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it just makes more sense.

We dug a pond in the hillside as another experiment in dealing with erosion and the clogging of the drain in the back lot. It’s unbelievably frustrating to shovel the same dirt over and over again, but we do it because we have to do it — it’s a responsibility of stewardship. David has a new idea –  using the pallets as containers for growing, using them as structures and filters that would eventually break down in the soil and form berms. These would be sort of terraced down the hillside where it has eroded. It’s hard to grow things in dead bricks and stones. We’ve started with two, one right behind the pond, the other around mid-hill. We’ve planted some clover, rye, and grass in the spaces in between along with a wild plum tree that Eric has had in a container for a few months.

The chickens, having eaten everything in their yard, continue to venture out, using their pea-sized dinosaur brains to elude us. One remedy for this rambunctiousness is to get some forage to grow in their spot. We’ve created little islands using chicken wire and tomato cages — hopefully, even in this autumn weather we can get something to grow. With a little forage the chickens can keep laying those golden eggs.  Anyway, it’s fun to create more edge in the garden — more opportunities and islands of activity. The challenge of feeding and containing the chickens gives us so many opportunities to play with the edges and see zones and flows instead of grids and rows.

The hill washes out to bricks again.

Fill dirt clogging the drain.

The chickens have turned their yard into sheet mulch.

We have almost got the gate up.

At the Hanes micro-farm, we’ve sown broadly with a variety of winter cover crops — spelt, field peas, clover, rye, and vetch seeds have been scattered across the beds and even in between rows to add much needed nitrogen and green manure to the garden. come spring we’ll mow and till these crops into the soil as we prepare the beds for our spring planting. the crops will also provide habitat for animals over winter, keeping the soil vibrant and alive during the cold months.

The Werehouse farm is also busy as we winterize the coop to keep the chickens war, put in some cool weather cabbages and lettuces, and prepare the greenhouse for some winter propagations. We’ve done some great work to set up berms made of straw bales, compost, and old logs and planted them with a variety of greens, grasses, and clover. These berms add to the topography of the garden and will hopefully help us soak up more of the water that comes rushing through in the rainy season.

Eric also is researching the poly-tunnel as another way to extend the season and enrich our gardens. A simple cylinder of steel or pvc rods sheathed in double layer plastic, the poly-tunnel is a bare-bones version of a greenhouse that can be broken down and re-asssembled season after season as weather conditions change. Versatile and relatively inexpensive, the poly-tunnel also has a lot of potential for creative plantings that you can’t get in a greenhouse structure. We’ll probably use the so far so successful straw bale planter style we’ve used in other areas of the garden inside the poly-tunnel to make a permanent planting area around our greenhouse.

The popularity of rooftop and balcony gardens and solar water heaters was also an inspiration, especially since it seemed to come from a strong tradition of personal gardening that I noticed in the country. Many of my friends’ parents grew a lot of their own food and made their own wine, and there didn’t seem to be the level of detachment from food that you witness in the States. Of course, this is also a country where olive and citrus trees grow along the sidewalks.

I took a nice long train trip through the north eastern country side of greece and although I didn’t snap any pics along the way, I did observe how the small, hilly terrain reduced the potential for large monocultural plots, as did the greater number of small farms. As a result each hectare of land seemed to hold a diverse selection of crops and livestock pasture with plenty of non-agricultural buffers in between.

And then onto some islands where many of the goods are shipped in, but there’s still some emphasis on local specialities like the honey from Syros. One experience worth noting — in the area surrounding our studio on Mykonos there were multiple olive trees, a lime, apple, pomegranate, and persimmon tree as well as grapevines — all in about 100 square feet. wow!

We got there around 9pm and the place was humming. They have a great indoor facility with several long rows of vendors’ booths. The crowds and the selection of goods gave the market an exciting atmosphere, reminding me of some of the market experiences I’ve had in Mexico and Indonesia — although not even close to the same scale. But it got me thinking about the psychology of the market and how we can make them more of a thrill through design alone — the idea of winding, labrinythine stalls and the robust aromas intoxicating the shopper — so different from the numbingly sterile aisles of the supermarket.

We wandered around to find things not easily had at our own Krankies Market. Some highlights were the garlic farmers (Eric bought 9 different types to sample and to try and grow!), the Columbian Arepas ladies, the tasty (but pricey) African veggie soul food, Charles Shields — the nut butter empresario, and our friend Phillip Gillespie who was selling some beautiful fig trees, muscadines, and blueberry bushes. Oh, and Mamie, the sweet lady with the sweet potato pies — dang!

After the curb market we hit up Deep Roots Co-Op just to see how they’ve been doing it in Greensboro and get some prospective for our co-op plans.

Posted in Travels Tagged: cashew butter, community, farmer's market, garlic, greensboro, international market, local foods, north carolina ]]> http://astralamerica.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/saturday-morning-field-trip/feed/ 0 astralamerica deep roots mandy's lima beans garlic cashew man arepas deep roots http://astralamerica.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/pickards-mountain/ http://astralamerica.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/pickards-mountain/#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:21:35 +0000 astralamerica http://astralamerica.wordpress.com/?p=127 Continue reading →]]>

This past Labor Day I joined potential U.S. Senate candidate, Cal Cunningham, and his team for a visit to the Pickards Mountain Eco-Institute in Orange County, NC.  Founded and directed by Megan and Tim Toben, the Institute provides educational opportunities to the surrounding community through summer camps and a variety of programs for children from preschool through high school. The farm is an amazing example of a microfarm with an abundance of livestock, robust gardens, and the ecosystem support of a large wooded surroundings. In addition to raising and growing food and medicinal plants, the Institute has a hybrid solar-wind system that provides electricity to the entire farm — oh, and they refine biodiesel for farm vehicles and co-op members.