Meet Renee Ziemann, Farmer at Full Tilth Farm

I always knew that I wanted to connect my love of plants with some sort of service to the people in my community. I imagined that this might happen in the context of environmental education or a school garden program. Of course, I needed to learn to grow food myself before I could teach others about growing food, so I did a farm apprenticeship on Bainbridge Island and fell in love with the work of farming. During my internship year, I also got to know a lot of amazing people committed to growing food for others—the community around farming is very much one of the joys of being in this line of work.

I think people have some sense of how hard farmers work in the field, but most consumers don't recognize the amount of community involvement farmers have on top of the work of growing food and running a business. Every farmer I know is currently, or has been, engaged in community work or organization related to farming like serving on a board, building a school garden, or participating in county level advocacy.

We are aiming for our farm to be guided by balance. We try to find a work-life balance for ourselves and those who work with us; we seek to create a balanced ecosystem within the soil and plant health; and we think there is a balance between the needs of running an individual business and being a part of the local economy: how we purchase things, who we partner with and sell to, where we sell, etc. This often means making a decision that is less convenient or more expensive (not tilling a bed to get it ready, not purchasing from Amazon, managing disease or pests organically and with crop rotation or row cover) but we, like other farmers we know, are doing our best to make careful decisions!

A vibrant farm community supports itself, but many farmers today are experiencing burnout or find it financially difficult to farm at a larger scale, especially when farming is their main source of income and they employ others. This situation can increase pressure on those who continue farming but can also contribute to isolation and loneliness. 

So supporting a small farm might actually look supporting many local producers (some of whom rely on farms for their ingredients) and getting involved with related organizations such as farmers markets, the Kitsap Food Co-op, and other businesses that sell local produce. Additionally, staying informed about county-level advocacy opportunities for farms through groups like the Kitsap Farmland Preservation Coalition, Kitsap Community & Agricultural Alliance (KCAA), and Kitsap Environmental Coalition can make a significant difference.

There is a good deal of magic in it! This could be a seed sprouting, in seeing one plant producing food for many people, in working together with others to accomplish a goal, and in seeing people connect around and enjoy local produce.  

Our farm grows many types of berries, but growing strawberries feels really anchored to being here in Kitsap and learning to farm in this place. Strawberries have such a significant history as a crop in this area: Japanese farmers made Bainbridge Island a center of strawberry farming and I interned on the land once owned by the Suyematsu family, where Akio and his family grew strawberries and other crops. When I interned at Butler Green Farms and worked with Around the Table Farm, I had strawberries fresh from the field that were more delicious than I ever had before! And now I get to grow and share the most delicious strawberries grown here at Full Tilth with my family and community. 

I have found that there is a lot of interest in local food in the Kitsap community, and an appreciation for farmers—and that means there is room for more small farms to thrive here, especially as more people act on that interest by buying food from local markets, cafes, and restaurants. We certainly face challenges around the loss of farmland, the cost of land and housing and living expenses, bureaucratic challenges of running a small business, but there is a great community of growers and producers here that can keep growing if people in Kitsap keep tackling those challenges together.

This makes me think of a couple of things. The view of the sky here is lovely; I remember first visiting this land and noticing the sky—we have this open space surrounded by trees and looking up at the clouds, the sun, and the stars is always a joy. 

I'd also say that before we had this farm, it was a small lavender farm and plant nursery, a beautiful space with good infrastructure but the fields were just grass, bamboo, and blackberries. Every year we've made another bit of grass into a field to grow food—and that could actually happen anywhere. So part of what's special is that this land isn't so special; it's a reminder that others also could grow food in places where it doesn't yet grow!