Food Forest Workshop—Saturday, March 18

Have you ever tasted a pawpaw, the native fruit with a flavor of mango-meets-banana custard? How about sweet, tiny kiwi berries? Or melt-in-your-mouth asian persimmons? These unusual fruits — along with figs, gooseberries, mulberries and goumi berries — are part of the design of a new food forest at CommonWealth that we’ll begin planting on Saturday, March 18th. Local permaculturist Paul Mays from SixTwelve will
lead the workshop, starting with the whys and whats of food forests, and the design process that allows us to plan a food forest uniquely suited to our site and our personality.

And what the heck IS a food forest? It’s a low-maintenance, sustainable and productive garden of fruit and nut trees, shrubs, berries, herbs, mushrooms and perennial vegetables, based on the natural systems found in forests. Food forests are probably the world’s oldest form of land use and amongst the most resilient of agroecosystems.

Pictured is the site of the soon-to-be-planted food forest at CommonWealth. Join us for the workshop Saturday, March 18, 10 am to noon. $5 payable on-site. Click here for a full listing of CommonWealth’s Garden School classes, or to sign up for a season membership.

Veggie Spotlight: A new nursery

Our tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings are now snug as a bug in a rug in their new little greenhouse. Completed this past week by our friend Tom Temple (ttemple.com/natural-
design
), it shows off the clean lines and meticulous craftsmanship characteristic of Tom’s work. Someday we’ll have a greenhouse sized to meet CommonWealth’s growing needs, but in the meantime, this little one will help bridge the gap. It’s attached to Lia’s studio, located just to the south and east of our hoop house. Come take a peek the next time you’re in the neighborhood!

Hey, look what the Oklahoma Gazette did!

It’s a story about urban farming in Oklahoma City, including our friends and neighbors at SixTwelve (that’s Paul Mays on the cover!) and the Urban Neighbors community garden, plus CommonWealth Urban Farms.
Here’s a Lia Woods quote from the story: “We have a hunger inside of us to be connected to the natural world. No matter how happy you might be at an office job, you still have that need.”
Read the whole story here Cover story and learn about the classes at SixTwelve here.

Thanks Julia!

Our longtime friend Julia Laughlin co-hosts the lively and informative “Garden Party” radio talk show on Saturdays on KTOK 1000 am. Julia invited Lia and JoBeth to come to the studio last Saturday to talk about Garden School, volunteer opportunities at CommonWealth, and our beautiful veggies & flowers. Julia has decades of experience in gardening, farming, research and teaching, and is a walking encyclopedia of practical knowledge. Call in (840-1000) between 11 am and 1 pm on any Saturday to get your gardening questions answered!