Salinity Presents: Mutiny Bay Blues

WEBVTT
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Barbara Dunn (music):
Let love surround you
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and keep you safe and warm
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May the music in our hearts
be a shelter from the storm
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Emily Wilder: Hello and
welcome to Salinity Presents.
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We are here with Kai Fletcher from Mutiny
Bay Blues on Whidbey Island, Washington.
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Welcome, Kai.
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Kai Fletcher: Hi.
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Thank you.
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Emily Wilder: Alright,
let's jump right into it.
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So, what does your business do?
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Kai Fletcher: Our business is a farm.
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We farm predominantly blueberries,
but we've been diversifying
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in the last few years.
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We started producing hay.
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We have a growing flock of sheep.
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We have a very much growing flock
of chickens, and we grow mushrooms.
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And we spend a good amount of
our time, especially our winters,
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making value added products with our
blueberries and with our mushrooms.
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Emily Wilder: What kind of products?
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Kai Fletcher: We make granola.
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We dehydrate our blueberries.
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We dehydrate our mushrooms.
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We sell some things you can only find
at our store, like our hot sauce.
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But what you'll find in Salinity
is our granola, our dried
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blueberries, and our dried mushrooms.
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Emily Wilder: Tell me, how did
Mutiny Bay Blues get started?
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Kai Fletcher: In the early 2000's,
my parents, my sisters, and I moved
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here to Whidbey from the East Coast.
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They wanted to get more rural,
get in touch with the land.
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And so they bought this parcel of
property, right by their house.
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And at first it was just a fallow field
and some barley and wheat was grown.
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It so happened that the soil is very
acidic and generally good for blueberries.
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Emily Wilder: Who else is
involved in the business?
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Kai Fletcher: The important players,
especially in the beginning are my
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dad, Britt Fletcher, and Ken Petry.
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Ken Petry has lived on the island
for like 50 years and he's been
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farming for that long, and he's got
a huge database of farming knowledge
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and machinery and road building.
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And so between the two of them, they
pretty much made this farm out of scratch.
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It's been a farm for like
a hundred years or so.
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It was a dairy at one point.
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It was growing potatoes.
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They had cows… The two of them, Ken
on the tractor, both of them using
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their minds, built the roads, built a
barn, put in the irrigation, and really
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just bore this farm out of nothing.
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And then more people
began to get involved.
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We had to get employees.
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My sister Lauren is working with
the farm now, she does the books
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and the behind the scenes things.
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My mom comes and helps out, mostly with
the customer front, and then I'm there.
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Emily Wilder: And what's your role?
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Kai Fletcher: I could say
that I'm farm manager.
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Emily Wilder: How many
employees do you have?
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Kai Fletcher: Year round, it's
me as a full-time employee and
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my dad still does finance work.
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He works probably like 20
hours a week on the farm.
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And then it's like an amalgamation of
part-time people depending on the season.
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It's very project oriented.
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And sometimes the farm's kind of sleepy
and it's pretty much just me and my dad.
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We also have a person that helps
with the store and making granola.
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But in the summer we have
a fleet of 15 or 20 people.
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It used to be even more than that
when we were purely hand-pick.
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Emily Wilder: Did you plan on
getting into the family business?
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How did you end up back on
Whidbey Island doing this?
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Kai Fletcher: That's a good question.
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I realized I wanted to go to college,
major in agriculture, environmental
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studies, biology, something to do with
plants and soils and growing things.
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And after college I had a brief stint
in Alaska, doing environmental work,
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soil surveys, vegetation surveys.
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After that, I was trying to look for a
job that kind of suited all my interests
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and that I was passionate about.
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And as I was looking at these job
applications, I was realizing that
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that could all be found on the farm.
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And the saying for planting a tree
goes, The best time to plant a tree
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was yesterday." And same could be
said about blueberry plants or any
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farm project. So I was like, Let's
just get there and get started."
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Emily Wilder: Nice.
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Okay.
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Let's get into how the products are made
because I know you've also helped expand
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your product offerings in those three and
a half years that you've been back here.
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So, let's get into the weeds a little bit.
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Kai Fletcher: Totally.
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We have a commercial kitchen that
we make all of our products in.
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We built that about four years ago.
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And before that we were using commissary
kitchens found at the county fairgrounds,
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which are a great resource, especially for
a growing business that doesn't have the
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capital to invest in a commercial kitchen.
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For a couple years, my dad would schlep
all the ingredients down to the county
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fair, make everything, and then you gotta
pack everything up before you leave.
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And that was great, but it kind of
served its time as we were growing.
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And so then this commercial kitchen
was built and it was installed with
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two big commercial ovens, a large
scale  dehydrator that does a 120
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pounds of blueberries at a time.
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Emily Wilder: What temperature?
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Kai Fletcher: 125 for about 12 hours.
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And as long as the blueberries
become 25% of their weight,
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then they're shelf stable.
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We really like to keep it like as moist
as possible while keeping it shelf stable.
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Compared to the raisins you'd
buy at a store, our dried
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blueberries are packed with flavor.
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Because of that, they don't have quite
the shelf life… You have a few months.
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They still taste like a blueberry
and they don't break your teeth when
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you bite it into 'em, which we like.
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Emily Wilder: Yeah, exactly.
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They're still kind of juicy.
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I keep mine in the fridge at home.
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Kai Fletcher: Totally.
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Yeah, they still hold onto a
bit of that taste of summer.
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And then granola, we make
in the commercial ovens.
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My dad created the recipe
based on another recipe.
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It has no added sugar except for honey.
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It uses olive oil.
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It's a product we're very proud of.
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It's now stocked in PCC,
which is really exciting.
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And PCC is the largest buyer of
our fresh blueberries as well.
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PCC is a great market.
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It's kind of a more localized
version of Whole Foods.
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I think they have 14 stores
in the Seattle region.
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They've had a couple visits out to our
farm just to see our farm green practices.
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They're a good store.
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I love them.
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Emily Wilder: I love going there.
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Kai Fletcher: Anytime I'm
in Seattle, I stop in.
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Spend a good amount of
money, but it's worth it.
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Emily Wilder: Yeah.
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Totally worth it.
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Kai Fletcher: And then so another
product that you'll find in Salinity
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is our dehydrated mushrooms.
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We started growing mushrooms
maybe two and a half years ago.
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I have to give the credit
to my dad on this one, too.
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I think he said, "Hey, we should think
about growing mushrooms." I have to
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give myself the credit in that I built
the whole room and did the research
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on how to actually grow the mushrooms.
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We're probably putting out
like, 50 to 80 pounds a week.
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And it's just a nice, consistent income.
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It's year round.
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They're grown indoors, so, it's
not subjected to the weather.
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It doesn't slow down at all.
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And we stock local groceries, our own
onsite store, some delis, they make
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sandwiches out of Greenbank Pantry,
Orchard Kitchen, Payless has a lot.
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And so that's been great.
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And then some of the mushrooms
that don't get sold right away then
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they start to lose their freshness.
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We toss 'em to the dehydrator to preserve
that, and then we can sell anytime.
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Emily Wilder: And you also
have them available through
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Whidbey Island Grown Food Hub?
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Kai Fletcher: Yeah.
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All of our products are available
on Whidbey Island Grown, and we
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are one of the pickup locations
too, which is really great.
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That's a good service.
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It's both direct to consumer, and it's
wholesale, so restaurants can buy in five
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pound quantities through that, or you
can just buy in half pound increments.
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The fresh or the dried or the
blueberries or the granola.
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Emily Wilder: Amazing resource.
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And then you have tinctures as well.
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Kai Fletcher: We do have tinctures.
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Yeah.
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So another way of preserving and enhancing
the benefits of mushrooms, and you
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could go into a whole book on that, but
depending on the mushroom, sometimes
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putting it through a dual extract, which
would be an alcohol extract combined
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with a water extract enhances the, say
Lion's Mane brain cognitive function.
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We don't actually make those tinctures.
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We outsource that to Dylan Cotton.
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He just moved here from the East coast.
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He has a lot of knowledge of
growing and working with mushrooms.
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And also has this fancy apparatus
that distills the mushrooms and
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extracts everything so we give him the
mushrooms and he creates them for us,
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and those are available at our store.
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And they're available in WIG (Whidbey
Island Grown) and they might be
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available in Salinity at some point.
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Emily Wilder: Just looking
for some space on the shelves.
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What different tinctures do you have?
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Kai Fletcher: We just have
a Reishi and a Lion's Mane.
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Kept it simple.
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And that's all we have for now.
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Those are the most like, benefits
boosted, compared to an oyster?
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An oyster I'd say is more culinary.
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Emily Wilder: Oyster mushroom.
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Just to clarify
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Kai Fletcher: Oyster mushroom.
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Yeah.
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Emily Wilder: People assume me,
oyster, then it's a seafood.
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Kai Fletcher: Yeah, totally.
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And we're not selling live lions,
its Lion's Mane, a mushroom.
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Emily Wilder: Ah, that would be great.
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Kai Fletcher: That would be messy.
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Emily Wilder: What mushrooms
are you selling fresh?
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Kai Fletcher: The biggest sellers
are oyster… Oyster mushrooms.
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Because they're very recognizable
and they're probably the closest
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to a Cremini . And the  Cremini
is just what people grew up on.
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So, we sell a lot of oysters, lion's mane.
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We sell Shiitake, Pink Oyster
which is another variety of Oyster,
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Black Pearl King Oyster which is
slightly different type of oyster.
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What else do we have?
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We have Chestnuts, Pioppinos, Reishi
- just for our dry product or going into our
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tincture - oh, and Maitake occasionally.
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There's so many different types.
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It's sometimes hard to
choose which ones to grow.
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And it's interesting trying to
track trends and what people are
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interested in and I'll push the limits
with, Maitake or… even Lion's
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Mane intimidates a lot of people.
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And we'll just see what people
are willing to try and cook with.
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It's been interesting, even in the two
years that we've been growing and selling
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mushrooms, I've seen a lot more people
in tune and knowledgeable about what
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types of mushrooms there are out there
and how to deal with them in the kitchen.
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Emily Wilder: Right.
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Yeah.
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The exposure helps a lot for
them and the availability.
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Kai Fletcher: It's a
growing market, for sure.
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Emily Wilder: Do you have to harvest
them within a certain timeframe?
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Like are you harvesting to order or is
it like, this is what we've harvested,
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we gotta sell it somewhere this week?
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Kai Fletcher: Mushrooms,
everything about them is extremely
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quick compared to any plant.
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Not that these are a plant at all,
but compared to anything else, you'd
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be farming the lifespan and the
growing stage is about six weeks,
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sometimes as fast as five weeks in
total, depending on the weather.
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Warmer weather, and they
ripen really quickly.
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So, we can adapt depending
on trends that we're seeing.
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January, February is kinda slow.
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We can adapt what we're
growing within that.
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But the shelf life of a mushroom
is like, seven days, maybe
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Lion's Mane a little bit longer.
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Once it's coming in, you harvest
it, you pop it in the fridge.
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Luckily people are pretty consistent
and the restaurants we sell to are
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fairly consistent with their demand.
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Emily Wilder: What storage tips
do you have for somebody who
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purchases them at the store?
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What's the best way to get a long life?
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Kai Fletcher: Yeah.
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I think that having them in a brown bag
that's somewhat breathable, but not just
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like on an open plate in the fridge.
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Plastic bag is not great.
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You don't wanna trap that moisture in
there, but they will dry out prematurely
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if you just have 'em on an open plate.
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Emily Wilder: What's your
favorite way to cook them?
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Kai Fletcher: Just sauté
butter, salt, pepper.
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Emily Wilder: High heat or low heat?
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Kai Fletcher: They cook for longer
than you'd think, and you don't
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wanna add the butter right away.
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They have this weird phenomenon where
you put 'em in dry into the pan and
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they start excreting their own water
and so they won't stick to the pan.
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And it's gonna be like a medium heat.
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And so they'll start exuding their
own water, and then after about two
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minutes, you'll add either your olive
oil, or your butter, and cook 'em up.
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And depending on the variety - I'm
usually cooking oysters or shiitakes - you
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cook 'em for maybe seven minutes or so.
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With Lion's Mane you can get
really inventive, batter that
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and fry it if you'd like.
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We sell some to Osprey, especially in
the summer, and they do a tempura, like
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vegan fried fish alternative with it.
00:10:20.654 --> 00:10:21.724
And it's actually really good.
00:10:21.824 --> 00:10:23.694
Emily Wilder: And that's Osprey
Fish Co. up in Coupeville.
00:10:23.794 --> 00:10:25.864
For anyone who hasn't
been yet, definitely go.
00:10:25.964 --> 00:10:27.314
I sell them oysters, too.
00:10:27.414 --> 00:10:29.874
So, is most of your diet
mushrooms and blueberries?
00:10:29.924 --> 00:10:32.144
Kai Fletcher: Yeah, it's pretty
high, especially blueberries.
00:10:32.144 --> 00:10:34.784
In the summer, a nutritionist
would probably like scoff at this,
00:10:34.784 --> 00:10:36.254
but probably five pounds a day.
00:10:36.354 --> 00:10:37.824
Like my sugar intake is out the room.
00:10:37.924 --> 00:10:38.704
Like literally.
00:10:38.794 --> 00:10:41.624
'cause I'll be on the line
and, well, first of all, you
00:10:41.624 --> 00:10:42.674
gotta do quality control.
00:10:43.184 --> 00:10:43.404
Emily Wilder: Of course.
00:10:43.426 --> 00:10:45.246
Kai Fletcher: So, you're there,
you gotta know what you're picking,
00:10:45.246 --> 00:10:46.626
and if you're picking it correctly.
00:10:46.626 --> 00:10:51.366
And often the hours can kind of run on and
on and it's like, work now, rest later.
00:10:51.366 --> 00:10:53.931
And so you might skip lunch and, so,
you have lunch right in front of you.
00:10:53.976 --> 00:10:55.476
So, you just grab a
handful of blueberries.
00:10:55.576 --> 00:10:55.756
Emily Wilder: Yeah.
00:10:55.846 --> 00:10:56.776
And they have nutrients.
00:10:56.776 --> 00:10:58.186
They're very vitamin heavy.
00:10:58.286 --> 00:10:58.646
Kai Fletcher: Yeah.
00:10:58.746 --> 00:10:59.736
Antioxidants.
00:10:59.836 --> 00:11:00.496
Very good for you.
00:11:00.596 --> 00:11:02.546
Our blueberries are certified organic.
00:11:02.546 --> 00:11:05.636
There are no herbicides or
pesticides sprayed on them.
00:11:05.736 --> 00:11:05.976
Emily Wilder: Yeah.
00:11:05.976 --> 00:11:09.416
Let's get into the meat of the
topic here, the blueberries.
00:11:09.416 --> 00:11:11.186
How are you growing them?
00:11:11.286 --> 00:11:14.051
Kai Fletcher: We have, as far
as species go, we have tall
00:11:14.051 --> 00:11:15.551
bush or highbush blueberry.
00:11:15.551 --> 00:11:17.151
So, there's low bush,
highbush, and rabbit eye.
00:11:17.201 --> 00:11:18.941
You cannot cross breed
them, I don't believe.
00:11:18.941 --> 00:11:20.981
They grow much much
different from one another.
00:11:20.981 --> 00:11:22.146
The highbush is what we grow.
00:11:22.146 --> 00:11:24.486
Low bush is what you'd find in
the northeast and rabbit eye
00:11:24.486 --> 00:11:25.866
can handle warmer temperatures.
00:11:25.866 --> 00:11:29.726
Highbush needs, like, five to
800 hours below 40 degrees.
00:11:29.726 --> 00:11:32.726
You have to be in a fairly cold climate,
which has kind of been a close call
00:11:32.726 --> 00:11:35.666
this winter where it's been so warm,
that we've been like, "Oh, I hope
00:11:35.666 --> 00:11:38.356
we get those" - they call 'em chill
hours - "Hope we get those chill hours."
00:11:38.456 --> 00:11:40.616
We in Washington state grow high bush.
00:11:40.716 --> 00:11:43.266
Washington state, fun fact, is
the number one producing state
00:11:43.266 --> 00:11:44.646
of blueberries in the country.
00:11:44.746 --> 00:11:45.162
Emily Wilder: Wow.
00:11:45.218 --> 00:11:48.038
Kai Fletcher: If you go up to outside
of Bellingham or Whatcom County or
00:11:48.038 --> 00:11:50.268
Skagit County, it's really impressive.
00:11:50.268 --> 00:11:51.318
And they just go on and on.
00:11:51.418 --> 00:11:55.278
And then on the east side, near Yakima
there's a lot of blueberries out there.
00:11:55.378 --> 00:11:55.918
We're tiny.
00:11:55.918 --> 00:11:59.078
We have about 25 acres, and
some of those farms have
00:11:59.078 --> 00:12:00.758
thousands and thousands of acres.
00:12:00.808 --> 00:12:03.568
Within the species of highbush, the
reason you have different varieties
00:12:03.568 --> 00:12:06.958
of blueberries is so you have a longer
season and they ripen at different times.
00:12:06.958 --> 00:12:12.008
So, in this order, it goes Duke, Draper,
Calypso, which is a new planting for us.
00:12:12.008 --> 00:12:13.688
And then Last Call reels it in.
00:12:13.688 --> 00:12:15.998
Last Call is pushing
it well into September.
00:12:15.998 --> 00:12:19.988
And Duke is starting pretty much
July 15th, July 17th, on the money.
00:12:19.988 --> 00:12:22.598
While we were pruning in January and
February, which takes about six weeks,
00:12:22.598 --> 00:12:26.458
usually we prune off dead and dying
parts of the plant or branches that
00:12:26.458 --> 00:12:27.778
don't look like they'll yield a lot.
00:12:27.778 --> 00:12:30.838
But this time on some of the plants…
Last Call, in particular, was really
00:12:30.838 --> 00:12:32.698
flowering a lot, even in January.
00:12:32.698 --> 00:12:36.058
We're like, "Okay, prune off things
that are flowery now because the next
00:12:36.058 --> 00:12:39.148
frost will kill that flower bud and
it's not gonna produce fruit anyways."
00:12:39.248 --> 00:12:40.958
Emily Wilder: So you don't
necessarily want them to
00:12:40.958 --> 00:12:42.788
start producing fruit earlier?
00:12:42.788 --> 00:12:45.248
Kai Fletcher: Well, it would
just mess up a few things.
00:12:45.248 --> 00:12:49.548
We don't compete necessarily, but we
have to work around the east side of
00:12:49.548 --> 00:12:50.928
the mountains and their production.
00:12:50.928 --> 00:12:52.548
They come like a month earlier than we do.
00:12:52.548 --> 00:12:54.618
And, say that they're on schedule.
00:12:54.618 --> 00:12:57.738
We don't want to be a month early, because
then we're just selling at the same
00:12:57.738 --> 00:12:59.238
time, the market's kind of saturated.
00:12:59.338 --> 00:13:01.918
If they were a month early and we are
a month early, that'd be all right.
00:13:01.918 --> 00:13:05.578
But last year, for example,
they were maybe two weeks behind
00:13:05.578 --> 00:13:06.988
schedule when we were on time.
00:13:06.988 --> 00:13:09.358
And so in the beginning of the
season, there was a bit of a
00:13:09.358 --> 00:13:10.918
pinch moving the blueberries.
00:13:10.918 --> 00:13:13.918
It worked out all right, but it was a
little bit like, "Oh, I hope we can get
00:13:13.918 --> 00:13:17.938
these out, and over to PCC 'cause they
have contracts with east side markets,
00:13:17.938 --> 00:13:20.458
and there's just too many blueberries,"
which is a good problem to have, for sure.
00:13:24.616 --> 00:13:28.156
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00:14:13.907 --> 00:14:17.327
Oh, we forgot to talk about your
other method of preserving them.
00:14:17.327 --> 00:14:17.867
Freezing them.
00:14:17.967 --> 00:14:18.477
Kai Fletcher: Yeah.
00:14:18.577 --> 00:14:22.537
We could probably just say that about half
the blueberries we pick are sold fresh,
00:14:22.567 --> 00:14:24.847
and then about the other half is frozen.
00:14:24.847 --> 00:14:27.907
All that frozen fruit goes
through a few avenues.
00:14:27.907 --> 00:14:31.417
More and more of it is becoming
dehydrated and then getting put
00:14:31.417 --> 00:14:35.104
into our granola or into our dried
fruit bags and sold that way.
00:14:35.204 --> 00:14:38.954
A lot of it is also just sold frozen,
three pound, one pound bags at our
00:14:38.954 --> 00:14:44.804
store, at the Star Store, or wholesale
to like bakers and restaurants,
00:14:44.804 --> 00:14:48.234
Freeland Cafe, Jupiter Coffee makes
delicious scones, their blueberries.
00:14:48.234 --> 00:14:49.734
A lot of it is sold frozen.
00:14:49.734 --> 00:14:52.444
That's really nice because
that spreads out the season.
00:14:52.444 --> 00:14:55.894
We don't need to worry about moving
all these blueberries right now in July
00:14:55.894 --> 00:14:57.514
and August when things are chaotic.
00:14:57.614 --> 00:15:00.974
We're handing out blueberries January,
February, March, even until June, right
00:15:00.974 --> 00:15:02.264
before the new blueberries come on.
00:15:02.364 --> 00:15:04.534
Emily Wilder: So… more
about the plants?
00:15:04.584 --> 00:15:08.934
Kai Fletcher: We have about 25,000
plants, which is about 25 acres, and
00:15:08.934 --> 00:15:11.994
about half of it is Draper, which
is that second ripening variety.
00:15:11.994 --> 00:15:12.894
My personal favorite.
00:15:12.894 --> 00:15:13.664
They're all really good.
00:15:13.664 --> 00:15:16.494
They live to be about a hundred years.
00:15:16.494 --> 00:15:18.924
So, once they're planted,
they're in for the long run.
00:15:18.924 --> 00:15:21.004
As long as you take good
care of 'em, which we do.
00:15:21.104 --> 00:15:23.024
They like fertilization in the spring.
00:15:23.024 --> 00:15:24.404
They like pruning in the winter.
00:15:24.404 --> 00:15:25.784
They like weeding twice a year.
00:15:25.784 --> 00:15:28.004
We don't have to baby them,
but they take a lot of extra
00:15:28.004 --> 00:15:29.054
care because they're organic.
00:15:29.054 --> 00:15:30.164
We can't just spray herbicides.
00:15:30.164 --> 00:15:31.604
They have to be hand weeded.
00:15:31.994 --> 00:15:32.326
Pruning.
00:15:32.482 --> 00:15:34.922
It takes six weeks to do all
the plants, and we have about 10
00:15:34.922 --> 00:15:36.272
to 15 people out there working.
00:15:36.272 --> 00:15:40.772
And it takes that long because each
plant, one by one, is handled by a person.
00:15:40.772 --> 00:15:44.312
And for about a minute or two,
this person's spending time, maybe
00:15:44.312 --> 00:15:48.169
sometimes four minutes, pruning it
the kind of guiding its growth keeping
00:15:48.169 --> 00:15:51.429
it going upright, keeping good air
flow, good sunlight penetration.
00:15:51.529 --> 00:15:54.539
Keeping it from intertwining too
much with the plant next to it.
00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:58.159
Each plant at one point each
year, has human interaction.
00:15:58.259 --> 00:15:59.699
And like mindful human interaction.
00:15:59.799 --> 00:16:02.869
A lot of these large farms that I'm
talking about in Skagit, Whatcom, they're
00:16:02.869 --> 00:16:07.054
producing a great commodity, but those big
farms sometimes just have these tractor
00:16:07.054 --> 00:16:11.234
mounted, essentially like saws that just
go down and they trim off old growth
00:16:11.234 --> 00:16:12.524
and that's what they call their pruning.
00:16:12.524 --> 00:16:15.978
I don't even really know how you
can have a good berry outta that.
00:16:16.078 --> 00:16:19.168
And our berries are massive,
but they're still delicious
00:16:19.168 --> 00:16:20.183
and they're not overly watery.
00:16:20.283 --> 00:16:24.843
And part of it is the pruning, part of
it's our rigorous fertilization program,
00:16:24.843 --> 00:16:28.074
which Ken Petry, the guy who I was
mentioning earlier who helped build this
00:16:28.074 --> 00:16:32.064
whole place, he planted the plants, he
put in the roads, did the irrigation.
00:16:32.064 --> 00:16:34.404
He is still on top of our
fertilization program.
00:16:34.404 --> 00:16:37.634
And so he times it - fertilization
is all about timing.
00:16:37.734 --> 00:16:39.744
And all these things lead
to a really good berry.
00:16:39.844 --> 00:16:41.854
Emily Wilder: What is
he using for fertilizer?
00:16:41.854 --> 00:16:44.781
Kai Fletcher: It's fermented wheat
fertilization, and there's also
00:16:44.781 --> 00:16:48.084
like a kelp seaweed fish meal
fertilizer that goes onto 'em.
00:16:48.184 --> 00:16:48.614
Emily Wilder: Cool.
00:16:48.614 --> 00:16:51.174
But the the end result
blueberries are still vegan.
00:16:51.274 --> 00:16:53.321
Kai Fletcher: I have thought about that
before and, depending on who you ask, I
00:16:53.321 --> 00:16:56.411
guess you could say that most blueberries
are probably not vegan, especially
00:16:56.411 --> 00:17:00.821
organic blueberries, 'cause most of them
probably use a fish based fertilizer.
00:17:00.921 --> 00:17:02.871
Emily Wilder: Has no direct
contact with the fruit?
00:17:02.971 --> 00:17:04.271
Kai Fletcher: No, there is no direct.
00:17:04.271 --> 00:17:06.371
Emily Wilder: Just adds some
building blocks to the plant.
00:17:06.471 --> 00:17:12.075
How long between planting a baby blueberry
plant and harvesting the first batch?
00:17:12.175 --> 00:17:12.895
Kai Fletcher: Good question.
00:17:12.995 --> 00:17:16.195
So it's definitely, with perennials… On
Whidbey Island, we're surrounded by a lot
00:17:16.195 --> 00:17:20.508
of annual farms - you plant a seed and a
couple months later you have a product.
00:17:20.633 --> 00:17:23.423
Blueberry plants, it takes
about three years to actually
00:17:23.423 --> 00:17:24.413
get a harvest off of them.
00:17:24.413 --> 00:17:28.347
And it's not really until year five,
or six, or even seven, that you
00:17:28.347 --> 00:17:29.850
see them at their peak production.
00:17:29.850 --> 00:17:32.520
So, it's definitely a long game, but
once you have that plant established,
00:17:32.520 --> 00:17:35.100
like I said, you got it for 70 years,
as long as you take good care of it.
00:17:35.197 --> 00:17:39.457
Like I was saying earlier, Calypso is
this new variety that we've just planted.
00:17:39.517 --> 00:17:43.777
We ripped out an old variety that was kind
of having some issues with this fungus,
00:17:43.777 --> 00:17:46.387
and it wasn't treatable organically.
00:17:46.387 --> 00:17:48.427
And that's just one of the
costs of organic farming.
00:17:48.457 --> 00:17:51.787
We ripped out all the plants,
which was kind of sad to do, and
00:17:51.787 --> 00:17:53.407
planted new ones in its place.
00:17:53.507 --> 00:17:56.640
And Calypso's gonna fill that
gap before Last Call, which is
00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:58.050
super late and after Draper.
00:17:58.050 --> 00:18:01.320
So yeah, we have to prune and weed those
plants for the next three years without
00:18:01.320 --> 00:18:02.550
seeing a single berry come off of them.
00:18:02.650 --> 00:18:02.890
Emily Wilder: Wow.
00:18:02.990 --> 00:18:06.380
Kai Fletcher: And you even have to go as
far as stripping the bloom in the spring.
00:18:06.380 --> 00:18:08.660
They're very small, they're
like eight inches tall.
00:18:08.660 --> 00:18:12.260
They're very spindly, but they want to,
make you happy and give you some fruit.
00:18:12.350 --> 00:18:14.210
And so they put out these big fruit buds.
00:18:14.210 --> 00:18:17.610
If you let them get to a full berry, it
would just sap 'em of all their energy.
00:18:17.610 --> 00:18:20.670
So instead, we'd rather see that go
into the root system for the future.
00:18:20.723 --> 00:18:24.337
Emily Wilder: So that's a huge cost
involved in that decision to stay organic.
00:18:24.437 --> 00:18:24.947
Kai Fletcher: Yeah.
00:18:25.007 --> 00:18:26.877
100%. But we think it's worth it.
00:18:26.977 --> 00:18:28.867
Emily Wilder: Okay, so
you do your pruning.
00:18:28.917 --> 00:18:32.217
What happens between the
pruning and the harvesting?
00:18:32.217 --> 00:18:34.077
Kai Fletcher: With the blueberries
there's not a whole lot to do.
00:18:34.077 --> 00:18:35.930
There's fixing irrigation lines.
00:18:35.930 --> 00:18:38.240
The lines that hold up the
irrigation sometimes get clipped
00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:38.930
during the pruning season.
00:18:38.930 --> 00:18:39.740
You gotta fix those.
00:18:39.740 --> 00:18:41.540
But that's not a big task really at all.
00:18:41.540 --> 00:18:44.450
We're kind of laying low, and that's
a big reason why we're trying to
00:18:44.450 --> 00:18:47.150
diversify, so that there's a more
even workload throughout the season.
00:18:47.150 --> 00:18:49.790
In June, we'll start weeding
again right before the season,
00:18:49.790 --> 00:18:52.670
and then we'll start getting, the
irrigation going once it gets dry.
00:18:52.770 --> 00:18:55.800
But until it gets dry, there's not
too much to do with the blueberries.
00:18:55.900 --> 00:18:58.480
Emily Wilder: Do you have issues
with birds or other pests?
00:18:58.480 --> 00:18:58.930
Kai Fletcher: Yeah.
00:18:58.930 --> 00:19:02.223
They're definitely a bit of a
nuisance when they have the potential
00:19:02.223 --> 00:19:04.563
to take like 30% of the crop.
00:19:04.563 --> 00:19:07.083
That can be considered
a big loss for sure.
00:19:07.083 --> 00:19:08.253
And we've learned to live with them.
00:19:08.253 --> 00:19:11.763
Some farms do nets that leads to
a lot of dead and trapped birds.
00:19:11.763 --> 00:19:13.140
So we don't go the net route.
00:19:13.140 --> 00:19:17.670
We had a partnership and we still do
with this robotic company that has
00:19:17.670 --> 00:19:20.910
solar powered robots that mow your rows.
00:19:20.910 --> 00:19:23.220
And they're pretty
funny, but they're nice.
00:19:23.220 --> 00:19:24.150
They save a lot of time.
00:19:24.150 --> 00:19:28.260
They also have like an outlet on the back
and you can plug 110 volt plug into 'em.
00:19:28.260 --> 00:19:31.560
And so we put a little trailer behind
these robots that are mowing and we
00:19:31.560 --> 00:19:33.150
program them just to drive around.
00:19:33.150 --> 00:19:38.070
And they had those like used car sale
dancing figurines on the back of 'em.
00:19:38.170 --> 00:19:40.480
And so they just like randomly
drive around the field.
00:19:40.580 --> 00:19:44.390
And we've honestly tried so many things
to get rid of the birds to scare 'em away.
00:19:44.390 --> 00:19:46.250
We've done that, which had some success.
00:19:46.250 --> 00:19:49.640
We had a falconer come out for a little
while, but that got expensive quickly.
00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:50.930
Even though it was cool, that's for sure.
00:19:50.930 --> 00:19:55.265
If you see like a dog race, they are
chasing like a fake rabbit on a track.
00:19:55.265 --> 00:19:57.215
And so we had that going up
and down the roads for a while.
00:19:57.215 --> 00:20:01.025
We've had 16 year olds driving ATVs around
the field, just trying to spook 'em up.
00:20:01.075 --> 00:20:04.418
Lately, the last couple years we've kind
of figured out that the best way to do it
00:20:04.418 --> 00:20:05.678
is just to beat 'em to the blueberries.
00:20:05.678 --> 00:20:07.778
Fruit's so abundant here in the
summer, birds have just their
00:20:07.778 --> 00:20:08.593
pick of what they want to eat.
00:20:08.593 --> 00:20:13.183
And they wait until the day that the
blueberries are ripe to start eating them.
00:20:13.183 --> 00:20:16.933
And so as long as we get to 'em
when they're ripe, then we beat the
00:20:16.933 --> 00:20:18.043
birds to a lot of 'em, at least.
00:20:18.043 --> 00:20:19.783
We just accept a little bit of loss.
00:20:19.813 --> 00:20:22.183
I think they were invasive
birds, but they're still birds.
00:20:22.307 --> 00:20:25.807
Emily Wilder: Let's finish up with
talking about the machine harvesting.
00:20:25.857 --> 00:20:29.377
Kai Fletcher: We have a staff of like
15 or 20 in the summer, and that's down
00:20:29.377 --> 00:20:31.717
from maybe 25 or 30 that we used to have.
00:20:31.717 --> 00:20:34.237
And that's because we do a lot
of the harvesting with a machine.
00:20:34.237 --> 00:20:37.147
We harvest the majority of
our fruit with the machine.
00:20:37.147 --> 00:20:39.997
We historically did it all by
hand, and that's because you get
00:20:39.997 --> 00:20:41.917
the best product picking by hand.
00:20:41.917 --> 00:20:44.497
But the technology with the
machines has gotten so advanced.
00:20:44.497 --> 00:20:47.677
It uses sensors, it has auto leveling.
00:20:47.677 --> 00:20:50.317
Essentially, when you harvest with a
machine, you wanna reduce the amount
00:20:50.317 --> 00:20:52.143
of drops that the berry experiences.
00:20:52.143 --> 00:20:54.943
If it does have to drop from the
plant into the catcher plate, you
00:20:54.943 --> 00:20:57.493
want it to be as short of a distance
as possible and as delicate.
00:20:57.493 --> 00:21:00.103
And the machines have become really
delicate in the last few years.
00:21:00.203 --> 00:21:01.853
So, we got a new machine
a couple years ago.
00:21:01.853 --> 00:21:03.083
And that has really helped.
00:21:03.083 --> 00:21:05.483
It's harder and harder
to find consistent labor.
00:21:05.483 --> 00:21:08.783
And so the machine has really
relieved us of having to find as much
00:21:08.783 --> 00:21:12.383
labor, and then we have the humans
working in the barn, mostly sorting.
00:21:12.383 --> 00:21:14.813
But that is not to say that
we don't hand-harvest still.
00:21:14.813 --> 00:21:18.113
A lot of the fruit that you buy
on the island at our farm store or
00:21:18.113 --> 00:21:20.723
at the local grocery stores around
here are the hand-harvested.
00:21:20.743 --> 00:21:21.037
berries.
00:21:21.037 --> 00:21:24.457
Most of the machine harvest goes
off island and into our frozen area.
00:21:24.457 --> 00:21:28.900
So, if you're buying at our store, or
if you're buying at Star Store, Payless,
00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:32.340
Foxtail Farm Store… you're gonna be
buying a hand-harvested blueberry.
00:21:32.470 --> 00:21:35.203
The machine harvesting is
super interesting, actually.
00:21:35.203 --> 00:21:38.533
And if you wanna see how it works more,
and you live locally, I encourage you to
00:21:38.533 --> 00:21:40.453
come to our farm tour Labor Day weekend.
00:21:40.547 --> 00:21:43.820
It essentially drives over the plants,
kind of vibrates the plants a little
00:21:43.820 --> 00:21:48.133
bit, and then the berries fall into these
conveyor belts and then put into trays.
00:21:48.233 --> 00:21:50.963
Emily Wilder: Why don't you just
describe what the machine looks like?
00:21:51.063 --> 00:21:51.513
Kai Fletcher: Okay.
00:21:51.613 --> 00:21:53.623
Well, it's right behind me
right now, so I'll just look
00:21:53.623 --> 00:21:54.673
at it and describe it to you.
00:21:55.607 --> 00:21:59.346
There's four wheels, there's a platform
about 10 feet off the ground and you,
00:21:59.346 --> 00:22:02.706
or the driver, and one or two other
people are on top of that platform.
00:22:02.806 --> 00:22:05.506
And you drive from up there
and the berries eventually
00:22:05.506 --> 00:22:06.286
make their way up there.
00:22:06.286 --> 00:22:08.296
The machine drives over
the blueberry plants.
00:22:08.396 --> 00:22:11.573
It has these large ticklers
that tickle the plant.
00:22:11.573 --> 00:22:15.233
And when it's tickling the plant,
kind of vigorously, the berries drop
00:22:15.233 --> 00:22:18.833
off the plant onto these slanted…
we call 'em catcher plates, and they
00:22:18.833 --> 00:22:22.643
are spring loaded so that as you drive
over the plant, they move around the
00:22:22.643 --> 00:22:26.453
plant, but then close up any gaps, so
blueberries don't fall through the cracks.
00:22:26.503 --> 00:22:28.986
Those catcher plates are at a slight
angle so that when the blueberry
00:22:28.986 --> 00:22:30.546
lands on the catcher plate softly.
00:22:30.646 --> 00:22:33.226
It will roll right into
a little conveyor bucket.
00:22:33.226 --> 00:22:36.736
And the conveyor bucket brings the
blueberries up to the top deck,
00:22:36.736 --> 00:22:39.736
10 feet above the ground, where it
goes onto another conveyor belt.
00:22:39.736 --> 00:22:42.046
And that conveyor belt you can sort from.
00:22:42.106 --> 00:22:46.216
You're taking out bird strike
blueberries, or too small blueberries
00:22:46.246 --> 00:22:47.896
or blueberries that aren't quite ripe.
00:22:47.896 --> 00:22:50.557
And then they fall into a tray
and that tray gets stacked
00:22:50.557 --> 00:22:51.487
in the back of the machine.
00:22:51.487 --> 00:22:55.071
I think the max I've had on
there before unloading was about
00:22:55.071 --> 00:22:56.811
5,000 pounds of blueberries.
00:22:56.911 --> 00:23:01.741
The whole upper level of the machine where
there's 5,000 pounds of fruit lowers down
00:23:01.741 --> 00:23:03.541
to the ground and then you can offload it.
00:23:03.541 --> 00:23:07.441
And it's pretty insane to look back
there and see the weight of a car in
00:23:07.441 --> 00:23:09.271
blueberries that you just harvested.
00:23:09.371 --> 00:23:12.581
Emily Wilder: How much do you harvest in
a day during the height of the season?
00:23:12.681 --> 00:23:15.141
Kai Fletcher: A day will probably
max out around 5,000 pounds.
00:23:15.241 --> 00:23:16.351
Emily Wilder: Just 5,000.
00:23:16.351 --> 00:23:17.461
Kai Fletcher: Just 5,000, yeah.
00:23:17.561 --> 00:23:21.227
Emily Wilder: And so even when it's
machine harvested, it still goes
00:23:21.227 --> 00:23:25.517
through, sounds like two different
human sorting and quality check…
00:23:25.567 --> 00:23:26.107
Kai Fletcher: Yeah.
00:23:26.107 --> 00:23:27.967
You want a lot of human eyes
on it, but you don't want
00:23:27.967 --> 00:23:29.107
that many human hands on it.
00:23:29.207 --> 00:23:30.047
A couple things happen.
00:23:30.047 --> 00:23:33.197
When you see our blueberries, you
might notice that they have like a
00:23:33.197 --> 00:23:34.787
bit of a baby blue on them still.
00:23:34.787 --> 00:23:35.747
That's called the bloom.
00:23:35.747 --> 00:23:38.117
It's a yeast layer found on
the outside of any fruit.
00:23:38.117 --> 00:23:41.477
But that bloom acts as a bit
of a preserver and it helps the
00:23:41.477 --> 00:23:42.677
berry stay fresher for longer.
00:23:42.677 --> 00:23:45.137
So the less you touch it, the
more that bloom is preserved.
00:23:45.137 --> 00:23:48.654
And also the less it drops or feels
pressure, the less internal bruising
00:23:48.654 --> 00:23:52.594
occurs, and then the shelf life stays nice
and long and they stay fresher tasting.
00:23:52.769 --> 00:23:54.329
We wanna get it off the
machine as quickly as possible.
00:23:54.632 --> 00:23:56.859
You don't want blueberries to
stay in the heat for very long.
00:23:56.859 --> 00:23:59.979
We have a rule: once it hits 70
degrees, we stop picking for the day.
00:23:59.979 --> 00:24:02.919
And you can't harvest a
blueberry with any dew on it.
00:24:02.919 --> 00:24:06.489
So you're kind of sandwiched
from like 7:30 AM to some
00:24:06.489 --> 00:24:07.959
days like noon or one o'clock.
00:24:07.959 --> 00:24:09.489
So, you gotta do all your
harvesting right then.
00:24:09.489 --> 00:24:13.059
It's go time 'cause you need to get the
fruit off the bush, but you want to not
00:24:13.059 --> 00:24:14.589
get it off the bush when it's warm out.
00:24:14.589 --> 00:24:17.409
And I'm not complaining, 'cause that
means you don't have to work in the rain
00:24:17.409 --> 00:24:19.089
or too much heat, which is kind of nice.
00:24:19.089 --> 00:24:21.369
And so yeah, goes in the barn,
goes to the sorting line.
00:24:21.369 --> 00:24:24.909
We have 12 or 14 people working in
the sorting line, filling clamshells
00:24:24.909 --> 00:24:29.589
or bags or boxes of frozen, and
then it gets shipped out to PCC or
00:24:29.589 --> 00:24:31.389
a local market or our farm store.
00:24:31.489 --> 00:24:34.099
Our farm store is right on property,
which is convenient, and it's really
00:24:34.099 --> 00:24:36.769
popular, and we really appreciate
all the local people that go there.
00:24:36.869 --> 00:24:39.629
Sometimes there's a line of like 40 cars
in the morning and we have to open early
00:24:39.629 --> 00:24:42.779
just to keep it from being a hazard
with the highway, which is really fun.
00:24:42.779 --> 00:24:45.029
If you're listening to this, you
don't need to get there that early.
00:24:45.029 --> 00:24:46.259
We will not sell out of blueberries.
00:24:46.359 --> 00:24:48.879
It makes our life less
stressful and the roadway safer.
00:24:48.929 --> 00:24:51.089
We're open Thursday through
Saturday, nine to one.
00:24:51.089 --> 00:24:53.279
Emily Wilder: And year round you
have more than just the blueberries.
00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:57.739
Like, I love going there for the jars of
pickle juice from Britt's Fermented Foods.
00:24:57.749 --> 00:24:57.959
Kai Fletcher: Yeah.
00:24:57.959 --> 00:25:00.929
We have a sister company, Britt's
Pickles, we carry their stuff.
00:25:00.929 --> 00:25:02.849
We carry a few other local products.
00:25:02.929 --> 00:25:04.729
We have salmon from Slangin' Salmon.
00:25:04.759 --> 00:25:06.717
It's caught in Alaska,
but the fisher is local.
00:25:07.061 --> 00:25:09.261
And then we have all of
our value-added products.
00:25:09.261 --> 00:25:12.301
We have a lot of cute blueberry-themed
children's clothing and
00:25:12.301 --> 00:25:13.471
other knickknacks like that.
00:25:13.571 --> 00:25:17.291
My sister has a 3-year-old, and so
anything that she liked to buy for a
00:25:17.291 --> 00:25:18.791
3-year-old ends up in the store too.
00:25:18.841 --> 00:25:21.181
In the summer you'll find
fresh vegetables, and that's
00:25:21.181 --> 00:25:22.411
from one of two places.
00:25:22.511 --> 00:25:25.211
One of those places is Foggy
Hill Farm, who's a friend, a
00:25:25.211 --> 00:25:26.741
local farmer, great vegetables.
00:25:26.741 --> 00:25:29.397
We stock her stuff and
Rowdy Sprout Farm products.
00:25:29.427 --> 00:25:32.407
Rowdy Sprout is, I guess you
could say, an incubator farm.
00:25:32.437 --> 00:25:33.427
It's within our farm.
00:25:33.427 --> 00:25:35.597
They're a new farming
group, Kirsten and Tommy.
00:25:35.597 --> 00:25:37.947
Kirsten works at our farm store
and helps make granola and some
00:25:37.947 --> 00:25:38.817
other things around the farm.
00:25:38.817 --> 00:25:40.611
They farm a couple acre plot.
00:25:40.611 --> 00:25:41.691
Definitely worth checking them out.
00:25:41.791 --> 00:25:44.151
It's really nice having a brick
and mortar store where we can
00:25:44.151 --> 00:25:45.441
sell our stuff year round.
00:25:45.441 --> 00:25:46.371
I really appreciate it.
00:25:46.371 --> 00:25:49.371
I work maybe one day a week
or one day every two weeks.
00:25:49.456 --> 00:25:52.096
It gives me an opportunity to interact
with the people that are buying our
00:25:52.096 --> 00:25:55.276
products and I can get feedback and
they can just see the face of the
00:25:55.276 --> 00:25:56.832
person that helps make it all happen.
00:25:56.932 --> 00:25:58.402
And so I really get a lot out of that.
00:25:58.402 --> 00:26:02.522
And the other reason it's great is we can
be a space for other local producers that
00:26:02.522 --> 00:26:04.286
maybe don't have a brick and mortar shop.
00:26:04.386 --> 00:26:06.096
Emily Wilder: And you're
right next to Jupiter Coffee.
00:26:06.096 --> 00:26:10.416
So you can get any fresh blueberries, then
get your latte and your blueberry scone.
00:26:10.516 --> 00:26:11.146
Kai Fletcher: Yep.
00:26:11.236 --> 00:26:12.796
Jupiter coffee is amazing.
00:26:12.796 --> 00:26:14.536
Laura and Bryce run a great shop.
00:26:14.636 --> 00:26:18.176
They're tenants of ours and we couldn't
be happier with them being there.
00:26:18.414 --> 00:26:21.084
Above the store is affordable
housing that we built.
00:26:21.134 --> 00:26:24.274
We built a duplex, and it
has two two-bedroom units,
00:26:24.304 --> 00:26:25.594
and then below is our store.
00:26:25.594 --> 00:26:28.084
So, it's a little village that we're
creating over there, which I really like.
00:26:28.084 --> 00:26:30.094
And Jupiter brings you great
energy and the people that
00:26:30.094 --> 00:26:31.174
live there are really amazing.
00:26:31.274 --> 00:26:33.854
Emily Wilder: Is the housing
intended to be for your employees
00:26:33.854 --> 00:26:35.659
or just for anyone in the community?
00:26:35.739 --> 00:26:38.829
Kai Fletcher: It is not intended
exclusively for our employees, but we'd be
00:26:38.829 --> 00:26:40.289
more than happy to have an employee there.
00:26:40.314 --> 00:26:42.922
All of the people that work on our
farm have housing at the moment.
00:26:43.499 --> 00:26:46.079
Emily Wilder: Do you wash the
blueberries or would that get rid of
00:26:46.079 --> 00:26:47.639
the bloom that you were talking about?
00:26:47.739 --> 00:26:50.289
Kai Fletcher: That would get rid
of the bloom and also we don't
00:26:50.289 --> 00:26:52.959
wanna harvest the blueberries
when there's dew or in the rain.
00:26:52.959 --> 00:26:55.269
If there's any moisture on the
blueberry, once it gets packaged
00:26:55.269 --> 00:26:57.099
away, it quickly becomes moldy.
00:26:57.099 --> 00:26:58.179
So we don't wash 'em.
00:26:58.179 --> 00:27:00.369
If you wanna wash 'em when
you get home, feel free to.
00:27:00.369 --> 00:27:04.209
I don't, and we have really good
clean sanitary practices here.
00:27:04.209 --> 00:27:06.909
Everyone's gloved up and
washes their hands thoroughly.
00:27:06.909 --> 00:27:09.579
And it's a clean product and since
we're organic, there's no harmful
00:27:09.579 --> 00:27:12.819
sprays on the plant that you
have to wash off and worry about.
00:27:12.819 --> 00:27:16.156
It's really nice and refreshing to be able
to just eat something right off the plant.
00:27:16.256 --> 00:27:18.576
'Cause sometimes I'll go to, like,
a you-pick raspberry farm and
00:27:18.576 --> 00:27:21.526
they're conventionally grown and
it's like, there's some nasty stuff
00:27:21.526 --> 00:27:22.726
sprayed on this thing probably.
00:27:22.826 --> 00:27:25.856
Emily Wilder: Besides eating them fresh,
how do you like to eat your blueberries?
00:27:25.956 --> 00:27:26.706
Kai Fletcher: Smoothies.
00:27:26.706 --> 00:27:29.706
We sell 30 pound boxes
of frozen to stores.
00:27:29.756 --> 00:27:32.557
And I just take one of those
home, probably every two months.
00:27:32.617 --> 00:27:34.627
I had some pancakes this
morning that was good.
00:27:34.627 --> 00:27:37.142
Fun fact, you don't have to
warm up the blueberry before
00:27:37.142 --> 00:27:38.222
you put it in the pancake.
00:27:38.222 --> 00:27:38.852
It'll melt.
00:27:38.932 --> 00:27:40.762
That was something that I was
kind of surprised to find out.
00:27:40.869 --> 00:27:43.599
Emily Wilder: I sell a really
great hazelnut pancake mix.
00:27:43.819 --> 00:27:44.199
Kai Fletcher: You sell one?
00:27:44.525 --> 00:27:44.815
Emily Wilder: Yeah.
00:27:44.815 --> 00:27:47.970
It's made down in Willamette
Valley, Hazelnut Hill Farm.
00:27:48.010 --> 00:27:51.190
Just nutty enough that it has
its own flavor, but that plus
00:27:51.190 --> 00:27:53.270
blueberries… I need to make that soon.
00:27:53.370 --> 00:27:54.270
Kai Fletcher: That sounds delicious.
00:27:54.270 --> 00:27:54.420
Yeah.
00:27:54.420 --> 00:27:56.130
I could see the hazelnuts getting
overwhelming, but if it's
00:27:56.130 --> 00:27:57.030
just a little subtle thing.
00:27:57.035 --> 00:27:57.215
Emily Wilder: Yeah.
00:27:57.215 --> 00:27:57.495
It's just…
00:27:57.595 --> 00:27:59.015
Kai Fletcher: We just
planted hazelnut trees.
00:27:59.180 --> 00:27:59.450
Emily Wilder: Oh, cool.
00:27:59.963 --> 00:28:03.137
Kai Fletcher: Yeah, we just planted
10 trees, which is nothing compared
00:28:03.137 --> 00:28:05.657
to the blueberries, but we'll probably
sell the product in the store.
00:28:05.717 --> 00:28:06.167
Why not?
00:28:06.267 --> 00:28:08.727
Emily Wilder: How long is it
until those are ready to harvest?
00:28:08.850 --> 00:28:10.500
Kai Fletcher: That's
faster than most nut trees.
00:28:10.500 --> 00:28:13.114
Like a walnut tree is sometimes
up to, like, 10 years.
00:28:13.214 --> 00:28:15.714
But a hazelnut tree is, I think,
like two to four years and
00:28:15.714 --> 00:28:16.644
you start getting hazelnuts.
00:28:16.644 --> 00:28:17.484
They grow pretty quickly.
00:28:17.484 --> 00:28:19.074
And they're really
suited for this climate.
00:28:19.174 --> 00:28:20.794
They're one of the best
nuts to grow around here.
00:28:21.065 --> 00:28:23.085
Look for some hazelnuts in the
store, unless I eat 'em all.
00:28:23.252 --> 00:28:26.250
Another thing that I should
mention as we grow hardy kiwis.
00:28:26.250 --> 00:28:29.047
We have three acres, which is not a
small amount of acreage for those.
00:28:29.077 --> 00:28:31.547
They're pretty young still, so
they're not producing a whole lot.
00:28:31.547 --> 00:28:33.780
But we were selling the kiwis
in our store this last year.
00:28:33.830 --> 00:28:36.080
They're like a small version of a kiwi.
00:28:36.110 --> 00:28:38.900
They grow like a vine, so
they're trellised at about
00:28:38.900 --> 00:28:39.950
eight feet off the ground.
00:28:39.950 --> 00:28:41.240
And you bite into 'em.
00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:43.344
They are the size of like, a large grape-
00:28:43.624 --> 00:28:45.692
Emily Wilder: I've heard them
referred to as like a kiwi berry.
00:28:45.692 --> 00:28:46.592
Kai Fletcher: A hardy kiwi berry.
00:28:46.672 --> 00:28:47.612
And they're an impressive plant.
00:28:47.612 --> 00:28:49.142
They can grow like 10 feet a year.
00:28:50.642 --> 00:28:51.032
All right.
00:28:51.032 --> 00:28:54.782
So lost service there, but this is
a continuation of the interview.
00:28:54.782 --> 00:28:56.812
Things that we're looking
forward to in the future?
00:28:56.912 --> 00:28:57.992
Our laying hens.
00:28:58.092 --> 00:29:02.452
We have just 150 or so right now,
but we're getting 300 more, and
00:29:02.452 --> 00:29:03.885
then we're getting 300 this fall.
00:29:03.885 --> 00:29:07.485
And we currently have enough to
only fulfill the needs of our store.
00:29:07.485 --> 00:29:11.085
But once we get up to about a
thousand, is what we envision,
00:29:11.085 --> 00:29:14.415
we're gonna start selling at Payless
and other local grocery stores.
00:29:14.465 --> 00:29:17.405
A thousand hens produces a couple
hundred dozen a week, and so we'll
00:29:17.405 --> 00:29:18.695
need some more outlets, for sure.
00:29:18.795 --> 00:29:21.285
We're just excited about the
growing practices of the hens.
00:29:21.385 --> 00:29:26.545
They're pasture raised, so that means that
each bird has 108 square feet, at least,
00:29:26.545 --> 00:29:28.105
of outdoor space throughout the year.
00:29:28.155 --> 00:29:32.259
And they're rotationally grazed,
so every day or two, you're
00:29:32.259 --> 00:29:33.635
pulling the coop along the field.
00:29:33.635 --> 00:29:37.522
They help clean up the pasture, get rid of
harmful bugs eat down some grass, spread
00:29:37.522 --> 00:29:40.102
their manure throughout the pasture,
and then you move them before they
00:29:40.102 --> 00:29:43.132
can do too much damage to the pasture,
which would be eating grass down too
00:29:43.132 --> 00:29:45.022
low or eating too many bugs, et cetera.
00:29:45.195 --> 00:29:46.905
As they're rotated through the
field, they're just boosting
00:29:46.905 --> 00:29:47.862
the fertility of the field.
00:29:47.862 --> 00:29:50.442
We're gonna produce some really
good eggs and every couple
00:29:50.442 --> 00:29:52.362
years you cycle out the flocks.
00:29:52.462 --> 00:29:55.462
So, we'll have a lot of
hens for sale, for meat.
00:29:55.462 --> 00:29:58.243
They're organically fed and we
don't feed them corn or soy.
00:29:58.343 --> 00:30:02.063
And what not feeding 'em  corn or soy
does is, it really helps the Omega-3 to
00:30:02.063 --> 00:30:07.003
-6 ratio, which helps with inflammation,
it's good for overall body health.
00:30:07.003 --> 00:30:11.263
In sourcing this feed, when we had just
a hundred or so, we got it from a local
00:30:11.263 --> 00:30:14.933
place called Scratch & Peck Feeds,
which is a really good source of feed.
00:30:14.983 --> 00:30:16.363
It's made up in Burlington.
00:30:16.363 --> 00:30:18.913
Most of the grain that goes
into it is grown in Washington.
00:30:18.913 --> 00:30:23.386
But it's pretty expensive and we have a
big commitment to local food, obviously.
00:30:23.486 --> 00:30:26.816
We're a local food producer and we
like supporting other local producers.
00:30:26.816 --> 00:30:29.996
And so we got in touch with Ebey
Road Farm, which is a farm up
00:30:29.996 --> 00:30:34.239
in Coupeville, and they are a
fifth or sixth generation farm.
00:30:34.289 --> 00:30:36.599
And they specialize in grain growing.
00:30:36.699 --> 00:30:40.569
And so what we're doing is we bought
a large four ton mill, a hammer
00:30:40.569 --> 00:30:44.049
mill, and they're gonna be growing
organic peas and wheat for us.
00:30:44.049 --> 00:30:47.806
And then we're getting from a nutrition
company that supplies all the minerals
00:30:47.806 --> 00:30:51.283
and other parts and pieces of feed
for chickens that goes into it.
00:30:51.283 --> 00:30:54.863
And we're gonna start making our own feed
with fully 100% Coupeville grown grain,
00:30:54.893 --> 00:30:56.783
which is what, maybe 20 miles from us.
00:30:56.783 --> 00:30:59.693
So, that means if you're buying
our eggs, you're buying hens that
00:30:59.713 --> 00:31:02.933
grew up and were raised completely
on pasture fed, completely organic
00:31:02.968 --> 00:31:04.588
feed that was grown on the island.
00:31:04.688 --> 00:31:05.738
So that's pretty special.
00:31:05.838 --> 00:31:08.538
We might start selling
that feed to the public.
00:31:08.638 --> 00:31:12.598
And you can swing on by with a bucket
or a bin and fill up what you like.
00:31:12.598 --> 00:31:13.708
And we'll sell it by the pound.
00:31:13.958 --> 00:31:17.621
On the topic of new things that
we're also adding our hay field are
00:31:17.621 --> 00:31:21.201
becoming ever more productive, so we'll
have more and more good quality hay
00:31:21.201 --> 00:31:23.568
for horse, cow, goat, sheep owners.
00:31:23.568 --> 00:31:25.788
And we're also growing
our own flock of sheep.
00:31:25.823 --> 00:31:28.251
We have seven at the moment,
and then we're picking up
00:31:28.251 --> 00:31:30.131
another dozen or so this fall.
00:31:30.191 --> 00:31:33.821
So we'll be around 20 going
into this winter, and then we'll
00:31:33.821 --> 00:31:35.394
start breeding our own stock.
00:31:35.424 --> 00:31:38.154
We're gonna be breeding them
with an emphasis on meat quality.
00:31:38.154 --> 00:31:41.194
And then a second
emphasis on wool quality.
00:31:41.294 --> 00:31:42.824
Not sure what we're gonna
be doing with the wool.
00:31:42.924 --> 00:31:45.444
Another great thing that Ebey
Road Farm is doing is, they're
00:31:45.444 --> 00:31:46.614
starting their own fiber mill.
00:31:46.714 --> 00:31:49.198
We'll probably process there and
then we'll see what happens with it.
00:31:49.248 --> 00:31:52.668
But yeah, we'll, we're gonna grow our
flock of sheep to about a hundred ewes,
00:31:52.668 --> 00:31:55.451
which produces 150 lambs each year.
00:31:55.551 --> 00:31:59.421
And those will be grass fed, pasture
raised, rotated, and similar to
00:31:59.421 --> 00:32:03.183
the chicken feed, chicken eggs, a
pasture raised grass fed lamb makes
00:32:03.183 --> 00:32:07.443
a really good tasting lamb that
has a good Omega-3 to -6 ratio.
00:32:07.493 --> 00:32:10.763
With the lamb, we're probably gonna
make it into sausage for the most part.
00:32:10.833 --> 00:32:11.493
And we'll also sell cuts.
00:32:11.996 --> 00:32:16.796
My brother-in-law has Greek roots and
I'm gonna be workshopping a Greek lamb
00:32:16.796 --> 00:32:20.756
sausage recipe with his Dad, and we'll see
what we can make and if people like it.
00:32:20.856 --> 00:32:23.646
I think lamb, getting a whole
lamb chopper, something like that
00:32:23.646 --> 00:32:26.236
can kind of be like a Lion's Mane
mushroom, it can intimidate people.
00:32:26.236 --> 00:32:28.096
They maybe want to get it
out at a restaurant, but they
00:32:28.096 --> 00:32:29.176
don't wanna cook it up at home.
00:32:29.436 --> 00:32:31.666
If we make a really high quality
sausage, that's not hiding
00:32:31.666 --> 00:32:35.296
anything, it'll be delicious and
yummy and convenient for people.
00:32:35.796 --> 00:32:37.356
Please come check us out at our store.
00:32:37.456 --> 00:32:38.639
Thanks for this interview, Emily.
00:32:38.739 --> 00:32:42.006
I really encourage you to come to
our tour, which is Labor Day weekend.
00:32:42.006 --> 00:32:45.956
It's $50, and you get to pick
blueberries yourself and you get to
00:32:45.956 --> 00:32:47.726
see everything from the ground up.
00:32:47.771 --> 00:32:48.221
Okay!
00:32:48.221 --> 00:32:48.971
Thank you so much.
00:32:48.996 --> 00:32:49.216
Bye.
00:32:49.982 --> 00:32:52.452
Emily Wilder: If you'd like to
support other small businesses
00:32:52.462 --> 00:32:56.527
from the Pacific Northwest, head
over to www.eatsalinity.com.
00:32:56.527 --> 00:33:01.157
That's E-A-T S-A-L-I-N-I-T-Y.
00:33:01.419 --> 00:33:04.789
You can also shop in person if
you're here on Whidbey Island.
00:33:05.164 --> 00:33:08.904
If you enjoyed this episode,
please leave a review, subscribe,
00:33:08.904 --> 00:33:10.034
and tell all your friends.
00:33:11.043 --> 00:33:16.833
This podcast is hosted by me, Emily
Wilder, SeaEO of Salinity Seafood & More.
00:33:17.129 --> 00:33:21.469
It's edited by Luc Hagopian and
exists entirely to eventually
00:33:21.479 --> 00:33:25.599
bring everyone to the topic of
our native Olympia oyster species.
00:33:25.934 --> 00:33:30.405
Please help increase demand and
appreciation for this beautiful oyster by
00:33:30.425 --> 00:33:33.155
asking for it everywhere you find oysters.
00:33:33.156 --> 00:33:35.556
Barbara Dunn: Our love is like an onion
00:33:35.556 --> 00:33:37.156
Many layers to peel.