Riley Starks
and Judy Olsen, the husband and wife team that own The Willows
Inn, started Nettles Farm in 1992, building it from a west-facing
wooded piece of land. Rather than clearing the entire 5.5 acres
they cleared only three, leaving the surrounding large trees which
serve to shield the crops from cooling winds, and trapping heat
during the important spring and early summer months. They began
by growing flavorful greens and tomatoes, which at that time could
scarcely be found in any store, and added a greenhouse, cold frames,
and in 1993 a commercial kitchen to process the washed greens
mix they sold at farmer’s markets and retail stores in Whatcom
County.
Realizing
that the kitchen would be idle for most of the year, Judy purchased
used Italian pasta and ravioli machines, and Nettles Farm Pasta
was born. Since the single ingredient that makes the greatest
difference in fresh pasta is eggs, Riley decided to grow a flock
of laying chickens to provide the needed fresh organic eggs, which
were hard to find at that time. One thing led to another, and
before long Nettles Farm was producing 50 dozen eggs per day,
6,000 pastured chickens for meat, and 500 packages of pasta and
ravioli per week. All of this was delivered to more than 20 outlets
as far south as Tacoma.
With the arrival of farmer extraordinaire Adam Childs in 2005, Nettles is better than ever, growing enough to supply fresh organic
produce, eggs and chickens for The Willows Inn and the Taproot Pub. Visit him at the farm most days, where you can also meet our summer intern. Riley is still reefnetting, and supplies the restaurant with his own catch.
Agritourism
Do you want to experience what working on a small farm is like? Each summer, beginning in June, we allow visitors to follow along and work alongside our farm intern. Harvest greens, pick and wash eggs, or perhaps weed a bed of onions. Ask for our agritourism package when you book your room.
