Community Organic Gardens of Sequim

What: Organic gardening plots near downtown Sequim

Where: Fir Street Community Garden of Sequim, 525 N. Sequim Ave., and June Robinson Memorial Park Garden, 253 N. Sunnyside Ave.)

Cost: $45 per year

More info: www.sequimcogs.org

With ever-growing roots in Sequim, the Community Organic Gardens of Sequim group is looking forward to another year of organic growth and camaraderie.

Plots are available now at the organization’s two gardens: The Fir Street Community Garden of Sequim, at 525 N. Sequim Ave. behind St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, and the June Robinson Memorial Park Garden, located at 253 N. Sunnyside Ave. on East Spruce Street and Sunnyside Avenue in downtown Sequim.

Bob Caldwell, a co-founder and longtime organizer with Community Organic Gardens of Sequim (COGS), said the gardens are a gathering place for residents each year.

“It develops community; people enjoy being there, working together,” he said.

Getting their hands dirty and learning about organic gardening also gives new Sequim residents something to do and a way to connect with others, said fellow co-founder Pam Larsen.

Only organic methods are used in the gardens; no chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides are allowed.

Average plots are 10 feet by 10 feet, with some raised (2-foot-high) beds of about 4 feet by 8 feet.

Cost of plots at either garden and size is $45 per year. The fee includes an organic gardening class — this year, set for Saturday, March 28 — along with seeds, compost and water.

The plots, 65 in all, fill up each year, Caldwell said, but he noted that “sometimes a plot becomes available because someone realizes they can’t (maintain it).”

COGS was started by several gardeners and community members in 2008, piggybacking on an idea from Sequim educator Linda Dolan and students from the Sequim High School Ecology Club to create a community garden and preserve local farmland.

A dozen years later, the plots continue to offer a chance for locals to try out their green thumbs while interacting with other organic gardeners.

‘Keep your weeds pulled’

Jaimi Primrose said she joined the group near the end of the first year the organic gardens opened.

“I was looking for a place to live (at the time, and) I didn’t have continuous place to garden,” she said.

“I ended up meeting people who had the same interests,” she said — people she remains friends with a dozen years later.

Now she organizes the Fir Street Garden, while City of Sequim staffer Jason Loihle organizes plots at the June Robinson garden.

”I like (the garden’s) diversity, the sense of community,” Primrose said.

Primrose has had a COGS plot each year since she started. While some spend oodles of time at their plot, she said, “we have people who come and sprinkle water over (the garden) and they run. You can spend as little or as much time as you want.”

She added, “The objective is to be a good neighbor and keep your weeds pulled. When you’re in community, you have to heighten your sense of respect for others.”

Primrose, who has garlic sprouting at her plot now alongside kale and some wintering herbs, said the community gardens draw long-time gardeners and newcomers alike.

“The new ones are so exciting because they ask so many questions,” Primrose said. “A lot of people come (to COGS) who get deer and can’t grow anything in their garden, and folks who live in apartments who don’t have any land at all.”

Occasionally, she said, people bring their children to see the various plots.

“It’s good for the gardeners; I would love to see more children in the gardens,” she said.

For more information about COGS, www.sequimcogs.org or contact Primrose at 360-808-3877 for plot information. Or, fill out a plot application at the organization’s website.

Keeper of the compost

Pat Fox has a plot at the Community Organic Gardens of Sequim but is probably best known for providing compost for the COGS plot users.

Fox, who turns 69 this month, said he’s been gardening since age 7.

“There’s something about working with the soil,” Fox said. “To me it’s miraculous, even though I’ve been doing it all these years. My jaw just goes agape; it’s the mystery and wonder of it all.”

COGS gardeners rely on Fox for the plot compost each year.

“People coming now, start clearing out all the old junk,” he said. “Then in the fall, I get a mountain of it too. But (compost material) comes in pretty consistently. Summer time is busy.”

Home gardeners trying their hand at composting can get a head start if they know someone who already has a compost pile and can spare some of the bacteria, Fox said, but even a pile of grass clippings can be a start thanks to its nitrogen composition.

Then, some of the smaller “locals” give a one’s compost pile a boost.

“Composting is how you build your soil,” Fox said. “All these pill bugs centipedes and worms, they just come to the pile. They’re the ones who create the composting. It’s like this big circle of life.”

Fox offers these tips for composting:

“To get the pile started you should, if possible, get a handful of compost from an active or resting pile so you have the bacteria to start the process.

First, lay down brown (dead) plant material which will allow air to circulate from the bottom up. Oxygen is vital for aerobic decomposition as opposed to anaerobic decomposition. Anaerobic usually follows aerobic, as the pile uses up the active nitrogen available. You can tell the difference because the pile will cool and stink.

“You start the aerobic process again by flipping the pile while you are layering in more green material. It takes about two days for the aerobic process to restart. The best material I’ve found is ‘fresh’ grass clippings which more often than not are already getting hot before you can get them on the pile.

“Follow the green with another layer of brown then more green followed by another layer of brown. Repeat the layering until you run out of material.

“Sprinkle your handful of active compost throughout the pile as you are doing your layering so the bacteria is spread around — a little bit is all it takes.

“If you flip and add green every week or two the aerobic process will continue unabated. The steam you see rising from the pile is a result of it’s reaching 180 degrees, as the material converts directly from a solid to a gas because of the heat. The steam is what is commonly known as greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gas rising from compost piles is hardly the reason for our atmospheric warming.”

The Clallam County Master Composter program also offers a variety of tips and resources. For more about composting, becoming a Master Composter or having Master Composters share their expertise with an organization, call 360-417-2279 or visit extension.wsu.edu/clallam/waste-reduction-program/composting.