In my experience, gardening is a motivating and compelling force to bring people together. Even with our time and attention constantly split and fractured, we still find ways to come together over gardening - perhaps particularly so over food gardening. While there are pros and cons to the ever increasing presence of technology in our lives, many gardeners have found that technology can be an incredible boon to our gardening knowledge and resources and connections. Photo: Members of Chico Garden Share Project at a project-hosted permaculture workshop “Making Bokashi and Creating a Winter Garden with Sheet Mulch”. Members shown include Agb biotics, Rosie, Wendy and Joseph Wiklund, Leslie Wilson Corsbie, Laurie Niles and Monica Bell. (more…)

With the rain and snow having returned to our region for their turn in the cycle of our seasons, I thought I would re-run this interview with Phyllis Clark-Kirkman of Gringo Dave’s in Redding on rainwater harvesting and storm water management, from December of 2009.

On December 13th of 2010, from 8 - 9pm I will be hosting a special one-hour call-in I 5-LIVE! on Northstate Public Radio (91.7 KCHO in Chico, 88.9 KFPR in Redding) discussing creative and effective designs for using/re-using and managing water (a lot of it, or not enough of it) in the garden through rainwater harvesting and storage, rain gardens and greywater systems. My guests will include Bernadette Balics of Ecological Landscape Design out of Davis, and Jim Collins, Garden Manager of the Community Teaching Garden on the campus of Shasta College in Redding. Send questions or thoughts in advance to me by email: jennifer@jewellgarden.com, or call in during the program: 1-800-234-5246. (more…)

It is now officially Autumn and the length of our days diminishes a little with each circle of the planet. In the edible garden, harvesting has gone on for some time as spring crops moved over for summer crops and - lucky for us here in northern California - in many cases they have been replaced with fall crops, some of which are up and going strong, and our winter crops have gone in or are going in. Even if by “crop” I just mean a few rows of beets or carrots in the raised beds out back. Just as for the squirrels and the acorn woodpeckers, perhaps more than any other time of year, Autumn compels us to store up against the cold and the dark. It brings out our instinctive desire for some level of self-sufficiency. Photo: Cattle grazing, and honeybees working on the drive into Chaffin Family Farm - a model for the integrated family farm ideal - below Table Mountain in Oroville. (more…)

The (blessed) rains (and snows) have come again to the North State and my garden rain gauge has measured 4.2 inches of rain this month. My rain barrels are full to overflowing, and this harvest gives me a small but happy sense of self-sufficiency. We’re only talking three barrels at this point, but still, their harvest provides me with a happiness along the lines of being able to build a campfire, make my own preserves or knit a sweater. (more…)