On Wednesday, a group of PICAns led by David Saxton, constructed the bike canopy structure. Now it will be very very hard for the bike to get rained upon (if, indeed, there is to be more rain this season. Steve's mentor calls the first two weeks of April 'the Crazy 15 Days', and I'm anticipating it). It was a process - Sarah, David, Gulliver, and I first fitted together the metal poles and assembled the skeleton. Then we flipped it (amidst pieces falling apart) and put the canopy cloth over it. Tony and Mike helped us attach the cloth to the skeleton, and then 6 people carried the thing over to the bikes. It was big enough that it nearly covers the entire back area. After some adjustments, we propped the thing on blocks of concrete that were inlaid with wood. David drilled the canopy legs into the wood, and now it rests stably on them, level with the rise. Our big concern is whether or not the Fire Marshals will approve of its proximity to B2's door - in a fire emergency, would it inhibit people from getting out? Tony (Maintenance Man) and Susie (of the Front Office) said that the Fire Marshals would have to make the final decision. For now, though, we're keeping it up.
On Thursday we were lazy dirtbags. So bury us.
On Friday Sarah, Dave Griese, and I cut out the herbs in bed 12a - we planned on transporting them to bed 1a, the directed-for herb bed, and planting brassicas or winter-loving crops in 12a. The bed sits in shade, lower than the rest of the Garden, and has a higher clay content than some of the other beds. Some of the "colder" species may like that in the summer, when the Garden gets baked by sun. We left the herbs for a few hours, then transplanted them out later on. Then, in the late afternoon, we mulched the picnic table area with redwood duff. It will help to suppress the weeds, as well as make for a better visual, for now. In the evening, we planted all the basil out in bed 15, where the tomatoes are already taking off.
The next morning, Saturday, early early, Dave Griese and I began turning bed 12a. The soil was, indeed, as clayey as I remembered - we single-dug it, incorporating it with Haddad's soil (which has nice texture) and finished compost - the first finished compost ever from the new system! Ohh, it was rich and soft. I laud it for its black-gold feeling. Mmm, *bling blang!* Dave wanted to create a new bedend for 11a, further out from the sage, so we did that. Dug nearly 2 feet of compacted clayey soil from the area and filled it in almost entirely with new stuff. Dave worked his buns off on it with a pulaski. Then we returned to bed 12a. Sarah and Tony joined us, and we raised it a couple inches. Then we planted it with spinach, kale, and endives that Dave had started in the Hoop House. Sarah and Dave decided to cover it with bird-netting, propped up with bamboo sticks, then watered it in. Now it's set! :-)
Today, when Mike came back, he and I did a walkthrough of the Garden to set priorities. Then, right afterwards, the PICAns set to work creating a cinderblock garden!! Tony, Sarah, Mike, and I brought the cinderblocks from the Hoop House area, arranged them and mixed halfblend with compost to fill them, and planted the rest of Dave's starts. Now growing calendula, sweet marjoram, garlic chives, and the occasional epazote, these beds have given new character to the picnic bench area.
He, David Saxton, and Sarah just put in some work on the compost system's new roof structure. Now we're hemming and hawing about supper. It's good to have everyone home again. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
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