Updates From The Farm
How We Graft Japanese Maples
In our last blog post, we talked about Japanese maple propagation in general and why we graft, and today we will lay out the steps that we use in our grafting program. With a few basic tools, a little bit of plant material, and a good bit of patience, you can build a...
Grafting Japanese Maples
Summer heat is upon us and while many gardeners in Western Washington are simply trying to keep things alive during these hot dry months, we are in the heart of our propagation season. Mid July is when the new wood of the Japanese maples begins to harden off, and...
Thinning Season
We've posted on this topic before, but it is worth saying again how important it is to thin the fruit on your fruit trees. Typically, most trees set much more fruit each spring than they have the energy to ripen. By thinning the fruit while it is small, you direct the...
Summer Cover Crops
Most folks know that winter cover crops like rye and vetch can be a huge benefit to their soils. Winter cover crops benefit their crops by providing soil cover to prevent erosion, keep valuable nutrients cycling through the microbiome below the soil surface, suppress...
Results of a Cold, Wet Spring
Many fruit trees are starting to show the signs of a cold, wet spring. Our first indication of the weather showed up on peach trees, in the form of peach leaf curl. Established trees of leaf curl resistant varieties like Frost, Avalon Pride, and Betty showed much more...
High Tunnels- Training Tomatoes
At Cloud Mountain Farm Center, we grow about a thousand tomato plants each year in our high tunnels. All of the varieties we grow are indeterminate varieties, meaning they are varieties that continue to grow and produce over...
Codling Moth Tracking Tool
The past two summers have been hard ones for the home orchardist. Both codling moth and apple maggot pressures were high. The warm temperatures allowed both pests to have several generations. Controlling these two insects take attention to weather to get the timing...
Salad Greens Production
by Matthew McDermott, production manager, and Rob Jordan, post harvest manager For many people, mixed baby greens are a popular salad choice all year round. As part of the CMFC food production, mixed baby greens are grown for the local wholesale and retail outlets...
Managing Your UFO Cherries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYO3PQR3a2w In an earlier post we described the fundamentals of growing and training cherry trees to the UFO system. This training system is easy to understand and simple to execute...
My Role as a Second-Year Intern
By Chrissy Hoefgen Cloud Mountain Farm Center is a very diversified organization; growing a number of perennial and annual fruits, vegetables, and ornamentals requires many helping hands. In addition to the twelve full time staff members on site, CMFC also hosts seven...
Grape Grafting at Cloud Mountain Farm Center
As the rain pours down outside and the wind howls off the mountain through this cold and dreary spring, a crew of diligent grafters works away in the little propagation house behind the nursery. They are grafting grape vines, literally building the plants that will...
Seeking an Executive Director to Join Our Team
We are looking for a dynamic leader who is passionate about agricultural research, empowerment, and the economic sustainability of diversified agriculture in Northwestern Washington. The Executive Director will be responsible for setting and managing a yearly budget,...
