Intern Projects: Working for Sustainability
Intern Profile: Sean D’Agnolo Sean is a carpenter by trade. Originally from Minnesota, he moved to Seattle to be close to family. The desire to start a landscaping business with his brother lead to his discovery of Seattle Tilth, through which he connected with a Puget Sound farm, where he worked four days a week […]
Leafy Greens Harvesting Update
In our three year leafy greens trial, part of the grant allowed us to purchase equipment for seeding and harvesting the greens. This equipment is being used at the farms in the trial, and is housed here at Cloud Mountain. This piece of equipment will allow very fast and efficient harvesting of greens, including mixed […]
UFO Cherries
or Upright Fruiting Offshoot Cherries An ongoing project at Cloud Mountain is ‘the cherry tunnel’. In 2005, we began this growing trial in which we grow sweet cherries inside a 180′ long, 32′ wide high tunnel, trained to a trellis system. Why grow cherries this way? Sweet cherries in Western Washington have several challenges, especially […]
Leafy Greens Trials
Over the next few months, we will be reporting on Cloud Mountain Farm Center’s most extensive project, a Leafy Greens Trial. In the fall of 2012, we began, in conjunction with WSU faculty, the first phase of a three year project. The goal of the first phase: Identify leafy green varieties that are well suited […]
It’s time to prune your rhododendrons
The Pacific Northwest has one of the finest rhododendron growing climates in the country. They are an integral part of many landscapes, and their variety is astounding. As the bloom season winds down in early June, it signals a perfect time to groom and prune your rhododendrons to keep them from outgrowing their space. There […]
Strawberry Propagation
When farmers of organic strawberries in the Northwest plant in fall for the next year’s harvest, they use plugs purchased and shipped from suppliers in southeast United States. Now, a recent grant from The Community Food Coop Farm Fund, supports a trial by Cloud Mountain to produce certified organic strawberry plant plugs for fall planting. In […]