Here at Lick Run over the past week we have been busy, so busy that I have only a vague memory of the particulars accomplished and will be touching on a few events that stand out in my mind.[singlepic id=117 w=320 h=240 float=right]
This week started with Rick and me at the Virginia Tech International Street Fair. We had visited Blacksburg to see a presentation by Dada Maheshvarananda on Economic Democracy. He was very informative and gave us a signed copy of his most recent book after hearing about Lick Run. It also happened that the next day as we were stopping to eat breakfast we noticed the area in front of the Virginia Tech student center abuzz. We treated ourselves to some regional cuisine from a few different nations and I saw a few friends who still are still studying.
[singlepic id=116 w=320 h=240 float=left]After making it back out to Roanoke we started up with planting yacón, a South American root tuber with a sweet flavor. Jake, a volunteer from VT, was on site to gain some experience with this and also help out with some sheet mulching. We ended up being pretty busy with planting this week. Beet seeds and carrot seeds made it in the ground as well as a number of potatoes. I also took some time off from Lick Run work to help a few friends prepare a bed in their backyard. We put in a few Blue Jade corn plants and I am looking forward to trying out the few seeds I was gifted with.
This week I also started hardening off pepper and tomato plants. The seedlings need to be put outside a few hours a day, increasing the duration during the course of two weeks. This helps to expose them to the harsher environmental factors they have been shielded from indoors. Infrastructure also gained a boost this week as I completed a sink tabletop [singlepic id=118 w=320 h=240 float=right]and started construction on a chicken enclosure.
An interesting experience for me this week was trying my first wild salad, made completely from ‘weeds’ and flowers from the backyard.
All the best,
Hunter
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