MoS Collective:

SATURDAY JULY 30th

Weeksville Heritage Center hosted the NYFA sponsored project with Laundromat Project and Immigrants Arts event called “Seeding the City”. Miki Katagiri proposed Beneficial Mud Ball bioremediation class.  The MoS Collective went along to help her teach:  Shig, TIm, Naoko, Keat & DD.

People came from a far to learn about the mud balls. I didn’t bring my hat — thinking it would be inside for an hour class.

Alas we had 2 table surface on which to work– although in the sun/shade which is burning I managed without a hat. She told me but It didn’t compute — class to me is talking to a group. With help we taught lots of one on ones. Luck would have it that we managed to have enough help that no one had to loose their voice. Thanks to TIm and Naoko and Keat for stopping in! We adopted you —  again!  (Beneficial Microbe graduates)

We all had time to visit the other educators. We learned how to power toys with solar,  make a new planting bed permaculture style — without too much work from Claudia Joseph.

NYSERDA was there helping people with energy saving tips and natural cleaning.  The solar power people chatted about new solar techniques and solar paper, solar fabric!  We learned how to power a radio with solar.

I was able to even fit in the mud ball production line the Red Virginia clay I had in my trunk.  Now we have 50 or so red VA clay mud balls fermenting for a lake in Va.

The Weeks Center was selling veggies that we bought and ended up eating for dinner. Red Jacket orchards Apricot Stump. My fav!

There was a delicious picnic afterwards..  spicy beet salad, curry something and fritatta/quiche something.. all home grown and made!  People came from all over the NYC’s world (ie: India, Haiti, Brazil) to teach us and share an abundant like minded life-style. We do have a global bottom line of healthy air, water and soil.

Part 2

The Commons‘ Healing Arts Festival.

Afterward I piled everyone and everything in my art car microbe powered sedan to sit in traffic on Atlantic Ave. I had insisted we catch the last hour of the Commons‘ Healing Arts Festival. It was mostly over by the time we got there but we did meet the Open Acupuncture Studio. They will be on the 3rd floor of the Commons. ($15-$50) so  go get a lot of acupuncture!  Some talented healers were working one on one with people.

We went up  to the roof  where we saw Melissa Ennen, the Commons’ founder.

Melissa has built this summer another productive garden (beside her own in the earth at her home). She gave us an introduction to her bees and blueberries. She is looking to get some help with a drip irrigation system. Pratt maybe can help. I offered Italo — though he is unaware of this.

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They are working with container gardening techniques, rainwater harvesting for watering the pots, sub-irrigation utilizing cut plastic upside down bottles as the aeration tube and for watering the reservoirs, the irrigation tube poking out the side for drainage, the  burlap to keep the roots cool and the cover on the soil to keep weeds down and the soil moist and cool. I am guessing the hydration clay beads I saw in a bag are at the base of the containers.

There is a young fig tree she will have to take to her garage this winter so it doesn’t freeze.  A new olive tree and an elder. Grape vines, tomatoes with basil nitrogenating then. Companion planting is everywhere, herbs meds, vertical structures to grow the vining plants.

Fencing to keep the kids on the roof.

There are 2 bee hives and a bee bridge which is a stopping point between the two hives.  The jars contain a tasty tea for the bees of honey water and herbs & flowers–  helps flavor the honey.

Part 3.

I Take everyone home. (Too bad we couldn’t fit everyone in the Beneficial Chariot.)  We stopped first at Miki’s to drop her and the Mud Balls off. Tuesday the mud balls made a month ago for this event will be thrown by a school group of kids into the East River  by the Domino Sugar  Factory .

I encouraged everyone to see Miki’s art work.. then we were offered organic champagne so    we stayed for a wonderful sunset and had a serendipitous DJ from the party below. (The 20 somethings like  70’s and 80’s music.) Then we got out our purchases from the Weeks farm and made a dinner! Delicious. Miki’s Black Bean tea is my new favorite. Very grounding

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Thanks to Miki for all the planning and hard work.. we had fun watching more eyes and minds open to the possibilities of the EM-1 microbial solution. More people to teach more  people about beneficial microbe remediation of our air, water and soil.

Now if we partner with mycoremediation frontier we could really have fun.

PART 4

Apply cool soothing aloe vera goo to my burn.