So here we go! The Piburn family has agreed to start a community garden on their land. Juaquin Lawrence Hershman, a master horticulturist with 40 years of experience building gardens all over North and Central America, has agreed to join the effort. The location is perfect with a very large yard, a chicken and turkey flock to provide some rich manure, and truly wonderful hosts.
This is the area where the first beds will be created, using a double-digging method. The area was watered with an oscillator for 7 hours in order to loosen up the soil.
An 18" wide by 10-12" deep trench is dug (hardness of sub soil dictating how deep you can dig).
Swahili enjoying the coolness of a newly dug trench.
The bottom of trench is cleaned and then "cultivated" (broken up) with a garden fork to loosen up the sub soil.
Alfalfa is put in the trench first (straw works as well)
The trench is then filled with manure, in this case aged chicken manure (1 1/2 year-old). Other kinds of manure can be used but here we are using what's available on the property.
The soil from the next trench is thrown on top of the trench that was just filled with alfafa/straw and manure.
After finishing an 18' x 10' raised bed, Juaquin demonstrates how to create a path. The soil from the digging of the path is saved for the next beds that will be created.
A rake is used very lightly to shape the beds and pull rocks from the surface.
Juaquin demonstrates the proper position of the body and holding of the spade before beginning the process of "sift-turning". The finished beds were covered with one inch of manure. Sift-turning blends that manure into the first 4-6" of the beds while also creating air in the bed.
Juaquin transplanting eggplants (courtesy of Abbondanza Farm in Colorado). Eggplants are spaced 2 feet apart to give them room to grow.
Giselle transplanting a Brandywine tomato plant. The fence will be used to brace the tomato plants.
The chicken and turkey coop
Baby turkeys
and more on the way...
Smoke from the Los Alamos fire that started today.
A wonderful weekend of digging. We worked 4 hours on Saturday with a party of 6 people, and 4 hours on Sunday with a party of 7 people. We created 160 sq' of beautiful raised beds that were planted with eggplant, basil, pepper and tomato.
Our community garden has begun...
