First Completed Season at Red Barn Community Farm

As the days get shorter and the harvest peters out, I can look back at our first completed season at Red Barn Community Farm with pride, humility, and some exhaustion. Caera and I worked hard on our 40'x40' plot, building six 4'x16' beds out of cinder blocks and wood, starting a bed for the hoop house, completing an entirely enclosed 16'x16' space for our berry patch, hauling in soil (that was an adventure in and of itself), amending the soil with compost and a fertilizer blend we mixed based on Steve Solomon's recommendation from Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades, and planting lots and lots of seeds and starts. Over the summer, we also acquired a 275-gallon water tote, which we elevated for future use in a drip irrigation system. We had wanted to fence off our entire plot, as the deer were a persistent problem, but we couldn't get the materials fast enough. Nonetheless, despite our battles with deer, bugs, supply transportation, materials cost, out-of-control weeds, a summer-long drought, and a brutal wind storm, we had quite an impressive harvest.

 Let's take a look:

Jami riding the tractor.

Working the soil was tough, but we had a good attitude.

After many ridiculous trips back and forth between our home and the plot with buckets full of soil stuffed into our sedans, a friend let us borrow his truck to finish the job.

We hauled a lot of soil. Here we're in the process of filling up the berry patch.

Making soil angels in a half-built raised bed.

Fours beds complete, and starting to fill them...

Beds are finished, and seeds and starts are in the ground.

That's the berry patch in the background, and this bed with tomato starts will eventually be inside a hoop house.

Finished berry patch with chicken wire fencing, bird netting, and a simple PVC pipe gate.

Why do we need so much fencing? This is why. Unfortunately we put the berry plants in the ground before the fence was finished. The deer ate the developing fruit and a lot of the branches. They don't even care about proper pruning technique!

This is my sweetie Caera. She's very happy after supporting the LWIT plant sale.

This is Caera's first large-scale attempt at growing food. We're stoked to be working on it together.

The start of our flower bed.

Our flower bed took off! The pollinators loved it, and we brought home so many bouquets of cut flowers.

Our kitchen alter to the Irish goddess Airmed, with flowers and food from the plot.

Strawflowers have become a staple in my flower gardens. Xerochrysum bracteatum for the win!

Well-used moving boxes from last year. I think their final destination is appropriate: suppressing weeds in between our raised beds, decomposing into the earth.

Gooseberries that became deer snacks.

I set up two propagation stations in the laundry room.

Emerging seedlings.

The house we're renting came with a greenhouse. A lot of these plants were are from last year, and were neglected a bit while I was moving all the time. To my surprise, a lot of stuff came back.

A nice little pot of yarrow came back.

I thought all my perennials were goners after last year's moving chaos, but the Pagan Purples Delphinium popped up in the spring. Love the color.

I grafted my first apple tree during my 2013 hort class. Since then it's sadly remained unpruned, a bit neglected, and moving around from place to place in a pot. This year it started to fruit, and I let it just for funzies.

My boss at Ironwood gave me some mystery daylilies in the spring. Score! Don't they look delicious? I mean pretty?

I brought home some columbine for my sweetie. We grew it in a pot that's visible from our bedroom window.

Backyard pots.

Since this isn't our own property, we aren't able to do much landscape design. Container gardening is our compromise.

Back at the plot, we upgraded our two 55-gallon rain barrels to one 275-gallon water tote elevated four feet above the ground. My intention next year is to hook up a drip irrigation system.

My tomato bed turned into a hedge. Once again, this is what happens when you don't prune or stake your tomatoes.

My magic beanstalk is working. Next stop: Coin Heaven!

Flower power! (Okay, I'll stop with the Super Mario Bros. references.)

Towers of quinoa. First time growing this crop.

We had lots of colorful harvests.

So much food. This makes me happy.

Proud mother of twins.

Tomatoes and basil. You know where this is going. I'm sorry, is my Italian showing? ;P

Well-pollinated corn. This is a first for me.

Gardening is more fun with loved ones.

Herb garden.

She said yes!

Life update (upgrade?): Caera and I went on a little romantic getaway this past weekend on the peninsula. We stayed in a cabin (actually, two) in Elwha and explored the Olympic National Park. And after a day of hiking and a home-cooked dinner, I surprised her with gifts and a proposal. :D

This is the spot by the creek where I proposed to her. She doesn't know it's coming yet. I love my goof.

This was part of the back yard.

At the Hoh Rain Forest.

I am so lucky to be with this woman.

And we're such saps.

The book is a children's book about spirals, an important symbol in nature and her band's music. The sprouter is something she had on her wishlist so she can eat healthier. The sunflower plushy is from a video game called "Plants Vs. Zombies," and it's adorable when she sings the theme song. But the key here was the chocolate, which I made sure she ate before I proposed. And the ring is a rhodolite garnet set in Celtic knotwork.

So how about that?? There's a woman out there who's weird enough to want to marry me. :)

Happy Summer Solstice!

This is an especially significant time of year. As is tradition now, I went camping over the weekend with Caera and some of my friends. It's the best way to celebrate the Solstice and my birthday on the 23rd. We explored Larrabee State Park in Bellingham and discovered some pretty cool fossils while we were hiking on Saturday.

In other news, June 2015 marks the 10-year anniversary of my move from Ohio to the Pacific Northwest. This corner of the map really does feel like home. Glad I could spend it with some of my chosen family.

    

     

Sitting in a Coffee Shop, Watching April Showers

It occurs to me as I sit here in a crowded Seattle coffee shop, sipping my second large-size caffeinated heartburn inducer of the day as I wait for a concert by a beloved local to start, that I haven’t written much (again) on this blog. I do have my excuses, and yet none of them seem acceptable. I’m not sure why I feel compelled, now of all times, to put some of my thoughts into words.

Regarding my last post, which I shared on behalf of my employer, we've been successful in hiring some new employees in the last couple of weeks, so this is great news for everyone. The days are much more enjoyable when shared with coworkers, and they’re all a great bunch of folks (one of whom I went to hort school with). Hopefully it will mean getting through the weekly maintenance routines more quickly and efficiently, and opening up opportunities for more interesting projects.

In other news, I finally took the CPH exam in March (I missed both exam dates last year because I was in the middle of moving, along with other out-of-my-control setbacks). This year has also thrown me some curve balls, for sure, which once again made studying difficult, but I still passed! Yay! What a relief. I feel like I've been knocked down quite a bit in the past year, so it’s good to experience a small victory.

Caera and I are renting a 40x40 plot of land at a community farm in Everett, so this is also an exciting new development. It's located in a flood plain and will require quite a bit of work (raised beds, amended soil, some manner of deer and vole prevention, setting up irrigation, building a hoop house, etc.), but I'm looking forward to the project, which has the potential to last for several years (unlike all of the home-gardening efforts which had to be restarted every time I moved). The only problem as usual, is finding the time to get out there during my days off. My schedule is busy, and my body not always cooperating. I'll be sure to post more about it (including pictures!) later.

Job Openings at Ironwood

Looking for some horticultural experience? My employer is seeking out more people. My own two cents is that he's very knowledgeable, and you're sure to learn a lot about plants and the maintenance business.

Boosting the signal:

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Ironwood is a small full-service landscape company and we are looking for enthusiastic people to join our team! Your horticultural training, professional landscape experience, and passion for plants is needed!

We are an organic landscape company with a strong emphasis on proper horticultural practices and great customer service. We provide high-quality garden maintenance services, landscape installation, stone walls and patios, installation of container designs, garden renovations, and fine-pruning projects.

Ironwood's owner, Derek Fowler, is a graduate of Edmonds Community College in Nursery Specialization and Landscape Design. He has traveled to China many times, built and maintained a rare plant garden on Camano Island for 10 years, is an avid hiker and native plant lover, and has a background in bio French intensive organic farming, market gardening, and community-supported agricultural systems. His goal in providing high-quality chemical-free landscape maintenance and installation services with a focus on excellent customer service, is to work with dynamic and passionate horticultural graduates and enthusiasts to contribute positively to the horticultural industry and Ironwood’s clientele. Outside of work, Derek spends a great deal of time planting common and unusual fruit and nut trees, growing and eating vegetables from his garden, and volunteering with Plant Amnesty, Washington Native Plant Society, and other groups when his family permits.

Landscape Maintenance Technicians

A good landscape maintenance technician can tell what needs attention in a landscape just by looking. With experience, the technician develops an eye to assess how the landscape was installed, why plants are not thriving, which pathogens or insects have taken hold, and what course of action may be necessary to improve or correct all of the potential problems that result from unprofessional landscape installation and management processes or approaches. When you work for Ironwood, we will teach you to stand out in a crowd of your peers as you learn to master your horticultural craft and its practice in the field. We are passionate about our work and believe in investing in our employees. We want to succeed in our business and help you succeed as part of our team.

Candidates will be enthusiastic with a positive attitude, able to work alone or with others, possess a valid WA driver’s license with a clean driving record, take direction and give direction, communicate with clients, and are punctual.

Knowledge of the following:

Weed identification and removal

Some plant identification and desire to learn more

Pruning- woody and herbaceous plants

Landscape maintenance activities- lawn mowing, line trimming, and application of organic fertilizers

Able to lift 50 lbs regularly

Pay DOE part time; full time position available
Full time positions offer 1 week paid vacation, performance bonus options, and continued educational opportunities

Construction Technicians

A good construction technician is able to understand how landscapes are built and which processes are to code and how they are employed. As a technician, you are able to address soil concerns and cultivation methods, preparation of areas for lawns, walls, patios, and irrigation systems. With Ironwood, we will teach you to stand out in the landscaping industry. You will be able to see need for improvement where others see perfection, will know how to ensure that installations are made safe for all intended users, and which material is best for a given environment and its application. We are passionate about our work and believe in investing in our employees. We want to succeed in our business and help you succeed as part of our team.

Candidates will be enthusiastic with positive attitude, able to work alone or with others, possess a valid WA driver’s license, take direction and give direction, communicate with clients, and is punctual.

Knowledge of the following:

Plant identification and proper plant installation and removal techniques

Patio preparation and installation methods

Stone wall construction

Irrigation installation and troubleshooting – drip systems and in ground rain bird pop up systems

Able to lift 50 lbs regularly

Pay DOE part time or full time position available
Full time positions offer 1 week paid vacation, performance bonus options, and continued educational opportunities

Please contact Derek Fowler at ironwoodlandscapedesign (at) gmail (dot) com or Ironwood 206-229-3738.