Renewable Energy Roundup

Last weekend we decided to take a trip to the Renewable Energy Roundup in Fredericksburg. In the past, before we had kids, we used to spend a majority of the time going to the different lectures, speaking to the vendors, walking around town, going to wine tastings and visiting microbreweries. So when we finally made the decision to go this year after our 4 year hiatus we went with the understanding that this was not going to be like previous trips.


It actually came as a surprise to us that we could have just as much fun hanging out in the family activities area and walking around the grounds as we did before. The boys' enthusiasm for the train (wheeled barrels attached to a golf cart) was tremendous (and somewhat contagious!) They had play equipment on the grounds to the festival and a lovely native plants garden with a water mill.


The "whimsicles" were definitely the most memorable part of the trip. Henson's favorite was the "Fresh Cut Grass," popsicle made of kale, pear juice and agave nectar. Archer preferred the "Beetlejuice," popsicle which was made of beet juice, apple/ pear juice and agave nectar. Eric and I loved every flavor we tried.


Overall, the trip was a success, and like the whimsicles the days there were refreshing, interesting and fun!

Market Growers Symposium

Cotton

I have been holding on to some cotton seeds for about 3-4 years now. This past spring I finally decided to plant it. I had both brown and white. Some plants went to Archer and Henson's school garden and the rest stayed with me. It is a hibiscus and therefore quite beautiful. The blooms start out a creamy white and change to dark pink as the flower begins to fade. Green capsules develop once the flower drops and as they enlarge and mature they begin to darken. Eventually the capsule bursts and you end up with the textile equivalent to popcorn. Sure is pretty!

Planting in Pots

September is here and my seed order from Baker Creek Heirloom has arrived. Although, it isn't technically Fall, the "fall garden" season is here and it is time to get planting! The first thing I like to do is get my brassicas started. First week of September worked out for me although late August would have also been fine.

Note: Initially, I plan to post some pictures with some very brief descriptions. In a few days I will elaborate on my technique, which is one of many ways you could do this.

Bird Damage in Droughts

This is what bird damage on citrus looks like. It isn't pretty, it isn't good for the fruit, but it is in no way meant in malice. After our late April flood Houston went into severe drought. Now I am not talking about Austin or San Antonio severe, but Houston severe. For a city who regularly gets 42 inches of rain per year to go 7 weeks with absolutely no rain (that was just my house, some areas went longer,) is severe. Our local flora and fauna have acclimatized themselves to the excessive rain and often survive flooding that would devastate other ecosystems' plant and animal life. But at times it is drought that we are less prepared to deal with.

This citrus was pecked at by birds; I know this because I saw them. Observation is one of the more critical components of permaculture. If I had not seen birds do this I might not have known. I might have had to look it up in a book. For the past few years I have seen birds do this to my persimmons, the idea is to create just enough damage to the fruit that it begins to ripen. It works very well with persimmons and if you leave the fruit on the tree you will see birds eat the ripened portion, leave, and return a day or so later after the surrounding area has also ripened. Eventually they do finish the fruit. The whole process is kind of ingenious and if we just watched them for awhile we would notice that birds are often less wasteful with our fruit than we think.

I suspect the damage to my citrus was something the birds did in desperate hope that the citrus would begin to ripen and they could drink the juice. At the very least the area would start to rot and give them access to the pulp. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, no such thing happened. The fruit stayed intact and hopefully begins to ripen in October. As to what the inside might look like I have no idea. I will post a report once the fruit begins to ripen.

On the News

Strange day. I went to LUSH at Memorial City Mall to redeem a gift certificate* (wanted to try out one of their fancy shampoos) and ended up on the news instead. The questions were on the economy and as usual I babbled instead of saying what I really wanted to say. Either way if you get Fox 26 I should be on the 4pm or evening news! (Babbling... of course)

* Note: I did not end up getting the shampoo and conditioner because I found out that they don't take the LUSH gift certificates. So I have to use it online.

Planting a Citrus

Although, this is not the most ideal time to plant citrus in Houston, another year in a pot would have been the end for some of my trees. This week I planted two pummelos, 'Hirado Buntan' and 'Sarawak', and one limequat, 'Tavares.'

So the first thing I like to do is to mark the spot with a flag or a bamboo rod. I walk around it taking into consideration the future size of the tree, waterflow patterns around the area, any ariel easements, underground easements and pathways. Then I mark a 4' to 5' diameter circle around the flag. I remove the sod, trying to maintain as much of the soil as possible. This is what you end up with:

If I have extra soil from another project I usually add it to the top. In the past, I have lost so much soil when removing the sod that the area ends up lower than I initially wanted. Plus, if your tree sinks, which they sometimes do, the added elevation still prevents it from flooding. Then, I set the pot near the center and start moving it until it looks good and I know that the dominant branches are going to grow in the direction I want them too. You should water the container until it is fully saturated, it will help with transplant shock and also leave I nice wet ring where you set it down. I dig a hole that would make the soil line of the tree level with that of the new area. I add a few handfuls of compost to the bottom of the hole and plant. Remember, that citrus tree roots are a little more sensitive to manhandling so don't be too aggressive when planting.


Once, it is planted I rake carefully around the area, never pushing down around the root ball or compressing it. Since I still have leaves from last year (now partially composted,) I use them as mulch around the tree. If you have access to native shredded mulch then it will also work. In a pinch you can use alfalfa hay, but all things being equal the leaves are free. Be sure not to have the mulch directly against the tree trunk. This is what your tree should look like:

Natalie

In the past month I have composed so many blog entries in my head, that I have somehow managed to convince myself that I needn't bother typing them up at all. More precisely I have thought of so many things to write that the mere thought of typing them exhausts me. I wish Natalie were here. Back when we worked at Urban Harvest we would take turns telling each other, "Break down your project into smaller pieces, take one step at a time, start at the beginning. If the beginning is too hard to find, just start anywhere. Breathe."

Strange how we know things and yet at times we just need a friend to remind us, to state the obvious. So here I go, with my new camera (Eric got me a camera,) and in no apparent order, my backlogged blog entries.