Rain barrel

Here it is in all its glory: my official Skagit Public Utility District rain barrel.

Weeded

I did dig through the patch of baby weeds and pulled out everything I possibly could - LOTS of roots came out and it looks like the weeds are pretty well destroyed. More plastic is down over more weeds and I'll be going through that whole process again soon. It seems like the part I dug up had something besides clay soil in it, I'm guessing that it's manure from the faint smell. I think I'll leave that part alone but farther down there's obviously only the clay so I'll put some compost on that after digging out the weeds.

I also got the rain barrel set up, but there's been no rain (!) for about 3 weeks now. I'm looking forward to seeing how well it works and how much rain I'll be able to collect. It's set up by the back of the house under the gutter that only drains a small part of the roof so I definitely won't be overwhelmed by too much water.

I seem to be really bad at taking 'before' photos. I'll try to remember that for the next round.

Inching along

Yes, the backyard is still there. It's been pretty cool and rainy lately, right up until last week when we were hit with a scorching heat wave of 85 or so. Needless to say, the weeds are doing fabulously. I just pulled my 5x5 sheet of black plastic off of the place it's been for the last 2 months (maybe more?) and, while most of the area looks pretty dead, there are a few baby weeds already poking their heads up. I plan to single-dig that area and cover it up again by the end of the week. I hate the thought of spending $90-ish dollars on a giant box of black plastic, but that may be the only answer to getting this garden going sooner rather than later.

I do have the glimmerings of a garden plan and if we stay in this house (which we plan to, but there's another story there) I know what is going to go where. Which is major progress. The problem is buying fence material, PVC pipe, greenhouse sheeting, rebar, stepping stones...the funds are really not there right now, so maybe doing this - and paying for it - one step at a time is a good idea in the long run.

The amazing rolling chicken machine

Due to a peculiar series of circumstances starting with me attending a "Chickens 101" class at the local food co-op last Monday and ending with me realizing that the person I was emailing was someone who I already knew from the YMCA, we ended up in the backyard of yet another person's house today, looking at their portable chicken coop. 3 women got together about a year ago and decided to have a chicken share: they built the coop and the pen next to it and designed both of them to be easily moved. The pen breaks down into pieces that will fit into the back of a truck and the coop...rolls. Down the street. Preferably at night when the chickens are asleep and don't know that anything's going on.

Each person gets the coop for a few months at a time and the others come over for eggs and to throw vegetable scraps to the birds. They even have a smaller pen so that neighbors can borrow a chicken or two for garden or yard maintenance now and then. There are 5 regular hens and a game hen that was found running through the neighborhood a few months ago.

The ramp at the left side goes up into the coop.

Nesting boxes are at the bottom front and the panel on the side comes off to make it easy to clean everything out. Sadly, we are about a mile away from this arrangement or I'd be petitioning to let us in on the deal. It's just too far (and across 2 busy streets) to wheel this thing. But...what a great solution!

Backyard

This is our damp little backyard, in which one day a garden will reside. I'm planning to start on the left side of the photo along the fence and go from there. I don't actually have measurements yet but I think I can get at least 400 sq. ft. in there if not more. The extent of the gardening depends, of course, on how long we will be in this house; the entire plan involves both the front and back yards and will take at least 5 years. This photo was taken facing south and the tree is a pear tree. (UPDATE: I measured the back yard and I can fit at least five 25 x 4 ft. beds if I'm careful with the spacing.)

Biointensive Principles: Seed Propagation

All seeds are started in flats, so that you can choose the strongest seedlings to transplant and so that the crops that are already growing in the beds have a few more weeks to mature before the new seedlings are put in. These are half flats, which are easier to carry that the full flats.

The little tool in Ed's right hand is called a widger: you use it to lever the seedling out of the first flat...

...and then you use it again in the new flat to open up a space in the soil for the seedling. It's not difficult but it does take some practice.

A full flat. These can weigh quite a bit when they're full of wet dirt!

Biointensive Principles: Composting

More Ecology Action workshop photos from the composting class.

Start with about 4 ft. x 4 ft. of soil that has been loosened a bit, down to 12 inches if possible. They also recommend a layer of thicker sticks/branches on the bottom of the pile to help with drainage and air circulation.

A layer of dried, mature (i.e., carbon-rich) material.

Each layer gets watered after it's put down.

A layer of green, immature material.

More water.

And, a layer of soil. Repeat until the pile is about 3 or 4 ft. high, stick a compost thermometer in it, keep it moist but not soggy, and turn it in a few weeks. Then it sits around until it's ready for use. It's a slower, colder method, as opposed to the black plastic compost tumblers that heat everything up quickly and make compost in a month or so, but this way keeps the beneficial soil microbes that thrive at lower temperatures happy and healthy.

Biointensive Principles: Double-digging

A few photos from the double-digging demonstration at the 3-day workshop last month. Sometime during the weekend, someone said something like, "People hear 'Biointensive' and say, oh, that's the method where you double-dig. You all need to remember that there's more to it than that". True, but this is where it all starts...after the planning and calculating and calendars, that is...

John Jeavons beginning the demonstration. He's standing on a digging board to distribute his weight over a larger area so the soil doesn't get compacted.

We should be able to balance easily and understand where our center of gravity is, in order to use the least amount of energy to the greatest effect. Acrobatics encouraged, but not required.

The spade takes a bite out of the soil, about 12 inches down...

...and the soil is moved to the other side of the trench.

Then you position the spading fork on the lower level of the trench...

...sink it another 12 inches (or as far as it goes)...

...and wiggle it around to loosen the soil.

Repeat for the length of the bed, 20 or 25 ft. Take breaks. Breathe deeply. Think happy growing thoughts, and say hello to all the earthworms you turn up as you go along.

Bees!

We are currently staying in Cupertino, CA with our friend Charlotte, who has two beehives in her backyard. Charlotte was kind enough to allow me to help harvest a frame of honey last week, and of course we took some pictures. She has a fairly low-tech way of doing things: we scraped the honey off of the frame with an ice scraper and it went into a 5-gallon bucket with a paint strainer cloth in it. The honey drained out through the cloth and the wax stayed in, to be melted down and made into candles later. We got about 7-8 cups of honey from one frame. The bees were extremely mellow during the whole process, possibly because none of them got squished when Charlotte took off the top of the hive.

I think I'm definitely hooked, although I can't possibly contemplate buying all the equipment yet - maybe in 2-3 years. I did get a copy of 'Begin To Keep Bees' from Franklin Carrier, the local (San Jose) beekeeping guru, and it's fascinating reading. And, thanks to the magic of Google, I've discovered the Mt. Baker Beekeepers in Bellingham. Perhaps one of them will have extra hives/suits/etc. to loan/rent/sell cheap to a beginner? Only time will tell...

Post-workshop musings

Yes, I'm updating after over a year. Try to contain your excitement...both of you who actually know this blog exists...

I just completed the 3-day workshop at Ecology Action in Willits, CA. I plan to write down all the facts and figures at some point, including what the future garden plan will look like and what my goals for the next few years are, but I wanted to get down my thoughts and feelings while they're still fresh. It was amazing, overwhelming, thought-provoking, tedious, and transformative all at once.

The room was full of people who are looking for change and new ideas. Most were probably in their 20s, some just out of college and figuring out what to do with their lives and some who were already garden veterans who needed new input. There were a few 30- or 40-somethings, established in their careers and looking for better solutions for their lives. Many in this group were gardening for a living or partial living in one way or another. The remainder were retired or close to it and wanting to help specific populations: one man had plans to work in Afghanistan, another man is running an urban garden program in San Francisco, one woman is a nutrition expert, one couple is thinking of moving to the Willits area to garden seriously without having to deal with the high mortgage payments of Marin County.

I haven't ever been around this many people who were already convinced that the world is going to hell in a handbasket. No one seemed to need the introductory lecture on disappearing resources: water, farmable land, oil, knowledge of sustainable practices. We were all there to learn and that's exactly what we got - my head is spinning right now with random facts about Jerusalem artichokes (biomass + calories!) and the best way to transplant seedlings (don't touch the roots, unless they're onions!). A room full of people ready for change has a real buzz about it, and this is real, personal, sweaty, complicated change that you can't pawn off on a politician or a do-gooder. This is revolution...one clump of dirt at a time.

I'm inspired, and terrified. I really don't want to sit down with a calculator and figure out calories per square foot, or compost by (air-dried) weight, or the number of seedlings in a flat. But that's what we did today and what I have the tools to do in the future. Will William and I, realistically, ever grow every single thing we eat and forgo coffee and chocolate forever? Probably not...unless we have to. If we do, I have the (VERY) basic blueprints for a diet that will feed both us and the soil. Unlike the rest of the workshop participants, however, I can't go home and dig up the back yard to put all of this into practice. We won't have land of our own until early January at best, and maybe not even until next spring. I can plan endlessly but until I see the land there's not much I can be certain of. But...it's like a exile longing for home. I can already feel the soil on my fingers and smell the freshness of it, and all of my dreams are green around the edges.

October 18th, raised beds

I'll actually try to keep up with the photos this season. Really! The first bed has peas, leeks, and broccoli and collard seedlings. The second will have radishes, carrots, parsnips, and mangels as soon as they come up.

Photos, as promised

A couple of pictures of the Biointensive bed right before I ripped everything out, plus the many many potatoes.

Moving ahead

Never underestimate potatoes - I dug up about 12 pounds (maybe more) of Yukon Golds today, after I thought there was nothing else in there! I had to use the shovel and dig down about a foot so all of that end of the bed is mixed up now. I'm going to let things rest and start putting in the clover during the week, a little at a time. The Biointensive bed is now completely torn out - it took about two hours this weekend plus another hour for the potatoes. There is one tiny little peapod on the pea plants and it's very very cute. I did get the broccoli and collards in the ground on Thursdays, and the radishes are coming up but nothing else yet.
Photos coming soon...

Winter garden

I finally moved ahead with the winter garden today. I started broccoli and collards about 2 weeks ago (I think, maybe 3) and they are coming along nicely in their little pots on the windowsill. Today I finally ripped out the tomato plants from the raised bed and put a fence around it in a futile attempt to keep the squirrels out. I planted mangels, parsnips, carrots, and radishes (all seeds) in that bed and there are some volunteer sweet basil plants already sprouting. I picked the last 2 zucchini two days ago and ripped out the last plant today. There are still 4 leeks left hanging on from the spring and the peas are coming along nicely in that bed. The broccoli and collards will go in hopefully by the end of the week. The chard is still there and I want to put in some spinach and maybe another type of green (lacinato kale?). That's the raised beds. The Biointensive bed is pretty much done for, although I got two squash this week. Next weekend I will really try to get everything ripped out (including the weeds) and if I really get with it I'll get the crimson clover cover crop in too.
Unfortunately I was too late to get into the Ecology Action 3-day workshop in November, so I've taken the dubious step of signing up for NEXT November's workshop since the March workshop is right in the middle of Certificate of Merit and right before Friday Harbor...yeah, not gonna happen. I really wanted to go but I think I've learned more from just getting out there and getting things done. I'll probably need the workshop for the 'next phase': i.e., when I've got more land and can triple or quadruple what I did this year...oh boy!

Harvest 2008

Just some examples of things I've harvested in the past month or so. The potatoes were from a while back, the tomatoes and basil were probably early August, the melon was last week and the corn/squash/tomatoes are from tonight. Potatoes:Yukon Gold, squash: Yellow Straightneck, tomatoes: Green Zebra, Roma, Brandywine, Rutgers, and Better Boy (I think), basil: Genovese, corn: Golden Bantam, and the melon, 'Arizona', is an heirloom variety of canteloupe that doesn't seem to be too well known. It is SO sweet and flavorful...everything was great! This is my first year of serious gardening and I am definitely hooked...

Palak Panir

Palak Panir
Originally uploaded by wbajzek

Last one for the night! Angeline made this while I worked on the other things. This is basic palak panir, except we used niter kibbeh for the sauteeing part. We had a bit for dinner after we finished cooking, with some leftovers and a well-earned bottle of Samuel Smith's apple cider. Mmmmmm....

Miser Allecha

Miser Allecha
Originally uploaded by wbajzek

This is basically just spiced lentils and onion. Also from Papa Tofu.

I bought some injera at the ethiopian market to serve with these things. I'm really looking forward to it!

Gomen

Gomen
Originally uploaded by wbajzek

Gomen, pretty much just as it is in Papa Tofu except I used the beet greens and kale that I had available rather than buying collards for it. We're having a 4th of July shindig tomorrow and Angeline suggested ethiopian food, so I took it as a challenge.

This and the next two dishes use generous amounts of niter kibbeh (spiced margarine), also from Papa Tofu. No photo of that but you can take my word for it.

Mei quin choy, shiitake mushrooms, young onions

Mei quin choy, shiitake mushrooms, young onions
Originally uploaded by wbajzek

This was inspired by a recipe in veganomicon, baby bok choy with sauteed shallots and sesame seeds. Except, I used none of those things. I used mei quin choy (there's still a bunch left...), shiitake mushrooms, and chopped "young onions," which are somewhat shallot-like in taste. Oh, and a ton of ginger. Sauteed everything but the mei quin choy for a while first, then added the MQC, a bit of soy sauce, and some apple juice. Covered to steam for a bit and then served with, you guessed it, wasabi mashed potatoes!

Mango, heirloom tomato, and fresh herb salad

Mango, heirloom tomato, and fresh herb salad
Originally uploaded by wbajzek

Pretty much as it says. The herbs were just basil and mint.