Spring on the Farm 2018

spring ducks.jpeg Well it's March 7th and time keeps flying by. I did a Facebook Live with an update and our plans - follow along here. https://www.facebook.com/foodforestfarms/videos/752982751565336/

Well our 13 ducklings became the Lucky 12. There are a few theories about how unlucky 13 met his demise. My money is on a cat attack. So the ducklings are 11 weeks old. The males are almost as big as Henry now. As a group they are eating a 40# bag of feed every 3-4 days. Along with free ranging 12 hours a day. We are trying to build our Muscovy flock. The plan is to sell of 3-5 of the duckling males for Easter Dinners. 2 are already spoken for. If you are in the area and would like to order one. Please contact us. Will probably bring in another 2 females from other flocks to help get us on a good diverse genetics footing.

I have been shooting a 1 Minute Video of the ducks a few days a week and publishing with #1minuteduck if you are interested in relaxing duck videos check this out. https://www.facebook.com/foodforestfarms/videos/741533749376903/

Our Greenhouse fill out project continues. Our goal of 10,000 starts by May 1 was looking good, until the late February snow. But we are getting back on track. Finding free wire racks on craigslist was going too slowly, so we went with cinder blocks and 4x4 posts. So 8' long shelves, 3 layers high + the ground level (can be used in the greenhouse - outside it's duck territory). Since we didn't get the mass heater finished yet, we moved a bunch of racking inside to help start the more heat needing seeds. So far we have started oregano, thyme, sage, parsley, broccoli, garlic, onions, a few different tomatoes, 5 or 6 kinds of different peppers, borage, bee balm, California poppy, fennel, marigolds, a few different lettuce, and the list grows by the day.

Our Coffee Business continues to grow. I spent a day at the UNIC USA HQ up north of Seattle. Working with Chris Ernotte testing a few of my Espresso Blends on super automatic and old school manual machines. By the end of the day, our Harmony Espresso Blend was born. It produces beautiful crema, with a faint cherry citrus back flavor. Chris was also gracious enough to bless Candice and myself with tickets to the SCA Coffee Expo in April. We are going to spend the expo making contacts and reconnecting with all my old Specialty Coffee World pals. Our goal is to start a few direct trade relationships. Certifications are only a substitute for a true direct trade relationship.

We are moving from a specialty add on menu to the main page at The MILL.
https://www.themillofmilton.com/
With the Spring menu our French Press Single Origin Gold Cup Standard Coffee Service will get top billing. Please stop in and enjoy a personal pot and some incredible locally sourced, from scratch made to order food. The line caught Steelhead Benedict was my favorite on the winter menu. Can't wait to see what else spring brings.

The Kickstarter that ended in February crashed and burned. But we learned a number of useful lessons. Our logo was not good enough to be used in anything real. So we paid a pro and got a redesign in high def files. Now shirts, hats, mugs, and everything else merchandise can now start to exist.

Harmony Blend Espresso
Size: 1 Pound
$15.00
http://www.foodforestfarms.com/store/p56/Harmony_Blend_Espresso.html

We developed this Espresso Blend for our local drive through shops. This is a 3 bean post blend that was optimized for professional espresso machines. It produces beautiful crema, intense flavors with bright citrus notes. A perfect base for making Mochas and Lattes of all flavors. Enjoy.

The biggest update is I was interviewed on The Podcast "Living Free in Tennessee". This gal is a homesteader, website builder, business coach, and coffee roaster that I met at a workshop in Dallas.
http://livingfreeintennessee.com/2018/01/12/episode-63-launching-a-coffee-business-with-brian-norton/
Well that was a good enough interview, I have been offered a weekly produced Podcast Show on a new NW Podcast network that is currently under construction. The super cool thing is the network is owned by a Not For Profit Charity. Out of The Grey.
http://www.outofthegraywa.org/
They are dedicated to help the 1 in 5 people in Washington state who are full time care givers. So I'll go into the studio and record about 4 shows at a time. They will handle all the production, editing, hosting, publishing, etc... We are looking for show sponsors and advertisers. You will get the first 6 weeks free as a proof of concept. Will also give me practice reading ad copy. Stay tuned. I'll let everyone know when we start recording.

And lastly, the Air B&B project is rolling. We are creating a 1 bed - shared laundry/ bath space. Should be rentable by June 1 if anyone wants to visit Seattle roast some coffee and see the farm.