Then I went to work and chopped and sautéed the veggies in butter (not from my yard,) scrambled and cooked the eggs. Tossed the veggies on top and viola one healthy omelet FREE from the yard.

I want to thank my friend Kelli (http://www.africankelli.com/) who I had dinner with last evening for the inspiration on this one. She is doing great community work her in Phoenix building community gardens.

Technorati Tags: Chef Rachel, eat my yard, edible landscaping, Greg Peterson, healthy eating, Urban Farm

• The two most obvious ingredients to soil are dirt and organic matter and are the bulk of what you see. Dirt is decomposed rock that contains many of the micronutrients and minerals that plants need to thrive. Organic material made up of sticks, leaves, compost and mulch, break down very quickly and need to be added often.

• Air space and water are the next two ingredients in healthy soil that contribute to the success of your garden. Highly compacted soil (dirt minus the air spaces) leaves no place for the roots to venture giving them no place to grow. Water for obvious reasons makes the whole process go. One caveat – roots do not travel to find water, the water needs to come to them.

So what else could there be? In my humble opinion the most important component for a successful garden — all living things that occupy the space…worms, bugs and a plethora of valuable microorganisms whose names I cannot pronounce. Without which our gardens cannot thrive. Which leads to our next big issue, keeping your garden in balance.

Nature brings a certain order and balance to our gardens that when we nurture it, the success of our plantings are greater. By adding harsh chemical fertilizers and pesticides in effect we are throwing nature balance off, making the environment more susceptible to pests. Adding lots of compost rich in microbial life, organic fertilizer and only using natural pest controls will take you a long way in keeping your garden in balance.

I have found over and over when I honor this process the bounty is great and sometimes overwhelming. Next time I’ll share a process that you can make a whole lot of great soil where you want it, in just a few months.

Once you watch the video check out the picture below.  It is showing signs of growth.  Woohoo.

Miniature Peach Tree

During the tour this past Saturday I promised people that I would prove to them that this technique works…well here is the proof.  Here is a picture of a peach tree that I planted last year using this same technique.

Second Year Peach Tree

And another…

Second Year Peach Tree Two

And yet another…

Second Year Peach Tree Three

These three pictures were taken on the same day and you can see that they are in different stages of budding out.  The ones that bud out later will produce peaches a little later in the season.

The next picture is an exciting on as it is an apricot that I just planted out.  Notice that it is budding out in multiple places rather than just one.  This will make the bushing process a lot easier.

First year Apricot

The other thing that will help with the bushing process will be that I will do summer pruning of the trees – this will help to keep the growth like a bush rather than like a tree.  I will cut them off at 6 feet and not let them get any taller.

More on that later.

Greg from the Urban Farm March 3, 2009

From artichoke to watermelon, this calender provides dates and circumstances for desert planting. Along with this information, you’ll receive tips on each individual plant and how to care for it during the growing process.

Please fill out the form below and your free calendar will be available for download on the next page.  Thanks!  You are signing up to receive weekly updates and tips on living green.  We do not share this information with anyone else.  If you are not interested in receiving it is easy to unsubscribe.

-

For those of you that know me or have read my blog you know how much I love fruit trees. So much so that I have over 80 fruit trees planted at the Urban Farm and another 60 or so planted in my neighborhood. A big part of how we manage these trees is that we keep them small with a process called Urban Orcharding. We keep them small by pruning them from a very early age and then keep up with the pruning every year.

My goal at the Urban Farm is to get to a place where I am able to harvest fruit all year around. Well I am getting there and it looks like this:

• November through April – Oranges and tangerines – these store really well on the tree.
• April – Loquats – A really nice tropical fruit resembling an apricot.
• May through July – Peaches, apricots, plums and grapes – these don’t store well on the tree well therefor I have planted different varieties that ripen at different times. This is called successive ripening.
• June through August – Apples – These store well on the trees as well.
• August and September – Asian pears and pomegranates.

Check out this video on urban orcharding.  Also here is a really great article on creating your own urban orchard.

Greg

Technorati Tags: fruit, fruit trees, Urban Farm, Urban orcharding

Every day I have to keep reminding myself why I do what I do. It is more a feeling than something specific – the song reminds me…

We Are The World

There comes a time
When we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it’s time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can’t go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We are all a part of
God’s great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let’s start giving
There’s a choice we’re making
We’re saving our own lives
It’s true we’ll make a better day
Just you and me

Send them your heart
So they’ll know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stone to bread
So we all must lend a helping hand

When you’re down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There’s no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well, let us realize
That a change will only come
When we stand together as one

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let’s start giving
There’s a choice we’re making
We’re saving our own lives
It’s true we’ll make a better day
Just you and me

THAT is why I do what I do. Because I can. It is MY duty to leave the planet a better place…Every Day. FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. Because I can. I can make a difference and I do every day with every choice I make. Choices made from love. If not me then who will do it. If not you then who. This is your call to stand up and change the world. Even if it is only in your little corner – just do it!!!

In the chorus there is a line

There’s a choice we’re making
We’re saving our own lives

That couldn’t be more true or poignant today what it comes to our living on our Mother earth.

Why do you do what you do? That is what I want to know. Please post a comment here, ask your friends, pass this post along to everyone that you know. It’s time we step up to the plate and make a difference.

How do you make a difference? Tell me.

Greg from my couch, January 31st, 2010. Looking to make THE biggest difference of my life in the next 11 months.

Remember you can and do make a difference every day.