Tips, tricks, and a quick peek into the everyday life of the conservation district.
From pasture to potatoes, and pumpkins to hay, lime is more often than not a key component in creating the ideal soil for our current agricultural activities. Without the addition of lime, native soils are usually too acidic for many of the crops we want to grow.
Read MoreCongratulations to Beth and Scott Morrison, our grand prize winners in the Lawns to Lettuce Un-Contest! Beth and Scott won a cedar raised bed for their city lot in Granite Falls, which they fondly refer to as "Almost-A-Farm". When they first moved in, their 1/4-acre was just lawn, rhododendrons, and boxwoods. Now they have an apple tree, artichokes, sunchokes, pumpkins, beans, kale, herbs, tomatoes and much more. But that's not all. When they found out their neighbor had a 1/4-acre they weren't using, Beth and Scott turned it into a community garden (with their neighbor's permission, of course). Beth and Scott and their three young children now garden the lot in addition to their own and provide food to help feed four families throughout the summer! On top of all of that, they've even influenced one of their neighbors to start a garden in her yard. Way to go from Lawns to Lettuce, Beth and Scott!
What is your proudest DIY garden project? In one year, we have turned 1/4 acre into a veggie garden, with yard space for the kids, have chickens and enough to share with the neighbors.
Favorite element? My neighbor has 1/4 acre they were not using, they offered it to us as a community garden. We now garden that, feeding 4 families weekly throughout the summer. Another neighbor now is starting a garden in her yard.
What do your friends or neighbors say? It is neat to hear people talk as they walk by about pumpkins, squash, cabbages and roses all living together. Last summer, one girl did her senior picture in front of my gate with Red runner beans on it.
What was the biggest challenge? (And what did you learn from it?) Farming in the city is harder than I thought. We have always been on acreage. Learning to deal with rodents in compost, not being able to bring a tractor in to dump compost has been a lesson in creativity. We added 10 yards of compost to both our garden at home and the garden next door
What is your favorite water-saving tip or trick? Drip lines, deep watering every 3 days or so. When the kids play in water tubs (we don't have a wading pool) I scoop out that water for plants rather than dump it out.
Why do you love gardening? It is in my blood. My grandfather was known to take cuttings from everything to root them. My father has corn 7' tall this year. I find it a huge accomplishment to take seeds, plant them, water and be able to feed our family on a $3.00 seed packet. My kale is a product of seeds I bought 5 years ago. I save seeds each year so that I do not have to buy it. I would say the first pack of seeds was a good investment.
Final thoughts or bonus ideas? Get the whole family involved! My kids help plant, I have mystery squash and beans everywhere since I give them the big seeds to plant while I work. My three-year-old packs around patty pan squash pretending they are babies. They do kill some plants with kindness, but all three of our kids eat things like kale, squash, beans, carrots and more.
If you want to help those affected by the Okanogan Complex fire, firefighters and/or locals, here is information on what is needed and who to contact, from Craig Nelson of the Okanogan Conservation District. Please share this so that we can help our neighbors to the east as much as possible!
Read MoreAn outstanding group of twenty student and teacher leaders gathered to learn about one of the most pressing environmental concerns in Western WA: Stormwater Pollution. This amazing group worked across curriculum teams to develop Project Based Learning Units that will empower students to research local stormwater issues and then take action to improve it.
Read MoreWe were blown away by the number of submissions and the sheer enthusiasm for our first Lawns to Lettuce Un-Contest! Thanks so much to Garden Nursery - Arlington Co-op Supply In and to all our participants.
Read MoreThe heat and drought made July 29th's "Your Groundwater and Camano Island Aquifers" a very timely event! Over 160 Camano Islanders attended the workshop that featured a detailed presentation by Island County Hydrogeologist Doug Kelly about Island County's aquifers, seawater intrusion, and the abundance of data maintained on the islands' water wells.
Read MoreA sunny and warm day on Camano Island greeted participants of the inaugural Lawns to Lettuce workshop.
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Description: The Snohomish Conservation District crew is based at the county's native plant nursery in Lake Stevens. The crew works on a wide variety of projects including riparian habitat restoration, volunteer supervision, construction projects (fish passage/large wood), fencing projects, outreach workshops/fairs, one or more rain garden/LID project, one NGPA project, one or more agricultural and forestry BMP construction and NRCS practice specification training. Members will complete one-on-one shadowing days with Farm Planners, Engineers, Water Quality, LID and Habitat Restoration Specialists to gain skills and experience in site assessment and design, engineering surveys, landowner education, construction supervision, GIS.
Projected Start Date: October 5
To kick off the program, we want to hear from you-- and you can earn prizes for sharing!
Read MoreKelly and Dan Munro, owners of Grateful Pine Farm, purchased a 17-acre commercial horse property in Snohomish. Learn more about her approach to managing land for horses, and her new commercial horse boarding/training facility.
Read MoreThe Snohomish Conservation District is proud to announce the launch of our new Lawns to Lettuce Program! The goals of this latest effort are to encourage landowners to convert a portion of their lawn to growing edibles, and to highlight landowners who’ve already done so.
Read MoreUSDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service announced today the application deadline for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program in Washington State would come earlier than previous years to account for a stronger focus on conservation planning.
Read MoreThe City of Edmonds is working with the Conservation District and WSU Extension to start a Rain Garden Program to promote the use of rain gardens around the City. As a way to jump start the program, we're organizing a rain garden cluster installation in a neighborhood in Edmonds.
Read MoreRecently, Lyn took advantage of the cost-share program offered through the Stillaguamish River Clean Water District to add two sets of compost bins to her farm. She had one small bin, and had been making use of an area of pasture to hold excess manure from seven horses. It was covered, but far from the barns and difficult to drive up to in winter due to wet ground.
Read MoreThe Snohomish Conservation District recently launched their new ‘Lawns to Lettuce’ program and will be kicking it off with a workshop at The Open Gate Farm on Camano Island on July 18.
Read MoreDownload this great new Tips on Land & Water Management for Puget Sound Rural Living guide.
Read MoreMill Creek residents, take our online survey to learn more and become eligible for a free waterless car wash kit, or a coupon to Shur-kleen for one free car wash.
Read MoreJoin your neighbors in having trees planted along Woods Creek and receive this special Steward sign to proudly display on your property!
Read MoreCongratulations to Liz Abelsen, the first person on Camano Island, for receiving our Sound Horsekeeping sign. This well-deserved honor demonstrates all of the amazing Best Management Practices that Liz has in place on her property to protect water quality, build healthy soils, and create a healthy and happy environment for her mini-horses, chickens, gardens, and abundant wildlife that call this Camano oasis home.
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Thank you to everyone who joined us in Mukilteo on April 1st for our Better Ground Showcase. We enjoyed meeting new people and reconnecting with our friends and partners.
From the talented group of young musicians who helped create the festive atmosphere at the beginning to the dedicated award winners who were honored for their incredible work, it was great to see so many wonderful examples of people celebrating local efforts to plant trees, produce healthy food, protect habitat and keep water clean and healthy for fish.
Everyone seemed to enjoy seeing so many young people being honored, from the environmental youth leaders to an innovative young farmer, we all felt hope for the future. Honoring lifelong environmental leaders like Barbara Brock beside students who are growing food, enhancing habitat and teaching their peers was especially enlightening. We look forward to another great year of working with our partners, residents, schools, and others to create better ground for all. If you would like to view the video about this year’s winners, go to this link: https://youtu.be/ASIOe77E9eY.
Snohomish Conservation District | 528 91st Ave NE, Lake Stevens, WA 98258 | 425-335-5634
