While driving across the country with Adam from New York to Bothell Washington, I really never had any remote idea what to expect. Our only previous view of Songaia besides their website was this YouTube clip Adam found: 






...and to be honest that really doesn’t clear much up now does it? Nevertheless, we pulled up to Songaia on Sunday August 5th to start our two-month stay as garden interns, or how Brent so lovingly puts it “garden slaves.” While my expectations may have been unclear, it is safe to say they were greatly exceeded. 
Upon first seeing the garden I remember thinking, “that is pretty small! How much work can it actually take?” The answer being, a lot… The amount of production that comes out of the garden has been a complete shock to me. Never before could I think issues such as having TOO many plums could exist, but trust me, they do. There really is always something to be done no matter how much you do; it really is incredible. 
The only thing I think on par to the production of the garden is how much Adam and I have learned. I came here without any garden experience, and while I will leave here far from an expert (very, very far in fact) I really have got to see and learn quite a bit. From how to tell the difference between what is a weed or plant, to the horrors of hot composting, to playing with baby goats, this summer has been absolutely filled with new experiences that I never thought I would have, yet am so thrilled that it has all happened
While I know most likely I have no real future career in gardening, there is just something that cannot be beat about spending the days outside in this beautiful Seattle summer, working with your hands and being able to actually taste your work. This summer has most certainly been one of the most unique experiences of my life, and despite all the uncertainty we had on route here, I couldn’t have asked for it to turn out any better.
 
Wow the summer has certainly flown by, and I’m sure the plants would uproot and take off into flight if they could too. That is just how successful the garden has been!
In the last month so much has happened. To begin, Songaia got its first two WWOOF workers, and working away is something they certainly have been doing a lot of. Thanks to Adam, Max  and Doug, the garden now has a complete irrigation system in the new food forest. With a little more time adding further drip lines, the area will be prime space for more food and whatever else tickles our fancy.
If you haven’t noticed yet, harvesting has been in abundance. Many people have put in time gathering, freezing, drying, and even just cooking all the tomatoes, beans, plums, cucumbers, zucchinis, kohlrabi, potatoes, and even eye-popping dahlias. While we’ve realized that we may be in over our heads with plums and green beans, the rest of the food has certainly been a delight.
The next task is to prepare for winter. We’ve already started knocking over buckwheat, which was a great space saver, and have started planting Swiss Chard. While we are just at the beginning stages for winter plans, it is never too early to get ready to eat and eat…. at another time of year.
A special thank you goes out to Katie for all the extra help in the garden while Patricia was been out of town. Also, we’re delighted to welcome Patricia back from her long trip. With a full garden team back in the swing of things, we’ll take a bite out of, well, the garden of course.