Elena Shemeta's guest appearances

Elena Shemeta

GREEN Organic Garden Podcast

Ellen Polishuk

Mike Lewis

Elizabeth Leonard

Jennifer Smith

Patti Armbrister

David Salman

Infrastructure Banks

Shandy Carroll

Dushan Batrovic

Alethea Vasilas

Jill Blog

Pheobe Lyttle

Susan Harris

Nick Schneider

Lem Tingly

OwlTail

 Diggit, Inc. was born out of a mother and son collaboration between Elena and Paul Shemeta of the Seattle area. This northwest duo’s first gardening tool hit the market in 1997 at Seattle’s Fremont Sunday Market. It had a black handle and the advertising was a piece of cardboard with magic marker that said “weeding tool $5.00”. They sold out of all 10 diggit tools they’d brought to the market that day. While Paul was tasked with the refinement of the tool and the fabrication process, he credits Elena for the creation of Diggit, Inc. It was Elena who was responsible for the initial concept and the drive to get it to market. Elena has fine arts background and an imagination that just won’t quit. So, when she got fed up with the mess that a weeding claw was making of her soil (only to leave virulent weed root fragments behind) it was only natural that Elena would go in search of a better tool. After rummaging around her cluttered cellar for some time, her tool of choice was a foot-long tent stake. When she began weeding with the tent stake, to her surprise, it worked phenomenally. It uprooted the weeds efficiently and cleanly, roots and all. After using the tent stake for some time, Elena realized how useful this could be as a weeding tool for other gardeners. When Elena convinced Paul (who was now an accomplished mechanical engineer) that they should figure out how to refine and produce it in volume, they were on their way.  Paul worked for a year perfecting the tool. According to him, his process was “a lot of trial and error with assembly methods, the design and size of the tool, digging weeds at halftime during football games, asking people their opinions about the latest design…” Using it was the real key for Paul though. He went through a lot of different handles before settling on the one they use now. He knew it was the right one because even during intensive weeding sessions, he says, “It didn’t give me blisters.” Paul and Elena have come a long way since they sold those first Diggit tools at the Seattle Fremont Sunday Market. With an enthusiastic customer base that gives great feedback, Elena’s ingenuity and determination and Paul’s technical know how and passion for problem-solving, the Diggit tools just keep coming and keep getting better and better. Tell us a little about yourself. When the company started  Southern California big shock  in the nineties for the last few days Tell me about your first gardening experience? It’s funny I didn’t really start gardening in my 20s which is about 60 years ago! We moved a lot, this was the age when engineers and their families moved from one coast to the other. I’d plant strawberries and somebody else got to pick them. My first gardening experience was maybe planting a lily bulb. It would take me forever because I had to dig everything up  and replace the soil and the amendments.  I always had to read my sunset garden book they wrote about us 3 times so it’s worked out really well. You might have more experience then a lot of us developing all these different areas.  How did you learn how to garden organically? I just think it’s just something you naturally do especially when you’re at my age there was not a lot of stuff that you could put in the garden back when. It doesn’t just happen, I mean I guess it does. Tell us about something that grew well this year. Well the big problem is when I really when I lived in seattle I could grow incredible tomatoes. I noticed my daughter who lives close to me, she lived in California she doesn’t have any tomatoes last year,  2nd growing season last year my tomatoes weren’t very good this year they’re even worse! I contributing that to the heat records. At 100º some days boiled them to death, I haven’t done much but I have done really well with my gora common whilrling butterflies exotic thing I could never  poinsianna amazing fern like leaf thing makes these incredible bright orange flowers just the gora and the poinsianna and a whole bunch of seemed  native grasses herbs are just fine I have   basil lemon grass lemon thyme  they’re just fine not very many people grow  I like it  I put it in everything  sage peppermint  Is there something you would do different next year or want to try/new? I’m just trying to survive not really thinking about this year so crazy look at the temp in Rhode Island Seattle is quite cool still holy mackerel have to go out for a walk before 9,   rosemary is doing well too cat  chives  they seem to like to be  Back when we were raising our 6 kids  we could only afford to go camping held down by footlong tent stakes moved to washington to the Seattle Area in general 3 differenet cities there out weeding just had the stupid claw messed up everything left the roots in  I found one of these old tent stakes could get between the good stuff and the bad stuff it would be more comfortable with a handle on it took a whole blooming year to figure out a nice pointing  tol with a soft comfortable handle ended up with cement That was the Diggit! Paul said people told him we love the Diggit what will get into tiny hole to hang it on that was that branched out into the hori hori garden knife  is absolutely amazing started out in the adirondacks and ended in Seattle we started in 1997!  Sent one to a garden writer and she then wrote an article about the tool and she liked it  The original Diggit when we were selling it to one of the big garden shows saw a bunch of sunset people lost the tools but had the card called me and then interviewed me tiny article didn’t have a website excpet my phone number wonderful  called me lasted for 2 yeras even after  5 years I saw the article in my doctors office I would give  the interesting thing  too Paul is a mechancal engineer fine art stores wanted us to make some kind of poster explain how to use the tool! one of my son’s friends had one hori means dig lots of different prices we think our’s is the best paul’s done some kind of a coating so it never rusts stainless steel inside then he’d give the tools to another garden writing Siscoe Morris test stuff and break it if possible if he could break it  Which activity is your least favorite activity to do in the garden. Not really, I suppose miserable little clover worst foe because of it’s underground roots tunnel under play submarine What is your favorite activity to do in the garden. Everything else I just like being out there, everybody says it soothes my soul whatever you were worried about  amazing therapy What is the best gardening advice you have ever received? Plant tomatoes really deep  they’ll make more roots in Seattle I could grow  I really don’t know sandy clay endlessly It’s funny in  people don’t garden or they have a gardener do their yards… A favorite recipe you like to cook from the garden? Mainly I would just put slices of tomato on a piece of pizza I don’t have any peppers I don’t really cook that much mainly Ive always grown flowers when I was working in the bellevue school district I ouwld bring in flowers open in the afternoon kids would come in just to watch the flower open over the day that they were there. exciting and fun my garden was always my painting I didn’t grow that many vegetable the usually  arugala whatever’s hanging around ginger root and garlic problem  really kind of a solution we go to a farmer’s market every week they have amazing stuff introduced to persimmons what they even were the farmer’s market amazing! they’re real adventure right now peaches and nectarines and plums grapes persimmons brussell sprouts absolutely amazing! A favorite reading material-book, mag, etc you can recommend? My Sunset Western Garden Book  The New Western Garden Book: The Ultimate Gardening Guide no matter what I plant I always look it up just in case that I don’t remember that’s just sits on our table in our living room… If you have a business to you have any advice for our listeners about how to sell extra produce or get started in the industry? IDK, just have to have a certain combination of creativity and technical knowhow if you have an idea and find a solution come up with it “It’s the best place to see miracles unfold!” How do we connect with you?  https://diggitgardentools.com/ The Organic Gardener Podcast is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com If you like what you heard on the Organic Gardener Podcast we’d love it if you’d give us review and hopefully a 5 star rating on iTunes so other gardeners can find us and listen to. Just click on the link here

Diggit, Inc. was born out of a mother and son collaboration between Elena and Paul Shemeta of the Seattle area. This northwest duo’s first gardening tool hit the market in 1997 at Seattle’s Fremont Sunday Market. It had a black handle and the advertising was a piece of cardboard with magic marker that said “weeding tool $5.00”. They sold out of all 10 diggit tools they’d brought to the market that day. While Paul was tasked with the refinement of the tool and the fabrication process, he credits Elena for the creation of Diggit, Inc. It was Elena who was responsible for the initial concept and the drive to get it to market. Elena has fine arts background and an imagination that just won’t quit. So, when she got fed up with the mess that a weeding claw was making of her soil (only to leave virulent weed root fragments behind) it was only natural that Elena would go in search of a better tool. After rummaging around her cluttered cellar for some time, her tool of choice was a foot-long tent stake. When she began weeding with the tent stake, to her surprise, it worked phenomenally. It uprooted the weeds efficiently and cleanly, roots and all. After using the tent stake for some time, Elena realized how useful this could be as a weeding tool for other gardeners. When Elena convinced Paul (who was now an accomplished mechanical engineer) that they should figure out how to refine and produce it in volume, they were on their way. Paul worked for a year perfecting the tool. According to him, his process was “a lot of trial and error with assembly methods, the design and size of the tool, digging weeds at halftime during football games, asking people their opinions about the latest design…” Using it was the real key for Paul though. He went through a lot of different handles before settling on the one they use now. He knew it was the right one because even during intensive weeding sessions, he says, “It didn’t give me blisters.” Paul and Elena have come a long way since they sold those first Diggit tools at the Seattle Fremont Sunday Market. With an enthusiastic customer base that gives great feedback, Elena’s ingenuity and determination and Paul’s technical know how and passion for problem-solving, the Diggit tools just keep coming and keep getting better and better. <h3>Tell us a little about yourself.</h3> When the company started Southern California big shock in the nineties for the last few days <h3>Tell me about your first gardening experience?</h3> It’s funny I didn’t really start gardening in my 20s which is about 60 years ago! We moved a lot, this was the age when engineers and their families moved from one coast to the other. I’d plant strawberries and somebody else got to pick them. My first gardening experience was maybe planting a lily bulb. It would take me forever because I had to dig everything up and replace the soil and the amendments. I always had to read my sunset garden book they wrote about us 3 times so it’s worked out really well. You might have more experience then a lot of us developing all these different areas. <h3>How did you learn how to garden organically?</h3> I just think it’s just something you naturally do especially when you’re at my age there was not a lot of stuff that you could put in the garden back when. It doesn’t just happen, I mean I guess it does. <h3>Tell us about something that grew well this year.</h3> Well the big problem is when I really when I lived in seattle I could grow incredible tomatoes. I noticed my daughter who lives close to me, she lived in California she doesn’t have any tomatoes last year, 2nd growing season last year my tomatoes weren’t very good this year they’re even worse! I contributing that to the heat records. At 100º some days boiled them to death, I haven’t done much but I have done really well with my gora common whilrling butterflies exotic thing I could never poinsianna amazing fern like leaf thing makes these incredible bright orange flowers just the gora and the poinsianna and a whole bunch of seemed native grasses herbs are just fine I have <ul> <li>basil</li> <li>lemon grass</li> <li>lemon thyme</li> </ul> they’re just fine not very many people grow I like it I put it in everything <ul> <li>sage</li> <li>peppermint</li> </ul> <h3>Is there something you would do different next year or want to try/new?</h3> I’m just trying to survive not really thinking about this year so crazy look at the temp in Rhode Island Seattle is quite cool still holy mackerel have to go out for a walk before 9, <ul> <li>rosemary is doing well too</li> <li>cat </li> <li>chives</li> </ul> they seem to like to be Back when we were raising our 6 kids we could only afford to go camping held down by footlong tent stakes moved to washington to the Seattle Area in general 3 differenet cities there out weeding just had the stupid claw messed up everything left the roots in I found one of these old tent stakes could get between the good stuff and the bad stuff it would be more comfortable with a handle on it took a whole blooming year to figure out a nice pointing tol with a soft comfortable handle ended up with cement <h2>That was the <a href="https://diggitgardentools.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Diggit</a>!</h2> Paul said people told him we love the <a href="https://diggitgardentools.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Diggit</a> what will get into tiny hole to hang it on that was that branched out into the hori hori garden knife is absolutely amazing started out in the adirondacks and ended in Seattle we started in 1997! Sent one to a garden writer and she then wrote an article about the tool and she liked it <h3>The original <a href="https://diggitgardentools.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Diggit</a></h3> when we were selling it to one of the big garden shows saw a bunch of sunset people lost the tools but had the card called me and then interviewed me tiny article didn’t have a website excpet my phone number wonderful called me lasted for 2 yeras even after  5 years I saw the article in my doctors office I would give the interesting thing too Paul is a mechancal engineer fine art stores wanted us to make some kind of poster explain how to use the tool! one of my son’s friends had one hori means dig lots of different prices we think our’s is the best paul’s done some kind of a coating so it never rusts stainless steel inside then he’d give the tools to another garden writing Siscoe Morris test stuff and break it if possible if he could break it <h3>Which activity is your least favorite activity to do in the garden.</h3> Not really, I suppose miserable little clover worst foe because of it’s underground roots tunnel under play submarine <h3>What is your favorite activity to do in the garden.</h3> Everything else I just like being out there, everybody says it soothes my soul whatever you were worried about amazing therapy <h3>What is the best gardening advice you have ever received?</h3> Plant tomatoes really deep they’ll make more roots in Seattle I could grow I really don’t know sandy clay endlessly It’s funny in people don’t garden or they have a gardener do their yards… <h3>A favorite recipe you like to cook from the garden?</h3> Mainly I would just put slices of tomato on a piece of pizza I don’t have any peppers I don’t really cook that much mainly Ive always grown flowers when I was working in the bellevue school district I ouwld bring in flowers open in the afternoon kids would come in just to watch the flower open over the day that they were there. exciting and fun my garden was always my painting I didn’t grow that many vegetable the usually arugala whatever’s hanging around ginger root and garlic problem really kind of a solution we go to a farmer’s market every week they have amazing stuff introduced to persimmons what they even were the farmer’s market amazing! they’re real adventure right now peaches and nectarines and plums grapes persimmons brussell sprouts absolutely amazing! <h3>A favorite reading material-book, mag, etc you can recommend?</h3> My Sunset Western Garden Book <a href="http://amzn.to/2xac6v4" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"></a> <h3><a href="http://amzn.to/2xac6v4" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The New Western Garden Book: The Ultimate Gardening Guide</a></h3> no matter what I plant I always look it up just in case that I don’t remember that’s just sits on our table in our living room… <h3>If you have a business to you have any advice for our listeners about how to sell extra produce or get started in the industry?</h3> IDK, just have to have a certain combination of creativity and technical knowhow if you have an idea and find a solution come up with it “It’s the best place to see miracles unfold!” <h3>How do we connect with you?</h3> <a href="https://diggitgardentools.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://diggitgardentools.com/</a> The Organic Gardener Podcast is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to <a href="http://amazon.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">amazon.com</a> If you like what you heard on the Organic Gardener Podcast we’d love it if you’d give us review and hopefully a 5 star rating on iTunes so other gardeners can find us and listen to. Just click on the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/organic-gardener-podcast/id962887645" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">link here</a>

194. Diggit Garden Tools | Elena Shemeta | Seattle, WA