It’s Time, It’s Time!

Actually, here in Texas, I’m already behind the curve. But I’m just itching to get out there and start digging and planting. So, since I got to go to the library by myself today, I browsed through the gardening books. It’s looking like this will be a “me, myself, and I” project – well, me & the kid – so I felt I needed some help. I’ve never done the from scratch part. Right now, where the garden will be, is lawn, grass. Yeah, I don’t know what to do with that. My husband always does that part. But, since he’s completely consumed with work and March is over this week, I have to get in there and figure out how to get started. I found a nice stack of books that look like they will be helpful.

The one I started looking at this evening is absolutely hilarious. I am literally laughing out loud while I read. It’s The 20 Minute Vegetable Gardener (Gourmet Gardening for the Rest of Us) by Tom Christopher & Marty Asher. Check out the “Pledge of Allegiance” (minus the explanations):

1. The 20-minute gardener makes every minute count by growing high-impact crops.
2. The 20-minute fruit and vegetable gardener gauges success not by the size of the crop but by the amount of pleasure it delivers.
3. The 20-minute fruit or vegetable must offer a significant improvement over the store-bought alternative.
4. Twenty-minute gardeners don’t fight Nature (they know who will win that battle).
5. Twenty-minute gardeners plant in rows only when planning to harvest by tractor.
6. Twenty-minute gardeners nurture their dirt.
7. Twenty-minute gardeners don’t weed. . . they never let weeds into their gardens.
8. The 20-minute gardener never applies anything to his garden that he would be afraid to get on his hands.
9. The 20-minute gardener can do this because she rarely has to confront bugs.
10. The 20-minute gardener recognizes that the hose is his most important gardening tool, and so wields it with the care it deserves.
11. Mellow gardeners grow better-tasting vegetables.

I can’t wait (rubbing hands together in anticipation).

Here’s a list of the other books I checked out that look helpful, but I haven’t begun to read yet:

• Dirt Cheap Gardening – Hundreds of Ways to Save Money in Your Gardenby Rhonda Massingham Hart
• Texas Gardening – Vegetablesby Dr. Sam Cotner
• Gardening with Children by Beth Richardson
• The Budget Gardener – Twice the Garden for Half the Priceby Maureen Gilmer
• An Illustrated Guide to Organic Gardening – How to Garden in Harmony with Nature by the Editors of Sunset Books

One should be able to find similar books in the local library, if not these. Definately look for the 20-minute gardener. That looks to be a fun read, and tremendously helpful to little ‘ol me. While I’m on the subject, I picked up another wonderful book from Paperback Swap on Herb Gardening: Herbal Remedy Gardens – 38 Plans for Your Health & Well-Being by Dorie Byers. So many ideas and so little time (not to mention budget). None-the-less, I hope to be able to report some progress this time next week. Happy digging in your little plot of the world!

A Glimmer of Hope?

On the One Hand . . .

. . . there’s more money in this farm bill for nutrition programs and, for the first time, about $2 billion to support “specialty crops” — farm-bill-speak for the kind of food people actually eat. . . There’s also money for the environment: an additional $4 billion in the Senate bill to protect wetlands and grasslands and reward farmers for environmental stewardship, and billions in the House bill for environmental cleanup. There’s an important provision in both bills that will make it easier for schools to buy food from local farmers. And there’s money to promote farmers’ markets and otherwise support the local food movement.

On the Other Hand . . .

But as important as these programs are, they are just programs — mere fleas on the elephant in the room. The name of that elephant is the commodity title, the all-important subsidy section of the bill. It dictates the rules of the entire food system. As long as the commodity title remains untouched, the way we eat will remain unchanged.

A Glimmer of Hope

What finally emerges from Congress depends on exactly who is paying closest attention next week on the Senate floor and then later in the conference committee. We know the American Farm Bureau will be on the case, defending the commodity title on behalf of those who benefit from it most: the biggest commodity farmers, the corporations who sell them chemicals and equipment and, most of all, the buyers of cheap agricultural commodities — companies like Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s.

In the past that alliance could have passed a farm bill like this one without breaking a sweat. But the politics of food have changed, and probably for good. If the eaters and all the other “people on the outside” make themselves heard, we just might end up with something that looks less like a farm bill and more like the food bill a poorly fed America so badly needs.

These are excerpts from a fantastic article by Michael Pollan (author of the Power Steer article under “Important Stuff” in the side bar). It’s a great wrap-up of what’s been going on with the Farm Bill these past few weeks. He provides some good insight into just how things have been working on Capitol Hill, and how things are beginning to change. Just maybe there is some hope. Eaters unite!

Almond Alert

I first saw mention of this by a commenter on one of my previous posts. Then, a few days ago it was posted on the discussingNT group. Almonds grown in California will soon be required to be “pasteurized.” In addition, these almonds will still be allowed to be labeled raw. I’ve also learned that “pasteurization” includes fumigation, using a potentially carcinogenic chemical. And no labelling is required to differentiate “pasteurization” method.

For full details, go to the Cornucopia Institute. There is a link to the full news story, an Almond Fact Sheet, an Action Alert and sample letters you can use to voice your concern. The new rules were originally to take effect September 1, but now may be delayed to March, 2008, to give the industry time for implementation. As I read, it seems the rules have been established more to protect the large scale producers from lawsuits than the consumers.

These new rules are a reaction to a couple of incidents of salmonella contamination (linked only to large scale producers). While reading about this, I recalled a similar incident not too long ago involving spinach. Will fresh spinach soon be required to “pasteurized” in the same manner? What else may this be applied to in the future?

My sick child just came in and crawled in my lap, so I guess that’s the end of this post. I hope this gives folks food for thought and brings more awareness regarding our food industry.

Happy Friday.

Progress?

I had picked up some raw almonds and actually got around to soaking them and baking them in a warm oven for 24 hours to make Crispy Almonds (Nourishing Traditions recipe). It’s not much, but having those almonds in the pantry ready to snack or use in a recipe feels like progress. I actually used some tonight in some veggies.

And that’s not all. I have been doing some research on what resources are around here and am finding some. I found a local farmer’s market and went out this week. And there I found a source for grass-fed beef! Yes! I ordered a variety pack to pick up next week so we can try them out. I am also on a waiting list for fresh, minimally processed, milk from a grass-fed dairy! They may be able to take me on as early as next month. Yeeha!

These are small steps, indeed. But steps they are – and in the right direction. It makes me feel that I might actually pull off that revolution in the kitchen I’ve been striving for. I have some budget work to do, as well, to see if I can utilize an organic produce service that delivers. How cool would that be? All this has the wheels turning in my head, and plans are starting to develop. Let the revolution begin!

That’s Interesting

I watched a PBS nature show with my son yesterday. Sorry, I don’t remember what the title was. One segment featured the Tasmanian Devils of Australia. Apparently they are being ravaged by a disease that is threatening their population. Their numbers are dropping dramatically because of it. Although they didn’t make any mention of possible causes of the disease, they did mention one of their habits is dumpster diving. The little devils like to snack on discarded people food. After that they named the disease they had been referring to – lymphatic cancer.

They briefly mentioned that they were raising some orphaned devils in captivity, meaning their diet is more controlled – no dumpster diving for them. And so far, those devils have remained free of the disease. Hmmmm. This was a short segment without much detail. But I couldn’t help but wonder if there might be some connection between the dumpster diving habit and the cancer. I don’t really know anything about how food is processed in Australia, whether they have similar issues as we do here in the US with how crops and animals are raised for our food. I couldn’t possibly be the first person to wonder if there’s a connection. Surely it’s being considered. But, I thought it was interesting.

Start Planning that Garden

Well, we can’t do that just yet as we’ll be moving again this summer. But it is definately something I have had on my mind lately. I hope, hope, hope our next abode has space for a garden. Especially after reading this article: Bio-Intensive Mini Gardens — Recipe for Survival.

I had a little bitty garden when we lived in St. Louis years ago. I grew the basics – tomatoes, zuccini, cucumbers, etc. But lately, with e-coli scares and other worrisome goings on in the world, I’ve thought on a grander scale about sustainability. The above article gives me a wee bit of hope – maybe it is possible without having several acres - to grow a substantial amount of food for my family, lessening our dependance on a less than ethical food industry.