Happily Sore

This past weekend has been on my calendar for weeks. I have patiently awaited and thought of what my feelings would be like after we had the chance to get back in the garden and use the space again (thank you Deecolonize).

Friday I awaited for word of our hermano coming to town to help us on this mission we have made for ourselves. My sisters and I giggled and waited chatting the evening away, while these emotions of excitement were rolling inside of me. As predicted, once our hermano came we spent the hours of the night talking and vibing with each other. I listened intently to the knowledge in the room, and the jokes being made, and it made me feel good to be surrounded by other conscious people. We talked about health, the garden, materials to learn, made plans to exchange other information, and spoke of the past the "good ol'days".

We were going to turn the ground, change what life had sprouted since the last occasion and prepare the space for our bigger plans: a milpa of the three sisters (corn, bean and squash) and a few other foods. We made plans to do what we have manifested for so long- becoming self-sufficient.

Saturday we gathered for breakfast, my sister prepared migas (sin huevo) with cebollitas, tomate, chile and aguacate along with some tasty fruits for us so we can have a hearty breakfast before we began. There was an overcast in the air, no direct sunlight, but it was pleasant to work in. The three of us got started. Just three. We were like the three sisters, only the los tres hermanos working side by side, doing what was necessary to be done.

We passed the time joking and catching up with each other's lives. The energy was good, and flowed naturally as we worked.

The morning we spent working to "clean the area" and turn the ground, and begin to till the land.

Family and friends floated in and out throughout the day sharing either their experiences, awe or memories of farming. That was cool, we even got some of Nessa's TopCake Cupcakes (an up and coming business out of the barrio).



Meanwhile, we discovered a wide arrange of WORMS! (ewww, YUCK!!)

Grub worms: are not not good for the garden. They are usually found in grass, and signs of them usually reflects the yellowing/browning of grass.(Grub worm right)

We were curious about "Rolly Pollys", I did a little research and found out that, they are NOT good for young plants, because they like to eat them, as well as vegetation that is dying. Once a plant matures, these small pests are no longer appealed. Some solutions involve: beer, chicken grit, grits, banana+boric acid. I am still researching methods and will report soon. (pic below)

Needless to say, as most of us learned as children, Earthworms fertilize the soil to help make plants and crops healthy.

We had the chance to learn more about the decolonizing of Yolquiahuitl, and how he has come to where he is in life, as well as the significance of his name. We hand an awesome lunch and time to joke around some more.

After lunch we formed the rows of the garden, and I won't lie, towards the end we kept sitting down and the aches and pains were starting to show themselves. BUT we went onward, and when we finished the sun was gone, the dark settled in and a tear fell. We had done it and it was amazing.

This morning I woke up sore, but very happy. Yesterday, we began the chapter of a new lifestyle and I can't wait to see it.

Thank You to Yolquiahuitl, with your faith in us and willingless to lend a helping hand to be our talachero, we were able to begin. I wanted to tell you that you are a breath of fresh air and help generate the thoughts, emotions and hearts of original people in all of us. You are living up to your name, and I am thankful for all that you share. I await your return and look forward to celebrating the harvest with you.

Peace and Love, Gritona

Mujer Energia

On Friday, June 11th- Those who could, came together to create more progress in the jardin - adjusting the rows that had been started… interesting thing was- only women came. 3 mujeres took tool to soil and carved out 7 tilled rows & 2 untilled- & a back walkway for easy access to composting materials. The work was difficult and each of us had to stop a few times and drink water, trade tools, readjust ourselves.
 

The great thing was that we all knew what had to be done clearly and moved forward from there. We conversed and caught up on 'sister time', but still took time to ourselves and quietly took notice of the Earth, the amazing soil, the wind, birds, and treasures the ground still had to share  with us.

It was good female energy & I believe it's left a balanced and steady calm over the jardin..esp because the men had first taken on the endeavor.

We finished just as the Sun began to cast nightly shadows on everything.. And we saw our silhouettes standing strong against the red casita that separates our plots. 

Paz.

Carving Space

I wrote this 6/6/10- the day after we first went out to the jardin- to my fellow garden workers. i humbly share pieces with you:

It felt so good to be out in the garden again. I think that the time the jardin had 'off' (not being used and covered with grass/leaves/etc) helped it survive over the extremely crazy winter we went through here in Houston. My home lost cactus and aloe vera plants to the freeze that we had enjoyed for many years- it was cold!
Anyway, I think the soil looked great once we were done uncovering both areas.
The heat now is what is immense. Thank you Jess & Mate for bringing water to share, Amber for the Gatorade, and Myra for the PB & J Sandwiches. Coming together and sharing what we have with full knowledge that it will be reciprocated ~ but with little care if it will be, is part of what communal working is about. We want to be there, we want to grow, we know what's to be done to make it happen- and that, to me, is a huge part of what drives the work and the onda of the jardin. The details of that- we leave to conversations in the jardin.

Please lets keep in mind that the Sun is heavy now & that has the potential to create sunburn, excess sweating, headaches, wetness, discomfort, dehydration, and thus, frustration. The beautiful thing about this is that it can all be prevented by taking proper precautions while we are working. You know your body better than anyone, so work with this in mind.

Another thing I thought to share is the fact that most of the people involved are conscious, revolutionary thinkers. We are most definitely all people that know that the energy we exhibit is the energy that will exist in all the things we are manifesting constantly (every day, hour, min, second) - on several levels at once. Everything we feel & do in the garden is felt by Tonantzin/ Mother Earth. Of course, because we have our hands in her.

We maintained this ideology & onda (feeling/mood) in the Jardin great last year- It's an amazing thing and I know we all felt it again when we saw the soil. When I picked weeds and broke apart land, it wasn't just so that we could plant food, it was also because as I physically did those things, I was mentally breaking down to rebuild, giving action to the words that I use & the things that I discuss, working on social living/relationships with friends I trust with mySelf, partaking in creating balance in the Universe, and creating a space for people of color that does not rely on 'the powers that be' to decide whether I can eat, coexist, and live.

All of these thoughts came to me while we worked and when I came back in the afternoon to the plots to reflect.
I'm excited about the next phases and cannot wait to see the maize standing tall again soon!


Peace y Tiahui!!

Dirt in my fingernails..

This past Saturday was the very first day I worked in the Jardin since last summer. It has been a long time, lots of things have changed in the yarda and in life for all of us. Having the opportunity to work in the garden is beyond words for me at this point. There is a beautiful vibe that was created through last year's trial and error experiences, I hope that we can keep the onda of the jardin that way this year and move forward from Saturday into what we plan on being a Jardin of love, commitment y comunidad.

Dreaming of A Green Christmas & An Even Greener New Year!

Houston weather has been cold and rainy these past few weeks. It's made it hard for me to even want to step outside, preferring the warm glow of the Sun to the harsh stabs of the cold- at times freezing temperatures.
Yet, this past weekend, I peered out of my back windows at home and looked out to the plot of land that we used to plant the corn just a few months back and it took me to that sunny and growing time. More importantly, it got me thinking about the things that will grow out of the land once the weather is better and we can all gather together again to make growth happen- all in the spirit of self-sustainability & green goodness!

Also, came across this article about staying Green during the Holidays! Enjoy!

http://www.39online.com/lifestyle/green/sns-health-holiday-eco-friendly-green,0,5057134.story

Dreaming of a Green Holiday?

If so, try these 10 eco-friendly suggestions brought to you

by Mother Nature.
Jim Williams HealthKey.com contributor

December 2009-

"Ring, ring...Mother Nature calling, can you cut me some slack this holiday season?"

Certainly, the holidays are celebration of family and friends, a festive time filled with gift giving, decorating, tree trimming and sparkling lights. But not so much fun for the environment.

Trashing the Holidays

Americans generate 25 percent more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day than any other time of the year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The food waste, the ribbons and bows, the paper, boxes and shopping bags, all add up to an extra million tons of waste each week for five weeks.

Strange as it might sound, the holiday season is the perfect time to reduce, reuse and recycle. Here are 10 ways to be celebrate a 'green' holiday season:

1. Start a "living tradition" in your family and purchase a live Christmas tree, which you can replant after the holidays. Your local nursery will be able to suggest which kind of tree is best for replanting, as well as how to acclimate your tree from outdoors to indoors.

2. If you by a pre-cut tree, be sure to recycle it after the holidays. Call the maintenance department in your city or local recycling center for instructions.

3. Cut up and use your old holiday greetings cards for gift tags next year, or kids' craft projects. If you don't choose to reuse them, be sure to recycle the cards with mixed paper and magazines.

4. Consider not sending greeting cards at all and let your fingers do the "talking." There are great many Web sites that offer free e-cards. Oh, the trees we would save!

5. Save energy by using LED lights. LED are 90 percent more efficient than traditional lights. If people replaced their normal Christmas lights with LEDs, we'd save at least two billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a month. That's enough energy to power 200,000 homes for a year. If everyone switched, it would amount to an incredible amount of energy savings. Also, there are many different lighting options that are more environment-friendly, including solar powered lights.

6. Use rechargeable batteries. There's a USBCELL available that recharges by plugging into your computer. Standard rechargeable batteries are also a good choice.

7. Use newspaper, old gift bags, comics and magazines for wrapping paper. They also work for padding more delicate items and recycle paper at the same time.

8. If you have your mind set on using holiday-themed wrapping paper, try to use post-consumer and chlorine-free recycled paper.

9. Buy handmade items with less packaging such as a sweaters, stuffed toys, wooden toys, puzzles, furniture, etc.

10. Consider gifts of time such as volunteering, gift certificates for favors such as helping a friend with childcare. Or make your own gift certificates that give someone a free hour of babysitting, a free dinner, house cleaning, etc.

Green Fest Videos

 

 

Community Green Fest this Saturday!

The Emile St. Community Garden/ The Last Organic Outpost was one of the first inspirations for the Original Jardin and they are doing it really big this weekend. If you have the time (or can make the time) come out and enjoy the amazing Houston weather we are having and learn about where you belong/exist in this Green World.

Details:
Last Organic Outpost & KPFT will be hosting an event on Saturday, Oct. 24th at Emile Garden in the 5th ward. This festival is focused on to promoting green living throughout the city of Houston. We will be having demonstrations, presentations, and speakers focused on how live a more sustainable lifestyle. Music- 144 Elite, Cabo, Tom Tranchilla and Buddy Allen, DJ Sunonwater, Jerome Vielman, and many more.

We will have a Raffle and Silent Auction hosted by Houston Green Scene. There will be three stages for entertainment and educational activities! There will also be lots of family fun including free petting zoo, face painting, scavenger hunt, children’s fashion show by Sama Baby, interactive puppet show with Super Happy Funland, storytelling, NIA for tots and other small children, Sack races, art stations, balloon art, gardening activities and many more!

Green Organization and Business Participating: Houston Green scene, Houston Electric Cars, Green Cleaning products, Houston Urban Farm Belt Coalition, The Young and the Restless (Children’s resale), Massage in the garden sponsored by Dentist- Houston’s Premier Green Dental Office, Joe and Pat Greer

This event will also be promoting the efforts of 350.org INTERNATIONAL DAY OF CLIMATE ACTION. Check out the www.350.org for more information.

Food Provided by Radical Eats and Ruggles Green.
Yoga by Jennyoga and Devanand,
Recycling made possible by Not Trash.Houston
Featured local artist, Charles Washington will be demonstrating making art out of Recycled Material along with other works of Garden Art.
AND MUCH MUCH MORE!!!

Here are some of the demonstrations and presentations. (A schedule will be posted shortly):
• How to build a Composting Bin demonstration by Brittani Flowers of NotTrash.Houston
• How to make your own Natural, non-toxic cleaning products demonstration by Mona Metzger of Urban Green Clean
• Electric Car Showcase by Houston Electric Cars
• Environmental Art Workshop by Artist Charles Washington
• Balloon animals for kids with bio-degradable balloons by The Bug Man
• Featuring Garden Art by Recycle Artist Phil Waldrop
• Recycled Structures proudly constructed by Green Construction Company, Bright Side Construction
• Special performance by poet, performance artist and author of /Haiku2u:101 select poems on love, trial, triumph and trust /Jerome Vielman
• Special Appearance by Amanda Tullos (unsure of spelling) of Phoenix Connection Recycled Home Builder Dan Phillips
• Interactive garden games provided by United Wellness Center and Last Organic Outpost

Remember to pick-up your Holiday Green Guide featuring farm fresh recipes from the Last Organic Outpost compliments of Houston Green Scene