Tuesday, June 21, 2011

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