Buy Local Food In Kitsap

Pheasant Fields Farm is owned by Nikki and Allen Johanson. The farm is approximately 15 acres in size and is located on a hillside in the Clear Creek drainage basin. Nikki and Allen have lived there for 35 years.

Nikki and Allen produce an amazing amount of food on their hillside. Products include beef, fresh local vegetables, poultry, eggs, garden plants like tomatoes, cut flowers, and “soil soup”.

You can buy PFF products directly from the farm through a CSA. Nikki also packs up and sells at the Poulsbo, Bremerton and Silverdale farmers markets. They also have a series of fun seasonal farm events like a spring egg hunt, a corn maze and farm tours.

Nikki has been a hard working leader of the KCAA and has advised and partnered with a number of aspiring local farmers to help them get started with developing local farms.

Kitsap Easter Egg Hunts Are Around The Corner

Last modified on 2009-04-01 00:00:40 GMT. 2 comments. Top.

The spring equinox has passed. The festival of Easters is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox. You can obtain a more complete explanation by following this link to a short, interesting article on the history of the festival.

Local Eggs From The Peterson Farm

By recent tradition many of our Kitsap farmers celebrate the festival by offering Easter egg hunts on their farms with real, local eggs. These events are among the most popular events offered on the farms and they are good ways for families to do something fun and wholesome together and get to know your local farmer at the same time.

Follow these links to get information about the  offerings, Please note that they take place on different days:

Pheasant Fields Farm Spring Egg Hunt and Food Drive – Saturday April 4

The first Annual Kitsap Farms Spring Egg Hunt will be held Saturday, April 4, 2009 at Pheasant Fields Farm.  It will include a number of activities including entertainment and a photo booth with a big Easter Bunny for your picture taking or purchase from a professional photographer.  Costumes are encouraged and may be rented for picture taking.  Every child in attendance will have time to look for eggs in a park-like setting.   There will be three sessions at 11 am, 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm lasting
1 ½ hours each and attendance is limited to 100 people for each session.  Small children will have a hunt area where parents may closely observe their fun. Parents will not be permitted to enter any other hunt areas.

The program includes children creating their own “mousey masks” to be used for the Bunny FooFoo show, a comical skit performed by local entertainers, Jo Walter, local storyteller, and Wendy Daniels of the Storybook Tea and Boutique in Bremerton.  An egg hunt will follow each show.  The cost is $5.00 per person with a limit of $20.00 per family.  Each canned food item brought will be a dollar off admission price and is encouraged.  Last year the egg hunt generated a truck load of food for CK Food Bank and event organizers are hopeful to be able to supply a greater amount this year.
In the future more farms will participate for families to enjoy egg hunts throughout the county while at the same time become more acquainted with our local Kitsap farms.
Pheasant Fields Farm is located 2 miles north of the Kitsap Mall on Clear Creek Road.  Call 360-697-6224 for more information.

Good Farm Fun

Rodstol Lane Farm Spring Egg Hunt
Saturday, April 11, 2009

RodstolLane Farm
4154 RodstolLane SE
Port Orchard, Washington

10 am – 12:30 pm
Bring the whole family and visit the Farm! There will be activities for all ages. Egg Hunts, Games, Face Painting and Story Time in The Orchard! Plant a sunflower to take home, color a farm picture, visit the sheep and bunnies! Hope you will hop on over!
• $5.00 per person / $20.00 per family
• Reservations are required and space is limited.
• E-mail info@rlf1916.com or call 360-509-2119.

Event Schedule:

10:10–10:30
Egg Hunt for ages 1–4 on The Lawn

10:10–10:30
Egg Hunt for ages 5–8 in The Orchard

10:40–11:00
Story Time in The Orchard

11:00–12:00
Games on the Lawn

12:00–12:20
Egg Hunt for ages 9-11 in the Orchard

Springtime Coming To Pheasant Fields

Last modified on 2009-03-10 16:40:08 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

Farmer Nikki Johanson-A Good Example For Kitsap Farmers

Whenever you hear Kitsap farmers talking about what or how to do something there’s always one name that inevitably surfaces and that’s Nikki Johanson of Pheasant Field Farms.

"Herbs coming in five weeks" says Nikki Johanson.

Shannon Harkness of Red Barn Farms is one of many who sing Johanson’s praises.

Harkness says she knew nothing about farming or raising chickens when one fateful day in 2006 her husband brought ten young meat birds home.  At about eight weeks of age, half of the birds had died off so in desperation, Shannon sought out Johanson who helped her figure out what was happening.

“Not only did she tell me that that’s the age they would die anyway so they should be butchered then but she also showed me how to do it – which is a pretty big ordeal for only five birds and it was right in the middle of her busy summer season,” says Harkness.

But her experience with Nikki also led to a further interest in farming and Harkness worked at Pheasant Fields for the next two seasons, learning about farming as she began growing her own crops.

“Nikki has taken me and so many others under her wing,” says Harkness.

Andrea Wigglesworth of Finn Hill Farm agrees.  She was also a farming apprentice under Johanson.

“Nikki is absolutely, totally the mentor for new Kitsap farmers but it’s not just us – she’s involved in everything to support all our farmers and bring recognition to the local agriculture community,” says Wigglesworth.

But in turn, the ever-modest Johanson credits some of the prominent Kitsap farming families such as Lyle and Agnes Allpress, Jerry and Dorothy Petersen, Art Nordby, and Andy and Marilyn Rogers with fostering her own interest and expertise in farming.  She also lauds Dino Sivo, a WSU extension agent for more than 20 years, as a role model because of his interest in teaching kids about farming.

Purchasing the 15-acre property in 1949 which they named Clear Creek Farm,  Nikki’s  parents were the fourth owners of her property, which was originally homesteaded by John Holm in the 1880’s but was subsequently farmed by the succeeding owners.

“My parents gave me love, support and patience while I learned farming,” says Johanson

The Central Kitsap High School and WSU attendee also gives much credit to the 4-H for her childhood interest and activity in farming and she says adult volunteers like Thelma Clauson and Verna Miller are among the many who have served in 4-H leadership roles.

But in 1971, after returning to this area, friends re-introduced the then Nikki Juricich to a North Kitsap boy, Allen Johanson, whom she had met briefly years before when they were both in high school.  After the pair married they raised beef cattle for awhile in the North Kitsap area, had two daughters, and eventually ended up back on her parents Clear Creek Road property two miles north of Silverdale.

Allen Johanson and pal

The Johansons renamed it Pheasant Field Farm in 1999 and Nikki says it was probably originally a chicken and egg farm but they still find remnants of the property’s earliest days when it was logged off.  Today the Johansons raise vegetable crops, chickens and ducks, a few llama, sheep and goats and flowers and herbs.  They are active in the farmers market, operate a CSA and are involved in numerous farm organizations and activities.

With all of Nikki’s involvement helping others, she didn’t realize there had been a Pay Pal glitch this year that told people her CSA subscriptions were full and referred them to someone else when they went on line to subscribe.  She has it straightened out now and says she really still has quite a few subscriptions available – find her CSA information on line at the Pheasant Fields web site at:  www.pheasantfields.com or call (360) 697-6224

And the innovative Johansons are also known for the extraordinary activities they bring to the community such as their fall corn maze, summer farm camps, and spring Easter egg hunts.  Because they attracted so many people last year, three egg hunt sessions will be held on April 4 for 1.5 hours each at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.  More information can be found at the same Pheasant Fields web site and telephone number.

On a final note, Johanson is also involved in yet another activity this spring – Pheasant Fields will be the location for Urban Vegetable Gardening classes. Several seven-class sessions will be offered – more information on this can be found at this web site, www.buylocalfoodinkitsap.org or by calling (360) 981-7127

You can meet Nikki and other Kitsap farmers in person:

Kitsap Community and Agricultural Alliance
“Kitsap CSAs, Urban Vegetable Gardening and Opportunities To Make Extra Income At Your Local Farmers Market”
Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 7:00 PM
Norm Dicks Center
345 Sixth Street
Bremerton, WA 98310

How To Start A CSA For Your Farm

Last modified on 2009-01-18 02:33:19 GMT. 3 comments. Top.

Marilyn Holt, Paul Gregory, Nikki Johanson

At this month’s KCAA meeting, veteran Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmers Marilyn Holt of Abundantly Green and Nikki Johanson of Pheasant Fields provided a wealth of information for anyone interested in starting a CSA. And there were plenty of tips available for those who are farming for their own consumption or selling in a farmers market.

Johanson emphasized two “V” points in her advice to those considering starting a CSA:

- Vend at a farmers market – sell your products here and get to know other farmers who are willing to share some of their farming experiences with you.   You’ll also get a feel for pricing, supply and product demand.

-Volunteer to work on an established CSA farm – here you’ll get a feel for the amount of time you will need to spend, the work and expenditures as well as the income involved, and some of the problems that can surface in running a CSA. Most CSA farmers are more than willing to share their information with other farmers.

Holt and Johanson made some other points during their presentations.  People really need to be educated in the benefits of eating local food.  And many are unaware of the vitamin and mineral richness of some of the lesser known greens.  Recipes explaining these benefits and providing tasty uses of these greens are a good idea.

“I publish recipes that use currently available produce every week my CSA is in operation,” says Holt.  “It seems to be very popular with my subscribers.”

Both Holt and Johanson are high on farmers markets, both for selling and as a pick-up point for CSA customers if they are unable to get to the farm.  It’s also a place to recruit new CSA customers.

Develop a relationship with your potential and existing customers says Johanson. If you have other activities during the year such as a corn maze, holiday activities, etc., keep them informed during the off-CSA season.  Keep your contact list up to date and send out notices as soon as you can  about your upcoming season.

Holt and others say they can’t emphasize the importance of trying to fill your CSA subscriptions as early as possible. Advertise in local papers, put up a good web site with on-line subscription capability, develop a good brochure or flyer and put them where they can be accessed easily in such places as libraries. Early subscription gives you a better idea of how much working capital you will have for your growing season.

“Plant an abundance, variety, and things that will be ready to harvest at different times throughout the CSA subscription period,” says Johanson. “You never know what’s going to happen in a growing season.”

She adds that a farmer does his best if he gives good value in return for that money the consumer has spent.  Farmers agreed that this was a tough year because of the long, wet, cold spring and the large amount of rain in August.

That’s when you need to become innovative say seasoned CSA farmers – develop relationships with other farmers who offer different produce or perhaps meat, wine, flowers and other items that can be traded.

“You should feel a real responsibility to meet that commitment to offer the best that you can to your community subscriber,” says Johanson.

Some CSA farmers, such as the newly minted CSA, Handsown Homegrown, offer ad-ons that you can purchase to go with your weekly CSA share.  A small north end farm, Handsown Homegrown offered some of the finest heirloom tomatoes around at last season’s Poulsbo Farmers Market.

Another important point Holt says to consider is how much land you want to buy or lease, how big a labor force you want to manage and how much refrigerated space you will have.  The latter is very important when it comes to picking fresh crops in  warmer weather.

“A CSA farmer must be willing to work long hard hours during the season – one night Nikki and I were picking corn by the headlights of the car,” chuckled Holt.

CSA web resources – contain on-line articles, reference to books, etc.:

-WSU Extension site at:  http://smallfarms.wsu.edu/marketing_CSA.php and

-USDA lists many articles that can be read on-line at their site http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csafarmer.shtml

-“Community Supported Agriculture:  An Introduction to CSA”  describes a CSA but also lists many excellent articles and books at:  http://www.biodynamics.com/csa.html

CSA farms represented at KCAA meeting who are available for share subscription in 2009:

Gregory Farms – (360) 692-0528

Pheasant Field Farms – (360) 697-6224

Abundantly Green – (360) 692-2504

Handsown Homegrown – (360) 598-4711

Soon we will be compiling a list of peninsusla farms offering CSA shares in 2009. Check back often!