VISIT LOCAL FARM NEWS

October 2023


Farmlandia Farm Loop

Marion Farm Loop

South Clackamas Farm Loop

Yamhill Farm Loop

Read on to learn what's happening on your
local family farms & country attractions

October has arrived on the Farm Loops!

Fall on the farm is here with lots of opportunities for festive family fun! The cool mornings and sunny afternoons make the perfect pumpkin patch weather. You can pick the perfect pumpkin, run through a corn maze, sip local cider, eat fresh donuts, and enjoy a hay ride and more. Make sure to visit at least one Farm Loop to make your October complete! Good weather may mean that some of your other favorite stops on the loops that aren't specifically mentioned here may be open and have featured fall plants and other late season goodies.



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

Last Call for Farmers Markets

Farmers' markets are an integral part of the Oregon Farm Loop community. The following Farmers' markets have their market final days of the 2023 season coming up.

Photo: Milwaukie Farmers Market

Encourage your favorite Farmers Markets in Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington, and Yamhill counties to join the Oregon Farm Loop! We're taking applications for 2024 now. Contact us at [email protected] for a link to the application form.

Bulbs Now for Your Spring Garden

  • Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm (South Clackamas) has spring bulbs on sale now! Pick out your favorite bulbs, plant them this fall and enjoy them next spring. The farm has everything from tulips to daffodils.

Pumpkin Patches and Autumnal Activities

Some of the pumpkin patches and other u-pick opportunities come with festivals! Be sure to check the Events section, too!

On the Yamhill Farm Loop

  • Bernards Farm has beautiful picked and U-pick pumpkins available.

Sunset Farm Loop (now growing)

On the Farmlandia Farm Loop

  • Fiala Farms has squash, u-pick pumpkins, gourds, and many other types of seasonal produce. They also feature a corn maze! Open 7 days a week.
  • Frog Pond Farm The Pumpkin Patch is open daily through October 29th. Animals and BOUNCE PARK, too.
  • Hartnell Farms is open Monday-Saturday with pumpkins, fall decor, a wonderful variety of seasonal produce, and jams/jellies. Enjoy all the benefits of the farm in an urban setting.
  • Historic Kirchem Farm welcomes you to join them every weekend in October for their Pumpkin Patch, hay rides, face painting and more fun food and family activities.
  • Liepold Farms has a pumpkin patch that is filled with a variety of pumpkins, gourds, and squash to choose from each year – perfect for carving, pies and canning, and for decor!

On the South Clackamas Farm Loop

  • Morning Shade Farm open Saturdays for all your organically grown pumpkin and squash needs.
  • Willamette Valley Melons has specialty pumpkins in their pumpkin patch as well as a great variety of winter squash available for purchase. Self-Serve Pumpkin Patch open daily in October.

On the Marion Farm Loop

  • Bauman's Farm & Garden will be featuring their U-pick pumpkin patch, corn maze, animal barn, and harvest market this year. Pick the perfect pumpkin, drink fresh pressed apple cider and pick up everything you need for fall. Open 7 days a week.
  • Beilke Family Farm has u-pick or ready-pick pumpkins in all different colors and sizes. They also have an abundance of apples to pick! Open 7 days a week.
  • E.Z. Orchards is celebrating HarvestFest all month through 10/30. There's a pumpkin patch along with the hayrides, petting zoo, corn maze, games & slides!
  • Fordyce Farms has picked pumpkins (and more) in the store and in their U-pick field.
  • Koch Family Farm is open 7 days a week and has pumpkins, gourds, straw bales, Indian corn and more harvest decor!
  • Nottinghamshire Farms The farm store is packed full of fresh produce. Peppers, cucumbers, Zucchini, Squash, tomatoes and so much more !!! We also have a great verity of pumpkins to choose from. Be sure to ask about green tomatoes for cooking, storing and making fried green tomatoes!
  • True North Orchards has Cider by the Fire events this month, warm up with their signature cider and buy a fruit tree to plant in your own backyard. Also check out their organically grown garlic, grape juice, cherry juice, and honey!

October Events on the Farm Loops

October 2023 highlights include:


Check the Oregon Farm Loop Events page and follow the instructions to display one or more Farm Loops at a time! Or, click a Farm Loop logo to see the Events calendar for just that site. Keep checking: we add events as we learn about them.

Recipe from the Farm Loops

How about something warm, flavorful, and still a bit nutritious as we snuggle into October? This recipe comes from Source Farms on the Yamhill Farm Loop. You can get all of your ingredients fresh and locally along the Farm Loops, as well! (Check the markets and the individual farms, orchards, and creameries!)


Sheet Pan Chicken with Crispy Chickpeas, Tomatoes, Olives, and Marinated Feta

Serves 4

Ingredients 

1 8-oz. block firm Greek feta, in brine

Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

2 small lemons

1 T. fresh oregano leaves

3 ½-4lb. bone-in, skin on chicken pieces (breasts, thighs, and legs; approximately 8 pieces)

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

1 t. dried oregano

2 T. unsalted butter, cut into 8 pats

1 med. red onion, sliced through the root into ½” wedges

2 14.5-oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 c. pitted castelvetrano olives

¼ c. mint leaves, loosely packed, to garnish


Instructions 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove feta from brine and pat dry with paper towels, pressing lightly to release excess moisture. Using a sharp knife, slice crosswise into ¼” pieces. Arrange haphazardly, overlapping slightly, on a plate and drizzle generously with olive oil. Zest one of the lemons over the feta, then halve and squeeze the juice over as well, being careful to remove any seeds. Scatter oregano leaves on top, loosely cover, and set aside until ready to serve.

Evenly arrange chicken pieces on a half sheet tray. Drizzle with olive oil, then generously season with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle dried oregano evenly over the chicken, then zest remaining lemon over the tray as well. Thinly slice and deseed the lemon and set aside. Turn chicken pieces to evenly coat, making sure they end up skin side up on the tray. Place a pat of butter on top of each piece of chicken, along with a lemon slice. 


In a medium bowl, toss red onion and chickpeas with a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and add to the sheet tray, arranging around the edges and in between the pieces of chicken. Transfer to oven and roast until chicken is just beginning to brown, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, combine cherry tomatoes and olives in a medium bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

At the 20-minute mark, remove sheet tray from oven. Stir chickpeas and red onion, making sure they’re coated in the pan juices, and return to the oven. Evenly scatter cherry tomatoes and olives over a second sheet tray and add to the oven. Continue cooking until chicken is golden brown (a thermometer inserted into the thickest piece should register 165), chickpeas are crisp, and cherry tomatoes are beginning to burst, about 25 minutes more. Remove from oven and allow to rest, 10 minutes. When ready to eat, spoon roasted tomatoes and olives over the chicken, scatter with mint leaves, and serve with marinated feta.


And then there's dessert: Blue Raeven pies may hit the spot!


Did we humans forget anything in this newsletter? Please let us know at [email protected].

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 Oregon Farm Loop
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This e-newsletter made possible by the generous support of many people & entities:

  • Oregon Agritourism Partnership, an Oregon nonprofit that benefits agritourism farms
  • Oregon State University Extension Service
  • Oregon's Mt Hood Territory
  • Travel Salem
  • Cities/Chambers of Canby, Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, Molalla, West Linn, Oregon City and Wilsonville
  • Clackamas and Marion Counties, Marion County Extension 4-H Service District