In our effort to interact/network with other businesses, Josh and I traveled south to Cottage Grove to visit Sustainable Agricultural Technologies, Inc. They specialize in vermicomposting (worm compost) and compost tea systems. Our friend, Michelle, works there and invited us down to see what was going on and see how we could use this in our business. The owner Bruce Elliott used to build destruction proof mailboxes. He grew tired of all the angry people calling to complain about the people who were smashing mailboxes and moved on to something new. Interested in vermicomposting, (worm composting) he called a guy in the San Juan Islands who built a worm bin called a worm wigwam
It really all comes down to food, at least for me. And what does this have to do with the nursery industry you ask? All of us that work here are cooks and have our specialties (and idiosyncrasies) and share food and recipes. I just had a delicious handful of pumpkin seeds, in the shell from a coworker. Yum. So where was I? Oh yes food. Our neighbors at the nursery are farmers and we get strawberries, green beans and corn from them. We grow a vegetable garden in the back for all to share in the bounty.
Go to your local farmer’s market for no other reason than because it is just fun. For me it is pure pleasure with tasty treats added on top. My local market is in Creswell behind the library off the main street, Oregon Street. It is on my way home and conveniently open from 4 – 7 p.m. I can’t wait to get there and see who is selling what and have a chat with my ‘market friends’. This is a very small market, maybe twenty vendors. This is the second year it’s been going on and some of the same folks have come every time to sell their goods and come they do, whether they make much money or not. The showing up every time is what eventually will make them ‘successful’. Success at the farmer’s market comes in many forms. One is not there to ‘get rich’ so there has to be some other benefits. One of the most successful vendors is the cute old guy, Jim, who makes bird houses, ‘guaranteed to house birds’. He also started making boxes and shelves, items that the other vendors buy to display their wares. I noticed he is now making cash boxes. I don’t think he had a grand plan for this is just worked out like that and he has enough money to go fishing with his buddy. Michelle, my co-worker, meets me at the market and sometimes some other friends stop by. One has to look carefully and ask questions and enjoy the process, find out about the sellers, what they like to grow or make, what is the best thing they have today. I found some Meyer lemons, brought up from California, no not locally grown, which is difficult at best, and I bought all three of them for 75 cents each. What Michelle and I like to do is buy a little from each booth or at least say hello and admire their wares.
Yes Ma’am, No Sir, How may I help you Ma’am? These are all niceties in everyday life that make our lives more pleasant and comfortable. Josh (my ‘Boss’ here at Pleasant Hill Nursery) was raised in Kentucky to address others in this lovely southern style. Being from the Pacific Northwest I wasn’t used to this ‘formal’ way of speaking and often thought of it as a little off putting, a tiny bit sarcastic. It’s not, nor is the intention any of that. It is this kind of polite training that enables us to continue our work with others in a kind and hospitable way even if we don’t always feel like it or want to say something else. If it is automatic for us to speak and behave kindly and with consideration it will always be our fallback position when we are in a difficult situation.
I’d like to share a volunteer project we completed today at O’Hara Catholic School on West 18th in Eugene, Oregon.
PHN Growers Blog
