Blessings for Our Garden

Every single time it happens, I'm amazed when a seed pushes through the dirt, drinks in drops of water, reaches for the sun, and emerges as a stem, pre-leaves, then leaves, vines, flowers, and glory. I once heard this wise question, "If you came upon a watch laying in the road and it was keeping perfect time, tick tock, tick tock, would you for one second doubt the existence of a watchmaker? Who is the maker behind the bounty of our natural world? Aah, that's the mystery of life, beyond our knowing. But not beyond our appreciation.



Without naming the source of love and wisdom that is providing us the resources and strength and camaraderie to build our garden, we offered our thanks this past Saturday morning. Susan Marlan's inspirational words helped us connect with the spirit of new beginnings as we planted our garden sign and moved forward.

Thanks to Doug Harris for crafting the sign, Su Snyder for painting it, and Jim Goodnight with a little help from Mike Willen for erecting it so people zipping by on Rte. 191 will now know whose little farm is growing. A special thanks to NC Mountain Realty for allowing us to grow in their front yard.

Our Little Acre - well, almost

I don't know anyone that has participated in our High Vista Community Garden to date who isn't having a good time. It is so pleasant to chat while bumping shoulders at ground level. The warm sun, the birds singing. IMHO, the only thing that could be better is if the traffic would halt on Rte. 191 while we're down in the garden, but then all those passers-by wouldn't be benefitting from the lesson of what can be done through a bit of teamwork.

Here are pictures from Sue Kleppinger (of early work on the garden, May 6) and some from Sharon Willen of major planting taking place on May 16. All our community crops are now in the ground except for the sweet potatoes. Karen Donde has agreed to lead that team once we get the call from Jesse Israel Nursery that the slips are in. We hope to bring home 150. Be prepared for another fun day playing in the dirt!

Preparing Sweet Potato Rows

Long shot of the naked garden 

Jerry, Josh, Doug, Mike & Cathy arrive for work

Al points the way

A two-fisted waterer

Bill gets a kick out of being in the dirt

Joyce waters in her garden

Sue and Bill working on community peppers

Mary Alice, Judy, Cathy

Not a shirker in the group

Sue Marlan inspects her work

Peter inspects Mary Alice's work

Terri is queen of the bell (peppers)

May 1, 2015 Update - The Season Begins

Early Harvest-wild onion

New members and "old" members worked together in the garden this morning for about two hours. Using a garden plan Sharon developed based upon the layout team's strategy, the outline of the 2015 High Vista Community Garden has now taken shape.

Al and Joyce, Randi, Catherine & Jerry, Sue K., Mary Alice & Peter, and Mike and Sharon braved a looming storm and high wind to measure, calculate, drive in stakes, string guidelines, and post flags that delineate garden beds and walkways. Once again, the value of many eyes, brains, and hands (plus two 100' measuring tapes, four scissors, and two mallets) got the job done with optimal results two whole weeks before the date of the last threat of frost in Western North Carolina.

We've Been Blessed

We started the season behind the eightball. It was only about three weeks before the official "last frost " date when we got the generous offer of land that allowed us to consider a 2014 garden. We were uncertain how fertile the land was in our new location, how much sun would actually make it to the plants there and whether we'd suffer problems with the slope of the land and/or "varmints." We took on the challenge.

Thanks to Lisa Greef of NC Mountain Realty for the use of her land and an enthusiastic group of would be farmers, the decisions were made, resources were assembled, land was filled, a low impact water system was devised, and seeds and seedlings went into the ground. That was then, this is now.

Lush, lush, lush

Thanks to the right amount of sun and rain, our garden has more than flourished. People have been stopping by the side of the road or parking in the realty parking lot to inquire as to who we are and what the heck we did to produce such an amazing garden in such a short time. Honestly, we just helped and nature led the way.

The tomatoes are thick and ripening.

A full field of sweet potatoes ready to take off

And bean plants taller than your reach

But our greatest success to date is surely the squash. Yellow crook neck and green zucchini have been  the stars of the show. We've eaten, sauteed, frozen, baked, and made bread with them. And 75+ pounds have been donated to grateful local charitable organizations. We've been doubly blessed.

2014 Community Garden Takes Shape

Thanks to NC Mountain Realty the High Vista Community Garden Has a Home

Harry Moody Works His Magic

And the 2014 Garden Takes Shape

Pete marks the walkways

After a year without a home, the High Vista Community Garden returns in 2014, right outside our front gate. Thank you, NC Mountain Realty Group for being a good neighbor interested in growing community and sustainability.

You can see in these photos that the land we've been loaned for this year is not perfectly level, there is one shade tree, and a main road is in shouting distance. Gardening here will be a different experience from the idyllic setting of our last garden. Still, the 2014 group represents fifteen families and we expect to grow, learn, and have fun—just as we always have.

The plowed parcel needs to sit about two weeks, to give the grass clumps time to decompose. Our water source remains uncertain, but Jim Goodnight and Pete Steurer are working hard to determine if the old pump house nearby can be brought back to life within that time. If not, we will use a hose to fill two water barrels with NCMR's water when needed.

Next steps: spreading lime, marking the crop areas, building mounds for the squash, erecting bean structures, buying plants, planting, watering, weeding, watching for insects and varmints, and enjoying the fruit of our labor. You know what I always say, "Give Peas a Chance!"

Saving Energy in the Garden

Don't be mislead, you probably know my values well-enough by now to realize that "energy" in the title of this post means "net energy" expended - human and other.

Here are energy saving tips excerpted from the latest Sundance Power Systems newsletter.

Some tips to save energy in the garden this year:

• Plant natural grasses and shrubs that are native to your area and do not require a lot of extra water in the summer.
• Plant shade trees in the yard, by roadways and in vacant lots to combat the rising CO2 production.
• Plant native wildflowers in vacant lots, roadsides and other public areas so that the grass will not have to be mowed as often.
• Collect rain water in a rain barrel or cistern for watering plants, garden and landscaping.
• Looking for an easy way to save energy? Reduce your landscape watering schedule. Experts say that most yards are over-watered.
• Water lawns early in the morning and long enough for a deep soak to encourage deep root growth.
• Plants and grasses grow slowly in the cooler weather. Reduce your watering schedule accordingly.
• Keep an eye on the weather report and turn off your automatic irrigation system when rain is predicted. Keep it off for a week after the rain stops. Even longer in the winter.
• As a general rule, lawns only need watering every 5 to 7 days in the summer and every 10 to 14 days in the winter. A hearty rain eliminates the need for watering for as long as two weeks.
• Check your sprinkler system and timer on a regular basis to be sure it is operating properly and giving you the right coverage.
• Install a rain sensor device or switch which will override the irrigation cycle of the sprinkler system when adequate rainfall has occurred.
• Use a "soaker" hose rather than a sprinkler, where possible. Less water is required because the water is concentrated on the soil nearer the roots and there is less evaporation.
• Water in the early morning or late afternoon to avoid evaporation. Avoid watering on windy days.
• Convert to a drip irrigation system that waters specific plants and avoids water waste.
• Looking for ways to save energy? Use electric instead of gas powered lawn and garden equipment, as they create less pollution and are usually more energy efficient.
• Buy a new push mower for your lawn. They are quiet, non-polluting and you won't have to drive to the gym.
• Use "hand" pruners, clippers and other yard tools rather than gasoline or electric-powered ones.
• One idea on how to save energy is to keep the cutting edges sharp on your gasoline and electric-powered yard equipment. The equipment will cut more efficiently and use less energy.
• Also, dull cutting edges tend to fray grass blades and increase water evaporation from the grass plants.
• If you reduce fertilizing the lawn, you'll have to water less and cut the it less frequently.
• Raise the lawn mower blade to at least three inches. A lawn cut higher encourages grass roots to grow deeper, shades the root system and holds soil moisture better than a closely-clipped lawn.
• Leave lawn clippings after mowing to fertilize the grass, or collect the clippings and use them for mulch.
• You can save money and do your lawn a favor by using a mulching lawn mower instead of bagging and carting off grass clippings. The mulched clippings fall back to the soil and add nutrients.
• Mulch your planting beds to retain moisture in the soil. Mulching also helps to control weeds that compete with plants for water.
• Use a broom to clean the sidewalks and driveway. Using a hose to clean these surfaces wastes hundreds of gallons of water.
• Sweeping the sidewalks and driveway instead of using a noisy, polluting, blower is a good tip on how to save energy.
• Regularly check all hoses, connectors and spigots for leaks. Install new hose washers when needed.
• Plant native plants that are adapted to your area. They require less water and maintenance, and look great.
• If possible, use the grey water from the laundry and shower for irrigation in the yard.
• Choose the small solar powered lights for your landscape lighting. They're easy to find online or in garden stores and are just one way how to save energy in the garden.

Working Together to Conquer Waste

This is a great idea - The Repair Cafe. Take a look at the description as reported in the NY Times and let's consider doing one or more of these at High Vista in the near future. Perhaps we can incorporate it into our winter Community Connections Salon Series. If you're interested, let me know.

Summary: "At Amsterdam’s first Repair Cafe, an event originally held in a theater’s foyer, then in a rented room in a former hotel and now in a community center a couple of times a month, people can bring in whatever they want to have repaired, at no cost, by volunteers who just like to fix things. 

Conceived of as a way to help people reduce waste, the Repair Cafe concept has taken off since its debut two and a half years ago. The Repair Cafe Foundation has raised about $525,000 through a grant from the Dutch government, support from foundations and small donations, all of which pay for staffing, marketing and even a Repair Cafe bus. 

Thirty groups have started Repair Cafes across the Netherlands, where neighbors pool their skills and labor for a few hours a month to mend holey clothing and revivify old coffee makers, broken lamps, vacuum cleaners and toasters, as well as at least one electric organ, a washing machine and an orange juice press."