Invitation to Permie Primer Weekend- May 31
You are warmly invited to another Sustainable Living Arts School Weekend Retreat in Robert’s Creek on the Sunshine Coast (just 15 minutes from the ferry at Langdale.). Robin has got a bit more land than the average city grower, but whether you’re growing on a counter-top, balcony, patio or yard, Edible Landscapes is a place to come to reconnect, learn, relax and get inspired on how we can increase our self-sufficiency…together. You can camp on the land, hike to the ocean, walk in the woods, wander the gardens, browse in the edible and medicinal plant nursery and medicine emporium.
To reserve your space for the weekend away, email Robin info@ediblelandscapes.ca If you are part of a family or group of friends who would like to learn some do-it-together skills together, get in touch with Robin to arrange group pricing. She’ll work out the details with you and send you an invoice.
You can either pay by Visa or Mastercard via Paypal right away or mail her a cheque. 80% of student fees go directly to the teachers, with another 10% for preparing for classes and promotion. Attending these workshops is a direct way to support folks who live on the land and keep the skills and traditions of the sustainable living arts alive.
Saturday, May 30th
- 9:30 – 11:00 – Basic Framing with ____TBA_____ - Sometimes we don’t realize until we are trying to construct a chicken coop, greenhouse or lean-to that we have no framing concepts. This class will go over the necessary skills to begin simple projects and problem solve on our own. $25
- 11:15 – 12:30 Garden Standbys with Robin Wheeler - What are the tried and true plants that every smallholder should have? How are they placed and cared for? We will look at the top groups of greens, tubers, berries and fruit and learn about their needs. $25
- 12:30 – 1:30 Brown bag, or order $6 snack lunch
- 1:30 – 3:00 –Tool maintenance and Repair with Cymba - Good tools are worth holding on to, and regular care will considerably lengthen their life. Cymba will show methods for caring for garden tools and chain saw, and will also show how to salvage old tools by replacing handles, and how to make a handle out of a found object or branch. $25
- 3:00 - 5:30 Essentials of Permaculture Design Part One : Ethics and Principles with Delvin - Together we will explore the basics of permaculture ethics and principles in the context of a permaculture site design. A great intro to the permaculture way and how it can be applied to your own life. $25
Sunday, May 31
- 10:00 – 11:15 – Woodshed/Woodstove Primer with Robin Wheeler - The goal with a home wood supply is to have sufficient, well dried wood that will burn cleanly, and to understand the basic physiology of a wood burning heater. We will look at placement and purpose of a woodshed, split some wood, and then go inside and learn the parts and purpose of a normal wood stove. We will learn the important components of the cleanest, most non-polluting burn possible. $25
- 11:30 – 1:00 – Irrigation Intrigue with Jason Woodall - Jason is a gentle guy who is going to pull out bits and pieces of irrigation, give them names and purposes, and then will have the group assemble and build a portion of water line. He will also talk about repair problems. Participants will feel much more confidant buying parts and assembling their own systems. $25
- 1:00 – 1:45 – Lunch – brown bag or order $6 snack plate
- 1:45 – 2:50 Water Wisdom with Robin Wheeler - There are many techniques for living with an unreliable volume of farm water. Robin will show methods for water collecting, swaling and mulching methods, and will discuss plant choice and using observation and planting schedules to make plants more resilient and “drought proof”. $25
- 3:00 - 5:30 Essentials of Permaculture Design Part Two : Mapping, Zones and Sectors with Delvin - This class can be independent from the first class though it is also the natural extension of it. Here we will look at permaculture site design with mapping using zones and sectors preparing you to do a permaculture evaluation of your own home and property. $25
May 16, 2009 No Comments
Timely Actions at Edible Landscapes- April 8/09
Whew! The wind is high, clouds are shifting back in. I am looking at my trays of “starts” that I picked up at the local nursery, and figuring the time is right to stick them in.
I bought them a few days ago and observed the warning on the wall above them - Hard Frosts! Do not Plant Immediately! So I brought them home and planted them into big, round pots, just in the solid, rectangular cube that they came out of their little trays in, and behold - they had already taken advantage of the extra space and nutrient rich medium and had put fresh roots right down to the bottom of the new pot! It is definitely worth “potting up” those starts once you get them home.
I prepped some areas by raking back the mulch and loosening the soil. I quickly raked in some alfalfa pellets and rabbit poop I just conveniently had. Then I listened to the forecast. Change in the weather after a clear spell is a good thing. The cloudy days mean warmer nights, and the plants like a few days of overcast to adjust to their new lot in life. The chance of rain means no blasting sun to pull the moisture out of their leaves before the roots have set into the soil to take over the job. And if these plants have never been in direct sunlight before, then a few days of overcast will protect them from getting sunburn.
I placed the little plants in with their roots well loosened and heading straight down, firmed them in, smoothed the soil and applied a loose mulch. The loose mulch all around them will also protect from a bit of frost.
Then I set out some beer in little cat food tins for the slugs, to distract them from this new finding. As the plants take, I will deepen the mulch. And drink the rest of the beer.
If I had lots of time, I would put pegs around the garden bed and stretch clear plastic around it, to keep the wind away. This would give an extra boost in our cool springs.
I only planted out things I knew could tolerate some cold - walla walla onions, bok choy and chard. I will likely put out the cabbage and lettuce in a few days.
A good test for “end of frost” is to check on a very clear night, such as the full moon we just had, and see if there is frost following that. Since there was little if any frost up here at 800 feet above sea level, I took this as a sign. This doesn’t mean we won’t get a cruel surprise, but with properly hardened off and protected plants, a cold night will not be a great danger.
Meanwhile, the precious muskmelons and tomatoes are only an inch high, under good light in a heated room - it is WAY early to even think of kicking those little fellows out!
Happy Gardening,
Robin
April 8, 2009 No Comments