Now that we can add peanut butter to the list of dangerous products distributed by "conventional" agriculture in this country, you might once again be considering "growing your own." I have found the following to be useful in my adventures in vegetable gardening:
--Mel Bartholomew, Square Foot Gardening (Rodale Press, 1981). There are newer versions of this book (for example, All New Square Foot Gardening), and I assume that these are at least as good as the original.
--Bradley and Ellis, ed., Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening (Rodale Press, 1992). This is out of print but used copies can be found.
--Bob Thomson, The New Victory Garden (WGBH Educational Foundation, 1987). This is out of print but used copies can be found.
--E.L.D. Seymour, ed., The Wise Garden Encyclopedia (Wise, 1951). This comes in several more recent editions, but -- to my knowledge -- all are out of print. Used copies can be found.
When it is time (and it is!) to get serious about ordering your seeds, you might want to consider purchasing non-hybrid seeds, so that you have the "seed saving" option available to you. My source of old-time, non-hybrid seeds is Heirloom Seeds, located in Pennsylvania. The Heirloom Seeds website is: http://www.heirloomseeds.com/.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
I.O.U.S.A.
If you haven't seen it, the 30 minute version of I.O.U.S.A. is available on the web, and it can also be downloaded. This, along with the Crash Course referenced in a prior post ("The End of Nonsense"), is part of your essential education. Please note that, as seems all too common lately, most of your elected officials (Ron Paul excepted) are worse than useless--they are patently dangerous. Here's the link to the movie: http://www.iousathemovie.com/.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Slow Food Piedmont Triad
If you have not done so already, you will want to check out the "slow food" movement. Visit this site for plenty of good information, including links to other useful sites: http://www.slowfoodpiedmont.org/.
A Local Paper Makes Contact with Reality
This from the Greensboro News & Record, January 3, 2009:
"Most of us take stocked supermarket shelves for granted, except when a hurricane or snowstorm is forecast. But the supply chain for grocery stores is more fragile than we realize. It's not only the infrequent natural disasters that could disrupt it. Fuel shortages, power failures and truckers' strikes all could cause empty shelves.
"The economic downturn has revealed another potential disrupter: tight credit. Farmers are having trouble getting loans for fertilizer, fuel and other needs. That may mean a smaller 2009 harvest.
"The recession also is affecting shoppers' purchasing power. If you're without an income, it doesn't matter how many products are on the shelves.
"There is a way to provide insurance from personal and systemic calamities, and it's as close as our backyards: It's to develop a local food system.
"Decades ago, the family farm was that. Now, most of us are fed by big agriculture. Still, recent years have seen a re-emergence of local food sources. In our area, that has been aided by the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market, which links growers and buyers, and the county cooperative extension service, with its support of gardening.
"Now people connected with the leadership group IMPACT Greensboro want to take local agriculture to the next level. They have crafted a plan in which N.C. A&T would partner with the city of Greensboro and community organizations to advance community-supported agriculture.
"A&T agriculture research professor Terrence Thomas has signed on to the idea. He is looking at a multiyear research project that would involve using 15-20 acres of the A&T farm and possibly other places around the county to test three food-growing models. The project would promote community knowledge of, and involvement in, the production of sustainably grown produce.
"'It's an attempt to build a local food base that is aligned with the most advanced concepts and methods of ecologically sound farming to produce low-cost, nutritious food,' says A&T assistant history professor Michael Roberto, a member of the IMPACT Greensboro economic subgroup that conceived the idea.
"The project is worthy on many levels. It could discover best practices for local food-growing. It could provide produce for food banks. It could help individuals develop the skills and resources they need to garden. In the long run, it could help the local economy, as it would likely lead to growth in jobs related to food sales and production.
"In its early stages, the project is seeking funding. Still, it is good to see that IMPACT Greensboro has germinated such a beneficial project."
Okay, as far as it goes. I might add some additional benefits accruing from the re-localization of agriculture: safety and quality of food, distributed production, and citizens' control over their own destinies.
"Most of us take stocked supermarket shelves for granted, except when a hurricane or snowstorm is forecast. But the supply chain for grocery stores is more fragile than we realize. It's not only the infrequent natural disasters that could disrupt it. Fuel shortages, power failures and truckers' strikes all could cause empty shelves.
"The economic downturn has revealed another potential disrupter: tight credit. Farmers are having trouble getting loans for fertilizer, fuel and other needs. That may mean a smaller 2009 harvest.
"The recession also is affecting shoppers' purchasing power. If you're without an income, it doesn't matter how many products are on the shelves.
"There is a way to provide insurance from personal and systemic calamities, and it's as close as our backyards: It's to develop a local food system.
"Decades ago, the family farm was that. Now, most of us are fed by big agriculture. Still, recent years have seen a re-emergence of local food sources. In our area, that has been aided by the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market, which links growers and buyers, and the county cooperative extension service, with its support of gardening.
"Now people connected with the leadership group IMPACT Greensboro want to take local agriculture to the next level. They have crafted a plan in which N.C. A&T would partner with the city of Greensboro and community organizations to advance community-supported agriculture.
"A&T agriculture research professor Terrence Thomas has signed on to the idea. He is looking at a multiyear research project that would involve using 15-20 acres of the A&T farm and possibly other places around the county to test three food-growing models. The project would promote community knowledge of, and involvement in, the production of sustainably grown produce.
"'It's an attempt to build a local food base that is aligned with the most advanced concepts and methods of ecologically sound farming to produce low-cost, nutritious food,' says A&T assistant history professor Michael Roberto, a member of the IMPACT Greensboro economic subgroup that conceived the idea.
"The project is worthy on many levels. It could discover best practices for local food-growing. It could provide produce for food banks. It could help individuals develop the skills and resources they need to garden. In the long run, it could help the local economy, as it would likely lead to growth in jobs related to food sales and production.
"In its early stages, the project is seeking funding. Still, it is good to see that IMPACT Greensboro has germinated such a beneficial project."
Okay, as far as it goes. I might add some additional benefits accruing from the re-localization of agriculture: safety and quality of food, distributed production, and citizens' control over their own destinies.
Friday, January 02, 2009
Center for Environmental Farming Systems
Here is another effort to create a sustainable local food economy: http://www.cefsfarmtofork.com:80/. Among other things, you can sign up to be added to the organization's listserve, for easy and timely access to updates.
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