Sustainable Growing Project

[Tutter]

Absolutely! You can make tea from it for foliar feeding by putting some into a bucket with water, and stirring it for a few days. Or add it to your compost pile, as it breaks down pretty fast. Or, mulch with it.

Some people don't rinse it before using it, but I'd be concerned about salt building up in the soil.

Probably the most effective use is foliar feeding, but you can still add some to the compost pile, if you have enough, as it does make the soil very nice.

My only hesitation is that I'm not up on any changes in rules/laws. I would strongly suggest that you contact someone, and make sure that you can take it without penalty. Better safe than sorry!

We have quite a few beds, so the covers vary. In the fall: Austrian field peas in some beds....I like their bio-mass, and lean towards them; clover in some; vetch with fava beans in some, and where the ground is still not as nice as I'd like, winter rye, for their deep root systems.

In the spring/summer we use other clovers, and buckwheat.

 

[Carri]

Any special features?

The kind that can hold horse poop.

Seriously though... Ken is going to see if he can get some barrels from work that they just throw away anyway and use them for "trash cans". If people have extras, that would be great, but don't go buying trash cans just for this! LOL

 

[Beekissed]

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned it or not but, if you want to retain moisture and keep the weeding work down to a minimum, I would mulch, mulch, mulch! This will also save on your water bill. I got old composted hay from someone's field that wasn't any good for feed anymore(free!). I have used hay before, and contrary to what you may have heard, it didn't start growing in the garden! I have heard that these community gardens can go by the wayside in the busy summer months and folks get overwhelmed with the weeding and hoeing. Why not mulch now to avoid the weed growth?

Also, you might want to check out the Square Foot Garden method to maximize your space for each family or group. Its great and easy to understand and implement.

Great project! Wish I had access to all your free horse manure!!!

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Tutter - I agree that it'd probably be best to rinse the seaweed first. Salt buildup can be a huge problem so it'd be best to not go down the route in the first place. But, depending on local laws, this could be a nice source for the garden. We do have several 'protected' beaches nearby and we know not to take ANYthing out of there, but the state or city beaches may have different rules. A quick phone call should answer this one. I did do a web search but only found regulations for folks harvesting for commercial uses. The rules seemed to be tighter for cutting of the kelp, but looser for gathering kelp that had already broken free. Although, even free seaweed may not be worth it. I know what my kids water shoes smell like after a day at the beach. Just imagine a pile of seaweed!

As to your cover crops, do you select specifically for what characteristics the cover crop would be providing to replace was removed by the previous plant?

Carri - Sounds great! I'll ask around and see what others may have as well.

Beekissed - Mulch is good stuff, isn't it?! I'll see what we can get in there to do the job. So far, everything is holding up nicely, but you're right. Once summer comes, it could be a whole other story!

We aren't do square foot gardening, per se, but are using some 'intensive' methods. We are currently row planting, largely because this first year's efforts are mainly going toward soil improvement. But, the beds are raised and therefore we're able to fit more plants in the spot which also helps to shade the ground, which then doesn't dry out as quickly.

We're currently doing this as a cooperative effort and so far it seems to be working. We have a watering schedule and we communicate via an email list. If someone does a job, it's communicated back to the group. If someone sees something that needs to be attended to, it is also mentioned and someone takes on the task. You're correct that it may be harder to work this way in the summer, especially due to folks travel time. I'm sure we'll be tweaking things as we go along, so I really appreciate your thoughts and ideas!

 

[Backyard Buddies]

An update with the latest accomplishments -

On 5/17: We had a smaller group that day due to several folks traveling, but we still managed to:
- Complete the area for the pumpkins and got them planted.
- Began digging and amending the first section for the corn.
- Planted the herb garden.

On 5/24: We had a huge group, tho some were only there for a short time, which is still wonderful! Every little bit helps! The best thing we did was to rent a jackhammer with a clay-breaker attachment. This thing ROCKED! It worked so well to get down into the compacted layer of soil which made it easy to amend and turn the soil. With it we were able to:
- Complete the dig for the first corn plot, amend it, and turn it completely. It was planted with the first round of corn.
- Dig out, turn, and amend a 5' X 30' plot. In it, we built 6 hills and planted 4 types of summer squash - zucchini, yellow straight neck, yellow crook neck, and white pattypan.
- Dig out, turn, and amend another 4' X 30' plot. In it we planted leeks, three types of radish, and some Persian cucumber.
Additionally, we:
- Prepped the kids' Lady Bug garden and helped the 5 kids who were there to build a bean tee pee. They found some pavers that were at the back of the garden and lined the inside so that they'd have a place to sit. They planted it with two types of pole beans - some Scarlet Emperor beans and some standard pole beans. They also planted some giant sunflowers.
- Added a soaker hose system to the green bean row.
- Weeded.

:rose

I took some more pictures and will post them at a later date.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

I can't believe I haven't updated this in more than a month! So much has happened since then!

For a couple of weeks we have been picking large amounts of tomatoes, Japanese eggplant, many varieties of peppers (both hot and sweet), copious amounts of green and yellow beans, and the first few squash.

When the first large basket was picked last week, the produce was blessed and they were taken to the shelter to feed the needy. Another batch will go over this week.

Everyone who is working the garden is enjoying some fresh veggies. And, we still have large amounts left over that have been offered to church members to take via free-will offering. This past Sunday we collected $40 that will go back to help support the garden and feed the poor.

Here are a couple of pictures from 6-28-08:

Some of the veggies:

A close up of Japanese Eggplant:

I need to take more pictures. When I'm there, I'm usually pretty busy with picking and watering.

 

[Tutter]

It's looking really good, and, better yet, you are already reaping what you've sown!

Thank you for updating, and I'll be watching for new photos!

 

[Beekissed]

THAT is a lovely garden...you have truly been blessed! I love what you guys are doing...wish our church wasn't so lazy!!!!

 

[Backyard Buddies]

THAT is a lovely garden...you have truly been blessed! I love what you guys are doing...wish our church wasn't so lazy!!!!

Beekissed - As you know, each of us has our calling, you know, the 1 Cor. 12 stuff. We had the means and the desire and the idea was born. OC is a very, very wealthy area and because of that and the blessing of wonderful weather, there is also great poverty and homelessness. To have the opportunity to do this in this area is much needed and appreciated. I know you've written about the many things your church members have done for you or given you, so perhaps they've found their own way of fulfilling their calling.

For our parish, helping the poor is a priority, so the garden outreach fits within the mission of our church (besides the fact that they're glad that the weed lot is gone!). In August, we will be a host parish for the Interfaith Shelter Network, where churches join together to host two weeks of shelter for the homeless on a rotating basis. We plan to make the food from the garden available during this time, and we as a group will be hosting a dinner or two prepared from the fresh foods from the garden. For privacy reasons, I won't be posting any pictures from that but I'll be sure to give you all a report when it takes place.

 

[Tutter]

I agree with you, Backyard Buddies, and feel, Beekissed, that if you have the wish to help people with needs, and any group you belong to doesn't want to get involved to the level you wish to, that your feelings of longing show that you, as an individual, are ready to do something on your own.

Even just giving a portion of your personal harvest to a senior center, an elderly neighbor, or food bank, is wonderful. Imagine if more people did that!

You make a good point about your area, and I'm glad that your church felt led to answer the problem.