Visit from Jaja

Jaja came to visit this weekend and we had a blast!  We went to an incredible workshop at the Center for Art in Wood, in Old City where we created a "cabinet of curiosities" out of a cigar box and with great instruction and inspiration from the staff at the center.  We created a portrait for the front, and of course I chose to draw my cats.  Yes, I'm a cat lady.  I really like how it turned out:

 

They had great supplies for us to use, and the boxes already had elaborately patterned paper around the edges that we could use as a jump off for inspiration.  Apparently cigar stores just smash these boxes and throw them in the trash, so it's easy to get them if you're there at the right time.  Which I will obviously be doing now that I know how beautiful these boxes are without any decoration at all.

 

We also went to a work day at Farm 51, which is run by my friends Andrew and Neal.  We destroyed some raised beds and harvested broccoli, then had a bonfire and ate delicious home made coffee cake and cookies.  Their house next door is gorgeous and another constant source of inspiration:

 

 

 

An amazing and inspirational weekend and a great way to start the new year!

Sweeping up the leaves

It's Thanksgiving already! October and November have flown by, but here's a little snapshot for you:

** Black Swallowtail caterpillars on the fennel at The Woodlands Community Garden **



** Tree delivery at dawn, followed by many many volunteer tree planting events for work **









** A trip to the Philadelphia Zoo (the oldest zoo in the country) with some new friends **



** Lots of baking! **





I'm continuing my quest to perfect my apple pie recipe this fall, along with tweaking my presentation (see how I made it look like an apple when you cut it in half? clever clever me).

** Sukkah! **



We built a temporary structure called a sukkah on our porch this year in honor of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The holiday is a celebration of the harvest (and other religious and historical events) - the sukkah is open to the stars on top and filled with plant materials. Ours was decorated with paper chains, gourds, fruit, chestnuts, mums, fabric and drying bunches of herbs.







After we built and decorated it, we invited all of our friends to eat with us under the sukkah. Even though it rained during most of the week long holiday, we shared two fabulous dinners with friends and family. And it only took us two extra weeks to take it down!

That's all for now, I hope to post more frequently once I get a new laptop. This little setup that I have right now is driving me crazy, and I think it's time for a new computer, don't you?

Success! (and more help!)

Thanks to everyone who helped Duffy fund his beekeeping project, he raised 141% of his goal!



This means that we will have TWELVE more beehives at The Woodlands, plus one at The Walnut Hill Farm AND a group of high school students learning how to keep bees and sell honey with us at the farmer's market! It's all very exciting.

Also exciting is Nic's novel that he finished and is getting ready to self publish! It's about the urban homesteading movement, and there's a character in there based on little old me. Read more about it here. Here's his Kickstarter page where he's raising the money to publish the novel. In return for donating you can get a signed copy of the novel, a ticket to the book release party where cool local Philly musicians will be playing, and even a secondary character named after you!



Thanks to everyone who has already donated to these causes and helped move us all forward towards a more sustainable, creative, and well compensated future!

(I'm also working on a Kickstarter page to help fundraise for UC Green, the wonderful organization that is Philly Rooted's fiscal sponsor and all-around chearleader. Look out for that in April.)

Shoots

The beginning! These chives are in a container on my porch, and there are also some coming up in my plot at The Woodlands Community Garden.

Support Your Local Beekeeper!

Leslie, a gardener at The Woodlands Community Garden

My friend Duffy, who keeps bees at The Woodlands Community Garden, has come up with a great new youth beekeeping and CSA (Community Supported Apiary) program and he needs our help! He made a Kickstarter to raise money for the program, here. Basically, he wants to teach high school youth in our neighborhood about beekeeping and start at least ten new apiaries in The Woodlands. In return for support, you can get 1.5 lbs of honey from the hives, an selection of herbs from The Walnut Hill Community Farm, and more!



You might remember Duffy from when he came to speak about bees at The Woodlands back in the fall of 2009 when he was trying get the board of The Woodlands to approve the hives. He's also the friend who is making us the honeycomb hearts to top our wedding cake!


The two existing hives at The Woodlands Community Garden

I posted here about a community garden that was trying to raise money on Kickstarter to save their land from development a while back and they made 104% of their goal, so I have my fingers crossed for Duffy!



There's also a movement to get the EPA to ban the pesticide that's been linked to Colony Collapse Disorder. Check that out here.

Fall Sprouts

The summer crops are out of the community garden plots (and the green tomatoes have been dealt with). I sowed some lettuce mix, carrots, arugula and spinach and the sprouts are sprouting. Onto the next season!

A Sweet First

Last week while I was digging up the last of my potatoes in The Woodlands Community Garden, I accidentally dug up some of my sweet potatoes! This is my first time growing sweet potatoes and I didn't realize that they could actually root along the vine, creating more tubers as they go. Like this:



(from http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/botany/sweet-potato-info.htm).

Sweet!

August Harvest

What a doozy!

I harvested the following from both the St. Bernard Community Garden and the Woodlands Community Garden this morning:

• 'Katahdin' and 'Yukon Gold' potatoes
• one tiny (and slightly tasteless) watermelon
• habanero peppers
  
• 'Sungold' and 'Tomaccio' cherry tomatoes
• 'Long Slim' cayenne peppers
• a 'Cherokee Purple' and two other tomatoes
• red onions
• an eggplant
• leeks
• deformed, end-of-season cucumbers

Then I made home fries for lunch.



I am loving this weekend. The weather is gorgeous (back in the mid-eighties) and my lovely friend and former CA room-mate Crystal is coming for a visit! Enjoy your own weekends and this fleeting end-of-summer feeling.

ACGA in Hotlanta

I'm back from the American Community Gardening Association conference in Atlanta and I had an incredible time! I met some amazing people, I was educated and inspired, I saw many beautiful gardens, and I ate incredible food! Here are some highlights.


*A canning class with Miss Classie Parker of Just Food in NYC, where I learned how to pickle okra and boogie.*


*A great harvest table and weighing station in the Back to Eden Garden*

Scenes from the Taste of the South dinner:









*Genius bike racks at Pearl Academy Agriculture and Environmental Center*


*Goats at Pearl Academy*

And, last but not least, the Atlanta Botanical Garden:











I'm already excited for next year!

2010 ACGA Conference!

Despite my current lack of funds, I managed to register and get transportation to the 2010 American Community Gardening Association's Annual conference this weekend! With lots of help from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and Green Thumb (the NYC Dept of Parks and Rec's community gardening program) I will be traveling to Atlanta, GA tonight on a bus from NYC. I get conference registration (which I already secured a scholarship for), round-trip bus fare, and a shared hotel room for the low low price of $0.00. Amazing. I mostly have Sally to thank, my wonderful friend at PHS who does the community gardening program there. I had an incredible time last year, and I can't wait to be inspired and energized again this year. The bus ride is over 16 hours though, so thank goodness for my new quillow.

Here are some current pics from the community gardens to get you excited. Also, I just found out that The Woodlands Community Garden is in final judging for the PHS City Gardens contest, so keep your fingers crossed again for us to win!


**Walnut Hill Community Farm, with painted shed and 1,000 gallon water tank!**


**Incredible shed organization at The Woodlands, thanks to Joe (who also re-roofed the shed and made the picnic table**


**Red pontiac potatoes, katahdin potatoes, some mystery blue potatoes, and a cayenne pepper from The Woodlands**


**St. B garden overflowing with zinnias**


**St. B garden harvest**


**Joy**