Friday, May 14, 2010

Rejoice! Those horrible tomatoes of winter shall soon retreat from sight - Blue Pike Farm Open House 05.15

Blue Pike Farm Open House
May 15, 2010
10am - 2pm

It has been a long and cold winter. My biggest regret is the sever lack of tomatoes that had any flavor. I had become so spoiled on Carl Skalak's heirloom offerings and what little jewels I received in my local CSA that when I had to stoop to purchasing tomatoes from the grocery store, those sad little creatures picked before ready so as not to spoil in transit, the act of eating lost a little of its delight.

However hope springs eternal. The warming weather brings a glimpse of fresh veggie offerings so come and celebrate Blue Pike Farm's yearly rebirth with an Open House and see how a fantastic urban farm can not only transform a plot of forgotten land but also reconnect your senses back to the simple pleasure of enjoying good food.

Just a sampling of what you can enjoy:

John McCumber will be setting up his microscope display to see what kind of good critters are alive and swimming in the CPR and some locally grown vermicompost. Bring the kids for this fascinating biology lesson. He'll also be available to answer your questions about growing without petrochemical fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides.

The plant sale will have a wide selection of vegetables including, 2 varieties of asparagus, 5 varieties of seed potatoes, shallots, onions and more. Plus we have a special delivery of Envirosure Compost available in 40# bags with truck load pricing for open house visitors. You'll also be able to see how we are using it at BPF.

Joining us will be Lynn Thompson and her partner from Devils' Backbone and Educational Garden with a wide selection of heirloom vegetables and flowers. Here's her list:

Pingtung Long Eggplant (58 days) F-1 hybrid.
Diamond Eggplant (78 days) Open-pollinated.
Rosita Eggplant OG (84 days) Open-pollinated.
Black King Eggplant (79 days) F-1 hybrid.
Rosa Bianca Eggplant OG (88 days) Open-pollinated bicolor Italian heirloom.
Chocolate Sweet Pepper OG (80 days) Open-pollinated.
Bulgarian Carrot Chile Hot Pepper (68 days) Open-pollinated.
Early JalapeƱo Hot Pepper (75 days) Open-pollinated.
Long Red Narrow Cayenne Hot Pepper (75 days) Open-pollinated.
Anaheim Hot Pepper (78 days) Open-pollinated.
New Ace Sweet Pepper (60 days) F-1 hybrid.
Revolution Sweet Pepper (72 days) F-1 hybrid.
Flavorburst Sweet Pepper (75 days) F-1 hybrid.
Cosmonaut Volkov Tomato OG (65 days) Open-pollinated. Ind.
Pruden’s Purple Tomato OG (72 days) Open-pollinated. Ind.
Black Prince Tomato OG (75 days) Open-pollinated. Ind.
Green Zebra Tomato OG (77 days) Open-pollinated. Ind.
Cherokee Purple Tomato OG (77 days) Open-pollinated. Ind.
Paul Robeson Tomato OG (78 days) Open-pollinated. Ind.
Jubilee Tomato OG (80 days) Open-pollinated. Ind.
Rose de Berne Tomato OG (80 days) Open-pollinated. Ind.
Pink Brandywine Tomato OG (82 days) Open-pollinated. Ind. with potato-leaf foliage.
Aunt Ruby’s German Green Tomato OG (85 days) Open-pollinated. Ind. Goldie Tomato OG (90 days) Open-pollinated. Ind.
Black Cherry Tomato OG (75 days) Open-pollinated. Ind.
Fargo Yellow Pear Tomato OG (82 days) Open-pollinated.
Sun Gold Cherry Tomato (57 days) F-1 hybrid. Ind.
Sparky Mix French Dwarf Double Marigold
First Lady African MarigoldFO Fiesta Broccoli OG (86 days) F-1 hybrid.
Cassius Cauliflower OG (84 days) F-1 hybrid.
Sweet Basil OG (70 days)
Gigante d’Italia Parsley (70 days) Open-pollinated.
Imperial Star Globe Artichoke OG (120 days) Open-pollinated.

No need to RSVP. Just show up.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Can't See the City for the Trees - Urban Forest Mapping

Well, not really. The truth is that the idea of urban amenities is nice, however without any way to quantify "real" value there is difficulty in finding proper funding. Street trees for example add quite a bit to the urban environment from both a psychological and environmental perspective, however they are often treated as simple decorative additions to an already over burdened pedestrian pathway. This ends up with trees crammed into tight and unhealthy spots, burdening growth and doing nothing to add to the health or image of a street. A dead or dying tree on an urban thorough-way is a rather sad sight.

For the urban and planner nerds out there that love mapping, what if there was a way to map tree locations and quantify their value? Danger, leading question...

The Urban Forest Map creates an online presence where "tree people" and mappers can collect data about urban tree locations in and around San Francisco. When I entered Cleveland, Ohio the map basically told me to go to hell.

However, when it isn't acting like a prissy snaffergargle the Urban Forest Map (I like the logo too) shows the impact that the selected tress are having in terms of monetary evaluations of Greenhouse Gas, Water, Energy and Air Quality Benefits.

The mapping is collaborative and open to users and pretty darn nifty for those of us that have room in our hearts for trees, Google and mapping things. The intent of the site is to collect data for "urban foresters and city planners in better managing trees, allowing them to track and combat tree pests and diseases, and also plan future tree plantings. Additionally climatologists will be able to use the information to better understand the effects of urban forests on climates, and students and scientists can use the site to learn about the role of trees in the urban ecosystem.".

Funded by a "grant awarded by the the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) funded by Proposition 84 they expanded the project and is now a collaboration of government, non-profits, businesses and individuals."

Pretty neato.