Tuesday, December 18, 2007

A newsletter from England...Guerrilla Gardeners























Hi all,
It has been a long time since I have posted as the Boulevarden is under show - it still looks beautiful - we planted many grasses and plants that look as good in the winter as they do in the summer - so I am pleased with the winter garden plant architecture. I am already looking through gardening books and seed catalogs...I wish I had a green house again - hopefully soon.

Anyway...I have posted letters from Richard before...he is a guerrilla gardener based in England and his website guerrillagardening.org not only chronicles the escapades of guerrilla gardeners in Europe, but all over the world; the Boulevard is also included on his site.

So happy holidays...

Dear Troops On a day when London was cloaked by a glittering frost I write to you with season’s greetings and bring you guerrilla gardening gifts in the form of: - Three recent digs from Switzerland, Ireland and the USA. - Guerrilla gardeners’ awards - Surprise Hollywood support - A Christmas card to share Digs. Reports of guerrilla gardening activity hit my inbox from time to time, pop up on the GuerrillaGardening.org Community boards and appear on private blogs. I’ve just added reports from Greg 3516 in Zurich, Tampopo 2236 in Dublin and Amy 2903 in Raleigh North Carolina to the Troop Digs section of the website. These three wise guerrillas demonstrate the miracle of a sunflower triumphing in a government planter, the fun of roadside gardening, police sympathy and the power of mulch. Read more and see their pictures at: http://www.guerrillagardening.org/ggtroopdigs.html Awards. In London several different guerrilla gardeners have recently been awarded by benevolent organisations for greening their community. In North London Esther 418 and her youth force (who progressed from being guerrillas to legitimate community gardeners a while ago) added to their trophy cabinet with awards for cultivating both beautiful and wildlife friendly spaces, whilst in South London both Andrew 1679 and I collected engraved trowels and garden vouchers from David Bellamy and the Conservation Foundation on behalf of all those troops who have helped transform a couple of large traffic islands in South London into “blooming marvellous” green corners. Here we are still very much fighting a guerrilla gardening war against the public landowner’s long term neglect, but are most definitely winning. Daryl Hannah Last year Daryl Hannah (or Daryl 1976 as she is known in my guerrilla gardening spreadsheet) tied herself to a tree in Los Angeles to protest against the destruction of the incredible South Central Farm. I knew about this but I had no idea she was going to visit me. With just one hours warning from a journalist she turned up at my front door a couple of weeks ago carrying a large wooden flagpole and a digital video camera. She was keen to learn more about guerrilla gardening and so whilst she asked questions and filmed I showed her around Southwark and pointed out where guerrilla gardeners had struck. Last year Adam 276 (a New York guerrilla gardener of thirty years) had told me with a tone that expressed both pride and fatherly caution that celebrities would one day descend. In his case Lady Astor and President Clinton had stopped by to visit the Clinton Community Garden. I didn’t expect my visit would be from an actress who is sadly still most famous for dressing up as a fish. Despite her sudden, perhaps rude splash she was delightful and I encourage you to browse her eco-video blog at http://www.dhlovelife.com The story about her visit to London is published here: http:// women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/celebrity/ article2982771.ece GuerrillaGardening.org Christmas Card Last summer Patti 1253’s donated her elderly Christmas tree to GuerrillaGardening.org and Kit 018 and I planted it on the barren corner of St George’s Circus in South London. Later that year guerrilla gardeners decorated it and from a photo of the festive tree I have made a Christmas Card. You can download a copy of the card as a PDF file from the link below and you are welcome to print and post it to your friends. http://www.guerrillagardening.org/christmascard/gg_christmascard.pdf Until 2008, that’s the news from GuerrillaGardening.org

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Day 117 Thanks Giving Harvest

I am posting a bunch of pictures, I hope you will indulge me...'cause I had a ball in the garden today, and wanted to share the experience a bit.

The garden is winding down very quickly and I am a bit melancholy watching the plants slowly die.

But...today was great...it was one of those wonderful evenings when you are working outside with a friend, happy as can be...with a cold nose and a warm heart...I know a bunch of ya are groaning at the 'warm heart thing' but I am too high from the gardening to care : D

Today Paul and I spent a bunch of time in the garden doing the fall stuff...I picked the last of the (green) tomatoes...some are a bit sogged from getting a bit of frost - but I am just going to put them in the freezer for winter sauces. If I didn't have a bunch of writing to do I would love to make some chutney...I love green tomato chutney...zummers.

Paul dug up his Celeriac...(pictured on the cutting board...if you know Celeriac you know that it is pretty tiny) is his Celeriac and one of our Celery. Paul really likes cooking with Celeriac...the bounty was less than brilliant but still pretty exciting.

He is making a root bake
for Thanksgiving with his home grown Celeriac as well as Potatoes, Carrots, Parsnips and Rutabaga. He cuts them into small pieces, boils them, then mashes them with butter and milk, salt and pepper and then puts it in the oven to bake...it is wonderful!!! Comfy food...

Then we picked our celery...which grew...
but apparently you are supposed to hill it up and we didn't so it is darker green and a bit on the bitter side...great for cooking and for making stocks. We made up some bags of celery and then some bags of celery leaves for making stock. I labeled them and put them in the boulevard tonight.

So I hope ya'll have a good Thanksgiving with your family and friends...or by yourself if that is your trip...or situation... or ug...now I opened that can of worms didn't? Just hope you have a good weekend.

Cheers,
Loralee

Don't forget to email or send a comment if you want to participate in colour bomb bulb planting...

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Day 115 October 8th Che Guevara















Sorry I have been MIA (especially to you Sheila)...I have slowed down as the garden has slowed down and the evenings have gotten colder. I have gotten busy with other things, but I received this email today (it is below) and it reminded me that many of us were going to plant bulbs, but mostly it was just a great reminder all round about the importance of taking action.

I love the idea (as talked about below) of colourful land mines...especially during this time of war. If you would still like to get together to plant bulbs (not this Monday, but soon) please email me or respond to this post and we will coordinate a time.

Dear Troops DAY OF THE HEROIC GUERRILLA Che Ernesto Guevara - a man who wrote about sowing the seeds of revolution but was not a particularly enthusiastic gardener - is someone from whom we borrow a bit of spirit. He was executed forty years ago and in Cuba October 8th, the day before his death, is called Day of the Heroic Guerrilla. Love him or loathe him, with or without a Che tattoo on your shoulder (the footballer Maradona has one but is not a guerrilla gardener) make this day your reason to get out there gardening, perhaps even with something red and revolutionary, albeit green as well. In London on Monday we will be digging in more scarlet tulip bulbs that did so well last year. Bulbs are a great way to guerrilla garden. Take a tulip for example. Dig a hole about 15cm deep and drop a couple or so bulbs in with the pointy bit up. Then cover it firmly with soil. That is really all you need to do before it flowers in spring. If it is spring already where you live you have got even more choice. Take a photo of the patch and then you will remember where you have dug in your colourful land mine. Please do share what you have done on the Community pages of the website. http://guerrillagardening.org/community/index.php?topic=583.0 SUNFLOWERS Back in May Girasol 829 in Brussels heralded the first International Sunflower Guerrilla Day. The blooming results from this global guerrilla campaign can be seen at his blog: http://brussels-farmer.blogspot.com/ HARVEST In the Northern hemisphere it is a time for a rich pickings in the garden. In London guerrillas have concentrated on harvesting the lavender field of Westminster Bridge Road to make another batch of fund raising pillows. These illicitly planted but legitimately hand crafted aromatic cushions will be available from the website in the next few weeks. My first tomato plant successfully bore fruit in the dirty Elephant & Castle area of London but I have been advised they are best left for wildlife to eat. Earlier this summer I saw Hans 1287 and his promising lettuce and cabbages in the Berlin Rosa Rose garden. But it is not all joy - sadly Bill 2787's beans in Detroit were slain by a reckless strimmer before reaching maturity. If you have got a successful guerrilla harvest of some kind do share it in the Community forum or let me know. There are some guerrillas out there who do not garden but just harvest, check out http:// www.fallenfruit.org for more about this project, making the most of wasted fruit. GLOBAL GUERRILLAS This summer I have been meeting guerrilla gardeners around Europe and in Canada. Thanks everyone for showing me your gardens and giving me somewhere to sleep. Pictures of these visits to the front line are on the blog at http://www.guerrillagardening.org. Get some encouragement from the success of Posterchild 3261 in Toronto with his flower boxes, Tom 2221 and sunflowers around Amsterdam, Julia 013 and her community gardens around Berlin and more. Marcel 1137 showed me that guerrilla gardening does not just take place in neglected public space but privately too. He has an incredible illegal little roof garden that makes a green sanctuary from wasted space - we just hope this will not one day collapse as a hollow victory into the bedroom below. Remember, Monday October 8, let us make it Day of the Heroic Guerrilla Gardeners.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Day 101 A Link and an Essay...


In an earlier post I talked about Shayna's visit to the Boulevard...as well as her and Dom's cross country trip looking for intentional communities. Here is what Shayna and Dom wrote on their blog regarding their trip to Lethbridge: http://blog.thismagazine.ca/routes/archives/2007/09/paul_and_lorale.html

I am doing research on Guerrilla Gardening and came across this article

Guerrilla Gardening: A Way to Oppose NAFTA

by Maynard Kaufman, Southwest Michigan Greens


Agriculture is the main human activity on Earth and the principle influence on our planet's ecology. Over half of the inhabitants of our planet are farmers."
— Mark Ritchie


Those of us who live in countries where agriculture has been industrialized, where food has been commodified and cheapened, are so culturally removed from farming and food production that we have lost sight of its centrality. Not since 1918 have we been a half-rural, half-urban society. Now less than 2% of our population in the US are farmers. They, with the help of a lot of fossil fuel energy, machines, toxic chemicals, bankers, brokers, processors, distributors, and retailers, produce vastly more food than we need. So why should we be concerned about the impact of NAFTA on agriculture?

Free trade agreements generally have levelling effects on participating countries. Canada, which had more generous social welfare programs than the US, is losing industry to the US and both are likely to lose to Mexico which, with cheaper labor, can attract more industry. In agriculture, however, free trade between the US and Mexico might balance out. NAFTA would, it is generally assumed, facilitate existing trade patterns between the US and Mexico with grain, oilseeds and live stock flowing south and horticultural products coming north. In general, the "winners" are presumed to be US grain farmers (or rather the grain dealers) and, on a smaller scale, Mexican fruit and vegetable growers.

But the side effects of NAFTA, such as food quality, environmental impacts, "structural adjustment" as people lose jobs or ways of life, and the concentration of power in the market economy, are of far greater importance than the economic effects. As Mark Ritchie, of the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy, pointed out, deregulated trade does not benefit any participating country as such. "On the contrary, both countries pursue the interests of the transnational corporations rather than the interests of the general public." Thus the rich will continue to thrive at the expense of the poor.

President Salinas of Mexico proposed the NAFTA in hopes that economic development would help pay Mexico's debt. Even before that, he had liberalized trade policies to attract foreign investment. He privatized industries which had been state-owned, and he dismantled the ejido land tenure system. Peasant collectives were given title to some 205 million acres of Mexican farmland which they had used but did not own. This land can now be mortgaged for development, leased or sold to foreign investors. Thus Salinas hoped to increase agricultural production so that Mexico would not be dependent on imports of grain from the US or Canada. In view of these internal policies, the NAFTA might not provide any advantage to US grain traders after all.

We should be clear that when we speak of "agricultural production" we mean production for the market. NAFTA, as well as Mexico's internal policies, are designed to expand this kind of market-oriented production. As the scale of production grows, prices for corn will decline. The victims will be the Mexican peasants and subsistence farmers who are driven from the land. Mark Ritchie estimated that as many as one million Mexican families would have to move to cities or to the US where they would become "consumers." Their consumption would create some economic growth but, the market would grow at the expense of the household or subsistence economy where production is primarily for use rather than for sale. Since the industrialization of agriculture nearly always creates a heavier ecological impact, we can count this destruction of subsistence as the first of the environmental threats created by the kind of development the NAFTA would promote.

There are several other environmental costs of a free trade agreement. First, the globalization of the food system means less local consumption of local production and more processing and transportation which implies more pollution from energy use. Second, free trade agreements require the "harmonization" of environmental standards so that no trading partner is hampered by stricter standards. Standards would most likely be harmonized at the lowest common denominator. Third, lower prices for farm produce, required by agribusiness firms so that they can profit in a competitive market, push farmers to intensify production so that they can stay in business. This implies less crop rotation and diversified farming and more dependence on toxic chemicals for fertilizer and pest control. Finally, food quality would suffer from longer transportation and, with weaker environmental standards, fruits and vegetables imported from Mexico would likely have more pesticide residue. (But why should we eat fruits and vegetables grown in Mexico when we can grow them ourselves?)

We must boycott the products of transnational corporations, reclaim economic power, and build community by revitalizing local economic activity...These local activities might include community trading systems to open up non-monetary possibilities, community-supported agriculture, farmer's markets, and generally more local production for local consumers.

Food producing industries are in favor of the NAFTA because it promises more deregulation. Local or national regulations would be replaced by international treaties. "National sovereignty," said Terry Pugh of the Farmers Union in Canada, "is replaced by the market-place, which is controlled by transnational corporations." And Jonathan Schlefer, in a fairly neutral Atlantic Monthly article, emphasized the same idea: "NAFTA will, in short, free investors from political sovereignty. Governments, which at least claim to treat all people equally and to represent some common interest, will lose ground to the market."

This loss of democratic processes as we are colonized by transnational corporations is surely the most serious threat represented by free trade agreements. But, as William Greider (in Who Will Tell the People?) and many others have tried to tell us, this process is already well under way as powerful corporate lobbies control legislation or subvert, by pressure on regulatory agencies, legislation designed to protect the environment and the people. The NAFTA is the frosting on the cake already baked for the corporations.

Unless free trade agreements such as NAFTA (or GATT) recognize and include Green concerns for ecological wisdom, social justice and grassroots democracy, Greens will certainly unite in opposing them. We can, of course, press for inclusion of these concerns, as a statement from the Green Party of California does, but the corporations that benefit from free trade do so precisely by being free of these concerns. Besides, these concerns do not facilitate the kind of economic growth in GNP on which politicians are so fixated. We must also remember, as Karl Polanyi explained, that as the market economy grew it was "disembedded" from its cultural matrix. Free trade agreements are a final step in this process of disembedding so that the market economy, rather than ethics, or tradition, or government, is the ultimate power in society. The tail wags the dog.

So we need to shift public attention to a sustainable economics which provides a better balance between the corporate markets and local economic activity—along with a better balance between formal and informal economic activity. Many Greens have already proposed this on a theoretical level. But Robyn Eckersley is correct in the conclusion of a book length study of Green thinking on political economy: "the Green movement will ultimately stand or fall on its ability to generate practical alternatives to the advanced industrial way of life."

To develop practical alternatives, we must be willing to consider a change in lifestyle and bring our concern for local empowerment into reality. We must boycott the products of transnational corporations, reclaim economic power, and build community by revitalizing local economic activity. For many of us this requires that we change where and how we live. I retired early from an academic career to live a more selfreliant life, teach homesteading skills on our organic farm and generally work for community economic revitalization. Many others who have come through the back-to-the-land movement of the 1970's have similarly curtailed their dependence on the market economy. We certainly do need to buy back and move back to the land. It would be a sad finale to the Jeffersonian vision of an agrarian society of free and independent farmers if we were to end up, after the fossil fuel era is over, as serfs on the corporate-owned farms.

The reason local economic initiatives are necessary has been explained by British Green writer James Robertson. He has distinguished between work which must be done at the top, or on a political level—decolonization—and work which must be done to build more local self-reliance so people can be liberated from dependence on over-developed institutions such as the market economy. Decolonization and liberation are two sides of the same coin. Greens should, of course, continue to seek political office because it is there that much of the work of decolonization has to be done.

But it would be foolish to seek decolonization, to curtail the market economy (or create a recession), until we have developed the practical alternatives on the local level. These local activities might include community trading systems to open up non-monetary possibilities, community-supported agriculture, farmer's markets, and generally more local production for local consumers. The Green proposal for a Food Circle Project is especially important here as it seeks to close the gap between local producers and consumers.

Corporations in control of the food industry have only as much economic power as consumers give them. As long as we buy food from the "global supermarket", we empower it and, as our review of NAFTA shows, disempower ourselves. We must become guerrilla gardeners to fight the corporate food system!

Greens who want to practice ecological wisdom and live within the natural energy flows of the ecosystem—and become liberated from dependence on the corporate food system—will want to raise at least some of their own food. Millions of Americans already do this, usually in an apolitical or recreational manner. The National Gardening Association, which sponsors annual surveys of gardening activity, found that in recent years more or less half of the households in this country raised some of their food in backyard gardens. The value of this production for use from year to year was calculated at 13 to 18 billion dollars, roughly equal to the value of all the corn raised in the United States each year.

We should understand that there are virtually no advocates for non-monetized economic activity because government and business both seek growth in the market economy—for revenue and for profit. Other institutions, religious or educational, are similarly dependent on a share of the cash flow. Will Greens support these non-monetized community activities?

Many people already have more time than money. If the NAFTA is approved and more manufacturing moves to Mexico and if the transnational corporations and their employees pay even fewer taxes to support social welfare programs in the US, such self-help activities may find widespread public acceptance. They are, as James Robertson argues in his more recent book, Future Wealth, enabling to people and conserving of resources. Given our key values, Greens are uniquely oriented to develop these humble but necessary practical alternatives and thereby gain support at election time. "Guerrilla gardening" is more than just a metaphor for local economic activity; as the food system comes under corporate control we need to reclaim gardening, and the land, as a political activity.

For sources of quotations and for further reading on these issues, see the following:

Culture and Agriculture, Vol. 43 (Spring 1992).

Mark Ritchie, "Free Trade versus Sustainable Agriculture: The Implications of NAFTA." The Ecologist, 22 (Sept-Oct, 1992).

Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation. Boston: Beacon Press, 1957, p. 57.

Robyn Eckersley, Environmental and Political Theory: Toward an Ecocentric Approach. New York: State University of New York Press, 1992.

James Robertson, The Sane Alternative: A Choice of Futures. St. Paul: River Basin Publishing Co., 1978.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Day 100 A garden report from Ashley in Edmonton
























I have a friend in Edmonton who has created a 'end of gardening' log or report. It was fun to read, and I especially liked that they planted their potatoes in their alley. It was also great to hear about her compost cucumber volunteers. I mentioned in an earlier post that my friends Annie and Dana have had some (crazy huge) butternut squash volunteers (the plant itself must reach over 20feet)...it seems squashes have a desire to come back (probably because their seeds take longer to compost, but it could be they have unfinished business to attend to : )

I will do up a report like this regarding the Boulevarden.

Ashley's garden report:

I guess I need some closure to the end of gardening season; so I thought I would just share how everything went, and encourage you to all do so as well. Perhaps we can compare garden notes, recipes, and stories!

This year we planted tomatoes, beets, carrots, onions, lettuce, beans, potatoes, herbs (cilantro, basil, rosemary, dill, chives, mint), peas, zucchini, spinach, and an assorted spring mix. We did follow "carrots love tomatoes" companion-planting style gardening, and had an abundance of compost, that sprouted many volunteers, including acorn squash, tomatoes, sunflowers, and cucumbers.

Tomatoes: The tomatoes were first planted in the garden, then moved into pots and put on the south facing side of our deck. We had a variety including yellow grape, roma, and some weird hybrid that didn't grow very big, but grew lots of tomatoes (and some had weird brown bottoms?) This is the first year that I've done well with tomatoes. They took a lot of water and attention, but it was worth it. One thing that I will invest in next year are more tomato cages. Tiki torches and random sticks, along with twist ties and twine did the job, but the tomatoes could have use a little more support! Oh, and Aaron's dad bought us "muskie" which is an organic, natural fertilizer made out of fish guts (it really stinks) but I think that made a difference too. Many tomato salads with tomatoes, chives, boccocini cheese, basil, olive oil & balsamic..mmm!

Beets: they did very well. I canned a bunch of borscht last night.

Carrots: we planted 2 kinds, some turned out short and stubby, the others were long and slender. Not very sweet, so many of them are still in the garden. I learned this year that thinning really does pay off.

Onions started out very well, and we enjoyed many of their greens as they grew. But then the green part kind of slumped over, and the onions didn't get much bigger. They turned out to be about the size of a golf ball.

We had an abundance of lettuce (as I'm sure many of you can attest to) It recently has bolted, and I think I'm going to try and keep the seeds to plant next year.

Beans: they did fantastic. We planted yellow beans, and I've picked beans atleast 5 times now. But I am getting sick of them. Thanks to Lise who suggested sauteeing them with butter, orange juice and sliced almonds. that was yummy!

Potatoes: Aaron created his own little garden in the back alley. We didn't have enough compost to add to the dirt back there, so it wasn't the greatest soil. But still, we planted potatoes (just the ones we had from our kitchen that started sprouting) and we ended up with a fair number. The red ones got "the scab", which i am not too familiar with. But we just peel them and they're fine. Most plants produced little babies, while one plant produced 2 monsters! Seriously, about the size of a melon!

Herbs did well, I grew them all from seed except the rosemary, chives and mint. But damn, cilantro goes to seed fast, but I guess you can always use the seeds, as they are coriander.

Peas: did ok. didn't put much effort into getting something for them to climb on. But a nice snack when I'm in the garden. They all started to turn white about 2 weeks ago. Not sure, it seemed like a mold. anyone know?
(side note - although we harvested many zucchini...about two weeks ago they also got a mildew and production stopped, as well partially grown zukes went soft...so I am curious as well).

Zucchini: this was probably the biggest disapointment of all. We had a separate bed for it and everything. Perhaps it should of had more compost in it. But zucchini flowers would bloom, little zucchinis would start growing, and then they would start rotting from their ends. Sometimes we could chop the rotten part off and they would continue to grow. Other times not. Any ideas on what this could be? Also, plants had this strange white mildew on them as well. The zucchinis that we did have were the beautiful striped Italian variety.

Spinach: obviously did well, but soon bolted. Made blue cheese and spinach soup.

Spring mix: was planted after spinach gone. Was eaten by slugs. eck. But beautiful bits of baby kale, collard greens and spinach. Slugs had a lovely lunch.

Volunteer acorn squash: was exciting, 3 plants kind of took over, and never really amounted to anything. I have one good sized squash in the pantry now. But same story as the zucchini. Many little, rotten squashes, lying in the dirt.

Volunteer tomatoes: wow, i have grown tomatoes from seed, and i can't beleive how they have grown all on their own in my garden. They are just starting to produce now, I may get a few tomatoes off them.

Sunflowers: who doesn't get volunteer sunflowers? thank you, sparrows and nuthatches.

Volunteer cucumbers: these were probably the most successful volunteers. Grew up right between 2 rows. kept in a straight line. Produced lots of cucumbers. Very exciting. I have never grown cucumbers before. I thought they were a type of squash until I saw cucumbers!

Overall a great garden, probably our best. Compost really pays off. Especially when it has stuff in it that grows you more food. I like gardening in central alberta more than southern alberta. Better soil, and you don't have to water as much.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Day 98 For Mary...part I


For you as you start your travels.

Mary is on her way to Japan to do a four month tea
ching exchange. I promised to post pictures of her garden. I thought I would do one a month as I am sure it will be just as beautiful covered in snow. Friday I went to take some pictures while everything is still in bloom. Her fence gate was locked...which I think made for some very interesting garden pictures none the less.

...although from where I was I could mostly only take pictures of the vegetable garden...below is a rose outside the fence.

Mata aimashou Mary!

Day 98 For Kelly


Pictures of your garden to call you home.

Kelly has been in NY for an art festival she was a part of. Her garden is fabulous...a wonderful front garden and lots of vegetable and herb beds.

I particularly like the above picture because it says so much about Kelly. The wonderful two vegetable beds show her commitment to urban farming, the laundry hanging from the line reminds me of her love of fresh laundry as well as her commitment to use less energy, and her silver Vespa...well you would just have to see her riding it. I mean, yes of course it is better f
or the environment, but it is trip...

Day 98 Wow...almost 2 weeks

The first two weeks of September have gone by so fast...although I have not blogged for awhile (busy with school yada yada...)the Boulevarden has still been busy. We have heard from a few people that the garden is their only source of fresh vegetables...and for a couple their only source of food, period...wowzer...so I feel concerned because there are not enough vegetables, especially right now (things are winding down)...it leaves me wondering do I go buy more veggies to put out?...anyway I am really hoping that we will have an abundance of Boulevardens next year as there is definitely a material, emotional, and social need.

ps...we got one pumpkin...better than nothing I suppose. The pumpkin and green zucchini got a mildew...does anyone know what causes that?

Monday, September 3, 2007

Day 85 Visit from Shayna and tastey gifts

I was not home when Shayna visited the Boulevarden...I mentioned in August that she and Dominique where doing a "cross-Canada trip to seek out intentional communities and learn from their experiences."

They are blogging about what they experience at www.briarpatchmagazine.com

I was sorry to miss them...but I am glad they were able to visit the Boulevarden and take some veggies and plums for their travels. They were heading 'west' this afternoon. They have to drive at night because their car overheats in the daytime...so ug.


Today I had a great visit with Dana, Annie and Myles. Myles is growing like crazy and has a great natural 'mohawk'. Their garden is great - they have amazing tomatoes and crazy, crazy volunteer squash - that it turns out is Butternut Squash (yea!!), and they have half a dozen or so...yum, yum. Annie picked me a container of yellow, orange and red Cherry Tomatoes to take home...they were wonderful. We had them with some cheese, avocado, and pumpernickel bread for supper.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Day 84 Oh I forgot...


Today I met Jill and her son Calvin...they live just down the road on 14th street. Calvin, who was very tired after a long walk sleepily ate a strawberry and Jill took home some Tomatoes and Basil, "add a little goat cheese and viola". We have a mutual friend in common, Hannah, who had told Jill about the garden.

This picture is of Spanish Fork River Strawberry Dam...or as they call it the "Strawberry Valley Project".

http://www.spanishforkriver.org/history/strawberry/

Day 84 Catch'n up...






















So I have not written for the last few days as we have been taking out our kitchen floor (tile...oh ug) and putting down a cork floor...or at least that was the plan - we just now got up all the tile and mortar...we found out the floor underneath was hardwood...(tell me why would anyone tile over hardwood?...grrr). Anyway we still have the cork to put down. Blah, Blah...like you want to read my reno news.
I posted the above picture...I am not sure if you can see the fungi just peaking out of the bark mulch - but we have a few growing. I was listening yesterday - hmmm - maybe it was Friday...anyway to CBC - the call in show they have regarding gardening. A woman phoned in and was concerned about the fungi that was growing around a tree trunk. She said they were growing in a circle around the trunk, and she was looking to find out a) why they were growing there and b) how she could get rid of them. The guy...ug a greenhouse guy - he is Lois Hole's son or grandson I can't remember - anyway he said that the reason they were growing was to aid the tree trunk in breaking down. He further said that sometimes we just have to retrain our thinking as to what was beauty or acceptable in a garden. He said she should just try and enjoy them...she said...yeah well I am not enjoying them. It was kinda funny and when I saw these mushrooms poking their heads up in our garden it reminded me of that story, and how wonderful I thought it was to consider retraining ourselves regarding what is 'beautiful' in our garden and open our eyes to alternative beauty. Kinda like real life.

On Thursday night we met Sherrill. She dropped off a wonderful card and took home some herbs and veggies. She had heard about the garden from a friend (who I found out was the 'compost god' mentioned in an earlier post). She said that it was really great for her to be able to have some fresh produce and experience a garden as she lives in an apartment. She also wondered about many elderly people who might enjoy some garden bounty...it got me thinking too...no solutions yet...but...

...and speaking of sharing the garden tonight I was in the
tub...trying to get off all the mortar dust (is this too personal?)...anyway when I got out I noticed that Paul was down at the garden taking two women for a tour. He was packing up plums, tomatoes, zucchini, herbs...a bit of everything - anything that was ripe. I took a picture...from the window, which is why it look surveillance'y'.

When he came in he was clearly shaken. He said that the woman who came by was a single Mom...she had been told about the garden by a few people. She s
aid she has children and is having a hard go of it right now...and having the vegetables would enable her to give her children vegetables. Paul told her to come back anytime and as many times as she wanted (she said she had been by before, seen the sign encouraging people to help themselves, but just couldn't believe it was true, so today she rang the bell to make sure it was okay). Paul said he was tempted to ask her if she would like anything else (he said, 'like basically empty out our cupboards'...but just wasn't sure if it was okay...with her I mean...you know when you have those awkward moments when you want to help and you just aren't sure what is 'right'?). Anyway, we are hoping she will come back.

Again her story got me to thinking. Many single parents live in rentals and may not be able to plant their garden, or lets be honest, just not have time to plant and care for a garden. I was thinking that if just a few more people planted some Boulevardens (and many of you have said you are) and shared their bounty with others...well it would (will) really make a difference wouldn't (won't) it? sigh...

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Day 80 Iris Story


Yesterday I had Lori over to the Boulevarden. We had coffee (one or two too many for me) and chatted about gardening. She told me she had met a man who had an abundance of Iris' and so invited her to come over and take as many as she wanted, because what she didn't take he was going to throw away as the Iris' needed thinning badly. So what else could Lori do but take 'em all. She said she took a truck load home, planted what she could and then offered them to neighbours (doesn't it tick you off that in spell check it always tells us our 'Canadian' words are spelt wrong? or is that just me...anyway) and friends.

In (wonderful) consequence a neighbour who had taken some Iris' for her garden asked Lori over for a visit. Lori said she has lived in her neighbourhood for 7 years and had yet to meet a neighbour. The woman who invited her over was an artist and her and her husband both performed in dances and she did all the beading and sewing of the intricate costumes...anyway it was a wonderful story of sharing and community.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Day 79 Ahhhhh, HA! Horsetails!












Yesterday I posted a picture and asked if anyone knew the name of the wonderful, mysterious grass I had in the garden (I planted it...but I had forgotten the name).

Annie posted to the link - answering "this grass is equisetum arvense - horsetails. They are apparently very ancient plants from the age of the dinosaurs. Rumour has it their roots go very, very deep."
She left me this link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equisetum_arvense
and from there I found this link http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=6205&flora_id=1
from where I stole the above illustration : /

Monday, August 27, 2007

Day 78 Ahhhhhhh...nice!























This was stuck under a boot on my front step when I came home today...doesn't the soup sound dee lish?

Day 78 Banana Pond




















I am on Facebook (I know...groooooan, but...) anyway I joined a group called CARP (Canadian artist-run ponds). The purpose of this group is:

Form networking to wetworking....

1. For exchange of technical info and documentation (pics and journals) of ponds, water features, bogs and wetlands initiated/observed by artists and of course anyone else...up to and including "the creatoress"

2. An extension from DIY artist-run culture to aquaculture - a greening if you like of new "streams" of distraction and obsession. (We always somehow get "bogged down.")

3. How to cross paths with groundhogs, racoons, squirrels, chipmunks, bathing birds,etc. (without being Walt Disney)

4. Backyard ponds are for those who can't or won't go further a-field?

5. tbcont

So I submitted my newly created Banana Pond...it is in the upper yard...

Day 78 Plum nest and egg gathering


















This morning I went out to see if there were anymore plums to put out in the Boulevarden. There were some that had fallen from the tree an
d were laying in the pile of leaves that I raked last fall but then lazily left piled under one of the plum trees. The plums were perfect not bruised at all. They laid in little nests of leaves. They were beautiful, and it made me wish I had a few chickens out in the back yard...don't worry...I am not gett'n chickens...but it would be nice don't you think? Get up in the morning, grab a coffee and go out to check the chickens?...but that is the romantic in me. The realist in me is think'n no way I wanna clean chicken coups...

Day 78 Do you know your grass?

Okay...see the grass in amongst the Lemon Balm?...the kinda Bamboo'e' lookin' stuff...?

Do you know what it is? I planted it a couple of years ago, but I can not remember what it is. It has self seeded through the garden...

I really like it, I will pot some up and leave them in the Boulevarden...but if you know what the name is it would be super cool to find out.

As I type this I am listening to Rita Lee...she is a Brazilian 80's pop star...well maybe she is still a 'star'...but anyway she has covered some Beatles songs...and they are a earful of sugary pop...but great at the same time, you know?

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Day 77 Please Park Here


A friend just reminded me of parking space projects....they are soooo great...here are a couple of great links

examples:http://www.publicarchitecture.org/http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/08/25/parking-day-returns-this-september

call to action: http://www.inhabitat.com/2006/08/26/parking-day-call-to-action/

interesting: http://www.publicarchitecture.org/

http://www.parkingday.org/

Day 77 Compost God Delivers


I have been in writing all afternoon...but when I looked out my window this evening and down to the garden I saw that someone had dropped off a bag of compost...Niiiiice!

Thank you mysterious compost provider.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Day 73 Oh fer fruit's sake




So a couple of posts ago I talked about our "watermelon"...only problem is...we don't have any watermelon in Boulevarden. However, we do have Pumpkin plant that for some reason ever since we planted I keep calling a Watermelon...I am thinking that could be why someone harvested a green Pumpkin. OOOOps! Sorry to who ever got home to slice open the melon to find unripe pumpkin : /

The Plu
ms are almost gone...In the last couple weeks I put out 8 or so crates. We had a wonderful crop, I have heard from others that they have had great fruit crops as well, so it must be a good fruit year. Some people have taken a bag full of plums to share with their family or to make preserves. However, most of the plums were eaten by folks who take one or two to eat as they walk by. There are some neighbourhood kids who come by the Boulevarden several times a day on their bikes to take a few plums. I can never get out to the garden fast enough to introduce myself...I snapped this picture just as the girl was riding off...yes I realize I sound like I am capturing rare images of the Yeti or something...but I just really hope one time I will get to meet and chat with the kids.
My Mom just called me and she has an abundance of Pears on her tree so she is going to bring some over to leave in the Boulevarden. She said that she was waiting for them to turn yellow, but then noticed that her Pears are green when they are ripe - she said they are scrump-tuuuu-lish-issss! So Monday there will be a new treat for those walking by who may be sick of Plums : )



Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Day 71 Cabbage Heads and Black Eyes


This morning when I went out to add plums to the crate in the Boulevarden (there are plums to pick everyday - and the crate is emptied by the end of every day so it works out well) I noticed that two cabbages had been harvested.

I harvested one last week as well as some dill and other veggies to make borscht. Yum.

I transplanted some volunteer Black-eyed Susan (Rudebeckia hirta) in the space left by the harvested cabbages. Black-eyed Susan are very drought tolerant. I have many volunteers in my garden, as well as Lemon Balm and Sedum so this weekend I will pot some up and leave them in the Boulevard...come by if you would like a couple of drought tolerant plants.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Day 70 Watermelon, Water Guilt

The watermelon is growing like crazy, and reaching out onto the neighbours boulevard, which would normally be okay as they are super cool and okay with stuff like that...but they just seeded a new lawn. Soooooo I cut back a bunch of leaves...I see there are some little watermelons hiding underneath, yea! There was a large watermelon growing there a few weeks ago - but it disappeared - I hope it will ripen off the vine as it was beautifully large, but super green.

Today I went to my sister, Sara's house for my nephew, Felix's, second birthday party (I know...there must have been a clearer way I could have written that sentence, but anyway). It was an after
noon filled with family, kids and lotsa sugar (not necessarily in that order).
My sister's lawn (above) is nice and green. They has a really large lawn/yard. Sara said that when they came back from holidays their lawn was completely dead, and so they had spent the last week or so watering everyday to 'green it up' for the party. She told me this with a guilty sort of half smile on her face..."the whole time we were watering I said to Mat 'we are soo, soo bad', but we wanted the lawn to be nice for the kids".

On the drive home (they live in Taber) I was thinking about her words and water guilt, because her guilt was probably due to my constant preaching about how unenvironmentlly friendly a lawn is. Yet, I realized the lawn was nice for the kids to play on (there were a tonne of kids there), and I guess I felt bad for making her feel guilty about watering. I often say I do not like grass...I mean I do like it...it lo
oks nice, feels nice on your feet, and makes for a soft landing if ya fall...but I don't like all the fertilizer, water, and mowing it takes to have a nice lawn.

So I got thinking about the alternatives to lawn - something that is good for kids and good for the environment. First of course there are the lawn care initiatives that are more environmentally friendly - watering early morning or at night, not using chemicals on your lawn and using natural fertilizers, and there are alternatives to grass such as clover and thyme lawns - and those are definitely good alternatives, but I got thinking about a lawn that large...and what might be a kid friendly alternative. I found the below articles on two different websites.

Imagine giving your lawn mower most of the summer off. Instead of blasting around the yard behind the mower every Saturday, you could relax and enjoy the peace and quiet.

No-mow lawns are not so low-maintenance that they'll allow you to park the lawn mower permanently, but these special low-growing grass blends take almost all the work out of a lawn. They save time, gas, water and fertilizer.

"We don't even recommend using fertilizer," says Neil Diboll, owner of Prairie Nursery (www.prairienursery.com) in Westfield, Wis. "I never fertilize mine, and I never use herbicides."

Prairie Nursery's no-mow lawn seed is a mix of six slow-growing fescue grasses that forms a dense, tough turf. The grasses develop deep roots, which help them tolerate drought, and they will thrive even in light shade. Instead of weekly mowing, Diboll recommends mowing a no-mow lawn once a year. "Of course, some people want a cropped look and they mow them every three weeks," he says, "but I just go out in June and mow once, to cut the seed heads off." No-mow lawns have been around for a decade or so. In the early years, they were sold to parks departments and to landscape contractors for corporate campuses. Now they're catching on with homeowners -- particularly with the growing population of second-homeowners who don't want to spend their precious getaway weekends mowing the lawn or pay a lawn-maintenance company to mow an acre or more of grass around their country place. In the suburbs, where the pressure to have a perfect lawn can be intense and competition for the greenest yard is often fierce, no-mow lawns are also gaining acceptance. "It's the whole movement toward ecology, toward a self- sustaining environment," says Keith Hopkins, owner of Hobbs & Hopkins specialty seed company (www.protimelawnseed.com) in Portland, Ore. Hobbs & Hopkins' Fleur de Lawn mix was developed in cooperation with Oregon State University as a low-maintenance alternative for people who do not want or need a traditional, chemically dependent emerald greensward. The mix contains perennial ryegrass, low-growing strawberry clover, yarrow and sparkling little English daisies, which bloom through the spring and fall. It looks fresh and romantic, and makes you want to kick your shoes off. It also takes care of itself. "The clover feeds the yarrow, which feeds the grass," Hopkins says. Because regular trimming stimulates the daisies to rebloom, he recommends cutting the lawn once a month. Since it was introduced about 10 years ago, Fleur de Lawn has caught on with second-home owners in the Pacific Northwest, and Hobbs & Hopkins has developed mixes with daisies, yarrows, clovers and grasses appropriate for climates across the country, from Los Angeles to the Northeast. The mixes are becoming more popular every year. Hopkins calls it picnic turf: Fleur de Lawn is not made to withstand the rough and tumble of children's soccer games, but it's perfect for lunch. "It's a great thing for a bottle of Merlot, a piece of cheese and a loaf of bread," he says. If English daisies are not your style, the company also sells a blend of seeds called Fragrant Herbal. It's Fleur de Lawn without the fleurs, Hopkins says. Prairie Nursery's no-mow blend, which is a mix of cool-season grasses appropriate for the Northeast, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, has a "flowing, wavy look," Diboll says, kind of like shag carpet. The grasses naturally grow to about 4 to 6 inches tall, and they keep most weeds out. Mowing actually encourages dandelions and other weeds, he says. "If you're not mowing, you're not opening up the soil for weed germination," Diboll says. If you're ready to switch to low-mow grasses instead of high-maintenance turf, summer is the time to plan. Cool-season grasses should be planted in early fall to give them time to get established before summer's heat sets in. Warm-season grasses, such as native buffalo grass (from Wildseed Farms, www.wildseedfarms.com) should be planted in early spring. Getting rid of your existing lawn and preparing the soil for the new lawn takes a bit of work, but if you plan now and think of this as your last major lawn project, then you'll soon be feeling good about being environmentally responsible. No-mow lawns may not save the planet all by themselves, "but it's something you can do to reduce chemical dependency, oil addiction and save time and money," Diboll says. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to do your part from a hammock? http://www.mcall.com/features/custom/hg/all-hg-g-lawns-070706,0,7418324.story

2nd Article

The recreational needs of children and pets may be different from what you imagine. Maintaining an expanse of grass for children's play space is a thankless chore, and, unless you have room for a ball field, there's no real added value to a child. Children (and dogs) will run blissfully around trees with an agility that's a marvel to watch. A game of catch, or Frisbee, can take place in a shady avenue as small as, say, thirty feet by fifteen, and the groundskeeper doesn't have to worry about damage to the grass. If you want to provide a soft surface to reduce the risk of injury, a thick blanket of playground mulch will improve your soil and protect your plants against drought, and it requires no maintenance except replacement every few years. In many jurisdictions, mulch is available free for the hauling. Some towns and counties will even deliver it to your dooryard.

If you must have a green, living groundcover, there are several options that are more tolerant to drought and shade than lawn grass. Many are just as tolerant of foot traffic, and they don't require mowing. http://www.nature-by-design.com/philosophy.html