Eric Hatfield

I believe for an intentional community to form starting with rules is the cart before the horse. It is a contract, you do with this and the community provides you with this, that sort of thing. It is a fine for a landlord and tenant arrangement and that is an intentional community but maybe not the sort that is meant by this forum.

For my money, values are the first conversation, the entry point of dialogue, does a group of people share a common set of values and are they willing, committed to living out those values and hold each other accountable. The values might inform a community mission statement and values would also inform the goals of the community and with the goals come the rules. Difference between contract and covenant. For instance a community might say they commonly value building relationships with each other, hospitality to the surrounding community, and food sustainability for their living community. So they set goals of eating three meals a week together (relationships), opening their community to their family and friends and neighbors for three hours on the weekend where they host , feed anyone who comes,  (hospitality)and grow food together, as well as compost, and learn food preservation (food sustainability). The rules might then translate into everyone cooks a meal in turn for the community (relationships), everyone takes one weekend a month to cook the outside community meal (hospitality), and everyone commits 8 hours a week to the gardening and/or food preservation (food sustainability).

For my money as new people might join the community, the values remain the same - it gives the community an identity but goals and rules can change as need and inspiration arises. I could say more but interest in what others have to say.

placing potted rue around the tree or panty hose filled with blood meal works as well. Both stink to critters with noses more acute than ours and they stay away.

Paul- about the experiment you conducted - what drew the people together in the first place, what common value or commitment did they have? Was there an over arching theme, or if I might be bold, some authority to which all agreed to ascribe to even if simply some set of principles people commited themselves to in order to be considered part of the group?

fiction books inspired me to learn more about gardening.

@ Marina - you have wonderful blog, now I can make a better case for growing turnips. Now what to you know about rutabaga?

tin can around the seedlings

I had excellent success with Stupice Tomatoes. They are a variety from Eastern Europe and grow quite well in Olympia, Wa which this summer had about 2 and half weeks of actual summer. I will continue them.

This next summer I want to try lemon cucumbers, a type grown in Russia. They do well in shorter growing seasons, not needing as much heat.

I think green houses are good ideas for city or semi-city dwellings. I have 960 sq. ft home on a 1/4 acre in Olympia with a south facing concrete slab out the back door of my house, roughly 198 sq. ft. I am considering a green house for my own starts as well as aquaculture and place to get some privacy away from the rest of my beloved family, whom I love but need breaks from once in a while. I'd like to also use it as a place to store cuttings that rooting and things like that. It's be connected to the house and a place to also have baby chickens before they go their henhouse.

I was slowly building a compost pile from gradual kitchen scraps and shredded newspaper plus straw. As the pile got to 3 feet I decided to move it and discovered lots of worms in happily eating and pooping, so I decided to keep the pile where it was at and at the suggestion of a neighbor keep it covered with a tarp to make it nice and dark. Bit by bit without a box the worms turning the whole pile worm-casting black so I am starting another pile right next to it.

My last worm box got invested with centipedes and they went to town on my worms, so I am hoping this method will allow escape routes for the worms or at least more of an inflow for critters who eat the centipedes.

I am interested making seed balls but have had difficulty finding red powdered clay; anyone out there know where I could buy some or find some?