Edible Forests....why not follow the earth's model of gardening?

I am in love.

In love with the idea of perennial, edible, forest gardens.

So in love, in fact, that I tore out half of our front yard to install one.

The front yard-conversion project has been coming along very nicely, my dad drove all the way from Marysvale, Utah to help me install the checkerboard patio for bike parking in the front.  He's going on the "Elm Tree Heroes" list.  

We hauled in approximately 2 1/2 tons of garden soil and as we spread the soil around I said "I would sure love to get some stepping stones....."  Minutes later, I found a whole stack of them in the craigslist free section!   And soon after sending an email expressing interest in the stepping stones, a woman named Leslie called me back and asked "Is this Elm Tree?  My kids went to Elm Tree 12 years ago!"  She was so happy to give us the stepping stones and now the patch of land is actually starting to look like a garden!

The plan for this spring is to plant our greenhouse overflow veggies, mainly squashes and tomatoes, as well as a cover crop for erosion control, nutrient enrichment and more!  In the fall we will plant bushes, trees and in the spring of 2013 we'll do the final installation of perennial fruits and vegetables, and the garden will literally tend itself (with some help), and come back every year.  

We hope to finish the fence, gates and planting in the next few weeks, shoot us an email if you want to help out, we ALWAYS accept volunteer labor. (:

Here is a quote that I just love about edible forest gardening from Edible Forest Gardens' website, a cool place to learn more about this idea:

"Forest gardening is an idea whose time has come. We can consciously apply the principles of ecology to the design of home scale gardens that mimic forest ecosystem structure and function, but grow food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizer, "farmaceuticals," and fun. Indeed, we must begin learning to apply ecological principles to the design of our food production systems now—we are rapidly approaching or are already at the peak of planetary oil production, and the world of energy descent is upon us. This sea change in our culture will require that we learn to live within our energetic means and begin to rebuild ecosystems that support human and humane lives without diminishing the ability of the ecosystem to support our children and grandchildren."

Chickens....oh yes!

A new journey has begun at Elm Tree, that of chicken farming.  Our first step in the chicken direction was purchasing this adorable little chicken coop!

Here is the empty spot in the backyard where we have determined chickens might be able to make their home:

It will involve giving them some of our backyard playground space and a little corner of our herb bed as well, but then we think of the eggs and the entertainment and the education about where our food comes from and about caring for animals and we think it's a small price to pay!

Here are some supplies we need to finish the project:

1. Chicken wire (have some, but need more!)
2. Chain link fencing
3. 2x4 boards
4. 4x4 posts
5. Straw
6. Organic Chicken Food
7. Something to store the chicken food in (rodent/moisture proof barrel?)
8. Chickens!  This one seems obvious, but we will need to obtain some friendly, mellow, high egg-producing hens, hardy and long-living would be great too!

Also we would love input from anyone with know-how about the kind of chickens to get, the kind of food to feed them, other care tips like what to watch out for in the local area and how to keep predators from getting in, what tricks work best?

We'll keep this post updated as we complete the project!

Update:  For our family work day, we got the coop brought into place in the backyard!  Go parents go!

Center of Mixology

Ok, as nerdy as that sounds, this is going to be a really cool feature in our playscape!  And best of all, so far all the pieces have been free!  So I first thought of this over spring break, here is the space I hope to turn into the feature:

Then this nice man gave me an old bottom part of a fire pit.
At first, I wasn't sure what to do with it, then I thought, Aha!
center of mixology!!!

So now I had this cool dish for mixing in, but I really wanted a stand to set it up on and make it about kid-table height.  

I even imagined, and drew pictures of the exact item I would need, a table, preferably metal, and it needed to have a circle inset in the middle to allow the fire pit piece to fit snugly in.

One day I was walking from Elm Tree towards the market area and saw someone leaving furniture by the curb directly across the street from Elm Tree, and I was sure amazed to see the fellow carry this item out from his apartment: 

The very thing I wanted, free, and sitting across the street!

Sometimes the universe says "yes, that is a great idea and here, I'll even help you out with that..."

Now I think if we could get our hands on about 100 sq ft of pavers or bricks we can put this in!

Cool!  Can't wait to install!

Permaculture in the front yard!

Wow!  What a change!

The lone sidewalk

Fence nearly completed!

Our front yard looks quite different now, as anyone who drives or walks by can see.  And in the process I've learned that working on your front yard is a great way to get to know the neighbors all up and down the block!

Before any work, with old sign and old bushes!

New bushes and new sign, Spring of 2011

This idea of having a yard filled with sod, and one lone sidewalk to allow people to traipse through the lawn without ever even touching it, has always confused me a bit.  Especially as I've thrown myself into caring for the lawn for the past 3 years and see how much work, how much water and money have to go into it to make it look attractive and nice.  As this season of lawn care began I began to think about all the hours and work it was going to take, and I contemplated the final bill for maintaining it over the next several years, it seemed there was a better way to go about this.  All this open, sunny space with great soil and we are growing and mowing a fairly "useless" product, we aren't even enjoying it by running through it or rolling about in it, as the children do in the back yard.

Another thing that has always been a little stressful is that the front yard was not fully enclosed, it was easy for children to run ahead so teachers and parents were always running after their children to make sure they didn't get to the busy street first.

Taking out the tree

The solution seemed to be to change the position of the fence so that at least one portion of it could be escape-proof and stress-free, and simultaneously we were thrilled at the idea of replacing a large portion of our lawn with a permaculture garden forest full of low-water needs and  edible plants.
We are so excited to plot and plan the design for this fun project!  Anyone with skills in or an interest in permaculture please give us your ideas!

Toddler Logs

We took out the Catalpa tree in the front and have found lots of ways to incorporate the tree itself into our playscape!  The main part of the trunk was saved as a log so we can use it in the new front bed that moving the fence is giving us.  The limbs were cut into child-sized logs and stacked in a "wood pile" near the dirt digging area.  I am curious to see the many ways the children will find to put the logs to use!  Another portion of the trunk was planted in the front as a stump, just a good sittin' spot for viewing our lovely flowers.  

Moving the fence line created a lovely new perennial bed in the front!

Front porch - not fully enclosed yet

The final pieces will be adding bike parking (patio will need to be installed and bike rack assembled) and fully enclosing the front porch so we can "hang-out" more out there with the children, especially during the mornings when it would be so nice to be out splashing in the water table or tending to the gardens.

Fortunately I have an acquaintance who is not only a metalsmith with his own custom fabrication business but an artist as well, I'm excited to hear his ideas on securing the porch and bringing beauty and art into its design too.

Oh What Fun it is to....

Get a ride from a friend

Smell lilacs

Pick lilacs

Enjoy a bright red tulip

Sit on a tree stump

Carry large sticks around the yard

Pull a wagon

Put chalk on a rock

Race downhill

Rest awhile

Spring Break and new inspiration!

Well, I've had several "aha" moments while working on the playscape over the break.  Sometimes I need a change in pace, a release from the ordinary tasks to dream up the really big stuff.

Future "Elm Tree-House Stage"

The first inspiration came when I was trying to come up with a design for the Treehouse, and suddenly thought how cool it would be to make it so it was "convertible", and able to transform into a stage for occasions when having a live, kid-friendly venue is beneficial.  Fundraisers, community meetings, parent meetings, family events, workshops, classes, community theater, open mics, the list is endless!

Stay tuned for sketches and a master supply list 

and please keep your ear to the ground for a good source of LOGS! We'll need a few. 

The second idea has do with the open grassy area just north of the sandbox.  It sits between two sidewalks and as of now, has no function, but I've carried around this idea that "something" wants to be there.  So I sat looking at it yesterday and it came to me!   I've decided to call the feature the center for "Mixology Studies" and create a permanent, circular area for water, sand, rocks, etc to be mixed in various combinations and cleaned up easily.  Kind of like a sensory table meets nature/science discovery table.  I will also work on preliminary sketches to post later.










Meanwhile, I have my work cut out for me finishing the dirt digging area storage, the greenhouse interior, decking out the art area and completing a mural for the "parking garage"!

Storage for Dirt Digging Feature

I'll be painting the chalkboard with purple chalkboard paint and hopefully acquiring some strong plexiglass to put up along the right side for painting on (easy clean-up) and a shelf for drying artwork above the chalkboard.  

And hopefully, keep your fingers crossed for me, I like to finish planting the slide in the big hill and building the platform for the top.

Work in progress

We are in need of ornamental grass donations to complete the slide hill/river bed feature, as soon as the last frost is passed, we will need to plant 10 ornamental grasses total of various sizes so if you are interested in purchasing them for the center as a donation or requesting donations of the plants from local growers please send us an email and we'll get you all the info for specific plant needs!

Happy gardening!

A Playscape for All Seasons

Otherwise titled, "Why We LOVE our Playscape so much"!!

In the SPRING of last year we got to reap the benefit of our hard work the previous nine months and frolic on grass so green under lilacs so purple.  The kids found so many interesting and unexpected ways to use the willows and the gardens.  Flower hunts were a daily activity, to see what was growing and which ones smelled the best.  Mint from the herb garden was gathered along with lemon balm and lavendar for sun tea or just for smelling.

We successfully disturbed the rest of many a bug under many a rock.

The garden roared full tilt into production, and kids took an immediate liking to strawberry hill.















SUMMERTIME had us all trying to keep cool with lots of water play and shady spots.  Lucky for us, our backyard is shaded a lot of the time during the summer months!

When fall came, the newest addition to the playground was finally complete and ready to be explored.    

The boulders and logs have by far been one of the kids favorite additions.......they make great climbing objects!!

They are also used for contemplation,

Gaining a new perspective,

General gathering and conspiring, 

Obstacle courses, 

Taking turns getting off your stump and letting someone else have a turn, 

Sharing a favorite spot with a friend, 

Or just a comfy place to sit.

Yes, fall was good to us.  WINTER on the other hand was at times challenging given our unusual and sometimes crazy weather.  But we found lots of fun still to be had out in the playscape.  

The willow hut, it turns out, makes an excellent place to run through and through in an endless game of chase.  All you need is a buddy!

The art area is fully operational, no matter the weather!  

We kept the sensory tables up and running all winter with leaves, sticks, rocks and various stirring/measuring devices.  Elm Tree kids enjoyed carrying materials back and forth from sandbox, pea gravel and sensory tables (or wherever they got tired of carrying it).

 It never fails to impress me how quickly and dramatically I have seen the playscape affect the WAY the children play.  

There is more social and interactive play, the children seem more interested in being outside than anywhere else and engage in play and discovery the whole time.  

The direct interaction with natural materials, usually in a meaningful and joyful manner, has literally skyrocketed.  

Children seem to not only be connecting with nature more as a result of playing in a natural environment, they seem happier and better overall for it.  

Now if that doesn't sell you on the idea, I don't know what will!