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Just another WordPress.com siteArchive for September, 2012
Straw for the winter
After we left, Linnet, one of the residents who worked with us in the circle, returned to the circle to spread straw over the center. This will not only build up the soil, but it will also serve to protect the layer of clover seeds that were sown across the center, which will form the basis of a lawn in years to come.
Circle = Finished
At 4:30 pm on Thursday the 20th of October, the last loads of cover were dumped onto the berm and the center was seeded with red and white clover. Rain is forecast for Friday, which is great timing both for labor and for the plants, and all that is left to do is to put down a layer of straw over the clover seed.
Companion Plants on the Red Bank Circle
On day 5, we focused on finishing the berms and getting the center of the circle seeded with clover, with the help of volunteers Linnet an Sarah. We also were able to turn our attention to putting in the companion plants that will occupy the berms around the Pawpaw trees, eventually spreading around them and holding the surface together to keep it intact.
Most of the species we planted are durable prairie plants, such as Little Bluestem, which are well suited for the dry environment of the Red Bank site. We also planted a trio of Spicebush, which will help bring the insects and birds in to the site in in the spring.
The selection of native plants with help and guidance from Steve and Eileen, the proprietors of Keystone Flora, a truly fantastic nursery for native plants located in NW Cincinnati. Eileen Frechette and some quick pictures of Keystone Flora are pictured below.
Circling Day 4
After today, the circle’s form is revealed. Almost all of the berm has been covered. The pawpaws are beginning to root. Thanks to Sarah and Laurence for their help with a long day of wheel-barrowing and shoveling!
Planting the Red Bank Pawpaw Circle- Day 3
4 Pm, a long day that began with rain, finishing with cool cloudy skies and a strong breeze. 19 Pawpaws were planted with the help of our volunteers Linnet and Laurence (pictured below), along with Paula (not in the picture). Sam Dunlap arrived with 50 gallon of water at the end of the day and the trees were given long drinks to start them off in their new soil.
Annals of the Inner Woodland: Circling the Red Banks Site
Day 1: We worked with volunteers Emily and Mark, along with Sam Dunlap, the School Garden Coordinator for the Civic Garden Center, (with Susanne standing at far left), to start laying out the berms for the Pawpaw circle. Oliver also helped with scribing the circle with mattock and cord.
Annals of the Inner Woodland-Pawpaws on the move
Movement across the land is a perennial state in the inner woodland. 24 pawpaw trees are migrating north to the highlands of Cincinnati.
Thanks to Annie Carl from Forrest Keeling Nursery (www.fknursery.com) in Missouri for the photo.
Red Banks Pawpaw Circle
Starting next week, Fieldfaring will be working in Cincinnati, OH to plant the Red Banks Pawpaw Circle. This project is part of our work with the exhibition Green Acres: Artists Farming Fields, Greenhouses and Abandoned Lots, which opens on the September 21st.
The Pawpaw circle is produced in collaboration with Cincinnati’s Civic Garden Center, and occupies a vacant traffic island at the intersection of Erie Avenue and Red Bank Rd, and is a part of the CGC’s overall plan to turn this unused acreage into a self-sustaining point for foraging local foods. Our Pawpaw circle will be planted with 19 trees drawn from 4 different pawpaw cultivars. IIf all grows well, they will bear fruit within the next 3 years, well before they reach full growth.
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