2016 Work Log

DECEMBER

  • Weeding
  • Mulching

NOVEMBER

  • Weeding
  • Mulching
  • Continue planting understory shrubs

OCTOBER

  • Continue planting understory shrubs
  • Weeding
  • Mulching

September

  • Continue planting understory shrubs
  • Weeding existing plantings
  • Prepare planting area for cane berries
  • Sick goats on poison oak areas
  • Irrigation master valve and flow metering in place (ie. protection against leaks!!)

August

  • Weeding perennnials
  • Training grapes
  • Continue planting understory shrubs

July

  • Irrigation up and running on regular schedule!
  • Continue planting understory shrubs

  • Move remainder of nursery operation to East Oakland.

JUNE

  • Move nursery plants and materials to east oakland
  • Fine-tune irrigation for fruit trees
  • Weeding, mulching, and general tree care

 MAY

  • Begin planting remaining fruit trees and understory
  • Weeding + mulching
  • Fertilizing & cultivating
  • Nursery work
    • Grafting
    • re-potting last years plants
    • start remaining seeds

ApriL

  • Weeding + mulching
  • Fertilizing & cultivating
  • Nursery work
    • Grafting
    • re-potting last years plants
    • start remaining seeds

MARCH

  • Digging up thistle
  • Weeding around fruit trees
  • Fertilizing & cultivating
  • Nursery work
    • Grafting
    • potting on
    • healing in
    • mixing soil

FEBRUARY

  • Continued planting trees
  • Support nursery propagation.
  • Put up hoop houses for nursery plants
  • Plans laid for future medicinal gardens
  • Huge amounts of potting soil mixed 
  • Propagated nearly 10,000 trees and shrubs from cuttings – taken in Humbolt, processed on the farm, and moving to East Oakland nursery

JANUARY

  • Began nursery operations on the farm, potting on tens of thousands of young fruit bearing plants
  • Mulch swale pathways with wood chips
  • Mulch swale berms around trees
  • Wiring of irrigation system to central timer
  • Got lots of rain, infiltrated deeply by our swales.

DECEMBER 2015

  • Built shelving in the shed for vertical organizing
  • Retrieve enormous fruit tree order from Rolling River Nursery
  • Final assembly of irrigation manifolds
  • Elevate poly drip lines on wire above swales
  • Begin planting trees!

NOVEMBER

  • (90% Complete) Irrigation Infrastructure: 
    • 1,500 ft of trench
    • water pipe and electrical conduit  buried 24″ deep
    • Pressure testing, then backfilling
    • Pulled wire through conduit
    • Assembled 24 manifolds
    • Install wiring and central timer; so we can irrigate on automated schedule that adjusts to live weather.
  • (Underway) Run irrigation to all swales in preparation for revegetation

OCTOBER

  • Now that we have so much of our infrastructure in place, it seems the real work of building the orchard is upon us.  In October, we ambitiously hope to:
  • Stabilize and compact all the swales on the hillside
  • Stabilize exposed soil with burlap and mulch
  • Broadcast clay-rolled seeds (nitrogen fixers and ground covers) across the berms of all swales and pathways
  • Spread straw over ground cover seeds
  • Mulch the ditches of every swale

  • Collected almost 1000 lbs of thistle and cardoon flower heads to prevent seed germination
  • Stabilized large stretches of hillside with mulch and burlap in preparation for rains
  • Put up shade tents
  • Dug the water-harvesting swales on-contour that will provide the structure of our orchard-to-be.  We will use the ditches at pathways, and the berms to plant trees.
  • Moved the goats and their pen to more lush pastures
  • Rolled seeds in clay for future propagation (protection from birds, and germination insurance)
  • AND installed a level pad for our new shed!

SEPTEMBER