350 weekend - October 9 & 10

I'm speaking at the 350.org rally

Well the weekend started out with a 350 rally on Saturday in downtown San Rafael to jump start the 10.10.10 volunteer day. Our volunteer day was another workday at the garden but we also highlighted how the edible garden will help to fight global warming.


our 10.10.10 workday crew holding 350 flowers

 We continued to build the boardwalk, and laid the brick patio for our outdoor kitchen and stage area.

brick crew and gopher proofing crew



sorting the bricks



laying the bricks in a pattern on sand layer base



Me making the flowers for our 350 group shot for the 350 event web site





My dad Gary starting the boardwalk



10.10.10 The Science of 350

On October 10 at 10 am, or 10.10.10, people around the world will particpate in a global work day to promote awareness about global warming. Our work day this Sunday on 10.10.10 will be in honor of this event since our organic edible garden helps in taking care of the planet, uses clean energy, and protects the local watershed.

Did you know that scientists say that 350 parts per million (ppm) CO2  in the atmosphere is the safe limit for us to live? Currently the world is at 390 ppm's which is why the ice caps are melting and our climate is changing. Learn more about 350—what it means, where it came from, and how to get there. http://www.350.org/

Laying the brick patio and the boardwalk

we stacked and sorted the bricks

Last Sunday we began to lay down the brick pavers outside of our kitchen and shed. The pavers were donated by the Tuck family. Some of the brick came from the original San Rafael City Hall so we have recycled a piece of local history.

starting to frame the boardwalk path

9.26.10 Our Greenhouse takes shape & Woolly Pockets get compost

filling the woolly's

When the day started we filled planting soil into the Woolly Pockets. We poured soil in all fifty pockets and they look kind of fat!. But fat’s good…. at least for plants.

Go Giants!

The greenhouse started off in a box. Not even as a box, just in one. After some hard work of reading the instructions my dad and his helpers finally started building our greenhouse.

The greenhouse started out in a box

Putting up the roof and the walls

Almost done

After a day of work, its up and looks very good.


another good day's work



Trimming the planters

9.19.10 Soil Building Day!

Marin Sanitary unloading our Marin's Own compost

On Sunday September 19 the compost arrived from Marin Sanitary. The soil is called “ Marin’s Own” Compost. This compost is filled with nutrients and organisms that will help build our dirt back into soil. We had sent our dirt to a soil lab called the Soil Food Web to analyze it. This tells us if our dirt is healthy enough for our garden. We found out that is was pretty “dead” and needed a lot of compost to help it get better. Since our dirt consists of a lot of dry clay, the compost will make it healthy again by mixing it together.

Gary moving the compost to the garden

So volunteers shoveled 6” of our dirt first into each planter. Then 6” of compost was added on top of that. We will need to wait two weeks before we mix them together as new compost is really hot and would burn our dirt’s sleeping microorganisms according to my mom. When you put your hands into the compost you can feel the warmness of it.

Emily and her mom spreading the compost

Me moving compost the slow way

We also finished the gopher wire in the 4 x 8 ‘ planters. The back of the school has so many gophers so we need to protect our garden from them.

Scott putting in gopher wire

A good day's work