Sunday, July 29, 2012

Farm Stand, Sunflowers and a Duck
















Our farm stand has now been opened for 3 weeks and the word is quickly spreading through the neighborhood.  Sales are increasing weekly thanks to our supportive community

Our Farm Stand hours are Mon., Wed. & Fri. 7:00-11:00am
 














Great relationships are being built and a neighbor is trading goat milk and cheese for vegetables.  Gaia Gardens is joining Time Bank and will be accepting TB$ for vegetables and workshops








 The garden is magnificent and healthy, and delights many visitors

 
























A new bench now adorns the front of the garden - a great place to relax and watch the many birds (including a pair of falcons!) visiting the garden


























 A rack has been added to accommodate our numerous visitors on wheels




Pearl the Pekin duck has joined our flock of hens and is as happy as a duck can be




During our kid-centered Wednesday afternoon, some boys asked to do some target practice with the air gun.


























Followed by some wild surfing on the compost pile!



























Dominique's Monday morning (7:30-8:00am) FREE Qigong practice is one of the many activities happening around the garden






































Elise, one of the new woofers, showing our world record Armenian cucumber

Elias, another new wwoofer, shredding paper for our worm bin

Rosa and Poki back from harvesting 2 lbs of basil for Joe's Dinner, a great supporter of local organic farmers






































Our friend Rashid from the Ta-Ha Mosque Food Distribution Program, picking up bags of vegetables for families in need.




Permaculture expert Tom Watson, discussing the upcoming August 11 Water Harvesting workshop with Dominique, James and Galen.







































































































































































 Our tomatoes patch (over 300 plants) has been staked 

























Our 3 sisters garden is doing well but we've had to be on patrol daily for squash bugs.  We are experimenting with using dill and Buffalo gourds as bug repellent








































Dominique welding ornaments for the garden.  Our crew is beginning to create gratitude shrines throughout the property and along the bike path.  Anyone is welcome to join the effort.  For more info please contact Dominique


WATER UPDATE
Our water system is working well.  The water schedule has been reduced to 12 minutes 3X day.  On Monday and Tuesday nights, the watering will be done with overhead sprinklers instead of drip irrigation, to give the entire garden a good soak before the full moon (see more here)

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

An horno is a oven of all kinds, however, in the Southwest it often refers to a wood-fueled adobe oven that has become an icon of the region.  This type of oven is usually constructed by intersecting two forms, the dome and the arch, of which are the basis for many other types of construction including Gothic architecture.  Employing earth extracted from the site, adobe offers many possibilities as a material that possesses great heat capacity; it has been and continues to be used as a means to thermally regulate buildings of all types both regionally and globally.  This two part horno construction class will cover all steps of building an horno.
Instructor Paul (Pablo) Navrot 
COST:  On Donation
Please register for workshop by emailing us




Learn to make your own medicinal preparations. In two afternoon classes, we will cover the basics of creating your own home remedies from local medicinal herbs. Class one: Drying and storing herbs and making teas and decoctions. Making alcohol tinctures. Dosages for teas and tinctures. Class two: Making herbal oils, salves, and poultices. Desert first aid. 

Instructor: Kelly Frith, L.Ac. Owner of Botanical Blends, LLC. Herbal instructor at Hawaii College of Oriental Medicine for 7 years.

COST: Sliding Scale $15-30 for both weekends
Please register for workshop by emailing us





The relationship between soil and water is essential to the success of life. The combination of the two is of course what makes life, and most of the food we eat. Tom Watson, a permaculture expert, will be discussing strategies and techniques such as water catchment, landscape design and rain water harvesting. The focus will be to capture all of the accessible water (drain water, rain water, etc), in this case around Gaia Gardens, and leading it somewhere it can be used to help with growth. The ultimate goal is for the participants to walk away with the knowledge and skills to apply at their own homes or living spaces. For more information on the techniques take a look at Brad Lancaster or check out his book series Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond.

COST: On Donation
Please register for workshop by emailing us




For more info on our activities and schedule, please visit here
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, July 16, 2012

Puppets, Hawks and Cucumbers




The farm stand is a success and our neighbors are a delight



















A dog pole has been installed at the garden entrance with water for the beasts.  A bicycle rack is also being built as many of our customers ride the trail.





























A new garden was created by the bike trail entrance, featuring cherry tomatoes, chile peppers and summer squash


















The Santa Fe Sustainability Group, a new non-profit created by Maria and Thure Meyer, gifted us with 50 tomato plants and 100 Shishito Peppers

























John and Dominique at the vegetable washing station


















Our first Armenian Cucumber


























Strawberries were planted in the upper garden, another gift from Maria and Thure Meyer


















Kat, our newest farm intern, with our first harvest of beets


















Our neighbor's bees enjoying the bird bath


























One of the two resident hawks patrolling the property

























Duskin, from the Milagro Community Center, bringing worms for the new worm composting area


Young carrots in love


















Richard sifting compost from our first compost pile (started March 15)

























Last Wednesday (5:00-7:00pm) kid-centered volunteer day was well attended and lots of fun




The boys got to use the garden as a race track without damaging any plants or irrigation lines!


Tomato Plants for Sales
Several varieties of Cherry Tomatoes, Stupice, Peron Srayless, Smooth orange, Wisconsin 55  
Small plants $3  Large plants $5



FARM STAND
Monday, Wednesday and Friday
7:00am-11:00am

VOLUNTEER DAYS  
Monday 
7:00am-11:00am  (Come at 7:30am for a free 30 min. Qigong class led by Dominique)
Wednesday 
7:00am-11:00am
5:00pm-7:00pm (kid-centered afternoon with gardening, art-making and puppet theater)
Friday
7:00am-11:00am

Community Meeting and Potluck Dinner
FIRST MONDAY OF EACH MONTH   
6:00pm-7:30PM
August 6, Sept. 3, Oct. 1, Nov.5  Dec. 3

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