting to tour a number of Farmer’s Markets and need to know the times and locations? If so – you pretty much NEED to bookmark Puget Sound Fresh’s Farm Guide (2014)! I’ve been sharing this resource for a few years now and it does get updated annually, thanks to the folks at the Cascade Harvest Coalition.
This Farm Guide is the best resource I’ve found for not only locating great farms near you, but seeing at-at-glance what they have to offer. They have great charts so you can easily eyeball which farms have pumpkin patches, u-pick fields, CSA programs, and accept EBT!
You’ll also find a description of each farm in the guide including contact information. This is among my favorite part of the guide! I love reading about individual farms’ history, how they are growing their food, which kinds of food they are growing, and what special events or services they may offer to the public.
(Pictured above: our trip to Maris Farms, Buckley)
Some of the ways you might use this guide:
Locate a CSA near you
Locate a farmer’s market near you
Locate farms that does school and homeschool tours
Locate farms that sell grass-fed beef or raw milk
Locate farms for your pumpkins and Christmas trees later in the year
Locate organic u-pick berry farms for your jam making this summer
And more!
You can view the Puget Sound Fresh guide for free online (the 2014 guide was just released), find a copy in specialty stores (I’ve seen it at Whole Foods, the Food Co-Op, and have heard PCC stores carry it), or download the app version to your phone by visiting Pugetsoundfresh.org.
(Pictured above: strawberry picking at Pica Farm, Puyallup)
Incidentally, their website is worth visiting. I am very careful about promoting random websites here, but this one is worth checking out. The site will let you know what produce comes in season and when in the Puget Sound, help you locate a class on foraging, or locate a food hub or specialty market. If you are increasingly looking to eat locally, seasonally, and organic, this is your website. Knowing all the options available to you may help you save the most money.
(Pictured above – Terry’s Berries stand at the Broadway Tacoma Farmer’s Market. Notice the Farm Guide!)
If you’re interested to read related topics about saving money on organic produce, check out these posts. Warning, some of the ideas are not what you might expect!
Beacon Food Forest – Seattle’s First Edible Forest Project
Dandelion Root Tea - a healthful tea you can make for free!
Using Dandelions for Tea & Herbal Remedies – learn how to harvest and prepare dandelion
Urban Weed Foraging – many “weeds” in your yard may be edible!
Blackberry Picking & Preserving – those invasive blackberry bushes are a delicious source of free food!
Charlotte’s Blueberry Park – park in Tacoma offers free source of chemically-grown blueberries to residents
Strawberry Picking & Jamming – how we picked strawberries from a local farm & turned them into jam
Marathon Canning Session – chemically-free grown produce turned into home preserved goodness
I have additional posts on farms, farmer’s markets, and locally-grown food at my NW Living Page - make sure to check it out! I’ll continue to research and write about this topic as I know many of us care about feeding our family the best food possible – and supporting our local farms in the process!