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Hi! I'm J, and I'll be writing for East Wind's website. We're working on putting up new content on a regular basis now that some members of the community have expressed interest in contributing material. I'm going to be doing a series of interviews and posting the transcripts, the first of which is with Richard, one of our two garden managers.
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Richard. Myself and Lauren are the garden management team. I've been at East Wind a little less than a year and a half but just took over the garden in late March. Thus, many things happened suddenly and it would have been easier to plan ahead if we had started earlier, but despite that I have high hopes. The spring crops have done very well so far and the summer crops are growing like mad. Of course, the weeds are too.
What was your gardening experience before coming to East Wind?
I've been gardening since I was about ten years old and planted my first vegetable garden. Of course those early years were just small plots in my parents' backyard. Since then I've stayed at several farms and other communities before coming here. However, this is my first experience being in charge of a garden of a large size such as East Wind's. There is much I have learned in just the past few months as well as much I still need to learn. Since it's a garden for a large community with a good deal of people involved, the human aspect is often more challenging than simply dealing with plants. The garden has to be an attractive option for others to participate in and to get everything done.
What is your favorite part about working in the garden?
Although the work can get exhausting, especially when it's hot outside, gardening is something I definitely like to do. I'd much rather spend most of my time working outside than inside, and I believe growing food is a vital step toward greater sustainability of the community and bringing in a harvest just feels good.
What are the most important crops we're growing?
As far as vegetable crops, we have beets, carrots, turnips, cabbages, broccoli, garlic, beans, basil, peas, lettuce and other greens, corn, summer and winter squash, sweet potatoes, leeks, cucumbers, okra, sunflowers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, jerusalem artichokes, watermelons and cantaloupes. We have fruit crops too, a large bed of strawberries, some raspberries and blackberries, an orchard of apples and pears, and a few others such as blueberries, hardy kiwi and bush cherry. There's a lot of wild blackberries around too as well as other wild fruit such as mulberries and persimmons. The largest in terms of area planted of the vegetables are the tomatoes, of which we have almost four hundred plants, plenty to process into delicious sauce, salsa, etc. We also have an herb garden with many types of culinary and medicinal herbs.
Which crops are being harvested this month?
Right now we are harvesting many spring crops. Peas are almost done, beets, carrots, and turnips are coming out of the ground. The last of the spring lettuces are being used. Cabbage heads and broccoli are being picked. We already finished some things such as spinach, radishes, and the strawberry harvest a while ago. The first tomatoes have ripened but not many yet, and most of the summer crops still have a while to go.
Which crops are hardest to maintain?
Some crops are simply high maintenance such as tomatoes, since they require trellises and frequent harvesting, and unlike some other crops that need trellises such as beans and peas, tomatoes will not climb them on their own and so need attention in the form of tying branches to the trellis or weaving them into it. Other crops are difficult because of specific problems, such as squash and eggplant which are particularly prone to certain pests and diseases in this area.
What kind of labor is most needed right now?
At this time, since not much gets planted right now, weeding is the biggest chore. Certain areas we are using have many more weeds than others because of how they've been handled in the past. The lower garden has been completely overgrown the last few years, and much of it still is because it's such a large area. The area we're using has tons of weeds, especially grasses which push up through well-mulched beds. Certain areas of the upper garden have much less of a weed seed bank and thus fewer weeds, but other areas have mostly rhizome-spreading weeds such as bermuda grass, johnson grass and bindweed. Harvesting is the next biggest chunk of labor right now. There are other projects going on too, such as hilling up tomatoes.
How large are the upper and lower gardens?
The upper garden is a little under an acre and is being fully utilized. The lower garden is in the neighborhood of five acres, which includes the orchard, but only portions of it are being used currently.
Are any pesticides used?
We're growing everything organically. So far, the bugs have only been a problem on a few things and an herbal spray made by Lauren of wormwood, tansy and other herbs has been the only thing used directly against bugs. I'm still trying to figure out about the flea beetles on the eggplants however, and some young squashes have been lost to fungal diseases. I do believe that the most important step is prevention and a diverse garden where crops are rotated and flowering plants that attract beneficials nearby will tend to make for fewer outbreaks than a large monocultural field. In that sense, having the herb garden in the upper garden is great for the rest of the garden too. Some plants such as marigolds are planted directly into certain vegetable rows.
What animals are pests and what is being done to prevent their intrusion?
The deer are a problem in the lower garden. It has a deer fence but the fence isn't in the best shape in certain areas. They've nibbled on certain things, the worst was the peppers when they were real young, but most of them made it. We've made up a natural deer repellant spray from herbs, cayenne, garlic, but we planted the crops that deer like most such as beans in the upper garden. No other animals have been a major problem as of yet. There are many rabbits around but the damages have been minimal. One interesting thing of note is our box turtles. We have quite a few of them and they love strawberries. I have relocated a few, but they really only eat a small percentage of the berries.
How long is the growing season?
Some things can be overwintered here such as spinach and other cold-tolerant greens, and picked occasionally too. They need to be put under row cover when it's too cold and they don't actually grow much in the winter. March is when cool season crops can get going. Frost-intolerant warm season crops should wait until May to be safe from frost, which is possible through the beginning of May. The first fall freeze averages late October, but cool season crops can be kept growing through November and as I mentioned before, some can be overwintered.
How many people consistently work in the garden?
That's hard to answer because we have the spectrum from people who never work in the garden through people who do a lot. There are only a few of us who do the majority of our labor in the garden, but many other people can be spotted out there from fairly regularly to occasionally.
How is the garden watered? Is rainwater generally sufficient?
Many areas of the garden have drip irrigation, which is the most efficient because it gives the water directly to the plants, and once it's set up it's very easy to use. Some areas don't have drip lines for various reasons, and we've been using sprinklers there. Next year I hope to reconfigure some of the beds to make more areas feasible for driplines. Rainwater is sufficient most of the spring. May is our rainiest month, and the cooler weather reduces evaporation, but our rainfall is variable so it can be dry or deluge any time of year. However, watering is generally needed most in summer, particularly July and August, as average rainfall is lower than the spring and the heat increases evaporation.
What are your plans for the future of the gardens?
I hope to include more permaculture principles. It's difficult when it was not designed that way and I need to make it easier to work in for people who are less involved overall. I'm particularly interested in expanding the orchard, including tree crops that are not currently there such as chestnuts, jujubes, and possibly figs. I would also like to work more closely with the ranch. Since there's different management, ranch and garden often don't know what each other are even doing. Animals could be used for certain garden purposes, such as keeping the grass in the orchard under control and clearing overgrown areas.
2009-06-20 02:35:36 - J - |
