**UPDATE!** LA River at Atwater Creek Restoration, 13 August 2016

The Dodgers play that afternoon just a few miles south of our meeting place on the river.  PLEASE ALLOW ENOUGH TIME TO GET PAST THE TRAFFIC IF YOU MUST COME IN THROUGH THE DOWNTOWN AREA. IF YOU CAN AVOID IT, DO!  After checking traffic on the radio (KNX 1070 AM does the most frequent traffic reports) or on Waze, I will probably leave the Learning Garden, driving up the 405 to the 101, to the 134 and then take streets in once I've passed the 5 - maybe even go to the 2, depending on traffic.

Your friendly instructors would like to remind our lovely students that we have another field trip this coming Saturday.  We will meet in the parking lot at the confluence of Atwater Creek with the LA River.  A lovely walk along Atwater creek until it flows into the LA River.  For Orchid and I, this is a favorite.  Our starting point is the North Atwater Park. 



View North Atwater Creek Restoration in a larger map 

Chevy Chase Drive, once it makes that final right-hand swoop, dead ends.  As that right-hand swoop begins, the park itself is on the left.  On this map, almost exactly in the blue pin there is a parking lot where we will meet at 1;30 PM.  

This is a good field trip for a camera, and as usual plenty of water and cool clothing. Wear walking shoes and we'll proceed south from the parking lot along the North Atwater Creek on down to the river proper and back again.  Not far and we will amble along without urgency.  I imagine this will be a warm day, but check your weather sources - do take proper care of yourself with the incessantly persistent sunshine!  

Some background data on the site is available online, here.
And some photos from the day it opened for a little prespective.  

Hope you will enjoy this trip and hope you're enjoying the class.

david

Map and Information for Saturday's Field Trip

Field trip on Saturday, May 9th at 10 AM

Dress for sunny and cold!

John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies

Address: 4105 S University Dr, Pomona, CA 91768

Phone:(909) 869-5188

Go West on I10 to US 57 South; Exit at West Temple Drive, turn Right.  Pass the light at Campus Drive South, the next light will be your left turn to the Lyle Center.  Make a left and follow the winding road to the end, park and you will meet all of us just above the parking area. 

You have my phone number if you need it.    

4105 S University Dr Pomona, CA 91768

View Larger Map

david

Map for Today's Field Trip

I have been struggling to get a map up here... Instead of a map, I can give you a LINK to a map.  

Today at 1:30 we are meeting at:  

Pottery Manufacturing and Distributing, 18881 S. Hoover Street, Gardena, CA 90248 Phone: 310.323.7772

david

Field Trip Info for 04 May: garden/garden and The Learning Garden

Field trip for this weekend, May 4th (gosh, it's May already!) is at garden/garden - from 1 to about 2:30, then 2:30 to 4:00 at The Learning Garden, the intersection of Walgrove and Venice Blvd.  The entrance is on Walgrove, just south of  Venice Blvd.  Parking on the street for both venues - bring quarters for the meters at garden/garden.

garden\garden 2013 garden\garden, a public demonstration garden at 1718 and 1724 Pearl St, shows that sustainable landscapes are cost-effective, environmentally beneficial, and easy to replicate. A nine-year case study documenting the resource consumption at the two gardens shows that the Native Garden (1724 Pearl St.) uses 83% less water; generates 56% less green waste and requires 68% less maintenance than the Traditional Garden (1718 Pearl St.). The Learning Garden

The Learning Garden is an eleven year old teaching garden located on the grounds of Venice High School at the intersection of Venice Blvd. and Walgrove Avenue.  A community resource, many classes are taught here from preschool field trips to Emiritus Courses at local colleges. It is an evolving garden, there is no pretense to being 'finished' nor does there appear to be any ambition towards that end.  It is strictly a teaching institution.  

Neither site has refreshments!  There is an accessible restroom at The Learning Garden, not so much at garden/garden. 

david

Field Trip to John T. Lyle Center, Saturday August 13th

 
View Larger Map

Our last class field trip is this Saturday, 9:30 AM, at the John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies, 4105 West University Drive, Pomona CA 91768, phone: 909.869.5155.  This is an inspiring site tying a lot of what we have been talking about all quarter into one stupendous array of buildings, technologies, gardens and design features, pointing to the way to a manner of sustainable living that can be replicated far and wide.   I think this is an exceptional venue for our class to meet and hope you will all make it. 

Remember:  Next week's meeting will be at the usual time but held at The Learning Garden.  Be prepared to turn in your projects - I will accept them until midnight if submitted via email.  Please send your projects to my email only - Orchid and I will meet for grading, so once is enough!  It will be a potluck, with something you have made being preferred, but we do understand the vagaries of modern life and we aren't grading your dish. We will want to tie together the course and explore what will be next on your agenda as you continue in your gardening and sustainability quest.

I'll have my cell phone if you need help getting to the site.

david

River Field Trip This Saturday

View Larger Map

We will be meeting at the intersection of Laurelgrove Avenue and Valleyheart Drive, at 10 AM. In the book, Down by The Los Angeles River by Joe Linton, it is supposedly found on Thomas Guide page 562 in the F5 grid – if you are still using a Thomas Guide. For more modern folks, the Google map will be more helpful.  (You can search on Google or MapQuest by intersection, you don't need a street number.)

Dress according to the weather, which by all I hear, will be stinking hot and bring enough water.  

The river channel here is concrete, this is a great place to walk and see native plants. It is popular with pedestrians, joggers, and dogwalkers.

For those of you interested in the Los Angeles River, this guide by Joe Linton is a fantastic resource for field trips all along the length of LA River and tributaries. It's really a tour guide to our own river with suggestions for hikes, walks and bike rides. Interesting art and watering holes nearby are frequently mentioned. I have found a lot of wonderful 'things to do' in this book and my copy is well worn.

We will probably be finished by noon.

There is a secondary tour later in the day for those who can't make the instructor sponsored tour at 10. I'm sure Roger, with the signs and his familiarity of the river's ecology, will do a marvelous job. 

david

Garden/Garden Field Trip

garden/garden on a Google map

A show of hands tonight in class made it obvious that moving the field trip to the afternoon impacted fewer folks than holding it in the morning; hence the field trip time is officially 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM - covering the three hours of instruction you have paid for.  We will begin with Orchid telling us about the plants at garden/garden, 1724 & 1718 Pearl St. Santa Monica, CA 90405.  Before the visit, a perusal of the website about garden/garden might prove instructive.

We will be there for approximately an hour and a half and then move down to The Learning Garden at the intersection of Walgrove Avenue and Venice Blvd.  The entrance to the Garden is the first gate on your left off Walgrove, south of Venice Blvd.  It is but a few minutes drive from garden/garden.  

At The Learning Garden Orchid and I will have a question and answer session. I will introduce everyone to drip irrigation - we will see one drip installation and talk about the pro's and con's of drip irrigation and actually work with parts of a system to get a feel for it; we will also discuss other watering strategies.  Those who want to may take a tour of The Learning Garden and learn more about what we do there.  

I hope to see everyone there who can make it - those who can't should get in contact with me at your earliest convenience to set up times to do at least some of the field trip at The Learning Garden.

david

Preparing for Our Field Trip (Saturday) to CRFG

Scion Wood Preparation

Select straight wood from last year’s growth and cut as near to our scion wood exchange date as possible.  

Wood should be ¼” – 3/8” diameter (pencil size) and contain several buds.

Cut to lengths that fit easily into a Ziploc-type bag.  Cut with a slanting cut on the top (distal) end and flat cut on the end that would have been nearest the trunk (medial).

Bundle by variety in a moist paper towel(s) and place in a Ziploc-type bag,  leaving a slight opening in the Ziploc bag for the wood to breathe. Put only one variety in each bag. Make sure that the towel(s) stay damp as long as the wood is stored.

Label the outside of the bag with fruit type and variety, as well as any additional information you feel is pertinent (i.e. minimum chilling hours; needs pollinator; vigor; area where successfully grown, etc). It’s nice to add your name so that those collecting your wood know where the wood came from and can ask you questions about the parent tree.

Keep the scion wood bag in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator until the morning of the exchange.  Be careful not to let the scion wood freeze!

 

 At the exchange, please wait to make your selections until directed by the Chair.

Please limit your selections to two of any variety, until everyone has had an opportunity to collect wood. Then feel free to go back. Please do not collect wood you do not plan to use.

What to do with your collected scion wood after the scion exchange:

Try out the techniques you have learned as soon as possible! If you don’t plan to graft as soon as you get home, remember to add moist paper to the bag and refrigerate until you have the time to graft. Do not freeze!

Be careful with the label. An all too frequent mistake is to put the label in the bag with the wood. Then, when you add moist paper, the label becomes unreadable.

To avoid bringing disease into your garden, immerse your chosen scion wood cuttings in a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water for 10 seconds.

Have fun creating your trees!

From the CRFG Santa Monica Chapter's newsletter...

david

Preparing for CRFG's Scion Wood Exchange on Feb 6th!

Scion Wood Preparation

Select straight wood from last year’s growth and cut as near to our scion wood exchange date as possible.

Wood should be ¼” – 3/8” diameter (pencil size) and contain several buds.

Cut to lengths that fit easily into a Ziploc-type bag.  Cut with a slanting cut on the top (distal) end and flat cut on the end that would have been nearest the trunk (medial).

Bundle by variety in a moist paper towel(s) and place in a Ziploc-type bag,  leaving a slight opening in the Ziploc bag for the wood to breathe. Put only one variety in each bag. Make sure that the towel(s) stay damp as long as the wood is stored.

Label the outside of the bag with fruit type and variety, as well as any additional information you feel is pertinent (i.e. minimum chilling hours; needs pollinator; vigor; area where successfully grown, etc). It’s nice to add your name so that those collecting your wood know where the wood came from and can ask you questions about the parent tree.

Keep the scion wood bag in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator until the morning of the exchange.  Be careful not to let the scion wood freeze!

At the exchange, please wait to make your selections until directed by the Chair.

Please limit your selections to two of any variety, until everyone has had an opportunity to collect wood.  Then feel free to go back. Please do not collect wood you do not plan to use.

What to do with your collected scion wood after the scion exchange:

If you don’t plan to graft as soon as you get home, remember to add moist paper to the bag and refrigerate until you have the time to graft. Do not freeze! Be careful with the label. An all too frequent mistake is to put the label in the bag with the wood. Then, when you add moist paper, the label becomes unreadable. To avoid bringing disease into your garden, immerse your chosen scion wood cuttings in a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water for 10 seconds.

From the California Rare Fruit Growers, Margaret Frane

The Date of Our Field Trip Has Been CHANGED!

I just received an email from the California Rare Fruit Growers, West LA Chapter, that they have switched their meeting from the planned day of February 13th to February 6th.  Evidently a long standing chapter member died and his memorial was scheduled on the 13th as well so they switched their date to accommodate so many of their members. 

Therefore you will get the workshop on grafting before we actually cover it in class.  I will attempt to come up with a strategy that will mitigate any learning difficulties that arise from this awkward scheduling.

We are going to CRFG on Feb 6 at 10 AM; not on Feb. 13th which will leave everyone with more time to get ready for Valentines Day!  

I have heard said that life is what happens when you are making other plans. 

david