2012 was quite a good year-full of delicious harvests, incredible volunteers, wonderful subscribers and customers, farm stands, transplanted bees, blisters, water woes and water found, local construction, striped roman tomatoes (my new favorite), pickles, shared recipes, weeds, slugs, planting and
replanting, and on and on.
And now 2013! The biggest news so far is that my friend, Devin, will be my farm business partner! In case some of you are concerned, Jeff is still my partner in life (thank goodness), but has always been busy with his own work and now school! I've decided to ask Devin to join me with Blue House Greenhouse Farm because one of the countless things I've learned in the past couple years with this farm is that I enjoy working with other people! I do get to work with really great volunteers, but for the day to day decision making it's been pretty much on my own. I appreciate the mutual support and accountability that comes with a partnership. I am excited about what we can create together and learn from each other. Let me introduce you to Devin here, but I hope to be able to introduce him to you soon in person!
Hellos to all the Blue House Greenhouse friends and customers,
Amanda has asked me to join the team this year on the farm, so it's time once again for a quick bio about the farmio. (Not sure if farmio is a real word, but i imagine it could mean a person who is a farming enthusiast, and who perhaps wears tennis shoes in the fields.)
My name is Devin Dinihanian. I've been working on farms of various natures for about 4 and a half years. I first became active in the agricultural world while working with at-risk youth in downtown Portland, where I facilitated a farm to shelter partnership between a local farm and our day drop-in program. We would bring in veggies each week and use them in cooking workshops that would then feed the hungry participants. It was a great program and instilled in me the desire to learn more about farming as a tool to build community, so I started working and apprenticing with CSA's, educational farms, small scale urban farm projects and permaculture organizations that worked with sustenance farmers in rural communities. I spent a few years working on farms and health ngo's in New York, Vermont, Oaxaca state in Mexico and finally back in Portland. After working with a farm on Skyline Ridge and with my good friend Danny who farms up in Ridgefield, Washington (so many ridges around here, right?) I started working with low income families as a member of Growing Gardens, a rad organization who you should check out if you aren't already familiar. We help folks around the Portland-Gresham area to build and tend to their own backyard and school gardens. Its a great feeling to help people learn to grow their own food. Such a great feeling that I was very excited when Amanda asked me to work with her at the farm this year. I look forward to getting back into the soil and growing food for all of the loyal customers Amanda has told me all about, (you all sound so nice).
Thanks for all the support you've already given to the blue house greenhouse, and I look forward to meeting you all sometime this year.
We will be building washing tables and and a lean-to for our harvesting set up. We will also be doing some blackberry clearing for those of you who need to get out some aggression. There will be planting, weeding, and so much more! Let me know if you'd like to join us.
