It's the middle of summer, and the turf has endured countless footprints already. Some from our neighbours that visit to help dad pick (and eat) the black raspberries!
Dad has been picking black raspberries for 2 hours every night when he gets home. There are usually over 1000 berries every day now from the canes, and we're just past half way through the fruiting season. We're hoping to have more time to film other parts of our garden this weekend!
One of the most exciting and rewarding times of the year for our organic garden is when the black raspberries start to ripen. For our area of southern Ontario, that time is now!
In the above picture, 3 year old Sean planted the bean in a small cup as a preschool project. As you can see, the plant has successfully created a new bean pod! But how long can this success last? It's pretty obvious in this picture, that sustaining a healthy plant in such a small piece of soil will eventually take more than just water. All that plant growth requires nutrients to come from somewhere...and (initially), the plant finds all it needs in that little cupfull of dirt...but as the plant grows, the nutrients are depleted. When the nutrients are gone, the plant will suffer.
Calvin has a cold, and it hurts for him to talk....so dad did most of the work this week (including some first-ever subtitles to help understand what Calvin was saying!).
I'll resort to still photos and text blogging until Calvin's voice is back. Because even though my friend Mike did all the heavy pedalling, it was challenging enough for me to try and keep up with him on my bike with a video camera duct taped to my helmet.
At 5 years old, Calvin is our family's main spokesperson.
After reading a book about the rainforest, which mentioned the current habitat destruction, Calvin asked his parents to verify what he thought "extinction" meant. Bedtime turned into a very profound and emotional discussion for all....and in the end, Calvin asked what he could do to help.
His mom Sunila suggested he could help out locally and still help the world's ecosystem (this strategy has the added benefit of avoiding the long bike ride to the rainforest). Sunila is an environmental engineer, with experience in groundwater/building site testing and remediation. Calvin was told that options are already available to help people reduce their impact on the world...we just need to share these ideas and convince people that trying something new (to them) is acceptable.
Dave Vanessa Maeve & Owain wrote, "Calvin!!! Dude, your lawn rocks!!! We have a gasoline free mower too. Can your Dad come and push it around..." on Emissions Free Turf: Final entry
Melanie wrote, "Your right, top dressing is the thing that must be done to help clover establish. Early this spring, I thought..." on Emissions Free Turf: Final entry
Calvin wrote, "Hi Laura! We have tried three different clover areas so far. The results are as follows (we have clsy subsoil):..." on Emissions Free Turf: Final entry
In the above picture, 3 year old Sean planted the bean in a small cup as a preschool project. As you can see, the plant has successfully created a new bean pod! But how long can this success last? It's pretty obvious in this picture, that sustaining a healthy plant in such a small piece of soil will eventually take more than just water. All that plant growth requires nutrients to come from somewhere...and (initially), the plant finds all it needs in that little cupfull of dirt...but as the plant grows, the nutrients are depleted. When the nutrients are gone, the plant will suffer.
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