Crabapples to Apples

This past weekend, I went down to Granville, OH for the OEFFA (Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association) Conference, where I met many interesting people.  One of these interesting people was Bill Hutchinson, who led the Tree Grafting workshop.  A self-described "non-professional" and "grafting enthusiast," Bill said he wanted to hear from everyone that they would go home and give grafting a try- if not, he'd feel like he failed.

tongue & whip graft

He was extremely thorough in his presentation, including hands-on practice with scions (new wood cuttings) in front of every seat, and razor blades to boot so everyone could practice their new "tongue & whip" graft technique (seen here).

He raved about Johnny Apple Seed trees and growing America's history in your backyard.  He even brought scions of an official Johnny Apple Tree to share!  Not only did he bring those scions, but he also brought a whole long table lined with over ten different varieties of apples, and some pears, plums & persimmons.

At the end of the workshop, I had to go over to the table and gather the scions as everyone else did, so that I, too, could fullfill the hopes of this grafter to go home and try it myself.  All the while I was thinking, hmm, well, I really hope I don't let these go to waste- because I don't know of any fruit trees that I can graft these onto.

Silly me!

HA!  It wasn't until I arrived home the next morning, and in telling my husband about the scions - he responded with "oh, that's good, you can graft them onto the crabapple tree."  DUH!  I had completely forgotten that not only do we have one crabapple tree (that seems of some kind of dwarf variety), but there is also another one on the tree lawn of the lot next door!  Two apple trees just waiting for larger edible fruit to be grafted onto them!
My Lordy!

So, I am very excited by this.  A chance to try out my new skills, and to also hopefully bring us some apples throughout the growing season.

Here are the varieties I accrued from the teacher:
-Melrose

-Jonathan

-Cortland

-Rome Beauty


-Yellow Transparent


-an official Johnny Appleseed tree
-Bartlett pear
(did you know that you can graft a pear to an apple- but it's not always such an easy match and you have to monitor it fairly closely to make sure the tree is handling it okay.  Interesting, eh?)

Isn't it fun to imagine all these apples growing on one tree?!
Now, I just need the grafting wax!

Hopefully, I'll have a digital camera by the time I go to graft these, so I can document.

Bioswale considerations...

a good example of a "bioswale" here at UC Berkley

The caption from the website listed below: "Rainwater run-off from the cement paths at UC Berkeley are diverted to this vegetated area, a "bioswale". The stormwater is slowed, and infiltrates into the ground preventing runoff into the nearby creek."

http://greywateraction.org/content/test-page-0

This model seems applicable to our sidewalk bioswale approach, because the water is so much naturally diverted in this direction because of the slopes of the sidewalk and land around the house.  (There doesn't seem to be much of a cement barrier where the swale meets the road here.)  However, we have much much less width possible.  The question of how 'bushy' to make it with less width is also in question here, too.  Using sedges primarily may be the best option for us to keep it not too bushy, still attractive for the street, and not going to cause problems for utility maintenance.  

Just a note.

OEFFA Conference this weekend

I am looking forward very much to this weekend's OEFFA (Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association) Conference 2013: Growing Opportunities, Cultivating Change.  With a low budget, I am able to attend by volunteering & they even provide child care during the conference!  Lucky mamas!

What I've got on my schedule to attend:

Session I A: Growing & Marketing Microgreens

Session I B: Growing Outside the Bed/ Community Gardens

Session II A: Reflections on Terra Madre

Session II B: Maximizing Benefits of School Garden Experience

Session III A: Transplanting  Production Systems

Session III B: Why Cover Crop Tomatoes 

Session IV: Tree Grafting 

I imagine I'll return back to Cleveland with some new thoughts and things to write on surrounding these topics.

If you're interested in the conference and would like to know more, check out http://www.oeffa.org/conference2013.php
There is a long list of workshops & speakers to check out.
Including a contra dance session and delicious local food meals.  Yum!

See you there!

Spring Mushroom Growing Workshops in the works!

Kultured Mushrooms, the newly formed group focused on promoting the education & action of mushroom growing, had a meeting this past week to discuss organizing a mushroom growing workshop this Spring.  We are currently looking at April as a possibility, with no confirmed dates yet.

The workshop would cover similar material as this past Dec's workshop- with basic mushroom production techniques, but will also include extensive information on the lab sciences related to mushroom cultivation and how to grow mycelia and spores.  It will most likely work  in a two-day type fashion with half of the workshop dealing with petri dishes and lab work- while the other half will be an expansion on this past Dec's production techniques including various methods for growing mushrooms in outdoor beds.  We will extend the mushroom bed that we started at Possibilitarian Garden in December, go through the process of pasteurizing straw, and installing a new mushroom bed with different mushroom cultivars (we are thinking Reishi will be one we want to focus on growing this time).  We will most likely make straw grow bags for people to take home- like we did with the blue oysters in the last session (my second flush of mushrooms are just starting!).  And Kilindi Iyi, the knowledgeable, awesome and accessible speaker & mushroom cultivator from Detroit, will be coming back to lead much of the workshop.

Good things ahead.  I can see the mycelium spreading, can't you?  It won't be long now till we see the fruiting of all these connections!

Stay posted to hear more about the upcoming workshops....

You can find Kultured Mushrooms on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kultured-Mushrooms/407063829360261.

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Early Easter Egg Hunt!

So yesterday, after the third day of no eggs in the nest went I went to collect, I thought- well, maybe that's it for awhile- Winter has really set in.  Those cold, dark days and freezing water- the hens say, not till Spring!

That was till today when I brought out a nice plate of kitchen scraps- there! I saw Grandma, sitting on the straw bail, just next to the chicken coop- and apparently, judging by the eggs popping out from under her- laying atop a huge pile of eggs!  16 of the them to be exact!

So, go figure!  I thought the hens were through for the Winter, instead they just said- hmm, doesn't this nice private & protected straw bail look spacious yet cozy?!

That'll do, chicks, that'll do.

Compost Demonstration Site News

Last Fall I took the pilot composting education program called "Cuyahoga Composts" through OSU Extension.  It was particularly geared towards people who would like to help set-up community composts- or be resources in the community for composting knowledge and know-how.

I got involved with the particular project of a Community Compost here at Possibilitarian Garden.  Initially, I had spoke with folks at Environmental Health Watch about partnering with them about setting up a Community Compost in Buckeye, and they were very interested.  EHW had just set-up a pilot program this past summer called 'The Family Garden Initiative' and helped to set up something like 500 gardens in the area.  The Buckeye Area Development Corporation had done a similar intentioned project using Garden Soxx, seeding them & setting them up with a huge crew of volunteers.  It was pretty exciting to see.  They got people rain barrels, watering cans, seeds, tranplants, soil, & composting bins ("The Dirt Machine" variety).  Pretty exciting!  They even gave you a package with freezer bags & a sharpie (so you can label the contents of the bag) and directions for how to freeze those collards you were going to grow.  I was seriously impressed- and inspired.

And I got to thinking about Community Compost here in Buckeye.  Maybe starting with just connecting with folks on my street- knocking on doors, writing a letter to everyone, maybe even calling a meeting- describing the commitment & benefit of composting, and see if people are interested.  I could do pick-ups with a wagon cart, once a week- or if someone calls or something.

This idea extended into including all those other garden happy & potential composting enthusiasts in the Buckeye neighborhood that had participated in the gardening programs this past year.  Which is why I got connected with EHW and was inspired further to take the OSU course in the Fall.

And so story short-
in coordination with some folks from OSU, and a small group of composting enthusiasts who took cuyahoga composts- we are in the initial phases of developing a "Cuyahoga Composting Demonstration Site" kind of thing.  Something similar to the "Summer Sprout" kind of program- in the sense that it will be an open educational resource with some funding for signage, etc.
We are planning again to meet in March and talk more about what we are imaging with each site specifically, and see how OSU can meet or support any needs.

The rat wheel is turning!  I'll be sure to post more on what my initial thoughts are and vision for this place, including a self-guided walking tour with educational signs for people to read.  But I am hoping to consult with my gardener neighbor and friend Liz before plowing forward.  I am interested to see what she thinks about it and what she sees it.  She has been living here longer than I have!

For now, you can keep posted, and keep on the look out for "Composting Demonstration Sites" popping up this Spring....

We are just experimenting over here!

That's it-
we are just experimenting over here!

I mean, my daughter and I went out to the greenhouse a few days ago just to check things out.  Clean out some of the garden beds, feed the fish, water the fig tree, see what's going on in there.  We found it to be pretty cozy warm- at least much warmer than it was in the outside frigid but sunny day.  And we also spent sometime studying the microgreen sprouts.  Part of me has a dream to grow microgreens with such consistency that I can grow more than we need and we can sell it to other people and maybe even restaurants.  Our greenhouse needs significant set-up improvement before that sort of process would be functional in there, nonetheless, we are potentially in the infantile phase currently of microgreen growing.

So, Rosemary and I - sitting out there -her head just about the height of the cooler that acts as a grow bed connected to the aquaponic system, and we were picking little yellow flowers of brassicas that had gone to flower.  It was a tasty treat.  And an interesting note of the experimentation element.
What I mean is that we don't have a heater in the greenhouse (and we don't have thermometers in there yet either!  Which is silly!), so we don't know where the temperatures are maintaining at (though with these warm & cold day mixes, it's all over the place).  Yet, I am curious as to how these temperatures are effecting the germination and growth of these different microgreens.  Because the yellow flowered brassica (maybe it was broccoli?  or collards?) had grown much faster than the others- with the kale growing taller slowly bit by bit- so slow it seems to almost have stopped - which maybe it has.

The only conclusion I could make as we were out there was that - 'geez, we are only experimenting out here!'  Which is true.   And frankly, we aren't doing a terrible job of observing our experimentation!  Which means, the amount we can potentially learn from our experimentation is less than if were really on top of keeping track of the data (air temperature, species, weather patterns, water temp, germination rates & length of growth periods).  I find that having a baby surely does slow me down quite a bit!  And so does our family's budget (it's not so easy to just run out to the store and buy all the materials we need to make the system different).

Nonetheless, this, too, is a part of the experiment!  And I am surely learning a lot!  Especially about what I need to get this system really going!  An extra person to work with me.  A little financial assistance wouldn't hurt!  And discipline & diligence to stay aware, and consistent with my observations.  This is all the asides for the more practical, logistical things that would help this aquaponic system & potential micro-green mini-business get off the ground- like:
-more shelving for seed trays to go on
-ventilation
-painting the interior white to increase sun reflection
-removal of a few of the aquaponic growbeds to make room for a transplanting/potting table
-bins of soil (filled with worms from our vermiculture) for seeding new microgreen trays
-groundcover plants planted on the floor of the greenhouse
-re-routing of aquaponic system pipes to make it easier to work in
-grating over the open section of the water tank
-thermometers hanging in the greenhouse & inside the fish tank
-edible fish crop for the Spring
-a digital camera! so I can document what I'm doing and so I can post about it here
-and the list goes on....!


SO!  For now!  That's it.  Just thoughts.  Endless thoughts of all the things that need doing.
And all in all- we're just experimenting over here!  That's for sure!

For now, I take the opportunity of the snow-melted ground clearing day to remember again the soil, it's curves and flows- watch where the snow still sits in it's cold little micro climate- and plan for what's to come- what's to come!