Events
Need A Speaker At Your Event?
Willi regularly speaks at events around the country, including the Northwest Flower & Garden Show, the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show, and for the Garden Conservancy. To schedule Willi for your event, please email info@digginfood.com.
Upcoming Events
Garden Fever Nursery’s Spring Book Soiree
What: Escape to the nursery on Superbowl Sunday and get inspired for the coming gardening season! Local Portland garden authors, including Timber Press editor-in-chief, Tom Fischer, horticulture therapist Patty Cassidy, and I will all give little talks and tons of other great authors will be on hand with their books. Plus lots of food, drink, and merriment!
When: Sunday, February 5th from 1:00 to 3:00
Where: Garden Fever Nursery in Portland, Oregon
Oh Grow Up! Get More Food By Growing Vertically
What: Growing up is the easiest way to squeeze more food into a small vegetable garden. In this hands-on workshop I will demonstrate how to make a super sturdy tomato cage, a pretty bamboo cage for supporting peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants, and an A-frame that cucumbers and peas love to scramble up. All of these projects can be built with basic hand tools (a power drill is optional!) and are perfect for people—like me—who are DIY challenged.
When: Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 2:00 pm
Where: Northwest Flower & Garden Show in Seattle, WA.
Grow Cook Eat: Gourmet Vegetable Gardening
What: Did you know that you can eat radish pods? Or pea shoots? Or arugula blossoms? Well you can! Gardeners have an opportunity to harvest and eat tons of “delicious extras” and this photo-filled lecture is designed to help you explore the diverse range of food in your garden. Many crops can be eaten at more than one stage of growth or have several edible parts, including fruit, roots, leaves, flower buds, and seed pods. You’ll learn how to harvest crops like garlic scapes and green coriander and discover delicious and beautiful vegetable varieties that perform well in the Pacific Northwest. Plus, the talk will feature gorgeous photos from my new book Grow Cook Eat: A Food-Lover’s Guide to Vegetable Gardening.
When: Thursday, February 9 at 1:30 pm
Where: Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle, WA.
Your Best Tasting Harvest
What: In this workshop Willi explores the science behind flavor, shares her favorite varieties, and offers tips and techniques for ensuring your best tasting harvest ever.
When: Sunday, February 12 at 2:00 pm
Where: 1701 22nd Street, Anacortes, WA
Gourmet Gardening: Grow Your Own Groceries
What: Juicy strawberries glistening with morning dew; plump pea pods dangling like earrings from their vines; freshly sliced tomatoes still warm from the afternoon sun—kitchen gardeners have access to some seriously amazing food. In this photo-filled lecture, I will explore the diversity of food in our gardens. Many crops can be eaten at more than one stage of growth or have several edible parts, including fruit, roots, leaves, flower buds, and seed pods. You’ll learn how to harvest crops like garlic scapes and green coriander, learn about the best vegetable varieties for the Pacific Northwest and how to create a succession planting plan that will allow you to keep your garden productive all year long.
When: Valentine’s Day!
Where: Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church, 5441 SE Belmont St., Portland at 7:00 pm
Gourmet Gardening: Grow Your Own Groceries
What: Juicy strawberries glistening with morning dew; plump pea pods dangling like earrings from their vines; freshly sliced tomatoes still warm from the afternoon sun—kitchen gardeners have access to some seriously amazing food. In this photo-filled lecture, I will explore the diversity of food in our gardens. Many crops can be eaten at more than one stage of growth or have several edible parts, including fruit, roots, leaves, flower buds, and seed pods. You’ll learn how to harvest crops like garlic scapes and green coriander, learn about the best vegetable varieties for the Pacific Northwest and how to create a succession planting plan that will allow you to keep your garden productive all year long.
When: Saturday, February 18 at 10:00 am
Where: 2012 Yard and Garden Lecture Series. Port Townsend Community Center, 620 Tyler Street, Port Townsend, WA, 98368
Vegetable Gardening 101 Panel Discussion
What: A panel discussion from three of the top edible gardeners, educators and retailers in the Portland area. These veg experts share information on some of their favorite things to plant – and eat, and everything else about the wonderful world of growing your own edibles. Topics covered are choosing the right seed or plant, location, location, location, and how to care for the “crop” to get the best yields.
When: Sunday, February 19th from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm
Where: Yard, Garden, and Patio Show in Portland, Oregon
Succession Planting 101: Getting the Most From Your Garden
What: Even small vegetable gardens can produce a remarkable amount and variety of food. All it takes is a little planning! Planting food in intervals throughout the season – a practice known as succession planting – allows you to keep your garden full and productive from spring through fall (and even into winter). This talk covers basic succession planting strategies, walks you through a three-season succession planting plan, and gives you ideas for simplifying and streamlining the process. Also includes how to use and make season extension devices, such as DIY cloches, a hoop house, and a tomato tent and shares a list of plant varieties that do well in Northwest seasons.
When: Sunday, February 19th from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Where: Yard, Garden, and Patio Show in Portland, Oregon
Seed-Starting 101
What: Want more veggie-growing satisfaction for less money? Join Willi as she gives step-by-step instructions on how to start your own vegetables from seeds and learn which varieties she recommends for our cool, Pacific Northwest climate. Book signing to follow.
When: Saturday, March 3rd
Where: Molbaks Nursery in Woodinville, Washington
Grow Cook Eat: Creating A Productive, Delicious Garden
What: In this workshop you’ll discover the best vegetable varieties for the Pacific Northwest, learn strategies for growing a successful garden (despite our variable summer weather) and the finer points of harvesting all the vegetables in your garden.
When: Sunday, March 4th from 11:00 am to noon.
Where: Watsons Greenhouse in Puyallup, WA
Gourmet Gardening
What: Homegrown food just tastes better, especially if you understand the factors that influence flavor. In this fact-filled lecture, you’ll learn the science behind flavor and how variety choice, soil, and watering all influence the taste and quality of the food you grow in your garden. I will offer specific advice for preventing bitterness, bolting, cracking. Plus, we will explore crops can be eaten at more than one stage of growth, how to harvest crops like garlic scapes and green coriander, and learn about the best vegetable varieties for the Pacific Northwest.
When: Wednesday, March 14 at 6:45 pm
Where: The Northwest Horticultural Society will host this lecture at the Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle.
Some Like It Hot: How to Grow Warm Season Vegetables in the Cool Pacific Northwest
What: The Pacific Northwest is a great climate for gardening, but growing heat-loving vegetables and herbs can be a challenge. This practical seminar reveals simple tricks for successfully growing warm season crops, including how to warm up soil earlier in the spring and how to build a mini hoophouse and use other essential season-extending techniques and products. Plus, I will give step-by-step growing plans for maximizing the harvest of tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, squash and basil and share time-tested varieties that perform in the Northwest.
When: Saturday, April 7th at 1:00 pm
Where: The Oregon Garden, 879 West Main Street, Silverton, Oregon, 97381
Salad All Summer Long
What: Learn how to map out a delicious and nutritious salad garden – one that will provide you with fresh, tasty salad ingredients month after month. Hear Willi’s tested tips on fertilizing, creating a weed-free bed, and her suggestions on when to use seeds or starts. Book signing to follow.
When: Sunday, April 15th from 11:00 am to noon
Where: Molbaks Nursery in Woodinville, Washington
Maximum Harvest, Minimum Effort
What: Follow a few simple rules and you can spend less time maintaining a healthy, productive vegetable garden, and more time enjoying it. Join Willi as she shares practical strategies for preventing problems with pests and disease; discusses how to properly fertilize vegetables; gives tips on harvesting at the peak of flavor; and explains how to keep your garden producing well into fall. Be sure to bring your most pressing vegetable-growing questions! Book signing to follow.
When: Saturday, May 26 to 10:00 am
Where: Molbaks Nursery in Woodinville, Washington
Ongoing Events
Greendays: A Weekly Gardening Panel on KUOW 94.9
When: Every Tuesday at 10:00 am PST
What: Listen to Willi and her fellow panelists Greg Raybourn and Marty Wingate talk gardening. Got a question? Call in and ask it!
Where: To listen live or to download a podcast of past shows, visit www.KUOW.org. (The quickest way to find past shows is to type the word greendays into the search bar).
