Meeting date
Hot Topics
Community Garden Management
- Brihat will organize beds, drip line management, weeding
- Brihat will manage 18 market rows
- no farm gate sales rather a guided u-pick
- Need to build an area with a roof for storage
- sign with rules, tools, finish your beds
- cover crop for unused areas of garden (hay mix for cows, alfalfa, clover)
- Swale around perimeter to stop deer
- Windbreak on southside made of existing and new fruit/nut trees plus willow (basket willow)
Community Garden Fees
- rows are leased to villagers (example: $54 per row)
- drip lines available
- plowing by ox plow and rototiller early spring
- fertilizer, green manure
- trade produce for fees
Hemp Cultivation
- first year focus on growing seeds
- need irrigation plan
- possible processing facility in ashcroft
- Bala can get seed, $1 per pound
- potential growing sites: Bhumi Farm, Blue Earth Forest Farm and Lot 384
Bean Planting Program
- beans add nutrients to garden, next grains (harvesting and storage issues)
- seeds cleaned and packaged, sold online
- bean row for temple, row for school lunch (summer camp), school/community compost (grants)
- need community dryer
- Schedule for watering, weeding, fence security, harvesting
- join the bc seed producing co-op (mohave)
Yearly Topics
Community Garden Improvements
- care for existing fruit trees, herbs, bees, raspberries, strawberry, goji need maintenance
- soil has to be built up with cover crops and manure from goshala
- electric fence to be fixed and fine-tuned, need battery and solar panel
Community Fencing
- Southend rail fence 30% complete. West fence has braces until Sthanur. Need to repound posts early spring
- Metal Gates need for roads (2)
- Gates for homes along west fence (Sthanur, Bhava...)
Labour and Woofers
- Accommodation infrastructure: housing, outhouse, solar shower
- Need the right people, screening process
- Inspiration: Stein Valley Farm
- Importing devotees from Indonesia
Hay growing and harvesting plan
- Ox Team and tractor cut hay in southend
- meeting 5% of hay needs for year, labor issues
- cows happy with hay produced
- Bailer not justified yet, Storage near barn
- other areas can be fenced and used for hay (Dadhi Harta's land)
- goshala manure - good for mulch, worms
Organic certification
- Maple trees now certified in community garden, can add new
- Manure must be put on in spring
Announcements and Events
- Seed order first week of February
- Seed exchange in march?, april, may, june?
Business
- Financial report (co-op is not for profit, no tax)
- Online year-end filling
- Election of Directors (President: Yoginath, Secretary and Treasurer: Ramanath)
- Previous AGM minutes approved.
- Attendance: Yoginath, Udarakirti, Michael, Bala, Brihat, Ramanath
Links
Community Farm Infrastructure & Development Plan
Fence Plan for Saranagati Village