Cold Frames Donated!

Thanks to Jim Xerogeanes of Mendocino College's Agriculture Department for donating two cold frames to The Gardens Project. The gardens at Nokomis Elementary and Head Start and Talmage State Preschool are already using them to get their Fall and Winter starts off to warm beginnings! Jill Peacock, Nokomis Garden Coordinator shows off the cold frame.

October is the Month to Combat Star Thistle!

Dizzle Star Thistle

The Star Thistle migrated to California from Chile in contaminated alfalfa seed. Today it is said that Star Thistle has spread over 15 million acres in California. It is in 56 out of 58 counties. Human activities spread the seeds the most. The seeds can be carried up to 16 feet by the wind. Star Thistle also has a very long tap root and soaks up much of the soils water. It takes 21 days for Star Thistle to start it's germination process. They are most active from May to September. Leaving October the time to get out there and get rid of them. There are two ways to get rid of this pesky plant, the first is by mowing and then picking up the debris and the second is manual removal.

Submitted by: MCOE Youth Garden (E.J)

Garden Work Parties!

The Gardens Project would like to acknowledge and thank all of the community volunteers that participated in Garden Work Parties over the weekend of October 25th. On Saturday, numerous organizations and individuals dug into the earth at the newly renovated and expanded school and family gardens at the Nokomis Elementary and Head Start School Garden and the Talmage State Preschool Family Garden. Our thanks go to the smiling, dedicated work of volunteers from the Solar Living Institute Interns, Ukiah High School's Interact Club and Agricultural program, volunteers from the UC Cooperative Extension, Principal John Mcann and Teacher Liz Lovejoy of Nokomis, Teacher Pam Chiriboga and parents, Jaime, Servando, and Dustin from Talmage State Preschool, and the numerous individuals and children who participated during the day.

Additional thanks go to Dave Koball of Fetzar vineyards who organized the delivery of over 100 yards of organic grape pumice compost to the gardens. Thanks to these wonderful community members, the two gardens now have freshly prepared and amended garden beds ready for their first Fall plantings!

Bats Are Beneficial

From Smithsonian magazine, October 2008, page 33:
Making History, Dark Knight
Kenneth R. Fletcher

Bats are a big help to plants because they devour leaf-munching insects, according to researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. The scientists conducted their investigation by covering plants with plastic and wire-mesh structures that let insects in but keep large bug-eating predators out. The research team then compared three groups: plant that were covered during the day (when birds are looking for food); plants that were covered at night (when bats are awake and hungry); and a control group of uncovered plants (open to all comers). The result? Plants sealed off from the bats had more leaf damage and were more infested with insects than the other two groups. While previous studies have extensively documented the beneficial relationship between birds and plants, scientists “have completely overlooked the important ecological role of insects-eating bats,” says Margareta Kalka, the study’s lead author. The Smithsonian research reveals that bats might do more to help sustain forests than we previously thought, says Kalka.

Brookside Farm newsletter Oct 21, 2008

Greetings CSA Family and Friends!

I am having more and more trouble waking up bright eyed and bushy tailed these darkening days. As a farmer I am a big follower of the sun, and when it is pitch black at 6:30 am I want to rebel. But my life must still follow certain schedules. The kids must go to school. My pretty little missus heads off to work so we can have a home to live in and I can remain her happily kept man. I am not inflexible and must make accommodations.

Plants and soil, however, can’t easily be forced. They abide by the season and we must either accept the situation or fight it using energy and technology. Greenhouses, artificial lights, hydroponics…methods we can employ locally to overcome the limitations imposed by a planet with a tilted axis of rotation. Alternatively we can ship the produce between the hemispheres, using copious quantities of fuel of course.

I say relax, take it easy, sleep in and hunker down. Go into torpor if you can! Summer was sometimes insanely busy and now’s the time to give the adrenals a break and savor the melatonin.

News Flash!

Date of Release: Oct. 21, 2008

Suggested Headline: Local CSA successfully captures sunlight and converts it into human food in the form of winter squash.

Begin Text: Brookside Farm in Willits, CA releases its 2008 winter squash today. The varietal for the fall season is Delicata, a delightfully sweet, well proportioned bush type squash with a soft skin and unobtrusive center. Seeds may be roasted and salted to fully enjoy the harvest bounty.

This is the second year the farm has sown winter squash seeds, they germinated, and through weeding and watering were able to flower, set fruit and grow to maturity.

Farm Manager Jason Bradford was circumspect regarding the harvest. “I remember them as little seeds just four months ago,” he mused, “We did some watering once or twice a week and had to knock back the chicory and bindweed a bit, but the plants did most of the work. I am just happy the sun keeps shining because without that solar energy nothing would work and we’d all starve. And starving would be bad because I still have a strong will to live. You ever think about where that comes from, the will to live? The weeds certainly have it too…And don’t forget the bees,” he droned on, “Without bees servicing them, squash flowers don’t set fruit. Now that’s interesting! Even with a powerful will to live themselves, the squash wouldn’t survive without the bees having a will to live also. Hmmm….We have a set of bee hives over here, you want to see them?”

Be Like a Squirrel.

I am not asking you to scurry around in the trees and puff up your fur, but to consider what these hyperactive rodents do for the winter. They prepare for lean times by storing food. This week you are going to get your chance to do the same. The baskets will have potatoes, cured onions, winter squash (see press release above), and garlic. If you can find a cool, dark, dry place for these they will keep well for a few months. More of these will be available in November. The green onions, carrots, beets, parsnips and hearty greens are best in the fridge. The last of the tomatoes are on the table too. Some are ideal to throw at a bad stage act, but I can usually find okay parts out of the mushy bits.

Remember we are going to monthly pickup for November and December. The current plan is to distribute from the farm. If rains are pouring down or a hard freeze is on the way these plans may alter.

In Fondness of Food,

Jason

La Cosecha Se Acabo

La cosecha del jardin de Cleveland Lane Community Garden se esta acabando y estamos preparando el jardin para el Otono. Vamos a tener un dia de festejar y trabajar en el jardin en las proximas semanas. Busca mas informacion y vengan a ayudarnos a echar composto, limpiar las camas, y sembrar nuevo legumbres.

Brookside Farm newsletter Oct 14, 2008

Greetings CSA Family and Friends!

I greet the first frost with sadness and relief. Too bad so many green tomatoes, unripe peppers and nearly the whole corn crop were smote by fall’s wrath. But I am ready to put it all into cover crops and get fully invested in the season.

Over the weekend I tried to save as many tomatoes and peppers and summer squash as possible. The quality is poor as these dear plants have had to deal with a lot of rain, which tends to burst the fruits and dilute their flavor, then huge temperature swings and shortening day lengths. Anyhow, you get what you get and that’s all we’ve now got!

Most of the storage onions have finished curing. Onions are bulbs, which means modified leaves that act as storage organs. Curing is a process where the sugars are converted to starches and preservative aromatic compounds are concentrated—essentially a hibernation form that will keep until spring. They like to be kept cool with decent air flow around them. The cabinet dryer was a great place to set them for a few weeks and now I have them at my house on a big hanging rack in the shop. You’ll start getting these in the November baskets.

Announcement Making. Miles Gordon of North Coast Opportunities roped me into contributing to www.thegardensproject.org, which is a Mendocino County affair. You’ll see a link to a Brookside Farm set of pages, where I’ll post newsletters, general information, and other stuff I could concoct during the winter.

Looking Ahead. Brookside Farm is currently the only Willits area CSA, and I don’t like the idea of telling people they can’t be members. Given the small size of the farm, however, capacity is very limited and our shares sell out fast. One way to expand capacity is to find another piece of land to grow more food. But how could I manage another site? Well, I can partner with other farmers so I don’t have all the responsibility. Also, I would only grow a few crops that take up a lot of area but are generally low maintenance, such as winter squash, potatoes and storage onions. Something like this is in the works and I’ll give you some details if it pans out.

Important Information. Given the demise of the summer veggies, we are entering the end of the weekly delivery season. Next week (Oct 21st) will be as usual, but then we are switching to monthly. Your baskets next week will therefore be rather large, as I’ll stock you up on potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, winter squash and parsnips. I will also get back into the hearty greens, which include kale, chard and tree collards. So, please mark your calendars for November 18th and December 16th as future pick up days.

Yours in Plant Husbandry,

Jason

Growing Community.....One Garden at a Time

Its a beautiful morning here on the Mendocino Coast in Northern California. The ravens woke me up with their rantings over last night's compost additions.....corn cobs, tomato skins and other random bits of yesterday's harvest. There's a tiny bit of frost on the ground, and I'm a little worried about the baby spinach and peas at The Learning Garden. While its a little sad to see the end of an amazingly productive growing season, I am stoked to have a few months to slow down, check in with myself, and get ready for next year.
Its a perfect time to reflect back on the year and review what we've accomplished here in Mendocino County. There are gardens popping up all over the place! Its amazing to see our motto manifesting all over the county. The Gardens Project certainly has alot to do with all the progress we've seen in 2008. Good job Miles and everyone who has picked up a shovel and got down and dirty with the earth! There has been a ton of effective organizing happening this year too, from the STEPS meetings, to the Coast Farm Futures meetings, to Earth Day celebrations and Harvest Gatherings and community workdays at countless gardens. I feel honored to be a part of this revolution in the way we sustain ourselves and our communities. It gives me so much hope for the future, that we can get ourselves out of this mess we've created and move forward into a more just and sustainable world. Its just a matter of time.
Peace!
Susan Lightfoot

How to combat Aphids

You know when you wake up in the morning and step out into your garden and BAM! Your amazing chard looks like Swiss cheese with a colony of little bitty sized bugs munching away. These bugs are known most commonly as Aphids. Did you know that Aphids are monogamous, they typically will only eat one type of plant in their short lifetime, their young will also feed on that particular plant.

So, you ask yourself, WHAT?!? can I do to combat these little munch machines?
Here at the River School Garden Project we are very conscience about using any type of pesticide on our plants. So, we came up with an Earth friendly alternative that is very effective.
So grab an empty spray bottle and follow the recipe below:
5 tbsp Dr. Bonner's Magic Soap
3 tbsp Cayenne Pepper
Fill spray bottle with warm water.
SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE!!!

Now fully armed your are ready to go back out into your garden and spray those aphids at Dusk. This way the water droplets on your leaves won't get burned by the Sun.