http://www.wired.com/science/planetearth/magazine/16-06/ff_heresies_intr...
I like number eight. Which one do you like?
Also, number three, while not my favorite, does raise some good points:
"Plenty of pesticide-free foods are produced by industrial-scale farms and then shipped thousands of miles to their final destination. The result: refrigerator trucks belching carbon dioxide."
"What matters is eating food that's locally grown and in season. So skip the prewashed bag of organic greens trucked from two time zones away — the real virtue may come from that conventionally farmed head of lettuce grown in the next county."
Give yourself a carbon credit!
for finding that article!
#8
#8 is my favorite, too. Waste that can be handled in a controlled fashion > waste that is spewed into the sky. This "omg atomz" shit has got to stop, and soon.
I joined the Serenbe Farms
I joined the Serenbe Farms CSA (community supported agriculture) this season.
I got my first shipment this past Saturday consisting of mostly greens and its freaking awesome. Nearly a garbage bag full of super fresh greens - including some stuff I didn't even recognize. I don't know if 2 people can even eat this many greens in a week - though I'm determined to do my best.
It works out to about $25/week, but you gotta pay most of it up front. Whatever is fresh and in season for at least 25 weeks.
don't know if they still have open slots or not, but certainly worth checking out.
local organics ftw
that's rad. I looked over the info and registration form, but didn't see anything about shipments, just pickup at the farm in Palmetto. What sort of shipping method do they use?
it says they still have a few slots left...
The farm is primarily setup
The farm is primarily setup for locals to come by and pick stuff up. There's enough interest from Atlanta that there's a delivery-share thing setup. One Atlanta person goes to the farm, picks up all the Atlanta food shares, and drops them off in Reynoldstown. All the Atlanta folk then pick-up their food from there. So, to join from Atlanta you have to agree to go to the farm 2-3 times per season.
Here's the delivery list for this coming Saturday:
1-bunch kale or Swiss chard
1-bunch Chinese cabbage or other greens
1-bunch ‘hakurei’ turnips
1-bunch daikon or regular radishes
2 heads lettuce
1-bunch herbs
1 cabbage or 2 kohlrabi
1 head broccoli or ½ lb sugar snap peas
1/3 lb greens (Choice: mustard mix, tat soi, komatsuna, or mispoona)
3 stalks onion flowers
1/3 lb lettuce mix
PYO: viola edible flowers (for salads)
and strawberries
Local food
There are a lot of CSAs in the area. My aunt just reviewed several at the AJC last year. I joined one a few years ago and found the amount of food to be a bit overwhelming for just two people, ymmv.
This group lets you pick and choose local food items (or order the farmer's choice for a mix) for pick up around the city: http://www.moorefarmsandfriends.com/
Also if you like gardening, there are plenty of community gardens around town you could still slip into. Let me know if you're interested in gardening because my community garden still has a plot left (location: Boulevard and Ponce).
i love me some gardening.
i love me some gardening. but didn't have the time to do a proper garden this season. My kiwi fruits are doing really well despite my neglect!
I'm a gardening
Tomatos, eggplant, string beans, okra, squash, and herbs. I love the squash and tomatoes that volunteer from the compost I spread every season. They get my kindest care, though I love everything about a garden.
Remember Roger McGuin's (The Byrds) song Hungry Planet? Goes something like You took more out of the earth than you ever put back in!
Gardening
This year I'm growing beans, carrots, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, jalepenos, bell peppers, and eggplants. I'm most looking forward to the carrots and onions. They're amazingly better than store bought when they're fresh out of the garden. I would love to grow squash but I had a bad experience with stem borers one year...
It is amazing how much you can "take out of" one little patch of dirt with some minimal input.
I imagine that nurturing a
I imagine that nurturing a garden is "putting back in", even if it mostly benefits the birds, squirrels, and stem borers.
This year
I am growing belly button lint. I am a veritable dryer when it comes to that stuff... it's like I have a GMO belly button, I tell you.
When I was growing up we grew mangoes, guavas, avocados, acerola (a little cherry with more vit C than an orange), coconuts, bananas, the occasional cassava, chickens and a few other things that ya'll would not recognize. And I lived 30 min from downtown Recife (pop 1.5 million, 3 on the metro area).
We also trapped blue crabs when they were in season and occasionally trapped a rat by accident. We fattened the crabs and set fire to the rats (sorry to the animal rights folks... 's what we did cuz them rats would be mad as all get out and would come out swinging).
Wait...
You grew all that in your belly button?
What can I say
I am a bountiful man.