Summer’s End

Summer’s End

We’ve had a fantastic summer.

The Westgarden has been a huge success this year, offering us hundreds of pounds of produce for the South Whidbey community. About a third of our produce (fresh, local, and organically grown!) went straight to the Good Cheer Food Bank, improving access to quality, healthy foods. Additionally, every group that came to the Whidbey Institute for a conference, festival, or gathering had produce from the Westgarden in their meals. Fresh vegetables and fruits also went toward feeding volunteers at our work parties and during service learning classes.

We grew a great variety of vegetables and fruits, and they produced abundantly with the love and care of our volunteers. Along with a new beehive, a new chicken coop and flock of chicks, and some greenhouse renovations, the garden is looking better than ever.

Here are a few highlights of the year:

Many, many beds were flipped and repaired . . .

Hundreds of seeds and starts were planted . . .

Many hours were spent tending and weeding . . .

And we were rewarded with a beautiful, bountiful harvest.

Our biggest tomato this year weighed a whole pound!

Our deep and heartfelt appreciation to everyone who made this year possible.

November 3, 2013

Two Pines: a difficult update

Removal planned for beloved trees

After seeking the opinions of two expert arborists, we at the Whidbey Institute have reached the difficult decision to remove two terminally ill pine trees that stand beside the historic Farmhouse at the heart of Chinook.

The trees, originally planted by the Pietila family in the late 19th Century, have stood watch over generations of visitors to this land. Now,as was mentioned at our 40th Anniversary Festival, they are suffering from disease which not only threatens their own health but also poses a risk to the adjacent structure. For the safety of all, we are planning to have them professionally felled before winter sets in. Their wood will be milled by a neighbor and we hope some of it can come back to Chinook in another form.

The Pietilas were a Finnish family, hailing from a culture where trees were revered as guardians and friends. It is likely that they situated these trees beside their home with deep intention. It would honor the memory of these two pines if those of you who are moved to make a goodbye visit would do so during the coming weeks.

In honor of these amazing symbols of family and home, we will be holding a ceremony Sunday, December 8th at 2:00 pm. Please meet in the Farmhouse. All are welcome.

October 30, 2013

Winterizing the Garden with LEAF

With the cooler weather and shorter daylight hours, the garden’s vegetable production is slowly coming to a close. However, the work is not yet done! It’s important to put the garden to sleep for the winter. The students from the Learn and Serve Environmental Anthropology Field (LEAF) School at Edmonds Community College came to the Westgarden to learn about ways to prepare the garden for the next season.

Planting cover crop seed is a great way to prevent weeds from germinating, prevent soil erosion, and restore nutrients in the soil. Earlier in the summer, we had planted buckwheat, an excellent bee forage plant as well as a fast-growing, reliable warm weather cover crop. The plants were mature, so we collected the seed to plant again next year!

While some were collecting seed, others were flipping the compost pile. We added a biodynamic compost starter to add beneficial bacteria and fungus to the pile. Turning the decomposing plant matter onto the fresher plant matter speeds up the composting process, so that it will be fully decomposed and ready to use in the spring!

Next, we weeded, edged, and flipped three garden beds to show the different ways to prepare a bed for the winter.

With the first bed, we planted garlic in worm castings, and mulched the bed with straw.

In the second bed, we sowed a mix of cover crop seed, including nitrogen fixing legumes Austrian field pea, fava bean, hairy vetch and crimson clover, along with winter rye, a hardy grain. Then we put row cover on the bed to keep birds from pecking out the seeds. Soon, the bed will be a lush and green. The plant roots will hold in the soil and add nutrients needed after a good productive growing season!

In the third bed, we mulched the bed with comfrey leaves, an excellent source of nitrogen and potassium that breaks down rapidly. A thick layer of comfrey leaves a few inches high will break down in just a few weeks and add to the soil’s organic matter.

Voilà! Three garden beds prepped and ready for the spring.

Many thanks to LEAF students Jo-Ann Fjellman, Erin Gamble, Keegan Artz, Kymberlye Hoyle, Kelson Mcconnell, Megan Taylor, Scott Noll, Tyler Smith, and professor Tom Murphy for helping winterize the garden!

October 27, 2013

The Bean Dance

We’ve been growing a beautiful crop this summer. Any guesses on what plant is pictured above?

If you guessed some kind of legume, you’re right! This is a chickpea plant, a middle-eastern variety which produces black peas.

The phases of maturity of the chickpea, from soft and green to dry and black, are shown at right.

Once the plants are completely dry, you can pop open the pods and collect the dry beans. For processing copious amounts of dry beans, most farms use a threshing machine. For small amounts, you can do it by hand . . . or by feet! This week, with the help of the Waldorf 3rd grade, we threshed the chickpeas by doing a little bit of dancing.

Check out our process in this video!

Chickpea dance from Whidbey Institute on Vimeo.

The chickpeas are hard enough that even a good stomping won’t break them. After we had jumped on the plants, we took away the plant matter to reveal a tarp full of little black chickpeas! What a quick and fun way to harvest!

October 17, 2013

Thoughts on the land

I’m starting into my third month as a Whidbey Institute staff member, and something I was told during my initial visit to the facility is really ringing true. “You need to walk the land,” Jerry told me. “You need to visit the garden,” Maggie said. “You need to run the trails—but watch out for spiderwebs,” Dan advised. They’re right. I cannot work with full effectiveness at Chinook unless I work with Chinook. I’m working with the forest, with the deer, with the spiders and their webs. They remind me of my animal self and show me what is possible when people do things with rather than to their environment.

I’m no stranger to beauty: as a land owner, hiker, and nature lover, I surround myself with places that have been stewarded by caring people. The difference at Chinook is the degree to which our more cerebral work is fed by the landscape. When I come to this office, I pass through doors made from driftwood which washed ashore, then out again, then back again, then out again, then back a third time before having been brought inland and milled. When I walk to our director’s office, I can peek through a knothole to see if he is occupied or free. Elements of nature are everywhere at the Whidbey Institute, inside and out, and the way we care for and are cared for by this land gives tremendous weight to each of our three pillars of work.

Leadership transformation requires inspiration and reflection. The forest offers room for both.

Thriving communities begin with place. At Chinook, community comes naturally. Our neighbors are our friends and supporters.

Ecosystem vitality is a dream we hold for the entire globe and which we experience in daily life here on this land.

The care with which Maggie, Alexa, Clayton, and our volunteers steward this land is inspiring. When I’m sent home with arugula, basil, and baby beets, I’m reminded that the land is stewarding us, too.

—Marnie Jones

October 4, 2013