Reflections from the orchard this week

[Hannah Thomas]

Hi folks,

This week has been a week in the orchard of regrowth and resilience.

GAN Academy

The GAN Academy students were in the orchard this week and completed the base and shell of cob oven which will allow neighbors to bake pizza and bread in the orchard. We are excited to finish the project - please let me know if you are interested in being part of the work crew to finish up the oven.

You can see the nearly finished oven at the back of the orchard under the tarps. We hope to complete the project before June Bug which is happening at the end of June.

If you've visited the space recently, you might also have noticed that the bird bath is missing. GAN Academy students dug up the bird bath and helped transport it to the Stony Brook Fine Arts Studio who are repairing and re-enameling it. In the process of digging up the bird bath, one of the GAN Academy students found a woodlouse spider which only eats woodlice. Here is the wikipedia page about this interesting and cosmopolitan spider: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodlouse_spider 

Grape Vine

As many of you know, the grape vine was cut earlier this year, and many people have been very despondent about it. I heard from one neighbor who regularly visits the orchard that she cried about it. Another neighbor tried to mend the cut, to no avail. However, in the last few weeks, the grape vine is showing its resilience and strength. It has sent up new shoots from the base, and some new ones from an older branch that looked to be dead last year. I can't help but feel this represents the resilience of the space and the plants - even in the face of attempts to destroy, life wants to keep growing! Come by and take a look at the new shoots emerging! There are even some small flowers on it!

There is also a concord grape trying to grow at the back of the orchard by the patio. See if you can spot it!

Weeding

Weeding is a perma need right now - if you have time, please stop by for a few minutes and pull up ground ivy, knotweed, burdock, and see if we can clear off any grass and weeds from the path. Karsten will be in the orchard this coming weekend - email to find out the timing. I'm sure he would love company!

Fruiting and flowering plants

Right now the apple trees are setting fruit, and the redcurrants have some green berries that still have to ripen. The strawberries also have some green berries on them, and the raspberries are just starting to flower, a little later than normal. In the very front of the orchard is a large plant starting to flower called Angelica - this will make some wonderful seed heads later in the season. The MayApples are also flowering at the back around the oak tree. The lilies in the front entrance will soon be in bloom, and columbine is flowering along the south side of the space. Comfrey is flowering giving bees good nectar and pollen.

Raised beds

The raised beds could use some love and attention. We need someone with a little wood and a drill to fix the raised beds. If we can shore up the wood that is already there that would be great instead of emptying it and starting again. Let me know if you have carpentry skills and can help out.

We are also looking for starters to put into the bed. Again, give a shout out if you have any that you can donate.

Please share any observations and reflections form the orchard here or on the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EglestonCommunityOrchard/

En comunidad

Hannah

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Hannah Thomas, Ph.D.

Cell: 207 409 3615
E-mail: hth...@brandeis.edu

[Dan Bensonoff]

Hannah,

I never got to thank you for sending us this update. I do hope the grape vine's revival is symbolic of ECO's future. 

I really wish I was in a position to be of more help this season, but the transition has been all-consuming. I can, however, offer to bring some starts to the garden today or tomorrow. I have tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and more that I've been caring for at the Newton South garden. Will drop them by today or tomorrow. Would you like for me to plant them? If I don't hear back, I will, but you or someone else can always move them. 

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[Hannah Thomas]

Thanks Dan! Planting sounds great! I am in Kansas City listening to blues at B.B. lawnside bbq! Back tomorrow

Hannah

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"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."

- Helen Keller

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[Karsten Frey]

I meant to send out an email: a few days ago, I planted a bunch of kales and collards, just because I had them. But these can always be thinned out at any time. So Dan, please feel free to plant among the kales with the idea that they can be harvested and pulled out once they crowd what you are planting. Or even feel free to pull any of them out now if you are planting. I went ahead and planted them, even if just to fill the space until something else came along. thanks for bringing seedlings, Dan!

Karsten 

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