Presidents Day

Lots of growth is taking place in the raised beds at CACG. We have seedlings of Turnips, Mustard and Sesame pushing through the soil surface. The Lettuce we transplanted out from the greenhouse two weeks ago has taken very well. In this photo Brenna is helping her Dad, Jim, to transplant out the Broccoli that she and her Mom Karen planted in greenhouse trays   


We are needing to water once a week in this dry winter.

Other earlier transplants of kale and Swiss Chard are just about making it ... but would really love some rain!

We purchased some Yakina Savoy plants from Berkeley Hort. in January. New to us this tasty, leafy green is also known as Chinese Cabbage and appears to be very versatile The plants are not marked at this very moment but will be soon. You are invited to try one of their very tender young leaves raw, it's a very tasty surprise. I do notice that about half of the 8 or so plants have attempted to bolt already. This could be as a result of the dry weather. We will see how they fit into our permaculture garden.
We have a variety of starts in the greenhouse. Please step in and take a look. If some of the plants appear to be dry please water them  ... and hopefully there will be water in the two watering cans to do this!

We have just about given up on trying to stake the two rows of Snap Peas. The soil is so hard and it is necessary to make a hole with a metal stake for each stick. Giving the vines a chance to climb might increase the flowering potential and therefore the yield of peas. We should still get a lot of peas with the vines on the ground. We are finding more edible peas each week as the days become longer and warmer.

Colin by the Fava Beans

Right next to the Snap Peas and closer to the street we have two rows of Fava beans. Possibly because of the dry weather they are becoming increasingly infested with aphids commonly called Black Fly or Aphis fabae. Usually autumn planted Favas do not have this problem as much as the late winter planted crop. This year is a little different. The Black Fly are sucking the sap and therefore reducing the vitality and yield. We do have a strong Lady Bug presence so rather than use soap spray or vigorous washing of the leaves we are going to try the age old method of pinching out the top two inches of the flowering head. This is where the aphids particularly like to situate themselves. As long as there are some flowers we will still have beans.

We have planted Potato Tower # two with unspecified, but organic, Red Potato seed plus a few unknown whites. This could also read: Two refrigerators were cleaned out at a time when our order of certified seed potatoes from Peaceful Valley had not yet arrived ...

We also planted a bare root Flame seedless grape vine on the right side of the white entrance arch.
A Black Monukka grape was planted on the left side last week.

Tyler, Angelina and Renee at the planting of a grape vine

We are harvesting Carrots, Lettuce, Mustard greens, Swiss Chard and a lot of Kale. There are still a few Sunchokes still in the ground. They will be starting to sprout soon so this is about the last chance to harvest tasty tubers.

Teresa harvesting Curly Kale leaves. The yellow flowers are Calendulas

MPC Update

Exceptionally little rain at MPC this winter. In January we recorded 3 inches, an average would be about 4.25 inches. So far this month we have recorded only 0.5 inches.
We have 300 gals stored in one rainwater tank, and have already begun using it to water plants. Another couple of tanks are about to be connected to a downspout. More on that soon.

About 12 of us enjoyed the Movie Night on Feb. 17th. There was a lively and informative discussion after the main screening plus 3 short video extras. Thank you to all who attended. The next Movie Night will be on March 23rd, more details soon.

Our 7 hens are laying between 2 and 4 eggs per day, and we are very grateful. Thank you Girls :>

Teresa Bottling Honey

We harvested 12 lbs of honey from the Juniper Bees after the bees left the hive earlier this month.

This is a 6 gal. food grade PVC bucket with a "Honey Gate"

As the bees become more active it is advisable to check on the hives. This is to make sure that they have enough space to develop a larger brood area as the season progresses. Often switching the two lower boxes at this time gives them the feeling of more spacious accommodation and lessens the urge to swarm.
Here David is checking hives at the Silver Springs Ranch in the Alhambra Valley.



In the community

This might be of interest.

Wednesday, February 22, 7-9pm: Learn about edible wild plants of the San Francisco Bay Area. Kevin Feinstein,

co-author of the new book,

The Bay Area Forager, will speak about local foraging and share stories of writing the

book. Kevin is a Bay Area writer, teacher, and researcher of plants, food, sustainability, and natural health. He is

the founder of the Foraging Society (foragingsociety.org) and maintains a website on foraging-related topics,

(feralkevin.com). The talk will be followed by Q&A and book signing. Kevin will bring roasted bay nut samples for

attendees. The event is free, at the Ecology Center Store, 2530 San Pablo Av, Berkeley. Info: (510) 548-3402,

store@ecologycenter.org.

Saturday, March 10 , noon-4pm : Eco-SF “work

Also, a little closer to home, at Heather Farms Park in Walnut Creek this speaker series sounds interesting.

Finally a big Thank You to so many of you for playing a part in building this more resilient, sustainable Permaculture Community.

David