THE ROOT CAUSE
Hello Chimacum Corner Community!
We’ve watched the snow melt slowly around our county, and for a few hours of an afternoon of late, you could almost feel a little warmth creep in. Once the soil begins to warm up to 45 degrees, the great dance of spring will begin again. Another chance to put down some roots! And we are bare root rich at the Corner Nursery this year. Local homegrown food is a cause we can all get down with. Whether you are adding the finishing touches on an established orchard, or planting your first blueberry, there is heaps to be excited about in the Nursery. Follow along for more news from the ol’ Corner, and then get out into your plots. We are rootin’ for ya!
BARE ROOT NECESSITIES
The nursery greenhouse is back open and the crew out there is coming back online. They have done a tremendous amount of work already this season, restocking sawdust in new burlap bags, and heeling in a cornucopia of full-strength bare root fruit trees from Behringer Nursery and Heartwood Nursery. Nursery staff did copious amounts of research to select varieties best-suited to the Peninsula, and there are cultivars we haven’t had in some time, as well as old standards. There are multiple varieties of Apples, Pears, Cherries, Peaches, Plums, and even Quince! We also have the first of the potted raspberry, blueberry, currants, and elderberry plants of the season! This is definitely a spring to expand the orchard. Get in on the “root cause”—grown your own!
AND A SHOUT OUT TO ROARKE!
Happy 1 year anniversary to Roarke, who originally joined our nursery team last year and has since become a multi-department float! He has been instrumental in getting the nursery geared up this season and we’re so grateful for all of his contributions store wide! Look for him currently in the nursery—he’ll gladly lug your heavy items to your vehicle and may even run while doing it! He’s an absolute delightful human to work with.
Read on to learn a little more about Roarke and be sure to say hi next time you visit!
What’s your current favorite thing (or things!) at the store? Colossal Chestnut seedlings.
What do you like most about living on the peninsula? So many things to like about the peninsula, so I’m going to have to share two: 1.) My family loves the outdoor opportunities from backpacking and beach time to canoeing and skiing. And 2.) I super appreciate such a vibrant agroforestry scene from our local farms and seaweed harvesting opportunities to projects like the Chimacum Ridge Community Forest.
What brought you to the Corner? I am very passionate about the localization movement, food systems, and engaging people in growing food and native habitats. And so, in many ways, the farmstand is a perfect fit.
Anything else you’d like to share with folks? I like to imagine the farmstand as more than merely a place of monetary transactions, but a manifestation of relationships. A place where we cross paths to share stories and dreams of a more holistic community. So, here’s to the continual nurturing of our relationships to each other, the land that carries us, the water that flows and the animals that bring song and awe.
APPLE FINALE
As apple season settles in for its final chapter, we wanted to share some apple data for the season and give a hearty salute to Luke and the Tonnemaker Hill “Farmily”. Deliveries will continue on Evercrisp and Fuji, and we will continue to introduce some apples from OGC to keep the shelves flowing. Here’s a fun fact: from September ‘24 to February 1st ‘25, our community purchased 22,806 pounds of Tonnemaker apples from CCF! The top seller? Fuji. We will remember this season as the first sizeable harvest of Tonnemaker Cosmic Crisps, as well as the other great “progeny” of Honeycrisp: the tart Ludacrisp and the sweet Evercrisp (the latter being a Honeycrisp / Fuji cross). And before you know it, Luke will be back with the first totes of cherries!
Do you love learning about / working with produce? Come be a part of the Produce Crew at CCF! We are actively seeking folks for our award winning produce team! Check out and share the job posting below.
PRODUCE PEEPS WANTED!
Join a team that is passionate about produce and our local farming community. Help us prep our award-winning produce porch with local organic fruits and veggies, and share our love of produce with the community! We are especially known for our work supporting local farms, but we also work with several small organic farms throughout Washington and with various large organic wholesale distribution suppliers.
GOT THE CHOPS
Nothing brightens up a rainy grey day like a sizzling skillet. Now is your chance to secure some of the last available Egg & I Pork Chops you can find anywhere! And what could be a sweeter pairing with a couple of fried pork chops than some silky smooth apple sauce? We highly recommend the classic Pork Chops and Apple Sauce pairing- keep it local with either Apple Pear Sauce or Apple Sauce from Spring Rain Farm. Now that is a plate worth hollering about.
MUFFIN MOMENT
The Corner Kitchen crew has really been rocking it in the breakfast department of late. We wanted to turn your attention to our muffin set, which features three very distinct and time-honored recipes. The latest addition is the Vegan Banana Walnut Muffin, which has a delightful crumble top. Next we have the Gluten Free and Dairy Free Almond Poppyseed Muffin, which is moist and fluffy and comes with slivered almonds adorning its crown. Last but not least we have the Gluten Free and Dairy Free Chocolate Zucchini Muffin, which is probably one of our longest standing pastry items. With chocolate chips baked into the top, it is a sumptuous way to start the day. All three muffins pair nicely with a cup of drip coffee or tea from our hot beverage station in the cozy corner of the store. Come see what all the “muff” is about.
DIPPIN’ OUT
After a long day at work, nothing takes the edge off like taking a beat and having a quick snack of chips and salsa. Fortunately, we have great deals on both players. All of the Late July chips, including Nacho Cheese and Sea Salt & Lime flavors, are on sale through the end of the month, as well as the Chica brand tortilla chips. Not to be outdone, all five flavors of Tatemada salsas are on sale as well, over four dollars off! Time to get to dippin’!
The Jefferson County Connectivity Summit is a groundbreaking civic engagement event designed to strengthen the connections in our community and increase our effectiveness at working together. Formerly known as the Connectivity Fair and the Job and Trades Fair, The Production Alliance has taken 2 of our most effective community events and combined them into a full and incredible weekend of events.
Taking place March 7-9 at Chimacum High School, the three day event will commence on Friday with a Youth Opportunity Fair and Youth-Voice Symposium for all Jefferson County High School Students. Day two convenes a Connectivity Tabling Fair of 100+ community organizations and government agencies. Layered into the fair will be exciting rapid networking games, collaborative projects, and an afternoon of Ignite Talks! and Open Space Sessions where participants set the agenda! Saturday will wrap-up with Long Story Short, a storytelling party at Finn River. On Sunday we ask “Who do we need to become as a community to meet this moment?”. Through presentations and workshops we will explore how we can come together as a community to prepare ourselves for climate resilience. Sunday will wrap-up with a free community meal hosted by Chef Arran Stark and the team at Jefferson Healthcare!
