Our Food Forest In Progress

Here are before and after shots of our backyard and casita.

Backyard and Casita - July 2009

Backyard and Casita - April 2008

Gardening for the soul…

Here is an inspiring segment from Geoff Lawton’s recent DVD – Establishing a Food Forest the Permaculture Way. I am looking forward to watching the DVD in its entirety. For those interested, it is available for purchase from The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia.

Photos From Last Sunday’s Workshop

Jen’s workshop on using permaculture techniques to create a backyard food forest was a success. About 70 people turned out for the event held at La Placita Gardens in Albuquerque’s South Valley. A big thanks to Zoe Wilcox-Edrington of Mother Nature Gardens and Jesse Daves of Garden’s Edge for their assistance with the hands-on demonstrations. Also, thanks to my brother John McElhinney for helping me direct parking. -Tree

Here are some photos:

Jen leads a discussion on using permaculture techniques to create an urban food forest.

About 70 people turned out for the event which included a lecture followed by hands-on gardening.

Lots of mulch!

Planting an apple tree.

Free Workshop – Creating an Urban Food Forest

Creating an Urban Food Forest: March 22 , 12 - 4pm

Interested in urban homesteading? Permaculture garden design? Growing your own food?

Join Jen on Sunday, March 22 for a free hands-on workshop on creating a food forest at the Garden’s Edge plot at La Placita Gardens. Learn Permaculture garden design techniques while we create an abundant garden that you can replicate at home. This workshop will cover an overview of Permaculture, garden preparation and plant selection for creating a food forest and much more!

By learning from successful patterns found in nature, we can co-create healthy communities grounded in a sustainable land ethic. Don’t forget your hat, garden gloves if you have them and water.

• What: Creating an Urban Food Forest: Permaculture Techniques for the Home Garden
• Where: La Placita Gardens at the Historic Sanchez Farm, Albuquerque’s South Valley
• When: Sunday, March 22, 12pm-4pm
• Why: As part of the Aldo Leopold Centennial Celebration honoring Leopold’s legacy in New Mexico
• Who: Jen Prosser, Herbalist, urban farmer and owner of Sunstone Herbs
• Cost: Free

RSVP & Contact Info: Please RSVP by contacting Colleen Langan at calangan@bernco.gov or 505- 314 -0398

Garden’s Edge is a 501 (c)3 non-profit corporation that works in New Mexico and Guatemala to revitalize local culture and economy through projects in sustainable agriculture and environmental education.

La Placita Gardens is a community farm project of La Plazita Institute.

Directions: From I-25 South, exit at Cesar Chavez/Bridge Blvd and head west. Left on Isleta Blvd. Left on Lopez Drive. Right on Arenal. Enter the farm through the western gates.

Urban Homesteading Teleseminar

Join Jen for an Urban Homesteading teleseminar hosted by JPT Wellness Circle on Wednesday, January 28, 6pm PST. Longtime organic gardener Nicole Paull will interview Jen on a range of topics with plenty of time for Q&A including:

• Besides greater affordability, are there any advantages to urban homesteading versus just purchasing organic produce?
• What are some pitfalls to avoid if you’re just getting started with urban homesteading? If you have a traditionally maintained yard, what’s the smoothest way to make the transition?
• What’s the best way to get started if you want to keep chickens or a goat?
• What is permaculture and how can you apply its principles to create a homestead that is both bio-dynamic and high-yielding?

To sign up or find out more click here.

Workshop: Creating an Urban Food Forest

Interested in urban homesteading? Permaculture garden design? Growing your own food?

Join Jen in March for a free hands-on workshop on creating a food forest at the Garden’s Edge plot at La Placita Gardens. Learn Permaculture garden design techniques while we create an abundant garden that you can replicate at home. This workshop will cover an overview of Permaculture, garden preparation and plant selection for creating a food forest and much more!

By learning from successful patterns found in nature, we can co-create healthy communities grounded in a sustainable land ethic. Don’t forget your hat, garden gloves if you have them and water.

• What: Creating an Urban Food Forest: Permaculture Techniques for the Home Garden
• Where: La Placita Gardens at the Historic Sanchez Farm, Albuquerque’s South Valley
• When: Sunday, March 22, 12pm-4pm
• Why: As part of the Aldo Leopold Centennial Celebration honoring Leopold’s legacy in New Mexico
• Who: Jen Prosser, Herbalist, urban farmer and owner of Sunstone Herbs
• Cost: Free

Garden’s Edge is a 501 (c)3 non-profit corporation that works in New Mexico and Guatemala to revitalize local culture and economy through projects in sustainable agriculture and environmental education.

La Placita Gardens is a community farm project of La Plazita Institute.

Directions: From I-25 South, exit at Cesar Chavez/Bridge Blvd and head west. Left on Isleta Blvd. Left on Lopez Drive. Right on Arenal. Enter the farm through the western gates.

RSVP & Contact Info: While reservations aren’t required, please RSVP so that we can be sure to have enough handouts for everyone.

Garden Sponges and Vertical Mulching

Garden sponges (also known as vertical mulching) are a great way to keep trees and shrubs watered in New Mexico’s dry climate. This is especially helpful with our sandy soil which doesn’t hold water well.

The concept is very simple:

1. Dig a pit 1 – 2 feet away from the tree or shrub you are planting.

2. Fill the pit with biodegradable material that will break down and hold water: straw, junk mail, old phone books, paper waste, old clothing, etc.

3. Cover with straw or other mulch to keep your garden looking pretty.

4. Fill the sponge with water

Here are some photos of a sponge that I created adjacent to a new Pomegranate tree.

I dug the hole about 16” from the tree. The hole is a foot deep, a foot across and 2 feet wide. I have my garden “claw” in the hole to give you an idea of how deeply I dug.

Dig hole for sponge

I used the soil from the hole to create a berm around the sponge and the pomegranate tree. The berm will help keep water near the tree where I want it.

You can dig a hole big enough to fit a straw bale, or a foot square –just enough for junk mail. If you are planting a tree that will grow very large, you may want to create a sponge near the base of the plant –to provide moisture while the tree is growing- and one several feet away that will tend to the plant’s growing roots as it gets bigger. And hey, while you’re at it, plant one on both sides.

It takes a lot of junk mail or old bank statements to fill a hole –trust me. I had saved a pile of old clothes that were too ragged to take to the thrift store or use as rags. These were gone in no time.

My first layer of sponge materials were paper recycling: old journals, scrap paper, grocery store circulars.

First layer of sponge fill

My second layer included clothing (all those old shreddy bandanas I just couldn’t part with).

Second layer of sponge fill

Next came green material (weeds, garden trimmings) and then a topping of spent hay from the goat pen.

Top sponge with hay from goat pen