Where Has the Year Gone?

Hello, Blog! What a shame to have started a website about one of my favorite topics in the world, and then drop off the face of the earth for most of the year. If you're wondering what happened, here are the highlights:

In March, I got hired part-time at Northwest Nurseries, Inc. (a wholesale nursery in Redmond) and The Gray Barn Nursery at Pacific Topsoils (a retail nursery in Redmond). This was in addition to my one landscape maintenance gig I do every Monday in Lake Sammamish, along with some light administrative work for the editing job. It's been a rewarding experience to work both the retail and wholesale side of the plant nursery business. I was unsure if I'd be fit for Gray Barn, given that I don't see my introverted self thriving in the retail environment, but I think it's been a good challenge for me (and it's easy to say that now, far past the height of springtime madness).

Also in March, I had to relocate, so I ended up moving from Kirkland to Bothell. In the midst of all those transitions, I didn't have enough mental bandwidth to take the CPH exam, so I decided to hold off for a while and focus on moving, setting up my garden at the new house, and exploring my two brand-new jobs.

Ever since I transplanted from Ohio to the Pacific Northwest, I seem to have this strange attraction to changing locations during the springtime, which unfortunately means getting a late start on the vegetable garden. This year (for the first move, that is) followed the same pattern. Nonetheless, I often came home from work and went straight to the back yard to get things set up as quickly as possible. It was a slow process that bled into summer, but I got a respectable garden going in five 4x4 raised beds, along with additional flowers and veggies growing in pots. Somehow I managed to do this while working over 40 hours a week (something my body's not used to) and being 6 months into a new and wonderful relationship with a woman in Everett. Needless to say, I was busy! Of course, Doing All The Things is not really sustainable, so I couldn't fine tune the garden the way I would have liked (and I obviously didn't carve out enough time to work on the blog), but at least I had some activity happening at home that I could be proud of.

The garden had humble beginnings...

...and then it ate the house!

Okay, maybe it wasn't that big.

This is what happens when you don't prune your veggie plants.

Yes, that's a pink shirt I'm wearing. Yes, I'm comfortable with this.

Jami and her damned tomatoes. Always with the tomatoes.

I had several respectable harvests.

And as you all were expecting, that meant plenty of Insalata Caprese, which is my favorite summer food and perhaps the meaning of life.

But that's not all! In July I got hired at a small landscape installation and maintenance company called Ironwood, so I reduced my hours at Gray Barn to pick up a few days with Ironwood. It's another great opportunity to get hands-on experience in the field, so I'm glad I took it on. Maintenance work is invaluable for learning how plants behave in the garden from season to season. My boss is an old pro in the horticulture field, so I'm hoping to learn a lot from him.

In other news, finding stable housing has been a challenge this year. My partner and I decided we were ready to move in with each other by the end of summer, so we started the process of creating a household together. The details of that process are exhausting; let's just say that circumstances made it necessary for me to move three more times (and two of those moves were with my partner). Ultimately, we ended up in a house in Bothell and just finished moving last Saturday. There's a good deal of work and unpacking to do, and I'm on the mend from what I think is a minor sprained wrist, but I'm feeling really hopeful and excited about the new living arrangements. I'm sure I'll post more on that later. :)

That's all for now. I don't think it should take another year for the next post. Cheers!

Edibles: To Seed or Not to Seed

Robin Haglund, of Garden Mentors, Inc., has written a handy article over at Fiskars.com about when and what to start seeding right now. Some edibles are easy to start indoors, while others can be sown directly into the ground. And others you just want to buy from starts.

Edibles with Ease: When to Get Growing from Seeds or from Starts?

Inspiration from Graham Kerr

Last Wednesday, while the rest of Seattle was celebrating during the Seahawks parade, I was inside the Convention Center attending a seminar by Graham Kerr. Yes, I'm a nerd, along with a handful of other people in the room. His talk this year was Nourish & Delight! Growing, Cooking & Sharing Edibles for the Common Good:

Graham Kerr is in his fifth year in the garden, his 66th year in the kitchen and also celebrates his 80th birthday on January 22 – and he still gardens and tackles weeds with gusto. He shares with us lessons from his personal garden patch and herb garden, two community gardens where he is involved and area Food Banks and School programs. Focusing on plants such as Red Beets 'Ace', Kale 'White Russian', Swiss Chard 'Bright Lights' and Tomatoes 'Sun Gold', he will provide growing, cooking and harvesting tips. Graham wants to inspire audiences to be the new PIONEERS – Pass It On Now with Eagerness, Enthusiasm and Resilience! How's that for an acronym?

That really sums it up. His entire philosophy epitomizes why I'm studying horticulture in the first place. It's about the big picture: growing food, finding the joy of cooking nutritious meals, and building community around the whole process. I love this man. His enthusiasm is so inspirational!

So, taking advantage of the small turnout (what's wrong with you sports freaks?), I went into fan girl mode after the seminar and bought one of his books. He signed it, and I shook his hand and gushed about...well, hopefully something intelligent. :)

Eggs!

Last week, the day before Graham Kerr's seminar at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show, I decided to finally try my hand at Kerr's famous Velvet Sauce, which I learned at his seminar the previous year. I couldn't believe I waited so long to cook this sauce (it's super simple), so I made sure to try it before I saw the Galloping Gourmet again. I've also been attempting to cook for someone with a restrictive diet, but who can eat eggs, so it was the perfect motivation. I experimented with a parsnip sauce and a sweet potato sauce, and I used coconut milk instead of evaporated milk. I still need to play with the herb mixture, but I was happy with the results. Simple recipe, served over scrambled eggs:




While I was on an eggs kick, I ended the evening with some deviled eggs, because why not? Extra dilly with a little bit of heat, just the way I like 'em.