Rio Grande Community Farm is seeking a farming intern. Please see the following Americorps Farming Intern position for more details.
Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that are modeled on the relationships found in natural ecologies. The approach aims to create stable, productive systems that provide for human needs, harmoniously integrating the land with its inhabitants.
Saturday April 9 • 10am @ Rio Grande Community Farm
Join us for a workshop exploring the basic principles of permaculture and how to apply these concepts in your own life.
Admission is FREE to members of Rio Grande Community Farm, Gardener’s Guild and Harwood Art Center. Suggested donation is $5 (kids are free)
In Tribute to the life of a Great American Labor Leader and a man who dedicated his life to making working conditions better for farm workers.
RGCF and AFSC are joining forces in a day of service and reflection.
When: Thursday March 31, 2011, 9:00 a.m.- 1:00 pm
Where: City of Albuquerque Los Poblanos fields (barn)
What: Farm projects, discussion and video
We will all meet together at the barn (1701 Montano, NE, Los Poblanos Open Space) and then divide up into age related work projects.
We will complete work around 11:30 am and then watch a video about the life of Cesar Chavez. Discussion will follow.
Please bring a sack lunch, water, good shoes, hat and sunscreen.
For further information contact Minor Morgan at: 379-1640 or Sayrah Namaste at 514-2350.
THIS IS AN AMERICORPS COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT.
Join Dan Schuster and Jon Ashe from Rio Grande Community Farm for a workshop on how and when to start you indoor and outdoor seedlings and transplant your plant starts! First time gardeners and seasoned growers are welcome. Come learn, share and grow your knowledge!
SEEDLINGS & TRANSPLANTING!
Saturday March 26th ““ 10am
@ Rio Grande Community Farm’s Big Red Barn
Martin Luther King Day at Rio Grande Community Farm was a Big Hit! We had 3 separate groups participate, plus an odd assortment of individuals that heard about the event. Rio Grande Community Farm had 9 members participate, VSA of New Mexico had 11 members participate and Amy Biehl High School sent over a school bus full of happy teenagers and their happy teachers, 28 in all!
We began the day describing the various work activities that the groups would be doing. These included making special trellises to grow food for Albuquerque Public Schools, clearing out brush and weeds in the community garden and completing work in the barn. All activities benefit the public at large and help Rio Grande Community Farm fulfill its Mission to serve the public.
After a great lunch partially provided by the RGCF Board (home made rice and beans), the group watched a movie about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A lively discussion followed in which the group grappled with some big issues such as: “What is the American Dream today?”, “Are people of color free today?” and “How does my Americorps experience relate to what young people in the civil rights movement experienced?”. Everyone came away from the discussion deeply moved after listening to Dr. King’s “I have a Dream Speech” and reflecting on its contemporaneous meaning.
In addition to completing several projects, we were very pleased we were able to accommodate 6 participants with disabilities, including one young man in a wheelchair.
Perhaps the most moving moment was at the completion of Dr. Kings speech in front of 300,000 marchers at the Lincoln memorial. Our group had watched the complete 19 minute speech on t.v. with its moving final statement: “Free at Last, Free at Last, thank God Almighty, we’re free at last”. The television suddenly went blank and our group sat in complete silence for over 3 minutes. No-one spoke out of a deep sense of respect for what they had just watched. The day ended on a high note as folks left.
See Photos on MLK-Day-2011.pdf
Migrating Sandhill Cranes in the Remaining Winter Corn
Join us for cocoa (as well as tea or coffee) and Sandhill Crane watching on the back of the RGCF tractor. Tractor rides will last about an hour, providing plenty of time to enjoy the cranes, ask questions and sip a toasty beverage. We’ll also have some sweet treats for sale. The funds generated will go towards our Share the Harvest program.
PLEASE NOTE: Each time slot (3:30pm or 4:30pm) is limited to 20 people, so your RSVP will be required. Please email Lindsay Wood (lindsay3131@gmail.com) to RSVP, and provide the following information in your email:
– Name
– Email
– Phone Number
– Number of people in your party
– Preferred time slot
You will receive a reply to let you confirm your spot. If your preferred time slot, or both time slots, are full, we will ask if you would like to be placed on a wait list.
Cranes and cocoa, without the tractor ride?
Absolutely! If you would like to join us for a hot beverage while you stroll around the farm to watch the Sandhill Cranes and enjoy the sunset, we will have cocoa, tea and coffee for sale ($1 a cup). Bring the kids and a camera!
Information
Date: November 20th
Times: 3:30pm & 4:30pm
Cost: $5, adults (12+ up) / $2 children (4-11) / Tots under 4 are free
Location: 1701 Montano Road NW ““ Get Directions
Public access at Los Poblanos Fields Open Space is from Montano Road, 1.1 miles west of Fourth Street. Turn north on Tierra Viva, and park in the gravel lot to your left.
Mild weather has allowed for the Maize Maze to be extended for one more weekend. The Maize Maze will be open Saturday (11/6) and Sunday (11/7) from 11am ““ 5pm. We will be offering a special discounted rate:
Adults (12 and older) $5.00; Children (4-11) $3.00; Children under 4 are free.
We will also be extending for an additional two weeks for groups visits to the maze. Please call (505) 333-8180 to schedule your group. Group Details
October 30th and 31st
The Maize Maze will be open on October 30th and 31st for the annual haunted maze. Put on your make-up and your costume for a scary good time. Be ready for our friendly haunters to safely surprise you from within the 7-acre corn maze.
We’ll keep the maze open late for you to explore until 10pm. Be sure to dress warm as it does get cold in the maze after dark.
The Maize Maze will be open late on Friday October 22nd and Saturday October 23rd for the Moonlight Maze. Connect with your ancient roots, challenge your senses and use the light of the full moon to navigate the maze.
We’ll keep the maze open late for you to explore until 10pm. Be sure to dress warm as it does get cold in the maze after dark.
RGCF Garden Guide
Click on the links that interest you. Then, use you browser’s “Back” button to return to this list.
Fall Tips from the Master Gardeners
Building a Community Garden – A Collaboration of New Mexico Farmers and Educators
A Message from Sara
Green tomatoes aplenty and patches of garlic covered in straw popping up around the garden, we have reached the end of our 2010 irrigation season. The Sandhill Cranes are here and the first frost is just around the corner, it is time for our soil to rejuvenate for next year!
Ed's Garlic!
Education is an important link in optimizing our community garden. I will be using a local garden curriculum called “Building a Community Garden”, by A Collaboration of New Mexico Farmers and Educators that was published by the local American Friends Service Committee last spring, as a guide this year.
I am also creating a list of workshop topics for the upcoming year based on discussion and suggestions and plan to use the county extension service as a support for this. If anyone has suggestions on topics or would like to present a workshop this year, please let me know. It’d be great to have gardener lead workshops; I think everyone should attend at least one.
The mission of our garden is also a priority to me: support our members to grow their own food. I would like as much of the land to be as useful to the community as possible. An important part of this is passing on rows to new members as current members are finished with the space. WE NEED TO STAY IN COMMUNICATION ABOUT THIS in order to accomplish our mission. Please choose 1 of the 3 options for the fall/winter season and let me know which one you choose for your row/s.
1) I have finished using my garden row, please pass my land on to a new member.
2) I am growing/planting cool season plants or cover crop in my row (building a row cover if necessary).
3) I am mulching my row with straw, manure, cardboard or another organic mulch to improve my soil for next spring.
Please let me know if you need extra support to prepare your row for fall. Also, please let me know if there are extenuating circumstances that will keep this from being done in a timely fashion.
OUR LAST SCHEDULED IRRIGATION DAY WAS OCTOBER 20TH
See you at the garden,
Sara
garden@riograndefarm.org
“˜Tis the Season: Thoughts on managing our incredibly invasive weeds from Joran Viers at the NMSU Bernalillo County Extension Service:
I’m thinking that sheet mulching with the manure would be the best option. So, a layer maybe about 2″ deep of manure, topped with either overlapping cardboard or newspaper (several thickness together on the newspaper), topped with some more coarse organic matter (old hay? Beware of weed seeds! Wood chips? Good, but spring incorporation of those might carbon-load the soil so much it tied up the nitrogen added with the manure…ideal would be decent quality alfalfa hay, in a layer maybe 3″ deep). This will certainly help build soil, and would suppress cool-season weeds like London rocket and hare barley. Frankly, it will not provide much deterrence against bindweed, which will resume growth as things warm up next spring. Partly this is because the layers will need to be incorporated (tilled in), which will open up avenues for the bindweed. Now, one could do the row no-till: leave them layers undisturbed, and just make small openings to transplant into. The bindweed will find those to emerge from, and will probably power through the undisturbed layers as well. However, if left un-tilled, it will give some deterrence against summer annuals like pigweed, kochia and the like. Do you know which weeds you are most concerned with?
(A note from Sara: I’m pretty sure we are concerned with all of the aforementioned weeds.)
Another option would be to incorporate the manure now (in the fall), and then to regularly do shallow cultivation to mechanically kill off emerging weeds, whether from seed or root. This would allow you to have a reasonably weed-free bed, at least until planting time. From then it would depend on how well someone kept the row weeded.
Joran Viers
County Program Director/Agriculture Agent
Bernalillo County Cooperative Extension Service
1510 Menaul NW
Albuquerque, NM 87107
(505) 243-1386
fax: 243-1545
The master gardeners at our garden also suggested using a very heavy mulch. Chuck said there is a row near his that is heavily mulched with straw (Ed’s Garlic).
The year we did a straw mulch at the MG garden we put it on too lightly and it blew away.
Another suggestion – the MG’s this year are putting manure from the community garden on the rows as the vegetables finish producing. This will seep in during the winter in time to plant the rows in the spring.
MG's Heirloom Tomatoes, Asparagus Beans and Chadwick Cherry Tomatoes!
From “Building a Community Garden” A Collaboration of New Mexico Farmers and Educators:
You can download an electronic copy of this curriculum at: www.afsc.org/albuquerque
Preparing the Garden for Winter
Once the crops have been gathered, there are many things to do to prepare the
garden for winter. Much of the preparation gets the soil ready for a new plant life
cycle. Here is a list of chores you can start in mid-September through October:
– Clean up garden debris. Leaves and branches can harbor insects and
disease spores.
– Continue to weed. Pull the weeds before they have a chance to seed. Do
not add the weeds to the compost pile, they may contain seeds.
– Take a soil test, you may be able to amend the soil in the fall.
– Till the soil in the fall if erosion is not a problem. Add compost or manure
to improve soil structure.
– Plant a cover crop to protect soil from erosion during the winter. In the
spring, tilling it into the soil will provide organic matter to improve the soil
structure. A cover crop also shades the soil and prevents weeds from
germinating.
– If you decide to mulch choose one that is consistent in color and texture.
One that will resist compaction, resist wind and water erosion, has a slow
rate of decomposition and reduces weed growth. You might decide to try
small amounts until you find the one that suits you garden.
– Plant trees, shrubs, evergreens and bulbs in early fall to allow root growth
before winter.
Preparing for Winter
BY SPIRAL BLANTON
A special aspect of being engaged in farming or gardening is that you become especially aware of the rhythms
and changes of the different times of the year. Our main growing season begins in May and winds down
towards the end of October. I feel a growing sense of contraction moving into wintertime. The days grow
shorter and colder and the plants die back into the earth. The abundance of warmer days begins to seem
like a distant memory. While winter can outwardly seem like a very still and slow time, it is a most dynamic and
important season for the gardener and the earth. The long nights provide space to contemplate and plan the
adventure of working with the land another year. It is a wonderful time to evaluate what how things went this
season and to nurture ideas about what we might do next year.
Physical work outdoors does not stop in winter. We build long compost windrows to provide for next year’s
crops. Plant materials are recycled from in and around the gardens””weeds, leaves from trees, and dead
plants from hot weather crops like tomatoes, chilies, etc. We layer these with locally collected animal manures
(horse, cow, chicken, goat) to create a rich soil amendment. Some hardy crops are “over wintered.” These
include greens (lettuce, kale, chard, etc.), some herbs, and members of the onion family (garlic, onions,
leeks). In our dry climate, such crops may need occasional water during cold weather and will do better with
the climate moderating “helpers” such as mulches and special covers made of fabric, plastic, or glass. By
February, we are busy amending and tilling the soil in preparation for the upcoming season. This is one way
we’re lucky””our friends in wetter climates usually have to wait much longer until the soil is dry enough to work!
While there is outdoor work to be done, winter is a great time to do all those things those indoor activities we
didn’t have time for when it was warmer. Some activities I am engaged in during this time include compiling
harvest records from the past season, cleaning and organizing seeds we have saved from the past season,
doing a seed inventory, working with our volunteer board and core group to come up with next year’s goals
and budget, and planning next years garden. We grow a diversity of crops (40+) and several varieties of
many. We do this on three different plots and strive for good crop rotation while working with various growing
conditions. The farmers put together a seed order (we strive to support small companies that work to maintain
genetic diversity), developing a planting schedule and acquiring new tools and other supplies we need
By the late winter days of February, we are starting some crops in our greenhouse. Seeds and little plants
are watered and cared for until the conditions are right to plant them outside. We gradually plant more and
more “early” crops outdoors, such as peas, greens, and root crops during the increasingly warmer days. The
crops””and weeds””start growing more abundantly. As we become fully engaged in tending to the rampant
life springing into being outside, the comparatively sparse days of winter become yet another memory…
I have shared my experience on a particular farm through the winter in Albuquerque. If I were on a farm with
more animals needing attention or a place engaged in more “season extension” (such as hoop houses and
solar heated greenhouses), my activities during this time would be different. What I hope to convey is that
regardless of the type of work being done in the “off” season, the work done curing the colder time of the year
is crucial to our farming success throughout the whole year.
eat your greens!
Donations:
Since September 1st of this year, Rio Grande Community Farm has donated over 1,080 pounds of produce to local food banks. A large portion of this comes from community garden donations. This number is fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing your produce with our community!
Water:
Our last scheduled day of irrigation was Wednesday, October 20th! We will continue to fill the water tanks until the end of October for last minute hand watering, in November the water will be shut off for winter. However, we are looking into the possibility of keeping the water tanks filled over the winter using the well water from the drip system in the field east of us! This may be possible and I will let you know if it works out.
Americorps in the Garden:
Please welcome the Rio Grande Community Farm’s Americorps members to our garden! Joshua, Gabe, Pancho, Ryan, Kacie, Mona and Nicole will be tending rows in the community garden this year. They are all working on different projects with RGCF, the NMSU Extension Service and the Agricultura Network, if you see them in the garden, say hi! They are fun, interesting people from all over the country!
Much “˜ado About Weeds!
After you pull your weeds, please put them in the field directly south of the garden. We have outgrown our invasive weed barrels and learned that this field worked as a weed grave yard for the garden years ago, so we’re trying it again. A wheel barrow is nice for carting the weeds from your row to the south field weed pile.
Soil Soil Soil, Plants Plants Plants:
It is time to decide between mulching or planting your row/s for fall.
If you would like to grow food through the fall and winter, there are cool weather veggie seeds in the seed closet. Also, there is contact information for Ed Stevens on the bulletin board in the shade structure, if you want to buy some garlic to plant this fall. Plant your seeds soon so there will be water in the tanks to start watering them! Also, prepare a row cover for your plants, as we expect our first frost soon.
If you do not plant for fall you NEED to clear the old annuals and weeds out of your row and mulch it for winter! Either of the suggestions from Joran (in the ” ‘Tis the Season section) on mulching with manure are fine, but everyone needs to choose one. Mulching your row will help control weeds over the winter and improve your soil for next spring! There is manure north of the shade structure and at the south end of the garden just waiting to cover your row for the winter, use it please. There is also some straw west of out hedgerow around the middle of our garden to cover your strawberry plants for winter.
Garden Paths:
There is a group of home school students that are a part of the Jane Goodall education program Roots and Shoots coming to our garden on October 27th. They will be covering our garden paths with black plastic and burlap to help keep the weeds down and make the paths more accessible and easier to maintain. If you have black plastic (such as old trash bags) or burlap (such as old coffee sacks) to donate to this project, please let me know, or, leave them in the shed where I can find them.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Fall clean-up days at the garden are scheduled for Friday November 5th and Saturday November 6th from 9am-1pm. These days are open to everyone who’d like to help out at the garden. We will be tidying up the paths, the hedgerow and other common areas that have gotten away from us this season. Fall clean-up days will be a mini potluck so please bring a snack to share. Also, remember to bring plenty of drinking water to stay hydrated while you work!
If you are interested in volunteering at the garden another time, please contact me (Sara) through garden@riograndefarm.org so we can schedule a time to work at the garden.
Garden Guide Q&A:
Since each of us has different schedules, it’s often hard to find a way to get timely information to everyone at the community garden. I hope you will send me some of your questions and concerns about gardening at RGCF.
please e-mail me (at garden@riograndefarm.org) with any questions you have about organic gardening, issues you need help with, suggestions for doing things better and the like and I’ll do my best to cover them here.
Thanks!
I would like give a special thank you to our group of volunteers who fills the water tanks on Tuesdays! They have made it possible to keep the fish alive and our gardens watered, and they go above and beyond to water our compost, hedgerow and empty our invasive weed bins! They are totally awesome and a HUGE help to the garden!
Also, thank you to everyone who has continued to attend to their common tasks! This keeps our common areas useful and comfortable and I can not do it without you!