One of the things I have always made time for since leaving the nest is gardening. Although it took me a few years of college to realize that life was not just about the parties and football games, I finally found a house with space for a garden and as overly granola as it may sound "re-connected" with the environment. Interestingly enough, this was when I decided to focus my school efforts on an Environmental Studies degree. Growing up, my grandfather was always an inspiration to me being a financial business owner and a gentleman farmer at his home on Mercer Island and family retreat at Hood Canal. From May to October, we were always guaranteed a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables from my grandfathers hard work, and in the winter months enjoyed the best preserves and canned goods I will ever know. With his passing, my uncles and I have taken his lead and still continue to garden as a way to stay "connected" and provide food for our families. I also find that spending time in the garden is a great stress reducer and opportunity for me to educate my girls about growing plants in our marine climate. Being a consultant has freed up my schedule to sporadically spend more time working in the garden and establish a "system" to produce more food in less space. As I worked to build a playhouse for my girls out of reclaimed materials last fall, I realized that I also was coming across all of the key elements to build raised beds and a passive greenhouse for the spring time. My very simple structure, positioned perfectly for optimal southern exposure from February to April has produced my first harvest of Chard this early in a very cold year! We celebrated Mother's Day with a harvest and wonderful casserole with fresh Chard. We have also started herbs, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumber in the house on a south facing window sill and peas, carrots and beans are now sowed in the ground outdoors.
It is not too late to start summer veggies from seed inside and this is the perfect week to sow directly in the ground as the chance of frost has likely FINALLY passed. So get outside and plant some seeds today or swing by the nursery and pick up some local starts ready for our growing region!
If you are new to gardening in this climate, I highly recommend thumbing through Steve Solomon's Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades.
