Oasis of inspiration in Tacoma's North End

A vegetable garden is growing in the North End of Tacoma that’s inspiring neighbors, passers-by and the community to begin gardening on their own. Call it viral gardening.

Terry and Michele Drochak have turned their corner lot into a terraced vegetable oasis that doesn’t sacrifice aesthetics despite its almost industrial-paced output of produce.

“I wanted a farm and she wanted sidewalks. This is the compromise,” Terry said.

The couple bought the house, surrounded by scrubby grass, stumps and a few berry bushes (which they preserved), in 2004 and began the garden the next year. Today, it sets an example for what urban vegetable gardening can be.

A towering patch of corn grows in the parking strip, their tassels casting late-day shadows on squash. Pumpkins are ready to roll into the street stopped only by their tethered vines. Between the house and sidewalk, raised beds hold summer’s ripening bounty while other beds sprout seedlings for fall and winter harvesting.

Their garden gives the Drochaks a sense of independence, the couple say, by giving them the ability to grow what they want to eat when they want to eat it.

“Having food 30 feet from your plate is pretty fulfilling,” Terry said while eyeing strawberry plants spilling down the terraces.

The garden is pesticide-free but the couple do use a combination of organic and chemical fertilizers. They didn’t want to compromise the freedom of their two dogs so their fenced-in lot includes a path between the sidewalk and their inner terraced vegetable garden for the two canines. “They can do their energetic things without destroying our things,” Terry said. The dogs are very social, a reflection of their owners.

“We wanted our garden open so everyone could see it,” Michele said. “We’ve met so many people.”

Passers-by stop in their tracks as they marvel and identify plants. Cars come to a screeching halt so drivers can ask questions. And it seems to be multigenerational. “A car of teenagers will pull up and one will say, ‘Hey man, is that a pumpkin?’ ” Terry said. Kids will stop to stare at the corn patch.

Terry and Michele willingly answer questions from neighbors and strangers, “You can see the light bulbs going on. You know they’re going home to try (what they’ve just seen).”

Gardening on a city lot does have its drawbacks. Chief among those is space.

“There were so many more things we wanted to try,” Michele said. But there are also opportunities. They use the heat reflected by their south-facing chimney to grow peppers in pots.

The Drochaks haven’t forsaken good looks in their pursuit of vegetable eden. Their front and back yards are almost all ornamental but Michele emphasizes that some plants do double duty. Blueberry bushes, for example, provide fruit as well as brilliant fall color.

Their garden is not just for humans. Some plants are chosen to attract pollinators and others are for the birds. A row of yellow and russet-colored sunflowers are grown for their feathered neighbors.

Despite the volume and variety of food they grow, the annual costs are low – mainly water and seeds. But compared to buying produce in stores, seeds are a bargain.

“One packet of kale seeds could feed a whole city,” Terry said. It’s an exaggeration, of course, but the point is well taken. One packet of 300 kale seeds from Territorial Seed Company is $2.50. Compare that with just one bunch of kale at Metropolitan Market that was selling last week for $2.99.

This year the couple have started to save seeds which should even further reduce their expenses. Not all vegetables produce viable seeds (hybrids, for example, do not produce seeds true to their origin) but the Drochaks are getting viable seeds from kale, bok choy, onions and many herbs.

Seeds also allow gardeners such as the Drochaks to choose varieties that can’t be found in grocery stores.

“You wouldn’t even know 98 percent of fruits and vegetables exist just walking in to a supermarket,” Terry said. That kale example from up above? It’s one of eight varieties that Territorial offers. This week, Metropolitan Market was offering three.

Gardening is also a way to reconnect with family history, the couple say. Terry, who has Ukranian roots, and Michele whose mother is Korean, both are growing vegetables that harken back to their ancestry.

Beyond variety there’s also flavor, say the Drochaks. Terry cites tomatoes and strawberries as two examples of produce that are so much more flavorful when grown in home gardens. Terry took some strawberries to his office recently where a co-worker, who had previously only eaten the large, California-grown variety, couldn’t believe his tastebuds.

It just isn’t the flavor of homegrown food that surprises people but the entire growing process. Earlier this year a neighbor walked by the garden and asked Terry what a low-growing leafy green plant was.

“Potatoes,” Terry replied.

“Well, where are they?” the neighbor asked.

Terry explained to the astonished man that potatoes grew underground. Later, Terry brought a container filled with potato plants to the neighbor’s home where he’s now growing his own.

A few doors down from the Drochaks is the budding garden of Don and Darlene Mohn. Infected by the viral gardening bug from the Drochaks’ garden, the Mohns built their first raised bed three years ago – with the Drochaks help and advice.

“We’ve lived here 33 years and never had anything,” Darlene said of her pre-gardening days.

Looking around her garden which now has three raised beds growing pumpkins, tomatoes, corn, lettuce, carrots and beets Darlene says, “We could not have done any of this without Terry and Michele. They taught us everything. They even brought us the soil.”

Previously, the Mohns had no interest in gardening. Now they can’t wait to get home to work in their green empire, the well-tanned Darlene said. They’re producing so much food they are even giving it away. “I give it to the neighbors. I give it to the church. Even a stranger on the sidewalk,” Darlene said.

The Drochaks’ largesse doesn’t just end on their block. This year they volunteered to lead the design and construction of Tacoma’s latest pea patch, the Orchard and Vine Community Garden at Orchard and North 45th Streets. The first seeds are being sown in the 26 4-foot-by-12 foot raised beds in the 4,900-square-foot garden.

The garden is attracting community members of all generations, the main motivator being the sense of community it’s creating, Michele said. “They want to meet their neighbors.”

Craig Sailor: 253-597-8541

craig.sailor@thenewstribune.com

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To see more photos of the Drochaks' garden and read their vegetable gardening tips, go to tacomakitchengarden.blogspot.com/