Transition Time In The Garden
August has always been a time of transitions- school starts, the intense heat of the summer peaks and starts to decline and our gardens are in transition from summer crops to Fall and winter ones. It’s a busy time when we are re-adjusting to the lazy days of summer into the frenzy of harvest and replanting.
What’s going on in the garden as we end with one season and begin anew?
It’s time to collect and save your seeds! This year is an especially important one to do so as, just like seeds were hard to find when COVID first started, folks are whispering that could definitely happen this winter. So best to save your seeds from your best veggies for an insurance policy.
We’ll be having Community Seed Cleaning Events again this Fall in Paradise (October 2) and Chico (Date TBA). More details on those in the next edition of the email, but for now, just save your seed heads in a dry place to be ready to come together soon. It’s so much more fun separating seed in community.
And, simultaneously, it’s time to start putting Fall crops in. While we offer one idea from this site of what you can be planting and seeding for winter now, it’s always best to check in with your local plant experts. While we love all the nurseries, we are partnered on many projects with Harvests and Habitats . They are have a nursery behind the 1078 Gallery at 1710 Park Avenue and are selling at the Saturday Farmers Markets again. Ask the gals there for their recommendations.
We also strongly suggest you check out all our Master Gardeners have to offer us with their amazing workshops. They also have a call in help line Hours: Tuesday 9am-12pm and Thursday 1-4pm, at 530-538-7201. You can also stop by their booths at both the Chico and Oroville Farmers Markets on Aug. 27. Be sure and stop on by and have a long chat. There is a wealth of knowledge there for you to “glean” from.
Be sure and put some compost on your garden for the new season. And speaking of compost, we have two events coming up on the subject:
Today, Aug 18 from 1-2:30, as part of our “Community Food Connections” program, we are presenting the first in a three part series called Zero Waste Food Security. Valerie Meza is the Recycling Coordinator for Butte County. She’ll be presenting information that answers the question:
How can you as an individual and we as a community come together to have less waste go to our landfill? Learn the Food Recovery Hierarchy, The top 5 Food Waste Sources ( & how you can stop them). The event will be held in the meeting room at Butte County Library-Chico Branch, 1108 Sherman Dr., Chico, CA 95926
August 28 Learn about and build a Johnson-Su Bioreactor Composting system. Find out more here.
Join Vecino Community Compost in an interactive workshop to learn all about the Johnson-su method of composting and it’s benefits to our local soils.
What is a Johnson-Su Bioreactor you ask? COME FIND OUT!
This compost system provides a maximum environment for microbes to grow and create rich compost soil that increases soil fertility and helps sequester carbon.
During this 2hr workshop we will go over:
Overview of Johnson-su’s compost method (and why it’s so cool!)
Materials and Tools required (where to source and simple alternatives)
Hands-on building of the Bioreactor
Feed materials and preparing them
Caring for the Bioreactor and how to use the finished compost
No registration required. Please dress comfortably and be prepared to get a little dirty! Snacks and water will be provided.
Please forward questions to: Amy C. Roseman, Vecino Community Compost Manager, 530-828-0676, amy@bclocalfood.org
Free The Food Stands Need Your Old Wood
We are looking to make 8 (to start) “Free the food” stands to give away to community members. They’d be kind of like the pic, but with roofs. Right now, we are looking for materials such as wood and roof stuff. Our Master Stand Maker (Alec) says we need:
The materials call out right now is 6 ft or longer redwood boards (old decking would be a great source for this if it wasn’t too rotten) 2x4s or 2x6s are fine.
Cedar fence boards. The dog eared basic ones are fine. The 11 inch wide ones would be best but any will work.
1 roll of tar paper would take care of many stands.
And roof shingles.
Please let us know if you have wood to donate or have a donation so we can buy it (we’d prefer using old stuff, but will definitely use new) by replying to this email and we’ll put you in touch with Alec. We could also use folks to help with construction once we have the wood. Winter is coming (food system collapse with skyrocketing food prices continuing to go up…may double by end of year) and we’d like to get as many of these out there as we can asap to support those who will need it in the coming months.
GROWN (Growing Resilient Optimism With Nature)
The GROWN project (our youth food literacy project) is starting to grow! We are starting atthree schools and two Community Gardens. Bring your kids to Kentfield Gardens Saturdays from 10am to noon, 1125 Kentfield. Teens are invited to check out Chico at Vecino Garden (Formerly Vecino Victory Garden), 1535 Laburnum on Saturdays from 5-7 to come together and grow more food in community. We’ll have more about this exciting project soon, but here is more information if you want to join in the fun.
Other upcoming events:
Aug. 18- stop on by our booth and say hi to Amy at the Downtown Chico Farmers Market from 6-9 and on Wednesdays at the Chico Certified Farmers Market at the North Valley Plaza Mall from 7am to 1pm.
Aug. 20- Food Prices Are Rising at 4PM, Riverbend Park,50 Montgomery St., Oroville. These have been very popular talks in Chico and Paradise, and now you’re next, Oroville. Come hear about the Debbie Downer talk of how the food system is collapsing (at least the next couple of years) and being created anew by us. How can we better prepare for the coming hard times and learn how to thrive, instead?
It’s still supposed to be hot, so bring a sarong to wet and put around your shoulders to keep cool…or take a dip in the river.
Aug 21- From The Ground Up Maintenance Day. 1125 Kentfield Dr. from 8am to 10am. From Jenny: Please join us for a maintenance day at Kentfield Garden in Chico on Sunday August 21st, 2022 at 8am. I’ll bring breakfast. We could really use your help. Kentfield is behind because we have been focused on Concow fire recovery and my health issues. Many hands make light work, so all volunteers and friends are encouraged and appreciated. This should finish us up and have us ready to plant the next Fall/Winter garden at Kentfield. Hope to see you at the garden. Find out more here.
September 10 we’ll have one of our famous Farm To Fork Meals at GRUB CSA. This is our main fundraising event for the year that helps us do all our amazing projects for the community so please come out and support our seed, garden, food security, educational events and so much more. Tickets are going, we always sell out, so get them NOW. We’ll have a raffle, music of some sort, great beer (Thanks, Sierra Nevada Brewery) wine and great food. Get your tickets here.
There is SO much going on that we might have to start sending out three emails a month instead of two.
Talk soon- Pamm Larry and the gang here at BCLFN.
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