Ward Road Garden

Garden Plans for 09 so far

2009-02-06T15:21:00.000-08:00

Plans for 2009

Garden Layout – I have decided to cut our garden size in half this year. Instead of planting in wide rectangular beds, I am planting in circular beds inspired by the system set up by Linda Woodrow in her book called The Permaculture Home Garden.

Chicken Tractor – Building a dome PVC Chicken tractor to move around the garden for soil cultivation and fertilization

Water Conservation: - Re Routing grey water from our washer into the garden, very heavy layers of rice straw mulch ala Ruth Stouts “No Work Method”, cutting back on the amount of veggies grown. No more sprinkler irrigation (drip only), Rain Barrels. Composting In Place

Moving??- We may be buying a new home this year. We’ve been doing a lot of looking, but have not found the right place yet.

It’s time to start posting again….Took a nice long break, but it’s time to get the garden going again. Stay tuned
Sarah

1st Home Grown Apple Harvest

2008-10-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

This is our first year for home grown apples. The bare root trees that we planted 2 years ago produced enough apples for 7 pints of apple butter. I know we are going to savor every last bite. How exciting also, to know that we will probably get twice as many next year. Mmmmm maybe enough for apple pie too.

Pickled Beets

2008-10-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

I made some spicy pickled beets from beets I harvested out of my backyard this weekend. They look so pretty (I love anything pink). I’ll be adding them to my green salads this winter.

Tomatoes

2008-10-12T17:44:00.000-07:00

Salsa and tomato sauce are always really popular around our house. This year we grew 30 different tomato plants and had tons of tomatoes (still do) to use for canning. We made sauce and salsa with our first big batch and will be harvesting everything left on the vines this next weekend to freeze, can whole or wrap in newspaper to ripen indoors. I picked another small wagon load yesterday. My absolute favorite this year has been the Big Pink White Stripe. It has the most amazing flavor. I'll be growing twice as many next year.

Pickled Okra

2008-10-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

My own homegrown okra was an abject failure this year. I got nada but a bunch of well fed bugs. On the way back from picking up our beef, Mark and I stopped at a road side farm stand where I hit the okra mother load. I bought the whole box (6 lbs) and found a great spicy pickled okra recipe. I haven’t opened one up to try yet, but they sure do look pretty in the jars with my home grown dill and red peppers. Let’s hope they taste as nice as they look.

Ripen Peppers Indoors

2008-10-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

The bugs keep getting to my ripe peppers before I can. It is really irritating and I decided to do something about it. I read someplace that you can ripen peppers indoors like you can do with green tomatoes. Mark and I went out on Sunday and picked boxes of green peppers on the verge of turning yellow and orange. We brought them in and cleaned the really well, careful to get all of the bug ridden ones separated out. We then dried them and laid them in clean cardboard boxes covered in newspaper. I will be checking on them every other day or so to see if they are getting ripe. I hope this works!

Bread and Butter Pickles

2008-10-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

I’ve been in a crazy pickling frenzy lately. I made enough jars of bread and Butter pickles to eat one quart a week for 17 weeks. We never get tired of them :)

Fall Flowers

2008-10-08T10:54:00.000-07:00

The last month has been a busy time around here. I haven't found time for posting, so I have a lot to get caught up on. I've been busy harvesting and canning and putting in the winter garden. I was out enjoying the flowers still blooming in the garden and saw a monarch enjoying one of our zinnias. The zinnia flowers just popped up this year. I think they may have been part of a mix that I sprinkled out in the early spring. I will be saving some of the seeds to plant again next year. The Cosmos have been especially pretty this fall. I love plants and will be saving as many seeds as possible. I'm also going to be dividing huge clumps of irises, society garlic, shasta daisys, agapanthas, lambs ears, forth of july's, and cannas. There is so much to do in the garden, I could spend all day outside and never get everything done. Not to mention, I do have a full time job and amateur Roller Derby Career going on too. Please forgive my posting lapse, I'm back on track now :)

Harvesting the Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-07T04:33:00.000-07:00

We had hoped to leave our pumpkin patch in place until a little later this month, but nature had different plans. Rain over the last week encouraged us to harvest our pumpkins and winter squash. The photo above is what we collected. A few of the smaller squash were moldy and got thrown in the compost bin. I will be trading some squash for figs and making a lot of pumpkin curry this winter. I absolutely love pumpkin! One of my favorite recipe’s in the world is Squash Lasagna, but instead of Butternut Squash, I like to use Pumpkin. I know it sounds a little strange, but I promise that it tastes fantastic!

This is a Wonderful Recipe from Weight Watchers that I make every winter.
4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
10 oz dry lasagna noodles, cooked al dente (about 12 noodles)
10 oz cooked winter squash, thawed if frozen
1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
3/4 cup golden seedless raisins
2 Tbsp pine nuts, chopped
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Place flour in a small saucepan and very gradually whisk in milk and garlic. Warm over low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce simmers and is thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
Spread 1/4 cup of cheese sauce over bottom of a 9 X 13-inch glass or metal pan and cover with 3 lasagna noodles; top with 1/3 of squash and 1/2 cup of cheese sauce. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup of raisins. Cover with 3 more lasagna noodles and spread with 1/3 of remaining squash and 1/2 cup of cheese sauce; sprinkle with 1/4 cup of raisins. Cover with 3 more lasagna noodles and top with remaining squash and raisins; cover with last 3 lasagna noodles, pressing sheets firmly down. Top with remaining cheese sauce; sprinkle with pine nuts and remaining mozzarella cheeseBake until lasagna bubbles around edges and is browned on top, about 30 minutes. Slice into 8 pieces and serve

This is soooo yummy!!!! My mouth is watering just typing it :)

Eating Local Beef

2008-10-06T12:20:00.001-07:00

Mark and I went on a little adventure a few weeks ago that I am just now having time to write about. We drove up to Lake County to pick our ¼ of an all natural pasture raised/ grass feed steer for our freezer.
After reading Omnivore’s Dilemma this summer, I’ve been unable and unwilling to eat any beef without knowing exactly where it came from. I hate the idea of supporting feed lot practices in any way. This has seriously reduced the amount of beef that I’ve been eating to just about none. While perusing Craigslist, I came upon an ad for all natural grass fed beef and since Mark and I already own a chest freezer to store it in we thought it might be worth exploring further.
I called up the Rancher Eric and he told me that he would have a Steer ready to process in about 2-3 weeks. The grass fed steers are really lean and a lot smaller than grain fed. The cost was $3 per pound on the hoof and ¼ steer would be around 125 lbs. Mark and I decided we would give it a try, and a few weeks later Eric called back to see what cuts of meat we wanted. Since I have never ordered meat this way, I was not quite sure what to ask for. He kindly went over all of the different cuts with me and told me that it would dry age for 18 days and then he would be individually wrapping it and freezing it.

About 2 months after ordering it (slow food) we got a call that it was ready to pick up. The directions to Eric’s house involved miles of dirt road and I was excited to see where our steer had grown up. It was a beautiful drive about an hour from home. The area was once volcanic and there is obsidian rock scattered all over the road. We met Eric, his wife Nora and 4 of their 6 kids. They had quite the menagerie of animals, cats, dogs, chickens, running around their yard. I felt instantly at ease since it reminded me of my house. Eric told us a little about his history, he used to be a Sherriff, but had to retire after an injury. He had worked as a butcher as a teenager and decided to go into ranching. He took us down to the pasture where his grazing cattle live. The grass was starting to dry out, but I was surprised at how tall it was and how green some still was despite the hot weather. I asked where they get their water from and he explained that there is a stream running thru the pasture area. They actually have 1100 acres they can roam around on. We stopped by a farm stand on the way home and I bought a box of the most gorgeous Okra EVER to pickle (see Okra Pickles post). It was a great trip and Mark and I have enough meat to last all winter and spring. I’ve made some steaks and used some hamburger in meat sauce (we have over 20 lbs bags of it). So far so good. The meat is so lean that there is almost no fat in the pan when cooking. I am looking forward to coming up with some fun and creative recipes for all of it.

Side Yard Wisteria Walk

2008-08-01T22:39:00.000-07:00

Along our front fence line we have a great purple wisteria plant that shades the south side of our house during the summer. It has not been cooperating with my plan for it to grow up over the top of the pergola that Mark built for me last year. Instead it is trying to take over the fence line and the rest of the neighborhood along with it. I keep trimming it back hard in the hopes that it will eventually cover the pergola like it is supposed to.

We have tons of Agapanthus growing all over our yard. I am a great believer in free plants and when Mark and I decided to landscape for our wedding we had very little money to cover a huge area. I learned how to devide and propogate plants very quickly. One huge Agapanthus I devided turned into over 50 1 gallon plants. The ones pictured above will be devided this fall. They are very hardy, drought tolerant and the cut flowers last for weeks. The one thing that I hate about them is that they are snail breeding grounds. the snails love to hide between the leaves. I have been picking them off and feeding them to my chickens. The hens just adore escargot.

In the far background of this picture you can just see the pond that we will be installing later this summer. It will be surrounded by plants and have a little seating area next to it so that we can relax and enjoy it.

That is one of the best shady areas in our garden and it is rarely used. Adding the pond and seating will create a new outdoor room for us to enjoy.

Grape Vines

2008-07-31T22:35:00.000-07:00

Grape Vine Fence

Baby Grapes
Planted along the fence line that separates our yard into smaller sections are 10 grapevines with an assortment of different types of grapes (some wine some table). I was thrilled to see some nice little grape clusters formed. The grapevines do a nice job of disguising the wood and wire fence and make a very pretty green wall. We planted the grapes right before our wedding last June. They were a little stressed out last year and did not produce many edible grapes. I work for a big winery and have all of the wine I could ever drink, however I am considering trying to make some homemade wine this year and lots of grape jelly for PB&J's.

Heirloom Tomato Rows

2008-07-30T22:42:00.000-07:00

I've added a nice rice straw mulch over the entire garden. I'm hoping it will work to keep the weeds down and some extra moisture in. The photo above is of 2 rows of heirloom tomatoes we have growing on a tomato fence. The plants are secured to a wire fence supported by T-posts. It seems to be working well so far. I waited longer than I should have to support the plants and they were pretty out of control when I finally got around to tying them to the fence.
I've realized that I have been way over watering the poor plants so I am trying to cut back to every 3rd day. The leaves were starting to yellow and get a little curly which is a bad sign. Under the tomato plants I've planted carrots and baby spinach as well as beans and beets.

July 30, 2008 Harvest

2008-07-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

Here’s what Mark and I harvested out of our garden tonight: Beets, Chard, Armenian Cucumbrs, Squash, Nectarines, Radishes, Beans, Tomato, Broccoli

I also picked this 6 bouquets of Roses, Dahlias, Lavender, Bells of Ireland, Agapanthus, Liatris, Artemisia, Hydrangea and Butterfly Bush.

Grabbed some fresh eggs too:

Not a bad shopping trip to the backyard

Back Garden Tour

2008-07-29T22:44:00.000-07:00

On the east side of our green house we have planted Corn, Squash, Melons, Okra, Cilantro, Basil, Lettuce, Radishes and more....

South of the green house we have Beans, Peppers, Eggplants, Beets, Chard, Black Basil, Tomatoes, Onions, Strawberries and Rhubarb
Everything is doing really well. There are volunteer Tomato's, Melon, Eggplant, Cilantro and Bells of Ireland coming up all over the garden. I've been digging them up and moving them around as best I can.
This weekend I started some Lettuce, Peas, Kale, Beets, Turnips, Radishes, Carrots, Chicory, Broccoli, Cabbage and Cauliflower in 6 packs and 4 inch pots. They should be ready to put in the ground in a few weeks. The weather has been strange. It is still smoky from the wild fires and has remained overcast long into the day. It has not been hot enough to ripen may tomatoes (I've only had 2 ripe ones). I did not plant any early varieties, instead I chose all crazy colorful heirlooms. I'm regretting not having planted a couple of early girls. I bought a tomato from the Farmers Market Saturday morning. It was the most beautiful Pineapple Tomato that I have ever seen. It weighed a full pound and was $4. worth every penny.

The Pumpkin Patch

2008-07-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a shot of our little pumpkin patch. It is located to the west of our green house next to the chicken coop. Mark had to raise up the sprinkler on to a pole because everything grew tall very quickly. There are about 10 different kinds of winter squash and pumpkins planted here.

All of my favorites like Golden and Blue Hubbard, Cinderella Pumpkins, Butternut, Sweet Dumpling , Potimarron , Musquee de Provence, Galeux d'Eysines , Red Kuri, Jarrahdale and more (Mark refuses to eat squash of any kind). I have already spotted some giant Golden H ubbard squash growing in the corner. According to the seed packet they only get to be 12 lbs, but I estimate that they will be at least 20-30 lbs when ripe. They are enormouse already.

I'll be eating home grown squash all winter. I can hardly wait!!!

Lavender Harvest

2008-07-27T22:19:00.001-07:00

I invited my mother over this weekend to harvest some of our lavender. We have over 100 plants. I absolutely love the scent as I walk around the garden. It has been so alive over the last couple of weeks with the buzzing hum of hundreds of bumble bees busy at work. I sat on our lawn at the edge of the lavender watching a bee sip nectar from the tiny little blossoms. It was absolutely amazing. My mom took a wheel barrel full but there is much more. I am on a quest to find some really good uses for it this year. Last year I let it go unused. I'm thinking dryer sachets to add lavender scent to my linens. Anyone have any particular suggestions on how to use 3 more wheel barrels (at least) of dried lavender? If so please share :)

Why I love Roller Derby:

2008-07-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night I took out an entire weeks worth of frustration, hostility and stress on the unsuspecting players from the Central Coast Roller Girls. Crashing into the other team as hard as I can on skates is extremely fun and it feels really good despite the sore muscles that go along with it. Sure, I took my fair share of hard hits too and I ended up on the ground more than once. I did what I had to do and I kept on skating even after taking a skate to the face in the 3rd period. I’m happy to say that I only got thrown in the box once and that was just for some elbows.

I feel quite serene now like all of the stress for last weeks flower show craziness is gone. It is a really good outlet for me and I’m happy that we won by over 100 points. I’ll be going to the chiropractor tonight to get adjusted, but it was all worth it.

Flower Show Results

2008-07-20T22:01:00.000-07:00

I am excited to report that we won 1st Place, Best use of Summer Annuals and Best use of theme at the flower show.

The Best of Show award went to a beautiful garden that I will be posting a picture of very soon.

Minute Mans Meadow

2008-07-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

I'm done with this years flower show entry. It took me and a few helpers around 15 hours to install. The judging takes place on Sunday Morning. I'm looking forward to finding out how we did. I think it came out lovely. I will snap a few pics of the competition tomorrow morning to add. That's one thing checked off this weekends work list:)

Weekend To Do List

2008-07-17T07:40:00.000-07:00

Friday

Every summer the Sonoma County Fair has a huge flower show. it's actually the largest theme flower show in the U.S. I’ve been working hard on preparing an entry for the Adult Amateur Division. The theme for the fair this year is Star Spangled Celebration and the Flower Show theme is Red White and Blooms. It is a nod to New England with individual entry themes like “Down by the Old Mill Stream” and “Take Me Back to Old Cape Cod.” Unfortunately, I was second to last in the drawing to pick my theme and got stuck with “Minuteman’s Meadow.”

Picture a hilly backdrop with a little house and picket fence. There will be a small pond and a water fountain made to look like a miniature cannon. The flowers will be red white and blue with pink, green and purple accents. The space is 11 feet by 15 feet and it has to be 80% covered in live plants.

This is going to be a fundraiser for my Roller Derby team and so the girls will be coming down to the fairgrounds on Friday to help me. The deadline to complete installation is midnight. I should have some good photos to post on Saturday.

Saturday

Mulch Garden I’m going to get started right away on Ruth Stouts "No Work Garden" plan. I will be headed off to pick up 5 or 6 bales of rice straw and completely cover the garden with it. I am also going to clean out the chicken coop, turn the compost and start some Kale, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower and Leeks in trays for the winter veggie garden patch. I will be using my new soil blocker for the first time. I plan to sow some carrots seeds and plant more beans (dry).

Saturday Night

Skate against the Central Coast Roller Girls

Sunday

Clean House (It needs it badly)

Photograph the yard
Flower Show Awards Gala
Recover with a glass of wine

I hope I can get everything done!

No Work Gardening Is it a myth? I'm going to find out

2008-07-16T15:31:00.001-07:00

I’ve been reading up on my weeds. I’ve decided that I’d better own them if I’m ever going to figure out how to eliminate them. My biggest problems are pigsweed, purslane and crab grasses. Ignoring them certainly doesn’t make them go away. I swear I’ve pulled a hundred thousand weeds so far this summer and they are still coming on strong.

Yesterday, I dusted off my copy of No Work Gardening by Ruth Stout (published in 1971). This is really awesome book and I could kick myself for relegating it to the back of the bookshelf under a stack of Sunset Magazines. The simplicity of Ruth’s suggested method of weed control/soil protection is really encouraging. In a nut shell Ruth advocated covering your soil with 8 inches or so of compostable materials (straw, leaves, chips, grass clippings ect.) No compost pile, just compost everything in place. If weeds pop up you would just through some more straw down to smother them. I’ve read another book called Lasagna Gardening which offers similar advice. It may sound to good to be true but I think I’ll give it a try. I’ve recently discovered that if I use rice straw for mulch then I don’t get all of the hay seeds popping up everywhere like I do when I use the other kinds of straw mulch. I plan to pick up 6 or 7 bales this weekend and cover the garden with it. It may look a mess, but if it keeps the weeds from taking over then who cares right? I actually think that straw mulch looks very nice and natural. It is much better than hard cracked soil with patches of weeds. Another benefit to adding the mulch will be better water retention. If I can cut down watering to once a week then I am willing to live with straw everywhere.

Zucchini Time

2008-07-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

We harvested our first zucchini of the season this weekend. Mark spotted it. He grilled it on the BBQ and it was quite tasty. I harvested a few more on Sunday and traded them for some peas with my sister over the back fence. On Sunday I went down to the 40/8 Flea Market at the Vets Building. I found this really cool book on Preserving for $1. There is a recipe for Zucchini and Ginger Jam which sounds absolutely delicious. I’m going to give it a try next weekend.
We still don't have any ripe tomatoes but the plants are loaded down with green ones so I am hopeful we will get a few more hot days and I'll be seeing them turn colors soon.

Garden Update

2008-07-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

This photo is of the eastern most side of our garden looking thru the tomato fence. We've got beans, squash, okra, melons, tomatillos, basil, cilantro, lettuce, radishes and corn growing in these three beds.

This photo is of one of three tomato rows. We have 27 different heirloom tomato plants growing this year. not counting the volunteer mystery tomatoes that are popping up everywhere.

This is the middle garden, in front of our green house. There are probably around 40-50 eggplants (all different varieties) and 60-70 peppers plants in this section. There is also more beans, swiss chard & beets, basil and green onion planted here (not pictured). The peppers seem to be growing quite slowly. The eggplants made a miraculous recovery from the damage done by beetles early on. Once I get the straw mulch spread out I will take some more photos to share.

So Funny

2008-07-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

I was headed home from work today on a rural back road that I don't usually take ( ironically named Scenic Avenue). I passed this sign in the front yard of a little ranch style home. I started laughing so hard I had to pull over and get a picture.

The Open Road

2008-07-02T13:08:00.000-07:00

I went on a bicycle ride with Mark last weekend. It is the first time that I have ridden a bicycle in over 10 years. It was awesome! I’ve completely forgotten how good it feels to cruise around. My bike is less than ideal. It is a little rusty and not very comfortable but it will work fine until I can save enough to get a more reliable one. I don’t like that my bike has a ton of different speeds and I have to keep shifting on the handles. We rode 5 miles and I could have easily gone much much further if my behind didn’t hurt from my seat. I really want to get a simple cruiser bike with 3 speeds and a really wide seat. Mark has a mountain bike that he is happy with but his behind was a little sore too. He hasn’t been riding for awhile either. It’s funny how we each have very different ideas of what the bicycles should be used for. My suggestion was that we ride our bikes to the grocery store or over to the coffee shop. The closest one being a few miles away. He refused because he “does not want to go grocery shopping when he is all sweaty”. He wants to just go ride around with no particular destination in mind while I want to get from point A to point B. I have a feeling I am going to be riding on my own a lot. While out riding on the trail near our house we discovered some walnut trees and blackberry bushes loaded down with almost ripe fruit. I can’t wait to go back in a couple of weeks to harvest some berries for jam. I clocked how far it would be if I was to ride all the way to work each way. It is exactly 11.6 miles from my driveway to my office. There are 39 stop lights between here and there. I’d like to think that my fat ass could actually make it. I am going to have to test my theory by getting on a bike at the gym and trying to pedal 11.6 miles. I’ll let you know how it goes.

The Hammock is Up

2008-06-19T23:36:00.000-07:00

Mark set the posts and hung up his hammock this past weekend. It's really comfortable and has a great view.

Flower Beds in Bloom

2008-06-19T23:32:00.001-07:00

The Herb Garden

2008-06-19T23:28:00.000-07:00

Salad Bar

2008-06-19T23:20:00.000-07:00

We're growing a salad bar in the garden this year. This patch is just starting to sprout. It's got a huge variety of lettuce, spinach, basil, radishes, and bunching onions all mixed together. It's experimental, but so far it is coming along pretty good. The bugs do seem to be eating their fair share

One Local Summer Week #2

2008-06-19T23:06:00.001-07:00

Salad from our garden

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic (From Barefoot in Paris, Ina Garten Cookbook)

Local Chicken (raised in my backyard)
Local Spring Hill Farms Butter
Local Kendall Jackson Olive Oil
Local Kendall Jackson Wine
Local Clover Stornetta Cream

Local Farmers Market Garlic

Herbs from my garden

Honeymoon

2008-06-12T22:31:00.000-07:00

After almost 1 year of wedded bliss Mark and I finally managed to go on our dream honeymoon. We've spent the last week soaking up the sunshine on the beaches of Cancun. It was a wonderful experience. The hotel we stayed at was relatively small and quiet. I finally had a chance to do nothing but relax and read. I read three great books. the Omnivores Dilemma, The Botany of Desire and In Defense of Food, all by Michaeal Pollan. I have to say that these books have got me thinking really hard about putting anything I have not grown myself into my mouth. Mark and I also did some snorkeling and enjoyed a trip to Xcaret. There were sea turtles coming up on to the beach to lay their eggs at night. The hotel has a section of the beach sectioned off to keep the eggs safe from the tourist traffic. The eggs get carefully moved to the safe area each night. One of the best parts of the trip was the amazing fresh food. It was awesome to eat whole food (nothing packaged) each day.

Growing Challenge Update Oca & Yacon

2008-05-30T11:43:00.000-07:00

I am so sad to report that my Oca has completely disappeared. Apparently something living in my yard found it to be quite delicious, because it has vanished. After over a month of waiting for Oca sprouts to come up, I dug down to see what was happening. Not one single tuber was still in the ground. I was at first completely disappointed, but then decided that I would just order some more seed starts and give it another try. I called up the folks at Nichols nursery to order some more and also to quiz them on the likely cause of the disappearance. I gave them the lowdown on what had happened. The woman I spoke with was so sweet. She cheerfully announced that they would be sending me a replacement at no charge. I was shocked. How cool is that? I am now excitedly awaiting the replacements so I can give it another try. This time I think I am going to make some chicken wire cages around the plants to thwart any would be gourmet gophers or moles. On a happy note, the Yacon I am growing seems to be taking off. It has been really easy to grow so far and I am hoping for a nice harvest (and that it tastes good, since I’ve never tried it before).

The Garden is Coming Right Along

2008-05-28T21:28:00.000-07:00

I finally got going on the garden after I got back from Bakersfield. All of the beds have been formed and I've now got most of them planted (photos coming soon).

Skating in Bakersfield

2008-05-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to Bakersfield over the weekend. The Sonoma County Roller Derby team played against the Bakersfield Roller Girls. It was a really tough game. They have some hard hitting blockers and really fast jammers. We managed to win with a final score of 66 Bakersfield, 95 Sonoma County. Here's a photo of both teams together after the bout. The Sonoma County Roller Derby Team is in the teal dresses. I've noticed that no matter what roller rink I'm in, all of the pictures I take look terrible. There seems to be a universal conspiracy of bad lighting in Roller Rinks. The wood floor however was amazing to skate on. Getting knocked to the ground was much less painful on the wood surface than on concrete.

Rose Parade

2008-05-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

This was the Sonoma County Roller Derby's first year to participate in the Rose Parade.

Verbal made a skate on using our Garden Wagon out of wire and paper mache.

Some of the girls came over to make paper flowers for the float.

Injury Anna Jones is ready for a ride.
Here's the team ready to walk the parade route.

We had such a great time. It was so much fun. Hopefully we will do it again next year.

Our Iris In Bloom

2008-05-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

The Garden Next Door

2008-05-05T18:49:00.001-07:00

My next door neighbor (mom) has been busy building cinder block garden boxes. These are cemented into place. Pretty impressive! They do look a little like burial plots, but she is going to stucco the outsides and make them much prettier.

2008-05-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

The 15 yards of compost we ordered has been delivered. It is a mixture of rice hulls and duck manure. I spent hours moving it on Sunday. Mark was hard at work installing 4 new water faucets in the back yard.

This is the back garden plot. I moved 20 wheel barrels full of compost back here. Next step is to finish tilling it in and then form out the beds. It's taking much longer than I anticipated to get the garden in this year. It seems like there is always something other than the garden on the schedule.

Yacon

2008-05-01T23:40:00.000-07:00

As part of the Growing Challenge I am trying to grow Yacon for the first time. I ordered the Yacon from Seeds of Change. It was supposed to be shipped to my work, but was shipped to my house and sat in the sun on my porch all afternoon. When I opened the box it didn't look so hot. I've been babying it in my kitchen window for a week and it is starting to get some new growth. Next step is to put it outside in a 1 gallon pot for a few weeks until I am 100% positive that there is no more frosty nights ahead. Then it will go into the ground.

Yard Pics

2008-05-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

Cactus paddles drying in the sun (almost ready to plant)-We are going to grow an edible cactus fence

Strawberry Plant that the chickens haven't attacked yet

Spanish Lavender

The "Hoopty Tiller"

Seedling News

2008-05-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

I am excited to report that the birds that broke into my greenhouse and plundered my freshly planted seeds did not get them all. I have tons of peppers, squash and other goodies ready to plant this weekend. I also have 15 yards of duck compost sitting in my driveway. This weekend I'm working at the K.J. Heirloom Tomato sale. There will be lots of planting going on here at home. I'm hoping I can talk Mark into putting up our clothesline too....

Gourds A Plenty

2008-05-01T22:38:00.000-07:00

Last summer we grew Apple and Birdhouse Gourds in the garden for the first time. Their powerful twisty vines quickly covered the fence line and climbed up the nearby trees and shrubs as well. At the end of the season, I harvested piles of gourds to dry for craft projects. It's funny that the ones I carefully stacked on racks in my greenhouse are still not dry while the ones I left out in the weather are. I moved a few of the ones from the greenhouse to my garden table to speed the process. I can't wait to turn these into birdhouses for the yard.

Roller Derby Update

2008-05-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

I played in my first Roller Derby Bout on Saturday night. It went really well! I fell quite a bit, but it doesn't really slow me down. I had quite a few good hits and held my own. Unfortunately, our team lost by a few points. It was a really close game and I'm looking forward to playing again soon.

This photo was taken right after our bout.... I'm the sweaty one in the middle

Roller Derby Team

2008-04-18T07:53:00.001-07:00

Last September I decided to take up Roller Derby. I don’t remember why exactly, I was mainly just looking for a way to get some good exercise in the gardening off season.

I cannot express in words exactly how terrible I was at skating. Let’s just say that in the beginning there was much more down time than up time. Although it was very difficult (and still is) I have persevered.

I practiced for over 10 weeks before trying out and making our local team Sonoma County Roller Derby. I have been on the team since January 1st and have been steadily improving. This is not a sport to be taken lightly. Our team practices together 3 nights a week. We work very hard and so far this season we are undefeated. It is now finally time for me to skate in my first Bout.

On April 26th we will be having our first home Bout of the season and I will be skating. I am extremely very nervous about making a fool of myself. Family friends and coworkers have all been invited. Honestly, I’m really not sure that I am ready for this quite yet. We have two teams The Wine Country Home Wreckers and the North Bay Bruisers. I will be playing as a Homewrecker. This is usually the travel team sent to wreck other home teams around the state.

This week one of our local papers is running a cover story about our team.

http://www.bohemian.com/bohemian/04.16.08/cover-rollerderby-0816.html

The cover photo is Susie Roundwheels. She is amazing! It's hard to believe that Susie is 52 years old. She hits like a ton of bricks.

Oca is Here!!!

2008-04-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

The Oca Tubers I ordered from Nichols Garden have finally arrived. I have been looking forward to growing oca in our garden and can't wait to get them planted. They have a really pretty pink blush color and are quite cute. I hope it tastes good as well. Since I am taking part of the growing challenge I am trying things this year that I have never grown before. I read about oca in Mother Earth News last year, but I had trouble finding some to order. This also means that my Yacon starts should be arriving sometime soon.

Seed Progress

2008-04-08T18:37:00.001-07:00

I am making some headway on the seed starting front. I have lettuce, corn, peppers, tomatoes, okra, melon, basil and cucumbers started in the green house. I don’t have any heat on the seedlings and it is still pretty cold at night. Slowly but surely I am seeing the little seedlings pop up. No sign of tomatoes, eggplant or peppers yet. I may plug in my seed warming mat to give them a boost. April 15th is the last average frost date in my area. I usually wait an extra week or so just to be safe so I should start planting the warm weather crops outside around the 26th of April.

Plant Sale

2008-04-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

I cannot resist a school garden plant sale. I went out to Petaluma to the at Valley Vista Elementary school plant sale on Saturday and bought some heirloom tomato seedlings along with some mint and cosmos. I wish that every elementary school in the US had a school garden program. I believe that it is very important for children to get their hands dirty and understand better where our food comes from. The respect for the earth that you gain when you spend time out in a garden cannot be taught in a classroom. I would love to help in a school garden as a volunteer. Although I don’t have any children of my own, I do really like most kids and would love to teach gardening lessons someday.

Healthy Garden Competition

2008-04-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

My neighbor (mother) has been quite busy next door working on expanding her garden. She’s laid out her plans to build new garden boxes, herb boxes and even plant some fruit trees. I think that she was a little envious of my big garden last year and has caught the gardening bug. She is going to be using concrete blocks to build the garden boxes and is planning to have my father stucco them and mosaic one end. I don’t quite see her vision yet, but I’m not going to doubt her. She told me a few years ago that she was going to build a tree house in her back yard. I was skeptical to say the least. I was wrong…what can I say other than my mom is awesome. I will have to post some pictures of the tree house. It is quite a sight. Mark and I stayed in it overnight a few weeks ago. It has running water, toilet, fireplace and a coffee maker.

New Garden Box

2008-04-08T18:31:00.001-07:00

Mark has built the first of 5 new garden boxes I am planning to add this year. It is constructed of 2X6 boards with 4X4 corners. Now I just need to stain it and add the chicken wire to the bottom to keep the gophers out. The other 4 boxes will be built over the next few weeks. Eventually I will have the entire garden in raised boxes, but 5 will be all we can spring for this year.

Camouflaged Kitty

2008-04-08T18:29:00.001-07:00

Thelma does such a good job blending in with the flower bed. I almost didn’t see her hiding here enjoying the beautiful weather. Good thing she is far too lazy to chase birds. She likes her meals delivered. Her sister Louise on the other hand is the hunter. Lucky for the birds she sticks out like a sore thumb with her bright white fur. They have both figured out how to get their bell collars off. So we have to keep sticking them back on them when we find them out in the yard. If only they would devote more of their time chasing the rodents in the barn instead of sunning themselves in the walkways.

Special Valentines Gift

2008-04-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

For Valentines Day this year Mark wanted to make me a gift for our garden. I had seen photos of these really cool garden obelisks in a magazine and decided that they would be just the thing. He did such a great job on them they are really magnificent. I am planning on growing Morning Glories, Purple Hyacinth Beans and Scarlett runner beans on them this summer. The tall ones are 8ft high and the little one is 4ft. Sometimes I am amazed at the mad skills my husband has when it comes to woodworking. Apparently in his senior year of high school he had 5 periods of wood shop. It is really nice to have a handy hubby like him around.

Spring is here

2008-03-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

Spring is finally here in full force and I have been enjoying all of the beauty that it brings to my garden. The tulips, ranunculus and daffodils are blooming and the fruit trees are just covered with blossoms. The grapes have started to bud and promise to provide a beautiful backdrop to the flower garden. I keep thinking about the bounty that will follow in the late summer. My girls have really been enjoying the weather. They are scratching and pecking away, they love to dig up freshly planted flower bulbs and have completely annihilated the chicks and hens I had planted in the flower border. It doesn’t bother me too much these days. I just keep tucking the disturbed plants back into the soil and hoping for the best. Only the strong survives in my garden. I’ve got two cats, two dogs and 8 hens. My little menagerie keeps me on my toes, and they are sure to weed out anything but the toughest of flowers in my borders. If only they would take care of the weeds with equal enthusiasm…. This week I will finally be starting my summer veggies. I am looking forward to peppers, eggplant and tomatos. I have been working on a garden design plan. My garden planting area is 80ft wide by 43 ft deep. Minus my Green House, I have 2,960 square feet of planting area. I am planning to fill that space with as many veggies as possible. I’m hoping to stay on the 100 foot diet all summer long this year. Food prices are rising and I would rather invest in my own backyard garden then spend money at the grocery store.

My Seeds Have Arrived

2008-03-04T19:14:00.000-08:00

I am thrilled that my seeds have started to arrive in the mail. Today, I received my order from Baker Creek. The order included Golden Treasure Sweet Pepper, Yellow Hog Tomato, Anch Grande Hot Pepper, Ping Tung Eggplant, Purple Beauty Sweet Pepper, Kikuza Winter Squash, Golden Delicious Winter Squash, Thai Round Purple, Quadrato D'Asti Rosso, Thai Sweet Basil, Pandora Striped Rose Eggplant. I have never grown any of these varieties before and I can't wait to see how they all do. I'm going to get these little guys guys started in the green house this weekend. My Yacon and Oca plants should arrive sometime in March or April. I am off to a great Growing Challenge start so far.

Backyard Views

2008-03-02T21:00:00.001-08:00

I snapped this photo from my garden. The mustard field is in bloom and the vineyard on the hill looked especially pretty today.

New Lavender Plants

2008-03-02T20:48:00.000-08:00

I bought 55 new lavender plants to complete my flower bed border. There is this awesome program at the Sonoma County Jail that teaches inmates how to grow and care for plants. They have a nursery and I've been buying plants there for a few years. I can't wait to get these cuties planted. It was really windy this weekend and I didn't spend much time outside. Looks like we are going to get a few rain free days this week, I'm hoping to get started on my new rock veggie garden beds next weekend.

2008-02-27T13:02:00.000-08:00

I was flipping through the March issue of Sunset Magazine and came across this great garden design plan. I think I am going to use this as my inspiration for my revamped veggie garden this year. I love the idea of using half moon shapes instead of rectangular beds. I also really like the texture of the rock vs. using wooden boards as I've done in the past. There is also some great info on raised bed gardening on the Sunset website .

Protecting Seeds

2008-02-26T09:31:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting article about the new seed bank in the Arctic. Here's hoping that we never have such a huge disaster that we need to use it.....

Doomsday’ seed vault opens in Arctic
Frozen ‘Garden of Eden’ secures biological diversity for future generations
By Doug Mellgren
LONGYEARBYEN, Norway - A "doomsday" seed vault built to protect millions of food crops from climate change, wars and natural disasters opened Tuesday deep within an Arctic mountain in the remote Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard.
"The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is our insurance policy," Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg told delegates at the opening ceremony. "It is the Noah's Ark for securing biological diversity for future generations."....read more

Weekend Work

2008-02-25T14:12:00.000-08:00

It was pouring down rain most of the weekend so I decided to do some crafting. Last year I had issues with my vegetable markers disappearing under the plants mid way through the growing season. I wanted to make some new markers that would last for many years. Mark and I went down to the hardware store and picked up some plywood. He cut it into 6" x 12 " pieces and I painted away on Sunday. They took a bit longer to do than I expected. The goal is to attach them to 3ft high garden stakes so they are easy to spot.

The Growing Challenge

2008-02-20T23:34:00.000-08:00

I have decided to sign up for The Growing Challenge. I will be spicing up the garden this year with some new items that I've never grown before and some new varieties of my old favorites. This week I am planting some horseradish. The kid at the nursery told me that it will take over and suggested that I plant it in a pot. I love the internet! Found some cool info on growing and using it. http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/champaign/homeowners/001106.html

Spring Fever

2008-02-18T17:41:00.000-08:00

What a great weekend for planting. The weather was great and I was able to get so much done!!

Here's what I've been up to....

I did a little seedling shopping.

Bosley the wonder dog inspects the cleared out beds...All set for planting.

Beets, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Lettuce, Kale, Chard, Asparagus, Collard Greens, Rhubarb, Horse Radish, Potatoes...grow, grow, grow!!!!

100 Foot Dinner #1

2008-02-18T16:53:00.000-08:00

These Potimarron squash were a delight to grow last year. I've saved some seeds so I can plant them again. They were prolific...I must have 20 of them left in storage.

Home grown winter squash (Potimarron) roasted with rosemary and local grown olive oil. It's the best I could come up with tonight. Next, I think I might try pumpkin soup. I'm so glad that I grew winter squash last year and that I still have plenty to last a few weeks until my lettuce, kale and other veggies get bigger. I am so lucky to have the opportunity to grow my own food, and to have the resources to feed my family. I am so sad when I read articles about people who have to go without food, or have to resort to eating dirt like the previous post. I wish I could do more to help feed the worlds hungry.

Haiti’s poor resort to eating mud as prices rise

2008-01-31T13:17:00.000-08:00

This story breaks my heart :(

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - It was lunchtime in one of Haiti's worst slums and Charlene Dumas was eating mud.
With food prices rising, Haiti's poorest can't afford even a daily plate of rice, and some take desperate measures to fill their bellies.
Charlene, 16 with a 1-month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country's central plateau....read more

100 Foot Challenge: What I hope to grow this year...

2008-01-28T11:48:00.000-08:00

The amazing Dervaes family has put together a challenge I can't refuse. It's called the 100 Foot Diet Challenge.

According to their web site:

"The challenge is simple. Beginning as soon as you can, prepare a meal at least once a week with only homegrown vegetables, fruit, herbs, eggs, dairy products or meat, using as few store bought ingredients as possible. "

What an awesome idea. I am getting ready to plant some cold weather plants and trying to come up with a plan for future harvests. I made a list of what I would love to grow and eat out of my own garden.

Anise, Apples, Asparagus, Basil, Bay, Beets, Blackberries,
Broccoli, Cabbage, Cat, Mint, Cauliflower, Chamomile, Chard,
Cherries, Chicken- Broilers, Chickens- Layers, Chives, Corn,
Cucumbers, Eggplant, Fennel, Figs, Garlic, Grapes, Green Beans,
Honey Bees, Kale, Lavender, Lemon, Lettuce, Lime Mint,
Nectarines, Oca, Olives, Onion, Oranges, Oregano, Peaches,
Pears, Peas, Peppers, Persimmons, Plums, Potatoes, Pumpkin /Pumpkin Seeds
Rabbits - Eating, Raspberries, Rhubarb, Rosemary, Sage,
Stevia, Strawberries, Summer, Squash, Sunchokes, Sunflower
Seeds, Tarragon, Thyme, Tomato, Winter Squash, Yacon

I've ordered my seeds and will be buying a fig, orange and persimmon tree this year. My other fruit trees were planted only last year so they are all really small still. I will be getting my Yacon and Oca orders in March or April and I am excited to try growing them.

New Years Resolutions 2008

2008-01-28T11:45:00.000-08:00

While growing my own organic food is a wonderful way to become more self sufficient, there are some additional steps that I plan to take in the next couple years.
· Install an outdoor, solar heated shower and tub for summertime use in the garden.
· Install a clothesline for drying all of my laundry
June –September.
· Stop using plastic grocery bags. Make cloth bags out of my excess fabric supply.
· Compost and Recycle everything possible.
· Build a root cellar for storing veggies.
· Stop shopping at giant superstores. Support local farmers for all of the items I cannot grow myself. Buy local grass fed meats and local cheeses, butter and milk (organic). Switch to all organic beauty and health products.
· Shop for groceries only once per week and limit driving to conserve fuel.
· Clean out all excess clutter and stuff I don’t need out of my home and garage.
· Build a fire pit and a solar cooker in2008 and add a cob oven 2009.
· Can, freeze and preserve as much of the excess harvest for winter time consumption. Make homemade wine and vinegar.
· Use my dried gourds to build bird houses. Feed the birds year round.
· Install bat houses and an owl house
· Raise honey bees
· Build a water catchment system to harvest rain water from my garage and greenhouse. Use this water in the summer to cut down on the well use. I am hoping to harvest 500-750 gallons of water in 2009.
· Install Grey water system for bathroom sinks/shower and washer water conservation 2009.
· Install solar power panels, beginning with my water heater and by 2010 become completely solar powered.

Chicken Moves

2008-01-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

What an exciting weekend here on Ward Road. Friday night brought an intense downpour. The road was completely covered in water. We got a visit from our neighbor around 8pm with news that her kitchen was under water. Their pump was not sufficient to move water out of the yard fast enough and it was seeping into the house. Since it was pouring, we borrowed anther pump from our neighbor and got the water moving again. By Saturday morning the water level had gone down enough that the kitchen was no longer under water. Saturday was rain free so we moved the chicken coop to dryer ground. Our chickens were extremely confused by the new location and we spent about 2 hours chasing them down. The tried to roost in the bay tree but we managed to catch them all and put them back in the coop. We got the coop covered in plastic so the rain won't get in anymore. We added some dry rice straw for bedding and they are as happy as can be.

From The Garden

2007-09-30T12:10:00.001-07:00

I went out into our garden to harvest some veggies and this is what I found....tomatoes, winter squash, melons, eggplant, zucchini and peppers. I also went to the farmers market this morning and bought a local pasture raised broiler chicken, potato's, apples, peaches, Asian pears, fig jam, local wildflower honey and Spring Hill Farm Jersey butter and cheese curd. Yum, yum, yum.....

I am roasting all of the veggies and freezing some for later this month.

The girls have given me an abundance of fresh eggs.

Vinegar Mother

2007-09-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

My fabulous co-worker Mindy gave me a red wine vinegar mother it is this really awesome slime that when left over red wine is added to makes the wine into vinegar. I will be turning leftover Pinot into vinegar in no time.

Summer Harvest

2007-09-19T13:30:00.001-07:00

The summer harvest has been wonderful this year. Eggplant, Peppers, Zucchini, Green beans and now we are finally getting some tomatoes. The garden is starting to die back a little now. The Melons, Okra and beans are done and I am getting ready to plant some winter veggies...Beets, Carrots, Kale, Lettuce, Peas (again), Chard and Leeks as well as onions and garlic for next years harvest.

Flower Garden

2007-07-31T12:22:00.000-07:00

I picked this beautiful bouquets of flowers from the garden this morning. A friend gave me the pitcher as a bridal shower gift.

The Rooster

2007-07-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

My favorite hen is actually a rooster....Someone with more farming experience than I probably could have told me that weeks ago. Perhaps I was just in denial. When I heard the crowing early last Saturday morning I thought I must be imagining that. Unfortunately, when I walked over to the coop to look more closely, there he stood proud as can be, crowing at the top of his little lungs. He is really the sweetest little guy. I told myself no roosters under any circumstances, but I may have to make an exception for him. The rest of the crew are definitely girls. Someone layed their first egg on the garden path on Sunday and there was another in the coop on Monday. Perfect little brown eggs....so awesome!

Fourth of July Sewing

2007-07-05T19:42:00.000-07:00

Mark and I had an awesome 4th..We hung out and relaxed. I did some long overdue sewing using an awesome book I recently purchased. I made myself 3 new skirts and I am inspired to make a few more this weekend. The book is called "Sew What Skirts". The way it works is you just take your measurements and follow the directions to make your own simple pattern. The best part is that you make your skirt exactly to your size and whatever length you want. Plus I would say that this book has the best instructions for putting in a zipper I've ever seen. Made it super easy....

2007-07-03T10:37:00.001-07:00

I harvested broccoli and zucchini from the garden tonight for dinner. I cooked it with some garlic, olive oil, wine, onions and ground turkey. Then I added some crushed tomatoes and tossed it all with angel hair pasta. I put a dash of parmesan cheese on top to finish it off. I am so glad to be able to use food we grow ourselves in our meals. This is the first year I have ever grown broccoli and it is really different from what’s available at the grocery store. I was really excited to have Mark try it….Unfortunately, the first thing he did when he got his plate was to separate all of the vegetables to the side and then proceeded to eat everything but the broccoli and zucchini. Oh well…I tried.

Birds and the bees

2007-07-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

The bees just love our lavender. It would be wonderful to have a couple of hives in our garden. Maybe next year.....

About the disapearing bee's

http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=9575

The Greenhouse

2007-07-02T23:01:00.000-07:00

The greenhouse is such a joyful place for me. I find myself spending a lot of time starting seeds and just enjoying my quiet time out there. I think there is something magical about it...everything I start inside seems to sprout :) My dad built it for me as a gift and it did not get used much as it went unfinished for a couple of years. Now it is a perfect place to relax and enjoy the afternoon sunshine. The little sink in the photo was a gift from my mom's beau Mac A.K.A Mac-alicious. He converted an old metal stove into a sink that hooks up to the garden hose and decoupaged the top with vintage postcards of Paris. What a guy!

Grey Water Gorillas

2007-06-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

I admire their ideas and determination. We plan to do some Grey Water recycling at our house too.

Water recycling as a way of life
Greywater Guerrillas see reusing home water as a moral issue
By GREGORY DICUMNEW YORK TIMES

OAKLAND - Laura Allen's modest gray house in the Oakland flatlands would give a building inspector nightmares. Jerry-built pipes protrude at odd angles from the back and sides of the nearly century-old house, running into a cascading series of bathtubs filled with gravel and cattails. White PVC pipe, buckets, milk crates and hoses are strewn about the lot. Inside, there is mysterious -- and illegal -- plumbing inevery room. Allen, 30, is one of the Greywater Guerrillas, a team focused on promoting and installing clandestine plumbing systems that recycle gray water -- the effluent of sinks, showers and washing machines -- to flush toilets or irrigate gardens.To her, this house is as much an emblem of her belief system as it is a home. Although gray water use is legal in California, systems that conform to the state's complicated code tend to be very expensive, and Allen and her fellow guerrilla, Cleo Woelfle-Erskine, are out to convince the world that water recycling can be a simple and affordable option, as well as being a morally essential one.They are part of a larger movement centered in the West -- especially in arid regions like Arizona, New Mexico and Southern California -- that includes both groups that operate within the law and ones that skirt it. The goal is the reuse of home gray water as a way to live within the region's ecological means. Using their own experience and contributions from others, they have just published a do-it-yourself guide to gray water systems that is also a manifesto for the movement, "Dam Nation: Dispatches From the Water Underground.""A lot of people that care about water try to conserve it," said Allen, an elementary-school teacher who installed several gray water systems after buying this home -- which she named the Haut House, for House of Appropriate Urban Technology -- four years ago with a housemate. "But this is about changing the way you interact with it."Use full potentialWoelfle-Erskine, a writer and teacher who lives on a houseboat with a gray water system in San Pablo, 10 miles north, added, "It's about trying to use resources to their full potential and interact with ecosystems in a beneficial way."In 1994, California became the first state to establish guidelines for gray water use -- as most other states have since -- and it has become a leader in building industrial-scale gray water systems. The town of Arcata, for example, has an extensive system that serves the entire population of 17,000, and even the state's oil refineries have gray water systems.But many gray water advocates say that California's plumbing code -- which stipulates things such as pipe sizes, burial depths and soil tests based on rules established for septic systems -- is prohibitively complicated for private homeowners interested in recycling gray water, and that its requirements are prohibitively expensive."The code is so overbuilt that I'm beginning to think it's better to just have everyone do it bootleg," said Steve Bilson, the founder of ReWater Systems, a company that has installed around 800 code-compliant gray water systems at a cost of about $7,000 each, and who worked as a consultant on California gray water legislation in the 1990s.As a result, many homeowners have installed unpermitted, illegal plumbing, relying on techniques developed by covert researchers like the Greywater Guerrillas. (It is difficult to know how many, since these systems are not registered with any government or organization, but Allen said that based on her observations, there are probably around 2,000 homes equipped with gray water systems, a few legal but most illegal, in the Bay Area alone.)Plants as filtersOn a recent afternoon, Woelfle-Erskine stood in the back yard of the Haut House and explained how one of the half-dozen gray water systems there works. A pipe running from the house deposits shower and sink water into an elevated bathtub in the yard that is filled with gravel and reeds, and the roots of plants begin filtering and absorbing contaminants. The water then flows into a second, lower tub, also containing a reedbed, before flowing into a still-lower tub of floating water hyacinths and small fish."We've had the water tested," Woelfle-Erskine said, "and it's clean -- there's just a little phosphorous left, which the plants in the garden actually like." Through trial and error, Woelfle-Erskine and Allen have found what they say is the best way to spread wastewater into the gravel beds (through a screened milk crate) and which plants best clean the water while not growing so vigorously as to block pipes (cattails).Although this Rube Goldberg setup, known as a constructed wetland, cost only about $100 to build, it represents a pinnacle of gray water system design, which is usually far more modest, according to Art Ludwig, an ecological systems designer in Santa Barbara. (Ludwig's Web site, graywater.net, offers a practical introduction for do-it-yourselfers.) The vast majority of systems, Ludwig said, "cost less than a hundred bucks -- it can be just a hose." For example, a hose connects the sink to the toilet tank to create a gray-water toilet in one of the Haut House bathrooms.In spite of the ad hoc nature of many illegal systems, Ludwig said, he has "never heard of a single case of health problems from using gray water, ever." Similarly, Simon Eching, the chief of program development at California's Department of Water Resources -- the body that drafted the state's gray water code -- said he knew of no health issues arising from gray water use in California.But Ludwig's Web site also points out that there are a number of potential pitfalls. He strongly discourages ponds of exposed water like the one fed by the constructed wetland in Allen's back yard, for example, because they can draw mosquitoes that carry disease.He cautions against crossing plumbing lines and contaminating clean water; using gray water in sprinkler systems or on fruits and vegetables that are eaten raw (it should only be used to irrigate roots); and allowing water contaminated by toxic cleansers, soiled diapers or contact with people who have infectious diseases to enter the gray water system.Hacksaw modificationsNot even the Greywater Guerrillas would now condone the first system they built, in 1999. Back then, they were living with six housemates in a rented house in a rundown part of Oakland.After receiving a water bill showing that the house was using 241 gallons a day despite their conservation efforts (the figure was actually less than half the national average of 70 gallons per person per day), the two headed to the basement with little more than a hacksaw and righteous enthusiasm. "We didn't have a plan," Allen said, "and we didn't even have the materials. We were dumb, really."Their initial efforts dumped used shower water into the basement, forcing their housemates to forgo bathing for days. But before long, they were building a gray water system.Two years later, as the Guerrilla Greywater Girls, they published a "Guide to Water," a crude sheaf of photocopies held together with a rubber band that combined plumbing instructions and design tips with an argument that water systems such as dams and aqueducts were instruments of greed. "Dam Nation" is an expanded and less breathless descendant of the guide, with contributions from movement members as far away as Thailand.Thousands of copies of the original were circulated while the Greywater Guerrillas honed their skills up and down the West Coast, installing systems from Seattle to Los Angeles for friends and like-minded people (and occasionally for hire) and connecting interested homeowners with plumbers willing to do illegal work.(Allen even took a plumbing course at a community college; she said that when the instructor began to sense what she was up to, he stopped answering her questions.) Four years ago, they worked with Babak Tondre, a co-founder of a demonstration home in Berkeley called EcoHouse, to install a gray water system there."When the Greywater Guerrillas came over, I didn't really know what I was getting into," said Tondre, 37. He was soon forced to remove the system when the nonprofit Berkeley Ecology Center, which runs the house, objected: "The board flipped when they saw it. It was totally illegal."Irrigate treesTondre then applied for a permit from the city. The resulting system, a more robustly engineered constructed wetland, funnels shower and laundry water underground, through a deep bed of gravel contained within a pond liner, and into a pipe at the other end of the gravel bed. More buried pipes direct water to the roots of plum, pear and cherry trees.The system -- which Tondre believes is the first and so far only residential constructed wetland in California built with a permit -- cost $4,000, using volunteer labor. It can convert a maximum of 27,000 gallons of gray water into irrigation every year, enough for six fruit trees, along with the marsh plants in the wetland itself.If gray water is starting to gain public acceptance, the Greywater Guerrillas are staying well ahead of the mainstream. At the side of the Haut House, next to a chicken coop, twin plastic barrels hold hundreds of pounds of waste from composting toilets inside the house.While chickens pecked around her bare feet, Allen plunged a giant corkscrew into one of the barrels to mix the contents and speed the yearlong composting process."Smell it," she said. "Not bad at all."

Garden in Progress

2007-06-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

The Garden is really starting to take off....I'm harvesting zucchini and there are little peppers on the plants. Soon we will have the fixings for some awesome salsa and tomato sauces. Last night I planted the last of our winter squash seedlings and pulled up all of the corn plants. Between the merciless crows pulling the baby corn out of the ground and the chickens eating the tops of anything left standing, it was in pretty bad shape. I've decided to call it a total loss for the season and replace it with winter squash instead. We will be working on our drip system this weekend as the watering by hand is taking up a lot of time and causing me to be late to work most mornings. We will also be putting a heavy layer of straw mulch on everything to help keep down the weeds.

Our Garden Goals

2007-06-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

In order to achieve our dream of self sufficient living it is important to set some goals and put together a plan. We understand that in our lives things rarely go exactly as planned. What we want to accomplish is will take time. Mark and I have worked hard this summer to prepare for our backyard wedding. It was so wonderful to work together with our friends and family and everything turned out beautifully.

Goal 1 – Grow enough food to feed our household (2 people) with surplus to share with our friends and neighbors. Preserve as much of the harvest as possible for winter consumption. Whatever we cannot grow ourselves buy from local farmers and ranchers.

Goal 2 – Install water catchments and grey water reuse systems. Conserve as much water as possible.

Goal 3 – Decrease our waste by consuming less and recycling everything we possibly can.

Goal 4 – Install solar panels for electricity and heating (within 5 years)

Wedding Pictures

2007-06-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

Mark and I were married in our garden on June 16th, 2007. Here are some photos taken by friends. The professional photos should be coming soon. It was the most wonderful perfect day of my life. The yard was finished in the nick of time. We couldn't have done it without all of the help we had from our family and friends. Thank you!!!

Before

2007-01-01T19:01:00.000-08:00

When Mark and I moved in to our house in 2002 we were faced with cleaning up a big mess. The previous tenant had littered the property with old cars and parts and wood piles. I remember one afternoon Mark found an entire couch when weed-eating the back corner of the yard. It was very overwhelming as we filled dumpster after dumpster of garbage. The yard is ½ acre and there was no landscape other than the 6ft plus high weeds that tool over every spring, then dried out and turned into a very ugly fire hazard each summer. We worked so hard trying to get them under control. I was out at the dumps one Saturday morning and came across some beautiful old windows at the recycle center. I bought them all for $15 and drafted up a greenhouse design that used all of the recycled windows. My awesome father came over and built the frame. The photos above reflect what the yard looked like after we removed most of the garbage. It took 13, twenty yard dumpsters in all to get it cleaned.