Keeping it local down on the farm

Mike Howell of Little Island Farm feeds his flock of breeding goats. Photo by Sunny Manary For Mike and Kim Howell, farming is more than having fresh fruits and vegetables to choose from for dinner; it is providing a service to the local economy.

Mike has worked on a farm since age 13. He worked all through school on the farm until his entrance into the Navy. After finishing his service, he spent 38 years employed by Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) as a chief substation operator in charge of several large substations in the Seattle/Tacoma area.

That all changed six years ago when he and wife Kim retired to Wahkiakum County. While Kim still works as an area district manager for BPA, Mike spends his days manning the fields.

Little Island Farm on Puget Island is built around meat goats.

“We’ve discovered that it is more lucrative to sell meat as cuts of meat than to keep them for breeding stock,” Mike said.

The Boer goat has the best meat of any goat, anywhere, he said. The meat has a good color and a good taste, but it takes longer, close to two years to grow. Feed costs are up and keeping costs down can be difficult.

“Here on Puget Island, we have the best grass you will ever find,” he said.

Puget Island was formed from 1000 years of Palouse silt drifting downstream in the Columbia River from eastern Washington, he said. The Palouse Hills are where wheat is grown in the Pullman area.

“The silt is hard as a rock when it’s dry,” Mike explained, “but it grows anything and everything.”

Farming can be a lucrative business, and the Howells make it work by doing experiments, like growing sweet potatoes.

Last year, Mike said, the weather was perfect for a “Georgia Crop” of sweet potatoes, meaning the weather was very much like Georgia weather.

“Some of them were the size of a football,” he said, “and very, very good.”

Other crops, like okra, were not so much of a success.

Another experiment was a tomatillo plant. The tomatillo is like a green tomato, but has a husk. It is used to make salsa verde.

“My wife came up with a brilliant idea--we made kits," he said.

They put cilantro, lime, and tomatillo in a bag with a recipe.

“Those two little silly plants made us I don’t know how much money. They just flew out of there, We love to experiment now,” he laughed.

The farm grows melons, which a lot of people do not think can be done in Washington's questionable weather. The melon season here runs a bit later than other, sunnier parts of the world, he said; however, they are sweet and delicious.

Last year, melons sold fast. So did the Asian pears and apples, the plums and berries.

The Howells have perfected some techniques and efficiencies for their small farm.

For example, a flexible flat tube is laid down by a machine, and when filled with water, it will allow the water to go where it is wanted so none is wasted. It also prevents weed growth.

Use of the plastic will allow plants to germinate quicker and take root faster. When the water is centralized, it makes for a well managed garden, he said.

The Howells grow their tomatoes in a greenhouse. A 10 foot wall of vines has the beginnings of Heirloom, Sweet 100 and Lemon tomatoes.

“Today’s tomatoes that you see (in the store), especially in winter time, come from Florida or Mexico and are raised so they can be picked by machines," he said. "That is the only reason that breed is raised.”

And they don’t taste as good, he said.

The tomatoes don’t need a lot of grow space and they must be watered at the bottom of the plant. Mike grows tomatoes and basil together in the same pot. “Basil is a good cash crop,” he said.

He begins to grow his plants in planting trays under fluorescent lights. “People think you need ‘grow lights,’” he said. “You don’t need grow lights.” Grow lights will cost sometimes three times as much. The same result can come from regular fluorescent shop lights.

Little Island Farm sits on 12 acres on East Little Island Road. Mike and Kim still haven’t developed the waterfront part of their property; “that has taken a back seat to the farm,” he said.

There are highs and lows to farming, but more highs. With livestock, farming is a 24/7 process. The lows will make one wonder why he is doing this, especially when he is supposed to be retired, he said. But the highs, helping a mother birth her kid, are exceptional.

“You spend endless hours out there with the moms and their newborns,” but holding that slimy kid in your hand is enough. “That is really special. That is a motivator right there,” he said.

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