October 14, 09
It was a busy weekend with Winter Soil Preparation at the field...
On Sunday, October 11th, 14 members worked hard to get the nitrogen-fixing winter peas spread on the harvested half of the field which had been rototilled by tractor on Saturday.
Peter's idea to broadcast pea seed into the rye on the other half of the field was amended in order to address concerns about inadequate nitrogen fixing. Once on site members decided to set aside a much smaller 'experimental patch', and till and seed the rest in order to increase chances for improved soil fertility in the area where next year's potatoes will be planted.
On Monday, Peter and Barb marked out a 20' x 20' experimental area. Scythed rye was left on this area after seeding as mulch. Bob began rototilling the remaining area at 9 am. Another six members arrived at 11am and continued the work of removing rye fom the rest of the field to a pile for later use as mulch next spring. By 1pm a third had been rototilled and/or dug by hand/shovel. By 2 pm the tired group decided to call it a day and ask that other members complete digging of the remaining area.
A row takes about 30 minutes to work with a spade. Other volunteers are needed to help finish this job so cover crop seeding can be completed asap. Sunshine is expected again early in the coming week!
Meanwhile, thanks go to Bob P for his hard work rototilling, Brian for the loan of the roller, Peter for the seed broadcaster, Veronica for purchasing the peas, Ironwood Farm in Fanny Bay for sharing/donating hard-to-find inoculant, and Carol, Veronica, Derek, Susan-Marie, Rae, deNeen, Fireweed and Mike for helping with coordination and communications, and everyone for their work in the field. Special thanks go to Mike Lindsay for tractor-tilling half the field on short notice (and anyone else inadvertantly missed!)
As mentioned in the last update, purchasing our cover crop has more than depleted SPUDS current budget, so the idea was suggested that members renew their memberships now, rather than wait till spring. Thanks to those who have already paid. It is $15 for a single membership and $25 for a family or group membership. Please make your SPUDS membership cheque out to *Cascadia Food Security Project*, leave it in the envelope marked ‘S’ in the FreePost, OR bring it (or cash) with you on Friday. If you have any questions, please call Mike at 1209.
REMINDER: This Friday, Oct. 16th at 7:00 pm*, a meeting has been scheduled to continue our exploration of consensus process as a cooperative. Susan Marie Yoshihara has kindly offered her home again at 3706 Wren Road (note: a little earlier than last time!) Scent-free, please. Bring a folding chair if you can.
Members with computer access can familiarize themselves with information about consensus process available through the links column right here at www.wearespuds.blogspot.com. It is hoped that those who were not at our Oct. 6th meeting with Mary Lang will also attend so we can be as inclusive as possible in any decision we make about the potential use of consensus process for our group.
We have begun to craft a basis of unity by sharing our own personal visions for SPUDS, and will continue that work with Charlie and Ron co-facilitating. Bring your own vision statement for SPUDS to the meeting and be part of building our solidarity as a cooperative!
Take a look at the collage of Andrew's photos from our 2009 Harvest, below in the last post!
Please RSVP if you can't attend Friday's meeting. Last but not least, thanks for carpooling! www.islandrideshare.com
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