A message from friends at the Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society:

The Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society

Needs your help to

SAVE SANTA ANA’S LAST ORANGE ORCHARD!! 

Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 4:30 pm</div>

City Hall Ross Annex, First Floor Conference Room

20 Civic Center Plaza

Santa Ana, CA 92701

Planning Commission

Monday, February 11, 2013 at 5:30 pm (tentative–see Orchard Website for confirmation)

City Council Chambers

20 Civic Center Plaza

Santa Ana, CA 92701

City Council

Monday, March 4, 2013 at 5:00 pm (tentative–see Orchard Website for confirmation)

City Council Chambers

20 Civic Center Plaza

Santa Ana, CA 92701

Letters to the city supporting preservation can be addressed to:

Vince Fregoso, Project Manager

20 Civic Center Plaza, Ross Annex M-20

P.O. Box 1988

Santa Ana, CA 92702

vfregoso@santa-ana.org

714-667-2713

The City’s web page for the Sexlinger Property:

http://www.santa-ana.org/pba/planning/SexlingerFarmhouseandOrchard.asp

For more information please visit

http://www.oldorchardconservancy.org/

and

www.facebook.com/OldOrangeOrchardConservancy

]]> http://www.theecologycenter.org/blog/2013/01/21/5447/feed/ 0 http://www.theecologycenter.org/blog/2012/12/21/winter-seed-starting-with-grow-your-own/ http://www.theecologycenter.org/blog/2012/12/21/winter-seed-starting-with-grow-your-own/#comments Fri, 21 Dec 2012 22:44:22 +0000 Dr. Meg http://www.theecologycenter.org/blog/?p=5434

The winter solstice is at the end of this week. As the longest day of the year, it also marks the shift from less to more sunlight each day. From ancient times, this is a celebratory day for farmers, gardeners, and unborn blossoms as it harkens the growing season in months to come.

For those of you that  have a garden, or for now, just a sunny spot in your kitchen window, December is a great time to start seeds indoors so that they will be hearty and strong little seedlings for transplanting in early spring.

Last week, in our Grow Your Own demo classes at Kinoshita, San Juan, and Malcom elementary schools, we talked about the importance of planting different varieties for diversity, and we planted seed flats with close to 20 varieties of lettuce, some of which had exotic names such as Troutback, Tango, and Red Devil’s Tongue. We also connected to the previous month’s focus on soil by discussing the importance of starting seeds in a good potting mix.

Here is one of our favorite quick potting mixes here at The Ecology Center. This recipe fills about one large seed flat:

6 trowel-fuls cured compost

3 trowel-fuls coconut coir, soaked in water and broken up about 20 minutes in advance

3 trowel-fuls organic potting soil

Mix all three ingredients in a bucket. Fill a large seed flat so the soil surface is flush with the top of the flat. Make small indentations in the surface of each pocket to a depth about twice the length of your seed, and drop about 2 seeds into each groove. (Small seeds get planted closer to the surface, and bigger seeds get planted deeper). Try starting lettuces, leafy greens, brassicas, cold season herbs, or even tomatoes in this way. Cover with a bit more potting mix. Spray with a spray bottle until saturated and set in a sunny window. Water this way each day, and enjoy tending your little indoor winter garden!

]]> http://www.theecologycenter.org/blog/2012/12/21/winter-seed-starting-with-grow-your-own/feed/ 0 http://www.theecologycenter.org/blog/2012/12/21/how-to-prepare-your-garden-bed-for-winter-planting/ http://www.theecologycenter.org/blog/2012/12/21/how-to-prepare-your-garden-bed-for-winter-planting/#comments Fri, 21 Dec 2012 22:43:41 +0000 Dr. Meg http://www.theecologycenter.org/blog/?p=5423

Here in Southern California, we are lucky to be able to plant outdoors all year long. Still, after the bounty of the fall harvest, it is important right now to give some extra attention to the soil in our garden beds. If you plan to re-plant fairly soon, amending beds with good organic compost replaces nutrients while mulching them retains water and prevents weeds from growing.

Here are a few basic guidelines to keep your garden growing strong, all winter long…

Use Organic Amendments and Compost.

Mix and match or choose one of these three great sources:
Manure – Chicken manure, worm castings, and composted manure of vegetarian animals. Nutrient dense, a little can go a long way.
Homemade Compost – From your compost pile or a friend’s
Municipal Compost – Made from grass clippings, leaves, and tree prunings gathered and then sold or given to local residents.

Be Generous:

When preparing a new planting bed, spread a 3-4 inch layer of amendment over the soil and dig or till it into the top 9-12 inches.

Keep It Covered!

Mulch Your Beds. Using organic material to mulch on top of your soil keep moisture in and keep the microorganisms and worms doing their jobs. Try shredded bark or tree trimmings, or straw. A good mulch should look natural, contain some nutrients that will end up in the soil, and be heavy enough to stay put.

If You’re Letting it Lie, Try Cover Crops…

A great low-maintenance way to fertilize your beds if you plan to keep them empty for a season, is to broad cast a bunch of legume and grass seeds, otherwise known as “cover crops.” Make your own mix, or, we sell one here in our shop for $2 a scoop that includes bell beans, vetch, buckwheat and more!

Happy planting!

photo from: statebystategardening.com

Using permeable pavers or decomposed granite as surface materials allows water to seep through to the soil instead of running off into the storm drain. In the garden, plant natives which are well adapted and make the most of our average rainfall here in Southern California. Apply a 2-3″ layer of organic mulch to reduce evaporation and runoff. Lastly, plant a rain garden, or a basin filled with water-loving plants to divert water from the storm drain. Still, one of the best ways to slow down good water is with a rain barrel – and we learned how to make one this weekend.

Using a retrofitted food-grade 55-gallon barrel, properly placed underneath a downspout, you can fill a rain barrel with precious good water. How much rain? Just 1” of rain yields 620 gallons per 1,000 sq ft of roof space. When you consider the average roof size for an Orange County home is 3,000 sq ft, that’s a collection of over 1800 gallons per 1” of rain! This water is best for your garden, but can also be used to drink using a filter, wash clothes or flush the toilet. If you missed the workshop and want to know how’s it done – all is well.

Follow the instructions below or visit us for tools, materials and any questions  you might have on how to put good water to use in your yard!

Build a Rain Barrel

Cost $50

Time – 1 hour

Tools & Materials: 55-gallon barrel, bulkhead set, harden faucet, 1 piece of mesh or window screen, elbow fitting (optional)

1. Purchase a clean, 55-gallon, food-grade plastic barrel (available at The Ecology Center). Do not use a used barrel or one you retrieved from the dump.

2. Cut a hole the size of your downspout into the top of the barrel or lid. A hole or sabre saw will do the trick.

3. Affix a piece of mesh or window screen over the hole in the lid to prevent debris or critters from falling in. If needed, you can attach a 45o elbow to the end of your downspout to reach your barrel.

4. Unscrew the bulkhead and place the threaded stem against the outside of the barrel about 4-6” above the ground.

5. Trace around the stem, and cut out the traced hole.

6. Place one of the rubber gaskets on the stem and push it through the hole so that the base of the stem and rubber gasket are still on the inside of the barrel. The stem should fit snugly.

7. Slide the second gasket onto the stem that is now protruding out from the barrel. Next, screw the washer onto the stem.

8. Tighten it down against the gasket, but avoid over tightening. You can now thread a garden faucet into the bulkhead, and affix a hose.

9. Position the barrel under a downspout, and do a rain dance!

Happy harvesting!

Rain barrel

Downspout diverted to a rain garden – not the gutter

Rain barrel construction in progress

Good mulch can be straw, leaves, yard trimmings, bark, wood etc.

So, why break tradition and buy local? When you buy local, you start to understand what it means to eat fresh, and in season. You’ll get excited for change when you know Summer is not just about sunburns, but about fresh juicy berries and melons from your own backyard. Buying local supports our community by showing love to local vintners, farmers, brewers, producers, fisherman, ranchers and others who depend on us. It helps the environment and open spaces that surround us by preserving the farm landscape for what it is, and not a parking lot. Plus, when you buy and eat fresh, local, and organic, you protect our watershed and the ocean it drains into by reducing chemicals, pesticides, and fertilizers used by many commercial farm operations. Not to mention, the higher quality from eating fresh and organic that is easy to taste.

With all of these great reasons, all that’s left is one question – how do I buy local this Thanksgiving? Visit your local farmer’s market – find one near you by visiting www.localharvest.org or reach out to local purveyors. How? With the help of a former intern, Whitney Simon, we’ve compiled a regionally sourced database of purveyors as a resource for you! All the purveyors on this list are within 200 miles of The Ecology Center – look for it in our next issue of Evolve.

In the meantime, here’s a few from the list that will help cover your Thanksgiving meal necessities:

Turkey
Golden Farms in Canoga Park (818) 340-1806
Rainbow Ranch Farms in Pinon Hills (760) 868-6206
Veggies
South Coast Farms in San Juan Capo. (949) 661-9381
Smith’s Farms in Irvine (949) 726-8366
Bread
Belen Artisan Bakers in Escondido (760) 740-5963
Baker’s Best Bread in Yorba Linda (714)993-6865
Wine
Bonterra Vineyards in Laguna Beach (949) 375-1816
Newport Beach Vineyards & Winery in Newport Beach (949) 500-0273
Baking Essentials
Sustainable Pantry (858) 945-6859

Understand and experience the benefits that buying local can afford you, our community, and our environment. Most importantly, give thanks and have a happy local Thanksgiving!

Little did we know that the prestigious European design festival, held in Lodz, Poland (Lodz Design Festival) was looking for a global representation in their 2012 show. This year’s festival titled “AwaREness,  refers to a wide array of concepts, enabling us to search and find answers to the most important (meta)questions about past, present and future.” Answers to the most important questions revert back to our relationship to our basic needs, most notably water. True for California, Poland and the entire planet, the future health of humanity is defined by our relationship to water. Over 5,000 visitors experienced Splash! in Lodz, seeking answers (solutions) to building a healthy future. Concepts found in Splash! include understanding the water footprint of the food we eat, our power supply, and the products we consume. For example, eating vegetarian, changing your lightbulbs to energy efficient CFL’s, and buying local all save water.

A huge thanks to Andrzej Sieczkowski and the entire Lodz Design Festival team for inviting us to Poland. It was an honor to be back together with Juggy and the entire Splash! exhibition. For a reminder on Splash!, and most importantly, tips on defeating Juggy the water-wasting beast, visit and pledge here.

While it is convenient, unless you live in the same town as PepsiCo or Tyson (#1 and #2 in the food industry in 2011 according to FoodProcessing.com), this type of shopping does not support local economies or promote local jobs. Going to a farmers market or asking your supermarket’s produce manager to label local food, however, supports local industry and builds community at the same time. Plus, you get food/goods with less fuel footprint and riper, fresher taste.

These types of consumer choices are not just relegated to food, though.  For some great information on how major companies in all consumer areas compare, check out the company ratings at www.betterworldshopper.com that include criteria such as fair wages, social justice, environmental health, and community impact.  It’s a pretty phenomenal database ranging from airlines to pet care, banks to toilet paper, with really insightful research and easy to understand grading system.

Next time you have a buying choice, ask yourself how your purchase can improve your health and the health of others, and vote with your wallet!

Food! Water! Energy! Waste! Shelter! Together, we are The Ecology Center!

The crew from The Ecology Center gathered around the kitchen and tapped into our creative side to capture our core focus areas in a beautiful organic pumpkin from Farmer George’s Pumpkin Patch at South Coast Farms.  Our “eeko-lanterns” are reminders to make positive impact on our ecosystems during the year-end holidays.

Did you know you can enjoy your jack-o-lantern well after Halloween? If you can’t cook it up, convert yesterday’s ghoulish grin into tomorrow’s great fertilizer by putting your expired squash into compost! You’ll be saving fuel from garbage trucks hauling them away, and you’ll also be putting great nutrients back in the soil.

Pumpkins are suitable for regular or vermicompost bins–just don’t overwhelm your worms with too much squash! Remember your wrigglers can consume 1 lb. of scraps per 1 lb. of worms per week. Remove any wax or artificial lights, and, as long as you have not applied any petroleum jelly or other oils to waterproof your pumpkin, it is suitable for composting. Cut it into smaller pieces (or be a rebel and smash it!) to help it decompose quickly. Already moldy? Even better! The process has already begun.

Wishing you a very happy and safe Halloween!

David Sharp adding malt sugar syrup to the barley tea

In celebration of Ecotoberfest here at The Ecology Center, we had our friend, roofer, and home brew master David Sharp over to teach us the art of brewing beer. Beer enthusiasts joined together in the courtyard to sample The Ecology Center’s own “Water Tower” pale ale, snack on sprouted barley cookies, and gain valuable skills about home brewing.

Believe it or not, brewing your own beer is a simple and fun activity. While each of us brews for his or her own reason, the results are always the same – delicious and buzz worthy beer. Not to mention, at home brewing makes for a healthier planet. Every time you brew instead of buy beer, you help lessen the environmental impacts associated with industrial brewing practices. You help even further when you purchase materials from your local home brew shop, reuse equipment and supplies (even yeast), compost spent grains and hops, use biodegradable cleaning and sanitizing products, buy local and organic ingredients in bulk, or even grow your own!

The afternoon was cloudy but the energy bright as our community of beer lovers joined together. We would like to thank David Sharp for his cookies, beer, and ability to share his zen-like brewing skills with us. Remember, the single most important thing to know when brewing beer, David revealed, is to “relax, and have a home brew.”

If you missed this unique Backyard Skills Workshop – here is a short video from last years event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VQApEDqUXo.

If you are ready to brew your own, here is the breakdown:

Cost - $60

Time – 2-3 hours prep. 7-12 days wait.

Tools & Materials – one 10-gallon food-grade plastic pail with lid, siphon hose (a 70” long, 5/16” food-grade tubing will do), hose clamp for siphon, hydrometer and a thermometer, large pot, lots of 12oz bottles and caps, bottler, 4 0oz. can of malt extract of your liking (light, dark, stout),1 tsp. brewer’s yeast, 6-8 cups of regular white sugar or 8-10 cups of corn sugar (preferred)

Instructions - 

Basic Steps to Partial Mash:

1. Sanitize everything. Clean all equipment with warm, lightly soapy water. Sanitize further by using a small amount of bleach – 1 tbsp to one gallon of water.

2. Pour 10 liters of fresh, cold water into the 10 gallon pail. Bring 7 liters of water to a boil in your large pot.

3. Add the can of malt extract, stir and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.

4. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Once sugar has dissolved, pour contents into the pail. Do this quickly, so air is added to the mixture. Top with filtered water until the temperature is neutral. The pail should be just over half full.

5. Sprinkle in the yeast and stir well

6. Set lid on top of the pail, loosely. Keep covered and avoid opening unnecessarily. In 7-10 days, the brew will be ready to bottle.

7. To test readiness, set the hydrometer into the beer and spinit once to release bubbles. A “ready to bottle” reading should be 1.008 for dark beers and 1.010 for light beers.

Basic Steps to Basic Bottling:

1.Set the pail on a sturdy table and your bottles on the floor. Place newspaper underneath to catch drips. Using a funnel, put 1/3 teaspoon of sugar in each 12 oz bottle.

2.Siphon the beer into the bottles, trying not to disturb the sediment on the bottom of the pail. At this point, it’s important NOT to agitate the beer too much. Additional oxygen can lead to oxidation, which we don’t want. Cap the bottle before turn- ing it upside down and giving it a good shake to dissolve the sugar on the bottom.

3. Store bottles in a dark cool spot like a pantry, wait a few days then enjoy!

Visit the Tools for Change shop for beer brewing resources, tools and materials. Also, don’t forget to join us next Saturday, October 27th for an exclusive beer talk and tasting with brewmaster Daniel Love of Mother Earth Brew Co. Joining the party will be Jason Winters of Urban Pie to sling some wood-fired pizza. Beer and pizza? Yes and yes. Reserve your tickets here!

An attentive class studying an ancient tradition

The art of brewing is passed on from generation to generation in the Sharp family

Hands-on community involvement around brewing sustainable beer

The search is officially on for a brand new position at The Ecology Center: Public Programs Coordinator. This person will be a key representative and liaison for all our Backyard Skills programming plus other civic and public programs and events. We’re looking forward to casting a wide net and seeing what enthusiasm comes our way!

Read more by downloading the job description here.  Applications will be accepted through Wednesday, November 21, 2012.