kinship

ORGANIZATION Homeboy Industries: nothing stops a bullet like a job

Last Thursday, I went to see Father Gregory Boyle speak. He's the founder of Homeboy Industries in LA. Here's something that struck and stuck [as edited by my imperfect memory]: "If you stand for the right thing, you've got solidarity. If you stand in the right place, you've got kinship. It's mutual, it's geographical." I like it. What do you think?

These are cover crops.

Here's a run-on sentence for you: I'm learning so much so quickly so I'm going to try to make note of all of it here but to be honest I don't think I'll succeed at this ever because there is too much to know, oh well.

Now, here's my attempt at covering cover crops.

These are cover crops. Bell beans in the foreground!

Here's the farm and garden when we first arrived. Since, we've skimmed it all down and put it in our compost piles for brewing.

Cover crops are plants grown intentionally during off-season times to condition soil and supply 'green manure' for compost-making. Depending on what cover crops are planted, various soil conditioning services are rendered, ie. rye grass roots break up hard soil clods, bell bean roots fix nitrogen into the soil. In general, cover crops also protect soil surfaces from weathering/erosion from wind/rain while housing beneficial insects that eat pests. They're pretty functional but can be aesthetically pleasing, too.

Last year in Taiwan, I remember seeing flower ocean ['Hua Hai'] fields in the winter time. Farmers used cosmos and other attractive, flowering cover crops during the winter to promote tourism in their region. Um, at least that's what my taxi driver tour guide told me. She seemed like a genuine person, I don't know.

Earthworks

URBAN FARM Earthworks Enterprises Community Farm

During my 3-month stint of unemployment and laze in LA, I happened to find myself at Earthworks in South El Monte [thank god]. I think my soul might have otherwise been void of meaning and rather full of annoying Hulu commercials. Thanks, Earthworks, for preserving my soul! Here are some pictures of the place.

1210 N. Lerma Road, S. El Monte, CA

organic, small-scale production

Sister Rashida [me] Andy

I'm not sure what the future has to throw at me, but regardless of what it is, I hope that the farm gets to grow into it's greatest potential. [Nerd time: It's like a very strong genetic variety of a valuable crop that does or does not produce ideal fruit depending on whether it receives the necessary environmental inputs: C, N, micronutrients, sunlight, irrigation, drainage, time, etc.]

Il faut cultiver notre jardin. We must cultivate our garden. -Voltaire, Candide. Yeah!

Compost Recipe

RECIPE Compost

pile, pile, pile. my group's was named 'Lady Elaine Fairchild' <3

the metabolization of materials by aerobic microbes = heat. if i was homeless, i'd like to sleep on a compost pile.

Compost is a secret super ingredient in the system of French intensive gardening that functions to inoculate and condition soils for successful planting. Like black, crumbly gold or dark chocolate cake. It's pretty amazing.

I n g r e d i e n t s

Greens/cut cover crop [N]

Hay bale/dried grass [C]

Horse/animal manure [C+N]

Water

I n s t r u c t i o n s

1. Measure out a 5' by 5' space, located in a moderately sheltered area outdoors

2. Lay down a very thin layer of hay on ground surface within the 5' x 5' dimensions

3. Lightly chop up the greens with a spade & put down a 3-5" layer of it on top of the hay

4. Next, add a 3-5" layer of animal manure on top of the greens

5. Continue systematic layering, adding a light sprinkle of water atop every hay layer

6. As the pile begins to build up, occasionally pull back corners and edges with a fork to maintain square dimensions

7. Continue layering until the pile reaches roughly 4' tall

8. Finish the top with a layer of dry hay

9. Cover the entire pile with a large tarp

10. Take the temperature of the pile to monitor biological activity

11. The pile should reach upwards of 130 degree F. If the temp slows, turn the pile by re-piling it into an adjacent space

12. Let the pile sit and process for maybe 3 months or until it reminds you of black, crumbly gold or dark chocolate cake or whatnot

13. Slice and serve. Um, just kidding. Add compost to garden beds prior to planting for a nutrient & microbe boost throughout the growing season.

Week 4

TYPICAL day at the farm & garden

I'm currently typing and sipping coffee at the Abbey coffee, art & music lounge in Santa Cruz. I feel very Santa Cruz right now [which is hard to describe without coming off as super judgmental, but I'd say it's a distinct mix of modern hippie suburban upper middle class social justice vintage rural chic]. Anyways, four weeks have gone by since I got here, and time is really just flying by. I feel the need to recap and reflect.

m o r n i n g

6:50 - alarm sounds off, snooze

I live in one of those tent cabins. 4 units per structure, but I've got my own room.

7:30 - breakfast ends in 15 minutes, must get out of bed, get dressed, and gear backpack with water bottle, felco trimmers, harvesting knife, sunblock, and notebook.

7:40 - eat breakfast, prepare coffee, lounge around

8:20 - impromptu stretching circle

The 'Down Garden.' Everything here is hand-worked. This is the garden on day one. I've been working in this site over the past 3 weeks.

8:30 - gather at veggie shed for the day's run-down of tasks

9 to 12 - work in crews: bed preparation, transplanting, irrigation, weeding, etc.

We're learning about CA native plants to prepare for our plant sale, which raised over $18K this year.

a f t e r n o o n

12 to 2 - lunch, usually something extremely delicious and nutritious, everyone gets really excited about food here

Recently, I've been stirring molasses into equal parts whole milk and coffee during lunchtime as a comforting snack-beverage, which usually leads me to falling asleep. This is the farm cat/rodent exterminator, Nanook, also taking a nap.

2 to 6 - continue working, around 4 o'clock 'cookie fairies' come to raise our spirits with something like homemade peanut butter cups and milk, it blows my mind

We're preparing the soil for raspberry planting. It's a tough job.

e v e n i n g

6:30 - dinner

8 - lounge around, internet connect in library, solar heat shower under the sky, study/read

10 - go to bed

I'm only starting to get accustomed to the scene and the routine. It's too dreamy, surreal. Bright pink blooms, hands in dirt, sipping cold beer, breaking off chocolate chunks, picking strawberries and then eating them right after, sharp tools, hummingbirds diving, barn owls screeching at night, guitars strumming, laughter, hot afternoons & cold evenings, living with 45 extremely capable people & hearing their stories. I feel like I'm on sensory overload sometimes. In contrast, I lived in a solitary studio apartment not too long ago, sometimes going days without having a conversation and eating noodle soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's been quite an awkward process to jump from one lifestyle to another. The transition trips me out, but I think I'm getting there okay.