It’s Fall, and it’s finally cold enough to feel like Fall. Smart & Final and other grocers have an exceptional variety of apples. And, although eating apples and sampling is fun, I try to build out lessons that incorporate fun but also incorporate planning and spatial awareness. We decided to leave some apples out to try out our favorites, eating seasonally is great. Not only is is better for the environment but fruit just tastes better (and sweeter).
We had two guidelines for the assignment: 1. build something 2. work in a group and use constructive communication to get work done. Some groups struggled as some of the students wanted to build individually, some groups thrived because they were overly communicative. It was great to see the kids face challenges and address them, and solve and move on quickly. See the pictures below.
Apple TastingBuilding with Apples at RosewoodApple BuildingsJournaling Apple DifferencesBuilding with Apples – Construction
First thing we did when we bought our house was mulch – see here
And although I didn’t have a plan, I knew that we had to do something to conserve water in our Los Angeles suburb of Burbank. With drought after drought, we have to collectively change the way we look at grass. Easier said than done, since human behavior and convenience is one of the hardest things to change. Some of us look at grass as an antiquated relic of the idealized past, an image manipulated to create an oasis in California in order to lure east coasters. Beyond that, I see a lot of Latino families seeing grass as their manifestation of the American dream. Some folks worked hard, bought a home and grass is the physical representation of that.
I try to learn from others, and overall try to be less judgemental of others with how they choose to spend time, money, and effort but we must do more outside of our little zero-waste and conservation bubble. It’s an echo chamber of sorts and I would like to do more to outreach.
One organization that does a good job on education others on the benefits of natives, as they tie into water conservation is Theodore Payne Foundation link here
I’ve taken art classes there, bought seeds there and recently connected with an educator. I do think they fill a void, they don’t just sell items but they’re interested in selling plants that are colorful and don’t look like native weeds. They also lead by example, they have solar installed on their roof, their volunteers are knowledgeable, and they’re a non-profit.
Where I do have a gripe is the accessibility quotient. I do understand that natives take A LOOOOOONG time to grow, and herein lies the problem. The mark-up on these plants, the cost and the affordability doesn’t cater to anyone but the richest of Angelinos. Some of these plants are in the $18-$22 range and it’s hard for someone to shell out that much for a front yard overhaul.
My suggestion is to go for the seeds – start planting in the fall and see the results in late winter and early spring.
Finally my mandarins are here! Rejoice! Why am I so happy? First, these are so easy to peel and the fruit is just so sweet. My variety has seeds and so I tend to be careful when giving them to kids, but the seeds are small and sometimes soft, so I don’t worry too much.
Last year my harvest was appalling, there was enough fruit for the squirrels and maybe a remnant for me. This year, I vowed to take a more active interest in my trees – meaning, increase the amount of time I spent caring for them. Refer to my guava post.
My mandarin tree is located on the east side of our property and there is a little too much shade on the south side/east side corner. I cut down some problematic bamboo trees (more on this later) and am still working to cut through the root system of the bamboo for two reasons: 1. provide shade 2. provide space for the mandarin roots to grow. The sun did wonders for the mandarin, and I increased the water ritual, now I do a deep watering once every 2 months on a low trickle, ensuring that the slow trickle gets to the deep root system instead of running off.
I also identified this tree as a mandarin and have been going back and forth regarding the tangerine/mandarin naming convention – find out more about this lovely citrus tree by clicking here and reading this pdf from the yuma county coop extension.
