Bi-Zi Farms Vancouver, WA

A few days ago I made my first trip to Bi-Zi Farms in Vancouver, WA. When we pulled up, my mom was quick to point out the chickens and bunnies that were roaming around. "They're just walking around," she said, "They're walk-around chickens". We later teased her when a walk-around cat came walking by.

Outside there was a small covered nursery area where I picked up a bell pepper start for only $1.98, and my mom got some peppers and a pumpkin. All of the plants looked lovely and were priced low. There were tomatoes that were just starting to flower for $2.98, and they were very healthy and strong looking. There was a nice selection of vegetables and there were plenty of flowers as well.

Inside their farmer's market, they sell fruits and vegetables grown on the farm. My favorite item is the pickled garlic, which is just slightly spicy and is great in tuna salad, but also as a crunchy snack. Both of those instances assume that you don't have anyone to smooch with afterwards.

While I was there, a habanero jelly and local honey caught my eye. There were 3 types of honey available: wild blackberry, raspberry, and wild flower. I have been wanting to try rose honey for a long time and have never found it. I couldn't decide on what variety to bring home, so I am going to go back again when I can grab all three. That's something I can guarantee, I'll be back again soon.

Chapman's Greenhouse in Vancouver, WA

Yesterday I went to Chapman's Greenhouse in Vancouver, WA on 117th. This little gem used to be on the route of my daily commute, but at the time I had no backyard and had never been to a nursery. My mom and I were plant shopping together for Mother's Day, and passed by the greenhouse on the way to another store. After both admitting that we had never been there, we decided to swing by on our way home.

My mom was looking for Petunias to fill a hanging basket she had picked up on sale at Wilco. She found them there, 2 for $1.00. I have never been a fan of hanging baskets, but I have to say that the ones they had put together at Chapman's literally made my gasp. My favorite one was filled with pink and purple supertunias: "If unicorns had hanging baskets, this would be what they looked like!"

After browsing through one green house, we went into the cashier area which was attached to two more. I found some nice looking bell peppers, but they were priced a dollar more than what I paid for mine at Bi-Zi farms earlier in the weekend. I did, however; find some banana peppers for 99 cents, and I was glad that I hadn't gotten them at Bi-Zi when I picked up the red beauty bell pepper. I got two sweet banana peppers at Chapman's and saved 50%.

Caleb was happy to pull the wagon around for us, as usual. He was dressed in his gardening clothes, and had dirty little finger nails from transplanting my patio tomato earlier in the day. He had pulled it out of the pot and put it into a Tupperware and presented it to me for Mother's Day... twice. The tomato is in recovery and expected to be fine.

Chapman's was well organized and the plant species were all clearly marked. The prices were all posted clearly and most were reasonable while some were a real steal. One thing that I have learned quickly about plant shopping is that you can't get all of your starts in one place. One location will have their peppers for dirt cheap, and another will have tomatoes for next to nothing. I'm worried about getting burned since this is my first time planting a garden and I don't really know what the prices should be for plants.

It seems as though flowers are a lot more expensive than vegetables. I have a hard time understanding the reason why. Maybe they are harder to grow? Perhaps it is because they are more popular? Prettier? I don't really know why they cost more. To me they seem less beneficial. After all, you don't usually eat most flowers, but my banana peppers are going to be delicious!

Chapman's Greenhouse

14002 NE 117th
Vancouver, WA 98662
360-604-2186

Wilco in Battle Ground, WA

Today I went to Wilco in Battle Ground, Wa. A membership card is required to buy there, but the card is free, so I don't really understand what it's for anyhow. Regardless, they had compost on sale and my mom was looking for about 10 cubic feet.

The first thing we did was check out the baby chickens, ducks, and geese. They were so adorable! My landlord told me once that chickens weren't allowed at our residence, but I am going to look into it again. She is very pro-chicken, so if legal, I'm sure we would be able to at least keep a bantam or two.

Next, we went to the nursery to check out the veggies and the flowers. I found some broccoli that looked really nice. I picked up a 6 pack for less than $2.50. The broccoli was today's addition to my container garden. I planted them in into some long planters that have been in my garage for a couple of years. They were originally supposed to be part of a building project that never got started and I'm glad I decided to hang onto them anyway.

My mom got some ice burg lettuce and butter lettuce, which she also planted in containers. My mom has been gardening since she retired a couple of years ago, and she is getting very good at it! She also plants flowers as well as vegetables, so she got some nice hanging baskets for half price at Wilco.

While we were there I did see 2 things in particular that I think I might die without.


Isn't the owl just the cutest! When I get to the decorative part of building my backyard, he is going to live in a very prominent place for sure. The bird is adorable as well, but that owl is seriously calling my name!

I picked up a small tomato cage for 99 cents, but couldn't bring myself to pay $5.00 each for the large size that I need for my big ol' Beef tomatoes that I got at the WSU plant sale yesterday. I am going to try and rig up something more cost effective, and possible more adorable, but we shall see how it turns out. My garden shares its backyard home with a 95lb pitbull/boxer mix, so some kind of protection might be in order as well.

When we went to check out the compost, a store worker recommended that we check out H & H Wood Recyclers down the road. He said that we would get a much better deal on the compost if we bought it by the truck load. The entire staff was really friendly and willing to help. Each one of them in the gardening area was engaged with a customer, giving advice and helping to pick plants. Because the prices didn't meet my needs for frugality, I would probably only shop at this store if I knew they were having a special on gardening items, or if I was making a special trip to see baby chickens and buy that little owl.

Wilco Farm Stores
(360) 687-3113
815 W Main St, Battle Ground, WA 98604

WSU Plant Sale

Today I went to the WSU plant sale. It's an annual fund raiser for the Master Gardener Foundation of Clark County. They hold the sale every year on Mother's Day weekend, and apparently the whole town knows about it because everyone was there.

The prices on the vegetable starts are pretty decent, and you can also get flowers as well. The most impressive prices were the Japanese Maples. They were about 5 feet tall and were priced between $5 and $10. The great thing about shopping at the Extension is that all of the plants for sale fair well in your local area.

My favorite thing about buying at a fundraiser for the Master Gardener Foundation is that everyone is crazy about gardening and they love to share their knowledge. My mom spent a good 20 minutes learning how to care for a clematis she got the day before. The members of the Master Gardener Foundation are all about spreading the love of gardening and helping others to become masters as well.

The plants were all in great condition. Not at all like when you go to a large chain store and the 16 year old punk rocker who works in the nursery forgot to water the plants all week. You can tell that all of the plants have been well cared for. They were also separated by category. Vegetables in one area, flowers in another, and shade plants were, well, in the shade.

There were wagons and wheelbarrows available to make the shopping easier. This was Caleb's favorite part. He pulled the wagon almost the entire time we were there until the very end when he gasped, "I'm so tired, I wanna ride in the wagon with plants". He also enjoyed helping to pick out the tomato plants. I put one in the wagon and he promptly told me, "I want two, mama!"

I got two beautiful tomato plants. I think I am going to plant them in the ground. They will probably get too big for any containers that I have. Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be great, so I will do it then. The plant sale is going on through tomorrow as well. If you get a chance, it's worth checking out!