Mountain Community Garden

05/26/2026

🌿 Have you noticed? Our Speaker Bureau has been busy this spring!

The WSU Extension Pierce County Master Gardener Speaker Bureau has been out in the community delivering research-based gardening presentations—helping gardeners grow smarter, more resilient gardens 🌱

✨ From climate-ready gardening to plant selection and soil health, there’s something for everyone!

👉 Discover full presentation topics or request a speaker for your group:
🔗 https://extension.wsu.edu/pierce/mg-home/educational-outreach/speakers-bureau/

🔗 https://extension.wsu.edu/pierce/mg-home/contact-us/speakers-bureau-contact-page/

🌼 Bring science-based gardening education to your community!

05/21/2026

Interesting talk on perennial vegetables this evening at 6 pm.

events Featured events ALL MILL HAUS EVENTS Filter events by the “Event Type” dropdown and click events to open up more information. Filter events for live music, workshops, fundraisers, markets, and more using the filter button below. Tap on an event to see more information or to add it to your...

05/20/2026

Now that the Garden Festival is over, the free Seed Library is back. It's located behind our Garden sign at 113 Rainier Ave. N.

Take some seeds, share some seeds. You don't need to donate seeds to take seeds from the seed library. Take only what you can plant, not the entire seed envelope. Small envelopes are available for you to use. Please sign the form on the clipboard for what you have taken or what you have donated.

Seeds to plant in the ground now for summer vegetables are beans, lettuce, spinach, radish, carrots, beets, squash, melon (warm up the soil before you plant and keep warm for the first several weeks), corn, cucumbers, kale, chard, peas (but do it soon as they like cool weather).

Happy planting!

05/19/2026

Many thanks for helping us with the 3rd annual Garden Festival. Thank you to Mill Haus Cider Co. for hosting and sponsoring the festival, Event Coordinator Bree who keeps us all organized, the wonderful vendors who braved the crazy spring weather, our terrific speakers Chuck Young; and Natalie Evans, Christine Gregorich and Michelle Prestin from the WSU Pierce County Master Gardeners as well as the amazing Mike Killen who staffed the Ask a Master Gardener Clinic solo.

We gave strawberries away, helped visitors participate in a seed swap and plant some seeds and sent them over to the Eatonville Family Agency booth who helped them paint plant labels. Special thanks to Katie Skelton and the other Moms who provided the baked goods to help raise donations for the Garden. We are grateful for you all!

05/17/2026

Another great Gardening Workshop is coming up in June.

Garden Workshop Come learn with the Master (Gardeners, that is!) In order to keep their certification, Master Gardeners must take yearly 'Continuing Education' (CE). From The Ground & Up was…

05/15/2026

HARDENING OFF YOUR TRANSPLANTS 🌿
You purchased transplants from our WSU Extension Pierce County Master Gardener vegetable, tomato and propagation group during our recent Master Gardener Foundation of Pierce County plant sale… now what?

Before planting outdoors, your starts need time to adjust. Plants grown indoors aren’t used to direct sun, wind, and temperature swings—so a gradual transition (called hardening off) helps prevent shock and sets them up for success.

Here’s how to do it:

🌤️ Start Slow
Place plants outside in a shady, protected spot for about an hour, then bring them back inside.

⏱️ Increase Daily Exposure
Add 1–2 hours of outdoor time each day, gradually increasing sunlight exposure. After several days, they should tolerate full sun.

👀 Watch for Stress
Wilting or bleached leaves mean too much too soon—scale back and go slower.

💧 Adjust Watering
Slightly reduce watering to slow growth, but don’t let plants wilt.

📅 Be Patient
After 7–10 days, your plants should be ready for the garden!

🌡️ Pro Tip: A cold frame is a great tool for easing this transition.

By taking the time to harden off your plants, you’re building stronger, more resilient gardens—an important step in adapting to our changing climate. 🌎

📚 Directions for building your own cold frame!👇
�https://wpcdn.web.wsu.edu/extension/uploads/sites/43/2024/09/Coldframe_RS007-2010v2.pdf

Growing Tomatoes in Home Gardens - WSU pub
🔗https://pubs.extension.wsu.edu/product/growing-tomatoes-in-home-gardens-home-garden-series/

Home vegetable gardening in Washington State:
🔗https://pubs.extension.wsu.edu/product/home-vegetable-gardening-in-washington-home-garden-series/

05/14/2026

Exciting things happening at our own Frey Family Farm!

05/13/2026

Don't forget to come on down to Mill Haus Cider Co. on Saturday, May 16 for our annual Garden Festival!
- Free garden workshops taught by Pierce Master Gardeners
- Hands on kids' crafts + seed planting
- Ask a Master Gardener Clinic
- 20+ vendors including local farms, edible plant starts, apothecary items, planting boxes plus personal care items + treats!
- Garden raffle baskets worth $250+ each
- $1 from every pint of beer and cider sold is donated to MCG

Workshop Schedule:

12:00 - 12:45 PM: "Water Conservation using Drip Irrigation"Drip irrigation is the most efficient water saving method and an important topic given that Washington State has declared a statewide drought emergency due to near record low snowpack.

1:00 -1:45 PM: Master Gardener Workshop "Seed Saving Flowers Herbs and Vegetables"Learn how to select the best plants for seed saving, choose the highest quality seeds, and master drying and storage techniques. Plus, find out how seed saving contributes to a healthier, more biodiverse garden.

2:00-2:45 PM: Master Gardener Workshop "Successfully Growing Tomatoes in PNW"Learn how to grow mouth-watering tomatoes in our maritime PNW climate. You can do it by learning some simple helpful-hints for making the most out of our cooler & shorter growing season.

3:00-3:45 PM: Master Gardener Workshop "Unbeatable Plants for Maritime Northwest"Unbeatable Plants highlights exceptional, reliable, and easy-to-grow plants for home gardeners. This presentation will cover plant selection criteria, how to use the Great Plant Picks website, and the history of and lessons learned from the Puyallup Demonstration Garden’s Great Plant Picks berms.

05/10/2026

Many thanks to the GRITS farm team from the Eatonville School District and their lead DeAnn Pockert Zachary for w**ding and prepping to lower in ground food bank for the season! We love our community!

05/10/2026

The Community Roots team worked to clear blackberry, w**d trim, and clear out several beds! They also removed strawberries for the garden festival kid project booth. Fun day in the garden and the GRITS kid project DID look great! Barb taught us all about seed snail starting method and we divided up some plants and seeds. Thank you Tawni and Dakota for organizing this and all the workers for helping us get the food bank areas ready for the season. We are very grateful!