Pok Choy

This is some Pok Choy we raised in the Aqua System at AVI. Things like this and the salad greens come out in these perfect sized bundles that would work great for salads in the restaurant. Dressed with a light vinaigrette, nothing more will be necessary because these greens are so delicate and are as soft and subtle as anyone would imagine or consider possible that has never tried greens from one of these systems.

Drip Diagram

Drip Tape

Yesterday we installed a LOT of drip tape on the farm. This is what we will use for an irrigation system at Farm Rodeo. A lot of older pipe and tape was left over from the previous seasons, which meant that a majority of that had been patched, spliced, nicked, or had just split from the large temperature variations. So, we put in new. Good call, it was a bit of work, but now we have a solid, reliable method of water transport on the farm for this summer. Think we will continue to replace tape bed by bed daily until we have an all new irrigation.

The system is pretty simple, we have access to a hydrant about 100 yards away that we were able to tap into and run a 2.5" pipe onto the farm property. From there, using a system of shut offs branching out of the main pipe, the water flow's into 1" diameter plastic tubing which runs individually to each bed where the drip tape is punched into it.

Planting Tomato

Purple and Pink "Bumble Bee" Tomato Plants went in the soil today(4 row's of each). They were soil blocked in advance at AVI, 1 and 1/2 month's prior to today. The plants are 30 inch's apart from one another, planted 6 inch's deep in the center of the beds. We have the drip tape laid out and the twine put up directly above the plants, so when the tomato's get to the point where they can be clipped and secured, we can. That should begin by the time June comes around.

Veg plus Fish equals FOOD

These are some photo's of the Aqua Ponics system at AVI where this relatively small system produces head's of various lettuce's and strawberries through out the year. It is the very small version of what is being built at "FOO"(farm on ogden) by one of the other Core teams. The main, and really only significant difference between the two is that the Aqua system uses fish and their waste's to feed the plants vs the Hydro that use's only pure water. I have not gotten, or had the time to really get into the main specific points, but the idea is that the fish are typically raised in indoor tanks, troughs or outdoor ponds, where they produce excrement. The water with the waste from the tank flows to a hydroponics tray where plants grow in the water without soil. The waste is toxic to the fish but is a rich fertilizer for the plants. As the plants absorb the nutrients, the water is purified for the fish. The clean water can then be recycled to the fish tank.

Apple buckets

Orchids

Over the past several years, I have gotten into, and am taking seriously my small orchid collection. They are all of the Phalaenopsis variety, with the exception of the one smaller one that is a Spider. After a long time, some of it very frustrating, I found out the best place to let them be. And this year, with me both re potting and fertilizing them a few month's ago, they are in wonderful condition. All of them have shot up multiple "air roots", one of the smaller ones even sprouting 2 stalks. (That's a big deal in the world of raising orchids) My largest, and oldest one, "Helen" has, and continues to produce incredibly large lush deep green leaves and numerous "air roots". But she has not, over the course of the 5 years that I have owned her, send out a "spike". I have tried everything, constant rotation into different locations at night(for a re occurring, consistent temperature flux from day to night) and bi weekly fertilizing. I have placed her in my nicest pot, even NAMED her, in the hope that as some comatose patients can be encouraged to come out or wake up from their sleep due to the positive re enforcement, she will do the same.

Lill Garden

All of my garden space at home is drawn out, so that I know exactly what is coming up where. Obvious reason being, all bulbs come up when they are ready, not when it is always convenient for myself Also, I was scared that I would accidently dig up a large section of my tulips or iris's before they had sprouted to warn me of their location. Except for this one space, some how, I missed this small area, and now I have to wait until they grow up some more before I can tell exactly what they are. I am 80 percent sure they are tulips...

Hoop House

Today we finished getting our hoop house ready for the tomato plants that will be coming next week. We have them all started at AVI, our "home base" for starters. Yesterday we were able to get all of our lines hooked to the rafters, today we filled in the space with new compost, measured out our rows, dug them all out and got the main irrigation lines installed. This is the first time that I have ever grown tomato's with this method, using lines to guide the plants up, the vines will grow all the way up to the ceiling and then back down when done correctly. Main thing is to keep all new runners or "suckers" pruned down so that all the energy of the plant goes into the one vine that will be clipped to the string as it grows.

Aquaponics at Botanic Garden

So in addition to the work I am doing on the actual farm location, I will be spending my Fridays at the Aqua-ponics site, learning about the setup and construction of these types of systems. As well as doing all my "starts" here. You can see some of the lettuces they are raising, strawberries and multitude of different herbs.

Lill Ave

This is my little space (and my plans for it) outside of the apartment. Just finished clearing out all the old leftovers from last year, got the ground cleaned up, and can already see a lot of the bulbs starting to break through the crust. Tulips, Iris's, Dahlia's, the Raspberry and Blueberry vines are sprouted, as well as even a few strawberries coming out. I cant wait for the weather to warm up out here, not only for work on the big farm, but so that we can get some things transplanted up here at Lill. As you can see, we have a lot of plans, maybe to many for such a small space, but it's all I have to work with up here! Sweet Peas, all kinds of herbs, and a massive variety of flowers. Instead of the usual flower garden we have every year, well, we will see...

14 Weeks in the Garden

Finally, I am starting the Modern Urban Farming class's at the Chicago Botanical Garden. During this time, focus will be on; Soil and Compost Ecology, Plant Propagation, Greenhouse Production, Production and Crop Planning, Aqua-ponics, Hydro-ponics, and basic Business Plan Development. It's a great deal and the opportunity to learn as much as possible about gardening in the city. My farm is 1 acre of land, consisting of 14 different "Blocks" that are in the from of raised beds. Right now, they have a little bit of spinach left, but that we will be removing later this week in preparation for a massive amount of transplants that we will be bringing from the green house early next week. We have one hoop house on the property, which will be used for tomato's only. :

As you can see, we got some snow last night... This has to be the last week of winter! It has to be.