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You are here: Home / Archives for ebb and flow

Farm Fund Recipient: Ebb & Flow Herb Farm

Robin Crandall of Ebb and Flow herb farm harvesting echinacea

Watch the video.

In September, we headed out to Ebb & Flow Herb Farm to visit Farm Fund recipient Robin Crandall. Located in the Skagit Valley, Ebb & Flow is just a 30-minute drive from the Community Food Co-op in Downtown Bellingham. Robin grew up in Bellingham but moved to Mount Vernon two years ago to start her farm on an opportune plot of rented land. 

Ebb & Flow has seen success in its fledgling years. Robin has forged relationships with many local herbalists and sells direct to them to make up the bulk of Ebb & Flow's annual sales. Robin also has a small CSA program for the smattering of organic vegetables she grows on the farm.

Robin has roots in western Washington and many connections with small businesses in the area. She'll occasionally provide local restaurants with a batch of veggies or provide herbs to businesses. For example, she sells herbs to Junebug Ferments in Bow to make into yummy probiotic concoctions.

If you're a beer drinker, keep your eyes out for Robin's annual collaboration with Stone's Throw Brewing. Last year's beer was brewed with organic Ebb & Flow chamomile and calendula.

Robin currently sells her dried herbs and veggies to Anacortes Food Co-op. She's excited about the potential of selling to more co-ops in the area if she can ramp up production enough in the coming years.

There's also an Ebb & Flow Etsy store that allows Robin to share her herbal blends with folks far and wide—though that's a small portion of her overall sales.

bulk bags of dried herbs
farmer's dirty hands holding yellow arnica flower
field of fresh holy basil herb

Robin's land boasts two acres of certified organic herbs, veggies, and flowers, along with two greenhouses. Her Farm Fund grant allowed her to build an herb drying shed and install solar panels that bring electricity to her farm. Now, she can plug in fans to speed up the drying process, so she can produce more herbs, more often.

Prior to having the drying shed, Robin was drying all of her herbs in her house. Having a better drying set-up has allowed her to produce a whopping 150 pounds of dried herbs so far this year. That’s about three times the yield she was able to produce last year.

two greenhouses and a farm shed on a sunny day
the inside of an herb drying shed

In general, Ebb & Flow is a one-woman operation, but Robin recieves help from friends here and there. The farming community is strong, and Robin says she feels like she’s found her people since moving south to start the farm.

The farm is still in its early days, and Robin is looking forward to the future. She's excited to continue building relationships and hopes to continue expanding production, so she can provide more local, organic, and healing herbs to her community.

Farm Fund Recipient: Ebb and Flow Herb Farm

FARM FUND| SALES| THE CO-OP DIFFERENCE community giving| ebb and flow| Farm Fund| herb farm| herbs| skagit

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2022 Community Shopping Day Donations

Every year, the Co-op Member Affairs Committee (MAC) and Board of Directors selects community organizations to be the monthly Community Shopping Days (CSD) recipient. CSD recipients receive 2% of the Co-op’s total sales on the third Saturday of their designated month, and all register donations made during the month. Now [...]
The barn at Mariposa Farm under construction with support from a Community Food Co-op Farm Fund grant.

Appreciation for the Co-op Farm Fund. Donate today!

Thank you for donating to the Co-op Farm Fund! Farmers share their appreciation for the ways in which the Farm Fund has helped their organic, sustainable farms.

A woman farmer picking harvesting onions

Local Farm Feature: Flynn Farms

Co-op vendor Flynn Farms is woman-owned, veteran-owned, AAPI-owned and certified organic. We visited Flynn Farms to talk with owner Savannah about her journey and her mission to empower a new generation of farmers.

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meat and deli counter: 7 am – 7 pm
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