Learn ~ Grow ~ Feast

 

​

Hi, my name is Katrina Krakow, Owner/Operator of Sow and Tare. I grew up in central Oregon, urban homesteaded for 11 years in California, USDA Zone 9b, and currently reside in Douglas County, Oregon, USDA Zone 8b. From an early age, I was growing things and experimenting with plants. Growing up, each summer we would grow a small garden and I remember having "my space" in the garden where I could plant things. I remember the sweet juicy taste of young fresh-grown carrots I would pull and eat "too early" and learning we could eat peas and corn raw right off the plant--how sweet they are when eaten this way! These were eye-openers--food is so good! I remember collecting mustard flowers (from the weeds around the yard) and mixing them with a bit of water and bashing them with a rock to make mustard in my makeshift outdoor "kitchen" (a circle of large rocks I "made food" in with plants and my imagination)--it actually tasted like mustard! Since I was a kid, I've always wanted to know what plants are good for...can I eat it? Use it for medicine? Does it just smell good?

​

I love all things wild and have a passion to know all about the world around me. I am professionally trained as a Wildlife Ecologist and currently work full time as a Senior Project Manager at an ecological consulting firm. I have always loved the outdoors and being in nature. My studies brought me to the wonderful world of American badgers, which I studied during my undergraduate project and continued to study in my graduate project where I characterized reproductive habitat of American badgers in central Californian grasslands. If you are interested learning more by reading my Thesis, you can find it here. I have participated in surveys, presentations, and professional meetings regarding the American badger and have become known as a badger expert in the Bay Area in California.

​

Although I developed professionally through my love of animals, I have always been interested in plants and soaked up knowledge from people, books, the internet, and what I like to call "YouTube University". My drive to grow food was so strong, I bought fruit trees to plant at first house before I found my house! Planting perennial food plants like fruit trees and asparagus is important to do first-thing because it takes a few years before you get a good harvest. My neighbors saw daily changes in my front yard; some friends even questioned why I was ripping out all the plants--it looked so terrible all ripped up. I told them to just wait...I'm turning it into edible landscaping--they totally get it now! This began my 11 years of urban homesteading. Now, I am starting a new homesteading adventure on a nearly 70-acre property in Douglas County, Oregon. 

​

When I was in my Masters program, I was a teachers associate and taught zoology and ecology labs. My students often asked me if I was going to be a teacher. They thought I was good at it, and I enjoyed teaching those who wanted to learn. I have always said I would love to teach if everyone in the class wanted to learn. Every time someone comes over, I teach them all about the plants and animals, every time I go hiking with someone, I teach about the things I see. I believe I am a natural teacher to those who want to learn; through my YouTube Channel and Events and Workshops, I can now satisfy my love of teaching those who want to learn.

​​

I invite you to join me on this adventure towards making the world a little bit better one step at a time through education, community, and fun!                Learn! Grow! Feast!