All Blog Posts (382)

Using the map of the elevation lines on the property to roughly gauge where the contours are, David used the A frame to plot the course of contour lines across the property where we plan to carve the swales.

Using this map with elevation contour lines:

2010_AP_wContourLinesFeet.pdf

Using a…

1% of the water a tree takes up is for photosynthesis. 

5% of the water a tree intakes is for 'making new cells'.

What happens to the rest of the water? Or rather, what is the rest of the water used for?

David built this A frame with a plumb line:

OK I thought it was going to be easy to describe how you use the A frame to mark the contour lines of the land....but it's actually difficult to put into words. So I'm including a couple videos that do a decent job of showing and explaining…

We are getting ready to shape the earth in a wet part of our property. See previous posts to follow the process. (Part 1 and Part 2)

Now for the existing garden beds.....In a shadier location, but with much dryer soil. This would be a…

The next step for getting ready to create swales was to find an aerial map of our property. We found the most current one taken just before we bought the place in 2010. The photo shows where buildings and trees are located. And also a map with the elevation contour lines. And finally sketch on the map where the swales will be located. If you only look at one of the following links try the 3rd one. It has the 3 superimposed - the…

Hello Transition Whatcom Folks!

I am excited to have found this group, and to get to know like-minded folks in the area. I am working with some friends on starting a "farm" in the area and will be relocating to the Bellingham area next Spring. 

Blessings,

Bryan Krueger

Three years ago we bought our first house on a 1/2 acre in the Birchwood Neighborhood. We chose this size of a lot in order to grow food and keep chickens. It's been so beautiful to get to know this place and we started out working in the existing garden beds and just getting to know the property for a while without doing any major changes.

During these 3 years, we have continued to notice places where water collects and does not drain…

I'm the new Coordinator at the RE Sources Sustainable Community Gardens: The RE Patch. We have raised beds available, central to Lettered Streets, Columbia Neighborhood and Broadway Park! We are also looking for landscape stewards for our food forest, native shade gardens, and xeriscaping as well as donations of plants, tools, mulch materials and occasional volunteers. Contact: richc@re-store.org

In the interest of keeping our online conversation as inclusive, informative, respectful, participatory and fun as possible, the TWOG and our web administrator have come up with some guidelines which we hope will be clear and helpful. The guidelines include some suggestions to make your communication as clear and effective as possible, and also a (short!) list of types of communication that we won’t tolerate. These last include obvious things like: name…

Part 2 of my comments about this film...see Part 1 here.

As TW's Emily Farrell said, “My sense, so far, of this movie, is that it is grounded in the connectedness we feel in our hearts about what is happening in the world.”



And what attracts me most to the film is the portion featuring…

Back in 1999 I went in on 20 undeveloped acres of land in rural Whatcom County with some friends. Our plan was to create a small community, start with one shared house and expand out to several dwellings over time. I moved my converted school-bus, w/skylights, bedloft, propane appliances and great storage, onto the property early in 2000 and started clearing garden space. As it happened, the land partners found themselves unable to occupy the land for various reasons, seasons went by, and I…

This is a 'heads up' that Transition Whatcom's Heart & Soul working group is partnering with the Center for S.A.C.R.Ed. Change, Community Food Co-op, Occupy Bellingham, Terra Organica, and the Pickford Film Center to show the film "Occupy Love" on May 21 at the Limelight Theatre, and an…

The RE Store is currently hiring Community Minded recyclers with an aptitude for customer service. You can pick up applications at our store on 2309 Meridian St. and ask for me. More details on craigslist or the RE Store website. www.re-store.org

I've worked there for 7 years now and have never experienced a better organization!

Paul makes the most wonderful chile rellenos on the planet!  :)  Thanks for the treat Paul.

Many garden-farmers are adding soil amendments in March & April, before planting..

I'll list some soil labs below that do testing.

At times it can be…

This rancher is managing his cattle by managing his forage of native grasses. It's working for him. It's interesting that he has only 200 head of beef cattle and he's making a profit. Usually cattle operations in Texas are much bigger. It supports my theory about small business, that there are many sweet spots at different scales. it's all about making it work at a scale that is comfortable for you.

A Stubborn…

Sheep for lawnmowers in Paris. 

Brilliant!

Seatlle to Build Nation's First Food Forest

Seattle’s vision of an urban food oasis is going forward. A seven-acre plot of land in the city’s Beacon Hill neighborhood will be planted with hundreds of different kinds of…