2010 Diary week 11

BYZANTINE CERAMICS

Christine’s Byzantine Ceramics

This week Christine spent many hours at the exhibition of her Byzantine ceramics and met many interesting people. On Sunday she took down her 40 pieces. During the week she received an invitation to transfer her exhibition to another location, opening on March 24. The Director of the Byzantine Museum of Thessaloniki invited Christine to participate in an exhibition in the Museum.

Book Review

In starting my gardening enterprise I sought out books that would make me effective as quickly as possible. Eliot Coleman’s The New Organic Grower: A Master’s Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener is such a book. “Organic growing is not complicated. Nor is it difficult.” “I concentrated on collecting information in four subject areas: simple production techniques; efficient machinery and tools; reducing expenditures on supplies; and marketing.” “To keep costs down I emphasize the importance of ‘low-input production practices’, such as crop rotation, green manures, animal manure management, efficient labor, and season extension, thus increasing stability and independence of the farm.” “Five acres is the optimum size because it is about as much land as a couple or small family can manage. I place the upper limit at somewhere around 2½ acres per person – more than sufficient to grow a year’s worth of vegetables for 100 people.”

The garden

Pruning of olive trees started this week.