Workshops next week

Next week I will be teaching Edible Wild Plants on Wednesday, October 3, from 2pm-5pm. 

Also coming up soon, my husband, Stuart, who is a professional photographer, is offering a 3 class series on Introduction to Photography.  You may wonder why photography is taught at a Center for Sustainable Living - simple!  Permaculture is all about deep observation, so being able to record your findings and your creative efforts on the land, is an important tool in designing sustainable living environments.  Stuart will teach you the basics of handling a camera and getting the most out of this tool.  These classes are scheduled for Oct. 9, 15, and 20.

On October 10, I will be giving a lecture on how organic food helps us have a healthy planet and restore the threatened planetary life support systems.

Edible Wild Plants is offered again on October 13.

Following these are:

Introduction to Permaculture on October 17, Mushroom Logs and Hay Bales on Octobe 28, Outdoor Cookstoves on November 4, Constructing Cold Frames on December 2, and Constructing Hoop Greenhouses on December 8.

Please check my website for class descriptions and registration form:

http://www.hgconnsoil.com/Pages/Register.aspx

Just give me the "Moon and Stars"



  When I was a little girl, my Mum used to sing a song to me about wanting the moon and stars to play with or the sun to run away with.  Little did I know that this variety of watermelon, called "Moon and Stars" would be the first type of watermelon to grow to maturity in my Connecticut garden.  I have planted several different types over the years but none matured to harvest size and taste in our growing season here.  Until the last few years, our average first frost came on September 15, but recently the seasons have been much longer.  In 2011 our first frost didn't arrive until mid-October.  No frost or cold weather this year yet.

We opened the first of 2 mature watermelons, weighing in at 27 lbs, last night and were amazed and joyful at the pink color and sweet, sweet taste of our very own watermelon.  We have harvested several honeydew melons this year that were nice but not super-sweet, so we were especially thrilled to have this choice melon.  Funny thing is we planted it in crummy soil off to the side of our field where it became overgrown with weeds and forgotten.  It wasn't watered at all during this exceptionally hot and dry season we had.  I almost fell over the melons, not realizing they were even there!

"Moon and Stars" Watermelon, an heirloom Amish variety from Missouri