About Our Farming
Nothing Better than Farm Life
At the core of our operation is a farming business, centered on 40 acres of apple and cherry trees. The young orchard provides us a 20+ year path of jobs and revenue to build out from. The orchard operation also provides the key infrastructure for our wells, irrigation system, barn, tractors, and other equipment. We then bring these assets into a shared community approach to support additional farmers. The Outpost can support dozens and dozens of Small Farmers, Veteran Farmers and Farmers of Diversity sitting side by side. This shared approach creates a significant cost advantage to starting and operating individual farms, while providing peer support and labor sharing for all farmers. Imagine starting your own 1 acre farm by yourself and funding all the start up equipment and infrastructure, vs working next to dozens of other farmers supporting your success.
In order to truly build our community and ecosystem, we believe it is important to provide many different opportunities, which means maintaining many different crops. We spent significant effort from 2016 to 2019 in testing different crops and approaches and have solidified our ability to be successful with a great deal of diversity. This diversity creates a real farming environment for new farmers to mirror with their own farm, while creating a wide variety of real world training.
The crop diversity has also opened many doors for creating "packaged products" like salsa, apple cider, and canned goods. We see a massive growth opportunity in this area as new farmers join our family.
If you are a looking for a job in agriculture we would love to have you on the team. If you are a looking to start a farm we would love to have you with us in a great peer support environment. If you are looking to create a great cider, let's partner up with our apples. We have great opportunities for every small and local business.
What we produce
Apples
Cherries
Cherries
We currently have 20 acres of Fuji apples, sprinkled in with some Gala's as our pollinators. Our Fuji's are top flight in taste and the size of a softball. Our apples were planted in 2016 and growing strong.
Cherries
Cherries
Cherries
We currently have 10 acres of Burgundy Pearl Cherries and 10 acres of Ebony Cherries. Both varietals are extremely large sweet cherries that are rare in WA. Our cherries were planted in 2016 and growing strong.
Hops
Alfalfa
Alfalfa
We planted multiple varieties of hops in 2018 to field test our location. The results were great and we continue to expand with Chinook, Comet, Cascade, and Centennial hops.
Alfalfa
Alfalfa
Alfalfa
We have had Alfalfa on the property for over 20 years. We have been letting the land come back after the fires to ensure a nutrient rich soil. We will be re-engaging 10-20 acres of Alfalfa farming and expand from there.
Hydroponic Green Houses
Hydroponic Green Houses
Hydroponic Green Houses
In 2018, we rolled out our first hydroponic green house to grow vegetables with 3 different methods. We will continue adding more green houses with more vegetables and herbs, including starter plants for our outdoor crops.
Pumpkins and Squash
Hydroponic Green Houses
Hydroponic Green Houses
In 2020, we successfully launched our first pumpkin patch with neighboring varieties of squash. We saw great results and will continue to expand on those crops as we move forward.
Vegetables and Herbs
Vegetables and Herbs
Vegetables and Herbs
We have small plots of various vegetables and herbs that have been producing great results. We keep testing new crops and expanding the footprint of our successes. We are currently producing tomatoes, peppers, squash, pumpkins, and mint in growing volume.
Packaged Goods
Vegetables and Herbs
Vegetables and Herbs
Our small farmer partners have been teaming up to make all sorts of great products and will continue to expand these products as the rest of our farming expands. Some of our favorites are: salsa, cherry grilling sauce, honey, mushroom powder, herbal teal, apple cider and other goodies from our crops.