The Many Benefits of Chayote

From root to fruit to shoot, Chayote is an edible that adds versatility to permaculture landscapes.  A native from mexico, and a member of the gourd family, Chayote is known by many names as it has migrated across the globe and into many diverse culinary dishes.  Some call it Cho-Cho, some Sayote, and some know it by the name Merleton just to name a few.  There are as many ways to cook it as there are names.

For a great selection of recipes, check out Chayote recipes at Pinterest.  Just recently we harvested some shoots from the Art City garden and used them freshly chopped in a green salad with purslane, mustard greens, arugula, and young endive leaves.  These greens were tossed in a yogurt garlic onion dressing with fresh cracked pepper and lemon juice.  Excellent and healthy!

Chayote is easy to grow in our local climate.  Perfect for trellising over border fences, the pear shaped fruit hangs from heart shaped leaves and curling shoots.  Grow Chayote!  It adds a tasty vertical element to your garden.

photo by: Bùi Thụy Đào Nguyên cc-by-sa

Edible Landscape for Rosie and Macks

On Saturday we helped Rosie and Macks get a good start in their backyard garden.  We prepared late into the night before, putting finishing touches on the vertical gardens and mixing soil. When we made our morning delivery of compost and mulch, Rosie was ready with coffee and pastries.  Yeah!  All throughout the day we worked together, DIY style, planting, mulching and designing a garden that will have room to grow in the future.  This is why we do what we do.

Saturday was a windy day, which was perfect in a way, because we wanted to know how the vertical pallet gardens would respond to heavy gusts, as they were hanging approximately three feet down off the eves of the garage roof.  It worked well.  The pallets were heavy enough to withstand the wind, and they added the extra color Rosie wanted in front of the open wall.  Later, Audra and Rosie placed a variety of herbs, flowers and edibles in the grow boxes.  We accomplished what we set out to do, and we were all happy with the installation.

Macks built a raised bed (complete with wire gopher proofing) and we filled with a layer of rough compost, and then top amended with a custom mix of Venture Cooperative compost, worm castings and coco mulch.  In that mix we planted heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, kale, and zucchini, and then watered with compost tea.

We also mulched the border gardens and garden work area, outlining sections with locally sourced rocks, making a the garden come alive in the moment.  Already new ideas about what to do next were being dreamed up.

Not only did we begin a beautiful new backyard garden with Rosie and Macks, more importantly, we began a new friendship.  We're looking forward to working with them again soon and taking it to the next level.  Until then, Keep Growing!

Grow Your Own: A Raised Bed and Tower Garden Experiment

Soil or aeroponics?  Why choose?  There are advantages to both.  In Daniel's case he is running an experiment in his front yard to see which one he likes best.  

As spring begins and the planting starts, he has two systems of growing.  One, a raised bed he designed and the other a tower garden that is a pilot system for a school gardening program.  In each system he plans to produce a yield that will provide healthy meals for his family.

Originally, the plan was to build the raised bed in the back yard, high enough off the ground so that he could work standing up.  The direct sunlight was better in the front yard, and because of that we trimmed some hedge and built it by the driveway.  By converting a sprinkler head into a bubbler irrigation system the bed is now watered on a timer.  

Daniel was also gifted a tower garden to experiment with as a pilot project for a local school's gardening program.  This is a perfect opportunity to see side by side how different grow systems work.  The tower garden is a soil-less system.  The nutrients are carried to the plant roots by an oxygenated water system the pumps water to the top of the tower from a storage basin at the bottom.  It is on a 15 min on/off timer.  

Placed side by side in the front yard, these two systems are going to provide an excellent opportunity to measure the success of two different grow styles.  Ventura Cooperative is happy to help Daniel as he endeavors to grow his own food.  Permaculture begins here, front yard gardening!

Learn more about Tower Gardens here.  

https://www.towergarden.com/

For more information contact Ventura Cooperative at:

http://venturacoop.blogspot.com/p/contact-us.html

Ventura Cooperative Brings White Sage to NH

Maybe you've noticed, maybe you haven't.  "Live Free and DIY" is on the Ventura Cooperative logo. It's our version of the famous New Hampshire "Live Free or Die" state motto. In honor of this connection, we brought white sage to the granite state as the start of our coast to coast trading initiative.

White sage is hand gathered and native to California.  Hard to get in New Hampshire. What's difficult to fine in California--small batch locally produced maple syrup. That's where Ventura Cooperative comes in. We're building NH-CA trade partnerships to support locally made goods in both states.

Danbury General Store received our first delivery of white sage. It's a family run business with lot's of locally produced goods. The store is located right next to Ragged Mountian Ski Area.  Be sure to stop in and check out what they have to offer. Look for more locally harvested items and products to be traded in the future.  Have suggestions?  Contact us here.

DIY Rainwater Collection Barrel

This is a great basic design for a economical and efficient rainwater collection system.  In Ventura, as in the rest of California, we are facing serious drought conditions.  You'd be surprised how much water comes off your roof in even the lightest rain.  You're handy?  DIY  You're not?  give us a call and we'll install it for you.  

Mulch for California Drought

2013 was the driest year on record for California.  2014 is looking like it could continue to produce emergency drought conditions across the state.  As we prepare for our spring and summer gardens, water use is a major concern, and heavy mulching this year is a number one priority.

Ventura Cooperative Garden Services sources mulch locally, delivers and installs it for you as needed.  Keep the water in the soil around the roots of your plants.  By the truckload or by the bag (reclaimed and reused whenever possible.)  Get some compost or compost tea too.  Check out Vcoop's garden services menu here.