Episode 21 and 22: Feed Thy Neighbor - Suzanne Kernek

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These two episodes take a very practical, down to earth turn.  I mean literally down to earth - I am talking with Suzanne Kernek about vegetable gardens.

This was a subject that I always knew was on the list of things I wanted to explore through the Horses for Future podcasts.  What can horse people do to help with the climate change crisis?  We have land and we have horse manure.   So we can grow food.  We can grow food for ourselves, and we can also grow food to share.

The corona virus is highlighting how important this is.  We don’t know what the summer will bring.  Will our farmers markets be able to open?  Will there be disruptions in the fresh vegetable supplies at the grocery store? Certainly however fast or not the economy reopens, there are going to be many families feeling the stress of lost income.

So this year I am planting a vegetable garden.  I’m sure I am not alone in thinking that this is a good thing to be doing.  One huge advantage I have over my suburban neighbors is I have a ready source of well composted horse manure.  Here’s yet another way horse people can make a difference - we can grow our own food.

I’ve been a gardener all of my life, but flowers, not veggies, so I invited Suzanne Kernek to join me in a podcast conversation about vegetable gardens.  Normally with Suzanne we would be talking about training, but not this time.  Our subject was vegetable gardens - how to prepare a garden, and what to grow.

There are so many great gardeners out there, why Suzanne?  First, she’s been an organic gardener since the 1980’s.  Suzanne’s current garden is in Washington State, but she has lived all over the country, in Virginia, Vermont, Montana, California, and now Washington, so she is familiar with many different growing zones.  

Last summer Suzanne set up a farm stand for the first time.  Here’s how she describes it:

“Feed Thy Neighbor Farm Stand is neighborhood farm stand that offers vegetables and bouquets picked from my garden that day. It is an honor-system process with no prices. I encourage people to take what they need if they cannot afford anything. I have a dream of starting a program where neighbors collect their excess produce from their gardens and offer it collectively to the neighborhood, with all proceeds going to a different non-profit every week.”

That’s a great dream.  It’s a great way in which horse people can indeed make a difference.  
 

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Here's a great book list Suzanne has shared with us.

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Books and Resources:
State extension offices
Universities
Master Gardner Programs
Native Plant Societies
Farmers Markets and Coops

Books: There seem to always be a good book in each localized area on growing food for that region.
Here are some of the books I always have on my shelf:
Northwest:
Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades - Steve Solomon
Maritime Northwest Gardening Guide - Seattle Tilth

Bay Area:
Golden Gate Gardening - Pam Pierce
Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates SF Bay Area -East Bay Municipal Utility District

General:
How to Grow More Vegetables - John Jeavons (my bible for years)
How to Grow Vegetables and Fruits by the Organic Method - J.L. Rondale (my hymnal)

Various:
Cold Climate Gardening - Lewis Hill
Western Garden Book - Sunset

Mixing food production with ornamental landscaping:
Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally -Robert Kourik
Edible Landscaping - Rosaland Creasy

Companion Planting:
Roses Love Garlic - Louise Riotte
Carrots Love Tomatoes - Louise Riotte

Flowers:
From Seed to Bloom - Eileen Powell (essential for starting flowers from seed)
Cut Flower Garden (Floret Farms) - Erin Benzakein

Happy gardening!
Suzanne