Home & Garden 2023 Goldendale Sentinel

Home & Garden 2023

Welcome back to the Goldendale Home & Garden Show!

The Greater Goldendale Chamber of Commerce is delighted to host another spectacular Home & Garden Show this year!

This year’s show will have more than 100 vendors, ensuring something of interest for everyone. Allyn’s Building Center and Bishop Sanitation have partnered together to bring in a signature gardening expert, Cisco Wallace. Cisco is a popular horticulturist in the Pacific Northwest. He has hosted garden shows on TV and radio appearing regularly on King5’s “New Day Northwest,” the King5 News, and King5’s “Evening.” His show, “Gardening with Cisco,” with Meeghan Black aired for many years of KING/KONG TV. He is the author of “Ask Cisco” and “Oh, La La” and has written a weekly garden column for the Seattle PostIntelligencer as well as the Seattle Times. He was recently awarded the B.Y. Morrison Communications Award from the American Horticultural Society (AHS). Cisco will be presenting a Goldendale

Gardening workshop on May 6 at 11 a.m.

Also new to this year’s show is an interactive Kids’ Discovery Garden. This area will feature children’s activities set up like a children’s museum with a large play zone, sensory tables, crafts, petting zoo, entertainment, and story times. The Kids’ Discovery Zone was designed by Trisha Atchley of Fairygodmother Events in partnership with the Goldendale Community Library (FVRL), Goldendale Reindeer, Howard’s Haven Animal Sanctuary, Grace Kidz, and the Army National Guard.

Cypress Creek Renewables is a signature sponsor for the event. Klickitat Valley Health also added to the show offerings as a sponsor, bringing healthy lifestyle tips and ideas.

“This year’s show will be a lot of fun because of the amazing businesses and organizations that have come together. That’s the great thing about the Goldendale business community— they care about Goldendale and help

make amazing events like this show possible,” Mindy Jackson, Executive Director of the Chamber shared.

As Audrey Hepburn put it so well: “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” So believe and enjoy!

Two community gardens provide space for growing things

Zachary Villar For The Sentinel

Community gardens give members of the community a chance to grow their own food and experience the pleasures of gardening. In Goldendale we have two community gardens: the Goldendale Community Garden, which is located next to the Goldendale Swimming Pool at 401 N. King Avenue, and the Father’s House Fellowship Community Garden is on the south side of the Father’s House Fellowship Church at 207 S. Klickitat Avenue.

The Goldendale Community Garden was started around 2005 with involvement from the WSU Master Gardeners. Throughout the years, there have been many crops successfully grown there. In 2022, Central Klickitat County Parks and Recreation District hired Kathy Keller as the groundskeeper for the community garden. Keller has brought new passion to the project, and she has been diligently keeping the lawns mowed and the flower beds weeded and beautiful.

In the fall of last year, a majority of the garden plots were weeded and covered with heavy tarps to prevent weeds from growing during winter, so this year the area will be easier to maintain. The Gol-

dendale Community Garden encourages organic gardening methods but is not certified organic.

“The community garden depends on its members and volunteers for most of the work that goes into maintaining it,” said Lori Anderson, Associate Planner in the Planning Department of Klickitat County. Those interested in gardening in the Goldendale Community Garden can submit a rental application that can be found on the Central Klickitat County Parks & Recreation District website, centralklickitatparksandrecreation.com. The cost of renting a garden plot is a $1 per linear foot yearly payment, and there are scholarships available for those who cannot afford the rental fee.

The Father’s House Fellowship Community Garden is working on preparing the garden plots for any community members who would like to grow produce. In the past, some people who have gardened there have donated their food to the church to be given to those in need, but Senior Elder Darrell Watson says that is not the focus of the garden. “Most folks just take what they grow and share it with friends.”

The Father’s House Fellowship provides some seeds and plant starts if desired. Their community garden will

be tended to by the Fellowships’ maintenance supervisor as well as an employee of “People for People”, a non-profit organization that helps people find employment. Those interested in gardening at the Father’s House Fellowship Community Garden can call (509) 773-4719 or walk in. The Fellowship building is open Sunday through Friday, 8 a.m. to noon.

Not everyone has the space or resources to grow their own gardens, so community gardens offer a helpful resource to the community. Gardening can be good for your physical and mental health. Spring is here, and now’s the time to get out there and try your hand at gardening!

Zachary Villar ROOM FOR ALL: The Community Garden at the Goldendale Swimming Pool is one of two such facilities in town.

Zachary Villar For The Sentinel

An Agricultural Awareness Workshop was held at the Goldendale Grange on Friday, April 21. The workshop was part of the Grange Mini-Fair that occurred over the weekend. It was an opportunity for members of the community to ask local farmers and ranchers about agriculture and ranching and to learn about some of the difficulties and hardships that farmers and ranchers experience. To promote the event, organizer Luann Whitmire led her steer, Valentine, down Main Street on her way to the event.

Whitmire, who works for both Ballard Farms and Kay Kayser Ranches, stood in an empty livestock semi-trailer in front of the Grange as the workshop began. She lamented the negative reputation farmers receive. “They’re made out to be the bad guys, and they’re not at all. That’s what this is about, to bring people to understand farming.” A 2016 CDC study showed that agriculture as an industry (grouped with forestry, fishing, and hunting in the study) had the fourth highest rate of male suicide in the nation, behind mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction, construction, and other services. Whitmire referenced the high suicide rate among farmers. “They’re so selfless because they’re providing for ev-

eryone else. They aren’t thinking of their own bottom dollar. They have a hard life, and it’s 24 hours a day. If a cow gets out, you’re up and going and getting it.”

Present at the event were representatives from the Goldendale Grange, the Centerville Grange, KVH, the USDA, AgrAbility and Farm Stress, and 2023 Klickitat County Fair & Rodeo Queen Raina McAllister.

AgrAbility is a national program overseen by the USDA that offers assistance to agricultural workers with disabilities. Farm Stress, or the Western Regional Agricultural Stress Assistance Program, is a USDA-funded program that seeks to combat and reverse the high suicide rate in agricultural workers through education, funding opportunities, and compassion.

“I like to simply explain it by saying that Farm Stress deals with some of the mental stresses of farming, and AgrAbility deals with some of the physical stresses,” said Emily Whittier, a Washington State University Extension representative for the two programs. She explained how the program tries to address the problem at its roots by offering educational opportunities such as financial classes for farmers and ranchers.

“We’re working on securing funding for more root-cause classes, like succession

Family owned for over 40 years & counting! Specializing in auto, home, RV, business, farm, & ranch 400 S Columbus, Goldendale • 866.773.4525 • SimcoeInsurance.com

Washington Goldendale Welcome to Goldendale

Goldendale Industrial Park

Building-ready, zoned light industrial, close to highways, rail, and the Columbia River, we welcome new business.

Properties and buildings available for lease, rent, or purchase.

Prices and terms negotiable.

• Abundant, Low Cost Energy

• Infrastructure In-Place

• Ready Workforce

• Financing & Incentives

Goldendale Municipal Airport

• 5 Minutes from Downtown Goldendale

• 3,491 ft. Runway

• Adjacent to Klickitat County Fairgrounds

• Further Development Underway

For more information contact: The City of Goldendale 1103 S. Columbus Ave. Goldendale, WA 98620 509.773.3771 -or- email: swells@ci.goldendale.wa.us

Experience Goldendale, WA

Worlds away from busy city life just two hours from Portland, Oregon

• Magnificent Scenery - on the dry side of Washington State

• Home of the renowned Goldendale Observatory and the Goldendale Pumped Storage Project

• Growing Wine Industry

• Engaged Community

• Low Cost of Living

• Good Schools with STEM, Music, & Art Programs

• Learn more at experiencegoldendale.com

planning, and business-related planning for farmers to take for free. We also do QPR (Question, Persuade, and Refer), a suicide prevention training.”

Washington is one of 20 states that offers the AgrAbility program. “We pair farmers and ranchers with the right tools and technologies to continue farming after injury, or sudden illness, or we have a lot of folks that are just aging, and their bodies have been working so hard for so long,” said Whittier. On the table before her were various tools to make agricultural work accessible to those with disabilities. “We’ve got a lending library so folks can borrow any of this.” Whittier mentioned that the program offers farm and house calls to assess the struggles someone may be experiencing and to find solutions.

Klickitat Valley Health Director of Human Resources Charis Weis was at the workshop offering information about the hospital’s behavioral health services. “We have a lot of really good resources for mental health and stress and anxiety.”

Chris Ballard of Ballard Farms was one of the farmers present at the workshop. He’s been farming wheat and hay and raising cattle in the area since 1999.

Ballard has a background of working in mechanics, beginning as an apprentice diesel mechanic. “Having the mechanical background is what’s been a savior of the farm,” said Ballard. “If I didn’t have the mechanical education skill, the farm wouldn’t work. It barely works the way it is. The price of fuel, chemicals, parts, equipment, of course, is astronomical. It’s gotten beyond reality.” He spoke about how farmers persist in these difficult circumstances. “It’s a love of what you do. Dollars and cents wise you have good years and not so good years. There are some government subsidies that come along periodically, but you normally pay for it one way or another; it’s not anything for free.”

Ballard offered examples of the effects of inflation, including the cost of Roundup, a chemical used for controlling the growth of weeds in agricultural and non-agricultural settings. “A couple of years ago prior to this administration, quite frankly, [Roundup] was about $10 a gallon and last year it went up as much as $46 to $50 a gallon. The bottom line is the price of fuel’s doubled, almost tripled in some cases, so the cost per acre to generate a crop for food is beyond reality, it’s crazy,” said Ballard. “What we used to do a few years ago versus now, I

ABATE of Washington Entrance

Aflac C112

Ahtanum Berry Patch F101/F102

Allyn's Building Center EE104/EE105/EE106

Al's wood B109

Art at the Heart of Goldendale EE101/EE102/EE103

Ashnlint F109

Barnyard blasting/rock stars E109/E110

BeeWinged G103

Bishop Company EE107/EE108/EE109

Brenden Sullivan EE114

BZ Bbq llc Food Court

Canine to Equine LLC CE111

Carleens Coffee & Country G104/G105

Celia's Gourmet Foods B108

Coldwell Banker Cascade EE110

Columbia Gorge LipoMelt B105

Col. River Affordable Portables CE104

Community Corner D104/D105/D109/D110

Contractors Corner H105 & H110

Creative Aarts B106 & B107

Cutco Cutlery CE112

Dandy Valley Farm Nursery A101-A103 A106-A108 EE119/EE118

D'Avanzo's EE112/EE113

Deb's Quilting Tyme B110

Duane Berg H106/H107

Family Heritage H104

Farmers Market Field of Stars

Goldendale Computer

Goldendale Grange

Gorge Country Media

Goldendale Chamber

James's Custom Metal Art

Jane Lee

Jen's Custom Creations

Jewlery By Rebeccah

Kids Corner

Klickitat County DEM

Klickitat County Republican Pty

Klickitat County Solid Waste

E101-E103 & E106-E108

E104/E105

H101

F110

EE111

F106/F112

G109/G110

CE105

H103 C110

KZ101-KZ118

CE108

H108

C104

Outside Tables

Klickitat PUD CE109

Klickitat Valley Health C111

Luz Fun Creation G108

Mid-Columbia Children's Council C109

Pacific Clean Air Solutions CE103

Quality Handmade Pottery/Gifts B101 & B102

Renewal by Andersen CE106

River Spirit Trading EE116

Saint Joseph Construction LLC F105

Sara Green & Dottie Kastl C103

Shutter Up Photo. by Donna EE115

Siebert Meats Food Court

Skyline Creations D102/D103

Spice of the Party H102

Stormy's This That & More C101/C102/C107/C108

SunBridgeSolar CE107

Totally Bent B104

Tracey's Country Corner G101/G102

Valley Gurls B103

Versatile Excavating CE114/CE115

Vic's Woodcraft F111

WA State University Extension F104

Watson's Aspen Grove F107/F108

Wild Daffodil Sewing CE110

Wild West Food Chuckwagon Food Court

Windermere Real Estate Crg CE113

don’t know how we keep going, but we do.”

Despite the difficulties faced by farmers and ranchers, the mood in the Grange building that day was high. Toward the end of the afternoon, a group of people gathered in the basement of the building to share food and stories and to have a few laughs. Orchardists commiserated with farmers on the subject of weather, as they have likely done since the beginning of man’s decision to live by growing his own sustenance. Those not personally involved in the business of agriculture took the opportunity to listen and learn.

PEGGy WOODarD

SPREADING THE WORD: Luann Whitmire led her bovine friend down the sidewalk on Main Street to let people know about the Ag Awareness Workshop.

Backyard chickens can help keep

Zachary Villar For

Chickens can be a great addition to anyone’s backyard. They provide delicious, fresh eggs full of vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids. With the rising cost of store-bought eggs, backyard chickens can help you save money. They’re fun to spend time with, pleasant to look at, and they’re great for kids. They act as pest control by eating bugs, and they can fertilize your yard.

Sarah Littlewolf of Goldendale has her

backyard chickens set up with a double coop so they can fertilize her garden. She has two separate areas where she moves her flock of chickens at different times of the year. While the chickens are in one part, they are fertilizing the soil. Then she switches them to the other chicken run and tills the soil in the area where the chickens have just left. She then uses this area to plant her garden. The soil where Littlewolf lives was not naturally great for growing food. The first year she planted her garden, only

Dandy Valley Farm & Nursery

Ron

Zachary Villar

MOBILE CHICKENS: Sarah Littlewolf holding one of her Light Brahma chickens in the chicken run that she uses to help fertilize the soil.

a few vegetables grew. But then she tried planting the garden where the chickens had previously been kept, and the results were night and day. “We got lots and lots of vegetables off of it,” said Littlewolf.

Within Goldendale city limits you can have up to six chickens on your property, and roosters are prohibited. Those keeping backyard chickens within Goldendale city limits must file a fowl management plan permit with the city and have it approved.

Littlewolf lives outside the city limits, and she has plenty of room for her 32 chickens to run around and enjoy themselves. She built a handy sliding feeding trough with the help of her mother, Jan Morris, to make it easier to feed the chickens. She pulls the trough outside the fence and pours the food in, then slides it back in through a small door. Since chickens can get pretty excited when it’s feeding time, this makes the task easier.

Backyard chickens are becoming more popular these days. When buying chicks at local farm stores, Littlewolf recommends you get to the store first thing in the morning. “They’re selling out. As soon as they open, there’s a line out the door.” Littlewolf hatches her own chicks. She has an area where she can keep the chicks in a temperature-controlled room since warmth is important to their healthy growth.

Littlewolf’s children each have their favorite chickens. Gracie’s favorite is an orange chicken named Chickie.

Gunner’s favorite is Frigidaire, so named because it started as an egg in the refrigerator that they then put in the incubator, and it hatched a chick.

Backyard chickens are fun for the whole family. They have many uses, and they make great companions. If you take good care of your backyard chickens, they will reward you with their friendship, beauty, and utility!

Designing and maintaining a low-maintenance garden

Melinda Myers For The Sentinel

Don’t let your spring garden enthusiasm lead to overplanting and the creation of a summer gardening nightmare. A design with maintenance in mind and some strategic care can help reduce the time you spend managing your gardens and landscape.

Consider using fewer plant species when designing perennial flowerbeds. Increase the number of each to boost the visual impact of the garden and reduce maintenance. You’ll have fewer species to manage, identify and differentiate from the weeds as they emerge in spring. Select plants suited to the growing conditions and that do not require deadheading and staking. Avoid pest- and disease-prone plants as well as those that quickly multiply and overtake neighboring plants and the garden bed.

Design garden beds with gentle curves and avoid tight spaces that limit access and will make managing the surroundings difficult. Make sure all parts of the garden can easily be reached for planting, weeding, harvesting, and care. Add

a path of wood chips or a few steppers, like Leaf Stepping Stones, to large garden beds as needed for easier access. Reduce watering needs by growing plants suited to your area’s normal rainfall. Group moisture-loving plants together to minimize the amount of

water used and time spent watering. Enlist the help of soaker hoses or drip irrigation like the Snip-n-Drip Soaker system (gardeners.com) when watering is needed. This irrigation system applies water to the soil where needed and can be cut with scissors to fit any garden that is planted in rows.

Reduce watering frequency, suppress weeds, and improve the soil with the help of organic mulches like leaves, evergreen needles, and wood chips. You’ll gain multiple benefits with this one task. Spread a one- to two-inch layer of mulch over the soil surface. Pull it away from tree trunks, shrub stems and off the crowns of flowering plants and vegetables. The finer the mulch material, the thinner the layer of mulch you’ll need.

Slow the infiltration of grass and weeds into garden beds and eliminate the need to hand trim with a bit of edging. Use a shovel to dig a V-shaped trench around the perimeter of the garden edge. Fill this with the same mulch used in your flowerbed to create a mowing strip around the garden bed.

Join forces with neighbors and rent an edging machine for the day or weekend. These machines can make it easier and quicker to accomplish this task. With a shared rental, you all save money and no one has to maintain and store the equipment.

Keep tools handy to save time and energy spent retrieving forgotten tools

from the shed or garage. Weather-proof garden tool bags with multiple compartments make it easy to organize, store and carry hand tools, plant tags, gloves, and other small items to the garden. Or store them right where they are needed. Convert an old mailbox or invest in a small storage container like the waterproof Galvanized Garden Tool Storage Box. Mount it on the end of a raised bed, fence, or post to keep small tools, gloves, safety glasses, and more in a handy location.

Use carts, wagons, or a gardener’s summer sled when moving large or heavy loads. You’ll be able to accomplish the move with fewer trips and less muscle strain.

Take time this season to implement a few of these strategies. A few changes can save you time that you can instead spend relaxing, enjoying, or adding more gardens.

Melinda Myers is the author of more than 20 gardening books, including Small Space Gardening and Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition. She hosts e Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” instant video and DVD series and Melinda’s Garden Moment TV & radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned by Gardener’s Supply for her expertise to write this article. Her website is www. MelindaMyers.com.

Hi-tech for the garden

Lou Marzeles Editor

The May/June 2023 issue of Consumer Reports magazine has some fascinating tips for home and garden.

Continued from page 13 AliBaBa.cOM

For example, have you heard of a smart hose? The magazine says there is such a thing. You can buy a smart watering timer that connects to an app on your phone. You hook the timer up to a soaker hose, and the app automatically checks your local weather forecast and adjusts watering as needed. It skips a day if rain or wind is imminent, which minimizes water evaporation. How much easier can watering get? A search on smart hose timers yields a lot of results, some pretty pricey. There’s one for around $28 on Amazon: https://tinyurl. com/4ry9vds6.

Then there are things called water-sensing irrigation controllers that can monitor the hydration level of plants and adjust overall watering accordingly. That can save a bundle on water usage. Here’s a link to a comprehensive story on them from the Environmental Protection Agency: www.epa.gov/watersense/

PHONE YOUR HOSE: Smart hose timers bring hi-tech gadgetry to the garden. With a connected app on your phone, you can have your garden hose water according to local weather reports and your own remote control.

soil-moisture-based-irrigation-controllers.

Heard of xeriscaping? It’s a landscaping technique that aims to conserve water through soil analysis, plants adapted to local rainfall, the use of mulch, and more. People report savings of hundreds of dollars using the process. The Spruce, a good home improvement website, has a very useful guide to xeriscaping at www.thespruce.com/xeriscape-landscaping-meaning-2131129.

PlaceyourcustomorderoflocalfoodanytimeThursdaytoMonday foraWednesday4-6p.m.pickupattheGoldendalePharmacy.

Usepromocode"GFC20"for20%o昀your昀rstorder.

“How lovely the silence of growing things.”