We Dug It at Dig This!

Dig This! is an event held twice a year at the beginning of our best growing seasons (Spring and Fall in the New Orleans area) to teach folks how to grow food at home.

The weather was perfect at the Dig This! event held on Algiers Point at the Ovah da Rivah Creole Folk Life Village that nests between the levees across from the Old Algiers Courthouse. Attendees had a choice of six classes to pick from, on two levels: Ground Level (for beginning gardeners) and the Green Thumb Level (for more seasoned growers). In the afternoon, a hands-on workshop called "Talking Dirt" was held at the nearby Common Ground Community Garden, where participants worked hands-on to learn how to build a rainwater cistern, create a worm bin, renovate a raised bed, and test the soil.

The day started with an introduction to the Food & Farm Network's current work. Dig This! travels to the neighborhood in which we focus our work, and so Algiers was the location for the Fall 2007 event. Former director Marilyn Yank explained how Algiers has been a neighborhood in which we have worked with residents to create a Neighborhood Food Map to identify places to grow or buy food in the neighborhood. She further explained about the food projects we have begun to improve the access to healthful food. Next came students from O. Perry Walker High School in Algiers, talking about their work with a community outreach staff person from Food & Farm Network, Johanna Gilligan, on The Food Talk Project. The students explained how they interviewed elders in the community about how they used to get food in their neighborhoods. The students were proud to explain what they learned at their field trips to a nearby farm, and the local produce stand of Mr. George, and how they were excited to put together the posters that told their subject's stories to the rest of the community.

Afterwards, the crowd broke up to get their garden learning in.

"The Dirt on Dirt" was taught by Anne Baker of the Food & Farm Network which was a primer on soil science and keeping it healthy for the plants and the gardener. After all, if you don't have healthy soil, you won't have healthy plants! Tips for soil testing, fertilization, and composting were given as well as an explanation of the biological activity that goes on in the soil itself. At the end of the class, packets of vegetable and herb seeds were given to the eager gardeners and gardeners-to-be to plant at home.

Next came the session on food producing Trees. "Trees of Plenty" was taught by David Himelrick of the LSU AgCenter and the author of two books: "Small Fruit Crop Management" and "Muscadine Grapes". The "Trees of Plenty" session provided information on the best types of fruits and nuts to grow in the New Orleans area. Everything from citrus and pecans to avocados and blueberries were covered. Attendees to this class were able to take home a mulberry tree to plant in their own yard!

Beginning gardeners could then go to the "Vegging Out" session about the best varieties of herbs and veggies to plant from the Fall season through the Spring. LSU AgCenter's Dan Gill taught the session and went over the basics of which plants to direct seed and which to start indoors, tips on raising healthy seedlings, fertilization, organic pest and disease control, as well as tricks to get better harvests. Octavia Books, a local bookstore, brought copies of Mr. Gill's books which he authored and proudly signed on the spot for the beaming purchasers.

On the other side of the Creole Village, the more advanced classes took place and covered organic pest and disease control, raising chickens at home, and planning and creating a landscaping plan.

"Killing with Kindness" told about how to spot a "good bug" from a "bad bug" and the most effective controls, preventatives and organic pesticides to use to keep the garden free from insect pest damage. Grant Estrade from Laughing Buddha Nursery provided the knowledge in this session, and was a big help in targeting common pest problems. Many pairs of garden gloves were available after the class thanks to incredible and generous sponsorships.

Noel Jones of God's Vineyard taught one of the most popular classes; "Egg-ceptional Yard Birds". His session featured live chickens and gave the guidelines for keeping birds in an urban environment. He explained how to select the right type of chicken, how to house and care for the birds, and how to reap the benefits of back yard birds while following city ordinances and keeping the neighbors happy. Noel even gave away chickens in a lottery!

As a bonus for all of the Dig This! attendees, Ginger Fortson of the Delgado Horticulture Department gathered attendees from both the Green Thumb and Ground Level classes and taught everyone how to use an architect's ruler and a survey (or site map) in creating their own landscape drawing in the "Tweaking Nature" session. Students were spread out over several tables, and all got a take-home sketch of a model plan.

Meanwhile, Dig This! had local vendors such as The Fruit Wizard come out and sell fresh fruit. Pralines, coffee, natural sodas, juices, and pastries were available from local restaurants and coffee shops. Local organizations provided important information like Stay Local.org, The Green Project, Longue Vue House and Gardens, and Parkway Partners were all available with valuable information. Master Gardeners gave out advice on horticultural topics and gave a generous hand with volunteering during the event itself to keep things running smoothly.

Because rainwater is such a valuable resource, the gardeners wanted to collect the mineral-rich waters to use to supplement their irrigation at the community garden. Grant Estrade showed folks how to drill, add a drainspout from a guttering system, and make a debris and mosquito guard on a large recycled barrel to create a rainwater cistern. The gutter system was attached to the existing lean-to roof over the picnic table in the garden, and it acted to collect the rainwater runoff as well as direct it into the downspout leading to the cistern. Seeing how easy it was to make a cistern gave attendees the knowledge and confidence they needed to build one of their own at home.

The final workshop was given by Amy Graham of the Longue Vue House & Gardens. Amy got attendees to work on improving the condition of an existing raised bed. Her steps that she took people through were the exact steps one would use at home to improve an area of the home garden or use to begin a new area to grow in. Attendees received soil test kits and ran the tests on soil fertility and pH, and then learned to read and understand the results. The bed was then lined with landscape fabric to retard weeds, topped off with new soil, and organic fertilizers were added according to the results of the soil tests. Since then, the bed has been planted by Algiers residents and is growing vegetables for their gardeners and neighborhood.

Dig This! Fall 2007 was an enlightening and engaging day that will hopefully spur on the attendees to begin some new veggie growing and chicken raising at home. Having a backyard resource for good homegrown food is hard to beat, and Dig This! strives to make it easier.

A super THANK YOU to all of the supporters and sponsors to those who donated to allow community members to attend on a scholarship, as well as the contributors who allowed attendees to take home resources to begin their gardens, enabled the instructors to have tools to teach with, and the volunteers on the committee and day of who made Dig This! happen. The New Orleans Food & Farm Network appreciates your kindness.

Please support the businesses and organizations that contributed to and participated in the Fall 2007 Dig This!:

• Longue Vue House & Gardens
• Huli's Louisiana Festival Calendars
• Octavia Books
• Parkway Partners
• Common Ground Health Clinic
• Gutters Now!
• American Aquatic Gardens
• The Green Project
• Fair Grinds Coffee House
• Karma Kitchen Catering
• Bayou Boogaloo
• The Fruit Wizard
• LSU AgCenter
• The Orleans Parish Master Gardeners
• The Ovah da Rivah Creole Folk Life Village
• Harold's Indoor & Outdoor Plants
• Urban Organics
• God's Vineyard
• Aqua 2 Go
• Green Parrot Nursery
• Algiers Central Market
• Beacon of Hope
• Johnny's Selected Seeds