The new "Victory" garden

Greetings farmies,

Welcome to the first day of Spring!! Despite the drizzly weather this week, have you felt the shift in temperature? I have felt a decided shift this week that tells me this is really Spring we're feeling. The wet ground does pose some issues for breaking new garden ground, but with many established gardens there is still lots to do. With the moon being in the last quarter this week it's a great time to dig up plants to move to a new location as they are at their sleepiest of the moon cycle right now and won't mind the fuss too much.

The gardening gathering planned for today has shifted focus as well. The beds I had hoped to plant in this week have really not dried out enough to work, but in farming there's always something else that is just right for a particular day. If you're still interested in meeting me at the Ginger-Olive garden at 10am I will be there for a while working on the new compost piles and probably planting some lovely perennials that came from another garden.

I had a thought last nite about how to best coordinate these times when there is something interesting to be done in one of the gardens, but also accommodating the change in direction that often happens on a daily basis due to weather, resources needed, resources offered that need to be picked up, and just stuff that happens. I am thinking about setting a couple of regular days that I will drop by People's Co-op and meet who is up for doing some gardening that day, and we can depart for what needs to be tended to that day. I am happy to say there are several gardens now that are near or fairly near People's that I can plan work in the gardens there around these days.

So I'm thinking something like 11am on Wednesdays and Saturdays at People's as an informal gathering time to see what's up in the gardens that day. I'll try to keep some interesting things to do on those days with the idea that for those that are into it, you can see and do a wide variety of things over the season(s). I know some of you are pretty available to do some gardening all through the week, and once we get to spend some time together and you know more about what's going on in the different gardens we can come up with something more informal.

The reason for all of this is that I have some land-lenders who want to meet and know the people working with me in their spaces. Since I'm interested in keeping everyone happy in these gardening arrangements, I say, no problem. So if you've worked with me in a particular garden, or been to a gathering at a garden, don't assume it's okay to show up there at some other time to do some gardening. I want to get you all involved, but there's no way for you to know what arrangements I've made with the land-lenders until you've been there with me, and learn what's going on in that particular garden.

I'm really hoping that a few of you will see this as a great opportunity to learn some more about growing food and use this as a stepping stone to doing your own farming. I am seriously interested in growing a few farmers this season as well. There are new urban farming operations this season that were started by people who volunteered with other urban farmers last season. If you have the desire to be a farmer the opportunities are there.

So please let me know how a Wed/Sat 11am meetup at People's would or wouldn't work for you if you've been wanting to spend some time in the gardens. As the season now kicks into full swing, I expect to be less available by email, possibly checking just once daily, and less and less available by phone. I've been moving around resources like compost makings, tools, and amendments to new gardens at a mad pace in order to be able to spend most of my time actually in the gardens starting ... well right about now, so soon that is where you'll find me more and more.

Oh, and the "Victory" garden. Well the Obamas finally decided to plant a Victory garden at the White House. I worked on this campaign through Kitchen Gardens International which didn't even seem to get a mention in the official press release announcing that a Victory garden will be planted at the White House. Apparently there were other longer standing efforts to get this garden planted as well.

What's important to me is that much effort and energy was put into getting a garden planted at the White House as has been done in the past, and while it is a noticeable and symbolic shift for those who keep up on these things, it's still only one garden. During the time that the White House garden has been talked about, urban farmers just here in Portland have manifested dozens of gardens. This is the kind of action that will make a difference. If you're inspired by Victory gardens you can be making some of your own in the time it takes to go to meetings, sign petitions, and campaign for "others" to create the actual things we campaign for. Whatever resources you have to make tangible change in the world by starting new gardens, whether it's time, human energy, US currency, other tangible resources such as space for gardens, or just desire coupled with a readiness to take action, you can channel that into real change right here in the town you live in. The path to change is that direct.

Peace and peas,
Calliope