Monday, June 18, 2012

Qigong, Bunnies and Radishes

















With Spring time comes many forms of lives.  One of four baby bunnies discovered in the garden and given away for adoption on Craigslist.

Much has been accomplished in the past couple weeks....
































The center of the vegetable garden and the front of the property have been planted with perennial flowers thanks to a donation from Payne's Nurseries.

















Carrot and radish beds were thinned (come get your radishes!)

















The last of the chard and kale seedlings were transplanted  (Richard and James at work)

















Potatoes were mounded (Dominique and Ariel)

























300 basil plants went into beds (Dominique)

























James transplanting Chimayo peppers  (donated by Payne's Nurserie)

















A new patch was created with trellisses for Lemon Cucumbers and 4 varieties of tomato (Beefsteak, Early Russian, Peron Sprayless and Red Cherries)






Many efforts went into building a large Three Sisters waffle garden.  60 holes were dug (18" diameter by 18" depth) and filled with aged steer manure and compost.  We opted for Renee's Garden design





















































Several varieties of summer and winter squash were planted along with native corn.  Pole beans will be planted as soon as the corn stalks are big enough.


















 A recent compost donation (tomato, strawberries and corn) from the Food Depot was spread over one of the fields that will soon be mulched. 


















The last of the tomatoes were put into beds.  We now have 300 tomato plants in the garden.


















Two more beds need to be planted  (peppers and chard) and the garden will be finished!


























Scarlet Runner Beans on the fence



























One of the chard beds

















Romaine lettuce in one of the hoop house

















Socks flags create by Dominique will soon be adorning the property fence


This week, we'll be building our farm stand at the entrance of the garden.  On July 2, we'll start selling vegetables on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7:00-11:00am.  We'll also have our volunteer time on those same days from 9:00-11:00am with a Qigong class offered by Dominique on Mondays at 8:30am.

The garden looks beautiful.  Rabbits have been chomping on our bush beans, Flea Beetles have been chomping on radish greens and arugula... but there's plenty for everyone!

Our water situation is holding out so far.  Hopefully rains will be here soon...  We are still planning to raise money for a new well in order to expand the garden area in the future.


NEW SCHEDULE

FARM STAND  (Effective July 2) 
Monday, Wednesday and Friday
7:00am-11:00am 
Come get your vegetables at the farm, picked that morning with love.
Bring you kid(s) for a tour of the garden and a little grazing...
Farm stand is located in the garden and accessible from the bike path.  (if you are riding downtown, farm is on your right after you cross Yucca.  Look for colorful signs and wind socks)
20% discount for people walking or biking.


VOLUNTEER DAYS
Monday   
9:00am-11:00am
(Come at 8:30am for a free 20 min. Qigong class led by Dominique)

Wednesday    
9:00am-11:00am
5:00pm-7:00p
(kid-centered afternoon with art-making and puppet theater)

Friday
9:00am-11:00am


COMMUNITY MEETING and POTLUCK DINNER
First Monday of the Month    
6:00pm-7:30PM
July 2, August 6, Sept. 3


NOTE: Please, park your vehicle on the street.


Sign-up on the right of blog (Follow this Blog by Email) to receive announcements posted on this blog.

  If you wish to support this project, you can make a tax-deductible donation here.   See our Wish List

Monday, June 11, 2012

New Schedule and Farm Stand

 















Farm Stand  (Effective July 2) 

MONDAY, WEDNESDAY,  FRIDAY
7:00am-11:00am 

Come get your vegetables at the farm, picked that morning with love.
Bring you kid(s) for a tour of the garden and a little grazing...
Farm stand is located in the garden and accessible from the bike path.  (if you are riding downtown, farm is on your right after you cross Yucca.  Look for colorful signs)
20% discount for people walking or biking.

Summer Volunteer Days

MONDAY   
9:00am-11:00am
(Come at 8:30am for a free 20 min. Qigong class led by Dominique)

WEDNESDAY    
9:00am-11:00am
5:00pm-7:00pm 
(kid-centered afternoon with art-making and puppet theater)

FRIDAY
9:00am-11:00am


Community Meeting and Potluck Dinner

FIRST MONDAY OF EACH MONTH      
6:00pm-7:30PM
July 2, August 6, Sept. 3


NOTE: Please, park your vehicle on the street.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Busy Planting

















As you've probably guessed, we've been busy...

















Gene and Vicki came with their water tank and one of our fields was covered with straw/hay and watered.





































Five planters were equipped with hoops and shade cloth, and planted with lettuce, cabbage choy, bok choy and culinary herbs.


















Poki and David transplanting the last of the basil.  Some 200 plants will go into our beds and we'll have extras.
























Five varieties of chiles are happily waiting to go into the garden.

















So far, 150 tomato plants have been planted in the garden (Wisconsin 55, Peron Sprayless and Smooth Orange).  80 more will be planted tomorrow.

























Our fence has been planted with more scarlet runner beans and cucumbers (to the delight of our resident bunnies...)

























Last week, Dominique's Mom Carmen was visiting from Miami, Florida.
 

















Together they planted 25 trees and shrubs around the property

















 Ariel and Nick, our two wwoofers, enjoying the "lounge" after a hard day of shoveling compost...

 















James came to visit the farm last weekend and will soon be joining us as an intern.

















Our community meeting/potluck brunch last Sunday


















Dominique transplanted 300 red russian kale plants today

 














 
Our circular beds have been top-dressed with the compost that we started March 1 and are now irrigated.


























One circular bed was planted with 180 chard plants early this morning.

So far, things are progressing smoothly.  Our irrigation system is working perfectly and the plants are getting 45min of watering each night (once plants are established, we'll only water every other night).  Our water supply is so far adequate. 

Our next push will be about creating swales to capture the soon-to-arrive rain water, and planting trees and shrubs along the swales.

Now that the garden is planted, we are beginning to reflect on where the harvest will go.

Some of the ideas proposed so far:
  • Creating a food stand in the lower field, accessible via the bike path.  The food stand would be open when we are harvesting in the morning. 
  • Donating 10% of our harvest to the Food Depot and/or Kitchen Angels
  • Distibuting produce boxes to people with cancer
  • Selling at Farmers' Market

It is imperative that we define our mission.  As a non-profit, who are we serving?  What is our educational mandate?  What makes us unique and appealing as an urban farm?  How are we weaving children in the farm activities?

The past 4 months have been a marathon for me.  I've been working 12-14hr days, 7 days a week. Having wwoofers/interns has been a tremendous help.  Thank you Kaylyn, Tiel, Ariel, Nick, James, Dominique, Josh and Jordan for your hard work and creative input!

Once all the plants are in the ground, I will have more time to focus on promoting the farm, create alliances with schools and work with parents to organize summer camps at the farm.

Things are looking good.  Thank you for all your love and support!

Please join us during our volunteer farm days (Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9:00-11:00am) 

Our Community Meeting-Potluck Dinner is on the first Monday of each month 6:00-7:30pm

Sign-up on the right of blog (Follow this Blog by Email) to receive announcements posted on this blog.

  If you wish to support this project, you can make a tax-deductible donation here.   See our Wish List