Solarium

Immediately after the Feb. 16th meeting Erin and I (Milton) met with Narayana to discuss the solarium.

We decided to start small with three 8"-10"shelves in the center panel of the bay window upstairs. If that is successful we can expand with shelves in the side windows and then perhaps a freestanding shelf in front of the window in the office. In the future a cabinet could be built into the bay window.

We also decided that we should attach the brackets directly into the walls as opposed to using a standard. We'll have to pay attention to the weight rating of the shelves; if we fill them up with dirt it could get pretty heavy.

On Feb. 26 Narayana put up the shelves:


They look great!

So next some questions:

There is a selection of empty pots outside. What do we have that is suitable?

Where do we get the dirt? Does it need to be processed in any way to prevent pests or diseases? Are we bringing dirt in for the other parts of the garden and can that dirt provide for us too or do we need to get our own? I assume the compost is not ready yet. Will there be an indoor worm bin to provide fresh compost in the winter?

What will we plant? We can start seedlings but we'll need trays or some other pot for them. What are the needs for the other groups? I have successfully grown lettuce, micro-greens, herbs, and bush beans indoors. What other plants would fit in this environment? Would there be a rotation of crops with the seasons? What seeds do we already have?

February meeting

Hello everyone!

I'm finally getting around to writing again and I have a ton to write about.

Just a brief summary of what's happened since I last wrote:

• January 13 - Andrea, Scott and myself met to come up with some design ideas

• January 23 - Bill gave his Introductory seminar at the yoga center

• February 16 - We had a progress meeting at the yoga center

Wow! I have a lot to write!! Here goes...

January 13

The three of us met at my place, we started off with a brief summary of the project. After redefining the elements as follows:

• Full Sun Garden - Primary space to grow vegetables and flowers
• Shade Garden - The area to have shade tolerant plants, including as many edibles as possible. It is understood the amount of edibles may be limited in this area.
• Labyrinth - This was Andrea's idea I believe. Over the past month, I've realized that I have been envisioning it a different way from Andrea, so I've asked Andrea to fill in information about this piece.
• Pond - Thaddeus (Mamut) has written extensively about this aspect.We also decided that we would allow for an area for this component and allow the team to develop the plans firther.
• Front Garden - We didn't do any planning for this area at this meeting.

After revisiting the program, we came up with three schemes: (A) Amoeboid, (B) Angular, and (C) Branchy. From our sketches, I've drawn up my interpretations. What I want you all to realize when you look at the drawings is that I am not used to doing such free form drawings, I do architectural drawings, everything is very regular and linear. If it isn't linear, maybe an arc or something, it's very regulated so that it can be built to my specifications. This I have to say was one of my biggest challenges up until now. I still haven't gotten it quite right, I think the problem is that I may not have the proper software for the task and that I don't have any training. So I'm making it up as I go along. I might end up taking some landscape drawing classes soon. So here goes...
Plan A

This plan is the amoeboid plan, the theme is interconnectivity. The connection of the main cultivating spaces is important to make the garden user-friendly and easy to collect veggies.

Plan B
This plan is the angular plan. Creating a clear concise linear pattern to cultivate the garden.
Plan C
This plan is the branchy plan. The difference between this plan and the amoeboid plan is that there isn't the interconnectivity.


January 23

Bill's talk about permaculture created a lot of enthusiasm for the backyard project. We had a lot more people join our group!

February 16

This meeting was to introduce the new members with the existing members and the project. We have some good news: The porch permit has been issued! So the back porch construction will begin as soon as the ground begins to thaw and will hopefully be done by the end of March!

Throughout the course of the meeting we've come up with some new groups. Here goes:

• Full Sun Garden - Scott and Phaedra
  
• Shade Garden - Lynda and Phaedra
  
• Labyrinth - Andrea
  
• "Butterfly" Garden - Scott and Chandranatha - This is the new name for the Front Garden, Scott has come up with the idea to attract Butterflies and insects to this front area using specific plants.
  
• Pond - Thaddeus, Lynda and Rachel
  
• Solarium - Milton, Erin and Mira - Milton suggested that we use the windows in the front rooms to start seeds. Milton, maybe you could embellish upon this as the ideas develop.
• Compost - Erin, Rahda, Mira, and Jody - This seems to be a big issue at the yoga center, with the new members who live at the yoga center this is becoming more of an issue. We will be meeting on Thursday after Rahda's morning class, around noon to discuss this further.
• Installation/Maintenance - This group was created for those who don't necessarily want to get involved in one specific area but in all areas. We are all considered members of this group.

Whew, I'm done! Please feel free to make any comments or additions if I've left anything out.