Moscow Food Co-op Producer Profile

by Leah Christian and Eugene MacIntyre, from the April 2002 newsletter

Eugene and I went home to Atlanta for the holidays this year. The world became a little smaller when we received a Medicinal Herb Garden seed kit from my sister for Christmas. After opening the wonderful gift, we learned that the seed kit came from Pullman. My sister had no idea that the gift she ordered from Atlanta was actually from Pullman! This gift was our introduction to Potting Shed Creations.

We met Liz Cosko and Ann Killen at their shop, a barn off the Pullman-Moscow Highway. Many of you know this location because they lease the outside to Prairie Bloom Nursery. Liz came to Moscow in 1991 to pursue a Master's in Wildlife Resources. While here, she pursued her love of gardening with the Master Garden Program. Liz enjoyed the community here and decided to start her own mail-order gardening catalog after completing her Master's degree.

Liz met Ann when she was looking for a designer and illustrator for the catalog. Liz and Ann became best friends immediately. Ann had worked in graphic design and illustration and had moved to Moscow from Milwaukee with her husband so he could pursue graduate work. A coworker said that Liz and Ann "make a third person when they design." When they are both happy, they know they have found something right.

The idea for Potting Shed Creations came when they received a call from a woman looking for something to store her seeds in for the winter. Liz said, "That call provided the idea for our first product - the seed-saving kit." They put the seed-saving kit in the catalog, and it was very popular. They received an order for 500 and the business began. The seed-saving kit is still one of their most successful products.

Potting Shed Creations began in July of 1998. Ann suggested putting seeds into the kits as well. This spawned the idea for their first seed kit - the Herbal Tea Garden Kit. From there, they began adding seed kits, including the Bird, Bee, and Butterfly Garden; the French Market Garden; and others.

A new seed kit is being introduced - the Fragrant Flower Garden.

The business has flourished, and there are now eleven employees.

They now offer a wide-range of products. They offer the Salsa and Pesto gardens, which come with recipes that Liz and Ann have tested. The wild cutting and other scatter gardens also help complete the line. All of their products include everything you need and have been well thought out by Liz, Ann, and their employees. Everything is hand-made by their employees on-site. Their products are good to people and the environment. They promote organic gardening, and none of their seeds are bio-engineered.

They are excited to introduce new products to their line. The pocket gardens are complete little gardens including the Teeny-tiny Tomato Garden and Sunflower Garden, which are perfect for the yard or window boxes. They are adding a new Tulip Tree-to-be that will complement their other tree kit, the Ginkgo Tree-to-be. The American Garden will include open-pollinated seeds, which you can collect and save for next year in the seed saving kit.

Potting Shed Creations is a wholesaler, so their products are sold by others, including of course, the Co-op. The Co-op currently carries about 25 different products, especially around the holiday and spring times. Their products have also been featured in Organic Gardening, Better Homes and Gardens, and many other magazines.

Liz and Ann have cherished the local support of the community here. Liz said, "If we lived in a big city, this probably would have never happened." The smaller community here has helped to provide a good home for the business and foster its growth. The seed with which Liz and Ann began their business sprouted because they were encouraged by the community to follow their dreams.

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