Portland has a community garden program I can't wait to visit!

Each year Growing Gardens recruits experienced and giving volunteers from Portland's home gardening and sustainable agriculture communities to teach a series of workshops for our Garden Recipients as well as the general public. Topics range from Garden Planning & Design to Food Preservation to Urban Chicken Keeping. The emphasis is on sustainable, healthy, and affordable approaches to gardening.

In addition to these workshops we also hold Work-Learn Parties in our backyard garden in NE Portland for the public. Those who come get to help with projects in our demonstration plot and learn helpful tips and techniques to take home.

We also offer a series of Parent-Child Workshops designed to spark creativity and learning in young and old alike.

I should be there for these!

Food Preservation

Pickling: Thursday, August 13th, 6:00-8:00pm (N/NE)

Tomato Canning: Tuesday, September 15th, 6:00-8:00pm (N/NE)

Learn about the many ways that you can preserve your summer vegetables and fruits for winter eating.

Seed Saving

September, Date TBA. 6:00-8:00pm (SE)

Learn to save seeds from the garden during this hands-on workshop. Collect & swap seeds to take home with you!

:)

http://www.growing-gardens.org/portland-gardening-resources/workshops.php

A talk with the Dalai Lama - The Boston Globe

A talk with the Dalai Lama - The Boston Globe

The Dalai Lama meets with scholars from China breaking up the false propaganda that he receives in the Chinese media.

Free Tibet!

East or West?

After some exploring of eastern OR and a bit of ID, Chrissy and I have talked about possibly perferring the western side of the cascades. There are several reasons why. First of all is the trees. There are not a lot of trees on the eastern side. Second is the weather, year round. This also plays into the elevations. Western is much lower and more mild then the east. Also there is more water on the western side as well, a longer growing season and milder winters and so on. Another reason is to be closer to Portland or Seattle. Either one is cool, but it would be nice to be within an hour or two of either city. Eastern OR is beatiful but seems like it is going to create more difficulties for us. As far as the reason we were going over there is because the western side is possibly going to dissapear. Seems like we might be running from a ghost or a theory. This may happen but It might be worth the chance. The Exploration of the East has been enjoyable but not as fruitful as we hoped. To this point in time, the only place that has met the criteria we have set for the east is Imnaha. That place is a jewel, but it is also 6 hours from portland and 5 from Boise.
Please everyone share your thoughts.

Cohousing

I found this article in my in box today.
:) Amy

http://mothering.com/articles/growing_child/family_society/cohousing.html

To Be Something

We have to be an organization of some sort to be non profit, I vote for a Heritage Biodyversity Farm. We could call it something like Heirloom Farms, Heritage Farms...Sustainable Farm
Plant and animal life is disappearing 2 breeds a day.
Whats the risk? The fewer breeds we have the worse a plant or animal disease would be.

Traditionally, farmers throughout the world have raised thousands of different animal breeds and plant varieties. However, since today's industrial farms rely upon only a few specialized types of livestock and crops, thousands of non-commercial animal breeds and crop varieties have disappeared, along with the valuable genetic diversity they possessed. Fortunately, a growing number of sustainable farmers are preserving agricultural variety and protecting biodiversity by raising “heritage” or “heirloom” animal breeds and crops.

Anyway I found a good sheep for OR it's in the Sheep! post.

We'll need to talk about farm equipment, can we get one machine that does it all?
Amber whats used on the farm your living on? And what plant & animal live do they have?
:) A

Biodynamic Farming & Compost

I think I've stumbled into something. I've heard the phrase before Biodynamic Gardening, but didn't need it at that time in my life. But my friend Pam has invited me to a Biodynamic Gardening class :) I think it's time to go. And then I found this, and it looks like you make a tea of a few special herbs and add them in verious ways to the compost to make it such great stuff.....

"A basic ecological principle of biodynamics is to conceive of the farm as an organism, a self-contained entity. A farm is said to have its own individuality. Emphasis is placed on the integration of crops and livestock, recycling of nutrients, maintenance of soil, and the health and well being of crops and animals; the farmer too is part of the whole. Thinking about the interactions within the farm ecosystem naturally leads to a series of holistic management practices that address the environmental, social, and financial aspects of the farm. A comparison of objectives between biodynamic and conventional agriculture systems in Appendix I summarizes these ideas in table format.
In a nutshell, biodynamics can be understood as a combination of "biological dynamic" agriculture practices. "Biological" practices include a series of well-known organic farming techniques that improve soil health. "Dynamic" practices are intended to influence biological as well as metaphysical aspects of the farm (such as increasing vital life force), or to adapt the farm to natural rhythms (such as planting seeds during certain lunar phases)."

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/biodynamic.html

Hey Everyone! I found a website to look at that gives basic facts about non-profit organizations - http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/npofaq. I know that is something that has been considered, and I am unsure of how much info we have about it. I also found a website about a non- profit farm in Pennsylvania that allows children to visit to learn about farming - http://www.quietvalley.org/. They have members and people who contribute. This type of organization and participation from the public would be ideal because then the non-profit regulations are less restrictive. However, I don't know what the liabilities involved would entail...
I definitely like the land that you found Amy. It sounds wonderful. Imnaha is a cool place, and it would be nice to live by there. Hope this message finds you all well!

Here's a House

Check out this cool house.

http://www.supernaturale.com/articles.html?id=156

Sheep!

I've been thinking about sheep. I'm really enjoying wool working, and wondered if it's sustainable to have some sheep of our own. What do you think Amber? I contemplated a small fiber family on the farm. A few angora bunnies, a few sheep, a few goats one for milk. I read lamas are good heard protectors. Do you think it pans out or is to much work in the end?

http://www.greenerpasturesfarm.com/SheepManagement.html

19+ acre Peach-Rd-Ontario-OR

HI All
I wanted to post this one again, it looks like a good area; schools, enough people, a hospital for jobs, and close to nowhere & Imnaha.

Maybe something like this one
http://www.trulia.com/property/1067836490-441-W-Peach-Rd-Ontario-OR-97914

89000.00
Enjoy the privacy of this 19+ acre parcel. Turn it into a nice horse facility with enough room for pasture, outbuildings and an arena or enjoy it for the wildlife habitat it currently supports. The irrigation ditch and natural spring entice numerous waterfowl and upland game birds as well as deer. The possibilities are limitless. The trailer currently on the property has been left to maintain the building right.
Ontario Or 9000 - 10000 people

Oregon County Selection Map

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/maps/oregon_map.html

Here's a city pop map/list for OR
http://www.citypopulation.de/php/usa-census-oregon.php

Elevation map, river maps, county maps, and high way maps all in this one!
http://geology.com/state-map/oregon.shtml

I sounds like visiting a lot of these properties has to wait until spring because of weather. That make me think I'm looking at the wrong stuff, if it's snowed in part of the year. If anyone finds property we should go look at we're in. Road trips, property searching, sounds great. What is the best property we have found thus far? Is there a propert that can be checked out right now? -C

Aerated autoclaved concrete

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerated_Autoclaved_Concrete

I've been researching this stuff on the internet, you can build a structure with it and slash heating and cooling costs. The air bubbles in the material and how they're spaced cause it to withstand earthquakes (such as AAC structures which survived from an earthquake in Kobe Japan). It withstands enourmous temperatures of about 3000 degrees, and can insulate extremely well. The material can soundproof a building, and is extremely lightweight (for concrete). Using materials which form silica similar to how the Romans constructed the Pantheon, AAC is durable and strong. It's extremely light-weight and can be cut with a hacksaw. It survives fires with ease and emits no toxic fumes either in a fire, or by itself. With solid wall construction and finishes, the chance for pest infestation drops dramaticly, and thus any need for indoor pesticides. Unlike concrete, AAC is cheap and very affordable. AAC doesn't require as much additional materials which tend to become air pollutants, environmental waste and unnecessary labor. It takes less energy to produce than other materials. It's made from raw and recycled materials readily available which produce no waste products or pollution. The Swedish invented it as a means to build without continual deforestation. Most of the material consists of air, which is what gives it the lightweight feature in part, and it's resource efficiency. It doesn't rot, and doesn't degrade over time in any way, is virtually immune to damage, and a stucco finish will mean it never needs repainted. It's a very versatile material, which can be made to look just about however one would want. It can be used for countertops, fireplaces, etc. as well. It's been around since the 1920's, but hasn't been available in America until about a decade ago.

Criteria for Land

OK so I was thinking we could all list our own criteria for a piece of land.
Like elevation, distance from nearest town with a population of over 10,000 people, location, average rainfall, soil composition, winter low temps and summer high temps, cost, minimum size, i know this used to be about 10 acres, lately I have been hearing it's more like 50. Are Oregon and Washington the only two states that we want to be in? And still only on the eastern side of the cascades? It will also be necessary to find a piece of land that we can legally build several structures on. what slope the ground can be and still be usable for us, maybe 30 degrees.
If we can amass everyone's ideas, then this will help narrow the search down.. ..

Ranger Station in central WA

I found a ranger station in central WA, I think to far north for oranges. But how cool would a ranger station be? All those buildings to tune into work shops and class rooms. Maybe a wilderness inn, conferences and wellness retreats would be cool to cater to as well. Convert others into living space... so many possibilities...
https://rc.gsa.gov/ResourceCenter/PRHomePage/loadProperty.do?propId=13266

Book list

Is this the best way to do a book list? Or is there a way to have a book list folder?

I'm reading the Basics of permaculture design By Ross Mars

Location for Land?

So where do we want to be..... I was thinking east of the cascades, not to far south because it gets arid. Close to highways & a city, or a few larger towns so we can sell stuff we make, or have jobs, and Zoe has access to school & kid stuff. I'd like something bellow the Columbia river gorge (I love it, but it's to close to Hanford WA and the largest nuclear dump in the northern hemisphere- so a different water system would feel safer)
I keep looking at hy 84, 26, maybe 395 - thats union, baker,grant, malheur county's but thats higher elevation...... Zoe pointed at malheur county, the lowest point of this county is the funny bumping out point at the top of it. And thats where most of the highways are in malheur county, other than that there are a lot of rivers.

Maybe something like this one
http://www.trulia.com/property/1067836490-441-W-Peach-Rd-Ontario-OR-97914

89000.00
Enjoy the privacy of this 19+ acre parcel. Turn it into a nice horse facility with enough room for pasture, outbuildings and an arena or enjoy it for the wildlife habitat it currently supports. The irrigation ditch and natural spring entice numerous waterfowl and upland game birds as well as deer. The possibilities are limitless. The trailer currently on the property has been left to maintain the building right.
Ontario Or 9000 - 10000 people

I'm open to different areas as well.

Oregon County Selection Map

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/maps/oregon_map.html

Here's a city pop map/list for OR
http://www.citypopulation.de/php/usa-census-oregon.php

Elevation map, river maps, county maps, and high way maps all in this one!
http://geology.com/state-map/oregon.shtml

What is family friendly?

I've been mulling this one over. What do you think family friendly life style is? Havening a child of my own really changed how I view things in life.
Amber you work with kids every day, yes? Have you found it changed your views too?
What do the rest of us think about it?
My current angle of thinking is what I want my soon to be 6yo to see. What behaviors do I hope are modeled (respect, kindness, responsibility...), and how active she is in our community. But also what I'd like to shelter her from as well. Like she's not often around drinking, and hasn't seen anyone get drunk. Almost all smoking is done after she goes to bed.
I'm still working on this, but it's a big one and thought you'd all like to chew the cud on it too.
Amy