Plan for 2023

 

During 2023, we intend to slow down on the planting, tend what we have already planted and observe how well they are doing; work on building healthy soil before planting more; improve our watering system; and work on building community and finding educational opportunities that go along with the work we are doing.

 

We are inviting interested community members to join us in this project. If you are interested, please contact Matt Osborn at mosborn@hartford-vt.org

 

Everyone is always welcome at all the work parties, but we would like to spread the creativity, planning, and organizing among more people, so we have decided to form 5 teams that we hope will help this happen.

 

* Water Team: Will carry out the weekly watering needs

* Growing Team: In charge of building soil, planning garden design, planting, calculating the timing of crops, and all-around care of the soil and plants

* Outreach Team: Will find volunteers, plan events and work on educational opportunities

* Infrastructure Team: In charge of fencing, water collection system, signs, storage

* Fundraising Team: Will research and apply for grants, and look into other methods of securing needed funds

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Monday, July 10, 2023 FLOOD

Drone photo taken before waters started to recede

 

By 6am, the water level had receded a lot but there was still standing water in some areas and silt deposits throughout. There was limited erosion of the park. Most plantings survived. Photos below from later that morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Tuesday, July 18, 2023 Work Party (8 days after the park was flooded) Cat's notes

We got 2 hours in before the thunder and rain drove us out. In that time, we:

- talked about the future. There is more to talk about. The plan is to wait for the soil tests and then convene a bunch of food foresters to attend the August Resilient Hartford meeting where we can make decisions in a meeting format.

- collected soil samples. Cat will send them out to the lab and will report back.

- Incorporated the weeds in the new (to be) nursery tree bed and sowed a cover crop there

- clipped a lot of flea bane and other tall weedy plants. Chop and drop.

- noticed a new species at the park!! Blue vervain is popping up all over the field area that is no longer being mowed. Thanks to Matt for flagging the area and arranging the mowing pattern with the Town.

- In our usual experimenting way, we cut down one side of the path of the large island of cover crop around the plums guilds. Chop and drop. We left the other half because there are TONS of insects eating and pooping and pollinating there. 

 

The flood brought a pile of wood chips to the corner of the tennis courts!! Those will work great as a mulch on the new tree nursery bed that we could plant at the next work day on Tuesday, August 15, 4 - 7 (3rd Tuesdays!).

 

Other things to do on that date, or beforehand if anyone is feeling inspired to go solo, or to bring a few friends:

- more cover crop clipping

- more tally weedy clipping (not vervain!)

- weed whack the mulch plot behind the Abenaki Garden. Rake into a pile for composting.

- remove two dead plums, replace with nut trees? (we have chestnut, black walnut, burr oak on-hand)

- more clean (of snakeworm) perennials to plant. Does anyone have comfrey? Let's get a big patch going.

- take elderberry cuttings and root them in a bucket in the barn (for riparian area)

- get willow cutting and root those too (for riparian area)

 

Stay tuned for soil test results, the next Resilient Hartford meeting, a work day event with Dartmouth Sustainability students on Aug 4 at the park (4 - 6), an event with our library friends at the park on Aug 8 (4 - 7), next work date August 15 (4 - 7).

 

Photos from the day are in the shared album.

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Monday, July 10, 2023 FLOOD

 

 

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Sunday, June 25, 2023 Work Party (8 people)

We had a stellar crew accomplish a bunch today including:

- planting potatoes and seeding the rest of the Abenaki garden with a multispecies cover.

- broadforking the to-be tree nursery 

- adding a few perennials to each of the 5 pear tree guilds

- weeding and freeing up healthy baby trees

- fertilizing everyone 

- broadcasting dandelion and mullein seed all around

Here are more photos, added to our shared Google album 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8RV2YU2mVvCx1Eev8

 

Dandelion is the New Guru   

 

I am exhausted by my confusion,
wary of sudden fires,
but dandelions, it seems, have dug in
for the long haul, and to them
I offer 10,000 bows—
I witness the indignities they endure,
the insults (weed, useless stem,
filthy stalk). I admire
their stand against savagery, poisons,
brutal mowing; stalwart
resistance of the taproots.
I lie among them, listen
to their whispers: we will not be moved.

 

    - Lisa Bellamy

 (poem shared by Rachel)   

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Saturday, May 20, 2023 Work Party (7 people)

 

Earl picked up Duncan's tiller which has a handy setting where the tines go backwards for breaking ground or hard soil. That made the tilling go really easily.

We tilled the two plum islands that we had previously outlined. We raked it to smooth the ground out a bit and made furrows for seeding the multi-species cover crops.

We planted the island on the north end with Cool Season Soil Builder, with extra oats added to spread it out a bit.

The more southerly plum island got Warm Season Soil Builder with added oats.

We also did some cleaning up around some of the trees. One plum and most of the hazelnuts are not looking good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, May 21, 2023 Work Party (13 people)

FOOD FOREST

We finished seeding the two plum islands and spread some mulch to help germination. There wasn't enough mulch to cover the whole area.

 

In the adjacent area towards the peach trees (river side) we scarified both sides of the path that goes between the peaches and butternuts and the hazels and seeded with the conservation mix.

 

We tilled the future tree nursery strip along the old fence and the future blueberry row along the tennis court fence. Lots of witch grass in the blueberry row so we took out as many roots as we had time for and covered the area with a piece of black plastic that we'd used before. The piece of plastic was exactly the right size and shape! We'll seed the nursery bed later.

 

 

ABENAKI GARDEN

We tilled the garden plot and started seeding it with a mix measured in yogurt containers:

tillage radish (about 1), oats (about 4), warm season leftovers (about 2), and High-Diversity Mix also from Green Cover Seed (about 1).

 

One large ovate (seed shaped) area got seeded in furrows, and then mulched with the raked-off dry matter.The rest still needs to be seeded.

 

Hugel mound - dug trench 2 feet deep, 2 - 3 feet wide, started laying in brush (green wood from recently fallen tree) and packing in soil. Next to the hugel will be a mound of the soil removed and not all put back in.

We're considering taking away some of this soil as our swap material to bring in compost. Earl would like to use some of the soil in the weedy mounds at the edge of the garden in this hugel as well.

 

More photos added to the ALBUM. (Reload the page if it doesn't load fully the first time.)