Lawns to Lettuce News and Highlights

As the harvest season comes to a close, this email series will also enjoy the fruits of our labor and be dormant for several months. We'll be back in the spring with helpful tips and opportunities to celebrate and support the community in 2019.

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Did we hit our 20,000-pound goal of food donated to the food bank? ALMOST! Way to go, Project Harvest folks, and Jill, our WSU intern.

We have been surprised this year by people not knowing that their fruit tree extras can be gleaned and given to the local food banks. Our Project Harvest volunteers were treated to an apple picking opportunity with a view of Port Gardner Bay in Everett. And, those apples went far and wide.

Goodnight, Garden.

Whether you are choosing to winter garden or not, there are many things to be done right now to tuck your garden in for its long winter nap.

Cloche your frost hardy veggies. Many varieties of vegetables will grow in our maritime climate late into fall and sometimes through the winter. A light cloche that is vented periodically will allow for maximum sun exposure while keeping those plants nice and snug and warm. Photo credit: Michael McGoodwin

Compost, compost everywhere. Fall is a great time to test your soil and also an ideal time to add compost so that nutrients are available when they are needed most in spring. Learn how to compost here.

Clean up, pick up, put away! All those hoses and garden tools can now be cleaned up, sharpened and put away. You won't be needing them for a while.

Cover your soils, with cover crops, leaf litter, or any other mulch. Soil loss and compaction are a real issue, even in our smaller gardens. Cover things up to slow the rain and the earthworms will thank you.

Through urban agriculture grants through the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) and our internal Lawns to Lettuce program, Snohomish Conservation District (SCD) was able to provide a growing season of technical assistance to Housing Hope clients across Snohomish County. We are very proud of the work that Housing Hope residents put into these spaces and are excited to see SCD’s partnership with Housing Hope grow.

Costs and Benefits of Growing Vegetables.

Growing your own food can reduce your grocery budget, but it can also cost you money for things like raised beds and improving soil health with compost. However, nice benefits without great costs are time outside, physical exercise, satisfaction at trying out new skills and taking a bite of that homegrown fruit or veggie!

Focus on Farming & Forestry - Monroe - November 8 - Snohomish CD will have a booth featuring our Agriculture Resilience Plan and Lawns to Lettuce / Project Harvest. Hope to see you there!

Stay in the Loop

Be sure to bookmark Snohomish Conservation District's calendar to stay on top of our great events and workshops.

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