Staking Out Over Spring Break

"One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides."~W.E. Johns, The Passing Show.

After briefly looking back at gardens past last week, this week's Spring Break served as an excellent time (with unusually cooperative weather!) to begin staking a claim on some turf for this year's edition of our family vegetable (and fruit) garden. As previously mentioned, the big change this year is that we will further be turning over what passes as our lawn to garden space. The hope, of course, is that more spec will equate to a higher yield from our garden.

The small area of our backyard (note: both pictures were taken this past Monday with an inexpensive Kodak disposable camera) as currently configured for growing a variety of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and squash:


The same are, but now staked out to add an adidtional 2' x 5' area to eb used for the inclusion of more vegetables and to allow for more growing space in bewteen rows of plants:


Next up: hopefully this coming weekend we can begin turning over the soil and mixing in some of the compost from our pit with the hopes of planting in mid-May. Stay "tuned" for updates!

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Check It Out: The Garden (2008)

In a film season of remakes, reboots, prequels and sequels, who says that there are not compelling stories waiting to be told? Given both the previously posted about Dhamma Brothers and now this film gem, Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary Feature The Garden, it looks like another strong season of compelling films... of course, if not in theaters, at least on DVD.

In the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, hundreds of mostly Mexican-American families came together and turned a blighted corner of South Central Los Angeles into a 14 acre urban oasis—complete with guavas, papayas and enough fruit and vegetables to feed hundreds of families.

The Garden, a film by Scott Hamilton Kennedy, is the unflinching look at the struggle between urban farmers and the City of Los Angeles and a powerful developer who wants to evict them and build warehouses. The urban farmers consist primarily of immigrants from Latin American countries where they feared for their lives if they were to speak out. The film follows them as they organize, fight back, and demand a response to the question of, "Where is our 'Justice for all'?"

According to the film's Facebook page, "The Garden explores the fault lines in American Society. It is the story of the country’s largest urban farm, backroom politics, land developers, money, poverty and power. If everyone told you nothing more could be done, would you give up?"

I'm looking very forward to watching this film (likely on DVD--though our local arthouse theater is very good about showing a diverse collection of films) and possibly sharing it at school.

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!