http://www.ecoruralis.ro/web/ro/Evenimente_Taranesti/Uichend-uri_la_Malin/

Am inclus programul aici (din sait-ul ecoruralis)

PROGRAMUL UICHEND-ULUI LUNII MARTIE 25-26-27:
Ziua / Program / Cine se ocupă?

Vineri, 25 martie:
- Bun venit!
- Cazare.
- Familiarizare cu locul. Gazdele noastre Philippe și Adriana Coupe www.ermitajmalin.ro

Sâmbătă, 26 martie: – Meditație. Ronen Luncasu www.iamronen.com
- Atelier practic despre calendarul grădinii și îngrijirea pomilor. Oamenii locului
- Workshop despre semințe tradiționale cu sesiune de schimb de semințe între participanți.
Asociația Eco Ruralis www.ecoruralis.ro
- Seminar despre riscurile organismelor modificate genetic. Asociația InfOMG www.infomg.ro
- Drumeții pe dealuri.
- Program cultural inedit de seară. Concert de muzica live. Formația OM www.om-band.com

Duminică, 27 martie: – Prezentare despre permacultură. Florin Baci www.permacultura.ro
- Dezbateri, concluzii.

Programul va include și pauze de mese și drumeții în zonă. Orarul sesiunilor va fi stabilit democratic la fața locului, respectând dorințele participanților , trainerilor, artiștilor, și capriciile vremii.

Vrei să invați despre permacultură, semințe traditionale, omg si mai mult? is a post from: Your Balcony Garden

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Nu gasim un ursus in gradine urbane, dar vroiam sa scriu ca acest blog revine in martie…era o perioada de hibernatie si acum ma trezesc incet incep din nou 1 martie 2011 pana la sfarsitul Octombrie 2011. In timp ce trezesc din somn, va intreb – ce plan aveti pentru gradina primavara? Commentati si impartiti visul tau pentru gradina urbana.
—–
We won’t find any bears in our urban gardens but I wanted to write that this blog returns in March…it was a period of hibernation and now I wake slowly and begin again 1 March until the end of October 2011.

While I wake from winter’s slumber, I ask what are you planning for your springtime garden? Leave a comment and share your dream for your urban garden.

grrrrrr! is a post from: Your Balcony Garden

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Voluntarii aduşi de Debo.ro au plantat 10.000 de copaci în Cluj

Aproximativ 250 de voluntari au plantat 10.000 de copaci la Ciurila, judeţul Cluj, în cadrul campaniei „Update pentru Natură“, organizată de electroretailerul online Debo.ro. Puieţii plantaţi au fost salcâmi şi stejari, specii recomandate de specialişti ai Ocolului Silvic Cluj şi provin de la clienţii magazinului online Debo.ro care au bifat opţiunea „Da, doresc ca Debo.ro să planteze gratuit un arbore pentru mine!“ în momentul în care au făcut o comandă. Citeste mai mult aici

Clujul creste…copaci! is a post from: Your Balcony Garden

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Just like spring, it is time to get back to work in our gardens…so much to do! Following is the full list of tasks for the fall garden in text format and following that is a little experiment listing the tasks and featuring some photos from my balcony with titles and music.

1. Gather any remaining seeds.  Label and store them in a clean dry container.

2. Harvest any remaining peppers, green tomatoes and other veggies. Make something yummy! Here is an idea, how about a nice mexican green sauce  with the green tomatoes, peppers and onions.  Make some enchiladas verde.

3. Dig up any rhizomes or bulbs that are frost sensitive. i.e. Dahlias

4. Plant tulips, muscari, narcisscus and other spring bulbs now.

5.  Bring in and repot any frost sensitive plants to overwinter indoors such as geraniums, coleus, osteospermum, etc..

6. Clean-up and take in any houseplants, ween them off of direct sun and if possible keep them by a partially open window to make the transition easier.

7. If you want to relocate peonies, sage, lavender or other perenials, transplant them now.

8. Plant chrysanthemum, heather and pansies for fall color to fill in any gaps.

9. You can also plant some new perenials such as lavender or sage to replace unsuccessful plants.

10. Clean-up your pots and beds.

11, Mulch your beds with any of the following:  coir, sand, pine needles, peat moss or prepackaged mulch products.

12, Consider starting a small compost pile in a large pot with the waste.

Anything else you can think of, would love to hear from you!  Hope you enjoyed the little vid clip and a clip of the song by Gaudi called Flower from his Earthboundalbum. Happy Balcony Gardening!

Fall Garden Checklist… is a post from: Your Balcony Garden

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The moon is beautiful, the air is cooler now, the days grow shorter and the equinox has arrived. Welcome fall!

Luna e frumoasă, acum aerul e mai rece, zilele devine mai scurte și echinocțiu de toamnă a ajuns! Ce frumos!

Toamnă :-) Welcome to Fall! is a post from: Your Balcony Garden

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Ants have been on my mind a lot lately! There are a lot of reasons -

1. A colony took up residence on my makeshift balcony garden in 2009. In 2010 the garden evolved and so did their colony/nest.
2. They eat crumbs from Kiki and Nerica’s food bowls (my dogs.) Sometimes the dogs lick their bowls clean so I give them bread crumbs and if they are lucky cornbread crumbs.
3. They were recently (July) in the height of their mating season on my balcony and their was either a genocide or they die after sex. I have since learned they die after mating.
4. There was a new batch introduced to my balcony when I received a bunch of old plant pots from some friends who were moving. They are a different type of ant. They actually have taken up residence and live in plant pots and not in the big beds like the others. It seems that if they are not careful and enter the other’s nests then they might become slaves, since ants do this to one another.
5. As a result of the increased population, they have decided to enter my apartment to search for more food – oooooouuuuuu – but I can only move them back outside because I just cannot kill the little buggers. The other thing is they have unwittingly forced me to clean up even the tiniest of crumbs that are hardly viewable to the naked eye! As the weather is becoming cooler and after the accidental death of a few, they no longer enter….yipee!

Ant (noun) A small insect that lives in a large community of insects exactly like itself. Commonly found raiding trash cans in droves.

Don’t touch the trash, there’s a see of ants in there!

definition from the urban dictionary

Jennifer Murray on the farm

Lessons from nature.

So on another note, when a particular insect or animal comes into my life (meaning that they seem to be appearing a lot to me) there are a few things that I do. First – check my Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Smallbook to investigate the symbology they have for me in the moment, Second – search the internet for any information that I can find on the creature in question. Third – discuss these things with my comrade in arms and long time friend Jennifer. Jennifer is a lover of nature, birder, chicken keeper and organic farmer on Long Island, New York.

In the quest  for lessons from nature and particularly ants, some of their notable characteristics  include the following:

• They display tremendous strength and determination. It is estimated that on the average they are able to carry 5x their own body weight.

• They help one another and display altruistic qualities. They work for the good of one another and they will even sacrifice their lives for the greater good of their community.

• They will not take from the mouth of others, yet they will give to others.

Facts about ants.

Other things or facts that we know about ants are that -

Not only are they one of the most abundant species known to us.  Ants are social creatures. In my research, some sources stated that their are both solitary and group minded ants. However, according to Jochen Bihn a scientist and passionate lover of ants, he believes that there are no true solitary ants. He writes that usually “solitary” ants are from a community and are only out foraging and their behaviour is somewhat different when they are alone. You can also view incredible photos of ants that he has collected in his favorites at his flickr page entitled “ants in my pants”  here.  Ants in my pants makes me laugh since my parents would ask me when I was restless if in fact there were ants in my pants.

They are quite like humans in their chosen work.  Some of their occupations are as gatherers & growers. Generally, they do cut seeds so they will not germinate, yet they also disperse seeds as well. Some species of ants farm by growing fungus and while others have a symbiotic relationship with aphids and milk them for their nectar. Some are leaf cutters, etc. What they do depends on their environment. In my own personal experience with them, I have noted their planting of grasses especially which they have used in supporting their architectural adventures.  Yes, these little fellows are quite the architects and builders.

Ants as architects & builders dig tunnels, build vaulted ceilings and more. After a nest was abandoned a group of scientists studied the ants work by examining how they created a ventilation system and then poured cement in the structure and then excavated the site. Here is a clip that shows this project.

As you can see from the video above that  ants are team players, tireless workers and quite strong. They have 2 jaws. One is used to carry food back to the nest and to dig and the other one to eat.

According to two time pulitzer prize winner and the subject of a NOVA documentary entitled Lord of the Ants, Doctor E.O. Wilson a world renowned entomologist through years of study has stated that while ants generally share some similar characteristics, that their social habits of the different types of ants, in fact display different behaviours and depending upon where they are in the world have different cultures. Read more about E.O. Wilson here.

There are many many resources on the internet concerning ants and eventually an Ant page will be added to this blog, as they are not only fascinating, they are a gardener’s friend. In the meantime, I will leave you with a fond memory of the children’s song about ants and you can make up the rhymes as you go…apparently there are “official” public domain lyrics on a website but as I remember it this is how it goes…

The ants come marching 1 by 1 – hurrah! hurrah!
The ants come marching 1 by 1 – hurrah, hurrah!
The ants come marching 1 by 1 – the little one stops to have some fun,
and they all go marching down into the ground – to get out of the rain….

The ants come marching 2 by 2 hurrah, hurrah!
The ants come marching 2 by 2 hurrah, hurrah!
The ants come marching 2 by 2 – the little one stops to tie his shoe,
and they all go marching down – into the ground – to get out of the rain…ad infinitum!

Happy urban gardening.

ANTS – Hymenopteara: Formicidae is a post from: Your Balcony Garden

Related posts:

1. The Ant Man – E.O. Wilson

E.O. Wilson is one of my heroes and not just because I like ants.  He is inspiring to me and makes me want to contribute something greater to the world because – his work, his challenges and his  love of  the work itself -  coalesced  and became something far greater then the person E.O. Wilson, something even more extradordinary, it became a direction for humanity. His message is found in his books, his talks and media on the internet and his voice through these mediums simply remind us not only of who and what we are but of our impact on the fragile eco systems that exist in this place – our home – the earth.

The worst thing that can happen during the 1980s is not energy depletion, economic collapse, limited nuclear war, or conquest by a totalitarian government. As terrible as these catastrophes would be for us, they can be repaired within a few generations. The one process ongoing in the 1980s that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly that our descendents are least likely to forgive us. – E.O. Wilson

E.O. Wilson - Photo by: Sage Ross

Quick facts:

• He has published over 400 papers.

• He has discovered 344 of 600 known types of ants in the genus fidole or phidole (fidole comprises 20% of all ant species in the western hemisphere.)

• Created controversy with the publication of his first book which speaks of the genetic influence of behaviour of all species including humans.  Sociologists were extremely upset by his inclusion of humans in the final chapter of this book and considered it a heritical statement since this idea where nature and genetics determined behavious was opposed to theories of human development social systems that focused on nurture only…

• He is responsible for the creation of a single access system (EOL) The Encyclopedia of Life.

The Encyclopedia of Life is a portal where everything we know would be collected and stored EVERYTHING about the 1,8 million known species on earth.  Harvard University and The Smithsonian have been working on this. YOU can participate in this project or access information here.

Here is a link to an informative slideshow that EO Wilson presented before the US Senate in 1998 about the importance of saving the forests.  The first page is a text introduction and the slideshow is not automated but this link will bring you to the initial slide which you can then page through at the bottom.

You can read more about EO Wilson at the following links…

EO Wilson’s Site

TED Talks Info page on EO Wilson

EO Wilson Wikipedia General Information Page

Wikimedia EO Wilson Quotes Page – He is a wise man, read some quotes here.

Download the audio file of his Ted Talk Here or Listen Here

I don’t think that he would be offended by my comparison of  him to an ant.  So how the heck can I say he is like an ant? Well, ants have 2 jaws – 1 to eat with and the other to carry food back to the nest.  Like his beloved research subjects, EO Wilson provided nourishment to himself through his work and he too carried back food for thought to the biggest known nest of humans who occupy this place that we call earth.

The Ant Man – E.O. Wilson is a post from: Your Balcony Garden

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• Commonly known as the Peacock
• Family: Nymphalidae
• Genus: Inachis
• Species: io

Alien sighting or Butterfly ALERT! (peacock/inachis io) is a post from: Your Balcony Garden

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1. back on the balcony!
2. Must have info for our friends – Lepidopter * Butterflies
3. Insects/Insecte – Video

The opening picture was taken earlier today (26 August 2010.) As you can see from the second picture, this area was empty and is of what the balcony looked like back in March and April when I was planning and building the wooden containers.  The first images are the left side of the balcony in which the plan was to create a chicken wire, jute and wood frame which would support vines.

There are also pictures of the right side of the balcony which has a more complex raised bed with different levels.  This side has a number of plants and the backdrop is a stuf (reed) panel that helps to reduce the intensity of the sun in the later part of the day. This picture was taken in early July 2010. It is much fuller now.

The right side with the stuf panel now has the following plants – tomatoes, red cabbage, nicotinia, hydrangea, sage, basil, peppers, dicentra, clematis, black eyed susan vine, yellow coneflower, white daisy and coleus. The overall size of the container is 215 cm width by 120 cm depth and is tiered to provide for plants. This container was made from some new wood, but the majority of wood used was left over from a previous years project.

On the left side the width of the box is also a little over 215 cm and the depth is 85 cm. Plants on the left side include budleia (butterfly bush), 3 vines (morning glory, sweet pea vines, clematis,) lantana, dahlia, paper flowers (unknown name), delphinium, peony and one of my favorite garden delights – the fountain.

Before the frost in late October or early November there will be another photo update of the growth on the balcony. For now, hope you are enjoying your balcony!

Happy Balcony Gardening!

Balcony Garden Progress August 2010 is a post from: Your Balcony Garden

Related posts:

1. Flower power made easy on your balcony!
2. Bloom Succession – Perenials
3. Guerrilla Garden Targets – Marasti – Cluj-Napoca – Sunflowers

Many of your plants have produced seeds and many have even hardened off now. They can be stored in jars, paper bags, envelopes or foil packets. Leave some on your plants for the birds too! My preferred method is jars because not only do seeds stay dry and fresh, you can stack them and they look pretty too! No need to rely on outside sources when nature provides the seeds for you. In the spring when planting, even if you have excess you can share and exchange with your neighbors as well.

Save your seeds now! is a post from: Your Balcony Garden

Related posts:

1. SEEDS NOW!
2. Grow and eat to your hearts content – Lettuce
3. How does your balcony grow?