Thanksgiving

I hope you have enjoyed Thanksgiving Day.

I just wanted to express my thanks and gratitude for all the support received by the community garden. It comes in many forms and I might have missed some but here are a few. People have supported the garden and community by:
Working in the garden. Everything from shoveling manure and tree chips to making signs, winnowing saved seeds planting, weeding and harvesting. Wattle making. Building raised beds.
Making financial donations to help cover the cost of water, irrigation supplies, gopher barrier wire netting, plants etc.
Making material donations such as plants, seeds, the green house, hoses, teeter totter, used fence boards, tree rounds and chips.
Organizing events such as the Full Moon Harvest Potluck Dinner and the Bonfire gatherings.
Promoting our activities on social media ( Face Book) and local listings such as Local Harvest
Promoting our activities by writing or initiating articles for the Martinez Gazette and Martinez Patch
Starting a blog such as Jim Mannion's garden blog
Stopping by to say hello and voice appreciation for the project.
Honking and waiving while driving by on Center Avenue.

Thank yo uall for the many ways that a community comes together to define, nurture and strengthen its self.

These photos from Jim's Blog on September 2nd 2012

This upcoming workshop will contain a lot of infromation about rain water storage in tanks.
Rainwater Harvesting for Public Schools

Saturday, December 1, 2012 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM (PST)
The Oakland Rain Barrel Program (ORBP) will hold an informative, hands-on workshop at Skyline High School, led by the Watershed Project and DIG Cooperative Inc.
This workshop will showcase the ORBP's newly built cistern project of two 'daisy-chained' 2,825 gallon tanks and will cover the full range of rainwater harvesting that can be applied to any
school or residence, from 50 gallon barrels to 620 gallon tanks and rain gardens.

The workshop can host up to 50 people, so space is limited, and registration is required so we can accommodate all participants.

If interested, we encourage you to register ASAP while space is available - this event will fill up quick!
For more information on the workshop and to register, visit:
http://skyline-rainwater-workshop.eventbrite.com

An event reminder with exact location details will be sent via email to all registered participants.

Thank you!

--
Ingrid Severson
510-459-0584
ingrid@dig.coop
www.dig.coop
DIG Cooperative Inc., CCL#934853


Movie Night

We are still deciding on the next movie to screen. We were hoping for early December but know that December is fast approaching.

"A Christmas Carol Sing Along"   Nov. 30th, 6pm at the garden

The First Baptist Church of Pacheco has offered to partner with the garden project to create "A Christmas Carol Sing Along"
This is to be next Friday November 30th at 6pm at the fire pit. 333 Center Avenue, Pacheco.
Jennifer will organise the CACG participation and the church will provide marshmallows and hot dogs. The church will also distribute mini fliers in the neighborhood and provide sheet music for us. I see this as a 'reaching out' and a bridge between the garden and church communities. It is also a community building opportunity and a chance to meet neighbors and have a good time around the campfire. Doesn't matter if you cannot sing, you don't go to any church or participate in the development of the garden ... just come over and say hello.

MPC

This photo taken in mid November shows the edibles growing next to the street at 2421 Center Ave.

At the bottom there are a few squash leaves to the right. Dino and Red Russian Kale with Swiss Chard leaves. Also late Lemon Queen Sunflowers, at the foot of which is more kale.

The Sunchokes (not shown) are ready to harvest now.

A late pumpkin in a Maple tree in the back garden making use of verticle space

 The new Martinez Permaculture Center website will be active soon.

In Gratitude,

David

First Rains

The rainfall in our garden during October amounted to 1.25 inches which is actually our average for October rainfall. We are Grateful!
With the cooler day time highs we have cut back the automated watering to once or twice per week and the magnificent team of hand waterers are also getting a break as they water only where and when needed.

Website

Our martinezpermaculturecenter.com site is not active at the moment. We were not able to fund the renewal fee with our current Internet service provider which is 372 dollars annually. We will look to building a replacement site very soon. Probably selecting one of the less sophisticated free sites that will be easier (for me at least) to work with.

Bon Fire

On October 5th we gathered for a Bonfire at CACG

There was music and song

Ysidro our Fireman

I feel like using the cliche "Don't try this at home"

We did check with the local fire department before attempting this event with a fire. Ysidro is a professional fire fighter and he managed the fire pit all evening. This included wetting the surrounding area before lighting the fire and dowsing the embers at closing.

Work then play

Erin and Nathaniel live very locally and regularly help in the garden. This is part of the Permaculture model where all is in balance because here they are seen resting.




We hope that next year we can have a regular gathering of this kind once per month. At the moment we are planning on the last Friday of each month. We will keep you posted and try to get the word out to as many as possible.

A Dr. Seuss reading for more garden workers

We do have one more such Bonfire event planned for this year!

Save The Date!

The First Baptist Church of Pacheco has offered to partner with the garden project to create "A Christmas Carol Sing Along"
This is to be on Friday November 30th at 6pm at the fire pit. 333 Center Avenue, Pacheco.
Jennifer will organise the CACG participation and the church will provide marshmallows and hot dogs. The church will also distribute mini fliers in the neighborhood and provide sheet music for us. I see this as a 'reaching out' and a bridge between the garden and church communities. It is also a community building opportunity and a chance to meet neighbors and have a good time around the campfire. Doesn't matter if you cannot sing ... just come over and say hello.

What's Happening at CACG?

Jennifer and Ron working in the greenhouse

The Corn Beans and Squash patch is dying back .... but not idle!

We are leaving the vegetative remains (haulm) in situ to act as cover for the Fava beans, Kale and snap Peas that we planted in late October.

Colin and Carlos planting Fava Beans

But I don't like Fava Beans!

Don't worry we don't expect to eat them all. Fava Beans are a cover crop which is especially useful for fixing nitrogen and creating mulch. If we get some beans to eat then that is a bonus. I admit that these beans are an acquired taste and confess that I detested them as a child. Here are some creative recipes for Favas. I like them steamed.

 We are harvesting: Eggplant, Tomatoes, Squash, Lettuce, Beets, Sunchokes, Carrots and Kale at the garden now in Mid November.

Recently we have been spreading a lot of tree chips to act as mulch
MPC
Here is  Lemon Queen Sunflower blooming at home, 2421 Center Ave. Martinez on November 9th. It was planted in August from this years seed.

Can you spot the Honey Bee in the flower?

More very soon.

Be nice to your neighbors!

David