Our Gardeners 2012/13

"I’m passionate about “edible schoolyard” and sustainably grown local, fresh, well-prepared food. So getting my hands dirty in the culinary garden with such an impressive, inspiring group of gardeners and students - and then sharing delicious dishes prepared by the students with the guidance of their Chef Instructors - made my heart sing!"
Anna Jannetti, the newest member with our volunteer gardeners

Rain City Rotary club helps Shorewood Culinary Arts program move their garden.

Rain City Rotary members with Master Gardeners Photo by Donna Eggen

On May 18, 2013 the members of Rain City Rotary helped a group of Master Gardeners disassemble the Culinary Garden at Shorewood High School. As a part of the school remodel the current site will become a parking lot, so the garden had to be moved.
Large boards that held the raised beds were pried up. Bricks and pavers were dug up. Everything was hauled to a storage area; and in the fall when the remodel is complete, the Culinary Garden will be rebuilt. Says Donna Eggen, "We look forward to helping with that!"

Rain City Rotary meets most Thursday nights at 6:30pm in the Shoreline City Hall. New people are welcome to join them!
Call 206-367-3122 or visit Rain City Rotary for more information.

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Our Family of Gardeners...

Mike Sharpe, DiAnne Fuhrwerk, Bonnie Chester, and Beth Donnellan some of our Master Gardeners that visit every Friday.

The WSU Master Gardener program has been cultivating and training a highly effective volunteer community of educators. Master Gardener Volunteers are teaching and demonstrating sustainable gardening practices in plant clinics, community gardens, farmers markets, schools, rehab centers, prisons and many other locations all over Washington:

Master Gardeners serve a key role in the detection of emerging pest and plant disease problems;
Teach future generations to produce fresh and nutritious foods for themselves and their communities;
Educate consumers about ecological lawn and garden practices;
Make our communities more environmentally and economically sustainable.

The Gardeners begin their lessons...
Beth and her Earthworms - November

Beth Donnellan

Learning about earthworms

Bonnie brings some friends to talk dirty - December

Judith, a new addition to the MG program. Welcome!

Judith, Bonnie and Mike...talking dirty to the class.

Bonnie Chester, giving the facts about dirt and compost.

The real test.

A dirty task...

Sabrina ensures a good time is had by all.

Judith with Nathan, Mimi, Kiera and Hannah.

Diane Fuhrwerk talks about the Winter Garden- January

A selection of winter vegetables

More winter vegetables

Snowy Owl visits Mike

Mike Sharpe comes to talk about Compost - February

Start your compost pile on bare earth. This allows worms and other beneficial organisms to aerate the compost and be transported to your garden beds.
Lay twigs or straw first, a few inches deep. This aids drainage and helps aerate the pile.
Add compost materials in layers, alternating moist and dry. Moist ingredients are food scraps, tea bags, seaweed, etc. Dry materials are straw, leaves, sawdust and wood ashes. If you have wood ashes, sprinkle in thin layers, or they will clump together and be slow to break down.
Add manure, green manure ( clover, buckwheat, wheatgrass ) or any nitrogen source. This activates the compost pile and speeds the process along.
Keep compost moist. Water occasionally, or let rain do the job.
Cover with anything you have - wood, plastic sheeting, carpet scraps. Covering helps retain moisture and heat, two essentials for compost. Covering also prevents the compost from being over-watered by rain. The compost should be moist, but not soaked and sodden.
Turn. Every few weeks give the pile a quick turn with a pitchfork or shovel. This aerates the pile. Oxygen is required for the process to work, and turning "adds" oxygen. You can skip this step if you have a ready supply of coarse material, like straw. (eartheasy.com)