A Pulse Family Garden

Sketch by Meg Goettelman, co-owner of Steep Creek Farms

The employees of the Pulse will combine a few age-old adages this summer. After “putting in a hard days work,” we’ll head to the backyard with the knowledge that “you are what you eat” to plant and tend a garden.

While the idea of a vegetable garden has been talked about quite a bit since we moved to our office in Baileys Harbor, it seems that the time has come to turn talk into reality. Thankfully, we have a great platform to start from – the previous owners had a magnificent, bountiful garden – and a great network of resources to tap into, such as Meg Goettelman, co-owner of Steep Creek Farms and sister of our ad rep Jess Farley. She stopped by recently to share some of her expertise.

“I used to know more about gardening than she did,” Jess said after we had circled the egg-shaped garden a few times, “but not anymore.” Meg quipped back in a sisterly fashion, and the spirit of the garden seemed cemented in that exchange. This was to be a “Pulse family” project, and while not all of us are related by blood, there are sure to be a few more banter-filled exchanges before we reap our harvest.

Jess and Meg continued to bounce ideas off of each other, with Pulse co-owner David Eliot chiming in with his suggestions borne from a childhood supplied by two rather large gardens. I merely listened, as a novice I’m hoping to soak up as much knowledge in this first season as the plants soak up nutrients from the soil.

After just over an hour, we had established a plan for the growing season ahead. With a rough sketch – the graphically-inclined Pulse staff members weren’t in attendance at the meeting – of the quadrants in our garden, a timeline in place for planting, and a commitment to work together at least one night a week after work, we were feeling fairly confident that we could bring something to fruition.

“Once the soil is tilled, this will be easy,” Meg reaffirmed.

I’m hoping she’s right, but even if it is a “tough row to hoe,” the group is looking forward to “reaping what we sow.”