Little Gnome Farm makes its home on 10 acres of beautiful, leased farm land in Ridgefield Wa. 13 miles from downtown Portland, Oregon.. About half of these acres remain fallow fields and at any one time 3.5 acres in vegetable crop production. 2015 was the first year selling exclusively to restaurants, priors years I also managed a 30 member CSA and sold at several area farmer’s markets.
Developing a personal relationship with a local chef has allowed me to concentrate my efforts on a single market although at the high points of the harvest several other restaurants added our produce to their menus. I want to bring familiar favorites to your plate, while expanding your palate. Over 70 varieties of vegetables came from these fields this year: from arugula to zucchini, herbs to salad mix. Our growing methods focus on flavor and sustainability, from using bio-intensive techniques on our raised beds while building the soil through cover cropping and crop rotation for the rest of our fields. In 2015 we also raised both ducks and chickens for their eggs. . And as stewards of our farmland, we are also stewards of health providing nutritious, wholesome food under the guidance of a thoughtful and deliberate food safety program.
2015 was fantastic. Every tomato we pulled off the vine, cracked and blemished to beautiful perfection, ended up on someone’s plate or got jarred up for future use. Clyde Common canned 4,000# of tomatoes this season which really made all the effort into growing these love apples more than worth it. Over 800# of peppers have been smoked and fermented to turn into hot sauce or pickled and preserved. Tat Choi and PAc Choi was made into kimchi and the overabundance of zucchini and lemon cucumbers were made into fermented pickles. Padron peppers have been dried and are ready to be ground into chili flakes. Having an outlet for our produce and adding value has really helped our bottom line and gets my wheels turning on what we can grow for next year that can be turned into a delicious preserve. We also grew late season crops to extend our season. Mustard Greens, Fennel and Hakurei Turnips. Black Spanish radishes are spicy and delicious during the winter when you need an extra kick to your meal. Watermelon radishes are beautiful sliced thinly in a salad. Hakurei turnips keep very well in our cooler and can be roasted, whipped, or pureed. Carrots, cabbages, daikon radishes, and winter squash will keep our season going through the winter.
