Good Bye 2009

Sauvie Island Farms wants to wish all of you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!
2009 is coming to an end with mixed emotions for us. We have had a challenging year. The cannery we contract corn with went bankrupt, leaving us with 200 acres of sweet corn, and no place to sell it. Also the change of location for our October pumpkin harvest, the challenge of dealing with random weather, and a new pest infesting our berries and peaches, kept us busy trying to adjust while attempting to keep our farm authentic and producing high quality fruit and vegetables! We welcomed the challenge of our first year of u-cut christmas trees and had great weather for the tree sales. Now all that is cleaned up and we are settling in to the winter tasks of bookkeeping, equipment repairs and planning for the 2010 season. There will be some time of rest for us as well as the land, then we will be back at it in the spring, planting and preparing for another 'fruitful' season. We hope that you will begin this new year with anticipation and hope for a good future...as we do each year when we begin again with new plantings and crops....always hoping for the best!!!

christmas is coming....

It's that time of year again. We can't slow it down. It's coming...the holiday season is HERE.

Sauvie Island Farms is opening this year for choose and cut CHRISTMAS TREES.
We have Douglas Fir, Grand Fir and Noble Fir trees available for you to cut.

The Douglas Firs are table top size to 10 feet tall, for $3.00 per ft.

The Grand Firs are table top size to 7 feet tall, for $4.00 per ft

The Nobles are table top size to 6 feet tall, selling for $5.00 per ft.

We will shake the tree to get all the dead leaves and bugs out before you take it home. We can also bale it. We provide carts and saws for you to use while on the farm.

Opening on Friday, November 27th from noon-5pm. Saturday, November 28th, we will be open 10 am - 5pm or until it is too dark to see the trees.

Check our website for a great coupon, directions, and hours during December. http://www.sauvieislandfarms.com/

Be Thankful

Monday, our power was out, due to the winds and a tree falling on a power line just up the road from our house.

It is amazing how much 'work' I can't do without electricity! Since I couldn't do the laundry, or the dishes (our water comes from a well that uses electricity), and most important, couldn't use the computer.

I went outside to take some pictures, and as I was walking and looking, I

saw such beauty. It made me stop and think about where we live,the blessing we have, the people we meet who come out to pick our crops during the summer, and how busy we can get, until we don't actually 'see' all the good that is around us.

It is always good to slow down, look around and count your blessings.

I guess that is what this 'thanksgiving' time is for.

I am thankful for so many things...but just wanted to say that I am thankful for the farm, and for those of you who come out to visit and to pick our crops during the harvest. It is our pleasure to have you here, and we hope that you always feel welcome when you come out.

Take some time in the next few days, to slow down, and look at all the blessing around you!! Be Thankful!

p.s.(I realllllly dislike how the christmas decorations, etc come out before thanksgiving, so am hesitant to mention anything about the christmas holiday before thanksgiving has come and gone...but stay tuned. We are opening the farm this year for u-cut christmas trees....opening day-Friday, November 27th...more info coming soon.)

So Many Pumpkins

There are hundreds of pumpkins for you to choose from at the pumpkin fields at Sauvie Island Farms. If you haven't gotten your October pumpkin or decor up yet...this would be a great week to come out and pick your pumpkin right out of the field. We also have white, cinderella, squash, gourds, mini pumpkins, haybales, cornstalks and more. We will be open Monday-Saturday this week 9am-7pm if we are not having extreme weather conditions. Call ahead before you head out on the week days. 503-621-3988.

A-Maze-ing Graze R.I.P.

It's October 1st, the weather has changed and FALL is in the air.

For the past 5 years, we have had an 8 acre corn MAZE as well as u-pick PUMPKINS, hayrides, animal barn, and other harvest activities at our leased property just 1/4 mile from the bridge on Sauvie Island. Long story short: this leased property is for sale, the owners thought there was a sale, so we were out, then the sale fell thru, but didn't happen in time for us to plant, etc for this October....resulting in NO corn maze this year. We had partnered with 104.1 The Fish radio station for the past 5 years and are so grateful to them for promoting our maze.

So...what's up for 2009?
We have over 30 acres of pumpkins planted at our home place...3 1/2 miles from the bridge on Sauvie Island Road. We will be open on FRIDAYS and SATURDAYS 9am-7pm in October. We will have a hayride to take you to the pumpkin fields & to see our farmyard animals. We also have a area for the kids to play...a straw pyramid, strawmaze, & tractor tire maze. We will NOT have some of the 'attractions' that we had at our other location. This year, we are coming 'home', back to the farm, and will be keeping things simple.

If you have been to our farm in the summer for u-pick, you know that we are a working farm,and have attempted to keep it as non-commercial as possible. We want you to enjoy our farm, to feel like you are on the farm with crops growing all around you, rather than a paved parking lot and large warehouse buildings. We are attempting to do that this October.

We will have some vegetables available for u-pick~sweet corn, squash, peppers, cabbage, etc. Also, straw bales, cornstalks, gourds, apples, & pears.

We hope you will come out and enjoy the harvest season on the farm.

Bodacious and Honey Select Sweet Corn

The corn fields are ready to be picked at Sauvie Island Farms. This Friday and Saturday we will be open 9am-7pm. The Bodacious and Honey Select Sweet Corn is excellent right now. Both of these varieties are sugar-enhanced, which means they are sweet and excellent flavor. Pick your own corn for just 6/$1.00.

We also have 5 varieties for winter squash. The farmer's favorite squash is the delicata. It is so easy to fix...just cut the squash in half, clean out the seeds and insides. Bake in the oven until the flesh is soft. Add some butter and brown sugar and put back in the oven to melt together. This is so delicious!! You should try it!!

Also available at the farm: 4 types of peppers, tomatoes, green and red cabbage, yellow wax beans, broccoli, italian prunes, u-cut flowers and dahlias. If you are in the mood for fall, there are beautiful orange pumpkins in the field waiting to be picked also!! We will be open this year on the farm Fridays and Saturdays only in October!

this week on the farm

Peach season is coming to a end...quickly. The Elberta peaches will be available for you to pick on Wednesday, Sept. 2. We have just a few Elberta trees, so the peaches will go quickly. It is hard for us to predict how fast, so we will update the phone message at 503-621-3988 as soon as the orchard is picked out. After the Elbertas are all picked, the peach season will be over at Sauvie Island Farms.

We have beautiful Chester Blackberries ripe and ready to pick this week, as well as Bartlett Pears, cabbage, 4 types of peppers, 5 varieties of squash, basil, dill, cilantro and a few red tomatoes! Our Bodacious sweet corn should be ready to pick by the end of the week. We have fresh picked sweet corn each day while we wait for the u-pick field to ripen. The price is the same...6 ears for $1.00.

The u-cut flower garden is full of beautiful dahlias, zinnias, marigolds, sunflowers...and more!!