Getting Wise about Water
Southern California has a bizarre relationship with water. The water that flows from your tap or garden hose in Los Angeles comes from hundreds of miles away, from the Owens River Valley, from the Colorado River, or from the State…
The One-Finger Test
In the Community Garden at Holy Nativity, we used what we call “the one finger test.” That means you take your finger and stick it into the garden soil – about one inch down into the soil. The soil down…
Long and Slow and Deep
When your one-finger test says the soil needs water, apply the water long and slow and deep. When people lightly spritz an area, with “making the surface turn brown” as their guide, the water does not penetrate to the root…
Water the Soil, Not the Plants
We have an unfortunate construction in the English language in that we typically say “I need to water my plants.” But thinking back to the Soil chapter, and the fact that all garden watering reverts back to what is good…
In the Cool of the Night
For dry summer months, LADWP’s watering regulations aren’t limitations, they are good gardening sense. Don’t water if it’s running off the surface (fix the surface problems – see “sandy soils” above). Don’t water before 4pm or after 9am because evaporation…
The Lost Art
“Can she bake a cherry pie?” chants the American folk song. That didn’t mean opening a can of goo from the supermarket and dumping it into a frozen pie shell. It mean knowing when the cherries were sweet and…
Rediscovering Production
To consume means to destroy. That’s why “consumption” was the name given to tuberculosis. – Vandana Shiva[i] Producing food. For the most part, people alive today have lost touch with this most basic of human activities. Instead, we have…
A future that is …
Low-carbon Post-petroleum Socially just More fulfilling … ??? In an article which is unfortunately no longer available online, Don Hall (at one time part of Transition Colorado) wrote that “sustainability” wasn’t exactly an enticing goal; that to him it sounded…
Introduction
About “Economic Resilience” When it comes to change-making, I tend to be the person you’ll find wielding a shovel, either literally or figuratively. Although I spend plenty of time talking in meetings, I feel happiest when I’m out there getting…
Like what we do?
Don’t let it stop here. In keeping with Charles Eisenstein’s gift culture, versions of this booklet are being offered to the public free of charge.Eisenstein reminds us “a gift transaction is open-ended, creating an ongoing tie between the participants.”We have…