Happier tomatoes

Tilth Alliance helps keep Full Life grounds looking alive

Nothing spruces up a garden like some new raised beds. And thanks to our friends with Tilth Alliance, Full Life’s Center Park campus now has room for tomatoes to thrive.

Earlier this month, volunteers re-built the four timber beds, deepened them and planted fresh tomatoes.

Tilth has partnered in the past with Full Life to provide summer gardening experiences for Wellness Clinic clients we serve. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, most in-person activities are on temporary hold. But that needn’t stop the master gardeners from keeping things beautiful.

In addition to re-building the raised beds on the building’s lower entrance, volunteers also replanted gardens on the second level – everything from green leafies and root crops to herbs.

“Thanks for letting us grow in these beds,” wrote Alliance Program Manager Laura Matter in an email. “We will keep you posted as harvesting begins so you all can also access the food.”

Full Life Housing Stabilization and Supports Director Cricket Farr discovered the work when she stopped into her office earlier this month and was delighted.

“The new beds look AMAZING!!!” she emailed to Laura. “I just saw them this week. Love them! The tomatoes look sooo much happier than before! They can stretch their toes – you can hear them saying, “aahhhhhh . . ..

“Thank you and your crew, from the bottom of my heart!”

Tilth Alliance works in community with Washington farmers, gardeners and eaters to build a sustainable, healthy and equitable food future.