13th February 2010
I recently joined the local agricultural group in my area and today we had a work party at the community gardens. I saw the gardens before I even knew the people in the group and I got their contact number off the gate awhile back ago. What I did not realize is this is the first year that anything vegetable has been planted in it. There is a mixed orchard of pears, European peaches, apples, Asian pears, plums, apricots and some other types of trees. It will make a lovely orchard one day.

The garden beds they started last Fall it sounded like and they are lasagna type beds. I have not worked with this type of no-till garden before, and it looks interesting. The whole garden is an experiment and I think they have made a wonderful start on it. They are still being built up, there is alot of cardboard, newspapers, compost, coffee grounds and leaves in it.

Today in the community garden we planted garlic, walking onions, elephant garlic, lavender, some of the mature blueberry plants we salvaged the other day from a farm being turned into a housing development, kale, lettuce, English shelling peas and snow peas. We got alot done in three hours. It was pretty fun and we are naming each bed after some historic figure. I suggested Buffalo Bird Woman for the bean bed.

Buffalo Bird Woman's book (which was written by an interpreter) is not merely an account of Indian agriculture. It is an Indian woman's interpretation of economics; the thoughts she gave to her fields; the philosophy of her labors. Buffalo Bird Woman (ca. 1839-1932) was a Hidatsa who experienced the traditional life of her people in what is now North Dakota. Her Hidatsa name was Maxidiwiac Waheenee. She learned and practiced all the traditional Hidatsa skills such as gardening, the preparation of food, weaving and many others. Buffalo Bird Woman held to the traditional ways of her culture and generously shared them through her stories and teachings. Through oral tradition she described her own experience and the lives and work and work of women in Hidatsa culture.

We need to go get more of the blueberries from the farm which is going to be concreted over. But the ones we got the other day got planted today. I pruned them and the fruit trees in the orchard.

The blueberries are being put on the outside of the garden fence, and we are crossing out fingers that the deer do not eat them.

The blueberry plants are at least 8-10 years old I am guessing and there are hundreds of them. They have been given to our group (feels funny to say our group when I am new to it) for the community garden and for members of it. I think I will take 5-10 plants in order to save them. I have room for them here.