Picardo Glean-Out

photo by Julie St. George

What better way to say goodbye to short-season gardening at the Picardo Farm P-Patch than with an unseasonably warm and sunny Glean Out Day?

For decades, Picardo has stood out not only as Seattle's oldest and largest P-Patch, but also as the only one with short-season plots. Glean Out Day is a tradition tied to these plots, which until now have occupied the southern half of the 2 ¼ acre P-Patch. Each year P-Patch gardeners, community volunteers, and a Lettuce Link crew have gathered on the last day of the short-season to glean produce for donation before the area is rototilled and planted in cover crop for the winter.

photo by Julie St. George

This year's Glean Out on October 15th showcased the very best of P-Patches: plenty of delicious fruits and veggies, lots of enthusiastic volunteers, and great company! While some folks moved across the field filling wheelbarrows with greens, searching for forgotten squash, and even unearthing a few potato plots, others worked to keep up with washing, sorting and weighing the bounty. We have pages and pages of data to get through before we'll know exactly how many pounds were harvested, but there was enough produce to keep us busy from 9am until 3pm! The North Helpline food bank, Silvercrest Senior residences, and the Seattle Union Gospel Mission all received carloads of vegetables.

But what does next year hold for Picardo? The planning process is ongoing, but there's talk of an increased number of food bank plots, an expanded children's garden, and of course, the opportunity to grow food year-round for many current plotholders. So while there won't be a big Glean Out day next year, we are confident that Picardo gardeners will continue to uphold their legacy of Growing and Giving thousands of pounds of produce each year!

If you have extra home-grown veggies, please see our Where to Donate sheet for food bank hours and donation guidelines. If you'd like to volunteer with a P-Patch in your neighborhood, please contact Molly at mollyw@solid-ground.org. 

Don't forget: Our friends at Homegrown Sustainable Sandwich Shop have created a tasty Seasonal 10 sandwich, Turkey + Red Pepper Relish, and 10% of the proceeds from the sandwich will go to Lettuce Link. Stop by one of their shops in Fremont, Queen Anne, or Capitol Hill this fall for a delicious treat, and thank them for supporting Lettuce Link!