Red Raspberries and...

The farm is alive and well!  We have been enjoying red raspberries lately not a bumper crop yet, but any amount is very unexpected this early!

  

As you can see, the rhubarb is doing great!  Also, you can see in the background that the Orange Tree is yellowing.  I talked to Gary from Armstrongs and said that the rain must have depleted the iron, which causes yellowing.  I bought a bag of natural iron supplement for trees and plants and fed it to the tree today.

The wild flowers are popping up too.

Trouble in Paradise.

As you could more than likely tell from the comments people have left, there's been trouble in paradise. In fact, that is the reason why I haven't blogged in awhile.

Have you ever had one of those days where you are just a little down?  Well, I was having one of those days when I decided to raise my spirits by doing a little farming.  I walk over to my Sidewalk Farm and things seemed out of sorts.  There were a couple of the baby apples rolling around and the leaves to the apple tree looked parched.  At first, all I thought had happened was the tree had become a little too dry and lost it's apples.  Then I noticed foot prints all around the base of the tree and they didn't seem friendly.  I barely touched the trunk and the whole tree fell over.


I was sad to hear that Humanity had stooped so low that someone felt the need to break a baby apple tree for fun.  As I looked around the "Farm", I notice the peach tree had been messed with as well.  Luckily, it had a thicker trunk and the roots seemed to have taken hold much more heartily.  My rhubarb had also taken a good stomping.  It was apparent that there were deliberate actions taken to harm the farm.


There was nothing else to do, but go talk to my good buddies at the Auto Body Shop.  I walked in with the broken tree to show them what had happened.  William, my friend who had saved the lemon tree months ago, saw what I was holding and said he was sorry for not being there when it happened.  I laughed and smiled at him and told him that he just made me believe in Humanity again.  I also told him not to worry about it, it's not his responsibility.  Right then, Lionel (the man who helped me plant the orange tree) came over and said he was the one who picked up the tree and replanted it.  He said that if it get's enough water and is in the soil, there is a slim chance roots may return, but not likely.


Humanity is good.  Well, 99% of Humanity is good.  Isn't it so true that when something negative comes our way, we blame everyone/Humanity?  On the other hand, if something positive comes our way, we thank the one person that was kind.  I am going to do my best to switch that in my thought life.  The next time something bad happens, I am going to think about the one, hurting and broken person, and not blame Humanity.  Then, when something good happens I will think of everyone on God's good earth.


To whomever tried to destroy the Sidewalk Farm, thank you.  I hope you will someday have wholeness.

S.U.F.P.S.R.B.'s Find a New Home

We had a momentous occasion with the arrival of our first orange blossom!  It is very exciting to think that there is a good chance that we will have lots of oranges!  Just wait to see how happy I get when we pick the first fruits.  It is almost impossible to count how many blossoms are exploding all over this tree!

The blueberries are also flowering and we have seen the first sign of what looks like a future berry!  Still a little green, but the warm Southern California sun will change that.

The apples are growing too!

Lately, I've noticed a native plant growing around the base of all the tree rings.  Once I pulled the grasses and weeds, this native plant revealed itself even more.  It is a beautiful, creepy crawly, little plant.  For whatever reason, it is most populous around the peach tree.  If anyone happens to know what it is, feel free to post a comment.

  

Do you remember the S.U.F.P.S.R.B.'s?  Well, our son's school was in need of some serious love.  There was a planter box that was 20 years old + and happened to become unsafe.  Nails started to stick out and the sides were falling apart.  The other parents and myself decided to do something about.  Last Saturday, we planned a Parent Beautification day and ripped that nasty ole thing apart.  Granted, planted boxes were needed and I happened to have quite a few still not full of soil, so donations they became.  They look great!

Everything is Growing

This morning, I beat the heat and mowed the farm early.  It truly is amazing how quickly the grass grows when it's rainy and sunny every other week.  I had just mowed on Friday and here it is Monday and it needed it again.  The edging needs to be done as well!


The weather has been amazing with highs around 75F and not a cloud in the sky.  I knew it was going to be a challenging day for the trees/plants so I watered them this morning before the sun got too high.  The amount of life trying to bust out is so exciting.

Flowers by Magnus' Window

Orange

Apple

Lemon

 

Avocado

Blueberry

Raspberry

Seedlings

Waiting...

Not much has been going on at the farm lately.  Just waiting on growth.  We did plant some more seeds the other day, Broccolini, Butter Lettuce, and Cantaloupe.

 

I did find out about a local High School that has a community compost program.  Long story short, they said I can come over with a truck and get as much as I need!!  AWESOME!  Now, I just have to get a truck for a day.

Rhubarb, Blueberries, & Artichokes

Fridays are AWESOME.  Street cleaning opens up the whole block.  I can't help but think about how different this block will look after a year or two.  Heck, I planted full size trees for the most part.  So, in fifteen years this little sidewalk farm will look like a sidewalk forest.

It happened again today.  I know, I have never mentioned this before, but it happens all the time.  Perfect strangers stop and ask me about the farm.  Interest is peaked.  Questions are asked.  Dreams are shared, and then it happens.  They ask me how much of the fruit of my labor do I actually expect to harvest.  "You know, everyone is going to pick it over", they say.  It's funny because they just finished encouraging and complementing me on all the great changes I've made.  9 times out of 10 everyone says the same thing.  But, my answer is the same 10 times out of 10.  "I hope they do pick it over.  Americans could stand to add a little 'homegrown' to their diet.  Who knows, maybe my farm will open families up to eating more fresh fruits & vegetables."  They look at me like I'm crazy and then walk away.   

Andrea came home and told me she had a surprise for me.  Her friend had given her a garbage bag full of rhubarb cuttings.  I had known of their plant and had wanted to get a cutting for awhile.  Any Sustainable Urban Farm is not complete without a good healthy crop of rhubarb.  I know, I know... what good is rhubarb for other than pies?  Surprisingly enough, I was wondering the same thing.

I picked our daughter up from school and swung by our favorite little French restaurant, Utopia, to get a treat.  The owner and I are on a first name basis and we chat it up frequently.  When he saw me walk through the door he pushed a hot plate of appetizers in my face and said he wanted me to try a new creation of his.  Not afraid to try new things, I popped one in my mouth and he proceeded to describe his new delectable.  Ironically, it was lobster pate wrapped with thinly sliced rhubarb!  Whoa!  Could the clouds have parted and the glory shone down directly on my tongue?  I think so!  Rhubarb + Lobster + Salt + (a myriad of mind blowing peripherals) = What else have I been eating my whole life?  Just moments before, I was thinking about the limited use of rhubarb and how it is taking up  too much valuable space on the sidewalk farm to just have one purpose.  That's when I asked him what else can rhubarb be used for.  He rattled of a list salty and sweet recipes that take advantage of the unique flavor of the red stalk we call rhubarb.  Score!

OK.  Yes, I planted some rhubarb.  As you can see in the photo, not only did I get a plant out of it, but I got a bucket of compost and a pile of stalks to make a pie!  Oh yeah, that's me in the corner flippin' the peace sign.

I know what you are thinking, just rhubarb?  No, it didn't stop.  There happens to be a new blueberry bush and a couple of artichoke plants too.

 

Remember the wild flowers I planted in the cinder blocks next to Magnus' window?  Well, they are starting to sprout.

And, you may or may not have heard about the Up Challenge, but I/we are in full swing.  I even made a t-shirt.

Aphid Update & S.U.F.P.S.R.B.

I went out to the Sidewalk Farm this morning to check on the lady bugs and their progress.  To my surprise, they totally knocked the aphids out of the park!!!!!  No aphids.  No chemicals.  Just lovely Lady Bugs.

Noe was very excited to see all the lady bugs running all over.  She had one in her hand, but it quickly moved up her arm and to her neck.  She thought it was funny and scary at the same time.

Magnus' daughters were around today and the three girls had a blast looking for lady bugs.

Then a few of my friends swung by to help paint some of the S.U.F.P.S.R.B.'s I've been working on.  It started to look like a factory after awhile.

 

Aphid Infestation!

The other day I noticed some little green bugs on the apple tree.  I hit the web to try and get the skinny on what they might be, and the news is not good.  I'm almost 100% sure that the infestation of green mites are Aphids!  Wikipedia has a ton of info on aphids and the consensus is that they are BAD.  Crops with aphids are unhappy crops.


As I read more about these little pests, I learned that their biggest natural threat comes from lady bugs!  Ha ha.  In this picture there is a lady bug chilling out, waiting for a snack!  Unfortunately, I only saw one lady bug, but there are clusters of aphids under most of the leaves.  My little lady bug helper needed some serious friends to come to the feast.


Andrea and I rode our bikes to lunch and on the way home we sung by Armstrongs.  Right there on the shelf were dozens of containers of lady bugs.  The label said there are 500+ bugs in each.  We headed home and waited for the kids to get back from school.

Once the kids were back and it started to cool off a little, we let them loose!  The lady bugs grabbed onto the leaves and branches and hunkered down for the night.  We even saw a couple aphids meet their demise!

Tomatoes and Wildflowers

So, the tomato seeds we planted are still showing no signs of life.  It's only been three days, I think we need to be a little more patient.  In the foreground there is a yam starting to grow shooters.  It's a weird fluorescent purple color.

Since it is Friday, I decided to mow and do a little farming.  In the process, I noticed someone else doing a little farming of their own.  Stinkin' speed trap!

The cinder block wall that I stacked up to the right of Magnus' window needed a little something more.  I spread them out a bit more and filled them with soil.  Hudson and I found a great wild flower mix called, "REAL SHADY".  It's a mix of wild flowers that do well in low sunlight areas.  I think it will bring a little color and beauty to the Sustainable Urban Farm.

Organic Fertilizer

Everything is exploding!  Here it is a weeks or so after I worked some organic fertilizer into the soil and... wow!  I don't know if it is coincidence or if the stuff really works.


There are new shoots and clusters of buds all over every tree!  Here's a shot of just one of the thousands of new leaves and buds on the orange tree.



The lemon tree is doing the same thing!  Check out the lemon in the foreground with the bud cluster in the rear.

The avocado tree is also showing new growth.  I'm not sure if it is going to flower in the traditional sense, but it looks like something is happening.

Blossoms on the apple tree are taking their course.  The pedals are dying and there is a bit of swelling at the base of the old flower.  Maybe a baby apple?  Also, a bunch of new buds are popping out too!

When I first planted the peach tree, I thought it was dead.  It was a lifeless stick.  Now, it's green and on it's way to a great year!

My raspberries are thriving as well!  Little buds are forming on the tips of each leaf cluster.  I thought that raspberries take a few years to fruit, but when I see flower buds it makes me think it'll happen this year.  We'll see.

The weather in LA has been so amazing this winter!  We have had rain, followed by nice hot sunny days, and then back to rain and sunny days.  So, it might just be the ideal conditions that's making everything bloom.  I mean, the grass (well groomed weeds) is even flowering and I didn't fertilize that!