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The Man Who Can Destroy Monsanto

If you see this man on the streets, give him a big hug! I imagine a giant statue of him at some point in the future. The plaque will read, “Paul Stamets, the man who single-handedly saved the planet from a poisonous chemical death.” This is a perfect representation of the emerging of a new way of thinking. People like you and I are finally beginning to see a new way to live in harmony with our environment. The dreamers are awakening and its spreading like wildfire! Can it be possible that we can solve the worlds hunger problems by not destroying the world in the process?

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The Winter Cover Crop Part II: Green Manure

Day I: In which noodle was scratched and there were many distractions.

Well campers, it looks as though my little experiment in the veggie garden has moved on to phase two. My hope is that the soil has been rejuvenated by my planting back in November of buckwheat, ryegrass, clover, oats, rye grain and valley peas. Deep root plants as well as nitrogen fixers have been working hard over the past few months replenishing lost nutrients from the previous year as well as aerating the soil to make room for new roots. You can learn about how I began this process, as well as some more info on green manure, in the first part of this project found here.


 

Using green manure is a new practice for me. The San Diego summers get awfully hot in my neck of the woods. I’ve been trying to combat this hot dry weather with some grey water reclamation and micro irrigation systems. Now that the soil below the surface has been treated, it’s time to move on to above ground. The plan was to chop up everything and use it as a mulch to help lock in the moisture and eventually break down into a nutrient rich compost.

I’ve basically just let it grow over the last few months. And it definitely did just that. Check out this vigorous growth!

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The Ocean View Growing Grounds Made the Paper!!

I’ve been a bit busy lately. Not only in the yard fighting the dreaded influx of weeds that had taken over almost every square inch, but also at the community garden up the street. We’ve been tidying up the space and surveying the area to layout the locations of the future greenhouse and the many beds so that my neighbors can finally begin sowing the seeds of change in our food desert.

The Saturday before last, I led the charge to have 12, 12 foot by 4 foot raised beds constructed on the lot. No small feat in the blazing sun and Santa Anna dry hot winds. It just so happened that we had a San Diego Union Tribune reporter and photographer on site that day as well.

Well, today they printed the article! And there’s even a quote from the babbling baboon that is yours truly! So, in lieu of all this hard work, it is my hope that you will find the means to forgive my lack of blog post writing as of late. It seems that the very moment I become sedentary, I immediately pass out. Sometimes before I can jump in the shower and sometimes with a full beer in my hand growing warm as I snore and bore my girlfriend and my dog. Apologies all around!

That said, check out the article! I hope I don’t get sued for posting an article from the Union Tribune?! Do they still have William Randolf Hearst like lawyers? Gulp! Rosebud… Continue reading “The Ocean View Growing Grounds Made the Paper!!”