Hunting seeds – treasure in our daily food

2020/03/27Allgemein, CASAdelDRAGON, color garden, HU Cervera del Maestrefafe

In March 2020 we are limited in free movement and for some of us shopping become a rare social activity. To feed our terrace garden we can use little plants if we have access to professional sources. Maybe in a city it will be not easy to find a source for these plants. So i publish this to stimulate you to discover what you could use even out of you shopping bag.

Disclaimer: Some of the seeds you will discover are inside hybrid plants and they will not grow. Some of your food was exposed to radioactive waves or otherwise “cleaned” before it arrived to the shop. Some of the seeds are given without permission to plant because of a patent.

All this will not work, but maybe you could get some food out of bio-shops or direct from a local farmer.

Words are also seeds, and when dropped into the invisible spiritual substance, they grow and bring forth after their kind.
Charles Fillmore, American mystic

hunting seeds - or using parts of your potato — hunting seeds – or using parts of your potato

Also you could look for some already spreading potato on stock. We use – as you see – only part of the potato and it works well. Some hints we collect here:

Tomato > Before you use the tomato take the seeds with a spoon and put them with water in a glass with screw cap. Shake this glas every day once for 7 days. After this open the glass and run the liquid with the seed over a paper towel that you have placed in a sieve. Let the paper towel dry and peel the seeds apart. Store them in a dry place (max. 5 years) or plant them.
Peppers > Cut the plant and peel of the seeds in a paper towel. Let them dry one day. Store them in a dry place (max. 4 years) or plant them.
Kiwi > Use the same method like above for tomato. Store them in a dry place (max. 3 years) or plant them.
Pumpkin > Use the same method like above for peppers. Let them dry one week. Store them in a dry place (max. 5 years) or plant them.
Garlic > Take a strong clove of a garlic plant and re-plant it. It might be a good companion for tomato in the same planting pot.
Potato > Cut a piece from the potato. It should be minimum 0.5 cm thick below an spreading eye. If you could select 2 or 3 eyes at once its also fine. Dry the piece for 2 days without to much sunlight. Plant the pieces (eyes upside) within the next 2 or 3 days. Water the area not much in the first weeks. We suggest to use hay to cover the potato piece and the soil around.

It is highly recommended to plant different types of tomato not nearby, as well as pumpkin and cucumber not close to each other. If you have only on terrace garden we suggest to plant only one variation of tomato and pumpkin or cucumber at the same time.

Feedback : if you have more ideas to add other plants to the list please send us a notice. We will update this post from time to time.

Couch Potato – Fridays for Future

2020/03/23Allgemein, CASAdelDRAGON, color garden, HU Cervera del Maestre, HU Virtual, UNIIEfafe

Look at that moon. Potato weather for sure.
Thornton Wilder, Author

terrace gardening - potato bed box — terrace gardening – potato bed box

In March 2020 the Spanish government expanded the time of traffic limitation till April. Cloudy weather and some rain motivated us to expand the terrace garden project as well.

We found a abandoned wood box in the garden and drilled two wholes in one side, about 3 cm higher than the bottom.

terrace gardening - potato bed box with plastic — terrace gardening – potato bed box with plastic

We used also a old sheet of plastic to protect the wood against humidity. We prefer to re-use and upcycle material and the rotten plastic was big enough.

terrace gardening - potato bed box with water owerflow — terrace gardening – potato bed box with water owerflow

We placed two pipes into the wholes and fixed them with stripes. We glued the pipes against the blue plastic to protect the wood.

terrace gardening - potato bed box - wood to store the moisture — terrace gardening – potato bed box – wood to store the moisture

We charged the box with some wood pieces. Its a donation of a company which produce orange boxes and the pieces have a perfect size to be used like pellets for heating or in this case to store further rain water. The wood also will be populated by bacteria and insects and later transformed into useful compost.

terrace gardening - potato bed box - a layer of carton — terrace gardening – potato bed box – a layer of carton

To develop a bigger space for the water and reduce the speed of de-composting we placed a layer of carton on top of the wood.

terrace gardening - potato bed box - soil - compost - sand — terrace gardening – potato bed box – soil – compost – sand

In the next step we charged the box with a soil compost mix.

terrace gardening - potato bed box - the couch potatos — terrace gardening – potato bed box – the couch potatos

On top of the soil we placed some potatos. We used a mix of left overs we found in the garden beds and some new seed potatos as well.

terrace gardening - potato bed box - hay and grass covering — terrace gardening – potato bed box – hay and grass covering

Finally we covered the potato with a layer of hay and grass. Just in time it started to rain again.

I bought a big bag of potatoes and it’s growing eyes like crazy. Other foods rot. Potatoes want to see
Bill Callahan, Author

All material was re-used and compost and soil where borrowed form the color garden of CASAdelDRAGON. Most of the seed potato are the 3rd generation of potato we developed in the garden area. For time investment we have to calculate 1 hour. The installation cover a space of less than 0.5 square meter. Like the upcycling of water bottles we post this content for our friends in Belgium and for everybody looking for some gardening activities which are easy to realize in these times of limited mobility.

social art – advantage to survive in times of reconstruction

2020/03/21Allgemein, CASAdelDRAGON, color garden, HU Cervera del Maestre, HU Virtual, UNIIEfafe

When i was a child i was collecting plants from outside and brought them into my greenhouse, constructed by some well-known plastic bricks. Inspired by movies like Silent running i invented my own story of enjoying the nature and its beauty.

Many years later – now (2020-03-21) – in times of limited access to nature and locked to private spaces – i was asked by some friends about a useful advise to set up a urban / terrace garden in small size.

I promised to share all my limited knowledge to help them to develop a garden in their city flat in Belgium.

One solution is to use old plastic water bottles. They are maid out of PET. First you should cut some fabric in stripes of 40 x 5 cm.

PET bottles - preparation to store and move water — PET bottles – preparation to store and move water

Than you should cut a star into the screw cap. It is useful to make this step before you cut the bottle into two pieces.

PET bottle - best practice to reach a stable structure — PET bottle – best practice to reach a stable structure

The fabric is – turned to a double strip of 20cm – placed into the cut of the screw cab – 15 cm outside. The bootle is cutted with a scissor – 60% for the bottom and 40% for the top part.

PET bottle - water overflow solution — PET bottle – water overflow solution

In the bottom part you should burn or drill 8 wholes – each ca. 1 cm wide – 3 cm below the open side. In the top part you might burn or drill 4 wholes – each ca. 1cm wide – 4 cm below the screw cap.

I used a old soldering iron to burn the wholes. It reaches temperatures higher than 265° – which is the melting point for PET. Even if you are planning to prepare a lot of bottles the burning Methode is quick and easy. But work only outside or in a well ventilated working environment.

PET bottle - reassambling and adjusting — PET bottle – reassambling and adjusting

Before you place the top reverse into the bottom part prepare 4 to 6 short cuts into the edge of the lower part – each 1 cm length.

I used old plastic fruit boxed for handling. It make sense if you find a solution to place the bottles in a safe way – wind – and to allow the free flow of excess water. You should fill up each bottle with rainwater till you see the water inside the cap before you insert soil.

Your plant soil you can mix out of forest soil, sand, mother soil, humus, compost soil. In these times – March 2020 in Europe – you might not be able to create the best soil, but these circumstances should teach you to focus the best possible solution. Maybe your salad will be not so big or your onion not so tasty, it doesn’t mapper.

stable ground and first boxesfirst boxes full of salads and herbs

If you set up your garden on your terrace, be aware of the final payload. A normal floor inside a flat supports between 1,5 kN/m² (150 kg/m²) and 2,5 kN/m² (250 kg/m²). In Europe 3 kN/m² (300 kg/m²) is mostly supported for a terrace or balcony. You should check this before you set up a large garden on your place. In my case – like you see in the Foto above – i have to calculate 1,8 kN/m² (180 kg/m²) in case of a heavy rain event!

And where is the social art here? In times like this – i name it times of reconstruction – i feel very happy and i am full of humility that i can work as an artist. I was looking for logistical and technical solutions when i was a young child to protect my plants in my little green house. I used this PET bottle solution in some workshops with youth in Europe in the last years and i am happy to deliver some ideas to my friends in Belgium now. The design is based on a solution from Cecile Thevenot (Permacultura Penyflor) and modified a bit.

These times will be seen as times in which the society will need creative and realistic solutions. I am happy to contribute to this. I use this little web blog as a tool to paint. My art work is a message. And the message is: we will survive. And we will learn a lot about ourselves, our needs and re-adjust our priority lists. I will continue this posts in the next days…

Thanks to Eline and Ruben, for giving me a reason to publish this. They where helping a lot in our color garden some years ago and its a pleasure to give back something. I will return in this garden tomorrow and i will work with an new generation for the food for tomorrow, to deliver the most important message now: There is a – tasty – tomorrow.

solidarity and confidence

2020/03/15Allgemein, CASAdelDRAGON, color garden, HU Cervera del Maestrefafe

Today our local mayor – following national law – limited public access and even interaction with officials. The world, and specially countries like Italy, France and Spain are experiencing a unique challenge driven by COVID-19.

We decide based on our past and we will be judged based on our future.
Juan Petry, artist

All life is falling back to privacy in flats and houses. We are living in a little village in the countryside and we are happy to stay over the day in our big garden, full of flowers, salads, vegetables and fruits.

Every person is triggered by love or fear. Both are implemented into our thoughts to motivate us. But only love leads us to arrive in a joyful future.
anonymus, artist and friend of CASAdelDRAGON

On one side its right to follow the law and to limit social contacts, on the other side there is a big impact even for youth. The new generation is passing a fundamental lession about their relation to other people and to nature at all.

Actually we are planting vegetables in our garden. We trust in a future, and we deliver confidence to a new generation. We will share what we will harvest and we will give to those who need it.

And we enjoy the solidarity between the inhabitants of our beautiful village in Castellon.

Taller de la luz – Lamparas de Tuetano

2020/03/12Allgemein, CASAdelDRAGON, color garden, HU Cervera del Maestrefafe

Maria Isabel, archeologist from Swiss, living in Spain offer her second workshop in the color garden of CASAdelDRAGON in Cervera del Maestre. This workshop will be about prehistoric illumination and light.

In a 3 hour session you will experience how to assamble material and how to build a light, like the prehistoric people did it 40 – 35.000 years a.DC.

The workshop will be held in the colorgarden / art camp of CASAdelDRAGON. In case of bad weather the workshop will be held in the gallery itself.

Meeting point is 10.30 am at the house of the Dragon (Calle Las Parras) or 11 am at the color garden 1000m down the hill from Cervera del Maestre.

You are interested? Great. Please announce your partizipation till 10.04.2020 12am via email (juan / at / petry . eu) or use WhatsApp 0049 160 99131933 (artsurpriseme).

The Picasso of Tomorrow

2020/03/10Allgemein, CASAdelDRAGON, color garden, EL-DRAC Gallery, HU Cervera del Maestre, sculpture gardenfafe

Agnieszka Merta is a mother (of a 4 years old boy) and an artist. She is living in UK and Spain and she will offer a workshop about drawing and painting and sculpturing based on natural materials and inspired by nature.

I like to invite your children for a very special art class where our creative energy is inspired by nature. We will draw, paint and sculpt looking at the nature around us in the FamiliaFeliz community garden in Cervera del Maestre.
The sky, the ground, the trees and animals around us have always been inspiration for artists! Let your child imagination go, grow and blossom. Hope to see you soon
Agnieszka Merta, Artist

The workshop is created and held by a mother and professionally trained artist. The fee of 10 Euros per children includes all used materials. We will meet 26.04.2020 at 11 am in the color garden (or in case of bad weather events inside the CASAdelDRAGON).

For further information and answers to your questions please contact the artist directly: WhatsApp +447984458808 or mail agymerta/at/gmail.com.

experimental cooking – participative art event

2020/03/03Allgemein, CASAdelDRAGON, color garden, HU Cervera del Maestre, HU Virtual, UNIIEfafe

As part of the artistic and social project of CASAdelDRAGON in 2020 we invite you for one very special art & cooking event. Sunday 25.04.2020 at 11am we will meet in the color garden of familiafeliz. We will cook together in a two hour session and enjoy after the color garden and art camp of CASAdelDRAGON.

The workshop is open for vegan & vegetarian friends as well as for those who eat meat!

This event is linked to previous events in Spain and Germany and also to the upcoming exhibition in the house of the dragon.

You are interested? Great. Please announce your partizipation till 20.04.2020 12am via email (juan / at / petry . eu) or use WhatsApp 0049 160 99131933 (artsurpriseme).

We expect a contribution of 10 Euros for buying the food and drinks. The workshop itself is free of charge. Meeting points are 10.30am at CASAdelDRAGON Calle Las Parras,19 12578 Cervera del Maestre or 11am inside the art camp in the color garden (1000m down the hill from CASAdelDRAGON).

experimental cooking – smoked out of tajine
participative art event
CASAdelDRAGON
Las Parras,19
12578 Cervera del Maestre
Castellon

Start 11am / Duration 2+4 hours / 10 Euros for food and drinks per person / limited places / Apply till 20.04.2020 12am

The food of tomorrow at less entropy

2020/03/01ADA - abejas de amor, Allgemein, aquaponics, CASAdelDRAGON, color garden, HU Cervera del Maestrefafe

experimental gardening - the food of tomorrow - heavens gate for paramedcium — experimental gardening – the food of tomorrow – heavens gate for paramedcium

One of my best memories of biology lessons at school was the introduction into fauna and flora in microscopic size. We harvested some grass outside the school building and cut it into little pieces. We stored it in a jar with some water for 3 weeks and we explored the life inside of one drop of the liquid under a microscope.

expoerimental gardening - the food of tomorrow - a bed in the color garden — experimental gardening – the food of tomorrow – a bed in the color garden

On September 2019 we designed a new bed in the entrance of the art camp, which is part of the color garden of CASAdelDRAGON. After harvesting delicious cauliflowers and some onions in January 2020 we prepared the bed for a new season with salads and herbs beginning of March 2020.

experimental gardening - the food of tomorrow - new setup for a new season — experimental gardening – the food of tomorrow – new setup for a new season

We cleaned the stone frame around and inside the bed and collected a big pile of grass and rotten organic material.

experimental gardening - the food of tomorrow - replacing and testing the watering system — experimental gardening – the food of tomorrow – replacing and testing the watering system

We covered the soil with hay from another field nearby and we tested the watering system.

experimental gardening - the food of tomorrow - ready to grow — experimental gardening – the food of tomorrow – ready to grow

Finally the bed was ready. But we thought about all the organic material with was part of this bed before. If we take out season by season salads and vegetables we need to fertilize and re-energize the soil. We are using already methods like composting and terra preta and water from aquaponics. The question was: what else we can try to transform organic waste into something useful for our beds.

The memory of the magical biology lesson guided us to another experiment.

experimental gardening - the food of tomorrow - the paramecium reactor — experimental gardening – the food of tomorrow – the paramecium reactor

We stored all the organic waste from cleaning the bed inside a blue barrel and placed it under a carob tree nearby. We filled it up with stored rain water.

The water will cloud greenish, stink and in the next 2 weeks there will be a strong increase of numerous bacteria, both aerobic and anaerobic. A lot of them will be later food for paramecium, a single – celled – organism. We will add some of the liquid to the bed when we are going to water the plants in the bed.

Paramecium is a very good indicator for water quality and in many aspects an interesting organism (its DNA has double size compared to humans).

To transform organic waste close to the bed into a useful fertilizer is a strategy we will explore more. Following the second law of thermodynamics and reduce the increase of entropy will guide us to our food of tomorrow.

mosaic workshop in the art camp of CASAdelDRAGON

2020/02/29Allgemein, CASAdelDRAGON, color garden, EL-DRAC Gallery, HU Cervera del Maestre, sculpture gardenfafe

A l’abril de 2020, famíliafeliz et convida a fer un taller artístic sobre un mosaic trencadís. El taller tindrà lloc els dies 11 i 12 d’abril de 2020, de 10h a 13h i de 15 a 17h. El taller és gratuït per a adults i nens (edat mínima de 8 anys acompanyats per un adult participant) i s’inclouen menjar i begudes. Les places són limitades. Aquest taller està relacionat amb esdeveniments anteriors a Espanya i Alemanya i també amb l’exposició de la casa del drac.

El punt de trobada és la residència d’artistes CASAdelDRAGON 11.04.2020 a les 10.30h o a l’entrada del jardí de colors a les 11.00h.

Les persones que facin el taller i estiguin interessades a fer servir l’opció d’allotjament poden registrar-se al 10.04.2020 a partir de les 17:00 o les 23:00. fins a les 9.00 hores.

Si voleu fer el taller, poseu-vos en contacte amb Juan / at / petry.eu o utilitzeu el WhatsApp 0049 16099131933. Si necessiteu allotjament, podríem oferir places limitades a la residència d’artista CASAdelDRAGON des del dia 10.4.2020 al 13.04.2020.

L’objectiu principal del taller és comprendre la tècnica i les estratègies d’obres d’art mosaic més grans, així com realitzar algunes noves obres d’art per al jardí de colors de CASAdelDRAGON.

Si voleu participar, poseu-vos en contacte amb nosaltres abans del 05.04.2020 a les 12h.

Taller de trencadís
CASAdelDRAGON
Residència d’artistes
Las Parras, 19
12578 Cervera del Maestre
Castelló

In April 2020 FamiliaFeliz envites for an artistic workshop about trencadis ( mosaic ). The workshop will happen 11 and 12 of April 2020 each day from 10am to 1pm and from 3pm to 5pm. The workshop is free for adults and kids (minimum age 8 years, guided by one partent) and includes food and drinks. Places are limited. This workshop is linked to previous events in Spain and Germany and also to the upcoming exhibition in the house of the dragon.

Meeting point is the artist residence CASAdelDRAGON 11.04.2020 at 10.30am or at the entrance of the color garden at 11.00am.

Guests who want to use the accommodation option are able to checkin 10.04.2020 after 5pm or 11.04. till 9.00am.

If you are interested in this workshop please contact juan / at/ petry.eu or use WhatsApp 0049 16099131933 . If you need accomodation we could offer limited places in the artist residence CASAdelDRAGON from 10.4. to 13.04.2020.

The main goal of the workshop is to understand technique and strategies of larger mosaic art works and to realize some new pieces of art for the color garden of CASAdelDRAGON.

If you want to partizipate please contact us before 05.04.2020 12pm !

taller de trencadis
CASAdelDRAGON
Artist residence
Las Parras,19
12578 Cervera del Maestre
Castellon

All about LOVE – participative art event

2020/02/28Allgemein, CASAdelDRAGON, color garden, EL-DRAC Gallery, HU Cervera del Maestre, sculpture gardenfafe

Com a part d’un projecte social i artístic a CASAdelDRAGON aquest 2020, us convidem a un acte molt especial. El diumenge 22.03.2020 a les 11h ens trobarem al Jardí del Color de la Familiafeliz. Allà pintarem i dibuixarem junts i juntes durant dues hores. Aquest esdeveniment està connectat a accions anteriors dutes a terme tant a Espanya com a Alemanya i també amb l’exposició de la Casa del Drac.

T’interessa? Genial. Anoteu la vostra participació. Oberta la inscripció fins el 20.03.2020 a les 12h a través del correu electrònic (Juan / at / petry.eu) o utilitzeu WhatsApp 0049 160 99131933 (artsurpriseme).

Per participar a l’esdeveniment és gratuït. Els punts de trobada són a les 10.30h al carrer CASAdelDRAGON Las Parras, 19 12578 Cervera del Maestre o a les 11h a l’interior del camp d’art al jardí de colors (1000m baix del turó de CASAdelDRAGON).

All about LOVE (Tot sobre l’Amor)
esdeveniment artístic participatiu
CASAdelDRAGON
Las Parras,19
12578 Cervera del Maestre
Castellón

Inici 11:00 / Durada 2 hores / Entrada lliure / places limitades / Sol·licitar fins el 20.03.2020 12:00

As part of the artistic and social project of CASAdelDRAGON in 2020 we invite you for one very special art event. Sunday 22.03.2020 at 11am we will meet in the color garden of familiafeliz. We will paint and draw together in a two hour session. This happening is linked to previous events in Spain and Germany and also to the upcoming exhibition in the house of the dragon.

You are interested? Great. Please announce your partizipation till 20.03.2020 12am via email (juan / at / petry . eu) or use WhatsApp 0049 160 99131933 (artsurpriseme).

To participate in the event is free of charge. Meeting points are 10.30am at CASAdelDRAGON Calle Las Parras,19 12578 Cervera del Maestre or 11am inside the art camp in the color garden (1000m down the hill from CASAdelDRAGON).

All about LOVE
participative art event
CASAdelDRAGON
Las Parras,19
12578 Cervera del Maestre
Castellon

Start 11am / Duration 2 hours / Entrance free / limited places / Apply till 20.03.2020 12am