The full moon in April is known as the Egg Moon in England .
Native Americans also called it the Pink Moon. It has also been known as the
Sprouting Grass Moon, Fish Moon, Seed Moon and Waking Moon.
Today is the last day to file 2013 taxes and it’s a full moon
so I’m seeing it as the Tax Moon this year.
The concept of taxes includes sharing our individual bounty
for the good of All.
The Center Avenue Community garden is all about sharing.
Would you be willing to share some of your tax refund to
support the Center
Avenue Community
Garden project that offers
so many benefits to our community? Or even pay a little extra to support a
useful public creation where you can see the beauty of what your funding creates
year round in partnership with Mother Nature?
We want CACG to THRIVE
The Short
Version
We need some funds to pay for our water at CACG.
We sub meter water from the Church.
From January to mid April we have paid out $77 for water.
For this same period we have received $40 in donations with
a zero balance brought forward from last year.
We are reducing our 2014 planting area to save water usage
until we receive enough donations to cover a full crop this season.
Please be assured that we are very careful with our water
usage; even to the faucets.
Last year we spent $827 on water. This year we expect to pay
less, perhaps $500 – 600.
If you can help to sponsor our water use at CACG, please
contact me at 925-286-7225 (text OK) or email davidmudgegardens@yahoo.com.
Any amount is welcome.
Please help fund this project and make the statement “Yes I
want this beautiful garden to thrive.”
The THRIVE hive at MPC |
One of the magnificent CACG supporters in the photo above has advised me 'not to over think it' and yet I feel I need to explain a little more. So ....
The slightly longer version,
but still readable I hope
What Should We Plant Now ?
At the Center
Avenue Community
Garden I am frequently
asked “What should we plant now ?” It’s a reasonable question and technically
now in mid-April there are a whole range of summer crops that are in season for
planting. I find it more difficult to answer the “What to plant” question this
year due to the lack of funds for the many, sometimes not so obvious, expenses.
Firstly, as of January 2014 Governor Jerry Brown declared a
statewide emergency and made the drought in California official. This was confirmation
of what we already knew but drew our attention to the need to conserve water.
If rationing, or a penalty system, were to be applied then as a community we
would want to bear our responsibility to reduce water consumption. The Contra
Costa Water District has asked its customers to reduce consumption by 15% in
2014.
We sub meter water used by the garden from the First Baptist
Church of Pacheco. The church owns the land that CACG occupies. We would wish
to be respectful stewards, both in actuality and perception, regarding the
public observation of water conservation on our host’s land.
The question of what to plant also meshes with the question
“How much can we afford to water?” It would seem prudent not to plant more than
we can irrigate when necessary. From May 2013 to January 2014 we reimbursed the
Church $827 for water used. At this
point, we have no funds for water or any other project this year. To maintain a
full and vibrant garden we will need more financial help than is expected, or
possible from a handful of ardent families that have been paying bills for the
garden as we have known it in previous years.
Finally the question of “How much planting can we tend to?”
With just a handful of loyal garden supporters actively participating in the
management of the garden on a regular basis, it is possible that we could waste
resources by overplanting. The raised beds require the most attention. Last
year their full potential was not realized through lack of hands weeding,
thinning, transplanting and monitoring the water delivery.
I would also mention that it is disheartening to those who
stretch themselves to contribute financially and gift their time to witness
whole corn stalks and other valuable plants being removed to feed the goats. It
can seem as though the community in general does not see the value of locally
produced food. And yet many come through and harvest from the garden which
demonstrates an awareness of its existence. I personally believe that locally
produced food is very much the norm of the future and we are just on the tip of
a large scale revolution in food production that reintroduces small scale
farming practices.
At CACG every week someone makes a point of thanking us for
creating the garden, tells us how beautiful it is and what a difference it has
made in their lives.
I hear “You are doing
a great job” and I wish it could be “WE are doing a great job” Myself and
others have heard statements such as “Why can’t the Church pay for this” and
“Can’t you get anyone to help you?” We
so want this to be a community project. We
are 4 years into this evolution of the garden and would love to have our local
community take ownership and responsibility for this amazing opportunity.
CACG will continue in some form regardless of the level of
community support. Your financial assistance will allow it to evolve faster,
providing a meeting place for sustainable lifestyle classes, children’s
education of where their food comes from, local DVC permaculture lab classes,
natural building projects, picnics, yoga classes, etc.
CACG has proven itself to be a great demonstration and
inspiration with regard to practically applying Permaculture principles in Martinez . In the next
post I would like to share in more detail some of the actual, and many
potential, benefits of having such a wonderful piece of land being shared in
the community.
OK that's enough! |
We have our monthly Crop Swap at the garden on Wednesday April 23rd, 6:15 pm. Details in the right side column.
We also have our Movie Night on April 25th. Please see the "More Than Honey" segment in the right side column.
Enjoy the glorious full moon that defies labels.
David
925 286 7225
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