Backyard Project and Work in the Studio

Ron and Nordic Fencing team leader, Mat, plan the location of the deer fence along the south boundary.

Nathan is digging trenches for irrigation pipes.

The main pipe will be located under the path going around the pergola and arbor. If there is ever a problem with the pipe it can be dug up without disturbing any garden beds.

Meanwhile, I am collecting leaf skeletons from under the tulip trees.

The damp conditions are ideal for the soft parts of the leaf to rot away leaving the leaf skeleton in tact.

After washing and laying the leaves out to dry...

...I am sewing them onto an embroidered afternoon tea cloth that spent a year or so outside wrapped around a tree trunk. I have been adding leaves to this cloth for the past couple of years. The repair of the decayed cloth with darned leaves speaks of how leaves fall to nourish and repair the soil, the skin of the earth. I will keep adding to the cloth for another season or so to demonstrate how soil building is a long term continual process.

The work is called, 'Earth Repair.'

The hyacinths are blooming in the studio bed. There is such a lovely smell as I come and go from the Green Shed.

Now that the winter rains have eased we can continue with the Backyard Project tasks

Back Yard Project: Fences and Mulches

It was an exciting day when the Nordic Fencing team arrived to begin building the deer fence. Over the 6 years we have lived here the deer population has exploded. The deer eat every new shoot that comes out of the ground preventing all plant succession happening in the forest. I had given up buying plants because it was like laying out a buffet for them. They are particularly hungry in the spring and eat everything, the whole plant, not just a nibble like they used to.

We took our time making the decision about a deer fence because we didn't like the idea of being fenced in.

The design of the fence incorporates the buildings - my studio and the house acting as barriers to the deer entering the fenced area. We have placed the fence so it can't be seen (much) from the house.

This is Mike doing the hard job of digging holes for the posts.

He uses a manual digger, but not this one because it is Matt's, and so named.

The fencing team is very good about the minimal disturbance of the forest vegetation and understand we are fencing to protect the forest.

Meanwhile, the green manure crop is sprouting and covering the bare soil in the rock garden beds.

We got a delivery of straw bails to use as a mulch to cover the soil after the green manure crop is dug into the soil. We don't want hay because that introduces grass seeds to the garden beds. In the forest ecosystem, we are working to eliminate bacteria supported grasses and encouraging fungal dominant soils.

Cutting Down Trees - a Safety Issue

We called in Evergreen Tree Service once  it was pointed out we had 2 leaning trees north and near the house. Their roots were being lifted out of the ground. They were a safety hazard.

This is Cam suiting up with his tree climbing gear and chainsaw.

And up he goes using his spurs to dig into the trunk.

You can see here the angle of one of the trees. It is rubbing on and probably being supported by the Maple tree beside it.

This is Tyler, the ground man. Here he is making sure Cam's belay line is not tangled in the branches that fall down after being cut.

This is Gord making the tree into a wildlife tree after cutting all but about 20 feet down. He has roughed up the top to allow rain to penetrate and accelerate the decay process.

Gord bucking the logs i.e. cutting the log into lengths that will fit in the fireplace. They will be split and stored for a couple of years before being burnt in the fireplace. Some of the logs will be cut into rounds to make paths around garden beds in the backyard.

Tyler has been on the job only a few weeks. Here he gets a lesson from Gord on how to buck.

Watching the tree felling was an exciting way to spend the morning. I learnt a new vocabulary. Now we will keep an eye on the remainder of the trunks to see if they get visited by the pileated woodpeckers who are the first bird species to open up a tree to other creatures.

Backyard Project - Drainage

Drainage for the Gravel Bed garden

Sammy explains to Ron how the French drain will work.

Sammy Kent, owner of Pacific Ecoscapes is our general contractor for the landscaping.

The river channel in the Gravel Bed garden is dug out. No more swimming pool.

Laura and Mat put down a layer of sandy growing medium.

The river channel is lined with a porous cloth before being filled with rocks.

The porous cloth is pegged down on top of the growing medium.

Sammy cuts and places the first lot of log rounds for the paths between and around the hugelkultur beds.

A layer of compost rich soil is added to the rock garden beds.

In the meantime, I am in the studio blocking a shawl I knit for my cousin.

The back yard is a busy place.

Backyard Project - Soil Building

Mulch

Stabilising the bare soil on a slope with jute coffee sacks that will eventually rot down. This stops the impact of raindrops eroding and compacting the soil.

Laura adds wheat chaff to the rock garden beds to build up the organic matter in the soil.

Wheat chaff, spring fern prunings and paper all go in the mix. We are aiming to support a wide range of microorganisms in the soil. Before any planting, it will never be easier to build up the soil.

Laura and Mat level out a path across Gunilla's Garden and cover it with cardboard and waste paper. 

Several times a year heavy hoses are dragged across the ground to fill the fuel tanks so it is sensible to make a path through the bed.

The path is covered with fresh Douglas-fir wood chips.

In season, the path will be inoculated with mushroom spores to make a mushroom bed. It is a perfect spot for it under the shade of a large Douglas-fir tree.

Daughter Elizabeth came for a weekend visit. She inspects her 'feather-shaped' hugelkultur bed.

When asked what themed ecosystem she would like on her 'feather,' she said, "Plants that support birds." Of course. Now I need to go research and plan the ecsosytstem - something I really enjoy doing.

Carol Soderlund's Dyeing technique

Last year I attended one of Carol Soderlund's workshops and learnt how to dye neutral colours using Procion MX.

She also taught us her dye technique that I have since been able to set up in my studio.

This is the set-up for weighing dye powder to make the stock solution - cardboard box, newspaper, spray bottle full of water (not shown), face mask (not shown), fresh dye powder from Pro Chem, scale from Amazon.

Dye Station

Dye weighing and stock solutions behind, dye mixing and dye application in front. 

This set up is to make colour samples. I would move the dye application to a larger table to dye yardage.

Batching

 Dye samples on plastic covered tables overnight to 24 hours plus.

Rinsing 

Keeping light and dark fabrics separate the excess dye is washed out under cold running water in the right-hand sink. Then the fabric is put into fresh, cold water without being crowded, on the left side.

Filling the stock pot from the instant hot water tap, kept at just below boiling temperature.

Setting the Dye

The pot is put on an induction hot plate. The temperature is set at boiling and timer for 10 minutes.

After the fabric has been boiled it is transferred to the spinner where excess water is spun out and drained out into the sink.

Polishing

I like to steam iron damp fabric dry. In laundry jargon, it is called polishing. 

I use a Reliable brand, heavy iron that produces a lot of steam.

The rectangle shaped ironing board is ideal for ironing yardage but there is a weakness in the design. When working at the left end of the board it tends to tip. My solution is a counter-weight at the other end - a lovely piece of granite that turned up when earthworks were going on for the Backyard project.

This dyeing set up is simple, flexible and works so well. I am very grateful to Carol for so generously sharing what she has learnt over years of experimentation to understand the fine details of the dyeing process.

Real Time Update April 26 - Backyard Project

In the cut flower bed, the first iris has bloomed.

Why is it that the white is the first to bloom for many flowers?

Also in the cut flower bed, the first allium has opened up.

In the rock garden beds, the green manure crop is being turned under and a mulch layer of straw is added.

In a week or so these beds will be ready for planting another soil building crop.

I have set up a straw bale garden bed on top of one of the new beds where the soil mix was not as rich.

Layers of compost, coffee grounds, and straw were piled on top of the straw bale. It was deeply watered and left to cook.

In a couple of weeks, the internal temperature has gone from 50 F degrees to 120 F degrees. The rise in temperature indicates a certain group of soil organisms is at work decomposing the material to make soil. The temperature needs to rise into the grey area for the next lot of organisms to get to work. Once the bed temperature has dropped back down to the 60s F again it will be ready to plant.

The days have suddenly become much hotter. I am watering the new plants every second day.

Here is the beginning of the path through the gravel bed garden.

There is lots of activity in the garden.

All Beings Confluence - Martha Cole's Community Project in Victoria

Martha Cole, a Saskatchewan fibre artist, has brought her monumental community art project to Victoria for the first time. You can see it in the Cadboro Bay United Church until May.

"All Beings Confluence is a community-based, interactive project that was directly inspired by Carolyn McDade, a composer, social activist and environmentalist whose music has sustained and nourished many over the decades."

The opening reception at Cadboro Bay United Church was a moving experience. One could walk around and through the many panels while listening to music, singing and poetry readings.

Martha explained how the project came about and how she came to bring it to Victoria.

Next stop is Parksville, Vancouver Island.

When Martha arrives in a community she runs a workshop where people work on long sheer panels each depicting one being found on our planet. These panels are then hung together with previously made panels creating paths and a changing kaleidoscope of views through transparent layers.

Here is the website to learn more.