I put my name on the p-patch community garden program wait list the first year I moved to Seattle. Five years later I excitedly told Mark that he was lucky to have married into (well, I guess at the time “dated into”) a p-patch spot. This is our 4th season at the p-patch. In addition to meeting Mark and finding my two wonderful running groups, it’s one of the best connections I’ve made in Seattle. I’ve learned so much about…
Mark and I were talking farming every night, checking out books from the library, and watching a lot of videos on compost, soil microbiology, and no-till practices. But how do we actually get started with this whole farming thing? We probably shouldn’t quit our jobs tomorrow. Right? So we decided to visit the farmers who originally inspired us – Elizabeth and Paul Kaiser of Singing Frogs Farm. When we heard Elizabeth and Paul talk about their farm we loved their…
I had no idea that plowing was bad! In my own garden I diligently turned over the winter cover crop and raked the surface smooth again. I thought I was helping to create a fluffy weed-free environment. I was wrong! First, tilling (plowing) messes with a complex underground ecosystem that is essential for healthy plants. Disturbing the fungi that access nutrients and process them into forms that plants need or the microbes that produce compounds that promote plant growth or…