“Edible Ecosystems Emerging: Forest Garden Design Presentation”, October 18th, (Thursday) 6-7:30 pm –

Edible forest gardening is the art and science of putting plants together in woodland-like patterns that forge mutually beneficial relationships, creating a garden ecosystem that is more than the sum of its parts. This presentation will highlight edible forest garden project designs that have been on the drawing board, and now in the beginning stages of implementation in Traverse City, at three garden-farm sites and also at the REALeyes Project site near Cedar Lake.

Learning the ways of Forest Gardening and Soil Fertility….October 18th, 6-7:30 pm, @ O’k Studio in the Alley, 514 Second St., Traverse City, Michigan

As we continue to learn the magnificent ways of garden farming we work to become natural farmers! Through natural gardening and farming we have an opportunity to learn SO very much from the teacher that is our Northern Michigan temperate climate forests.

What is a Forest Garden? Gardening like the forest, is not gardening in a forest—but gardening like a forest. In this way we are of the mind and practice to take a lawn and turn it into a forest ecosystem—and have great fun becoming ecologists as we do.

Planting a forest garden means becoming a forest mimic. The forest as design metaphor, shows us how to create a consciously designed ecosystem with perennial guilds and polycultures of multipurpose plants, patched together to make our “forest garden mimic”. The plants, trees and shrubs in a forest garden, have a 3 – 3,000+ year life spans, with a diversity of MANY species in each patch.

This presentation will both highlight edible forest garden project designs that have been on the drawing board and
will be accompanied by an enthusiastic sharing by Levi Meeuwenberg from the REALeyes project’s recent experience of attending a “… pretty mind-exploding Edible Forest Garden Design course by Dave Jacke in Tennessee at “The Farm” that went way beyond just landscape design…. downloading as much as he can of what he learned those 10 days!”

How do we encourage edible ecosystems to emerge?

Come and join in to find out!

This presentation will be followed up with a continued learning opportunity through a Gardening Like a Forest Series, this winter. The series will focus on Step-by-Step training in ecological design and planning in the ways in which a forest garden can embody emergent system properties….HOW to see them and HOW to create them….This will be a combination of lecture/discussion and hands-on study, utilizing four urban/suburban garden-farm and forest garden sites. Schedule of bi-weekly series with work parties beginning in November 2012–through March 2013.

MEET AT: O’k Studio, 514 Second St. in the Alley, Traverse City, MI 49684 Parking behind the Chiropractor’s and also on Randolph St. in front of Salon Verve.

Contact: Penny 231-922-2014

We hope you will devote a bit of your time, this glorious fall season to becoming a well informed edible forest garden farmer and fertility specialist and attend this presenation!

The Fall Garden Farming workshops are FREE! with a suggested donation of $10 to cover costs of workshop handouts, announcements and minimal organizational fees.

THANK YOU, for helping to keep permaculture educational events happening in the Traverse City area.

CONTACT INFO:
penny.ok.art@gmail.com
231-922-2014

www.littleartshram.org

The 2012 Fall Garden Farming Series is presented by O’k CSA and Continual University, with the support of Little Artshram and Friends.

ALSO COMING UP:
Fall/Winter Garden Farming Series Schedule:

November 1, (Thursday), 6-7:30 pm – Biking for Garlic “Fall Plantings: Garlic and other Perennials”, Meet @ the Peace Patch garden, corner of 7th and Oak Streets, Traverse City 30 minute introduction/demo prepping soil/beds for garlic. We’ll then bike to the Hardy HH Sunshine Garden, to do a BIG garlic planting. Contact: Penny 231-922-2014

November 3, (Saturday) 5-7ish pm (could last longer, it depends)

A Harvest Giveaway, Potluck, and Dia de los Muertos Celebration and Dance

To recognize the beauty at the end of the growing season, the life-cycle in our gardens and in our lives. To share in a tradition of honoring the land and our ancestors who’ve filled us with possibility and nourished us.

Bring both a dish to share for our potluck and any other of your garden abundance of harvest to share in a creative way!

A GIVEAWAY!

Bring your own tote or hand crafted bag to fill full of shared plants, seeds, preserved food and fresh harvest to take home, extend our season of growing, or, save for next year’s gardens! The GIVEAWAY is meant to be a celebration of creativity, thankful possibility and generosity!

Whether you have a grocery tote or a hand-made fiber arts bag, bring it to add to the collection and fill! If you have preserved, dried or fresh food to share, bring it along. If you have creativity, moxie, and a sense of community–come be a part of this amazing afternoon of creativity and generosity!

Everyone is asked to bring an extra bag to fill-up for a family in need, which will be delivered to the Women’s Resource Center’s Yellow House and the Fresh Food Partnership.

Little Artshram and O’k CSA plan to continue and hope to inspire the world around us to take back their creativity, as well as experience the joy of gift giving and receiving!

This gathering is an expression of our thanks to the Earth for providing us with space and place to grow food for ourselves and our community, and for our longtime partnership at the Community Gardens on the old State Hospital Farm in Traverse City.

CONTACT INFO:
www.littleartshram.org
NEW NUMBER for Little Artshram: 231-715-3105

The 2012 Fall Garden Farming Series is presented by O’k CSA and Continual University, with the support of Little Artshram and great Friends, like you. gracias.