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Organic Cascadian Farm Tour in Skagit Valley, WA

Sharon Palmer

I had an amazing time in Washington this week on the organic Cascadian Farm tour. I learned so much about organic agriculture, including how produce is grown without the use of pesticides, how to restore the soil through agriculture, and the history of this amazing organic food company. It was an especially fun trip, because I was born and raised in Washington, and any excuse to come back to the beautiful Pacific Northwest is met with glee on my part!

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Pike Place Market, Seattle

Our farm tour started off in Seattle—just steps away from the historic Pike Place Market. I had an hour to wander around some of my favorite haunts there, and check out the seasonal, local produce.

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Pike Place Market, Seattle

Look at these beautiful chili peppers—fashioned into wreaths. Wish I could have fit one in my suitcase to adorn my kitchen. Of course, the last of the heirloom tomatoes are just as pretty, aren’t they?

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Pike Place Market, Seattle

Rainbow peppers—so pretty and full of healthful phytochemicals and vitamin C.

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Pike Place Market, Seattle

Can’t resist snapping a picture of persimmon season—one of the best things about fall, don’t you think?

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Pike Place Market, Seattle

This arrangement of gorgeous produce just had to be showcased. There are so many truly beautiful produce stands at this open air market—some of which I’ve been visiting for decades. Seattle is so fortunate because it has a temperate climate with lots of rain and fertile soil—thus lots of beautiful crops.

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Sitka and Spruce, Seattle

Our first dinner was held in a really cool space in Downtown Seattle, which included several small restaurants crowded together in a warehouse space. This restaurant embodied local, seasonal Pacific Northwest cuisine in all its glory. Our meal started with these pickled fruits and vegetables, including pickled cauliflower, pears, apples, grapes and olives. So unusual and flavorful!

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Sitka and Spruce, Seattle

There were lots of plant-centric options at this restaurants, such as these roasted potatoes.

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Sitka and Spruce, Seattle

This salad was stellar: roasted heirloom carrots, mint, tahini, pears, radishes, and walnuts—with a flavorful vinaigrette. Plant-based heaven on a plate.

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Sitka and Spruce, Seattle

My dessert was this amazing apple sorbet with slivers of apples and mint. The apple sorbet was thick with spicy apples, much more than an icy, light reminiscence of apples.

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Cascadian Farm, Skagit Valley, Washington

The next morning, our group took off for the lovely Skagit Valley, a couple of hours from Seattle. The original Cascadian Farm is located in the Skagit Valley, surrounded by the Cascade Mountains, and fed by a glacial river. The rain fall is much higher in this part of the Northwest than in Seattle—in fact it’s considered a temperate rain forest climate.

Every time you buy a Cascadian Farm product in the store, and you look at the photo on the bag or box, you are seeing this farm in the Skagit Valley. And it’s a real farm, too! This is the original farm—now preserved as a heritage farm—and it was founded by Gene Kahn 40 years ago when he was only 24 years old. Gene was passionate about organic agriculture and nature, so he farmed this very spot organically, and became a pioneer in the organic agriculture movement. Gene later sold his farm to General Mills so that he could bring organic produce to a larger setting. Though this original heritage farm still produces organic foods, it is a very small contributor to Cascadian Farm products, which buys organic foods grown all over the country now.

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Farm Stand, Cascadian Farm, Skagit Valley, Washington

The original little farm stand, which was fashioned around crooked wood beams to create this iconic arched roof, is a hot tourist spot in the Skagit Valley. You can stop to buy organic produce, freshly made organic ice cream, and a hot coffee here. Plus, you can come do a farm tour at Cascadian Farm, too.

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Fall Setting, Cascadian Farm, Skagit Valley, Washington

Cascadian Farm was dressed up for fall, with this adorable scarecrow in the pumpkin patch. You can see the beds of flowers which are pollinators to draw bees to the crops—a big part of organic agriculture.

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Cover Crops, Cascadian Farm, Skagit Valley, Washington

This is a special clover cover crop—another essential part of organic agriculture. Cascadian Farms farmer Mike Peroni explained to us how important it is to make sure every empty field is covered with a cover crop that restores the soil quality, such as clover, while it lays dormant before the next planting.

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Blueberry Fields, Cascadian Farm, Skagit Valley, Washington

Here are the blueberry fields in the fall—the leaves turn a bright golden and scarlet. Farmer Mike showed us how these crops are grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers and zero pesticides.

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Blueberry Fields, Cascadian Farm, Skagit Valley, Washington

Picture perfect view of the blueberry fields at the heritage Cascadian Farm, which gives you a chance to learn all about organic agriculture.

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Compost, Cascadian Farm, Skagit Valley, Washington

Farmer Mike showed us how rich his compost is, which fertilizes the fields and offers nutrients to the crops. He keeps a large pile on the farm, where organic material is added and mixed until the compost is ready to apply to the fields.

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Lunch at Cascadian Farm, Skagit Valley, Washington

After our morning in the fields, we sat down to a rustic, home-made lunch at Cascadian Farm, of warm vegetable soup, hot rolls and kale salad.

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Photos of Gene on the Original Cascadian Farm, Skagit Valley, Washington

There was a fabulous collection of old vintage photos on the original farm, dating back 40 years.

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Spade Samples, Cascadian Farm, Skagit Valley, Washington

After lunch, we viewed spade samples of soils, including from the forest floor, covered pasture, blueberry farm, covered crop, no covered crop, and greenhouse. Soil health is so important—we are only beginning to understand the soil biome, and preserving the quality of the soil happens through careful stewardship of the land.

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Kiwi Berries, Cascadian Farm, Skagit Valley, Washington

On the farm, a beautiful patch of kiwi berries was golden in the fall crisp afternoon. I picked some of these delicious fruit and popped them right into my mouth!

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Kiwi Berries, Cascadian Farm, Skagit Valley, Washington

Growing at the foot of the mountains, with a romantic fog setting in.

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Rainbow at Cascadian Farm, Skagit Valley, Washington

The clouds parted and the drizzle stopped to give us a breathtaking rainbow right over the Skagit Valley.

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Pumpkin Carving, Cascadian Farm, Skagit Valley, Washington

As part of our festivities, we carved pumpkins just in time for Halloween! I tried to make a charming French girl with a beret—not sure I achieved my goal!

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Ovenell’s Heritage Inn, Concrete, Washington

After our organic farm tour, we stayed at the oh so charming Ovenell’s Inn, which is a historic ranch in the Skagit Valley, with rooms in the inn and cabins on the wooded property. We had an amazing family-style dinner in the Inn.

My trip to Cascadian Farm was truly inspiring, as I learned more about organic agriculture and how important it is to care for our environment through better agricultural practices. If you find yourself in the Skagit Valley, please make sure to plan a visit to this farm.

Note: Sharon Palmer is not a spokesperson or paid consultant for Cascadian Farm. She was invited as a guest and member of the media to attend this organic farm tour.

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