Reflections on Education

Summer has been glorious this year!  Here at Stone Soup Gardens, our days have been filled with raingarden installations, garden maintenance, and community festivals.  It is a great time to see the bounty of what our northwestern climate can bring! 

It has also been a great summer for connecting with folks all over the city. As part of our business, Stone Soup Gardens is committed to providing continuing education to our community.  Our aim is to spread the word about urban farming, edible landscaping, and cleaning up Puget Sound one raingarden at a time. Recently, I had the pleasure of giving a talk about edibles in the raingarden, in addition to sharing the joy of chickens to an audience at NW Solarfest. We had the privilege of opening for Cisco (by opening we mean speaking on the same stage 2 hours before his talk on attracting hummingbirds to your garden!)

This summer the American Community Garden Association Annual Conference also took place right here in Seattle.  The conference drew community gardeners from all over the country to talk about the challenges and benefits of growing together.  Seattle Tilth was asked to host, and they in turn invited me to participate in a workshop for a panel discussion for Dollars and Cents in Community Gardening.  

The Seattle Tilth's Harvest Fair is this weekend and is a great opportunity to come together as a community.  You will, of course, find us there with our fabulous birds in the livestock section.  We will also be signing copies of Backyard Roots at the Reader's to Eater's tent at 10am.  This is our first book appearance, but certainly not our last!  This week our Stone Soup Coop Co-op were photographed for a book on chicken coops around the nation.  Look for us there in 2015!  

It’s a great time of year for installing raingarden plants, prepping the garden for fall plantings, and getting your cistern ready for winter. Keep Stone Soup Gardens in mind for your maintenance or installation needs, or contact us to find out more about what Stone Soup Gardens can do for you!  

Upcoming and Noteworthy Events:  
Vandana Shiva at Town Hall Seattle
The Future of Food - Thursday, September 12, 2013 - 7:30pm - 10:00pm  

Poultry Health Peeks - Tails to Beaks
Wednesday, September 18 - 6:30pm to 8:30pm - 21 Acres Center for Local Food and Sustainable Living
Instructor: Dr. Bruce Singbeil, veterinarian at Crossroads Vet in Bellevue, WA

A group of folks attending my talk on edibles in the raingarden at Northwest Solar Fest 2013.  

Stone Soup Gardens at the Spring Tilth Plant Sale. 

Stone Soup Gardens often teaches classes at 21 Acres in Woodinville, WA.  Here I am teaching a group of students about chicken rearing with a little hands on demonstration. 

Our mobile chicken coop!  Can't come to the chickens?  We can bring the chickens to you!