A couple months ago, Leah and I (and our son, Hayes) had the privilege of spending the morning at Shady Grove Farm to lend a helping hand. Not only was it good to get our hands dirty, it was also awesome getting to talk with, and work alongside, Steve and hear again his passion for farming and feeding people.
While there volunteering, we trimmed and cleaned up dried/cured garlic (mostly of the Romanian Red and Music varieties) getting them ready to package to their CSA members and to sell at market, saved seed cloves to plant next year, harvested yellow onions, and planted four varieties of salad lettuce. We also got to work alongside Steve’s trusted farm hands, Jackie and Margaret. It was fun listening to their friendly banter!
This won’t be the last opportunity to help on their farm as we’ll organize another volunteer day in the future. We’ll advertise it in Leah’s weekly GH email and on social media, so stay tuned. And if you’re on the fence about going, I highly encourage it as it’s a fantastic way to meet your farmer and see where your food comes from.
Shady Grove Farm is a 3-acre certified-organic, no-till farm located in Camas (Fern Prairie), Washington. It is owned by Steve and Lindsay Inzalaco, who started the farm back in 2018. Their two kids are very involved as well and you’ll often find them helping out on market days. The Inzalaco’s are passionate about growing clean and healthy food, and feeding their community from the bounty of their harvest. As they say, “good food is medicine that nourishes the body and soul”. Amen to that!
Steve has always been interested in biology, ecology, and growing plants – even as a young kid. For many years before farming, Steve would always have a garden, bringing his favorite plants along with them as they moved. After earning a bachelor’s degree in biology, in 2015 Steve completed a farm apprenticeship program at UC Santa Cruz, which gave him the confidence and much of the knowledge that he puts to use today.
Shady Grove puts so much thought and effort into building the health of the soil, understanding that it is of vital importance to grow healthy plants. From organic composting and amendments and no-till practices, to seed selection, and using clean well water – it’s no wonder that their plants thrive, producing the absolute best local produce available.
In addition to selling weekly shares to their loyal CSA members, Shady Grove Farm has been a strong, consistent presence at the Camas Farmer’s Market (which runs June through September). They sell a wide variety of vegetables, as well as fruit, herbs, and flowers.
Gathered Harvest has been working with Shady Grove Farm for the past five years, selling their beautiful, organic produce to our wonderful patrons. It’s been an honor partnering with them and look forward to continuing to do so for many more years of shared success.
So, Steve and Lindsey, thank you for doing what you do and letting us be a part of it, if even in a small way.
If you haven’t already, check out their website and give them a follow on Facebook and Instagram. And go say hi next time you’re at the Camas Farmer’s Market (I bet you’ll walk away with some of the most beautiful, delicious, nutritious produce you’ve ever had!).
That’s it for this blog post. I hope you’ve enjoyed “meeting” our friends at Shady Grove Farm.
Farewell, until next time!
~Peter Hatfield
P.S. Because it’s become so important to clarify nowadays, AI was not and will not be used to write these blog posts :)