Shannon's Northeast Garden Challenge

July 1st: War and Peas

northeastrfc — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 17:42:43 +0000

I’ve been idle from here because of all the intense activism going on and also because I’ve hardly been home or had enough money to buy seeds et cetera. When I graduated my sister bought me containers and soil, which was good because my father decided to use my stepmother’s pots for flowers. Also, a friend gave me these special pea seeds that have a long story.

The bad news is that the friend that gave me the worms told me to push the compost to one side and the worms to the other side of the bin. I did this to such an extent that I suffocated the worms in the cardboard and food that was extremely condensed. Every worm died. They were just flat, gooey lines. I hardly mentioned this to anyone until the other day to friends that compost. They didn’t make anything of it but said they’d give me some worms.

The peas grew super fast. I tied a shoe lace from the dirt to a foot up the fence and they have grown a foot and are rapping around the lace and the fence. Now that I have enough money and am home I have to buy those seeds that the girls recommended. Also, I put some water in the upside down cover of the pea plant pot so it will go through the holes from below but now advanced straw or tube. Also, I dropped my camera at a Frack Action rally so I can’t upload pictures right now. http://www.frackaction.com/content/DECactions

Seeds?

northeastrfc — Sat, 01 May 2010 05:19:21 +0000

This is a terribly postponed project but it goes on. Eventually I transferred the worms into a toolbox, which was a paints box but I took the paints out, cleaned it and let water soak in it for a couple of days. Then I tried to scrape the paint off but I just put plastic over the paint until I read that plastic is terrible for worms, and how unnatural of me anyway but they hang out under the cardboard on top of the paint covered bottom of the toolbox and they are totally cool. I think Jennifer gave me 30 worms and I believe there are 50 or 60 now. I had like a Christmas morning taking out so much compost this morning and overfilling my little old hummus container.

As for seeds I was one inch from buying new seeds, (my broccoli transfer didn’t work out) when the woman who would have sold them to me said, “No. Don’t buy these seeds.” She recommended seeds from some website and basically I have to find her information. I looked through the giant stack of business cards I gathered in these last weeks, and through my notebook and I don’t know how I’m going to find any of this person’s info but I’m supposed to go check out her roof garden.

PS: I just realized I know what store this woman works at. It will be an adventure…

Worms

northeastrfc — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 20:09:42 +0000

Jennifer Johnson gave me some worms. So worms can eat newspaper, banana peals, apparently pistachio nut shells, but not everything, (not citrus…). I carried them from Harlem to Westchester on the train sitting between people in their own dirt and compost in a used, dirty yogurt container. There is some food in there with the worms, maybe 30 worms, but if you open the lid you usually can’t see them because they are down below.

I still have to figure out what I will use as another container. I need to take the compost out and put it in a separate container, (the worm poop). The compost can kill them, Jennifer says. The food/worm container doesn’t really smell but it does up close a bit. I put it on our terrace and the heat made me nervous so now it’s on the top of the spiral staircase in front of my bedroom door, as a reminder. I asked J if I should transfer the worms to a shoe box and she said I will put damp food in there so maybe not.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to convince my father to let me keep the little animals in the Kitchen and to actually throw scraps in there himself. I said, “So I have worms now, in a container outside,” and he said, “Okay.”

Now I just have to throw stuff in there and save them from their shit.

Finally Getting Started!

northeastrfc — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:09:12 +0000

I walked across Manhattan with a 20 or 25 lb laundry bag of soil thrown over my shoulder, this in addition to my other bag.

It’s April. It’s warm, and just because I resigned as Regional Field Organizer for Real Food Challenge doesn’t mean I’m not still going to take this challenge and see if I can still fund raise for RFC. I also don’t want to disappoint anyone anticipating or interested in this adventure. And I want to eat food I grew on a terrace!

I did something. June, my stepmother who passed on last September, left about 6 pots on the terrace, plus this off long ones filled with dirt, I don’t know what to do with. Well the 6 usual type looking ones are empty. I filled the smallest one with this organic topsoil from Long Island that my stepfather gave me from his stash. I dug out a big whole in the middle and attempted to transfer my little broccoli seedling that I thank Beth for. (In late February I ended my internship at CCNY where we had the NYC Real Food Training. Beth interns for Horticulture Society. Her boss or other from Horticulture was there, saying some profound things like how gardening is spiritual and humanity et cetera. I planted a little cup there with two broccoli seedling seeds). I don’t understand why my seeds did not turn into big broccoli bushes or what I’m supposed to do with these long, green wires with one leaf on top of each. Anyway, I tried to carefully transfer it but I guess it really dried up in the last few days because it basically fell apart in my hand, even though I tried to use a regular kitchen spoon to dig it out.

Then I put some of the manure that Beth, Horticulture or Johnny gave us at the training, on top, which I think made no sense. I was already using topsoil as the base dirt. Ray, my stepfather, told me that if you use topsoil as pot soil you will later have problem and the dirt will have bubbles. I just wanted to get started. We will see if I can get other kind of dirt or other.

Well tomorrow Jennifer Johnson is giving me some of her compost that she started forever ago and has kept in her kitchen, not under the sink or anything. And I will make it grow, since I realize how simple it is now.

Stay tuned and challenge me to grow stuff. I have to start rereading that back and figure out quick what to grow. We have a guard here named Carr, from Guyana and he was pretty excited about this project. He was telling me what to grow, says everyone in Guyana grows their own food, owns their own land, which I don’t think is even possible in the US, to own your own land. I don’t know. His friends grow food in the Bronx too. He might be a good source of advice and what not. I’m going to try to start some blog for Students for Food Justice so we can chronicle our student/community garden.

snow challenge

northeastrfc — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:40:17 +0000

Let’s get started already!

northeastrfc — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:42:46 +0000

I’m still looking for a very big bin. The plan is to make a self-watering container so that the big (for more veggies per plant) container has it’s own reservoir similar to how nature works for optimum results not for convenience.

Crazily, I have resigned as RFO for RFC but am still going to try to raise money for them and do this project. I told my neighbor who gave me sprout seeds and a jar with this filter top. But man, it’s time to really get started: organic fertilizer, a compost bin, seeds, bins and pots…

Pre-Launch

northeastrfc — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:13:43 +0000

The garden has not been built yet, nor has this been publicized. I am reading a book called FRESH FOOD IN SMALL SPACES, which will serve as my primary reference, as someone who has minimal gardening experience. I will post here a photo of the terrace that I am using. I suppose I’ll let people challenge me before I choose the produce although I might do it in the order that suits the seasons. I’m amazed by this chapter on self-watering containers. I can’t figure out how to find a non-plastic container. Ruppenthal is promoting all organic and natural stuff in this book but I’m hardcore and don’t want to use plastic.

As for the donation tree, I have to put it together ( :