GARDEN TEAM updates!!

The Living Systems has taken off!

the beautiful rhode island red chickens found a wonderful home in rural NY

TRUCK FARM a Wicked Delicate Film Production is touring the USA.

Carissa Carman began the Color Collective to grow natural dyes in rural Quebec and is headed to Cuba for this upcoming Havana Biennal to create site specific work.

Meg Glasser is working for Food Forward in Los Angeles!

Logan Smith and Carissa Carman presented the Waterpod FOOD / LIVING SYSTEMS with support from SLOW FOOD NYC at Terra Madre Conference in Torino Italy as part of the Youth Food Movement in 2010!

Mary Mattingly is working on FLOCK HOUSE!

Alison Ward the magician chef has started HABITABLE SPACES! in Texas

Creating Drainage

Water pipes run through three raised garden beds, and planning for the drainage was the second step after welding the metal railings up. The garden walls needed to create a seal to capture the rain water, as it is not possible to off load soiled water run-off into the surrounding river estuaries. With some simple wood working and the help of master cody with plumbing, we were able to epoxy pipes and cover them with measurable inches of rock to create a slope that would create the lowest point for successful drainage. More details to come as the drainage "lasagna" was extremely effective and a great use of recycled materials.

harvesting greywater plants

-two pairs of lent wellies
-thermos of coffee
-4 bananas
-cell phone
-ranger john's cellphone
-GPS to Floyd Bennett field
-two spades
-contractors bags
-small converted bus
-gardening scissors

Ranger Jose told us life firefighting stories and we shook off soil and found two earthworms and one beetle larvae.

let's wish the plants luck in their new home.

chicken coop!

We have invited Genevieve from Montreal to create the chicken coop for the waterpod. She has proposed a favela. Aside from the fact that chickens like to "bunk" together, her urban mock of a home, is exciting.
We have selected materials for her to use and the challenge becomes, can you build a chicken coop with what materials we have foraged on site? The crate being the best structure, with little labor.

let's see what she comes up with.

the crew

soil on site

With a generous donation of soil from the parks department, we are beginning our on site garden. Mary brought her plants first. We are all impressed! Mary's tomatoes are TOUGH she said. They could withstand 3 days of no watering and then lots of love. Sometime half of the battle, is plants learning how to live like you do, on your cycle, on your rhythm. The soil on the other hand is 100% compost, which is amazing and we found out after the first rain storm, that the compost helps to absorb water. Drainage however is a challenge, and we are looking at supplementing the soil with a mineral base.

temporary living systems

Just because the barge doesn't have anyone living on it yet, doesn't mean we don't have to start worksite living system.
One bucket is sawdust the other compost and some fruit albeit pesticided covered grapes, taught us the hard way that we can't wait to be eating our own home grown food!

on site!

Getting dirty, using our hands as tools of the earth to move large amounts of materials to change space, and enjoying the vision of sunsets on the cranes that will lift soil for us...come out and PLAY!