The season’s pace is picking up speed at last. The days are warmer and luxuriously longer, the birds wake me with their songs every morning, and the landscape is quickly recovering from the pallor that was winter. Already there are flowers that have faded, and we’ve crossed that threshold when you’d better hope all your rainy-day work is done by now.
At The Seedlot, that’s precisely what we’ve been focusing on: getting all the prep work in order so that we can be in full swing by the time summer’s here. Our shed is complete. Well, it’s missing a couple of pieces of trim and maybe a little paint–but it’s full, functional, and possibly the prettiest shed you ever did see. 
We received a donation from our new friends at Hankins Hardware (just down the road on SE 17th & Hawthorne) of latches for our windows as well as a 20′ roll of 1/2″ mesh hardware cloth (pictured above right) which will provide the basis for our two-bin compost structure–next week’s project!
Meanwhile, we’ve made the happy discovery of free wood chips. After a few calls around town, we connected with the friendly folks at All Around Arbor, who work here in SE Portland removing and caring for trees. They’ve worked with local gardeners for some time now and are happy (even thankful!) to empty their chipper at your site for free–they even know not to include black walnut or black locust in their deliveries for gardeners, both of which contain toxic compounds which can harm plants and animals respectively. Thanks to All Around Arbor, we received 8 cubic yards or so of freshly-chipped Western Red Cedar trees–bark, leaves, branches and all–perfect. 
Moving these up into the space was, as you can see, a bit challenging, as we a) don’t have a wheelbarrow, and b) have a rather steep slope with steps leading up to the garden, so we really couldn’t even use a wheelbarrow if we had one…. However, clever minds prevailed, and with help from our friend and neighbor Curtis at North St. Bags, we cleared the sidewalk and spread the chips using a cardboard box and a recycling bin in just a couple of hours.
The visible impact of the wood chips is striking: goodbye slippery cardboard and the hazardous logs that held you in place! 
Already, the garden looks, feels, and smells much more pleasant, and the pathways are much safer and more stable to walk on. I feel so much less nervous when people step into the garden now. Next up we plan to get our second truck-full of soil from Mt. Scott Fuel to cover the straw mulch (which renders most of our beds invisible in the pictures above) and begin planting in earnest.
{While we’re on the subject of wood chips, I’d like to share this movie I was recommended by Master Volunteer Diane Emerson–Back To Eden. Irrespective of one’s thoughts about the film’s discussion of spirituality and gardening, it shares some great ideas and techniques regarding the use of wood chips as a mulch directly on vegetable beds–not just paths!–mimicking the layered loam of the forest floor. We’ve got a lot left still, so I think we’ll try it!}
Now that the weather’s warming up, I’ve been making a point of being at The Seedlot any sunny chance I get, and the results so far are promising. Up till now, the weather has been so erratic that we haven’t set a schedule for being there, but once the sun is back, it looks like Saturday afternoons will be prime time. This past weekend, I set out our little signs and flats of starts at the main corner of the garden and set to work weeding and moving more chips. In a few short hours, I’d met at least a dozen curious passersby, received $40 in exchange for plant starts, and was graced with the wonderful bit of advice that it’s possible (and even quite easy!) to file as a non-profit corporation without also becoming a 501(c)3. Very encouraging indeed! Everyone I met was eager and excited to learn about the details of our project, and very supportive of our goals. And after one afternoon we’re just $10 shy of the cost for registering as a non-profit. Once we’ve got that set, we’ll start working toward liability insurance (which we can hopefully do in payments), and we’ll have a set schedule for open hours as well as classes and workshops in no time.
It’s lots of hurry-up-and-wait in the mean time, but that’s what spring’s all about, right? It’s still plenty early yet. Please keep an eye on our Facebook page as we go, as that’s the best way to learn about upcoming events and weather-sensitive activities. Soon, we’ll have more herbs and flowers as well as warm-weather crops for our plant sales. Now, if only I could fit more seedlings in my sun room….
Dear Mara and Erin: Thank you so much for the mention, and the link to my blog. I so appreciate it! As I expect most bloggers do, we have a need to be heard, and a need to matter, and your mention and link meets both those needs for me. Thank you! I also smiled when I read your description of me as a Master Volunteer. Sweet. I have never been referred to in that way before. I so appreciate the detail of your update. I feel like I was right there with you in the garden. I know the sense of relief when the woodchips cover up the cardboard, the order and peace that results, the physical safety of visitors especially. Oh yes, woodchips are a blessing. Thank you for the link to a source for them that has the consideration to sort out the chips which could harm gardens or pets. I had not even considered that, in my desire to get my hands on some wood chips after watching Back to Eden. Your timely post may have saved a lot of heartache in the garden. Thank you.