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Where fine food begins Dog Mountain Farm serves the Snoqualmie Valley community and Seattle area by providing Certified Naturally Grown farm-fresh vegetables, fruit, eggs, herbs, flowers, and poultry meat.
On the farm We are not a U-pick farm, but we are happy to sell directly to you at the farm. Check our fresh list to see what is available and be sure to call before you make the trip. We welcome visitors to the farm! Buy produce fresh from the garden, enjoy a tour of our vegetable, herb, and flower gardens, the orchard, vineyard, and greenhouse, or just relax amid the beautiful Cascade Mountain view, peace, and quiet. It’s best to call in advance to ensure we are home. 425.333.0833 or 425.417.3947 We use sustainable, organic growing practices—no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or hormones/antibiotics. Our poultry range free in pasture all day long and eat a certified organic feed as well. For more information about the Certified Naturally Grown and Salmon Safe certification programs, please visit their Web sites: http://www.naturallygrown.org/
In the News
Reviews
Restaurants
Other Food & Farming Resources For those of you that want to learn more, I'm providing this list of my favorite websites, books, and magazines.
National Sustainable
Agriculture Coalition
The Omnivore's Dilemma and In
Defense of Food, Michael Pollen © 2009 Dog Mountain Farm, LLC |
Farm News June 19, 2009 My monthly column is two weeks behind now and I have so much to tell you! Our WSDA Poultry Processing facility is completed and approved. I’ve worked the bugs out of the system and improved my processing speed, as well as practiced some custom butchering techniques. The word is out and birds are selling as fast as I can process them. Look for our chickens on the menu at Boat Street Café in Seattle and the soon-to-open restaurant in Ballard, Bastille Café and Bar. We will also be selling them fresh at the farm and frozen at the Broadway, Pike, and Queen Anne farmers markets. The chicks are coming in batches of 300, then 400, with the goal of 600 birds ready for market each month. That’s a fulltime job. The good news is that our 16-year-old daughter, Morgan, wants to learn and help out this summer! At the moment, I have birds in every available shed! But soon our new poultry housing will be ready. This facility is a 30’x96’ commercial greenhouse structure with white sheeting instead of the clear plastic used for growing crops. The birds will be safe from predators and the elements, providing the means for year-round production. It also has a big fan that pulls lots of fresh air through the facility. There will be four runs and two nurseries with plenty of room for our flock to exercise. We featured the chicken on our first farm dinner this season and got rave reviews. And the chef told me it was one of the best butchering jobs he’d ever seen. As a newbie butcher, that was a real confidence booster! And speaking of farm dinners, we have a few openings remaining. I’ve updated the schedule with wineries and chefs for each date. These events are wonderful for celebrating anniversaries and birthdays, and make great gifts. The journal is updated with the menu and photos from our June 13th dinner with Chef Eric Wright. Our B&B tent is finished and open for business! Check out the photos and make your reservations soon before all our dates fill up. The next big project is a raised-bed flower garden at the ridge complete with rose arbors and pavilion. An ideal location for a wedding! June is a beautiful month on the farm. The roses are in full bloom, the fields are planted, and wildlife abounds. We have several flycatchers residing on the farm this year and one pair is nesting outside our dining room window. I love listening to their song as I sip my morning coffee and contemplate the tasks of the day. The black bear and her cubs have been sighted in the neighborhood, but thankfully they haven’t visited the farm. The cougar has also been seen, but no word on the bobcats. The coyotes were seen on our ridge and are probably scheming on how to raid the poultry flock again. Our dog does a pretty good job of keeping these large predators at bay, but they have a talent for knowing when she is off duty. Our Slow Food Snoqualmie Valley Convivium is holding its monthly potluck at the farm on Monday, June 22nd. Everyone is welcome to join us. The Carnation July 4th parade is one of the best and we’ll be driving our team with the new wagon. The theme for this year’s parade is “Spirit of Community.” We’ll be celebrating our farm community with the Sno-Valley Tilth and Carnation Farmers Market. Come out and show your support! And if you haven’t yet read Paul Hawken’s commencement speech for the University of Portland 2009 graduating class, check it out. I hope his message was heard and taken to heart. “Working for the earth is not a way to get rich, it is a way to be rich.” We’ve invested our life’s savings to build a sustainable farm. We live in harmony with Nature and are good stewards of our land and animals. But it’s no picnic! We are 63 and 53 years old; the work is physically demanding and the hours long. There is no profit in terms of the bottom line for our business. Our goals are to live simply and enjoy life; meet expenses so we can keep what we have worked so hard to build; and provide a learning environment to help others understand the importance of what we do. This is a good life; your life and the life of our planet depend on the success of local farmers and sustainable agriculture. You don’t have to be a farmer, but you can do your part. Buy your food at farmers markets and dine at restaurants using local, seasonal ingredients. Visit your local farms and get to know the farmers. There aren’t enough local farmers and farms to feed the population of Puget Sound, so consider planting your own garden and raising a few chickens in your backyard. We’re here to help you! Cindy
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