My family is restarting our garden. We used to have one, but we neglected it for the past couple years and it grew full of weeds. This year, we're weeding it out and planting TONS of plants! We've already put four tomato plants in the ground, plus we've bought starters for more tomatoes and twelve other types of plants! My mom is planning to buy some organic seeds at PCC or Whole Foods in a bit so we can grow lettuce, snap peas and more.
In Costa Rica, we learned lots about the banana plantations and the importance of buying local and organic produce (it was a school trip, so we had to gain something educationally while we were there). As you obviously know, I've been super involved in cooking and buying organics. In fact, this year, my New Year's Resolution was to eat only all-natural foods, and I've stuck with it (unless I have to eat something artificial at someone's house to be polite) wholeheartedly. Even so, what I learned in Costa Rica opened my eyes to the fact that purchasing local produce and growing your own food is way more impactful than I thought. There will be more posts to come about the problems with banana plantations and (hopefully) some thoughts from my classmates about Costa Rica as well.
Today, I went to the Issaquah Farmers' Market and bought all those plant starters for the garden. The Seattle Tilth brought organic plant starters from a few different farms in Washington State. While I was there, I interviewed two people: Joyce Behrendt from Ode To Joy Farm (she has a booth at the Farmers' Market) and Justin Davis from Seattle Tilth. Below are their interviews. My questions are in bold, and the person's answers are in normal text.
Ode to Joy Farm, Enumclaw, WA
Joyce Behrendt
Which animal does Ode
to Joy Farm specialize in raising?
We raise chickens. It’s easier to raise livestock than to
grow plants because of all the digging involved in planting!Does your farm sell organics? If so, share a piece of information that will motivate readers to purchase organics.
We raise all organic, all free range animals. I believe that the flavor of an organic animal or organic animal product is better and fresher. By not using pesticides and letting the animals run free, our products also have better nutrition.
Why should families
all start their own gardens?
There’s a statistic that all stores have a three day supply
of vegetables and fruits, but if you grow your own food and learn how to
effectively preserve it, you can make the most out of your food and feed a
family better. Gardening is also better for the environment and teaches you how
to preserve food.
Seattle Tilth
Justin Davis
Which types of vegetables
does Seattle Tilth specialize in selling?
We sell all types of organic
vegetables, but our most popular starter is tomatoes because they are almost
impossible to grow from seed.
Share a piece of
information that will motivate teenage readers to purchase organics.
What you put inside of your body is extremely important. It’s even more important at a young age; what
you eat when you’re young is going to stick around with you for a while and
will affect your growth. Also, organics are the kind of food that nature
intended for humans to eat. It’s better for you to eat like our ancestors ate
instead of consuming artificially chemicals. Following tradition is best for
your health.
Why should families
all start their own gardens?
There are a few reasons. The most important is because
organic food that was grown for you is not cheap, as your parents can probably
attest! If you grow it yourself, you can cut the cost of organic produce in
half, and if you become gain more experience and knowledge, you could save even
more money. Another reason is because it’s the freshest food, and fresher food
tastes better. You can’t beat something that you just picked!
What are five tips
you want to give to us gardeners out there?
1)
For gardeners in the Seattle area, go to the
Seattle Tilth website. There’s lots of info for new gardeners, plus information
on classes and seminars that will teach you how to garden properly.
2)
STAY ORGANIC. It’s easy to get sucked into the
claims that artificial fertilizers will make your plants grow bigger and
better, but those chemicals aren’t very good for you.
3)
Grow what you
like to eat. If you grow only what you want to grow, it’ll excite you! Your
garden has limited space, so you don’t want to waste space in your garden on
stuff that you aren’t going to eat.
4)
Grow things that are expensive to buy at the
store. People like growing potatoes, but they’re not very expensive at the
store. It’s a really good idea to grow tomatoes, though, because they’re super
expensive at the store and you can cut costs by growing them yourself.
5)
For Seattle growers, take advantage of the
climate! Greens like lettuce, kale, spinach and chard grow really well here and
are easy to grow from seed.
Is there any way that
readers of my blog can find more information about Seattle Tilth?
