Don’t let the tarp fool you — underneath it you’ll find part of the area’s “smallest certified organic garden,” which stretches across two plots, and into a greenhouse, on a site along SW Avalon (map).

This is part of Transitional Resources, whose invitation to visit in advance of their “Garden Party” this Saturday provided us with another one of those “been in West Seattle 17 years but had NO IDEA this was here” moments. Growing food and herbs at this site is a sideline for an organization that provides residential and drop-in services for more than 100 people every month who are working on having productive lives while dealing with mental illness. (Read more about TR here.) It saves taxpayers big bucks — the cost for someone to live and work here is a fraction of state or hospital institutionalization — but operates on a shoestring. (As TR’s Karyn Mikkelsen explains, “Without TR, clients would have fewer options and more would remain incarcerated, hospitalized or homeless, all at a high expense to society in loss of creativity and productivity, not to mention the huge financial expense of incarceration and hospitalization. The average annual cost of providing outpatient case management services to a client is $4,657. One year in the hospital or jail costs $146,000.”) To raise awareness and $, they’re inviting community members to come spend the day helping in the garden — and enjoying food prepared by a well-known local chef — read on:

Making a guest appearance at the Saturday “Garden Party” at Transitional Resources will be Chef Christine Keff of Flying Fish. TR CEO Darcell Slovek-Walker tells us more:

Some of those herbs were just starting to sprout when we visited the TR site a few weeks ago:

Not only is the garden itself organic, TR gardeners are also focusing on working with non-GMO and heirloom seeds whenever possible; some seed manufacturers have sent them donations for the garden – here’s the upper plot, which was just about to be weeded when we visited, and we’re told is quite a sight in midsummer:

Slovek-Walker says that for TR clients, garden work can literally be a life-saver:

Again, TR is inviting everyone to drop in during the Garden Party this Saturday, 9 am-4 pm, 2970 Avalon (map). Chef Keff’s cooking demo will be at 11 am. Check out the flyer here; it also has info on what you can do to help TR continue its work, even if you can’t drop by on Saturday (also check its website for information on tours, which are conducted regularly).