Summer Solstice

June 21: Summer Solstice Wishes

For Love
For Peace
Breathe and feel the sun in your soul
Breathe and plant your garden of beauty
Now and forever
My heart is with you.
Wherever you go!

Today is a beautiful day, with both sun and breezes and some clouds that keep drifting in and out of the view - great day to be in the small but very productive homestead garden. The little green house and hoop house kept the dream of the garden going in our cool rainy ?spring? Yes, it was muddy and a bit of a challenge, but, with help from friends, most of the warm weather plant seeds were tucked into little pots where they grew happily in the "greenhouse"; some were planted in the ground in the hoop house and raised beds, and burst into green and glorious veggies now producing more than enough Sugar Snap peas, Bok Choi, spinach, lettuces & later: cabbage, broccoli,green garlic, potatoes, beans, beets and parsnips .....enough so the extra bounty is going to the Sweet Home Farmer's Market along with the lovely blue green and brown very large eggs!

Fast forward to Summer. Last chance to get the warm weather plants in the ground....so the call is repeated again, asking for those out there who are near enough to help here in the gardens, this time to harvest summer veggies and finish planting and caring for all those plants reaching for the sky, some still needing to get into the ground, others need mulch(instead of weeding)and watering. We won't need to do much watering by hand once the rainwater harvesting system gets in place for use in this drier weather. Handyperson skills a plus in this project!

June 27: Since the earlier post a local high school guy was looking for work and willing to help with garden work. So we were just now able to complete the new round garden & get it planted with The 3 Sisters: squash, beans & corn. Also in now are two varieties of cucumbers, more tomatoes, sunflowers & nasturtiums.

The chickens have a high level of interest in what's going on and have to be bribed to stay on their side (the "orchard" food garden)side and we need to guard the new transplants diligently. The eggs are delicious; and sometimes children come to visit the chickens, who want to hold them and get acquainted. The hens seem to love it if the kids are gentle, especially of there are worms handed out!!

They are also useful in their chicken "tractor" and are available for services for a fee or barter. They will scratch up/till the soil in very short order, leave some fertilizer deposits and entertain the host, then they can be moved over to a new spot which needs tilling.....best tiller/tractor ever!

So hello out there! Anyone longing for fresh produce from the garden? Willing to spend some time outside enjoying the drier warmer weather? It looks as though this season will bring all we can eat and more to share! Hoping someone will get in touch who really wants to see how to garden sustainably, willing to see the season through: volunteers who are genuinely enthusiastic, dependable and conscientious, willing to share the work, which can be done most every day now, putting in hours in exchange for some of the veggies we can grow here. Hopes are high for getting more veggies & plants in the front (south side) where mushroom compost worked its magic and a cover crop flourished over the winter and long, wet spring. What spring was that, right? Now anything planted there will benefit and this will complete the project of "transforming lawn to garden" in that area.

And very soon it will be the time to plant the Winter Garden which will see us through the wet & wintry winter...with mostly greens and hardy root crops and potatoes in cold storage and more...

Benefits for volunteers include: Baking days using the earthen bread oven built on site here(see earlier posts) to bake bread, pizza and wonderful meals made with the veggies, as well as good company by the fire as a reward for all the hard work. There will be plenty veggies to spare if we get a few willing gardeners to spend a few hours or more(for more rewards)each week, to be able to enjoy the process and shared learning experience, participating in the evolution of this urban site into a true "four seasons" food garden.

Please pass this along. Folks nearby are encouraged to join in and/or share rides here to save on transportation. Email dawnvoyager@gmail.com

SPRING 2011

If you would like to enjoy an organic veggie garden, there is a space ready for you: Small-scale urban homestead site already fenced and mulched. Due to health conditions the garden is languishing. So if you are interested in helping to get a small project back on track here's a place to share skills, ideas, working with the natural systems, hands in the mud and good company, ( practice permaculture and sustainable building and living), please read on. In exchange for help in the garden, you can have your own garden plot, share the bounty! Organic compost, well and rainwater, and chickens to help till and fertilize your plot included. Email (serious interest only please) your contact information (email or phone) and we can set up a time to tour the space & see if this could be mutually benefical. Good company and animal lovers needed. Accommodations may be possible. Spring is upon us....so the sooner we can start the better!


Lots of other things on the plate as well. Hoping to find more people interested in a sustainable community and more activities in this area. Do you have an interest in where you can get locally and sustainably grown food? Are you interested in day trips, carpool/share to get to these places? Like to know how to use natural materials more often in your life? Need a ride to appointments or events in the area and/or checking in on your senior and single friends who might? If you have anything you would like to do with others in your community that is moving in these directions, but just haven't made it happen yet, do get in touch.

Thanks for visiting...more later...


Posted Fall 2010: Last summer came and went (when was that again???) with one of the stranger, more puzzling series of events that affected all the gardens known to us...cooler, cloudy and dry mostly with not enough light or heat to ripen the tomatoes...most of us have noticed how it affected our lives this summer here in the Pacific northwest. Still the veggies that we were able to grow, harvest and enjoy eating made it all worthwhile and with regular visits to the local Farmer's Market http://www.blogger.com/www.sweethomefarmersmarket.org and some local and regional farms




THE HISTORY.....SPRING 2010: The rehab work is finally finishing up and my house is finally feeling cozy since the insulation happened and my heater got moved to a better location. Never thought just being warm and cozy could mean so much, having migrated most recently from the scorching southwest desert! It has taken me this long to start to feel at home here....but spring is happening and sort of "woke up" this world again...seems like this part of the world requires a hibernation time...cold, wet winter - Spending some times with my family - Nice visits and lots of emotions running through it all, like a river. ...reading the journal of the travels of my friends and teachers has helped my spirits stay warm - see an incredible travelogue at http://caneloproject.blogspot.com/ Friends helped me with the projects going here, building small garden structures and adding to the garden site. Updates of photos to be added in the next post. The work of building an urban homestead & living with permaculture continues, along with dreams of gardens and food forests, moving life along through the last few months of winter. The herb spiral and pond is flourishing, new gardens on the east create some privacy; solar cold frame shows off the seedlings and mulched gardens on the north side, facing the sun are becoming a reality. This year I have hopes for more greens and veggies wintering over as I learn how to benefit from a new small greenhouse structure as well as the great goat manure addition to the soil, lots of mulch and encouragement from the chickens every day. Last spring I was one of those volunteering for a local church group that has a lovely circle garden. The garden was the source of hundreds of pounds of fresh produce grown, harvested and prepared by church members in meals for the hungry, evenings - 2 days a week. Due to health issues, it turned out best to "hibernate" for the past few months. I hope to get back with them very soon! http://mannamealgarden.blogspot.com/ Maybe it's the spring fever that gets everyone going here (grab it while we can!) when the rains go away for whole days at a time and we get to se the SUN! Of course it just snowed for the first time this winter last week, but it was light and fluffy and melted soon....that's more like it! And now along with the plum blossoms and snow peas peeking out an inch or so in the sun, strength seeps in through the pores and it's time to try again. Best wishes for a lovely spring for all of you Projects completed: Working to make permaculture and sustainable living part of our lives we were able to join with the Sweet Home Community Education department of Linn Benton Community College, to teach a sampler: Introduction to Permaculture class was offered in April and May. To see more details Click on www.caneloproject.com/dawn/dawn%20pages/intropermaculture.pdf> Thanks to all of you who are so encouraging.