Week 2 ILC
This week continues to be busy with preparing for the big push for spring! Last year we gave away 3000 veggie starts. This year our goal is 4000. This means prepping a LOT of cells! Walker’s landscape donated a load of garden dirt for our projects. It is not potting soil though. While it was free, it did take some working (sifting and adding pearlite) for it to be usable for the starting trays.
I spent some time at Kaijas nursery selecting heirloom tomato seeds to plant as well as trying to get donations. This has been a favorite and locally-owneed nursery that I will no longer give business to. I was offended at the mansplaining I received when I asked about bulk tomato seeds. The guy (Jerry Kiaja’s son and CURRENT OWNER) had horrible customer service. He rolled his eyes and smirked “we don’t do bulk orders of tomato seeds. They are so small that they would all just blow away.” Not satisfied with his attempt to belittle me he then chastised me that if I wanted special bulk orders of seeds that I would need to let them know earlier in the season. I looked at the bulk seeds they did have-Of course there were celery and carrot seeds that are just as small, if not smaller, than a tomato seed. I had been feeling a little guilty about giving away free garden starts and wondered how it would affect Kaija’s because of their being a small locally owned nursery. Thanks Mr. Mansplaining owner-I will give away free starts with a clear conscience and let other women know that this is not a welcoming shop going forward.
I also went to home depot after spending time and getting the run-around about donations-ended up just buying the materials for the garden bed at the Serenity house. With a little help I was able to deliver the materials and get the frame for the bed constructed.
I have had a knowledge of many edible and medicinal plants for a while. Knowing a plant and being able to utilize it are two different things. This quarter I am pushing myself to utilize new plants and use familiar plants in new ways. I am also working on sharing this knowledge outside of the program.
One way I share knowledge is through Plant Groups at Cascade Mental Health. This I took a group of people who are staying in the Serenity House for a nature walk. We harvested wild onions and noted several edible plants such as cloud berries and argaricas mushrooms that grow on the property. We came back and read from A City Herbal about medicinal plants that grow in the city.
This week I also harvested poplar buds from the big storm and made a healing balm that other foragers refer to as “balm of Giliad” it is supposed to be very healing. It smelled wonderful-like spring blossoms. Unfortunately I reused a jar that made it all smell like garlic. Fortunately garlic is healing too so the balm is not ruined. It just doesn’t smell good now. I am thinking of adding tea-tree oil to it as a fix. Not that tea-tree smells great either though!
This week I began preparing for next weeks tastings. I harvested and prepared rhubarb. I also made and froze crepes to have with the meal. I am beginning to understand how food got commodified. It has become obvious how much time it takes to scout, harvest, clean, and prepare wild crafted foods. 
