CAMANO ISLAND — Replace a portion of your lawn with a garden and eat the fruits of your labor while you save water, develop healthy garden soils and cut down on pesticides.
The Snohomish Conservation District recently launched its new “Lawns to Lettuce” program and is inviting people to a free workshop from 10 a.m. to noon July 18 at the Open Gate Farm on Camano Island.
Participants will learn easy techniques for creating a garden bed without having to dig up sod and how to naturally control diseases and insect problems without chemicals.
Open Gate Farm owners Jon and Elaine Stevens practice no-till farming, which helps keep topsoil in place and limits the amount of effort needed to work the soil.
Jessica Paige, a community outreach specialist with the Conservation District, said people are encouraged to grow food instead of lawns because “if you are going to put time and energy into growing something, why not grow something delicious and nutritious to eat?”
Typical lawn care requires time and resources. Even if you let your lawn go dormant each the summer, most people spend a fair amount of time each spring mowing their lawns.
And for those who water their grass in the summer, the Natural Resources Conservation Service reports that lawn irrigation accounts for almost half of homeowner water usage in the United States.
To learn more about how to replace a portion of your lawn and grow some food instead, register online at lawnstolettuce.eventbrite.com or contact Paige at jessica@snohomishcd.org or 425-377-7015.
You will receive the farm address after you register.
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