Know your farmer.
My farmers' names are George & Michelle. George is 77, and Michelle is, well, younger than her husband.
I can't tag them on my Learn To Preserve Facebook page because they don't "do Facebook". Their farm is called Summerhill Farms but they don't have a website, so I can't share it with you. Their farm is located on Highway 3 near Oakland Bay in Mason County, Washington.
You can find them by looking for a wooden pallet with white signs that change daily. The signs last week said "Grass Hay", "Dahlia Tubers" and "Corn".
(I found an old picture of their sign in my files....the one below is from earlier this summer.)
I stopped there yesterday on my way "into town" and Michelle helped me pick 10 lbs of a variety of green tomatoes for pickling.
I realized I was low on cash, so she told me I could pay her later. When I saw the sink full of freshly-picked green beans on my way out the door, she offered to send some with me.
I told her I'd be back by later (after a fermentation class in Olympia) to pay her and pick up the beans.
I pulled up their long gravel driveway after dark, expecting my beans to be waiting by the door in a blue cooler, and with a 20 dollar bill in my hand. As I pulled up their garage door opened and there they were, smiling. They had just finished rinsing & draining my green beans. I even got a "free sample" Latino squash in the deal!
Not too often your farmers greet you at the door at 9:30 on a Sunday night.
I feel so blessed.
Good Monday morning to you!
Brook xo
Watch for the Pickled Green Cherry Tomatoes photo, coming soon....