Praksys
03-26-2009, 12:36 PM
French Garden Bio-Intensive Farm
Sebastopol, CA
Last Saturday March 21, 2009
9 AM Backyard Farming with Dan Smith (This next Saturday, too).
“If you can’t afford to buy local produce, we’ll give you the seeds and teach you how to grow your own for free!”
:heart: Say long time residents Dan Smith and Joan Marler :heart:
Starting & Collecting Seeds
Last Saturday eight of us took them up on the generous offer and started the morning in the long greenhouse attached to the barn just off Cherry Ridge. I have not had a vegetable garden since moving here 10 years ago from New Hampshire, so I was excited to have the opportunity to learn and reconnect with the plant world on the first full day of Spring. Farmer Dan greeted us with the notion that plants are very forgiving and don’t know the difference between a green or brown thumb. He asserted that anyone can learn to grow their own vegetables and he would like to pass along local farming experience and essential materials to people who want their own home vegetable garden. I took a few notes, as did others. A few highlights follow.
Season of Things
I did not realize how effective starting plants indoors can be for controlling weeds. For the most part, harmful bugs, animals and cold are mitigated while the plants are in the most vulnerable stage. The nature and size of the seed determines the best approach. Smaller seeds need all their energy for sprouting and may not need covering. The larger seeds have more potential energy and can have a substantial cover. “It is important to understand the season of things.” Farmer Dan
Delivery methods for seed planting involves makeshift devices that make the job go swiftly. Farmer Dan demonstrated all kinds of nifty ways to do things by adapting what is already lying around. We learned simple innovations in practice that saved time while also improving the end result. Observation, perception and practice seem to be the favored tools of the small scale farmer.
Soil Mix
The source and type of soil mixes can have dramatic effects on the growth process of seeds. I learned that if you are going to use mulch for your home garden use rice straw instead of wheat straw for less trouble. A farm with tractor cultivation avoids the use of mulch generally. It also seems to be the case that most available soil mixes often lack nutrition and contain contaminants. Mature duck compost with rice hulls works well.
Outdoor Starts and Row Cover
We also spent some time outdoors looking at the use of row cover and other techniques for getting started at the right time in the right way with the right thing. Agribond makes a very light reusable porous woven fabric plant covering that lets rain water and 85% of the sun light through while protecting from rabbits and leaf miners. It adds 5 to 7 degrees of warmth and extends the seasons in both directions. Toward the end of the session we learned the secret to controlling weeds effortlessly.
Farmer Dan gave us seeds and soil for home use. He also mentioned an old stand-by, ‘Square Foot Gardening’ by Mel Bartholomew. I think that it was recommended because of its ‘small is beautiful and productive’ practices.
I left feeling blessed to be living in such a beautiful and abundant county.
Best Wishes,
Daniel Osmer
workshop participant …
“If we consciously take on the task of growing a garden, this, at least in some small way, reconnects us with the power and harmony of creation, not just in the growing of plants, but in all of life. In this connection lies the solution to so many of our 'created' problems, for within a garden, we can easily see the origins of health, abundance and sustainability.”
Chris Korrow - Organic Farmer and producer of the award winning documentary ‘Garden Insects’ that aired on PBS NOVA.
Sebastopol, CA
Last Saturday March 21, 2009
9 AM Backyard Farming with Dan Smith (This next Saturday, too).
“If you can’t afford to buy local produce, we’ll give you the seeds and teach you how to grow your own for free!”
:heart: Say long time residents Dan Smith and Joan Marler :heart:
Starting & Collecting Seeds
Last Saturday eight of us took them up on the generous offer and started the morning in the long greenhouse attached to the barn just off Cherry Ridge. I have not had a vegetable garden since moving here 10 years ago from New Hampshire, so I was excited to have the opportunity to learn and reconnect with the plant world on the first full day of Spring. Farmer Dan greeted us with the notion that plants are very forgiving and don’t know the difference between a green or brown thumb. He asserted that anyone can learn to grow their own vegetables and he would like to pass along local farming experience and essential materials to people who want their own home vegetable garden. I took a few notes, as did others. A few highlights follow.
Season of Things
I did not realize how effective starting plants indoors can be for controlling weeds. For the most part, harmful bugs, animals and cold are mitigated while the plants are in the most vulnerable stage. The nature and size of the seed determines the best approach. Smaller seeds need all their energy for sprouting and may not need covering. The larger seeds have more potential energy and can have a substantial cover. “It is important to understand the season of things.” Farmer Dan
Delivery methods for seed planting involves makeshift devices that make the job go swiftly. Farmer Dan demonstrated all kinds of nifty ways to do things by adapting what is already lying around. We learned simple innovations in practice that saved time while also improving the end result. Observation, perception and practice seem to be the favored tools of the small scale farmer.
Soil Mix
The source and type of soil mixes can have dramatic effects on the growth process of seeds. I learned that if you are going to use mulch for your home garden use rice straw instead of wheat straw for less trouble. A farm with tractor cultivation avoids the use of mulch generally. It also seems to be the case that most available soil mixes often lack nutrition and contain contaminants. Mature duck compost with rice hulls works well.
Outdoor Starts and Row Cover
We also spent some time outdoors looking at the use of row cover and other techniques for getting started at the right time in the right way with the right thing. Agribond makes a very light reusable porous woven fabric plant covering that lets rain water and 85% of the sun light through while protecting from rabbits and leaf miners. It adds 5 to 7 degrees of warmth and extends the seasons in both directions. Toward the end of the session we learned the secret to controlling weeds effortlessly.
Farmer Dan gave us seeds and soil for home use. He also mentioned an old stand-by, ‘Square Foot Gardening’ by Mel Bartholomew. I think that it was recommended because of its ‘small is beautiful and productive’ practices.
I left feeling blessed to be living in such a beautiful and abundant county.
Best Wishes,
Daniel Osmer
workshop participant …
“If we consciously take on the task of growing a garden, this, at least in some small way, reconnects us with the power and harmony of creation, not just in the growing of plants, but in all of life. In this connection lies the solution to so many of our 'created' problems, for within a garden, we can easily see the origins of health, abundance and sustainability.”
Chris Korrow - Organic Farmer and producer of the award winning documentary ‘Garden Insects’ that aired on PBS NOVA.