With spring fast approaching, two needs recently became
apparent. We needed to increase our sheltered growing space as well as our soil
building capacities. To accomplish this, we created several designs for
increasing our growing abilities, and in the end, we decided to build an
integrated system.

Currently, we have a worm bin and three bins for compost.
We built the new system in the middle of the garden and it will serve as the fourth
stage of composting. From this bin, we will sift the compost and create our
soil mixes. Because of its placement, it is ideal for distributing the soil and
seedlings throughout the garden.

Twenty-one straw bales were used for the walls, and we used
onsite scrap lumber for the frame of the cover. The cover is plastic, and we
plan on upgrading it with windows from the local recycle center. The growing
space is separated from the compost bin by a wall of straw bales.

To integrate the two spaces we cut sections of rain gutter,
which was onsite from our water catchment project, and put them through the
straw bale wall. This allows the solar gain from the cold frame to heat up the
compost pile during the day, and it encourages the compost pile to release some
of its heat into the cold frame during the night.

We have extended our growing season, soil building capacity,
and when the system starts to decompose the straw will make an excellent top
dressing throughout the garden. The cold frame and compost bin are also well insulated
by the straw bales.

Winter is almost over, and with it the time for
introspection also draws to a close. The heavy rains and shorter days have given
us time to create a sign system that illustrates our priorities in the garden. In
the coming year some focuses like crop selection and soil building will stay
the same, and this season they will be enhanced by a winter of planning that we
did not have last year.

Education is also a key priority as we enter the 2008
growing season, and one of the primary tools that we developed this winter is
our garden didactic system. This collection consists of 23 concept signs and 30
profile crop signs. They will be scattered throughout the garden to greatly
enhance its accessibility.

This project was beneficial to the Energy Garden initiative
because in the process compiling the content, we were able to summarize our
work to date. In addition, the signs helped us to identify the focal points of
the garden and the methods that influence its development.

The concept signs consist of:

·
Goals of the Sebastopol Energy Garden

·
Community Compost Collection

·
The Sebastopol Energy Garden Growth Collage

·
Square Foot Gardening Method

·
Natural Farming – The “Do Nothing” Method

· Cover Crops

·
The Water Catchment System

·
Drip Irrigation

·
Culinary Herb Spiral

·
Mandala Garden: The Sheet Mulch Technique

·
Methods of Season Extension: Towards a “Four
Season Harvest”

·
Appropriate Technologies

·
Processing and Harvesting Techniques

·
Tree Guilds: Edible Forest Gardening

·
Garden Cycle Tracking

·
Ethanol Production

·
The Fractional Still

·
Recycling and Compost: Designing “From Cradle to
Cradle”

·
Chickens

·
Biointensive Concepts

·
Permaculture Principles

Each sign corresponds to something that is happening in the
garden or that has influenced its progression. There are also 30 profile crops
that we have chosen because of their ability to help us adapt to Peak Oil.
Instead of a lawn, we are selecting a great range of crops to benefit humans
and the environment. Please see http://www.energyfarms.net/node/1495 for a list
of these crops.

These signs will enable people with a wide range of
understanding of sustainability to experience a transformed suburban lawn. When
people visit this year, during our second growing season, they will be
introduced to a diversity of crops with a large variety of functions. In
addition, they will be exposed to techniques and technologies that are easy to
learn and have the potential to make a big difference in their lives.

The rains will soon stop, and spring will bring a time of
action. We will sow seeds of diversity in the garden and hopefully, inspiration
in the community. The Energy Garden is always open to visitors and we look
forward to helping more people experience the resilience of the Earth.

PROPERTY ZONING:

The Sebastopol
Energy Garden is partitioned into three specific zones of use, with the lowest
numbered zone representing the area of highest traffic and crop yield (Zone 1),
and the highest numbered zone being that which requires only periodic care and
offers reduced yields (Zone 3). That zone which falls between Zone 1 and 3 (Zone
2) represents an overlap of the two. By viewing the garden as three separate
zones with individual characteristics, we can plan the layout of selected cropsmuch more strategically.

ZONES 1-2: BACKYARD

ZONE 1 is the portion of the garden in closest
proximity to zone zero of the property, the house. The crops grown in this area
are primarily consumed by humans. Crops in this zone fall within the categories
of nutrition, and root calorie crops. Water remediation occurs in the zone of
the garden as well as the growing systems.

ZONES 1-2: FRONTYARD

ZONE 2 is the portion of the garden beyond zone one that is still
used for annual crops. Crops grown in this area are primarily calorie and
carbon crops. This is the part of the
garden allocated towards testing and demonstration, and is where there is
opportunity to profile those crops that we see fit. Compost production, egg
production, tool storage, and processing and harvesting occur in this part of
the garden.

ZONE 3: BACKYARD

ZONE 3
is the portion of the garden farthest from the house. Crops grown in this part
of the garden are primarily perennials that provide nutrition and calories,
attract and repel insects, fix nitrogen, accumulate nutrients, or increase the
health of the garden ecosystem. This portion of the garden is independent from
irrigation and is self managing.

Soybeans hit a 34 year high as drought, increased demand
from China, and falling U.S. stockpiles
drive prices.

Check the article: Soybeans
Rise After Government Cuts U.S. Inventory Forecast

Now, take a look at this graph.

Source: www.biodiesel.org

Notice the change in U.S. biodiesel production from 2004
to 2005 and from 2005 to 2006 and you will see drastic increases in production. Between 2004 and 2005 biodiesel production tripled, and the estimate for 2006 is more than double 2005! A majority of biodiesel in the U.S. is derived from soybeans. During this time, U.S.
stockpiles have been diverted to make increasing amounts of domestic biodiesel.

We are facing increasing global demand of soy for livestock rations, food, cooking oil, and now fuel. Check this out:

Source: http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0608-adm.html

Archer
Daniels Midland has a
plan to increase the production of soy-based biodiesel in Brazil. Where
is all the land coming from to make soy-based biodiesel? You guessed it, the
rainforests-or at least what used to be rainforest. The operation was slated to begin August in
the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. Sadly, Mato Grosso is the site of
some of the worst deforestation in the world, and while projected crop
production looks rosy, it is far from clean, green fuel.

The
trouble with planting crops in what used to be the Amazon Rainforest is that
the soil is incredibly low in organic matter. Once the soil is stirred up (as a
result of logging and cultivation), the soil biology quickly consumes the
organic matter. This forces farmers to adopt a no-till system of farming that
leaves crop residue on the surface and uses herbicides to kill the weeds as the
next crop is seeded. No-till cropping systems try to preserve the organic
matter in order to prevent the soil from quickly turning to dust. As you might
expect from agribusiness it relies on substantial fertilizer inputs to prop up
weak soils. While production of soy in Brazil may lower global soy prices,
(for at least a short time), it is creating the biofuel nightmare that
we are all afraid of! Think about it for a moment... Imported biofuel from Brazil, grown
in what was once a rain forest, which utilizes huge amounts of artificial
chemicals and genetically modified seeds. ....Terrifying, don't you agree?

Biofuel initially appealed to “greens” because it seemed
to be a cleaner option. In some
cases biodiesel can be made locally to be utilized by local consumers. From an agricultural
standpoint, biodiesel still appears promising as an energy source to support farm s that will grow the world’s food. However, as consumers, we
must be careful and temper our demand for liquid fuels with an understanding of
the current state of the climate and the global food system. In short, we are
faced with a dwindling food surplus and increasing demand by developing nations,
while at the same time the climate is screaming to get our attention.

As always, we need to think about the way we use liquid fuel
and oils and we need to prioritize the ways in which we use these scarce and
vital resources. It is our responsibility to make choices for the future, and that means
considering what is safe for the earth and the climate. Constant Growth is a False Assumption and if we do not choose to take the implications of climate change,
food, and energy security seriously, we will be forced to address these issues when
we have far fewer options to work with.

For those who want to read more you can click here
to read the article: "Switch to Corn Promotes Amazon Deforestation".
It is from the recent December 2007 volume of Science.

Jason Bradford and I traveled down to Ukiah today to attend
a workshop related to Fish Friendly Farming (http://www.fishfriendlyfarming.org/).
Although the workshop and related certification is geared toward private
property owners of vineyards we thought that it would be useful to attend some
of the workshops since the Brookside Energy Farm is in close proximity to a salmon
spawning stream. The biggest concern that the workshop addresses seems to be
related to erosion. As sediment enters the stream via sheet-erosion or from overused
private roads the water shed and salmon habitat is severely disrupted. This
should not be a problem for us because we practice over winter soil management
techniques including compost tea and cover cropping to directly prevent erosion,
and we have no frequently traveled roads or vehicle traffic on site.

On the way down to the workshop we stopped at Ridgewood
Ranch, home of the famous racehorse
Sea Biscuit. The
Ridgewood Ranch property spans 5000 acres and contains an active intentional community.
We visited community member Ellen Bartholomew to pick up some seed, investigate
the garden, and drop off a "corn sheller" for her interns to use as
they separate the corn seed from the cob. Ellen manages the Golden Rule
Garden at Ridgewood
Ranch. This garden is a partnership with John Jeavons' group Ecology Action and
is both a demonstration and research site. At this time of the year there are asparagus
planted out and the majority of the beds are covered in fava (broad) beans and
a diversity of winter cereal crops. Some of these crops will be used for
biomass and others will be used to collect and test seeds. Ellen mentioned that
during the dry-spell in January she actually had to water her grain crops because
they were looking a bit stressed. She said that she had never had to water in
January and that this was an abnormally dry month.

In order to collect some seeds from Ellen and Bountiful Gardens we are responsible for
collecting our own seed from some of what we grow. A portion of the seed will
be given back to Bountiful
Gardens (Ecology Action’s
seed saving and distribution arm) so that they may uses it in other tests. This
is an exciting opportunity to collaborate and we look forward to sharing the
results. Visit the Ecology Action Homepage at http://www.growbiointensive.org/,
and you can also check out Bountiful
Gardens at http://www.bountifulgardens.org/.

The varieties of seed we received and will be responsible
for include:

• Golden Giant Amaranth
• Bean Mix (Jacob’s Cattle, Pinto, and Black Turtle Beans)
• Dale Sorghum
• AC Baton Oats
• Hard Red Spring Wheat
• Lavarus Spring Wheat
• Jet Barley
• Faust Barley
• Multi-Hued Quinoa