University Village is one of our nicest outdoor malls in Seattle. I enjoy the shopping and restaurants, but equally enjoyable, are the amazing potted displays.

You are disappointed when a plant succumbs to frost, you are slighted when your Dahlias are not the color on the package and you are miffed when a plant reaches its peek whilst you are away… However when a prized plant is purposely destroyed, you are murderous!  How do I know this, because murderous is how I felt upon discovering that my lovingly acquired, seriously coveted early bearing black Russian heirloom tomato had been decimated and  to such an extent, that I have only so far found one ripped bit of it’s little plant body.  Other casualties included 2 rows of heirloom golden beats, 2 rows of globe turnips,  2 rows of Thumbelina carrots and a potted Quince.

Justice, retribution, vengeance… all of these would be mine, except for that fact that the culprit is my beagle and the entire incident is unfortunately my fault.

My story of disaster starts in March of last year, when I attended a workshop at the Seattle Tilth on preparing your Vegetable Garden.  As we all sat around comparing notes and bragging about our garden plans, the conversation turned to fertilizer.  A few people said Lily Miller, one demented soul said Scotts but the majority of group grew quiet… There was an ominous silence… and then some one offered … “The only choice for serious vegetable gardening is Walt’s”.  “Walt’s what?” several of us said in unison… And again, the hushed voices, “Walt’s Organic Fertilizer.” They then proceeded to attribute to this fertilizer powers ranging from converting clay to compost and growing 8 pound tomatoes to curing world hunger and causing Zucchini to become sentient.  I listened in awe… and could only say “where” as I entertained fantasies of all the things this fertilizer could do for my little hole in the ground of a garden.

Cut to the end of class, a mad dash to the parking lot and a drive at rather unsafe speeds to the True Value where Walt’s Organic Fertilizer was sold.  Apparently I did not drive fast enough… because when I got there, two of my classmates had purchased the last two bags…  The clerk assured me they would get more in… but that it goes pretty fast.  Obviously, I am not good at hiding disappointment… because one look at my face, and the clerk said… you can always go to his store.

The word store conjures up certain visions, none of which should be applied to Walt’s Organic Fertilizer Co.  The “store” a converted barn type building in an industrial part of the Ballard waterfront would be the perfect backdrop for illegal activity, if it wasn’t so darn cute. The fertilizer is called Rainy Pacific NW Blend and is sold in a simple brown sac.   I purchased a 5 pound bag, noting only  that the grey powdery mix smelled like fish and stuff you just can’t place (nor would want to) and that the owner (I’m assuming Walt),, had a Beagle.

Several weeks later, it was finally warm enough to plant my tomatoes; I planted the 5 heirloom varieties in large containers with a health mix of compost, soil and the fertilizer.   The next day, I found the 5 containers, decimated, with shredded plants.  Okay, obviously the dogs had done it but why.  I was disappointed but moved on. Next, I planted pepper and cucumbers in a raised bed with lots of compost and said fertilizer.  Later that day I found the beagle, with a mouth full of soil pushing the plants aside.  Every time I used the fertilizer, the beagle found it.  Eventually I realized that Rainy Pacific NW Blend is also Beagle Meth. No matter where I use it, my Beagle finds it and either eats it or snorts it, in the process destroying all the plants. Fearing for his health and running out of money to buy plants, I put it away for the season.

I had hoped this year, he would leave the fertilizer alone, but two days after planting the tomatoes, the beagle was once again an addict… So, I forgive him what else can I do… Well perhaps buy some more tomatoes and fence off the vegetable garden.

This is THE WEEKEND for plant sales. I checked my favorite list from the Miller Horticultural Library and found 22 sales listed.  I like to try a few new ones, but I will definitely be going to my two favorites, the Seattle Tilth Edible Plant Sale and the King County Master Gardener Foundation Plant Sale.

The Seattle Tilth Edible Plant Sale is the Whole Foods of plant sales. Amazing edibles all suited for this climate and all at beyond reasonable prices.  They feature of list of all the varieties on their site along with tips and detailed plant descriptions. I tend to buy lots of tomatoes at this sale; they have an extensive offering of heirloom varieties.

The King County Master Gardener Foundation Plant Sale is like that urban legend garage sale you hear about, where someone bought a Porsche for $1.  I fondly recall past sales, where I purchased 5 gallon Euphorbias for the price of a Latte, rare varieties of Poppies I had only seen in books and tons of Daylilies, Hostas and Irises for pocket change.  The secret to this sale is that most of the plants come from the gardens of volunteers and master gardeners, meaning you will find older established plants that take off much faster than nursery seedlings.

Seattle Tilth Edible Plant Sale

• Saturday May 02, 2009 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
• Sunday May 03, 2009 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Address: Meridian Park in the Wallingford; 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N, Seattle WA 98103
For More Info: http://seattletilth.org/special_events/EPS

King County Master Gardener Foundation Plant Sale

• Saturday, 2 May, 2009 8:00am to 5:00pm
• Sunday, 3 May, 2009 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Address: Center for Urban Horticulture 3501 NW 41st Street Seattle (near University Village)
For More Info: http://www.mgfkc.org

For a complete list of sales, check out:
Elizabeth C Miller Horticultural Library Plant Sales List
http://depts.washington.edu/hortlib/calendar/tours_sales.php

Recently I went on a tour of some senior housing, where one of the amenities were the roof top pea patches. These large metal farm troughs could easily fit several tomatoes along with herbs, lettuce and root vegetables.  In fact, I think you could even do some corn and pumpkins.  I’ll try to go back later in the season to see them all planted up.

We have a similar trough on the side of our house planted with bamboo.  We purchased it at a nearby farm supply store (http://www.delsfarmsupply.com/ ) for about $145 dollars. I would love to do a garden where these troughs on a bed of gravel acted as raised vegetable beds. They would hold the heat, last forever and allow one to grow a ton of vegetables.

In the past couple of weeks, I have run into people who have expressed an interest in growing some of their own vegetables.  They usually say something like “I would love to grow some vegetables this year, but I kill even the hardiest houseplants” or “I really want to have a vegetable garden, I just don’t have the time”.   I am making an assumption here, but I think what is really lacking is not knowledge or time, but confidence.  I feel compelled to offer some advice here… the best way to grow confidence in the vegetable garden is to grow radishes.

Under the supervision of my father, I grew vegetables as a child, but when I first grew vegetables on my own as an adult, I was terrified.  I killed tomato plants, drowned strawberries and failed to harvest potatoes (I thought they grew above ground).  I probably would have given it up, if it wasn’t for the radishes.

These lovely little things grow from seed to table in about one month and short of a major disaster, you can’t stop them.  I plant a few rows throughout the season and no matter what goes wrong, my radishes always go right.

So feeling a little unsure of yourself, need a pep talk or a punch in the arm… grow some radishes.

The White House Veggie Garden is a go!!! Check out the article…  Now all I have to do is find the list of 55 vegetables they are growing..

Spring, why have you forsaken thou?  Okay, I am being a little melodramatic, but here in Seattle March 15th was supposed to be the date of our last frost, and instead we had snow.  I had planned to start onions, arugula, strawberries and turnips; instead, the beds lie empty and frozen.

This weekend, I will be weeding some of the flower beds, putting in some new mulch and hopefully planting something… anything.  I am not sure when Spring is coming.. but at this point, it better be soon.

In the last few weeks I was able to attend the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle and the Yard and Patio Show in Portland. Both were fun and I able to condense what I learned into 5 things.

Succulents are the new Hotness

It seemed that every pot and container garden either had colorful succulent as a center point or contained several succulents as accents. These little beauties are drought hardy, colorful and adaptable to most zones, unfortunately for a long time you only saw them planted in boots (campy but true) or in rock walls. It’s nice to see the potential of these amazing plants being recognized.

Plant Vegetables not Annuals

Time was that if you wanted a boost of color in your garden between perennials blooms, you planted pansies, primroses, geraniums, mums, or whatever annual was on sale at the local nursery. But why spend money on annuals, when you can spend the same or less and grow colorful vegetables. In many of the gardens and containers that I saw, Swiss chard, burgundy lettuces, and even strawberries were used where we once might have seen annuals. They cost less, can be grown easily from seed and taste great. Bye Bye annuals!

Think Vertical

At both shows I was totally impressed with verticals gardens. Items like succulents and lettuce planted vertically on a back wall or a free standing wall used as a garden room divider. Smith and Hawken sells a kit to create your own vertical garden, but I think with a little experimenting I can make one on my own.

You don’t really need the newest gadget

At both shows, people seemed to be snapping up collapsible buckets for carrying water and tools or for picking food. I prefer mesh baskets for picking food (the dirt shakes off before you can carry it inside). But the best bucket I have found for carrying tools and water, are the large plastic 5 gallon buckets you can get at hardware stores. They don’t cost much, last forever and come with a lid. I can store tools and even leave them in the garden bed, as they the buckets are water tight. I also use them to mix up water soluble fertilizer for my containers. They are usually about $5 or less at the hardware store, and if you know anyone in the food industry, you may be able to get similar containers for free. Bottom line, you don’t need the newest tool or widget to enjoy gardening.

Garden Shows are missing the boat

Okay, I plan to elaborate on this in another post, but the bottom line is Garden Shows seem to not be in tune with gardening trends and the people who garden. Even the idea that all gardeners are not a like seems to elude them. We all garden in different spaces and climates, we garden for different reasons and we have access to different resources. Despite this, both shows seemed to focus almost solely on upper middle class, female, retired, with lots of disposal income, non-ethnic gardeners. So much is missing… and there is so much they could do to make these shows really meaningful to the majority of gardeners, not just the stereotype. [All this while being profitable]