The Meshugenah Planter

Fermentation and curing: The Saga continues!

2010-08-31T22:02:00.000-07:00

Its been awhile since I last fermented something at long last we did and its going great!

Three week's ago Andrew and I went out to pick Olives that grow out front of the Apartment/Duplex building of our friend's home; I've had an idea to do it for years but Andrew finally got me to do it that and Rawmodel's post on it recently got me even more excited.

So that was three weeks ago and I am finally back in Vacaville; I was depressed and needed my girl Kelly, that and the fact that another sweat lodge was going on at a friend's property. The olives are fermenting!

They look like cranberries and when I opened up a jar the liquid was effervescent. I didn't check the taste since I actually dislike the taste of olives but so far it seems good; I just have to wait and then I'll drain them and send the olives to where ever they need to go.

Oh and my friend Dave made some Biltong; a salt and air cured meat technique from South Africa. I love the recipes and cultures of the Cape region. Other than having the same climate as SF its also a Mosiac and Melting Pot of the Old world. Its very tasty and I actually enjoy the very rich flavor that comes from the blood; its not so horrid rather like a very strong earthy taste however it can get iron-y.

I'm going to ask if I can take it all back with me because he isn't to fond of it.

Meat expensive; I'm broke, have not cool or cold storage, and need the taste!!!

When I can make my own I'm going to add a ginger and papaya/pineapple marinade to add the digestion of this somewhat tough meat.

Fermentation is awesome!!!

Walked my Walk Christmas day

2009-12-26T13:05:00.000-08:00

I was actually off guard this week since I had no idea what day it was or what day christmass was on. On christmas day I refused to be home and I refused to see my mom and my 60+ family; Kelly needed some rest so I decided to walk the mountains.

So here is a picture; me barefoot, climbing and walking a series of almost connected trails for like 4 hours. It was great; for over 2 hours I was by myself completely the other two noisy kids and their parents kept a far distance but it was still abit of an annoyance.

I climbed from woodland to grasslands that were lush and filled with life and vibrant color. This winding trail no wide than 10inches and the best view to see the city. I saw a little orchard and farm, a plant nursery and the lake with its emerald of an island at the middle. I saw deer the size of small dogs that swiftly ran past me and massive old oak trees with branches resting on the ground.

I thought deeply and lightly about my things going on and if kelly reads this yes I was way thinking about the future too much. All I know is when the world gets way crazy I got my spot and speaking of spot I found 2 amazing places to have a picnic :D Can't wait! hopefully it will still breezy and cool I love our winters so much its so like a spring in a more northern climate with the occasional frost but except for our artic blast that abit rare it has been just so scenic.

I have to do this again, its so refreshing to breathe.

Forest Groves, Idiots, and Chicken Wings

2009-10-21T00:26:00.000-07:00

So we decided to go to the Northern California Permaculture Institute in Bolinas, I have been wanting to go there for what seemed like years but I never had the ride or the money (Classes being around 350-600$).

I knew it wouldn't work because we would have to wake up early and one little Redhead who shall remain name-less is cranky unless she sleeps until twelve classes started at that time and G-D knows it takes atleast another hour before they will fully be ready to go; plus the hour commute doesn't help so we decided to go camping for the night up in Point Reyes State Park!

We go to Fairfax where Redhead knew of the greatest little grocery store on earth; way better than any old Whole Foods and way more down to earth with no need to be "green", you just knew the people who owned the place cared about the world but didn't need to broadcast it out; plus hipster-free!

Bought some chevre from the Humboldt area, store made kefir, dried mangoes, and some carob spirulina protein bites that were amazing! So from there we go to the camp ground.

It was FILLED with trailer campers and loud beer drinkers so we drive around searching desperately for a place to sneak in and camp out, Couldn't be done and after 3 hours of searching return to the terrible place. Set up camp & after some rude drunk people and some stuck-up yups I slept with nothing but a thin sewn blanket not noticing I was sleeping on a sleeping bag; cold night though none-the-less magnificent (albeit the cars driving 2 minutes away on the road).

At sun rise John and I go hiking; as if we are going back in time we move from the grasslands to a moist temperate cloud forest. Ferns and various trees clamor around second growth Redwoods stories high; Creek Nettle, broadleaf plantain, and false Indian strawberries gather around the clear crystal creeks. We move towards the end with chaparral, crossing another creek we trek up a seacliff to the magnificent view of the ocean.

the first time I see a beach with no other people around

Wonderous and somewhat mystical with seal and kelp bobbing up the water's surface.

We talk as we go back down into some more forest; politics and social class ofcourse; sprinkled in with history and some agriculture for good measure (plus childhood cartoons). By this time the sun has risen to its morning position and its like I was around emeralds. While we get back on the trail to the car we walked past some 4 dozen people along the way (it would have ruined the experience if so many people showed up).

We pick up Redhead and scram to Bolinas; stop at a little stand that at first only looked like it had a tiny garden. When we ask to see it he tells us to go past the stove and buckets filled with fermenting grape juice and a utter majestic farms sprouts up after the 4+ inch rain we got everything is so lush we are at a second winter this time of year and everything is filled with life.

Then we go next door to a nursery and I meet a fascinating woman whose name I can't remember, I ask if she has mashua and we get on the discussion about edibles. I list off some plants I would want, they being PERFECT for the Maritime Mediterranean climate; then I ask for the strawberry guava. Its the most delicious little berry packed with such flavor mixtures of strawberry and pineapple, citrus and a distinct taste that may be guava but am not sure since I've never tasted teh real thing.

We talk about Bolinas and the fact that a certain institute was built on a electronic waste dump :-/ interesting.....

So we go through the various houses all of with surrounded by the ocean and the mountains and filled with food and ornamentals, stately hundred year old manors with rustic influences dot, then get denser.

We arrive at the institute and meet some folks from the Sac. Permie guild and some Berkeley people. Being impatient and all around curious we look around the place.... alot of construction and half finished projects. A nice microfarm but all together not so interesting, met some residents and interns; ate some nasturtium and rose hips and we began the tour.

We got tired of all the people asking simple questions; snickering in the back about jokes and the tofu burgers people ate and overall being more read on the subjects were the reasons we decided to see the exhibits at the Bioneers Conference or what I call the Smug-All.

On the way we go to San Rafael's Cafe Gratitude; which i different than anyone I saw before. Not crunchy in the least, open and bright; they even had food the other places didn't have yet. I broke a glass (ofcourse) which I wanted to clean myself but they wouldn't let me. After much blushing in sheer embarrassment, I had the Bueno~Something which was the rice bowl (my favorite 'cept this one didn't have the Bhutanese rice I love)

In the other city of Marin County in the middle of a city; we saw a coyote/fox and took some pictures; redhead screamed at me for possibly scaring it *rolls-eyes*

At 375.00$ for a 3 day event the Bioneers patrons were only the well-off could afford this; it was near the end so they opened it to the public. I regret going;everything was way over priced, everyone was so dressing the bohemian, and it was just corny!

But I digress

We decide to go to Berkeley in search of Redhead's old "spiritual group" ('It's not a church Lee!')
we circled for an hour and choice to wonder around the Yup/"Green" part of town. Read abit at a book store went inside Whole Foods and we all bought food to eat outside. Ofcourse I bought the buffalo wings :D Best ones I've had in a long time.

It was an amazing experience and an awesome weekend;
totally love just hanging out acting so free.

Bio-Dynamic College, Huzzah much!!!

2009-10-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

Pictures I swear soon!

So Yesterday John (Who finally came back two-weeks ago) and I went to the Rudolf Stiener College in Fair Oaks a half-hour from where I live. Ever since we talked to Matt over at his farm about Earth Towers John has been wanting to know everything he can about Biodynamics. We were volunteering to help harvest which they do on tuesdays and thursdays.

The setting was very calm and not too many students were around but than again it was 10 am and there was atleast one class in session. So first met Kenya (or atleast I think their name was that) and from there met the Master Gardener named Harald, we talked about the climate, how long the demonstation garden was there (34 years), where do they sale the produce (to a csa and the Sac Co-op), and so on. He asked where we were from, if we knew Matt and Tereses, and commented on where he was from (Germany) if you wanted to put someone down you say they were from a Cow village; lol

We pick Purple Chinese Noodle Beans, then the bush beans; Raulph began talking about the processes of nitrogen fixation and then talked about how the bush beans were almost animals by the way they react and interact with the world around them.

From there he left for a meeting and we then met Aaron who is an intern gardener. After we finished picking, we wandered abit and met up with another dude I think who's name was Carl and then they told us to talk to Rebbecca to see what else we could do.

We began to pick Purple skinned fingerling potatoes and Kenya, Carl, & Aaron can back up, we talked more and told them about where we we're from and what we are doing at the college. Talked about the Farmlink website; Be Loved Farms; and our Town/City in general.

Even though we are close alot of people didn't know about Cowtown or they thought we were a ways away.

We took a break and ate an awesome lunch with some delicious Goat Cheese; spoke to some other students/interns while eating (which I finished in 5 minutes amazing btw); wandered to the amazing bookstore and bought Gaia Gardens 2nd edition.Then went further in to the adjoining kid's store filled with toys which I found were so amazing. It looked like a real life Etsy Profile!; ate some grapes right off the vine,complained about all the Nightshades in the garden to John; went out for more food at the Co-op; came back and weeded a bed, then pulled out some old Fennel.

They asked if we wanted to stay for a class talking about the 3rd speech Steiner spoke an hour from then and we wandered some more to kill time.

I....kinda started to poke some bees near a hive to just see if they would react. which at first they didn't... then I heard the buzzing and RAN my arse to the class areas, started walking thinking they were away and then got stung on my back and finally John noticed one in my 'Fro and I began to freak out and run some more like mad-crazy.

A story to remember and a lesson learned; what can I say "curiosity killed the cat"

or atleast stung it :)

The one thing I can speak about the class was that it was very intense; Very intense and between my mind going to mush and hearing Harald speak. I could only focus and get what he was saying on the last 20 minutes of a two hour class; though what I learned was extremely interesting. The way Steiner speaks on minerals and elements then connecting them with spirits was intense. I always say minerals as entities and this just puts this even more together.

Afterwards I went out with Aaron to gather some comfrey (And unsuccessfully tried to take a root), some stinging nettle which weren't that bad when I got stung and again unsuccessfully tried to get some roots, then went to the amazing pond and grabbed some Azolla.

Right now I am making a prep for my Bananas and growing Azolla as my N-fixer mulch

All-in-All a amazing day so close to my little Cow Village :D !

Update on the Garden Blitz!!!

2009-08-27T23:06:00.001-07:00

So Edwin is totally in love with gardening now! My plan has come complete circle; slowly but surely he has gotten the bug and simply watching things growing with little maintenance has gotten him to branch out to growing lettuce and other greens.

It is amazing what a few squash can do to a person.

John and my attempt to do three sisters failed when all the squash on one side germinated, the beans on the other patch and a wide gap on the down facing L branch wouldn't fill.

This would probably piss me off but its a first and it didn't completely fail. Edwin seems happy so everyone wins :D

Permaculture Blitz!!!!! >8D

2009-08-12T23:11:00.000-07:00

So about 3 months ago I fixed a friends backyard with the help of another friend John. It was a total dump alot of good land just wasting away, ready for some food to grow on it.

The owner wanted a lazy garden something he can just watch grow since he wasn't really into gardening (or so he thought).

All we did was put in some topsoil about 2 inches thick with about 6 inches of alfalfa, bury in some 200 seeds of various desert plants and water with a hose once a week. It allowed the plants to germinate and after about a month we needed to improve so I installed some soakerhose and drips and it thrived for abit but again after some time it went into a pout and we had to increase water from 10mins twice a weak to 2hours once a week. Abit to much for me but its not that bad compared to others.

But here is a before

and a after

Its the widely used four sisters; corn, beans, squash, and sunflower I wanted to leave a barrier of dry earth because I know how it is in the winter when the rains come with few frosts a manifestation of pure evil arrives, SLUGS!!! (dun-dun-duuuunnnn) Its easier to find them if there is no organic mater on the floor plus we needed a path for future renovations.

My backyard other than it know being the states is also very crappy in terms of soil content; full of minerals and good drainage but abosolutely no organic matter it is so devestating to see me try and grow a non-tree here, poor excuses.

But enough soil talk; I'll fix it up this winter; even if I have to break in >:]

The Art of Gleaning: When the words of El Sheddai go against Privatization & False Senses in a Modern World

2009-08-03T19:17:00.000-07:00

ט וּבְקֻצְרְכֶם אֶת-קְצִיר אַרְצְכֶם, לֹא תְכַלֶּה פְּאַת שָׂדְךָ לִקְצֹר; וְלֶקֶט קְצִירְךָ, לֹא תְלַקֵּט.
9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corner of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest.
י וְכַרְמְךָ לֹא תְעוֹלֵל, וּפֶרֶט כַּרְמְךָ לֹא תְלַקֵּט: לֶעָנִי וְלַגֵּר תַּעֲזֹב אֹתָם, אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather the fallen fruit of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and for the stranger:

I am the LORD your G-d.

When I see a person pick "their" peach trees and dump the fruit in the trash or when I see reports of people being forced to eat highly processed, canned, and frozen foods;

I feel that the words of The All Knowing aren't being heard.

I am no holy person but neithier do I not try and heed the words of the All-knowing; may that entity's manifestation be Jesus, Yahweh, Mohammed, Haile Selassie, or Bondyè. They teach us not to be greedy, to spread the fruits of our labour (literally and figuritively) and land fairly; without profit. Its a RIGHT for those without land suitible to sustain themselves and their dependants to even a minimal degree and without the money to afford the foods we take for granted; those people have to be able to get the food they need from those with such priviledges.
But day after day eitheir through ignorance or not, people seem unwilling to share. I feel the verses from the Torah mean that we truly do not own any plant (A living entity) and therefore we have no authority to lay claim on 100% of it. We share with man and animal and plant and fungi alike; for we all need eachother to some degree in this world today.

I feel also the act of taking the products of abandoned, feral, wild, and even "owned" trees as a way to undermine a system brought forth from a diverging path from the ways of our ancestors and the light from The All Powerful. I take pride in gathering from a tree that otherwise would bare their fruit for no-one and I hope my little act will get others to do the same around here.

On a less serious note: I am drying the almonds I picked going to the community gardening I'm starting yesterday while walking past my school; the peaches I picked on the same day are ripening and will probably be ready by tommorow which is also being dryed and maybe turned into a fermented chutney & an hour ago I came back from the front of my neighborhood community wall (Which stretches around a quarter of my neighborhood for about a half mile or more) to pick what seemed like only an eighth of these little sweet and crisp apples (Which typically I'm not a fan of). I'll probably core, cut into rings and dry or I might make some soda out of it.

Which is going to be awesome fersure :D

A Splash off in the Deep End

2009-07-25T00:16:00.000-07:00

This is moreso a Journal than anything else albeit alittle bit more open than most folks. I'm generally just looking for other folks blogs on growing food, politics, and sustainabilty but I am interested in way more, which if anyone bothers to read will soon find out.

Anyway hope someone enjoys this :D