Confession: My Dirty, Shameless Garden Affair

My garden is my part-time lover, absorbing as much time as I sneak in on evenings and weekends. My husband isn’t jealous though, as this dirty love-affair translates as delicious food and a mellow wife for him.

We’re wasting no time with making babies. We already have hundreds of leeks, broccoli, kale and cabbage seedlings. ALL OF THEM are produced by spontaneous conception from last year’s frolicking – no family planning was involved! Our strawberries are the garden dominatrix, as they tend to creep their way into every bed and choke out weaker plants. I feel abundant and connected to nature, and my spirits couldn’t be higher than when I’m playing like a dirty girl!

Working in the garden is one of the most rewarding, least-expensive workouts that I know – see ya later gym! It rewards me with fresh, delicious, organic food. It calms me, helping me relax and feel present. It’s saving me money, as the garden is supplying me with most of my vegetables, already. It’s toning my muscles, making me sore in abs, butt, legs, arms, and back. Gardening is a HUGE WIN, and you’re missing out if you aren’t gardening!

Are you growing anything in your garden? As you may know, I’m a HUGE fan. It doesn’t mean I’m good at it.  I’m learning all the time. It makes healthy, organic food affordable, fresh, and more delicious. In fact, I think that growing food is one of the most intelligent things we can do, for our health, our wallets, our spirits and even our personal security.

Growing food bestows confidence, peace and joy. When you work with dirt, your serotonin (a happy neurotransmitter) levels increase. Perhaps this is why gardeners tend to glow like they’re in love!

This podcast is packed full of luscious gardening nuggets, and you may want to listen to it a few times. Get ready to take notes.

This interview covers the basics that any beginning gardener needs to build confidence. In this interview, we will cover:

• Gardening in small spaces;
• What month is the best to start planning your Spring garden?
• What plants should you grow?
• How will you manage pests?
• How will you keep your garden organic?
• How will you manage precious resources, like water?

Be sure to share this podcast with others so that your neighbors and friends can benefit from this free and empowering knowledge. You can rate this podcast here, which helps others find it more easily in iTunes! Thank you for tuning in and for sharing!

Resources mentioned in the podcast:

1.  Seattle Tilth: www.seattletilth.org
2. Book: “Your Farm in the City”
3. Book: “The Northwest Maritime Planning Guide“
4. The Garden Hotline:
   1. help@gardenhotline.org
   2. 206.633.0224
5. Master Gardeners at your County’s extension

Carey’s top 5 gardening tools for beginners (Also, how to keep track of gardening tools so you won’t have to replace them):

1. Hori Hori – a Japanese digging knife, which can also be used as a trowel;
2. Bypass pruners
3. Soil fork
4. Shovel
5. Bow rake

About our expert:

Carey Thornton of Seattle Tilth

The mission of Seattle Tilth is to inspire and educate people to safeguard our natural resources while building an equitable and sustainable local food system.

Carey Thornton teaches classes and workshops in Seattle Tilth’s Adult Education Program on topics including organic gardening, composting, food preservation and permaculture. You can often find her at the learning garden at Bradner Gardens Park and answering questions on the Garden Hotline. Carey grew up in a family where incredible amounts of food were central to every gathering and developed a strong love for growing, cooking and sharing food with others. Before coming to work at Seattle Tilth five years ago, she taught gardening and nutrition in elementary schools and cooked in restaurants around Seattle. Currently, the most exciting things to her are wild and perennial food plants, vegetable fermentation and watching actinomycetes grow in compost piles. Better living through microbes!

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