Small Roots

It is warming up in East Tennessee and we are moving from the lush verdant beginning of summer to plants withering and drying. My plants in containers need daily waterings, our worm bins are almost entirely full, and the garden is buzzing with all manner of flying things.

Below are some photos from our team's work at the Bonnaroo Victory Garden. We held workshops and demonstrations related to small scale gardening and land stewardship. Many thanks and a warm hello to all the people who stopped by the garden. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as we did. Please keep in touch with any gardening, vermicomposting, seedballing, or foraging you get into in the coming months.

Matt teaching about medicinal herbs on Thursday.

Beebalm in the garden.

Chatham watering while yoga goes on.

The middle plant with the hot pink blossom is a Celosia from Stanley's Greenhouse.

Sam and Katie making seed balls. 

These three men were a great help setting up and installing. 

Wall piece on perimeter.

Matt, Level 5

Matt stopped by the Carbon Shredding booth at Bonnaroo and joined our tribe of Urban Land Scouts. He followed up with these nice shots of his garden and claims he "can't wait to get out of the city." Welcome to Land Scouting, Matt.

More Evidence

Small set of photos from our Bonnaroo adventures is available here.

Post Roo

We signed up over 70 new Urban Land Scouts at Bonnaroo. We also saw great music, met wonderful people (including our Carbon Shredding booth-mates, the fine folks at Earth Givers), and were able to share ideas, experiences, and plants with some of the Bonnaroo patrons. For example, here's a lovely young scout forming seedbombs to rain down on medians and grass patches around her apartment.

Bonnaroo and Beyond

Oh, Stadri Emblems, what that everyone had your attentive and kind customer service!

Wahoooooo y'all! Wahooooooooooooooo! New badges arrived today from Stadri Emblems, who I highly recommend, and I am thrilled to see them. They feel like currency. Looking forward to working with many Bonnaroo patrons and giving out many badges at the festival. 

Speaking of Bonnaroo, if you're going to be there, stop by and see us in the Victory Garden or the Carbon Shredders Booth. We'll be talking about basic gardening skills, companion planting, vermicompost, edible perennials, mushroom cultivation, and seed bombing. Additionally, we'll be working on site to expand the garden, trade seeds, and meet other growers and land stewards.

At the Carbon Shredders Booth you can sign up to be an Urban Land Scout, learn about reducing your carbon footprint, wash your clothes with some Seventh Generation detergent (mmmm...clean laundry), learn about some of the green businesses that support the Carbon Shredders booth, collect some Bonnaroo compost for your home garden, and a host of other small steps towards urban sustainability. You can also sit in the shade and take a break from the exuberant mania of the festival.

In other news, I believe we've almost met our financial goal for Urban Land Scout Camp at CAC Beardsley Community Farm. Now we need to find campers. If you know a rising 5th, 6th, or 7th grader at any of the schools listed below (UPDATE: We are opening camp to all 5th, 6th, and 7th graders living in Knox County) please download this application and put it in their hands.

Urban Land Scouts head to Bonnaroo

Will we see you in Manchester, TN? Some strapping young Urban Land Scouts will be running the Victory Garden at Bonnaroo and helping out in the Carbon Shredders Booth.   If you or folks you know are going to be at Bonnaroo, make a point of stopping by the garden or CS Booth to introduce yourself and earn a badge. Both the Victory Garden and Carbon Shredders can be found in Centeroo near the post office. You can also earn a limited edition badge and an heirloom plant through the Clean Vibes Trading Post (while supplies last).