quantification! ??

How can I find out how to quantify my (as yet untrialed) food production? Are there tables somewhere of "this plant on this much square feet will produce this many pounds?"

my research project outline

I'd love to get feedback on this! Resources, lack of clarity, questions, whatever you've got. Thanks!

HOW CAN I GROW MORE FOOD USING VERTICAL SPACE?

The problem: I rent half a two-family house. My gardening space is limited to: one bed (6' wide) aligned east-west on the south side of the house (25' long), and one bed (6' w) aligned north-south on the east side of the house (12' l). The south side also has a 25' open porch and ~6' x 3' of usable pavement.

Question: Are there ways to go beyond trellised vines and shrub or tree crops, and increase usable soil volume vertically?

Continue to research available material for relevant concepts

• Edible Forest Gardens by Dave Jacke
• Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls by Nigel Dunnett and Noel Kingsbury
• Fresh Food from Small Spaces by R.J. Ruppenthal
• Gardening on Pavement, Tables, and Hard Surfaces by George Schenk
• All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew
• Espaliers and Vines for the Home Gardener by Harold Perkins
• Edible Buildings - benefits, challenges, limitations by James Petts, PDF
• "Little Homestead in the City" website
• further book, web research

Idea 1: Design "ladder" planter

• does it already exist? or something similar?

• how can I tie it in to other garden functions?

• vermiculture in bottom? (closer to kitchen than current compost bins)

• what materials? considerations: lightweight, durable, recycled, free/cheap

• is pallet wood feasible?

• could we create something similar with a box spring mattress and wire screen?

• how will screen stand up to time and moisture? Is there something else, lightweight?

• what planting material? - sphagnum moss? - and? -ratio sphagnum moss to compost to soil?

• how best to layer planting material?

• control of moisture - placement under roof drip? too much too fast in storms?

• can we make it in sections so easily (seasonally) movable?

• will it go in the "hoop house" on end of porch? will things continue to grow?

• what needs to be tweaked? angle of ladder? width? depth of "step"

Analyze expected niche and choose desired plants

• east side, south side

• depth of soil, root patterns

• edible forest gardens

• one green world

• fedco seeds, trees
  

Build several ladder planters, place in different locations and record growth, yields

Idea 2: Build a 7'x7' "hoop house" on south-east end of porch.

Learn more about hoop houses - check with Daniel Botkin - what can I expect?

• will ladder planters go in hoop house? necessary?

• water containers (water for temperature maintenance) - durable, recycled, free/cheap
• summertime hoophouse could heat compost
  

Idea 3: Some trellises, vines on strings, or espaliered small trees along porch.

• decide which and what

Integrate all 3 ideas.

resource for further exploration - Yestermorrow

A resource for further skills, building, design, practical/technical, at any level - people I know who've gone rate it 2 thumbs up!!
http://www.yestermorrow.org/

This design is particularly interesting because it blends community space with urban farming.

http://landscapeandurbanism.blogspot.com/2008/02/ps-1-work-architecture-company.html

Here is a blog I found a while ago with some interesting posts involving urban landscape.

http://landscapeandurbanism.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html

Homework fun

Here are the homework assignments for February. Please focus in on the research project, but don't neglect the design project.

- Complete Research project!
1-2 page summary of research, including their name, class name, title, text, max 2 images/diagrams, and resources/references for more info. Papers must be emailed to both Anya and Ethan by the next class.

- Prepare Research Presentations!
Minimum 2x3 ft poster graphically communicating their work. Other, more creative presentations encouraged -- but folks will be moving around and half the room will be presenting at a time, so don't do something that needs the whole space or would require everyone else to be quiet.

This is one clear place where we learn from each other!

- Do site Analysis & Assessment for 2-3 more elements of scale of permanence - your choosing. remember to refer to useful topic checklist in binders!

- Meet with ALG once.

Any questions, comments, concerns please email me or Ethan.

Can't wait to see you soon!

-Anya

FYI

Check this out:

http://www.foodnotlawns.net/

International seed-swap day is January 31st!

If you have seeds to swap, feel free to bring them in this month or next month and trade them during breaks for other seeds, back rubs, design help, future favors, whatever.

If you're interested but haven't tried saving seed yet, Ken Greene of the Hudson Valley Seed Library will be joining us in March, and he's a wealth of knowledge on the topic, and seed activism in the area! I'm sure he would love to hear that we've already done some of our own seed saving and exchanging!

Hope you're well,
Anya

Fellow-learners :

A few things as we go into our third weekend together in the new year:

please sign your names to your posts. I'm enjoying getting to know you, and love getting to know your internet personas as well!

Also, when you post, type in a few (or many) labels for your post in the box right under the posting box where I am typing right now. use one-word or appropriate two-word labels for anything and everything in your label. Look through some of the entries below and you'll see examples of how to do it. That way, we can search entries by label and find what we're looking for. If you're cool with it, one of the labels should be your name.

If you haven't gotten me your goals yet, bring a print-out to class tomorrow, and I'll try to get to them before we part ways on Sunday.

Also, please bring in your overlays and maps! I look forward to seeing those, though we will not be collecting them. If you want me or Rafter to look over your overlays and give you feedback, please talk to us during class.


I'm looking forward to seeing you all soon and hope this new year is happier and brighter than the last, and filled with learning and inspiration.

-Anya

PS - sorry this is so late.

Topographic model of my site

Hi all! I wanted to post up pictures of a topographic model of my site that I made during the ice storm that kept us bored for a few days... We printed a big topographic map of the property and cut out and labeled each elevation line. I then traced and cut out each level of elevation in foam board and glued it all together. The next thing was to paint in the natural water flow of the site, you can see the large pond that is painted in and the stream that flows into it from the rest of the property. The edges of the model are the two roads that border the property. There isnt a key for the model yet, but this is a model of 50 acres of pine forest and pasture at the lower levels.