Neighborhood Garden Tour & BBQ – April 29

Join the Howell Collective P-Patch as we sow the seeds of community.

On April 29, 2012 we invite the community to learn about and celebrate the urban agricultural movement taking place in public spaces throughout Seattle. We will meet at the Seven Hills Park for a walking/biking tour of local gardens in and around Capitol Hill then return to the Howell Collective P-Patch for a tour and BBQ.

10:00-12:00: Walking/Biking tour of local community gardens
12:00-3:00: Howell Collective P-Patch tour and BBQ

This event will also kick off our logo design contest. Submit your garden logo ideas on April 29th and check back in for details, we plan on presenting our winning logo at our summer harvest festival.

The Howell Collective P-Patch is located in Seven Hills Park on E. Howell St and 16th Ave. All are welcome to join and encouraged to bring a dish to pass at the BBQ.

The event will carry on rain or shine. For more information contact howellcollective@gmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/events/215649655211097/ for the latest event updates.

Howell Collective P-Patch Opening Celebration Recap

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Thank you to the Parks Department’s Virginia Hassinger and Karen O’Connor, the P-Patch/Department of Neighborhoods’ Rich MacDonald and Sandy Pernitz, Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, and Parks & Recreation Acting Superintendent Christopher Williams for all the hard work being done to create new parks and p-patches like the Seven Hills Park & Howell Collective P-Patch.

I also want to thank Paul Fedorowicz (accordion) and the West Seattle Senior Center Ukulele Group for playing music throughout the event!

Seven Hills Park and Howell Collective P-Patch Opening Celebration

What:  Join in the community celebration for this new neighborhood park and P-Patch.  This Pro Parks project turned a parking lot into a beautiful open space and great place for the community to gather, enjoy barbeque, garden and sit in the sun.

Date:  Thursday, September 9 2010

Time:  6 – 8 p.m.

Location:  16th and East Howell Street (1514 E Howell St Seattle, WA 98122)

Come enjoy a neighborhood potluck, music, and more!

Yay, it is a potluck.  If you are thinking of bringing something, please post below.  This way we can aim for a diversified selection of offerings.

Strawberries for sale at 7 Hills Park! A Viva Farms harvest special.

Details taken from the event Facebook page (must order your strawberries here):

Strawberries for sale in Seattle! Pre-order your fresh, local strawberries from Viva Farms. Grown in the rich, glacial soil of the Skagit Valley. They’re packed with so many antioxidants they suck the cancer right out of your body.* Half flats for $12 (that’s 6 pint baskets) Post how many you want here. Order by Wed morning. They will be available for pick up at the new Seven Hills Park at 16th and Howell on Capitol Hill from 6:30pm – 9:30pm. I’ll have a bbq going if you want to bring something to grill and hang out. Message me if you need to arrange pick up earlier in the day. Cash, check or PayPal accepted. Make checks to Santiago Lozano.

Feel free to invite others to this event.

I like to get a few flats, eat enough fresh to give me berry belly and then freeze the rest for smoothies all year. Others make strawberry jam and lavish desserts.

Viva Farms is a project of Grow Food. It is a 33 acre farm in the Skagit Valley that incubates new farmers. Viva Farms makes a special effort to help Latino farm workers who are ready to make the jump to farm ownership. These berries are grown by Santiago Lozano (pictured)

Visit www.vivafarms.org for more info

*This statement isn’t true but strawberries are high in the antioxidant ellagic acid.

From Sweet Gums to Elms

If anyone has been curious as to where all the sweet gum trees along E Howell Street have gone, I have included a message from the City of Seattle Parks Project Manager:

As part of the Seven Hill Park project we are repairing the sidewalk along E Howell Street, which was heaved and broken by tree roots. The street trees adjacent to the park sidewalk along E Howell are sweet gum. There were four sweet gum trees when we started design. One came down in a winter storm a year ago. Another now has significant rot throughout the trunk. The sweet gums also have large roots growing into the sidewalk area. We inspected these roots after removing the sidewalk. Based on their growth pattern, we determined that it will be difficult to root prune these trees and it will be difficult to rebuild the sidewalk around them without both compromising the future health of the trees and the future condition of the sidewalk. Our best long term option is to remove the remaining three street trees, install root barriers to protect the sidewalk, and to replant with street trees which will match the trees within the park.

We will be planting four disease resistant elms trees within the park, mirrored by four elms along the street, for a total of eight new elms. This will create formal promenade of trees known as an allee*. As they grow the trees will form a grand and integrated canopy.

For information on Seven Hills Park, go to http://www.seattle.gov/parks/proparks/projects/7_hills_development.htm and for information on the Howell Collective join us for a meeting!