Tilthworks

Tilth is about cultivation of the land. Tilthworks narrows that ethos to the growing of a modest allium - garlic. Our first year was spent reclaiming the meadow.

After hand building a small house on the brow of a south facing slope in the northwestern Oregon coast range, my wife, Darro and I decided to start a garden. The soil preparation was epic. We will discuss this topic at great length in our website blog (tilthworks.com). We believe that if there is a secret to growing garlic in the northwest, it has something to do with soil. Today, we are vendors i

n two farmers markets and help perpetuate the annual Clatskanie Garlic Festival. This year, our garden holds 13 hard and soft neck garlic varieties but we also grow carrots, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, corn and beans - the mainstays of our market offerings. Oh, and we have livestock - bees, that is, and we make artisan breads. We have yet to meet a levain we didn't like and focaccia always finds a place on our market table. So, welcome to tilthworks, home to some serious garlic geekage. My name is Steve and I'll be documenting our good intentions and occasional successes along with the fairly regular surprises and delights. My wife, Darro, is a partner in our investigation into all things agrarian. She is a constant partner in everything that happens out here and her wit, wisdom, and boundless energy generally keep us moving ever forward. Steve Routon
Clatskanie, OR

08/13/2024

Here's the tilthworks cheat sheet.
May it serve you well...Saturday!
tilthworks

08/08/2024

Soft neck garlic, ornamental oregano and statice, all grown in our meadow beds in Clatskanie, come together in a most delightful way in these braids.
Summer never looked so good.
August 17th @ the Clatskanie Garlic Festival.
tilthworks

08/06/2024

Gourmet Garlic
Blanak, Turkish Giant and Nootka Rose
These are three of the dozen or so strains we will be hauling to the Garlic Festival on August 17th at Copes Park in Clatskanie, OR. This has been a perfect year to grow garlic. I taste tested two of our new strains today (roasted them with some olive oil) and they were spectacular...intense and savory, you know, that flavor that drives most of the meals we love.
The garlic will be there. Stock up!
tilthworks

09/26/2022

tilthworks digs in
back in the day, a huge back yard like this might have a lush green lawn, azaleas (I love azaleas) and a swing set. We just aren't feelin' that right now.
What we are feelin' is 120 linear feet of 4' raised beds filled (in season)with blueberries, garlic, asparagus, shelling peas, tomatoes, etc. (you get the picture).
tilthworks east, the urban gardens.
to my way of thinking, this is a great way to channel my building affliction.
tilthworks

09/25/2022

it's a wrap
The Clatskanie Farmers Market was our last for the year. We thank all of you who have contributed to the successes of this little market.
I am humbled as I witness this community evolve into a culture that aspires to feed its own.
See you all next year.
tilthworks

09/24/2022

tilthworks today
@ Clatskanie Farmers Market

09/24/2022

Got Bread?
We do. 13 loaves to the first takers tomorrow at the Clatskanie Farmers Market.
Darro bakes her focaccia starting at 6 AM.
We actually baked 14, but one won't leave the tilthworks kitchen.
tilthworks

09/23/2022

a whole lot if bakin' goin' on
The small vats are poolish for Darro's focaccia - 32 quarter loaves. The large vats contain dough bubbling away in its fermentation. They will become 14 loaves of artisan goodness.
Sounds like a lot, but it's not.
Tomorrow at the Clatskanie Farmers Market. Be there early or settle for something else not nearly as fresh (or good).
not much into false modesty.
tilthworks

09/23/2022

here we go!
that's no pile of wood.
it's an old architect who just can't get enough built. it's an old garlic enthusiast who just can't have too much bed space.
ultimately it's a bunch of work for a couple who thrives on such.
tilthworks

09/21/2022

last of the summer sweetness
yep. Summer officialy ends in 2 days. tilthworks will spin the last of our summer vintage this week and will have plenty of honey for the last day of the Clatskanie Farmers Market this Saturday. I will also be bringing my artisan bread and Darro will be offering her focaccia. Tether to that our remaining several strains of heirloom garlic, and we have a bit of a thing going on.
See you Saturday!
tilthworks

09/21/2022

09/19/2022

funny how you can bust your hump working in the meadow and it doesn't look like much. next up: prepping beds for next year's garlic.
One season's end seems really close to the next year's beginning.
Cool
tilthworks

09/17/2022

"She's not good, but she has good intentions..."
lyle lovett
Our good friend Moira revealed that when she's expecting guests and her yard looks like hell, she stagesets a wheelbarrow and a shovel to suggest work in progress.
The coiled hose was my idea.
tilthworks

09/15/2022

kitchen shadows

09/12/2022

resting beds
tilthworks

09/12/2022

Tidy
Only took 4 days! The bushes in the center bed are statice and corn flowers...not quite ready for prime time.
That's Griffin supervising.
tilthworks

09/11/2022

yikes?!
things do get crazy when I am distracted by a specific crop for a few months.
Can you say "garlic". Sure you can.
(Echoes of Eddie Murphy's Mr. Rodgers)

09/10/2022

Noon - Clatskanie. OR

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Clatskanie, OR
97016

Telephone

+19715067432

Website

http://tilthworks.com/

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Videos

Honey

Very Fresh Honey. tilthworks

New Bees

Busy Bees This screen device is an entrance restrictor. It minimizes the opening to the hive so the guards have a better chance of fending off would be predators. Hardly seems necessary. They have been removed. tilthworks

Winter Bees

You know that spring and summer honey? All those workers and nurses have passed on (as they do. Summer workers live only a few weeks). The Queen however is doing just fine. This is a hatch of winter bees. They will live for months and serve the hive through the winter. This is a very reassuring spectacle; the rebirth of the hive. Long live the Queen. tilthworks9

Cirque du Soleil

Our customers complement tilthworks for the honey we bring to the Market. It's a complicated arrangement, but technically, the praise is hers. We simply provide the asparagus blossums and give them space. 24# harvested again today. tilthworks

Got Honey?

First Runnings - 2020 Spring Run This vintage tastes wonderful! See you tomorrow. tilthworks

Black Gold

May look like a guy dumping dirt in a pickup, but that isn't the whole story. This is a neighbor sharing a year's composting effort with a guy expanding his market garden. Every local farmers market supporter wins in this transaction. Let the games begin! tilthworks

hope springs eternal

hope springs eternal Tossing small purple potatoes into shallow trenches. How can that be cathartic? It just is. tilthworks

Oh, yeah. Its fresh.

Fresh bread crackles immediately out of the oven. If all goes well, this bread will be fresh baked and available week after week at our Clatskanie Farmers Market. Too soon? tilthworks

Tilthworks

08/13/2024

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09/26/2022

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09/10/2022

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Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Videos

Honey

New Bees

Winter Bees

Cirque du Soleil

Got Honey?

Black Gold

hope springs eternal

Oh, yeah. Its fresh.

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