Written by Margaretha Haughwout | 31 January 2011

Greetings from the Hayes Valley Farm Biodiversity Team!

Our fall and winter have been very active due to the completion of our new greenhouse, thanks to Ron Stanford, Jason Hiller, Shoukry Kabbaz, Steve Humenay, Harshal Deshmukh and countless others who helped in its construction. Since its completion, we've been able to multiply our seedling production. As a result, our volunteers have been harvesting delicious Brassicas all winter long! This fall and winter too, we've been exploring sustainable soil blocking mixes, in the attempt to wean ourselves from non-local, unsustainable ingredients to more local and sustainable ones. To this end, with the good insight from our resident micro-biologist and lead researcher Aimee Hill, we've been working with combinations of worm castings and filtered compost.

Written by Angela Goebel | 30 January 2011

A trivia question to our readers: Chill hours are (a) the amount of time a recipe calls for congealing Jell-O (b) the duration of your fridge's warranty (c) the number of hours between the temperatures of 32-45 degrees Fahrenheit that aid in an important biological process. Drum roll please...the correct answer is (c)! I am sorry to disappoint those of you who were breathless at the thought of a Jell-O molding program at the farm.

Our Freeway Food Forest depends on chill hours. Without them, our fruit trees would not bear, you guessed it, fruit. Due to this, chill hours were one of the farm's main criteria when it selected fruit trees last winter.

Let's go over the basics. Trees fall dormant during the winter to protect new growth from frost. Longer nights initiate dormancy, and chill hours are like Sleeping Beauty's kiss--- they cue the trees to wake up in the spring. A chill hour is a winter hour between 32 and 45 degrees, but if the temperature rises above 60 degrees, a chill hour must be subtracted from the overall total.

Written by Aimee Hill | 30 January 2011

I arrived at the farm today after having accepted the fact it would be raining just as it stopped.

Right away, a guy with a old-timey newspaper reporter hat and a crazy camera was directed my way. He wanted to talk to me about the importance of soil.

I pointed out important historical battles and truces in the development of soil fungus and bacteria soil cohabitation. Two groups of little creatures you cannot see fight over air, food and space just like all other living things. In the end, they make homes for each other and allow each other to survive. They create their own habitat, replete with air holes, water drainage, and living spaces designed and used by each other.

Life processes of plants are made possible by the nutrient bucket-brigade bacteria and fungus provide to plants. Without this most basic level of biological organization, the rest of life would not be possible. Plants could not survive with out constant external attention to their nutrient needs which microorganisms provide both on purpose and by coincidence. In other words, soil is alive and is far more than the sum of its parts.

Written by Kacie Loparto | 28 January 2011

Imagine Johnny Apple Seed. Now imagine taking a bite into one of his feral apples and what it might taste like. Think about the texture. Were you one of the lucky few? Was your apple sweet and crisp? or Astringent? Tart? Chances are your salivary glands would probably go wild. This has something to do with the man’s technique.

You mean if you throw your favorite apple seed into a pot or out in the yard the apple that grows may not be so delicious? Right. Luckily, the California Rare Fruit Growers CRFG and lots of locals know the secret to growing a diverse selection of pretty tasty fruit. Diversity is key to our landscape! And you get the good fruit by grafting.

I had the opportunity to go to the recent Scion Exchange in El Sobrante, hosted by the California Rare Fruit Growers. I didn’t really know what I was in for because I am pretty new to growing fruit. Years ago I helped a friend graft a bunch of apples trees that are now establishing themselves in the Blue Ridge Mountains. At the scion exchange a bunch of fruit growers and people interested in growing shuffled around a room full of tables with zip lock bags full of cuttings from their favorite trees. The idea is that people leave some and take some. I didn’t have any to give and that was ok. Maybe next year I can hunt down some great trees to clip. Along with filling baggies full scion wood we also watched experts graft the scion wood onto root stock for people to take home. My favorite part was the amazing citrus I left with! I tasted my first Cara Cara.

Written by Casey Gold | 21 January 2011

San Francisco Friendship Circle visited the farm in honor of Tu Bshvot, the Jewish New Year of the Trees. This week, the trees of the earth turn one year older. One more year of wildlife habitat, windbreak, and food forestry. And on that very same page, we rejoice this week as Hayes Valley Farm celebrates one year of existence. What an amazing alignment of celebration!

The Friendship Circle works to cultivate community amongst special needs children and their families, while at the same time providing leadership opportunities for middle and high school students. Children are partnered with mentoring teenagers in an effort to meaningfully contribute to each other's lives. Today’s friendship circle focused on the connection we share with trees and the connection shared amongst all living creatures.

We introduced ourselves in welcome circle, and each new friend chose the name of a tree as his or her nature name of the day. Olive trees were in plentiful bloom, as were fruit trees like apricot, cherry, and fig. Garden Educator Janelle chose to personify the oak tree, and one perceptive Friend connected oak tree to Oak Street which borders the farm. Trees of all forms and manifestations surround us everywhere, she said.

We meandered the farm- up the onramp, down the berms, through the compost station, across the river, and up to the cob oven. I’ve given the farm tour a number of times, and I’m amazed how it grows in new dimensions with each new group of participants. The farm tour was reinvented today in the context of trees- the strength of their roots, the shelter of their canopy, and the nourishment of their fruit. We were inspired by the following Tu Bshvot agenda:

A Tree's New Year Checklist:

• Did I shelter the seedlings that live in my shade -- so they will grow up to be a next generation like myself?
• Did I grow towards the sun as a tree should, reaching up higher and higher towards that which I can never grasp, but which nurtures me all the same the more I strive towards it?
• Did I make sure my roots remain firmly planted in the soil that nurtures them, and did I drop my leaves there in the fall to give back life to that which sustains me?
• Did I ensure that my fruits were sweet and nourished all that came to enjoy them? Did everyone walk away from me with a smile?
• Did I bend gently in the wind, accepting what G-d sends but never breaking or giving up hope?
• Did I grow in strength and wisdom with each new ring this year?

We closed the morning with snacktime- fruits of the earth- and songtime- melodies of our souls. Thank you, Friendship Circle, for reminding us to celebrate the trees.