Recycled Planter Boxes

My husband is the master of recycling- if there are any left overs from a project, a scrap of wood, sewer pipes, even empty litter box containers he will find a use. His latest re-use it project involved giving new life to an old stockade fence that was torn down. Our front yard has the best sun for growing veggies like tomatoes, basil, and peppers- the problem with planting them in the ground are the rambunctious dogs that rule our world- plowing down an unsuspecting tomato plant or digging up basil for a comfy spot to lounge are the inevitable outcomes of plants in the open.

The only plants I felt confident about planting in the front unprotected are the blackberries which are against a lovely chain link fence, so there is no frolicking thru the blackberries to anywhere exiting! As soon as they mature the thorns will be a worthy foe of my mischievous muts!

On to the planter boxes- the dimensions are 2ft by 4ft by 2 ft deep. They are a simple 2 by 4 box frame with the fence boards nailed to them. In other words a really small fence that holds dirt, worms, and plants instead of animals and people. We love the boxes- we already have tomatoes that are about 2 weeks from being harvested. The basil is growing great and the peppers are growing slow but steady. This is our second year of growing cotton. We are growing Mississippi Brown and Arkansas Green Lint. We are hoping for a bumper crop! At least enough to spin and make a hat this year. We had a very small yield last year- but I planted the cotton in soil that is much too clay based. This year one of the planter boxes in the front is being devoted to just cotton. I think we will be able to plant 4 plants in the box.

Do you have any other ideas on re-purposing material that would have ended up in the landfill? Let us know!

Pictures from Celebrate Oak Park

Pictures from Celebrate Oak Park

Celebrate Oak Park

Celebrate Oak Park this past Saturday was oodles of fun. We planted seeds with young & old alike. Thanks to Bill for providing the seeds. I also had the opportunity to meet several folks from the neighborhood whom I had not yet met. There were many discussions about bringing more fresh produce into our community. The Crop Swap is one means of providing more food options. Community gardens & farmer's markets were also a hot topic of discussion throughout the day. In addition to the seed planting activity, we also gathered signatures for a petition to establish a community garden in McClatchy Park. Everyone I spoke to was very supportive! If you haven't signed the petition yet, please do so at our next gathering. Happy Gardening!

Volunteers

And I'm not talking about an 80's Tom Hanks movie. My understanding is that volunteers are plants that grow in your garden or yard that you didn't intentionally plant. Well I got lots of volunteers from last years garden. They litter our backyard lawn. Sunflowers, snap peas, zucchinis and tomatoes have grown into the middle of what is now the backyard lawn but was a garden last year. I don't have it in me to mow them down. I am asking you today (in my best evangelical preacher voice) to come down here and save these volunteers. If you can save just one, save one. If you can save twenty then, God bless you, there will be a place in tomato heaven right next to the beafsteaks* and romas.

*What a great name for a tomato. It pushes my eating buttons more than any tomato has a right to. BEEFSTEAK!!!!!!!

Email me if you are interested. horkdorker@yahoo.com

Poorly taken photos of volunteers:

These are mostly sunflowers -














These are snap peas -














These zuchinnis were awesome last year. Organic seed! -

100 Foot Challenge

Many of us have read Barbra Kingsolvers "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and learned about the 100 mile challenge, eating food produced in a 100 mile radius of our home. The Path to Freedom Institute has raised the bar and is challenging us to participate in a home grown revolution, to eat one meal per week from produce grown in our own backyard. Any members of the Oak Park Crop Swap who would like to participate are encouraged to! Neil and Kara plan on signing up for the challenge- but we might wait until at least until the tomatoes are ripe! If you're interested in more information check out the link on side bar.

A Community Project

Neighbors from the Oak Park Community in Sacramento, Ca, have created the Oak Park Crop Swap. This is a community effort to grow produce in our front and backyards and meet on a weekly basis to trade our vegetables. The trading will begin in July 2008 and continue throughout the growing season. Neighbors will meet at McClatchy Park at 3:00 every Sunday to trade produce. Additionally, speakers will be scheduled after the trading to give community members tips on gardening and food preserving. If you have ideas for speakers or would like to give a presentation leave a note in the comments. Enjoying the food we grow and visiting each other's gardens is a big part of our group- periodic potlucks at members homes will be organized.