Meet Kristin DeRose
Kristin joined Frog Hollow last July and has been a super addition to the farm ever since. Her primary responsibility is to work in our fledgling vegetable garden alongside Marlene. The garden winter garden is about one third of an acre. The plan is to expand the garden to a much larger scale but this season Kristin and Marlene are experimenting with different crops and keeping records to determine what grows well. This year they’ve planted a host of brassicas including kale, mustard greens, cauliflower, and cabbage, as well as fava beans, beets, lettuce, garlic, carrots, herbs, and more.
When things start to heat up on the farm, Kristin and Marlene will move out to the 2 acre summer garden, which will be in it’s third year of production. The summer garden crop list is more focused and includes our amazing heirloom tomatoes, peppers, and this year, they will be adding melons. (Yum!) In addition vegetable production, Kristin works closely with Anna Buss, our Culinary Coordinator. Kristin communicates regularly with Anna about the types and volumes of vegetables that will be available for harvest so that Anna can plan recipes and menus for our Ferry Building Cafe, which is now serving delicious garden to table lunch items. Kristin spends two days a week at the cafe to serve as a bridge between our cafe staff, patrons and the farm. She shares information about what is happening out at the farm on any given week, what we are harvesting and which crops are scheduled for upcoming harvest.Kristin got her start in agriculture quite by accident. Following high school graduation she was looking for summer employment in her hometown of Bellingham Washington, where finding employment is a challenge for high school grads. She was looking diligently for any opportunity.
A friend of a friend, who was working for a small organic farm about an hour outside of town, introduced her to the owner who was willing to hire her, despite her lack of experience, so she took the job. That was the summer Kristin fell in love with farming. She fondly recalls rising before daybreak every morning to harvest greens under the shadow of Mount Baker and watching the majesty of the sunrise over the mountain and the fields.She left for University of British Columbia in the fall and decided to study sustainable agriculture. Following her undergraduate degree, Kristin worked for another small organic farm before joining a not for profit where she led gardening and nutrition education lessons in elementary schools. When Kristin becomes more rooted at Frog Hollow she hopes to help us develop on farm educational programming for children.
Kristin has yet to experience a whole growing season, but her current favorite fruits are the Emerald Beaut plums and the Flavor King pluots. From the veggie garden, she ever enjoys a freshly dug sweet carrot.