Talk with farmers, gardeners on 2-day tour

Grow a garden. Ferment vegetables. Get married.

Nancy Chase can tend to whatever is on your plate.

Her 10-acre Camano Island farm has pastures for produce, events and an edible nursery.

“We tell people how to turn their lawns into food,” said Chase, owner of Shambala Permaculture Farm &Edible Perennial Nursery.

There’s also a garden for matrimony. “I do the flowers and the nuptials,” added the horticulturist-turned-officiant.

Weddings aren’t on the agenda for this weekend, though. Visitors can explore her multipurpose farm and several others on Port Susan Spring Jubilee Farm Tour on May 11 and 12.

The annual two-day self-guided event is a chance for the public to talk shop with farmers and gardeners in Stanwood and on Camano Island.

Empty the car and fill up the tank.

There are people to meet, plants to buy and udders to squeeze.

First, stop by the hospitality station in Stanwood to milk Squirty Gerty, the artificial dairy cow. You can also pick up a tour map there.

At Shambala, Chase will pluck leafy things from the ground for visitors to taste.

“We show people the weeds they can eat,” she said. “There are a lot of things you have in your yard that you can chop and eat in your salad.”

Other goodies come from the oven. Her muffins are “gluten-free, nut-free, non-GMO, ancient grain, high in fiber.”

Chase and her husband share the acreage with a turkey, goats, horses, ducks, cattle, chickens and human students of permaculture.

“It’s a place for immersions. We have interns and associates,” she said.

There are landscape classes, art workshops, potlucks, music jams and weddings.

The forested compound is a long way from Chase’s roots. “I got my hankering for farming and left Mountlake Terrace 15 years ago,” Chase said.

Hankerings vary at the stops on this tour.

Across the bridge in the river bottoms in Stanwood, former Boeing worker Scott Brandis found a new calling seven years ago at Soggy Bottom Plants &Gifts.

“I make birdhouses and planters,” Brandis said. “My wife makes basil jelly and pepper jelly.”

Soggy Bottom also sells beer steins, jewelry, greeting cards, apple butter, trees and shrubs in addition to meat and vegetables. “We raise and sell grass-fed beef,” he said.

Trust the “Beware of Cat” sign: Chances are a gray cat with big jowls will make an appearance to show who’s boss.

The cat’s a draw, for sure. But so are the goods.

“A lot of people tell me my prices are good,” Brandis said. “And they like coming down here because they get one-on-one consultation.”

From him, and the cat.

Andrea Brown; 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com.

Take the tour

Port Susan Spring Jubilee Farm Tour is a two-day, self-guided event.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 11 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 12.

Free tour maps are available at Skagit Farmers Supply, 8815 272nd St. NW, Standwood. For more information, go to www.portsusan.org.

Farms on the tour

Shambala Permaculture Farm &Edible Perennial Nursery, 395 E. North Camano Drive, Camano Island; 360-387-4110

Out on a Limb Orchids, 353 E. North Camano Drive; Camano Island; 360-387-2341

Soggy Bottom Plants &Gifts, 23421 Marine Drive NW, Stanwood; 360-652-9157

Valhalla Farm, 2631 324th St. NW; Stanwood; 425-308-2379

Jordan Nursery, 30407 68th Ave. NW; Stanwood; 360-629-4827

Keeping It Green Nursery, 19401 96th Ave. NW; Stanwood; 360-652-1779

Mossyback Farms, 29203 Old Highway 99 N.; Stanwood; 360-629-2782

Orchard’s Nursery, 10521 Highway 532; Stanwood; 360-629-3586

Schuh Farms, 9828 Highway 532; Stanwood; 360-629-6455

Del Fox Meats, 7229 300th St. NW; Stanwood; 360-629-3723

Talk to us

More in Life

Ash was rescued along with Dexter, just before his euthanasia date. (Luisa Loi / Whidbey News-Times)
Whidbey Island woman rescues 300 German shepherds

“Can I save them all? No,” Renee Carr, of Oak Harbor said. “But I’m gonna try my hardest.”

The 2023 Infiniti QX80 has standard rear-wheel drive and optional four-wheel drive available on all models. (Infiniti)
2023 Infiniti QX80 is powerful and posh

A mighty V8 engine does the work while a luxurious interior provides the pleasure.

Kotor's zigzagging town wall rewards climbers with a spectacular view. (Cameron Hewitt / Rick Steves' Europe)
Rick Steves: Just south of Dubrovnik lies unpolished Montenegro

One of Europe’s youngest nations offers dramatic scenery, locals eager to show off their unique land, and a refreshing rough-around-the-edges appeal.

Artist Michelle Downes prepares to work on a few canvases in her garage workspace on Thursday, July 6, 2023, at her family’s home in Stanwood, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Stanwood artist Michelle Downes creates layered dreamscapes in resin

Resin is one part chemistry and one part artistry. Downes combines the two to make art that captures the imagination.

TSR image for calendar
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

This weekend in Snohomish: The Snohomish Blues Invasion and the Snohomish Studio Tour 2023.

Made by Bruce Hutchison, the poster for “A Momentary Diversion on the Road to the Grave” is an homage to 1985 classic “The Goonies.” (Photo provided)
Indie film premiering on Whidbey Island

Filmed almost entirely on Whidbey Island, “A Momentary Diversion on the Road to the Grave” is set to premiere in Langley.

TSR image only
Does your elementary school child have ADHD?

It’s important to identify children with this condition so we can help them succeed in school.

Barb Denton smiles and laughs with her Jeep Cherokee Laredo that she has driven for 32 years on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Red Dragon,’ stolen from Sea-Tac, mysteriously returns home to Everett

Barb Denton’s rig of 348,000 miles was found three miles from home, intact, with a half-tank of gas and an empty bag of Oberto sticks.

This photo provided by OceanGate Expeditions shows a submersible vessel named Titan used to visit the wreckage site of the Titanic. In a race against the clock on the high seas, an expanding international armada of ships and airplanes searched Tuesday, June 20, 2023, for the submersible that vanished in the North Atlantic while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP)
A new movie based on OceanGate’s Titan submersible tragedy is in the works: ‘Salvaged’

MindRiot announced the film, a fictional project titled “Salvaged,” on Friday.

This Vacasa rental is disgusting. Can I get my money back?

The vacation rental Carol Wilson books for her group through Vacasa is infested with rats and insects. Vacasa offers to refund one night, but can they get all of their money back?

A woman diverts from her walk on Colby Avenue to take a closer look at a pickup truck that was partly crushed by a fallen tree during an overnight wind storm Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in north Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / Herald file)
Storm season is coming. Here’s how to prepare for power outages.

The most important action you can take is to make an emergency preparedness kit.

Do you prefer green or red grapes? This antique Moser pitcher is decorated with enameled grapevines on shaded red-to-green glass.
Grapevine pitcher was made by renowned Bohemian company

Also, queries about grandmother’s coffee set and late husband’s Beatles records and memorabilia collection.