Farm History

Green Wave Gardens is located in the northeast corner of Washington State, near the small mountain town of Northport. The beautiful area of north Stevens County has hot summer days and cool evenings, while also receiving the cold and snowy conditions that come with a winter in Zone 5. The farm is nestled against a mountain on a perfectly level bench, perched 700’ above the powerful Columbia River, at 1800’ elevation. Just south of the British Columbia border, we grow an abundance of food from garlic to plums, tomatoes to nuts, artichokes to apples. The list continues to grow, as we discover the potential of the land and tap in to this unique microclimate as we experiment with different fruits and vegetable varieties.

After purchasing the pristine property in 2001, the Morelli family has rekindled a farm and family relationship. The original Bear Creek Nursery and the expansive orchard provide a diverse array of homestead apples, pears, cherries, plums, and nuts. The nursery was started by the Genos, Larry Geno found the now ‘Inchelium’ garlic of the Inchelium Indian Reservation, just south of the farm. The Carletons bought the farm from the Genos in the 80’s and operated the well-loved nursery for many years after, selling rare and hardy fruit and nut trees.

We thank our predecessors for their vision and hard work that we continue to develop on today. Many years have been spent working on the special, and uncommonly beautiful, mountain farm that we are so lucky and thankful to have stewardship of. We work hard as a family to give back to the land what we so gratefully take from it. Being able to provide for our family members and many other people who understand the importance of eating healthy and locally, is a rewarding and positive way for us to interact with the land and provide a service to others. The past 8 years have been spent working on improvements to the facilities and soil, which is an ongoing dedication for any farm. Our small herd of burros joins us in our effort to return to the land what we receive from it by enriching the compost process. We use organic cover crops to add biomass and nitrogen to the soil, which helps to keep it productive.

The balance between man and machine to get a job done is a constant consideration for us, as we try to make as little of an impact as possible on the land. We use a tractor for tilling new fields or turning under cover crops. We start all of our plants in the greenhouse when the winter cold has yet to give up its grip in northeastern Washington. From there, much love and attention is given until the plants are mature enough and the weather has released its hold to the warm summer months. Once that has happened, the nonstop hustle begins and lasts until November. After the planting of the crops, most all dirt work is done using shovels, hand weeders, rakes, hoes, etc. We hand weed and harvest all of our crops in the field, from potatoes to tomatoes. We feel that it is very important to be able to connect to the land that you are using; and while it does add time, it also adds a quality to our produce that you do not get with all farms.

The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution.

Paul Cézanne