Category: permaculture

Tim Richardson and Kyra Shaughnessy planting kale seedlings that were started indoors, April 2008.

Chickens introduced for the first time, donated by Danielle Chynoweth.

Tim and Jacob Barton adjust the topography following standing water in the annual beds. It was a very wet spring growing season.

Kyra using the sump-pump water to water plant seedlings.

(1) Internal view of the garden, March 2008. Click for larger image.

(2) Panoramic view of the garden, March 2008. Click for larger image.

In 2007 the social dynamics at La Casa Collectiva tanked, and a new group of housemates moved in for the Autumn session of the School for Designing a Society. These are the only three photos of the garden from 2007, taken by Kyra in the fall before frosts (i.e. September or early October):

(1) photo of the house with the northern part of the garden in front of it.

(2) photo of the annual beds – stinging nettles at lower left, elderberries above that… some tomatoes further to the right give a flash of red color.

(3) photo of the general craziness of the garden from 2007. This is an apple tree covered with vines including American Hops, surrounded by weeds and other trees.

Random artifact: the La Casa Garden was part of the 2006 Ecological Construction Symposium in Urbana — here‘s the crazy map/agenda that shows the La Casa garden as one of many local stops on the Ecological walking tour or whatever.

(1) Bamboo map for surviving bamboo as of summer 2006, it should be noted that the Phyllostachys aureum and the Phyllostachys aureosulcata basically became nuisances in the locations chosen for them and they’ve been virtually removed since this time

(2) Perennial map after a discrete planting of perennials, it should be noted that both of the Mulberries were killed in a late frost in Spring 2007 whereas the Aronia bushes have lived on, and one of the Mulberries was re-planted in 2008

(3) A “veggie map” from 2006, which also shows that two new bamboos were added this year, of those the one labelled “new bamboo” (possibly a Thamnocalamus) died in the winter and the Phyllostachys rubromarginata was chopped down by Rob in 2008.

Notes from Todd Rusk

To do this spring:

• Sump pump water
  Need another flexible connector, 1 1/2″ x 1″
  Continue to observe water flow in channel between black pipe outlet and swale
  Consider: Is a meandering water channel between black pipe and swale (i.e. to bring extra moisture somewhere) advantageous?
  Settle on final shape of path and fill with coarse rocks, i.e. from driveway, and cover with straw
• Downspout water – get barrels for rain catchment
• Pruning experiments with nanking cherries, if it’s not too late
• Identify and maybe transplant more of the mysteriously bountiful grassy allium
• Set up annual vegetable breeding plots
• Plan annual vegetable crop locations
• Trellises for viney things – hops
• Garden boundary
Annual plantings to condition areas for spread of bamboo, i.e. mulch, annual crop, border/boundary…
Create short term border/boundary using annual grains/grasses

3/14/06 – 1 hour

Observation: Someone reattached the pipes with a lot of duct tape, and a section of the wall of the house was saturated with water>

Activities:

• Foiled! Connector I needed not available at Sunnycrest True Value and Do-It Best is not answering phone
• Dug a small channel across garden path near bench to convey sump pump water into swale, then filled the trench with branches and straw. Channel is basically a straight line.
• Detached the pipes again to protect the house and left a friendly note written in purple crayon explaining that they’re not yet ready to be connected

3/13/06 – 0.5 hours

Activities:

• Purchased a 1 1/2″ x 1 1/4″ clamp on flexible connector from Sunnycrest True Value, $5.00
• Installed connector between 1 1/2″ sump pump drain pipe and 1 1/4″ pipe into garden, now a lot of water backs up onto house because of the increased pressure drop –> another connector is needed between 1 1/2″ sump pump drain pipe and 1″ pipe coming out of house – I left the pipes disconnected to protect the house

3/10/06 – 2.5 hours

Observation: Lots of water from sump pump is flooding strawberries and herbs near house.

Activities:

• Said hello Rita, Mariana, Katlyn
• Rob pruned the fruit trees
• Rob and Todd trained the curly willows in the swale
• Todd rescued a nanking cherry from chicken wire entanglement

3/9/06 – 1.5 hours

Activity: Transplant & consolidate chives – finished 1 area

3/7/06 – 1 hour

Activity: Transplant & consolidate chives

3/6/06 – 1.5 hours

Observations:

• Steaming compost
• Wheel barrow has a flat tire

Activities:

• Tie up loose ends of mesh around compost bin
• Remove bricks from around compost base, stack by garage

3/4/06 – 2.5 hours

Observations:

• Tire tracks in grass south of garden. “Dude, wanna do some donuts?”
• 2 partial compost piles, stinky
• Some scattered plastic trash & debris in garden
• Chives stands, tasty & mild

Activities:

• Pick up trash
• Attempt to balance compost pile: consolidated into 1 pile, added hay from around yard, watered
• Collected hops seeds for Love Pond green tunnel
• Removed steel frame thing holding hops vines
• Inventoried miscellaneous stuff around site
• Talked to Rita, met Mariana

Inventory of miscellaneous stuff around site

• 5-gallon bucket (Nasty) 2
• Asphalt shingle (Sheet, 2’WxLong) 1
• Bat (Waffle ball) 1
• Brake drum (Car) 2
• Building bricks (Red) Pile
• Chemicals (Nasty) Assortment
• Chicken wire (3’H) Roll
• Cinder blocks (Various sizes) Few
• Flat (Seed starter, various) Few
• Garden tools Basic assortment
• Lawn chair (Functional) 4
• Lawn chair (Broke-ass) 2
• Lumber (Various) Some
• Metal frame (Rectangular 4’Wx6’Lx3’H) 1
• Metal pole (Long) 9
• Metal thing (Artistic, strange) 1
• Metal tub (Probably leaks, 2’dia x 1’H) 1
• Metal wire (Wavy, thick gauge, 6′) 1
• Painting (4’x2′) 1
• Plastic mesh (like compost bin – Black, 3’H) Small roll
• Plastic pipe (Various dia, long) Few
• Plastic tarp (Green, gray) 2
• Platform (Carpeted, wood frame, 3’Wx7’Lx5″H) 1
• Play sand (Blue) 40 lb bag
• Pots (Terra cotta) Few
• Radiator (Car) 1
• Rim (Bicycle) 1
• Seat cushion (Blue) 1
• Tire (Bicycle) 4
• Tire on rim (Car) 4
• Tomato cage (Metal) 5-ish
• Toys (Various outdoor, plastic) Bagful
• Trash can (Metal) 1
• Tub 15 gallon (plastic) 1
• Wire rack 3’x3′ 4

In February 2006, this grant (.pdf) was submitted to Fiskars for their “Project Orange Thumb” program, requesting $1500 in garden support mainly in the form of new tools. A rejection letter arrived within a few weeks.

From Rob Scott’s notes, January 2006:

Site History
2003 – Bob Cook made a design and executed it.
In the winter most of the fruit trees were girdled.
2004 – Bob moved out of La Casa and we did some workdays together on the site.
2005 – I organized some workdays, and did a lot of labor on the site personally.
This year, my efforts were mainly aimed at reducing wasteful space-use.

Click for larger image.

An undated hand-written addition to the 2004 Species list:
“2005 Vegetables
Assorted Chili Peppers
Collard Greens
Long Cucumbers
Some Garlics
Some Pumpkins”

Composite photo dated August 2005: