VISIT LOCAL FARM NEWS

August 2024

Farmlandia Farm Loop

Marion Farm Loop

South Clackamas Farm Loop

Yamhill Farm Loop

Happy August 2024 from

the Oregon Farm Loop

The weather on the Farm Loop is usually sunny and warm during August. Bring your sunscreen and your floppiest sun hat, and join us for peaches, berries, veggies, sunflowers and the beginning of apple season!

Please call farms ahead of your visit, view their website or check their farm Facebook pages for updates related to hours.

Sunflowers thrive on the Oregon Farm Loop. Here's some nerdy info about sunflowers!

We followed the Wikipedia gopher tunnel for a while, and learned that the common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is a species of large annual member of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are used in the production of cooking oil.

Native to Oregon and other western states is the Helianthus cusickii is a species of sunflower known by the common names Cusick's sunflower and turniproot sunflower.

Yet, common sunflowers and many other varieties do grow in Oregon! See some for yourself at Lee Farms' Sunflower Festival, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday now through August 18th.

Image by Dioptrius from Pixabay

Check the Oregon Farm Loop Events page and follow the instructions to display one or more Farm Loops at a time! Keep checking: we add events as soon as possible when we learn about them.

Lee Farms (Farmlandia Farm Loop) is hosting Oregon's largest Sunflower Festival

• 8/2-8/18 Friday | Saturday | Sunday

Triskelee Farm (Farmlandia Farm Loop) has two big events coming in August:

• 8/18/2024 from 9:30AM: Triskelee Farm Fest
• 8/24/2024 1PM - 8/25 10AM: Overnight Skills Camp

Photo generated using Canva AI. It was fun!

Toward the end of August, it's getting to be time for late peaches, on-time produce and early apples! Try a U-pick while the summer sun shines! First time? The farmers are always happy to get you started. These two longtime Farm Loop members are opening during August.

Opening in Mid-August

• Beilke Family Farm (Marion Farm Loop) Orchard Schedule: Apples are usually ready for picking at the end of August. Keep checking the blog for updates and sign up for the Orchard updates to get our opening date sent direct to your e-mail inbox!

Photo courtesy of Beilke Family Farms

Opening Labor Day Weekend (August 30-September 2)

• True North Orchards (Marion Farm Loop) We will be serving cider, carbonated cider and pastries every weekend throughout the season. We will also have a variety of Jellies, Honey, and Concord grape juice all made in our True North kitchen! Visit our "Our Crops" page to see what's coming.

Photo courtesy of True North Orchards

Recipes from the Farm Loops

This month's recipes use sunflower seeds!

You know we can't talk about sunflowers this month and not talk about the edible parts! According to The Farmer's Almanac (website!), the sunflower is edible from flower to roots. Sunflower products include seeds and oil from black sunflower seeds. (Do your local birds also love black sunflower seeds, too? Tell us about it on Facebook!) Sunflower petals add color to salads; leaves can be used like spinach or kale, and the stalks an be a vehicle for sunflower butter—eaten similar to celery! The roots have been used for centuries for medicinal purposes. However you consume your sunflowers, please make sure your flowers are raised without chemicals.

PLEASE NOTE: Oregon Farm Loop has no affiliation with external links in this section. We just liked the information.

According to Better Homes & Gardens, we can eat raw homegrown (no pesticides!) sunflower seeds right after harvesting, but they taste SO much better when they're roasted—and the shells come off more easily. Their instructions are:

To roast sunflower seeds, spread out the fresh seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake them at 400°F for five minutes. After they are roasted, sunflower hulls should crack open easily, but if they’re still hard to open, roast the seeds at 2-minute intervals until the seeds are dry. Be careful not to overcook or brown the sunflower seeds, as this diminishes their flavor.

Source: When and How to Harvest Sunflower Seeds for Eating

Image by Alicja from Pixabay

Gift of Health offers this recipe for what may be a tasty Sunflower Tea:

1 cup of soy/almond milk

1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds, ground

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

1 teaspoon of cardamom powder

1. Blend the sunflower seeds in a coffee grinder or blender.
2. Take 1/4 cup of milk. Add the blended mixture and stir until completely dissolved without any lumps. We will call this the tea mixture.
3. Boil the remaining 3/4 cups of milk. While boiling add cardamom powder, tea mixture and brown sugar to your taste.
4. Enjoy!!!

Image by Couleur from Pixabay

The National Sunflower Association (there is one!) includes, among their many healthy recipes, a Sunflower Cabbage Salad that uses the seeds.

3 cups shredded cabbage

1 package beef ramen noodles, broken into pieces

1/3 cup chopped onion

1 large tomato, chopped

2 tablespoons bacon bits

1/4 cup sunflower kernels, roasted, no salt

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Dressing

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons sunflower oil

1 1/2 tablespoon vinegar

1 beef seasoning packet from ramen noodles

Boil ramen noodles for 3-4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Refrigerate until cool. Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Prepare dressing and add to salad. Refrigerate before serving.

Makes 4-5 main dish servings.

Per serving -- Calories 250; Fat 14.82g (sat 2.79g, mono 3.18g, poly 8.12g); Protein 5.88g; Carb 25.28g; Fiber 2.93g; Chol 7.93mg

Image by Christine Sponchia from Pixabay

Lest you think all we talk about is flowers, fruit, and veggies...

TMK Creamery (South Clackamas Farm Loop) welcomed Cowlebrity Annie's new baby girl recently. You can see her in the calf barn. What a cutie!

Photo shamelessly exploited from TMK Creamery's Facebook page

South Clackamas Farm Loop

• Hopkins Demonstration Forest
• Puddin' River Chocolates
• Swan Island Dahlias
• TMK Creamery + Distillery

Farmlandia Farm Loop

• Barn Owl Nursery Herb & Lavender Farm
• Green Seed Gardens NEW!
• Lee Farms
• Luscher Farm
• Park Place Perennials
• Triskelee Farm

Marion Farm Loop

• Bauman's Farm and Garden
• Beilke Family Farm
• E.Z. Orchards Farm Market
• Flying Bee Ranch
• Fordyce Farms
• Koch Family Farm
• Meyer Peach Orchard
• Sunflower Farms NEW!
• True North Orchards

Yamhill Farm Loop



• Eola Crest Cattle & 71X Farm Store
• Source Farms
• Wayward Winds Lavender Farm
• Wings and a Prayer Alpacas

9 out of 10 alpacas surveyed* say they love seeing Farm Loop visitors. (That 10th one was too busy flirting with the camera to answer the question.)

*which we didn't do...but if we had, they would...

Visit our YouTube Channel to check out our latest video content. Learn a little bit about lavender and where to get it on the Oregon Farm Loops.

Our channel is not monetized, but we would love to have you "like" and subscribe, anyway.

Find us on the Web at https:www.oregonfarmloop.com

Like us on Facebook!

Tag us on Instagram!

Are you a farm or agribusiness interested in becoming a Farm Loop member? Email us at farmloop@gmail.com for details.

Photo courtesy of Wings and a Prayer Alpacas

Encourage your favorite Farmers Markets in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Yamhill counties to join the Oregon Farm Loop! We still have space for 2024. Contact us at farmloop@gmail.com for a link to the application form.

Did we humans forget anything in this newsletter? Please let us know at farmloop@gmail.com. Watch our Facebook page for whatever we missed!