Raindrops and gray skies couldn’t keep Linda Bartlett from venturing out to the back of her Coupeville farm to check on her garlic crop Wednesday.
She and farmhand Jason Espozito worked together, pulling away hay that was used to insulate the garlic from the winter chill.
It’s a method she’s used for years at the organic fruit-and-vegetable farm she co-owns known as Rosehip Farm and Garden.
“This is pretty much a year-round crop,” Bartlett said. “It went in in November. We weed it and feed it and start harvesting it early July. We pick it, sell it, store it, then plant it again.”
“Eating from Your Garden Year-Round” is the topic of a class Bartlett will teach at the well-attended Whidbey Gardening Workshop Saturday, March 7, at Oak Harbor High School.
Forty-four classes in all, including 20 new ones, will be offered over three sessions during an event that is geared toward gardeners new to Whidbey Island as well as those more seasoned looking to learn something new or refine their skills.
The workshop is put on annually by the Washington State University Island County Master Gardeners.
The cost is $40 for those who register online by 11 p.m. Sunday, March 1, or is $45 for walk-ins.
One may register online and check out all the class offerings by going to www.whidbeygardening
workshop.org/2015
“One of the things we have learned is that generally a third of the attendees could be new to gardening on Whidbey Island,” said C-J Nielsen, chair of the Whidbey Gardening Workshop. “We then have veterans who understand some of the gardening challenges — the good, the bad and the ugly. We try to balance the content in class so there’s something for everybody.”
Because there are three sessions, the class schedule allows one to dig deeper into a certain area of study.
“It’s quite a balanced lineup that basically follow what I call tracks,” Nielsen said.
She said these tracks allow attendees to take multiple classes in the same subject area.
This year, the tracks are: garden design, gardening basics, ornamentals, garden maintenance and sustainability, and growing fruits and vegetables on your own.
“Growing food has become a pretty hot deal,” Nielsen said. “A lot of people want to garden and grow things that they can eat and preserve.”
Sort of like Bartlett and her garlic crop.
February is the time she comes out of a brief hibernation to start the growing season all over again.
She’s getting things started in greenhouses using seed trays warmed underneath by electric mats with long fluorescent lights hovering closely overhead.
Already, she has lettuce, mesclun, peas and other plants sprouting an inch out of the soil.
“The soil temperature outside is not as warm enough yet for the seeds to germinate,” Bartlett said. “In the trays, I can manipulate that earlier than I do out in the garden.
“I’m trying to get a head start.”
Some of this produce will be ready for the first Coupeville Farmers Market of the season, April 4.
Bartlett also grows for local residents as part of a community-supported agriculture program.
In her class at the workshop, she’ll share techniques and tips to help gardeners enjoy success growing their own food and have produce available at all times of the year.
Other classes that will be taught range from “What’s Bugging You: Insect Identification and Control,” by Sharon Collman, to “Cohabitating with Wildlife: Coping with Animals in the Garden,” by Steve and Martha Ellis.
Beverly Gerdeman, a research entomologist at Washington State University, will teach a class titled, “Nature’s Balance: Understanding and Attracting Beneficial Insects.”
Other subjects cover composting, herb gardens, lavender, berries, pruning, slugs, roses, tomatoes, drainfield landscaping tips, soils, plant propagation and more.
Nick Bond, the state climatologist for Washington, will be the keynote speaker.
His topic will be “The Changing Climate and the Gardener: What Should We Expect?”
Bond’s talk will kick off the workshop at 9 a.m. Classes will go from 10:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
