Summer Season is sparkling!

Yesterday marked the first week of Graze the Roof and the FYCC's summer season in the garden.
With the first and second graders, we spent the morning discussing Garden Agreements, agreements that will help us have fun, stay safe and learn a lot all summer long! The students presented the agreements they came up with in their small groups and we created one big poster that everyone signed that is hanging at the entrance to the garden. We wrapped up our session reading a story about a Community Garden located in San Francisco and talked about all of the tasks, creatures, and yummy plants associated with community gardening.

The Kinder class is back! A group of curious, and imaginative Kinders came to the garden just as the sun was warming the rooftop, we made our agreements around the picnic table and then started exploring. It had been awhile since these children had been on the roof and there was a lot to observe. The new vermi-composting system (worm bin) was an exciting discovery. Lizette giggled as the worms danced on her palm and Ashley piled 55 worms in her hand and then shared them with the rest of the group! We tasted flowers and looked at the baby carrots.

A busy workday of planting succulents in burlap pockets along the fenceline, painting signs, planting flowers, turning the compost, and feeding the trees.

We had a visit from Jane Kim the district representative and a visit from our Integrated Pest Management expert in preparation for a workshop on the topic on June 25th, (rsvp: grazetheroof@gmail.com).

In the afternoon, I met the group of teens in the Teen Program and we began, "The Taste of Place," an 8-week series bringing the world of cooking and gardening together. After journaling and a rich discussion of food culture and tradition, went up to the roof to meet the garden. We took a great tour, coinciding with Paul Koski, (the beekeeper)'s weekly visit to the hive. The students asked great questions, we laughed together and got to witness thousands of bees dance in and out of the hive. We wrapped up our session with weeding, watering and harvesting, celebrating the day with big fresh salad of lettuce, mustard greens, sugar snap peas, purple carrots, and nasturium flowers. Yum!

What a day!
I love summer! Read more...

Tomatoes!

When the first edition of Golden Gate Gardening was published, gardeners throughout San Francisco had a resource rooted in the soil of our home; the chapters of this manual tended by a gardener and educator Pamela Pierce. This seminal work continues to inspire, empower and support gardeners all over the city, from small scale planters on balconies to 2.2 acre urban farms in the heart of San Francisco, Pam Pierce is a legend to those of us with green thumb!

She contacted Graze the Roof recently in regards to offering the garden tomato plants. Pam Pierce was not just offering any tomato plants, she was offering diverse varieties known for resisting late blight (a disease that can negatively affect the health and harvest of a tomato plant) and for thriving in the unique microclimates of San Francisco. These are plants that Pam started in her laboratory at City College of San Francisco. Thank you Pam!

Pam's research and writing can be found at : www.pampeirce.com

Today was a beautiful day on the roof; sunshine and a cool, refreshing breeze encouraged productivity, camaraderie and creativity. Around noon we were joined by members of the Glide staff who decided to organize a communal picnic lunch and enjoy it on the roof together. Their picnic (as you can see in the photo) was colorful and delicious!

Heirloom lettuce is thriving, carrots have sprouted, tomatos stand tall, peas are flowering, kales are developing and the garden has new lessons for us every week. Tis the season to grow, and to garden. Join us EVERY THURSDAY 11a-2pm!

See you on the roof!

Next workshop is scheduled for June 18th: Integrated Pest Management - The natural way to manage garden pest. Contact grazetheroof@gmail.com to register.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
Throw some fava beans on the grill, they're superb! Read more...

Bioregionalism and Discoveries throughout the Tenderloin

Bioregions are defined by Peter Berg Director of Planet Drum as "Life-Place," a cultural and natural landscape where one lives. Connecting to our "Life-Place," is integral to developing understanding of and appreciation for the natural world and how we as human beings inhabiting bioregions can support the greater equilibrium of Place.

In the workshop at Graze the Roof on Saturday, Peter invited us to make a map of the places where we live. We were asked, draw the closest water body to where you sleep, to draw/label native flora and fauna, to draw the type of soil that dominates the land where you live, the highest peaks near your home, and the best and worst contributions of humans to their respective bioregions. Each participant's map had it's own unique flavor and character. I was filled with a deep sense of inquiry, wondering aloud how I, a passionate steward of the natural world, a gardener, an educator did not know the answers to many of these seemingly fundamental questions about Living in Place. I came to the conclusion that this was the beginning of a practice. These questions are opportunities to learn more about the Place that I live and feel so connected to, a chance to discover the layers of beauty that make the Bioregion of Northern California such a special place to be from and to live.

After a morning of mapping we began our journey onto rooftops and into the streets of the Tenderloin to explore the different projects that support the ecological balance, habitat, beauty, community and education. We toured Graze the Roof, and the rooftop garden atop the CW House next door to Glide Memorial Church's Foundation Building.

From the rooftops to the streets. We walked toward a project on Ellis called the Tenderloin National Forest. An alley that has been stewarded by artists since 1989; it is now a community commons, where people of all ages can gather for public art, performance, experimental art projects and classes connected to supporting this inner city garden and art space. I was overwhelmed to discover such a radiant project embodying transformation. When we arrived, the forest was brimming with artists busy at work creating a Hydro-Labratory, water features, tending to succulents and shrubbery, warming themselves by the earthen oven and hanging signs made from recycled materials. It was phenomenal!

http://www.luggagestoregallery.org/tnf/

Connecting to the Places we Live inspires stewardship, community and possibility! Read more...

Bees and Basil!

The morning and early afternoon sparkled! Warm sunshine and bright blue skies supported the freshening of garden beds and the spring planting of six different varieties of heirloom tomatoes and basil plants, as well as dozens of sweat pea plants delicious fava beans!!!

Thank you to Purple Carrot, Flatland Flower Farm and Occidental Arts and Ecology center for your donations of fava beans, carrot seeds, pea plants and the robust and vibrant plant sales over the weekend where much of our new plants have come from!

http://www.ilovepurplecarrot.com/
http://www.cuesa.org/farm/flatland-flower-farm
http://www.oaec.org/

As we were enjoying a picnic lunch at the center table, nursing students from the health clinic joined us, and we found ourselves in joyful conversation. It is wonderful when the greater Glide staff community makes use of the rooftop garden, as a place to harvest seasonal produce, learn new skills, develop appreciation for the natural world and growing cycle as well as build community!!!

Paul Koski, our resident Bee Keeper, called as we were finishing lunch and said he'd drop by to install the bees!!! We were thrilled and prepared for Paul's arrival. He came with a wooden bee box(hive) all taped up. He said this infant bee colony had been settling into this new hive for about a week. Paul informed us that an infant bee colony such as ours, most likely holds 7000-7500 bees!!! This colony could support up to 60,000 bees! Wow!

As we were observing the bees during the installation, we discovered the queen and lots of healthy larvae.

Paul will come back to check on the bees in about two weeks!

Bee well!

:) Read more...

More opportunities to Volunteer, Learn, and Grow Food!

A colorful and bountiful harvest was gathered on Thursday afternoon during the workday! Orange, deep red and white carrots, purple potatoes, mint, parsley, green onion, leek, chiogga beets, and more!

Join us on the roof on Thursdays from 11-2 and during the month of May on Tuesdays too (11a-2pm)!

During the month of May we plan to do a lot of planting, paint educational signs, fix up the greenhouse and take care of our newly designed worm bin and recently installed bee hive. Come and say hi to the worms and observe the bees do their dance of pollination!!!

We need you to keep the garden growing. Volunteer workdays are an amazing way to contribute to this special project and learn and/or relearn skills under the vibrant umbrella of urban farming. Grow food, make friends, get dirty and celebrate the sweetness of spring!

Email grazetheroof@gmail.com with questions, curiosities or ideas! We'd love to hear from you.

MAY 14th Workshop in Bioregionalism and connection to place facilitated by Planet Drum. If you are interested please RSVP to grazetheroof@gmail.com.

Happy Spring! Read more...

Earth Day in the City

There are so many ways to connect to Mother Earth in San Francisco, a city abundant in parks and green spaces. The opportunity to connect to nature amidst the urban environment is such a blessing! Time spent in nature is nurturing, healing and incredibly joyful.

This weekend is all about Earth Day and our great city offers lots of diverse ways to celebrate the Earth!
Join Graze the Roof this Saturday at the Civic Center Plaza for EARTH DAY SF!

http://www.earthdaysf.com/

We'll have a booth and would love to see you/meet you! Discover ways to participate in urban agriculture projects all over the city, learn a new homesteading skill, make a new friend, enjoy some delicious seasonal goodies, honor the farmworkers, and most importantly celebrate, celebrate, celebrate!

In the spirit of stewardship, community and connection to place,
HAPPY EARTH DAY! Read more...

Shitakes and Oysters Nestled within the Garden

Urban mushroom cultivation requires a passion for the fruit of the earth! Oh and did we feel impassioned this past Saturday when Nik Dyer led us in an conversation about the life cycle, biology and ecology of mushrooms. From bioremediation, to medicinal properties to culinary treasures, mushrooms, or more aptly stated, mycellium, the heart of the fungal network is responsible for so much of the dynamic equilibrium that holds our ecosystemic balance in place, not to mention that mushrooms and mycellium embody great potential for healing, nourishment and artistic inspiration.

As a group, the workshop participants represented diverse walks of life, professional endeavors and personal hobbies; we live all over San Francisco and the East Bay and each have a unique connection to the enchanting world of mushrooms. We learned in community and then we worked in community! Together, under the sun, we worked hard to create a mushroom garden for Graze the Roof; shredding and pasteurizing straw, filling burlap sacks with straw and shitake spawn and drilling holes in oak logs which we filled with inoculated dowles of oyster spawn.

The mushroom garden is now nestled among the other edible and beautiful elements that make up Graze the Roof!
Come check it out!

THIS THURSDAY 4/14 - VOLUNTEER WORKDAY SPECIAL HOURS: 3pm-5pm
Read more...