Once on a Blue Moon

I think the Full Moon on Friday will be called a Red Moon ....but it is the second full moon in the month of August!

At CACG we have been continuing to plant our cool season crops. Often using saved seed from previous cropping at the garden. For example Kale, Brocolli, Carrots, Swiss Chard, Lettuce and Fava Beans have been planted with saved seed.
A layer of straw on the surface denotes the location of newly planted seed.
Our Shelling Peas planted on Aug. 12th are showing above ground.


Peppers, Tomatillos and Carrots from the beds just behind the notice board

Ready to harvest in the garden at the moment you will find:
Tomatoes, Squash, Tomatillos, Carrots, Eggplant, Swiss Chard, Peppers and Sunflowers, all in plenty!
You may find some: Beets, Watermelon, Corn and beans ... generally in lesser supply but there if you can find them.

It will be easier to direct readers to specific crops or tasks when we get the beds named. If this is a crazy idea blame me because I was the one who thought of it. Instead of numbering the beds, which I agree would be very logical, we are going to try naming the growing beds with words that evoke an uplifting, positive tone. Thus every time we speak the affirmative sound we are lifting ourselves plus sending out that level of vibration to all people and all life in the garden. Given that we want positive vibrations around our food and medicine one place to look for the evidence that some benefit may occur would be the work of  Dr. Masaru Emoto in relation to the effects of our thoughts on water.

Angelina has been painting "Name Tags" for the garden beds. Names such as "Optimism"  "Hope"  "Harmony" and "Gratitude"  Thank you Angelina!

Busy painter that she is Angelina also painted the sign for our newly established "Lost and Found" box now located in the Storage Area.  If you find a water bottle or sunglasses in the garden this would be the place to put them. Right now we have a black purse with what appear to be bike lock keys in our Lost and Found box. I hope it stays empty, but it just might help someone get their lost possessions back.

We are going to keep the fire pit where it is for now. One day it will be in the center of our circular gathering area surrounded by fruit trees, but for now we are just visioning that. Here we see Jim adding another course of bricks.

Next Saturday we are planning to cover the whole top of the garden area, including the fire pit vicinity, with tree chips. This mulch will cover weeds and begin breaking down to make soil with the fall rains. We get chips delivered free by Bartlett Tree Experts.

The compost bins gained 25% additional capacity last Saturday. With 2 larger bins we will be able to get the piles hotter. We don't have any finished compost at this time ... but it will not be long!


Many kitchens in the area are busy canning Peaches and Nectarines at the moment. They are now ready to pick, and delicious!



Local Peaches







 

Our Kitchen ....

 

Is bottling something else; Honey!

 

We have just begun the main honey harvest. Here Teresa is bottling a small amount of raw honey that was a sampling from two of our hives at MPC. We are calling it the Blue Moon Special blend :)

What happened to Little Bit and her eggs?

Eggs hatched on May 4th

 Only three of the six eggs were fertile. One chick only lasted a couple of days. We were left with just two chicks from the six eggs that Little Bit had so diligently sat on for 21 days. Little Bit was such a good mother when she went through this cycle last year that we decided to buy four day old chicks for her to rear. These were two Plymouth Partridge Rocks and two Buff Brahmas.

Two Partridge Rocks on left

Here are the girls at 16 weeks relaxing in the compost bin. Little Bit is on the far right.

 

Check Out This:

 

Bill Merrill is from Fremont with a lot of local practical gardening experience and about 79 videos on You Tube. Most of them are about gardening and sustainable practices. I find them very informative. Here is a link to his GreenGardenGuy1 Channel and some tips on pruning Raspberries.

 

Also .... be prepared to be inspired by the video in this link to Permaculture Artisans in Sebastopol CA. They have started a Permaculture Neighborhood Center! Is That similar to what we have done at CACG?

 

Jim's Blog

 

Jim has a wonderful stream of current and interesting information in his blog

Well worth a regular visit to see his photos, his cute kids and find out what is happening at CACG.

 

Movie Night

 

About ten of us watched Jeff Lawton's Urban Permaculture DVD last Friday evening. It is 90 minutes long and very information rich. A couple of people commented afterwards that they felt overwhelmed by the volume of information. Even a little depressed. I can understand this. Jeff Lawton has been practicing Permaculture principals for a long time and is an enthusiastic master of his craft. As beginners we are not expected to be as skilled at drafting  the design or as eloquent at integrating so many elements. We have to begin simply ... so that we can "Simply begin".

 

We can all do a little something. It doesn't have to be a complex multi faceted system right from the start. Small examples might be: Composting. A worm bin. Water catchment or water recycling. Growing our own herbs. Permaculturists promote the concept of taking small sustainable steps.

 

No need to be overwhelmed. Could it be that the purpose of the movie was to inspire ... not to intimidate. 

All who watched 'Urban Permaculture' are to be congratulated for the place that they are in now.  They chose to spend Friday evening building community rather than with Batman or another more popular escapist movie. No offence intended to Batman, the movie, the producer, director, audiences or World wide fan base. I recognise that he is saving humanity in his own way :)

Could it be said that Urban Permaculture demonstrates in a practical way that we can all be Heroes. And perhaps live a little Happier Ever After! 

 

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Hope you enjoy the beautiful Moonlight!

 

David