Food From The Yard

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T15:24:00.002-06:00

May you and yours be more food secure this year, enjoy more local foods and restaurants, and grow closer to Christ. We look forward to sharing our journey and the stories of local food and increased resilience from around the North Alabama area this year. Please share with us your ideas and the activities of your neighbors and groups who are working toward growing food and increasing opportunities to buy locally grown food.
New Year's Food From the Yard?

We feasted on Arkansas razorbackpurple hull peas dried on the vine in the back yard summer before last, simmeredwith hunk o’ hog left over from a hunting trip to south Alabama, some onion andgarlic from the yard with a bit of bay leaf from a friend in Lacey’sSpring. We are going to grow bay leaf assoon as we find a good spot in the yard for it, it’s a very useful spice andseems to tolerate our climate. Since thepork wasn’t salted, we added some to taste.

Greens are traditional too? Well, fromthe garden today, we have a choice of hot cabbage, collards, spinach,and/or turnip greens, or we can go cold and crispy with red lettuce or Buttercrunchand/or spinach. Since Lee’s motherbrought her famous French salad dressing a few days ago, we’ll go salad today!

Bread? Cornbread with cornmeal grown and ground onSand Mountain, or wheat grown here in the yard and made into crackers orrolls? Or I’m really lazy and we’ll justdo some hot water cornbread .

Timeenough later in the year for fancy feasts, right now, tis the season for simpleand relaxed.

Lee and Shannon McBride

The Last Tomatoes

2011-12-20T19:14:00.002-06:00

We enjoyed the very last of this year's tomatoes tonight. Time to start some serious planning for next year's garden!

Here's the simple dish we feasted on tonight...
Tomatoes fresh from the shelf where we've been keeping them as they matured. We had one volunteer tomato plant that lasted until last week, so this is from that one.

Spinach, which we'll have til spring unless we eat it all :)

Green bunching onions

Tossed with olive oil, oregano and basil (dried) and some pasta.

I'm generous with the parmesan and Lee loves plain feta or plain or flavored goat cheeses from Humble Heart farms. So toss in whatever you like and enjoy the last taste of summer as the year draws to a close!

Harvest Schedule for Fruit Trees!

2011-12-18T18:42:00.000-06:00

Many of us live in areas where a vegetable garden is simply “not done”, perhaps a vegetable garden is against the HOA's rules where we live. Fruit trees may provide a way for you to grow some food for yourself and connect with nature in a fun, rewarding way.

Ornamental plantings provide value to our properties aesthetically. This is one justification for the huge horticultural maintenance and installation industry. Consider value beyond aesthetics for a few moments, consider the truly profitable landscape plant, the Fruit tree or bush.

The plants listed below do not require a lot of pest control spraying. A dormant oil spray is usually the only spray needed and is considered a least toxic approach. Frankly your fruit may not be store quality in appearance. For example the hard pears may have blotches on the skin of the fruit, however once peeled and sautéed in apple cider you will be wondering why you didn't plant fruit trees years ago. A 7 year old hard pear can produce 150 lbs of fruit in a season to share with your family and community. I recommend avoiding peaches, plums, and cherries in the non orchard environment because they need so many sprays to help them through a growing season.

Some annual pruning is required, but these are small trees 15' -25 ' as a rule. The Blueberries and Blackberries are easily maintained.

May - thru July
Blackberries (Kiowa Thorned) Self fruiting Space 6' apart, needs trellis system

June

Blackberries Thornless (Quachita and Natchez)

June to mid July

Blueberry, highbush Cross pollinate Space 6' apart + row

June to mid August

Early June - Blueberry, rabbiteye Cross pollinate Space 6' apart + row
June - Climax Premier, Tifblue (Southern standard)
Late June, July - Brightwell

June And September

Raspberry Self Fruiting Space 5'-6' apart + row
(Latham, Dorman red, Cumberland Black, Fall Gold)

July to mid August

Asian Pear (Housi) Cross pollinate Space 15-20' apart + row

July - August and Sept

Fig Self Fruiting Space 15-20' apart + row
(Brown Turkey, Celeste, Green Ischia, LSU Purple)

August - Sept
Asian Pear (Shinko or Korean Giant)

Late August -September

Hard Pears Cross Pollinate. Space 15- 20' apart + row
(Kieffer)

August to mid October

Apple       Space 15' apart + row
Yates   Red Sept – Oct
Gala   Red Sept - Oct,
Fuji   Red Sept,
Golden Delicious Yellow Sept –Oct

All Apples / cedar apple rust issues, yellow varieties tend to do better here.

September

Paw Paw Cross pollination required 8'- 10' spacing + row

(Prolific, Rebecca Gold)

Indigenous / native from seed

Taste varies based on site conditions

October to November

Oriental Persimmon Space 15-20' apart + row
(FUYU- nonastringent, Hahiya - astringent until ripe)

This list is not exhaustive or complete, for more information you can check the Alabama Extension Service website.

Compiled from various sources by

Lee McBride

Foodscapes

ISA Certified Arborist SO 254

Gift Certificates Available!

2011-11-30T20:31:00.010-06:00

     We always offer gift certificates, but thought we'd remind everyone that they make a wonderful Christmas gift. Winter is the time to dream and plan, so a consultation after the New Year might be in order. Trees can be planted or soil amendments layered for quick spring harvest.
       You might want to get your family a whole gardening system with coaching through your first year of gardening!
      Take a look around the website and call or email for details!

Watch this space for more ideas on food security, resilience and fun around the garden!

Mrs. McBride

Rainy Afternoon and Google Earth

2011-11-27T14:45:00.000-06:00

Google Earth can be entertaining on a rainy November afternoon. I discovered the 'historical' image tool today and wandered off to find our house. The first image from February 2002

You can see the house with the front yard bisected by a walkway. The driveway is on the upper side of the house with a patio in the ell and garage to the back. Trees shade the whole backyard and the front is grass. Well, short green plants, some edible like dandelions and dock and hmm...well, ok other weeds. Forward to June 2006

Closer than this and it begins to look like pointillist art, but you can see the back yard has lost some tree cover and the front yard is dead grass/dirt being prepared for gardens. March 2007 is much clearer.

The trees are not in leaf yet, so you can see the back and front pretty well. The front has gardens with grass strips around them, there is a single fence across the front of the gardens. The fence helps the place look nice between crops and provides some support for vining plants like peas, hyacinth bean vine and the like. In the back, you can barely see some white X's, those are square foot gardens placed corner to corner. The X's are PVC pipe to make little hoophouses. You can see them closer here. The light 'trail' on the lower side of the house is our lesson on buying 'soil' and letting it be dumped without examining it. River silt is not good on gardens. Quite a contrast with the dark lovely soil Lee has created in the front yard, isn't it? Soil conditioner and compost are your friends when starting a garden.
The latest shot is from September 2010...

The front fence is covered with hyacinth bean vine..as is the arbor over the sidewalk. Gorgeous vine and vigorous grower. We won't grow it over an arbor again as we had to spend way too much time pruning so we could get to the street!

A note on tree cover. If you'll notice in the first shot above, the trees in the upper rear corner of our lot shade that area. They were spindly tired pine trees and by the third shot they are gone. You can see that by 2010, the neighbor's river birch again overshadows that rear corner. This isn't a problem for us as that tree is to the north, our cherry on the south side(which almost melds with our southern neighbor's maple) shades most of our back yard. However, when you are figuring out where to put your garden, watch out not only for shade or future shade from your own trees, but those of your neighbors as well.

Saffron from the yard!

2011-11-07T16:53:00.000-06:00

I have my own saffron!!! Saffron crocus is a fall blooming crocus that is hardy here (zones 10-6). The saffron is the red threads you can see on the lower petal. The leaves are almost like grass they are so thin. I planted them all over the yard in a variety of soils and exposures. They are, of course, doing best in the richest soil with the most sunlight, but they are producing even in the worst clay.... slowly. They are even doing well in a medium size pot.

Here's the clip from Odyssey Bulbs, recommended to me by Mike Gibson at the Huntsville Botanical Garden.

Crocus sativus ~ The beautiful pale lilac-purple flowers of this long-cultivated species are prized for their toothsome stigmas and styles (although keep in mind that it takes the dried styles of more than 4,000 flowers to produce 1 ounce of seasoning). But it is equally valuable (although perhaps not in the literal sense) as an ornamental plant. A natural for the herb or kitchen garden, it requires rich, well-drained soil, periodic division, and deep planting to do its best. Mediterranean. Zone 5.

Can't wait to try it in my mother's family recipes! I already have more than I got in the bottle at Publix, and they are just starting to bloom. Here's hoping they are as flavorful as they are pretty! They smell wonderful as they are pulled ready for drying.

They are dainty, and those in the richest soil are blooming several times. I'm going to leave some out this winter well mulched to see if they will survive. I'll dig up the ones in the poorest soil before a really bad freeze and give them a better home next year.

Fall is for planting … TREES

2011-11-06T19:15:00.000-06:00

Destruction in nature often brings forth rebirth and renewed vigor. The devastation of the April 27th tornado's and other severe storm events we endured this year provides us the opportunity to look years into the future. It’s a fact that many areas of Madison county and Alabama will need to replant thousands of trees in next few years. Now we can make real improvements to our property and our urban forests. It’s time to move forward and fall is the best time to plant trees in Alabama.

We have a unique opportunity to shape the vision that future generations will see. The beauty and usefulness of the trees that our children’s children see and how much those trees cost in care and maintenance will be determined by our choices this fall and the planting seasons to come. To help us as a community make well thought out plant choices let’s review the basics.

The young tree will soon be
as large as the old tree...and
is even closer to the
powerlines.

Avoid planting trees under power lines! It is often difficult to imagine the mature size of a tree. Learn to see years in the future by finding and observing a mature tree(s) you are considering. It is almost beyond comprehension that a stick 1 1/2” wide and 5' tall can grow to be 50 -70 feet tall and have branches extending those same distances in width in 20 -30 years. Plant too close to your house or the power lines, and you leave an expensive legacy. Millions of dollars each year, every year, are spent by utility customers pruning trees planted too close to power lines. Remember this suggestion:
Do not plant a tree within 20' of the power lines. A tree that matures at 40 feet or higher should be planted even farther away from the lines.

       Let’s respect the streets and sidewalks this planting season as well. Everyone loves a tree lined boulevard. They are breathtaking. They are also expensive to maintain. Trees need lots of room for roots. The roots of growing and mature trees are constantly mining the soil for minerals and water. The first eight feet around a mature tree contain massive roots that taper down to the pipeline roots. In our heavy soils roots are often in the top ten inches of soil and can extend three to five times the diameter of the outer branch spread.
         Tree roots will win! Roots expand in diameter as well as length every year. They exert a superhuman amount of pressure against anything they are under or near--sidewalks, streets, driveways or home foundations. The larger the tree, the larger the root system it will have. In a tug of war for space, my money is on the root.
       For planning purposes in terms of a square such as a front lawn a 24' x 24' area would be needed for a 12” diameter tree (measured at maturity). Many trees achieve 24-30” in diameter at maturity so plan appropriately or call a certified arborist or licensed landscape designer to help you avoid costly mistakes.
       Planning ahead can SAVE you and your community thousands of future dollars. Think of your new trees as an investment with the potential to reward you and others for many years to come. Over the next few weeks we will be reviewing planning, selection, planting and maintenance.

Lee McBride
Arborist ISA #SO254

Learning more!

2011-10-25T19:37:00.000-05:00

Tis the season for conferences, seminars and workshops it seems. Lee is off for a few days to Birmingham for Alabama Urban Forestry / International Society of Arboriculture (gotta keep those CEUs coming) conference so I slid into the Master Gardener's Fall Workshop at the Extension Office ACES on Cook Ave today in his place.
First up was Dottye Pierce (President MGNA) and Ken Creel (extension agent for this area) for the welcome and overview of their organizations. Then we were treated to Janet Boothe's talk on Flower Bulbs. Such gorgeous pictures of all the types of tulips and daffodils and crocus as well as the more unusual frittaria and snowdrops. New to me was the botanical species tulips, the forerunners to our modern hybridized tulips.

Tulipa chyrsantha - Courtesy Wiki Commons

Tulipa turkestanica - Courtesy Wiki Commons

She included lots of good information on planning and planting so I hope to see more bright colors around town!

     Ed Gray spoke next on cold frames. TONS of good ideas here from the simplest to the most elaborate. I loved the hay bales with an old window on top, wish I had a picture! The essence of cold frames is to capture the sun's light and heat and protect plants from drying winds.

    Stacy Scannell from the Botanical Garden gave us a powerpoint tour of the greenhouses and cold frames of all kinds that they use to keep the plants coming in all seasons. From simple wood boxes with wire screening on top to keep the critters out to an automated greenhouse that heats and cools and opens and closes as needed, the Garden has something to suit every plant.

      Karen Voelker hauled in a sampling of the produce currently on tap at the CASA garden. Radishes, kale, curly mustard, cucuzzi squash, okra (still!?) , turnip (root and tops) and spoke about growing everything under the sun. Her main message? Rotate crops, compost and keep planting! Seeds are cheap and you never know what will grow :)

    Max Campbell is a joy to listen to. You don't just get his wisdom from 40 years of vegetable gardening in this area, he throws in the years before that (ahem not sure how many) and his father's nuggets too !   He covered about all the topics you could ask for from seeds to tools and included a great list of ACES publications and other resources for the attendees.

Not sure where we'll end up next, but we'll learn something new!   Have you picked up any fall or winter garden tips lately?

Shannon McBride

Learning New Things!

2011-10-22T18:18:00.000-05:00

        Since Lee was busy at the CASA Garden this morning, I went to the 1st Annual Ethnic Food Security Network Conference by myself. Sponsored by ACES Urban Affairs and New Nontraditional Programs, Alabama Farmers Cooperative and 2733 Ranch, the conference covered grass fed beef, specialty vegetables and pastured poultry which are opportunities for farm diversification in the area.
     I missed the welcome by Dr. Jannie Carter and Dr. Julio Correa due to a wrong turn (no GPS in my old Honda!) but got there in time to hear Miles Albright of 2733 Ranch speak on grass fed beef. He's passionate about the taste of his beef and carrying on the 9 generation stockman's heritage of his family. We'll never have cattle, but it's fun to learn little snippets. For instance, Miles' natural methods require the cattle to fertilize the pastures as they are rotated from field to field grazing. In the heat of summer, they like to gather in the shade of the trees at the edges of the pasture leading to very healthy trees, but perhaps not enough of the 'good stuff' being deposited around the middle of the pasture. He's beginning to breed for lighter colored cattle that will spend more time in the sun grazing than the black ones he's currently got. More grazing means more growth on the cattle and more 'growth stimulant' on the ground.

     Dr. Rao Mentreddy spoke next on "Vegetable Production for Ethnic Markets". He outlined several niche markets that may exist around the area for exotic vegetables and herbs that seem to grow well here. After his talk, we got to go walk around his demonstration plot. The indian eggplants were still thriving in spite of the light frost. The basil had sadly succumbed to the frost but he was able to show some of the details of the variety of leaf shapes and scents. The odd little squash and melons were still trying to produce that last seed before the really cold weather hits.

Edible Red Amaranth, Ethnic Vegetable Research Project at the Upper Marlboro
Research and Education Center, University of Maryland. (Photo: Stephan Tubene)

Dr. Ken Macklin from Auburn/ACES spoke on Profiting from a Small Poultry Flock. Lots of good information there. Tho he comes from a commercial production background, he's full of great information on small scale production and had lots of slides on the interesting variety of 'chicken houses' found around the state. He showed everything from PVC pipe 'tractors' to houses that looked good enough for humans to live in. He shared several tips and tricks and things to keep in mind as you customize your production model on everything from feed to watering to 'doctoring'.

Overall a very informative day!

Are You Interested?

2011-10-18T18:53:00.001-05:00

Have you heard of Transition Town? For a quick overview try the Wikipedia entry and follow the links if you'd like more information. Here in Huntsville, Michele Sneed of The Farmhouse is gathering people who are interested in all aspects of the Transition movement. I went to a "mulling" meeting last night to listen to conversations begun a few weeks ago about starting a group here in Huntsville. They've set up a blog at TransitionHuntsville to get things rolling.
There are no hard and fast 'rules' for being part of Transition, the movement is very grassroots and local in focus and development. Right now the group is thinking about how to express the Huntsville idea of transition. Brainstorming a bit, we tossed around

Resilience, Local Solutions, Sustainability, Healthy Food, Community Building, Strengthening Neighborhood Relationships, Sharing Wisdom, Scalability, Preparedness, Skills Sharing, Connectedness, Regeneration/Regenerative

Lots of great ideas and thoughtful discussion on what this all means in the 'culture' of Huntsville. We have so many great engineers and artists and writers, from all continents and viewpoints, so many established and brand new subdivisions and neighborhoods, I look forward to seeing how Huntsville 'transitions' into the future!

edited to add: authored by Shannon!

Along the alleyways...

2011-10-16T19:31:00.000-05:00

A delightful day for a road trip and so we do what we usually do and that is keep an eye out for veggies! We wandered around town and then slipped up the alleys looking closely for gardens.

Our first hit came almost immediately. These are big beds. I'll get better at this blogging thing and I'll remember to measure or get more perspective. I hope the folks tending these are tall, I find more than 4 foot across is too much without stepping in the beds. Looks like they've cleaned up for the winter..wish I could tell them to sow some nitrogen fixing cover crops like crimson clover or Austrian peas that will provide some green, keep down weeds and add wonderfully to their soil's fertility for next season. Maybe they'll read this, pass it around!

They had a very large tree taken down recently as you can see here... wonder if it was before the gardens were put in or if the gardens weren't doing well in the shade? Perhaps the storm hit it and the safest thing to do was take the rest of it down.

Next up is a nice size garden that probably has really good soil! There's everything growing in there, flowers for attracting good bugs, herbs, okra even! They may be mixing in some permaculture style gardening. The small tree on the left wasn't fruit bearing that we could tell. We didn't have time to get out and poke around too much. The annuals will die down soon and it will be easier to clean up.

These folks have a lot of yard left to grow their garden, but they did well this year. Still producing on October 14th! I do hope they enjoyed it and intend to grow more next year.

This is the only front yard garden we spied this time, of course, we were mostly keeping to the alleys. They kept this one pretty weed free and now tis time to say goodbye to the summer. Still a few producing plants and some stalks to make fall decorations! It's so hard to take plants out at the end of summer before that first hard freeze. Just a feeeew more tomatoes and peppers please?

We voted this best October garden as it is still productive with very healthy plants for the end of the season. Here's hoping they are starting some fall/winter crops somewhere, it's hard to see from the car in the alley, so they can keep eating fresh veggies later on!

We're always eager to showcase local gardens, so let us know of any hiding in your neighborhood!

Broken link on an Important Article

2011-10-14T08:08:00.000-05:00

The link to the New York Times article appears to be busted. Here is a pdf of the article on our website Foodscapes.

Is there someone you know who needs help getting started? We can help!

Go Local Food!

2011-10-12T09:42:00.000-05:00

Talk about local food ... or better yet, eat some! Thanks to the Huntsville Times for a great article!

You can learn more about local food happenings at North Alabama Food Policy Council where you'll find information on hosting a local food dinner and other events. HSVGreenLink also keeps up here.

Pass the word and keep us informed of other local food events and sources!

This Why We Do What We Do!

2011-10-11T19:07:00.001-05:00

Link broken..check here for pdf of the article!

This article in the New York Times recently is a perfect example of what we love to help folks do, feed themselves fresh, healthy and frugal food! It takes time and effort, but it is oh so worth it!

You can tell yourself anything is too difficult, or you can just do it. And you do not need to reconstruct your worldview or take issue with others.

You just need to be hungry.

Fall is for Nuts!

2011-10-09T19:35:00.000-05:00

Are you foraging for nuts? You can find several kinds of nuts around the urban landscape, as I was reminded today. Nut trees are a great way to do some stealthy edible landscaping.

I went to pick up a prescription and then .. well, I had a senior moment and ended up going through a parking lot to get turned around...and what did I spy?

Pears? No....

Walnuts! Something had already tried to get into this one but no luck.

Sure enough.. There's the tree, turning yellow for fall, caught between two parking lots and losing some limbs, but still hanging on and producing what it could.

I took just the one to show to the tree expert ....

He reminded me that we have several Pecan trees in our neighborhood... here's a big one across the street.

We've eaten many of those when the harvest is especially good. Wonder how it's doing this year? hmmm.

There are several old pecan orchards around town, mostly just individual trees now as development is swallowing them up. If you are lucky enough to have a nut tree, enjoy the harvest! If you have one on your lot and it isn't doing well, perhaps Lee can help you save it... or save your house from one of those big limbs. If you would like to add some nut trees to your landscape, he can advise you on what might work best in your situation.

Fall is for Food from the Yard!

2011-10-03T19:43:00.000-05:00

October already! Just a few more days til the traditional first frost date of October 15th. So what's in the garden and on the table?

This was all gathered Sunday, or canned, as the case may be.

Bell peppers are racing to beat the frost. Little HOT (very hot) peppers (hot lemon) that will make a great bug repellent spray when dried and steeped next year. Reliable Jalapenos are still coming, some for the salsa, some for the bug spray next year. Tomatoes, of course, smaller and fewer than they have been, but still producing! Horseradish is there somewhere, not sure it was real happy in the sun, but it did make root, so we'll grate and freeze or pickle for some spice this winter.
The sorghum cane made pretty seed heads that the birds attacked, but we rescued a few for some hot cereal when the weather is really cold. The cane is still green and making suckers and still sweet when cut and chewed. I have to watch the Farmer so he doesn't come home with a millstone to crush them into syrup.

The okra is still coming, again slowing down, but we always have some til frost. The Red heirloom okra deserves a place in the edible landscape (see below). It is a lovely plant, open and uniquely colored. The fruit is plentiful and very good. The Farmer loves it raw, eating it as soon as he picks it. We're trying to do less fried okra, so he can have as much as he wants. We don't use the ginger in the foreground for the okra, but it does wander into some stirfry occasionally, and the winter squash will be happy to share flavors.

The sweet potatoes are the first we've dug, they went in a little late but they did well, we'll leave the rest for a while yet. The jars are full of Candy Roaster squash, ready for the pantry. There's a bowl of mixed butternut (picked Friday from the side of the house) and the leftover Candy Roaster from canning. That will go in a pie tonight, a bit of extra honey to sweeten the butternut and it will be as good as pumpkin (which is just another winter squash).

Right front basil trying to seed then tomatoes
Left front butternut then sweet potatoes and a couple of
blueberries at the fence

The pole beans are doing really well, as they usually do for us when planted after the spring/summer bush beans stop producing. We've picked a few meals worth, but this bountiful harvest will have to be canned, we are only two people after all! A note on the beans, I planted 8 seeds, one in each corner of two 4'x4' beds, seen below, the teepees. After picking these, I think I'll vote for going back to growing them on hogwire fencing or we'll go with cattle panels. The teepees may look cute, but most of the beans are below waist or knee level and I'm too old for very much stoop labor. Maybe taller teepees, but we made these as high as I could reach. Gardening is experimenting!

Lavendar and sage are some of my favorite herbs.

The basil is still growing and I'm cheering on the 'lettuce leaf' plants we grew from last year's seed. It did wonderfully this year, but is a bit slow making seed. I hope it makes it before frost!!
In the garden and growing for next season is cabbage, onions, lettuce, carrots, beets, turnips. Kale is waiting to go in the ground. Cilantro is coming up everywhere from seeding itself early this summer. Hope The Farmer didn't get it all when he 'weeded'.

Heirloom bunching onions from a friend in Lacey's Spring,
eggplant still hanging on, cabbage growing, peppers giving it
their all, sorghum cane that will not turn brown, sages, lavendar and
cilantro.

That's where we are as October starts... how does your garden grow?

The Farmer's Wife

That's a big squash ...

2011-10-02T15:04:00.000-05:00

The squash matches my walls?! It is a Candy Roaster Squash, one of a variety of similiar winter squashes related to the Pink Banana Squash that call Southern Appalachia home. Like the Cuccuzzi that we talked about here for summer, this squash is enough to feed a family with a single squash, but you may want to just make several pies and don't tell the kids its a veggie! While this is a winter squash and you can keep it whole if properly cool and dry, I prefer to can it, since it is just the one (we bought ours from Jack-O-Lantern Farm at the Greene St. Market last week), and I'm not sure I want to give up the guest room for it.

Now to putting it up... First, decide how many quarts you will need.... uh oh. That's a gallon jar, I'm going to need several quarts.

I'll cut the squash in half crossway, then longways to expose the seed. Scrape the seed and roast in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes or so til tender. I'll mash and then pressure can in quart jars. I'm going to save some out for a pie now that the weather is turning cooler. Hmm.. I may end up freezing some too, might be too much for one canning session and not enough for a second.

It's a really big squash!

It's Fall When...

2011-10-01T19:28:00.000-05:00

You know it is fall when the menu calls for
Onions ~ fresh from the yard ~ sauteed til tender ~ remove from pan and brown
Pork Chops ~ fresh from the farmer (ok, frozen) ~ add
Apple Cider ~ from Isom's Orchard at Greene Street Farmer's Market ~ and simmer til tender and chops are done.
A side dish?
Butternut squash ~ from the yard, canned last fall and making room for this year's crop ~ with a bit of butter and pumpkin pie spices warmed so the scent can fill the house
A few rolls from the freezer ~ warmed in foil over the chops to save a bit of energy ~ always make extra!
And dessert?
Pears ~ a gift from CASA garden volunteer from their tree at home ~ simmered in water and honey from Glory Gardens

Now that's a friends and family meal!

The Children's Living Library

2011-09-23T18:15:00.000-05:00

Saturday September 18th was the grand opening of the new Children's Living Library.

Kristen Kualavich, Sustainability officer for the city of Madison, organized the efforts surrounding the project and provided the following information.

The Children's Living Library at our Madison Public Library will be the first of its kind that we know of in Alabama. It will feature things like a life size Scrabble board, mini-amphitheater for story time, Madison County soil history and display, veggie garden, boat dock with ship, etc. The scenes in the garden will be tied in to the library with our take on storybook themes like Charlotte's Web and Where the Wild Things Are.

The garden will be free to enter and open to everyone. Lessons in sustainability and the environment, gardening, art, and music are just a few of the topics that will be taught in the garden. We have a great team of partners that are helping to host these events. Some are the Madison County Beekeepers Association, the Huntsville Botanical Garden, the Madison Gardening Club, the Madison Beautification and Tree Board, and the Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District. Professional landscape architect Lori Severin with 4Site, Inc donated the design of the garden.

Our theme for the garden is "every child is a story yet to be told". Kristen views this garden as an opportunity for children to learn and explore, for us to help prepare them for their future...to help them tell their stories. Each young person is our next teacher, doctor, councilperson, pastor, nurse, president, engineer, etc. Their success will ultimately be our success as a community!!!

Well done, Madison!

Easy as 1 2 3 4

2011-09-18T20:11:00.000-05:00

Building a framed raised bed of most any dimension is easy. The one we are using today is 4' x 8'. We used three 8' L x 10” H x 2”W boards, cutting 1 in half for the end pieces. Notice we screwed the boards together “end on”. This made the exterior dimension of the frame 48” versus placing both end pieces inside the long rails, which would have created a 48” interior space. Truly personal preference.

This unit is being used as a "jello mold" for soil at the CASA garden off of Bob Wallace. The soil in this area is only 2" – 3" deep with limestone gravel underneath. When you can't dig down, grow up.

Removing the top layer of weeds isn't absolutely necessary, but it was a glorious morning and it took about 3 minutes to using a broad hoe.

Leveling the frame and removing the top layer of weeds was quickly done. It isn't perfectly level; there is a piece of concrete under the middle of the back rail that could not be removed without compromising the fence.
The key to weed control is an underlayment. We prefer cardboard in this situation but there was none on site today just newspaper, so we placed newspaper in the bottom, at least 8 sheets of paper thick to smother new weeds and to help keep Bermuda and vines from running under the frame.

On top of the paper we placed leaf mold from the City's leaf pile. We have no extra soil to use on this property; in fact we make soil to keep the gravel covered. We used three 8 cubic ft wheelbarrow loads to fill the frame. That is just shy of 1 cubic yard. ( 27 cubic feet) Then we added one 8 cubic foot wheel barrow load of compost on top. The bed is over filled now, but with a good soaking this mix should settle quickly and be ready for planting soon.

Total time for this project (with materials on site) and while also helping direct volunteer gardeners was a little over 2 hours.

If lack of soil or adequate space is an issue, consider this form of container gardening. This soil- less mix is essentially composting in place. You can use other mixes or topsoil to fill your framed bed. This is a low cost way to start gardening on a small scale yet grow an amazing amount of food over the course of a year.

The best time to start a vegetable garden is right now.

We are all stakeholders in the foodsystem

2011-09-15T19:55:00.000-05:00

I have been following this gentleman since he ran for office on a Buy Local and a "What if Alabamians fed Alabama" platform. Keating's Desk He has a link to a thought provoking Law Review article on Local Food Systems as Infrastructure
here

A Cool Idea Becomes Reality

2011-09-11T20:19:00.000-05:00

       One of the things we at Foodscapes like to do is find solutions to problems that affect our local farmers and community gardens. Then, if the solution is truly useful, we’ll find ways to replicate the solution to help as many folks as possible.

The ~~Problem~~ Opportunity
            The CASA garden produces a fair amount of food, particularly during the summer growing season. The food grown at the CASA garden and the Botanical Gardens demonstration vegetable garden by the Tri-County Master gardeners is then DELIVERED to the senior clients. To keep the produce fresh, volunteers have had to deliver at least 3 days a week, with a large amount of staff time used to plan routes and coordinate distribution all over Madison County. Hundreds of home bound seniors supplement their nutrition from this effort. Besides time, fuel prices are cutting into the base of willing volunteers who deliver to CASA clients.

The Solution
       The ability to deliver food only once or twice a week would reduce rising fuel costs for volunteers, reduce office staff planning and involvement as well as overtime for Saturday oversight. We suggested a walk-in cooler on site to keep the produce fresh. Ann Anderson, Executive Director of CASA, immediately saw the benefits. Produce coolers of any size are expensive unless you can find one very used which probably means it is power hungry, inefficient and may need repairs fairly often. Occasionally a cooler can be bought as surplus from a failed restaurant or closed school. There seem to be more farmers needing produce coolers than surplus coolers.
     We recommended the Cool Bot System http://storeitcold.com/. The Cool Bot uses an LG window air conditioner to cool a highly insulated shed so the CASA garden can now store food gathered throughout the week for delivery 1 to 2 x per week.

One of CASA's outstanding volunteers, Chester Domaracki agreed to tackle the project. Using a donated 8' by 10' shed Chester created the working unit during the month of June.

CASA purchased a 12000 BTU LG window air conditioner. Chester and I insulated under the shed first, doubling 2” sheets of insulation to create a 4” layer of insulation under the floor. We used this technique and thickness for the rest of the project as well.

Chester also installed a really nice tile floor, a floor drain and he covered the wall and ceiling insulation with a 1/4” water proof material used in showers and bath rooms so the storage unit would be easy to keep clean with a good rinsing on occasion.

Here's the AC unit with CoolBot attached and keeping it COLD!

Total costs for the “high end” Cool Bot produce cooler came in around $2200. If we had to buy the shed ,the project would have run $3000. Compared to

we think this is viable, replicable alternative for small acreage, high value crop farmers or small groups of farmers in a community, as well as urban farmers and larger community gardens. Cost savings may be found by building a shed around the insulation panels, or using a technique involving “SIPs” panels which interlock and have 8'' -12'' of styrofoam insulation between 2 exterior panels. http://www.sips.org/ The panels interlock and can be utilized to create a floor, the sides, and the roof of the unit. I am told by folks familiar with the technique that a storage unit of this size could be assembled in 4 hours or so. Such a unit would have a much greater R value as well.

A huge THANK YOU to Ann Anderson the executive director at CASA for her willingness to underwrite this project. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers through the years who have made this garden possible. They truly come from all walks of life to work together to provide fresh, nutritious food to CASA clients and fulfill CASA's mission is to help the home bound elderly age in place as long as possible. A large produce cooler buys a farmer and a community garden time. Time is the one commodity that is always in short supply.

Please consider volunteering with CASA,

we have many opportunities for you to serve,

no matter your skill level or time available. Check out the possibilities here.

Newest Member of the Order of the Green Tie!

2011-08-28T19:34:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to the Green Volunteer of the Year....Lee McBride!

Let's see....in addition to the Green U exhibitor committee and helping with the farmer's market, he volunteers with CASA community garden and serves on the CASA board, works with folks at Morris, Westlawn, Butler schools garden / agriculture programs. The North Alabama Food Policy Council, the Food Bank, numerous churches and assorted neighborhood community gardens and farmers and farmer's markets also benefit from his energy and passion for local food production. Thru his own Gift of a Garden , anyone who truly needs and wants a garden can get one.

I also can't resist mentioning that he recently gained certification as an Alabama Certified Landscape Professional as of now, he's one of 25 folks in the entire state who have demonstrated knowledge in all categories of the cultural practices that comprise commercial horticulture.

I'm so proud of you!

WORM POO?

2011-08-24T11:19:00.000-05:00

I had an opportunity a couple of weeks ago to visit with James Steele at Green Leaf Organics, LLC - (256) 714-8292 4153 HWY 72 East, Huntsville, AL 35741. He is excited to offer one of the finest amendments you can put in your soil to help increase fertility and biological activity.
He offers the following explanation of the different “worm poo” you may find on the market.

Vermicompost- Worms are added to the material to be composted. They eat the material as it rots. The worms excrete castings, worm dung, into the material as they eat it. In vermicomposting the material is separated from the worms before the worms eat all the material. This results in a very good quality compost/worm casting mixture.

Worm castings- what comes out the South end of a North bound worm. To get worm castings you have to start with a bedding material. Greenleaf Organics uses a humus infused soil. Then you add food or a material to be composted. The worms are left in the material long enough to have consumed the bedding and the material. Greenleaf Organics then sifts the castings to remove any remaining material or bedding that was not consumed. This process results in a very high quality natural fertilizer.

As you rebuild your garden soil for the fall/winter season, you may want to add some of this wonderful material to help restore fertility and improve your soil tilth. Foodscapes uses this product in our personal gardens and in our installations…and we gladly pay full price!

Lee

THE CORNER FARM

2011-08-07T17:58:00.000-05:00

At the corner of Whitesburg and Bob Wallace…there is a little farm. You missed it? Well, it is hiding behind a fence, but you can glimpse it if you are waiting at the light in just the right place.

Melissa Anderson opened her low cost clinic in 2008 and decided she wanted to help her clients eat healthier by example. She has built beds and hauled in dirt and planted and now has enough that she runs a small farmer’s market .

I love the raised beds!

      You can go by and visit CityGarden, Inc. - Mon-Fri 11:00-4:30, closed Thursday. They are currently selling out of the lobby of the clinic.

     She’s opening a group home for the developmentally disabled later this year and the garden will be a sheltered workshop for them. She’d also like to have an outdoor summer resturaunt in the garden area that cooks food from the garden served with a little wine and beer!
     A quick peek around tell us that watermelons and cantaloupe are about to come in and pumpkins are in the ground, we can't wait til fall!

GentleVoice

Hoe Your Way to Greatness!

2011-08-07T15:27:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to "Charles Shultz" thru the years.... our favorite recently... hope you can read it, I had to magnify it since I am not geeky enough to know how to do the "click to enlarge" thing :)

GRAINS UPDATE

2011-07-31T17:48:00.000-05:00

A little late, but here’s the sad story best told in pictures. One of the summer storms a few weeks ago hit us just right.

The amaranth is gone. I should have known better than to grow it in a straight row. Even with the support of the other plants our wheat ‘lodged’ in this area. Corn will tend to blow over as well, which is why you want to plant ‘blocks’ or fairly tightly spaced rows. Another issue with this area is that it creates something of a wind tunnel effect between the houses.

My only excuse is that I envisioned it as a more bushy plant having never seen it growing. Lesson learned  Next year there will be a block in front and I’ll grow a melon of some kind in the middle of it to take advantage of the light shade. I haven’t seen them listed as companion plants, so we’ll just have to see if they each grow well.

The sorghum is doing well, even in it’s single row. The stalks are much tougher and they are somewhat shielded from a west wind (the way the afternoon howlers tend to come) by the house. They do look a bit more like corn than I had thought they would, as I had only seen them growing from a distance in a field/commercial agriculture environment.

Our neighbor consultant on all things “old timey farm” says we are to wait til the tops turn dark red before we cut. They are still pretty yellow.

New blog added!

2011-07-29T17:40:00.000-05:00

I've enjoyed wandering over to Our Southern Table and have now added them to the sidebar. Maybe someday we can visit!

GentleVoice

Community Garden Gathering

2011-07-20T17:40:00.003-05:00

A little slow getting this up, but here it is ~ a tale of three gardens... Monte Sano Community Garden, Lowe Mill Community Garden and the CASA Garden!

NA Food Policy - Community Garden Workshop from Kay L Detter on Vimeo.

Thanks to all the participants and to Kay Detter for the great job on the video!

Resources for Faith Communities

2011-07-02T15:31:00.000-05:00

To go along with the previous post on churches supporting local farmers, Flourish has a very useful collection of resources for churches on all aspects of creation care. Adaptable to civic organizations as well, let's see if we can't make Huntsville greener! Click over and enjoy the site!

Are You Driving on Your Old Roof ?

2011-06-26T19:23:00.009-05:00

     Whitaker Contracting of Guntersville has been recycling discarded roofing shingles for around a year now. One of the main ingredients in a shingle is a form of asphalt. Whitaker Contracting is shredding the shingles at 3 locations in North Alabama, mixing the reclaimed product with new asphalt and surfacing roads with the mixture. The state of Alabama allows a road mix to contain up to 3 % in recycled shingles.

        Asphalt is by-product of the refining process of turning crude oil into the products we use in our cars every day. Asphalt is what is left in the bottom of the refining tower when the process is finished. The escalating cost of oil has raised the cost of asphalt and the cost of surfacing a road.
      Whitaker Contracting accepts shingles at their plants in Douglass, Summit and Guntersville. They do ask for and only accept clean loads of shingles at their plants. Mixed loads mean separation of the materials will be required and of course that takes time and money. Contractors are usually happy to bring a pre-separated load to avoid paying the tipping fee that would have been charged by the landfill. The roofing contractor saves $25 - $60 per ton, the landfill has a little less refuse at the end of the day and the resulting product is no longer wasted but reused in a constructive application.
           In April, the Solid Waste Disposal Authority (SWDA) and Whitaker Construction began a cooperative arrangement to recycle asphalt shingles at the Huntsville Landfill. Shingles delivered to SWDA’s landfill are set aside in a designated area within the construction & demolition disposal cell. When sufficient quantities of shingles are collected, Whitaker Construction brings equipment in and grinds the shingles into a granular product which is then used by Whitaker in paving North Alabama roads.

             Approximately 660 tons of old shingles have been saved from landfill disposal within the past two months. Whitaker is currently taking the extra time to separate debris from the shingles at the Huntsville Madison County SWDA site for the contractors who are loading storm damage debris.

        Homeowners should make sure their roofing contractor is aware of the effort and ask them to take a clean load of shingles to the Whitaker sites or the Huntsville/Madison County Landfill.

         Hats off to Whitaker Construction and the SWDA for stepping up and leading a recycling effort in a meaningful way!

      For information, call the Solid Waste Disposal Authority, 256-880-6054.

Edited 7/6/11 to add information!

Congregational Supported Agriculture (The Other CSA)

2011-06-23T20:58:00.002-05:00

       Traditionally, churches or faith congregations reach out and serve those around them, meeting spiritual needs, of course, but also dealing with physical needs in the community. Food is a great way to fulfill both needs. The buying power of local churches can greatly impact the local food economy and allow your congregants to connect with farmers and those who are hungry in your community.

     So, how can a church get involved in supporting local fresh healthy food and ministering to those who grow and eat it? There are as many models as there are churches! Here are some ideas that are working across the country. After you’ve explored the options, create a plan that will work for your congregation. Large congregations, small ones, even individuals alone, can have a huge impact on the community, the lives of farmers and those who are hungry.

Model One: Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) is also known as "subscription farming." You buy a subscription from a local farmer just like a subscription to a magazine, but instead of receiving a magazine each week; you receive a "share” a box or bag of fresh, locally grown or raised fruit and/or vegetables. Some CSA’s also offer farm-fresh eggs and/or meats.

           CSA’s are the simplest model and one that can start tomorrow, just encourage your congregation as individuals to join a local CSA. Enrollment is limited, but they may be able to add more in a couple of months with your commitment to buy.

          CSA’s are an excellent way for individuals to support local food production, but we can expand this concept to harness the buying power of groups. Churches large and small can focus their food dollars to support the growth of local healthy food for their members and the larger community. The church could buy “shares” to be delivered to the elderly / homebound or to low income members of the church to help them eat healthier. We urge you to look for truly local farms or farmer networks. This will cut down on travel time (and fuel!) for your produce as well as keep your dollars local. This model integrates well for churches that have Angel Food programs. Imagine having some fresh veggies or fruit to give out when folks come to pick up their boxes!

To find a CSA, visit localharvest.org or ask your co-workers and friends for references.

Model Two: A Church based Farmers market. The Church Of Nativity has opened the “Greene Street Market” this May in downtown Huntsville. Farmer’s markets work well for small acreage farmers and are a great way for value added products to be introduced to customers.

A farmer’s market needs a customer base and farmers. Organizing and maintaining a farmers market is running a business. Someone has to be responsible for

Recruiting farmers,

Advertising the market,

Arranging for the market to be set up,

Deciding what ‘products’ can be sold and by whom

Clean up after the market

      Instead of ‘doing’ a farmer’s market, you may want to support a particular market close to your church. Encourage your congregation to buy there or perhaps fill a church van with people who need a ride to buy fresh healthy vegetables. You might consider buying leftover vegetables from a local market to donate to local ‘food for the hungry’ organizations.

For more information see the Alabama Farmer’s Market Authority

Model Three: Congregational contributions to a Bonus Bucks or Double up Coupon program.

      This program can have a major impact on healthy food choices. The idea is to match “food stamp” (now called “SNAP") spending at farmer’s markets with congregational donations. The church's contributions are used as bonus coupons and allow low income market customers to double their purchasing power. Experience shows these type programs really increase sales to the people who need fresh food most.
     Remember that this program also doubles sales for the local farmer. If this program is of interest to you, partner with a local farmers market and contact Wholesome Wave, a nonprofit founded by former Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, Gus Schumacher, which provides the technical assistance necessary to implement a double value coupon Program.

Model Four: A Congregation based Buying club

       The idea here is to ‘pre-order’ food each week from a contracted farmer. It’s almost like a CSA but there is more customization involved. After committing to purchasing some minimum amount each week for the season, an order form would be available, say on Sunday, and the order would be delivered on Wednesday (for example).

   This type of program involves a lot of planning, AT LEAST 90 days in advance:

Choosing a farmer to work with

Product selection ~ what needs to be grown?

Determining how much your congregation will commit to buy

How the program will work (forms/how much time between order and delivery)

When and where deliveries can be made

How produce will be kept until picked up… etc

This year you might want to sample and interview several farmers and choose someone to work with next year. You may end up working with a vegetable farmer and another farmer for meat and/or eggs.

Model Five: Community Garden

Community gardens that survive long term have paid staff or VERY highly highly motivated and dedicated volunteers. Everyone wants to do this in the spring…but the heat of summer and the hard physical labor is tough. There is constant pressure from weeds and insects. People want to go on vacation; other programs compete for volunteer time.

If in doubt, buy food from the local farmer!

     That said, your congregation can grow thousands of pounds of produce each year on a typical church’s property. This would be a wonderful supplement to Angel Food boxes. Whether the food makes for a healthier congregation, better meals at a mission or improves the diet of elderly neighbors…your church will serve as a model for creation care and service. Volunteering at a local community garden is an excellent first step before committing to developing your community garden plan. If you decide a community garden won’t work, but you still have several ‘garden’ volunteers, look into programs around the community. The CASA garden on Bob Wallace always has ~~work~~ learning opportunities for whoever shows up!

For a list of community gardens in Huntsville, visit http://www.hsvgreenlink.com/storage/Community%20Garden%20Resource%20List.pdf and for more information about community gardens visit: http://www.communitygarden.org/learn/

Model Six: Give the Gift of a Garden.

      Getting fresh vegetables and hope into the hands of the “least of these” is the mission. You’ve heard of food deserts? It is important to get fresh vegetables into low income neighborhoods…but the most pressing need is for children to have access to healthy food. What if we could get every child who takes home a ‘nutrition pack’ for the weekend a garden of their own?

      Perhaps some members of your congregation could be mentors to a child and help with that individual garden once a week or so…perhaps others could commit money to buy tools, seed or other supplies… a congregation could adopt a whole street of gardens. Or work with a school full of children who do not receive proper nourishment over the weekend or during the summer, Morris Elementary recently started a school based garden, remember?
       Elderly people also need Garden Angels. Perhaps these seniors only need someone to till in the spring… or they might appreciate weekly help for those tasks that are just a little too hard. CASA of Madison County can help you identify home-bound seniors for your congregation to serve. Perhaps there are shut ins that used to attend your congregation who would be thrilled with a garden maintained by church members.

      What next? There are as many ways of supporting local food production and consumption as there are congregations…and these ideas can spread. Workplace and social groups are another “space” that can grow support for locally grown food in the local community. Buy local, eat local, serve local!

Tis the Year of the Grains!

2011-06-20T19:02:00.000-05:00

July 21, 2010

We're experimenting this year with deliberately growing our own small grains. Here's last years buckwheat, grown as a cover crop which was very quick to 'freely self-sow". If you are growing it for a summer cover and nitrogen 'fixer' crop, chop it when it blooms or you'll be raising buckwheat everywhere. But it is nice to know that one can get a crop of whole grains really quick; "they say" 80 days, but we think it happened quicker. Buckwheat is hard to process for flour, so we'll not be growing for the grain. We've also had some volunteer oats (from not thoroughly composted manure) that actually produced!

On to this year and more easily edible crops!

I planted organic wheat (hard red wheat, unknown variety from my bulk purchase bucket ) in a bed along the side of the house back in October of 2010. The wheat 'grass' kept nice and green and fairly short until the weather warmed up this year. And of course, I can't find the picture of that, but here's June 8, ready for harvesting!

The majority of the heads are 'nodding', heavy with seed. The wheat did "lodge' (fall/got pushed over) a couple of times during the winter/spring storms. The Garden Master even practiced his scything on it once after it lodged, but it came back! Apparently, farmers can allow cattle to graze the wheat one time and still have a harvest.

Here's another view and a lesson in microclimates.

The wheat is growing on the south side of the house. Can you see how golden the wheat closest to the reflected heat of the house is? The wheat on the outside is just that tiny bit cooler and is ripening a bit slower. Take advantage of microclimates in your space. Look around at your space, growing lettuce in the shade would be welcome in this heat wave.

Sorghum grain went in the front yard since I think it makes an interesting specimen. We chose an heirloom Mennonite variety good for both cane syrup and seed grain.

Agriculture Marketing Resource Center

I'm looking forward to trying the grain as a pancake flour, if it makes....and testing the cane for 'sweetness'. I've often read of folks enjoying it as a fall treat. I LOVE sorghum syrup from Sand Mountain, so I'll leave the sorghum pressing to the mules, since it's not an easy process for micro homesteads.

Seeds of Change

Along the side of the house, we've created a new row/bed outside the bed that now has wheat (to be followed by winter squash shortly). We chose Golden Amaranth for a drought tolerant grain which can be "ground, sprouted, popped or used as hot cereal". As it grows, we hope the squash twining around it's stalks won't bother it, rather like corn. It is up and growing, so we'll see what we have in about 70 days!

We really like oatmeal more than other hot grain cereals. "Real" oats are hard to process, especially at home, so we're going for the newer "hulless" variety Pennuda. Even the hulless varieties are harder to thresh than other grains, but we're going to try it. Maybe some friend's chickens will get lucky if we can't eat it! These will have to wait til later in the year to be sown as they prefer cool weather, not soil temps over 90 degrees.

Here's a couple of resources you might look into... we'd love to hear of anything you've found helpful!
Alabama Extension pamphlet on small grains. They have a lot of specialized information on grains, aimed for the commercial grower, but this gives a nice overview.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/1978-01-01/You-Can-Raise-Grains-Right-in-Your-Own-Garden.aspx

Potato Boxes

2011-06-12T15:30:00.000-05:00

Space is at a premium here in our micro suburban homestead. We love growing potatoes particularly in leaves and soft materials. This year we decided to go vertical. Gentlevoice found some plans for potato boxes online and of course I modified them just a little.

Using fencing boards and 2” x 2”s, the original plan called for the 2” x 2's to be 4' long in each corner. I did not want to look at that sticking up for weeks on end, and I consider the stubs to be safety hazards, so I cobbled together these frames. I offset the 2” x 2”s to allow for stacking. Each 2” x 2” is the 6” long and offsets to the board by 3 “.

I set potatoes on the ground and covered them to the top of the 1st board with soil and leaves.

Stubs up at the back,
down in the front,
doesn't it look better?

As the plants reach 12” in height I cover ½ of the stem. It took 3 weeks before I needed to add a level to hold the additional mulch. However I needed to add the next level the very next week. This setup is 5 weeks old; I was very late getting to this.

There are claims that it is possible to grow up to 100 lbs of potatoes in this set up. We will not come close to that this year for several reasons. First, the late start cost me precious growing time. Second, I chose a German ButterBall potato which is very small; this potato weighs a few ounces, nowhere close to an Irish or other larger growing variety. Lastly I think I have made a mistake. I used leaf mold enriched with manure instead of just leaves with the last “fill up”. Not a best practice for several reasons. I may have heated the pile with compost instead of simply providing a growing medium. One of the stacks has wilted in the last few days, whether it is blight or I overheated the stack remains to be seen.

Time for at least one more box,
maybe after the worst of the afternoon heat!

I held off on this project for several years because it just did not seem cost efficient. These stacks of boxes cost $ 12 -15 each for materials. You can buy a lot of potatoes for $15. However I hope these will last several years possibly, much longer. I also like the idea of another place to compost in place or store leaves.

We will update this when we harvest the remaining plants. If it doesn't work this time we will try again this fall or next spring. Again at worst we have made compost at best we have a space saving technique for growing taters.

Tomato Tips

2011-06-05T17:14:00.000-05:00

Many folks know that the deeper you plant a tomato the better. The plants develop a much stronger root system off of the stem. Once the plants have settled in and begun to grow, here a few tips that can save time and expense.

Quick Pruning Lesson

2 suckers going and one low branch gone

Once the tomato is growing nicely, raise the canopy or remove any branch that (with further growth) will make contact with the soil. Many disease issues with tomatoes start with the lowest branches. Disease on most plants is spread by water splashing on the foliage and yes, diseases can spread upwards.

This is also a good time to pinch out the first suckers the plant is trying to grow. The sucker is the new, vigorous growth that starts between the stem and the older branch or lead. Suckers are primarily vegetative and fruit production is limited when these are allowed to stay. You can root these suckers and start new plants to give you a Fall to Christmas crop of tomatoes.

Water Wisely

We know that many diseases are spread by water splash so let's minimize the opportunity for that to happen. Consider using black round soaker hose or one of the new pressure compensating drip hoses along the row next to the tomato stalk, preferably not touching but very close. Coat hanger or light wire can be bent in a deep U to hold down the hose.

Soaker hoses and Onion scapes to deter pests

Mulch and Cage

Tomatoes love mulch and mulch cuts down on water loss, weeds and helps keep the roots cool. We like to start with newspaper for weed control. I keep it simple and use whole sections. Two layers equaling 8 sheets of newspaper works really well. Leave a small open square around the stem for watering/fertilizing or lay the paper on top of the drip hose. We top this off with natural mulch or leaves for cosmetic purpose although both materials will work by themselves. Apply your granular fertilizer before mulching. After mulching you can use a liquid product such as fish emulsion or you can siphon in your favorite fertilizer through the soaker hoses.

Many of the tomatoes we grow are trellised using the Florida Weave, but we are caging this group. We prefer concrete reinforcing wire; it is strong, lasts for years and won’t bend in the middle like so many light wire cages. Many of the varieties we grow can reach 14' + in length so we stake each cage as well ,I prefer rebar because it lasts and can be tapped in to the ground if needed, but wooden / bamboo stakes work just fine.

The plants grow up and out of the cage and then back down and start to run. Pruning can be helpful to a tomato plant, particularly thinning and judicious heading back in mid to late summer. Careful, don't prune too much too quickly at that time or you will scald the plants. Frankly I am so busy at that time of year we don't prune the plants unless they break a limb or I am trying to stop a disease issue. It’s a good idea to sterilize your pruners between cuts.

It is the first week of June and unseasonably hot. Thrips, aphids and some leaf diseases are starting to show up. Be sure to look on the undersides of the foliage for insects. Leaf curl is often an indicator of their presence. If you must spray do so in the cool just before dark or early in the morning. Try to avoid spraying foliage during the heat of the day with these high temperatures. Of course use the least toxic material, labeled for use on vegetables and follow all label directions.
                Water deeply but infrequently. Trying to water a little every day is futile and can be harmful to the plants. Apply 1” – 1.5” of water a week where possible. Consistent soil moisture is a big key to consistent fruit quality.

Huntsville's Newest Farmer's Market!

2011-05-19T20:39:00.000-05:00

The Greene St. Market at Nativity opened today! Congratulations to the Church of Nativity downtown for their vision and persistence in bringing this community changing effort to fruition. Coinciding with the Art Stroll on the square today the market rang the opening bell at 4pm.
The market is open until 8 pm. The Market is located on the parking lot of the old Health dept.

Janna's Food Farm ~ an
Earth Friendly grower

The market will be open throughout the summer and into the fall. A great mix of earth friendly and conventional growers were on hand to provide fresh food to the eager shoppers. A neighborhood market such as the Greene St. market is one of the best expressions of the buy local food movement.

The air was full of excitement and positive energy truly abounded. Neighbors visiting with old friends and many folks were making new friends this afternoon. This market could be the catalyst for helping to create a closer knit community in this area.

Here are some more of the farmers at the market... got so busy talking to folks, I know I missed several, including a cooking demonstration by Walter Thames of What's for Supper Catering.

Glory Gardens

Dixon Family Meats ~ Grassfed

A new farmer selling this year from her yard!

Go Yard Farmers! Beautiful lettuces.

Also featured were local value-added products like bread, jellies and Lane Tutt's RELISH! This stuff is great! She makes some mean chess pies, too!

And to top it all off......Music! The perfect touch to finish off the afternoon.

Visit Greene Street Market at Facebook or http://www.greenestreetmarket.com/ and be sure to come next Thursday 4-8 pm!

Lee McBride

Wondering about Buying Local?

2011-05-15T18:59:00.000-05:00

Wendy Payne sent us a link to a great infographic on buying local and I thought I'd share... Many reasons to buy local

and some excellent websites at the bottom of the graphic to check out, too. Thank you elocal.com for the research...and thank you Wendy for sharing.

Lee

Panda's Progress

2011-05-08T14:42:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to the Morris Elementary School Panda’s!

Last year Morris Elementary started a school garden with 4 raised beds. These were primarily for the 4th grade classes to use, to learn from and to grow food in. Last fall they grew Turnip Greens and the wonderful folks in the cafeteria cooked them for the children.

Last summer’s beds were refluffed yesterday

More importantly, thanks to the vision and determination of Mr. Doug Seay the Panda's now have a garden to be utilized by families of students. Jeff Komara came out weeks ago and broke ground to begin the process. Weather and soil conditions had delayed the final steps in garden preparation until yesterday, Saturday the 7th of May.

Volunteers hauled leaf mold from the mulch pile and then we tilled the leaves under for them. New raised beds were forming shortly after that.

Doug Seay and volunteer David Hays

Here is the first family to plant in the Panda's Progress Family garden.

May the garden be a blessing to all the families at Morris and provide a place for the Panda community to literally grow together.

Lee~ The Urban Farmer

Some things to consider - Chickens!

2011-04-22T11:35:00.000-05:00

So you are thinking of raising a few chickens? Here are some useful tips from one of our favorite "sustainability" writers.
Please note this is from Birmingham urban chicken group "CLUCK". Is there anyone raising chickens in Huntsville?

Enjoy your eggs! Lots of local farmers are raising them right ... Check LocalHarvest.org

GentleVoice

Chemical Considerations for the Stealth Gardener

2011-04-12T20:38:00.000-05:00

As edible landscaping becomes more popular, we are seeing more folks planting vegetables among their shrubs and perennials, which is wonderful. As spring fever and planting season for traditional summer crops are about to collide, as they always do this time of year, I wanted to remind everyone of a few cautions.

Remember, the Health Dept. has a mosquito spraying program that starts in May or June. Be prepared to cover your vegetables and certainly remember to wash them before serving. During mosquito spraying season we grow only 'fruiting' vegetables (squash, beans, peppers) in the front yard and wash them well. If we had children eating them, we probably wouldn't even do that. We do not grow leafy vegetables or harvest herbs in the front yard during the mosquito spray season.

Call 256 883 5872 for the County Health Department Vector Control office. The gentleman in charge is very helpful and will call you in advance of any spraying his department is about to do in your neighborhood. This gives you time to cover plants or harvest before the trucks roll through. There may be a procedure in place to be removed from the spray program.

Be Careful!

Avoid mixing vegetable crops with shrubbery or in a lawn area that is being treated with pesticides. Many tree and shrub insecticides and fungicides are not labeled for use in the garden. If you do use pesticides on your property always read and follow all label instructions and keep records of your treatments. The record can be a learning tool and can help minimize the need for future treatments.

In many situations a spray free zone of 25' or more to protect your food bearing plants may be appropriate.

No kids, no dogs and NO FOOD!

Herbicides and their residues can harm your crop in many cases, however it is possible for many vegetable plants like tomatoes to survive but traces of the material can find it's way into your produce. Grass clippings from chemically treated lawns are not helpful in the long run. Try to avoid using leaves and other materials from properties that have spray programs.

Never Use a sprayer that has had herbicide in it on your vegetables, flowers or trees and shrubs. To solve the problem use a permanent marker to Label your sprayers by type of use.

Special Request - Anti-inflammatory Veggies

2011-03-24T20:03:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd share a bit of research...and ask for any other suggestions on anti-inflammatory vegetables you can grow for yourself. If this is a concern of yours, you may want to concentrate on the following:

Peas - most of the legumes, the green spring and the later summer ripening ones
Sunflower Seeds - choose varieties that are for eating, not just beauty
Shitake mushrooms - keep your eye out for classes that will include an innoculated log!

Ginger in front of beans
and a couple of pepper plants

Ginger & Turmeric - root 'spices' that are pretty too! Mulch heavily in winter.
Garlic - easy to grow, tastes great..and good for you!
Broccoli / Cabbage / Collards - mostly cool season crops around here
Onions - winter bunching onions and summer bulbing
Carrots - plant lots in the fall and pull 'em when you need 'em
Spinach - green leafy veggies
Sweet Potatoes - another easy to grow crop if you have the room...and keeps well through the winter
Strawberries - sweet and juicy
Blueberries - I have to share most of mine with the birds, but worth fighting for!
Cantaloupe - melons come in a variety of shapes and tastes, try some heirloom seeds and give them room to grow

Some sources say that peppers are anti-inflammatory. If they seem to be ok for you, there's a wide variety to experiment with from sweet to fiery hot.

GentleVoice

Spring has Sprung

2011-03-22T16:35:00.001-05:00

Spring has sprung with a vengeance it seems. Really warm weather threatens to undo our plans for a last planting of quick greens. The Toi Choi are only 28 days to mature, but they are bolting at 16 days.
The collards that 'should' last longer are giving up and furiously setting seed.

The Red Russian kale thinks it's been transplanted from Siberia to the Black Sea seashore and, while still nice looking, is also getting ready to reproduce.
Drat. I blame ~~global warming~~ ~~climate disruption~~ ~~climate change~~ the weather :)
I hear the local weathermen are saying the frosts are over, so I'll prove them wrong and start putting out warm weather plants! Early flat Italian green beans are a good first candidate. I've planted them 'too early' before and they did ok. I'm still going to hold off on the really warm weather tomatoes, eggplant and peppers.

All is not lost. The collards and kale will be chopped up and blanched for canning or freezing to be enjoyed in a couple of months. Easily drained, rechopped and added to fresh tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and seasoning then sauteed for tossing with pasta or rice.

GentleVoice

A lot going on...

2011-03-15T06:44:00.001-05:00

Warmer weather means it's the last chance to get the cool season crops in and out before hot weather, so we planted out some of the beds that we've cleaned out or left fallow over the winter.
The bed numbers correspond to the layout on Garden Beds page. if you want to follow along!
Right now, we have

Enough for 2 people all season!

Collards in Bed 3 (pictured)- we've eaten off these all winter and they are still going strong. Next time you have fresh ones, saute in olive oil with some garlic and onion...and seasoned salt (the miracle seasoning) They'll stay until they start to bolt.
Bunching onions in Bed 4 - which are just starting to bulb out and will come out soon
Red Russian Kale in Bed 8 - again, staying until it's time is past, giving us a "mess" every other week or so. This bed also had some cabbages, which are now eaten...so I threw some cilantro seed into the bare half of the bed.
Various herbs in Bed 12 - parsely, thyme, sage, garlic and a couple of struggling lavender which The Master Pruner pruned rather harshly, but I am assured it will be happer for it.
Bed 9 has a couple of Chinese cabbage plants that I'm going to save seed from. The brassicas put on a very pretty early spring show of yellow flowers!

On to new plantings....
Bed 10 - The carrots ran out a couple of weeks ago, so that bed got some Tendergreen mustard, Bibb lettuce and radishes for quick salads in 2-3 weeks.
Bed 11 - Spinach followed beets here, so they'll be ready for thinning to add to the salad soon.
Bed 5 - This bed is a no-till/mulch/pile it on bed and got it's first seeds... Multicolor Chard. I only planted the outside few feet closest to the driveway, I'm hoping it will look pretty since it can last quite a while into summer. We can plant something not quite so attractive 'inside'.
Bed 6 - I'm trying some Giant Red Mustard here...it's coming up slowly

Steel rod to firm soil and make seeding rows,
just press, then plant!

Bed 7 - Detroit Red beets - More thinnings for salads and then there should be enough in the bed to warrant a canning session or two. After we eat fresh ones, of course.
Along the front fence, the peas are growing quickly, I just hope it doesn't warm up too soon. I got them in a little late this year. I think from now on, I will sow in the fall and let them hibernate at 2" tall like they did last year, that was my best pea crop ever.

In the back yard, I set out some tranplants of red cabbage, Joi choi, Chinese cabbage and a flat early dutch or two. I have some Napas of two varieties in flats, but one was almost a total failure, while the other is up and going in 48 of 50 cells. No clue what happened, I planted them the same day, same soil mix. Isn't gardening fun?

How's your spring going?
GentleVoice

Crop Rotation

2011-02-24T18:00:00.000-06:00

There are many reasons to rotate your crops each year. Rotation is primarily used to minimize nutrient depletion in the soil and manage insect and disease pressures on your plants. Properly planned and executed, rotation can enhance and help the gardener build soils and maximize crop yields over the years. Most folks recognize that planting the same type of plant in an area year after year can cause problems. The Cooperative Extension System tells us it is best to avoid planting any member of the same plant family in the same spot or row for at least 2 years.

Below are 3 different rotation plans

The first plan shown is from ACES publication ANR-1254 Planting and Maintaining Rotation by Plant Family

Alliaceae (Onion Family) Onion, garlic, leek, shallot, chive

Apiaceae (Carrot Family) Carrot, parsnip, parsley, celery

Asteraceae (Sunflower Family) Lettuce, endive, salsify, Jerusalem artichoke

Brassicaceae (Mustard Family) Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, turnip, Chinese cabbage, kale, collards, mustard greens, radish, rutabaga

Chenopodiaceae (Goosefoot Family) Beet, Swiss chard, spinach

Convolvulaceae (Bindweed Family) Sweetpotato

Cucurbitaceae (Gourd Family) Cucumber, muskmelon, watermelon, summer squash, winter squash, pumpkin, gourd, honeydew melon

Fabaceae (Pea Family) English pea, snap bean, lima bean, soybean, cowpea, field pea

Malvaceae (Mallow Family) Okra

Poaceae (Grass Family) Sweet corn, popcorn, ornamental corn

Solanaceae (Nightshade Family) Tomato, pepper, eggplant, Irish potato, husk tomato

Grouping plants in a row or plot by family will keep things simple IF you write down your plan each year. By reviewing last years layout in the cold wet days of January and February you can have a new plan for the year by simply moving everything over one row etc. The authors are not saying this is the rotation order. This is simply an alphabetical listing of the plant families and the most commonly grown crops within those families. To help you avoid inadvertently planting crops within the same family on the ground two years in a row.

Many smaller gardens with space considerations may want to utilize this 4 year rotation.

Leaf crops, followed by
Fruit crops, followed by
Root crops, followed by
Legumes, repeat the cycle

Here is the rotation we use where possible. Rotation is accomplished by moving the plants over one row, plot or field each year.

Corn: Follows Cabbages and Brassica's

Potatoes: Early and late Potatoes benefit from corn grown the previous year. Many crops do not like to follow corn. We grow our potatoes in mounded leaves which builds a better soil for succeeding years. Weeds can be an issue in the tater patch.

Squashes: A cleaning crop, helps reduce weed problems in the root crops. Those big leaves shade the soil.

Root crops: Hardest crops to keep weed free, although proper mulching can alleviate much of this problem. We combine Beets and Carrots here even though they are in two different families. Turnips, Rutabaga, Radishes all go in this “Root” area.

Beans: Beans don't like following beets but can go after other root crops. Cut off the stems and leave the roots of the beans in the ground. Beans are legumes and fix nitrogen which is almost always needed in our soils.

Tomatoes: Follow beans, keep away from potatoes as many years as possible. Both are in the nightshade family.

Peas: Can be planted as a green manure crop to boost the Brassica's. Although I am not recommending three successive pea crops on the same ground in one year, Austrian Pea's can be used as a soil builder over the late fall and winter. Early peas planted in February will add nitrogen for a follow on crop and pea production can be considered a bonus with our up and down temperature swings in the spring. Summer pea's may be the most dependable producers in our area they also add nitrogen to the soil, if you leave the roots in the ground. All are excellent at attracting pollinators and beneficial insects in the garden as well. The type of pea and timing of your planting should be dependent on which type pea you like best or the follow on crop your plan calls for next.

Cabbages or Brassica's: Hard on the soil, taking lots of nutrients, however these are known as dynamic accumulators. Be sure and compost all unused portions of these plants.
Repeat

Rotation combined with companion planting and cover crops can help build your soil, and improve your garden and its productivity. While we will not be covering these subjects in more detail in this article, begin to think in terms of : What does this plant need, add to, or take from the soil. What cover or nurse crop can I plant to provide these minerals and nutrients for this crop, or the crop to follow.

Remember to keep your soil covered at all times. Either with the current crop, a cover crop, or a mulch.

Cheap? Repurpose? Grow Food!!

2011-02-06T14:42:00.000-06:00

We at Foodscapes will be happy to create a more elegant solution to your 4 season issues. The following are some quick, easy and relatively inexpensive solutions for seed starting and row covers for young tender plants. These season extension tools can help you put food on the table earlier in the year and farther into the winter.

This is our bed bed. This is a re-purposed frame from one of those high dollar air beds. We made a lasagna garden out of it last year or the year before, I forget now.

The arches are 1/2” conduit bent to a 4' diameter. The conduit comes 10' long and runs around $2.20 per stick.

The rope that is somewhat carelessly tied to the arches is to hold the plastic up to allow better access when working with the flats or transplants in the ground as the case may be. I am using clothes pins to hold the plastic up and out of the way.

This plastic is the good stuff. 6 mil UV treated clear greenhouse grade plastic 10' wide x 100' long before being cut to length for this project. I caught this on sale last fall. It is rated for 4 years of continuous service. We will only use it on a seasonal basis so hopefully it will last many, many years. Please note for 6 years we have used a good grade of contractor plastic which costs much less. We usually get 2 years of service out of the contractor plastic. By keeping the unused portions out of the sun, a roll can last a long time. The contractor plastic is opaque and does block more sun but again it is an inexpensive way to cheat the seasons.

The bed was already in place but needed weeding. I placed the bent conduit arches in on each side and pushed them in to the soil about 6” - 8” or so. In a longer run or row set up I could add a purling made from conduit and fastened with self tapping screws. There simply is no need for that with such a small structure. I measured twice and cut the plastic, draped it over and looked around for hold downs (sand bags, pots, bricks and a landscape timber). I purposely chose these materials to show this doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg to do. Sod staples, tent pegs would also work well. With a wood sided frame some cardboard or batten material and a staple gun could hold one or two sides.

The rope that is somewhat carelessly tied to the arches is to hold the plastic up to allow better access when working with the flats or transplants in the ground as the case may be. I am using clothes pins to hold the plastic up and out of the way.

The plastic teepee.

Here are some pictures from our early square foot gardens. I simply bought some ¾” plastic pipe cut it to fit inside the boxes. By placing the ends in the corners I avoided the need for brackets. Brackets can be bought or are easily made we chose to do without. We crossed the pipes and tied them together in the center and they lasted all winter. We used this technique with these beds for 3 or 4 years before the beds moved to another house to help our son get started gardening.We used the contractor grade plastic and dreamed of the good stuff, all the while cheating the seasons with early started vegetables.

2-6-11

2011-02-06T14:16:00.000-06:00

We just harvested some Chioggia Beets and some sweet crunchy carrots for supper tonight. They had been mulched under, self storing if you will, in one of the front yard beds. I am getting a little antsy and wanted to begin bed prep even though I know it is way too early unless I protect the seedlings or transplants in any bed right now.

Beets are cool in that if you pull the biggest ones, you encourage the smaller ones to keep growing. The Chioaga is interesting to look at, but I prefer a more traditional beet. The look and taste of Bull's Blood or Detroit Red is what I think of with Beets.

The carrots just make me smile, what’s not to love? Orange roots and feathery greens, great taste and a nice meal on a warm afternoon to start the second week of February.

Now if the firewood will hold out. We have burned 2 cords so far and have one and half to go. Hoping for that week of 60 and 70 degree temps we used to get before a big freeze. Every day I don't have to burn wood in February is another day in March I can. We use logs from local tree companies who have removed a tree nearby. I prefer to get my wood in February or March. The old saw is “wood warms twice”. Wood warms several times. Once when first cut, twice when hauled to my property, third when cut to woodstove length, 4th when splitting and 5th when stacking it. I can think of a 100 things to do besides cutting and splitting wood when it is hot outside.

Cucuzzi - Feed a Family with One Fruit!

2011-01-23T16:15:00.001-06:00

       Here is a great plant for vertical gardening. This gourd does grow fast and long. I pruned ours to keep it within the bounds of its area and it did not mind at all. This gourd needs sun, we planted it at a defined shade line and it grew totally toward the sun side. With 20' of growth on one side and 1' on the shade side. Though it is a consistant producer, we were not overwhelmed with numbers. We had zero issues with insects or diseases. Squash and stink bugs stayed away although they were feeding nearby. We had a great harvest from 2 seeds. We covered the plant for several freezes and pulled the last gourds at Christmas.

      Potential sites includes arbors, fences, or perhaps trellising against a south wall to provide shade. Give this one room to run or train it to grow along the fence or arbor. Ours grew up and out of a tomato cage and along the ground and then climbed another cage 8' away. The bed width where we tried the plant is 4', to maintain access I pruned the plant 2x during the growing season. The cucuzzi took the hint and tried to stay inbounds and grew along the bed very nicely.

       Our favorite way to eat them is to cut them into 1/2" squares, stirfry in olive oil with a little salt and pepper. We think it tastes like a bite of meat. We often include it in dishes, but this one can stand alone on the plate. One gourd can make several meals.

   Ours came from Lincoln, AL where they are simply called "Long Gourd" cucuzzi. Also known as Hercules's Club and other imaginative names.

Lagenaria siceraria -- Vine growth is very vigorous. Leaves are large with a soft, velvety texture. Leaf margins are irregular but not lobed. Tendrils are long and forked. Vines have a musky scent. Flowers, which are perched on long, slender stems and have a sweet scent, bloom only at night and are pollinated by moths. Fruit size varies from medium small to very large. The mostly thin-shelled fruit can be dried to form a mostly empty shell. Seed size and color is too variable to delineate. (from Commercial Production and Management of Pumpkins and Gourds Edited by William Terry Kelley, Extension Horticulturist David B. Langston, Jr., Extension Plant Pathologist)

Need a Plan for a Compost Bin?

2011-01-20T21:21:00.012-06:00

One of the best resources on the subject can be found here.

From the simplest....

To the fancy....

Feel free to print this, build one, and send us pictures.

How to Build a Compost Bin University of Missouri Extension

Back to Beds (Boxes)

2011-01-18T07:00:00.000-06:00

Based upon a customer's food preferences here is a suggested layout for three 4' x 4' raised beds throughout a growing season.

The exercise is useful no matter the bed dimensions you are planning for. Of course your beds will probably have different plants in some places, reflecting your food choices. Keep in mind your favorite vegetables and how much of them you eat or want to store.

Remember;
Succession planting
Companion planting
Rotation

We will begin talking about starting new plants soon, and cheating the seasons with row covers, low tunnels etc.
We want to walk a composite client through a year, planning and starting a garden and most of the major steps through harvest. Please do not hesitate to email questions to us. Hopefully the answer may be of use to someone else.

Lee

Planning Time--Planning this years garden

2011-01-11T09:48:00.000-06:00

Location, Location, Location,

Avoid planting near or under trees. Start by looking for an area or space that receives at least 6 hours of sun. 8 hours of direct sun or even more is ideal. The Summer crops or Fruit producers like squash and tomatoes need at least that much light to really perform close to their ideal yield. For Leafy crops, early spring and mid spring produce, we can get by with partial shade or 6 hours of sunlight. As we move into late spring early summer, we use the shaded portions of our property to increase the growing period for lettuces and greens, often into June.

All the books say to locate your garden in a fertile, well drained location. Here in Alabama unless you have already composted in place over the area that will be this years garden you probably have an infertile area. With our highly compacted urban soils many sites are poorly drained as well. Which is why raised beds are so useful to the gardener compared to the farmer. Try to choose a relatively level area. A south facing slope warms faster in the spring and receives a little more light each day.

An additional consideration is access to water. Try to place your garden near a water source.

One thought that is usually missed in these generic discussions is too look for what your site can grow well. If shade is an issue then you may be blessed to grow greens longer into the growing season. If shade is an issue, think in terms of shade tolerant, even shade loving, plants. Learning the “genius” of your site is a big part of understanding the puzzle. Learning to build soil whether in heavy clay or sand is actually the real challenge. Putting as many factors as possible on your side certainly makes gardening more fun, productive and ultimately less expensive.

We will improve the soil - over time. Start with a soil test for the potential area. Boxes are available at the Cooperative Extension Service office near you. You can pick up the appropriate form at the office as well or you can go to Home Soil Tests for complete instructions and save yourself a trip the Extension office.

Next comes the fun part, List your favorite vegetables. Identify the vegetables you really love to eat, or have difficulty finding in the stores. See our list for a memory prompt and ideas.

You can plan for the entire year,( recommended ) or you can plan what you are going to start with, over the next few weeks. Here's how we graph our gardens. Graphing your potential area really makes a difference in maximizing potential yield and minimizing maintenance related issues. To start out use a different sheet of graph paper for each season of the year. It will be much easier to keep up with.

Start Small. Gardening is much more enjoyable if you aren't overwhelmed. Master a small space or spaces, learn to grow a few plants really well and expand the garden a little each succeeding year until the garden is just right for you. One advantage to expanding each year is the opportunity to compost in place where next years addition will be. Building the soil in advance is a great way to improve yields.

Are You Seeing the New Trends?

2011-01-03T18:58:00.000-06:00

We're seeing some of the new trends...have you?

2011 Trends Forecast from The Food Channel on Vimeo.

Few Activities Inspire Hope and Promise for the New Year quite like perusing a Seed Catalog

2011-01-02T14:52:00.000-06:00

Here are a few of our favorites.

Sustainable Seed Company
Seeds of Change

Abundant Life Seed Co.

High Mowing Seeds

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

We enjoy this catalog as well

The Cook's Garden

A fun paper catalog is R.H. Shumway's Illustrated Garden Guide Thier website is here.

Does anyone know of local seed sources? What are some of your favorites seed sources ?

A Profitable Use of The Urban Landscape Space

2010-12-29T10:38:00.000-06:00

Since WW II, the mass migration from the country to the cities, suburbs and exurbs combined with cheap oil, technology, and subsidized farming have led us to believe that growing our own food is no longer necessary. The theories of leading landscape architects and developers led to profitable, repeatable procedures to provide the living spaces we take for granted. Whether the lot was an eighth of an acre, a quarter acre or a full acre the primary landscape plan was for a foundation planting and a couple of trees. Each subdivision was, and is still, usually comprised of similar style and sizes of homes. Combine the pressures of uniformity and developers’ dictates concerning landscaping and few families have been brave enough to express their personal tastes. To grow one’s own food almost seems evidence of economic hardship; as if that beautiful weed free lawn wards off poverty.

The modern American home is currently a purely cosmetic landscape. It simply will not do to defy convention! A clean weed free lawn and no messy piles or unsightly plants are prerequisites to being allowed to stay in many neighborhoods. Vegetables and vegetable gardens are prohibited in some HOA bylaws.

No matter where you live,

enjoy the profits of good design and good stewardship

from your landscape space.

However, even we Americans are still bound by laws of nature. Our food supply comes from the land. Land we are disconnected from. The very processes involved in growing food are unknown to most of us. As our digital world is shown to be far more vulnerable than the older technologies we have left behind, as we centralize processing plants and take the “local” out of food production, many families find themselves more food insecure than at any time in the last 60 years. The evidence for this fact is in the news far too often, with contamination recalls, etc. The need to grow our food has begun to dawn on more and more families. A measure of preparedness for whatever betides is simply part of good stewardship.

Recently, more and more families are enjoying the expression of their personal tastes as well as having fun with edibles. Few of us in the urban environment can be totally food ready, but we can lessen the impacts of the unknowable future. It is possible to have beauty and a functional landscape. How useful and productive depends on the size and specifics of each property, of course. Many edible landscapes are excellent examples of Good Stewardship.

Why not grow figs as small ornamental trees? Or peaches, Asian pears, apples, a new variety of persimmon? Why grow fruitless trees when one can at least have the potential of a harvest? Consider the fruits a bonus to complement the inherent beauty of the plant.

A mass of cabbages whether red or green is just as delightful to the eye as any inedible annual that we insist on planting for cosmetic purposes. Buttercrunch lettuces are simply gorgeous as they unfurl their foliage. Beets and their leaves can be a beautiful border to a shrub bed or even a sidewalk, and growing your own beets will save you serious money at the grocery store.

Do you like Hibiscus flowers? Plant okra, it is in the Hibiscus family. Would you like a fast growing vine to grow over your arbor or to trail across your porch railing? Consider Malabar spinach or Hyacinth bean vine.

No residential landscape is completely maintenance free. Edibles can and do require maintenance as well, however there is often a reward for your expenditure that goes far beyond the cosmetic contribution that a conventional landscape can offer. We spend incredible amounts of money and time in caring for our cosmetic landscapes, many of which are poorly designed and are wasteful of resources in their upkeep.

The well designed residential landscape should provide at a minimum
1) privacy from neighbors
2) keep mud and dirt out of the house
3) minimize soil erosion
4) provide utility and service areas for garbage cans, compost piles, cord wood, as well offer the opportunity to dry the wash.
5) perhaps there is enough outdoor area for a vegetable garden.
6) properly placed trees can block the western sun in summer and allow the sun to warm the house in the winter.

Many of the most pleasing elements of a landscape need not be lost simply because edibles are used. Flowing, curved beds and borders, living screens, and meditation areas can all be executed with edibles. Each of the goals listed above can be achieved using edible trees and shrubs, as well as annuals and perennials, plants that can fulfill a need, provide beauty and provide food.

Shrub and perennial borders can contain edibles; simply combine plants that have similar requirements such as soil pH, soil type, hours of sunlight, water needs. More often than not in the conventional landscape this critical cultural practice is poorly executed. From annuals, to border plantings to foundation plantings to small and large trees as well as vines, there are a number of choices for the designer and homeowner. For a return on your landscape investment add food to the design criterion, whether that is a Stealth garden with vegetables tucked into the shrubbery, edible foundation plantings, edible borders for beds, or framed raised beds. Where and how you choose to live will determine whether you plant a small dedicated space out of sight from the neighbors, or an elegant potager garden sweeping out to an orchard.

Lee McBride

Opportunity is spelled L E A V E S

2010-09-12T16:13:00.000-05:00

Due to budget shortfalls, our mayor the Honorable Tommy Battle is taking the hard road and doing the right thing. He is cutting the budget. He is doing so in at least one instance by providing property owners the opportunity to participate in good stewardship using sustainable practices. As I understand the issue, the city will pick up bagged leaves but will no longer spend time vacuuming leaves from the curbs. Loose leaves at the curb may create hazards for others by blowing into the street creating slick spots or blocking storm drains.

The opportunity is for each of us to learn just how valuable those leaves we are arguing over actually are. Leaves are one of Nature’s perfect fertilizers. How silly of us to spend countless hours raking and vacuuming and shredding leaves and then giving them away. What a waste of energy, not just fossil fuels, but man power, and money, yes money. The best practices of cosmetic horticulture call for several pounds of synthetically produced fertilizer to be applied each year to our lawns, trees and shrubs. Leaves can be a major component of compost, the end result of decomposition of natural products. The leaves when shredded do not blow around and can be used as mulch under shrubs and in beds instead of other materials. At the very least, leaves can minimize the amount of other mulching materials and synthetic fertilizers that need to be brought on to the property.

Entrepreneurs have a tremendous opportunity here. If our lawn maintenance companies will simply see the value of the product they are hauling away. Knowledgeable lawn maintenance company owners should understand that it is a best management practice to use nature’s perfect fertilizer on the property from which it came and remind the consumer of the principals of good stewardship. The one thing we often forget about our service economy is we buy and sell time. Time in crew hours, time saved from a chore etc. To save money the city government has decided to no longer participate in a time consuming practice. It really is that simple.

I submit that in most circumstances for less than the cost of one year’s cosmetic lawn or tree and shrub care on a given property the property owner can build a very nice composting unit or storage bin to hold all of the leaves from their own property. Many of us are paying someone to fertilize for us, instead, pay your maintenance company to use your finely shredded leaves as both mulch and fertilizer. If you are providing your own labor to clean your properties, the savings are still substantial.

The key is shredding your leaves before you store them. Storage of the leaves is easily accomplished. Wire fencing can be set out to create a bin. The bin can be round or square, made of the finest woods or even brick to hide the fact that you are actually doing the right thing and in this particular practice you are not being a shallow, consumptive, neighbor who still thinks that cosmetic horticulture is a wise use of funds.

For entrepreneurs, these leaves create additional income opportunities. Building or providing leaf storage units to customers is one income possibility. Another opportunity is the selling of time in the process of turning the leaves to aerate them to help them break down more completely. Re-shredding the leaves to a smaller size allows the leaves to be reused on the property as lawn fertilizer. This can be as a supplement to the current regime although the turf (and trees and shrubs) should require less synthetic fertilizer as this practice begins to build the soil over time. It has been acknowledged that in many cases the addition of organic materials for lawn fertilizer can over time reduce the need for many fungicides used in treating turf diseases. This money saving cultural practice is possible because organisms in the soil food web are able to keep the pathogens in check.

There are numerous opportunities that are waiting for the right individual or company to seize upon. Someone with a large grinding / shredding machine could take all of the cities leaves and shred them very finely and create a tremendous income stream through the sale of mulch, composts, and vermicomposts. Sales of these value added products regularly are pegged at $35 - $50 per cubic yard at retail. These products are that valuable and the proper utilization of the resource just makes sense.

Good Stewardship is a good business decision both for the business owner and the consumer.

Lee McBride
Landscape Management Consultants
&
Foodscapes

Time for a Coooool Chaaannge

2010-09-06T15:14:00.000-05:00

Like the lyrics of the song, it is time for a coooool change, the mornings now hold the first hints of fall, relief is just a few weeks away. It is time to fill those empty spaces in the garden with veggies that like cool weather. If you preserve food you may want to plant the entire crop at one time to avoid repeated setups of the canning equipment.

Plant now, enjoy sooner!

However, to be in the spirit of 4 season gardening and eating, don't plant all your vegetables at one time. Consider succession planting. Plant just part of your expected fall produce needs now and then keep planting new seeds and transplants every two weeks. Plant at least as much as you think you'll eat, you can always freeze some for later. Five separate plantings, two weeks apart over a 10 week period can extend your harvest over a 10 week period. This is the one big technique that sustainable farmers use to provide produce through such a large window of time.

Remember your rotation plan, don't plant in a helter skelter fashion, stay somewhat disciplined and try to group plants by family as well by moisture, and nutritional requirements. Of course, group plants by temperature range or frost and freeze tolerances as well. Four season food production is our goal and that is easier to do when you can protect whole rows or beds at one time instead of an isolated plant among hardy plants.

If you haven't already done so, start your Cabbages, Broccoli and perhaps Kale and Collards now. Direct seed Carrots and Beets. Remember Carrots really want consistent moisture for a week or more before they germinate. Try planting Radishes with your Mustards and other leafy crops this fall. The Radishes may help keep flea beetles and other pests away long enough for your plants to have a great start this fall. Start Black Seeded Simpson lettuce now, as the weather cools other varieties (including the wonderful Buttercrunch!) will follow.
The fall garden is my favorite gardening period. Weed pressures are much lower. Cooler drier air really brings the joy back into some of the chores. Don't forget to turn the compost pile, or go ahead and install some of that compost now on the beds where you will be planting fall and winter crops. Make plans to shred and keep those leaves this fall. If you don't have trees on your property you may have to resort to becoming a leaf thief. Leaves are a wonderful component for future composts, run over the leaves with your lawnmower and create a topical mulch for your onions and the beds you aren't using this fall and winter. Avoid bare soil if at all possible. Uncovered, bare soil is the fastest way to lose soil to erosion, and you lose the opportunity to build soil or add microbial life to your garden. Next year's garden will thank you for the mulches you create this fall.

Lee McBride

Clean Food Network - Your Real Local Farmers

2010-08-22T10:34:00.000-05:00

I would like to tell you about some friends and mentors of mine, Dove and Russell Stackhouse, owners of Rusl n Doves farm in Geraldine. They are founding members of the Clean Food Network. They are also two of the best farmers in the South. Their love for the soil and their knowledge of plants and their ability to teach others is awe inspiring.

The Clean Food Network (CFN) is a network of 18 small to medium eco-friendly local farms. Eco-friendly means they strive to be sustainable and minimize the use of off farm inputs. It also means these farmers use regenerative techniques to build soil and improve the micro climates they impact through their farm operations. Most importantly it means Clean Food, food that has no synthetic pesticides on it. The physical removal of insects and the cultural practice of sanitation to remove infected or diseased plants is always the first choice of these farmers. As the CFN Farmers improve their soil each year the need to use pesticides, even the “organic” ones decreases.

I know all of this sounds to good to be true, but these folks are here, not on the West Coast. The CFN provides the highest quality, hand selected and picked produce year round. The network also provides grass fed beef, free range pork and lamb, chicken as well as eggs. These products contain no antibiotics or growth hormones. The network's farmers adhere to national standards or exceed them in actual practice.

CFN also provides you with value added products ranging from Cheeses and Jams, Baked Goods, to Soaps and Lotions. You can buy fair trade coffee ground and roasted locally. The proceeds from the coffee go to help Mayan women and children with education and health care.

The goals of the CFN are to provide the highest quality food, picked at the peak of it's nutritional value. The produce is usually less than 24 hours from the field. They strive to offer people choices beyond what the consolidated food system offers. The Clean Food Network's goal is not to just save family farms in the area, but to grow more farms to feed Huntsville and North Alabama. Sharing knowledge and experience to help new farms as well as farmers transitioning from conventional farming to sustainable, less toxic, soil building farming techniques. The network is working to broaden markets for local eco friendly farmers and to increase the number of sustainable farmers to maximize consumer choice.

The Clean Food Network farmers truly are your Real Local Farmers. Once you try Clean Food you will understand why so many customers say “Thank you for growing such good tasting food. This reminds me of the garden fresh vegetables my grandfather used to grow.”

To get started with CFN, click here.

Green Mountain Glass

2010-08-16T18:41:00.000-05:00

John Baker of Green Mountain Glass company spoke at Green Drinks last

week.

Mr Baker represents a group of Green entrepreneurs who want to utilize a product that up to now has been a waste product of daily life. Reacting swiftly to the opportunity created when it became public knowledge that Huntsville was not recycling glass, Green Mountain found the machinery to properly and efficiently create useable products. They searched out and found markets for recycled glass and are creating markets for the processed glass.

Their recycled glass is being used by Fiberglass manufacturers instead of virgin glass. The glass is also being used in counter tops and has some uses in the landscape and horticulture industry as well. The companies facility is on Meridian St. north of Alabama A&M. The first pieces of equipment are scheduled to arrive during the first to weeks of September. Production will start as soon as the machines are in place. The machines capacity is 10 tons of glass an hour or 400 tons of glass recycled a week. The machinery has several places to purge non glass materials from the process. Labels and bottle tops, corks etc will be removed using several different methods. Green Mountain Glass will also be able to recycle automobile windshields and has a market and viable use for the bonding material sandwiched between the layers of glass. House hold windows removed from their casings can also be repurposed with this equipment. Broken glass can also be handled by the company.

You can help Green Mountain Glass by taking your glass to the foloowing locations;

Grill 29

Rosie's

Buffalo Wild Wings

The Little Green Store

The Flying monkey

Great Spirits

Walmart has already expressed an interest in providing drop off points for your glass as well.

The City's of Athens and Florence will be bringing their glass to Green Mountain and Allied Waste has begun bringing the glass that citizens drop off to them as well. Drop off points or barrels can be installed in your apartment complex or HOA with a $50 one time fee. Distributorships for finished products are also available.

To contact Green Mountain Glass for more information call 256 527-0017 or go to greenmountaininc.com

Meet Kay Detter

2010-08-04T21:15:00.005-05:00

I had lunch with a lady I have known for a couple of years now. We keep showing up at the same meetings and seminars. Kay Detter has just recieved her LEED Accredited ..Congratulations!

I have known Kay long enough to know she is totally dedicated to becoming a trusted source of information, an interface, if you will, between Green technology and the homeowner or the apartment dweller. Kay has spent two years educating herself on the elements of the Sustainability and Green wave. She now knows what works and why. With some technologies "Green Washing" can occur. Someone puts a positive spin on a product or service that may not be all that green. Kay has taken a long hard look at the options we face as consumers.
Much of this information is available at her website HSVgreen particularly for Level I questions. However, implementing many of the cost saving strategies can be a daunting task and is unique to each consumer, family and residence. Kay is available at a reasonable fee to visit with you and simplify the myriad opportunities each of us has to become better stewards of our individual, and shared, resources.
Kay's advice is simple...have a plan and tackle one challenge at a time.

Check out HSVgreen.com or give Kay a call. The time is right for Green Irene.

What are the neighbors doing?

2010-07-25T17:13:00.000-05:00

I was driving through an older part of Huntsville to show my wife a property whose owners were offering me the opportunity to create an urban farm next to their home. Near the end of the street, we turned around for another look.

A house on the corner lot caught our eye as it was surrounded by curving beds with lots of perennials. Wait! I just saw a tomato plant, why there is okra too. Putting the truck in reverse I eased back to get a better view, sure enough this is a stealth edible landscape. Intermingled among the day lilies and hostas ( which are also edible) and hidden among the ornamental shrubs I saw tomatoes, squash, okra, and herbs, oh my herbs. They weren't easy to see but they were there. Grabbing a business card, I wrote a quick note for permission to take some pictures and ask a few questions. I went to the front door and left it hoping the owners would call me.

Judy Bobula called a few days later and most graciously allowed me the opportunity to visit with her and her husband George, and take a few pictures. The Bobula's primary reason for having the vegetables out front was a lack of light in the back yard. They had tried unsuccessfully to grow vegetables out back but they simply did not have enough hours of sunlight. They created the large perennial bed out front to take up lawn space and provide some flow to the yard, as well as provide balance to a magnificent dogwood out front.

The Bobulas started with crepe myrtles about 4 years ago and have moved several plants several times, growing their front yard garden slowly experimenting and having fun. Often, as beginning gardeners, they had no idea how a plant would adapt to a particular location and the light that spot afforded. The Bobula's have the attitude that if something doesn't work it is OK, and that plant that isn't happy or doesn't look quite right can always be moved or another found to take it's place.

The Bobula's are seeing more folks utilize vegetables and herbs in the landscape as well. Cabbages as ornamentals and Rosemary as a foundation planting are being seen more often. Judy mentioned that the President and First Lady's garden at the White House, the first garden there in over 40 years, has given people permission to plant and enjoy vegetables. George has been most pleased with the okra this year, the soil and light conditions in this years location have combined to give them the best tasting okra they have ever had. One thing they both agreed on was "you don't need as many tomato plants as you think", one year they had seven plants and were giving the excess bounty away on a regular basis.

When asked for advice they also both agreed " start small" and don't be afraid to try a new plant or to place an old favorite in an unconventional place.

Ginger is good for what ails you...

2010-05-26T19:36:00.002-05:00

and tastes great too! Here's a link to some recent research on ginger that I know we'll come to appreciate more and more as the gardening season goes on. Seems that it reduces muscle pain caused by overexertion if taken daily. I'll have to find some more to plant..thank goodness it is a lovely plant that will grow in our hot summers (that's August 2009)...and even survive this last really cold winter.

We thought we had lost the one in the front garden, but it's peeking up now!

Green Drinks on Monday!

2010-05-07T19:50:00.001-05:00

Join us on Monday night at 5:30 at 501 Franklin for Green Drinks. Mingling begins at 5:30, at 6:30 Lee McBride of Foodscapes, Inc. will speak on area food security and, of course, creating your own vegetable garden and then Paul Wieland will be discussing his recent book concerning utilizing opportunities in space to directly address societal issues including energy and environmental issues.

Yummy greens!

2010-05-02T19:54:00.001-05:00

What is spring without lots of greens? Spinach up front, beets to the left and way in the back by the fence is the mustard that needed thinning. The turnip greens in the back yard are on their last cutting, so I cleaned and chopped them up with the mustard. Seasoning as follows (for each 3 pounds of fresh greens)
1 onion
2 cloves garlic (I had elephant garlic we'd grown for experiment and used a bit more as it is mild)
2 tbls cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 tsp cumin
salt
1 tsp black pepper.... Red pepper flakes to taste
Toss it all in a pot and start with 'some' water, bringing to a boil and adding greens as they wilt. You don't want too much water. Boil for 10 minutes, simmer about an hour.

Son the Nurse would be proud, vegetarian greens! No pork fat and lots of flavor~ Enjoy!

Spinach!

2010-04-21T18:04:00.001-05:00

Thinning the bed until I had two huge bowls of spinach!

The bed is 4x4 and that is 8 pounds of crunchy green goodness~

Off to plant some more before the rains come!

Eating well?

2010-04-14T16:46:00.001-05:00

We grow, catch, hunt most of our basic food around here, but our main goal is for everyone to be able to eat better, fresher food. This is an article about eating well on food stamps. Some excellent chefs attempted to create menus on an average food stamp allotment of $68 per week. They did pretty well, even if I do think they went a little heavy on the meat. We are, of course, meat eaters but we do try to skip it at least once a week, even more in the summer when there are a lot of fresh veggies to make endless main dish salads.

My thoughts? I wonder how much farther those dollars would stretch if families could supplement with home grown veggies? I know, there's a lot of work involved, but perhaps at least those families that have someone home during the day, due perhaps to job loss, who could be growing for themselves ... and perhaps others?

Could you give the gift of a garden to someone who could use a few more healthy calories on the table? Or who might turn those extra veggies into a little extra income?

GentleVoice

Yes! We're 'walkable'!

2010-03-29T19:04:00.001-05:00

Check out walkscore.com and find out how 'walkable' your home is.   The site tallies how far it is to many different services such as grocery, movies, coffeeshops and bookstores and scores it as 100 pts "Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car. " down to 0 pts "Car-Dependent (Driving Only): Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car! "

We scored a 68, but only 9% of Huntsvillians can score higher!  I don't see that they give credit for being in walking distance to dentist/doctor/insurance agent, but we have that too. We are so blessed to be so close to everything..right here down 'by Huntsville High school'.

How did you do?

GentleVoice

Cilantro is coming up!

2010-03-28T14:20:00.002-05:00

Having your own cilantro is the way to a happy marriage! Well, a happy cooking relationship. If you have your own, you can make your own salsas and curries with just the right amount of seasoning for each of you. I'm not wild about cilantro, but my husband loves it...apparently we aren't the only ones! Love it or hate it, this herb has served a variety of purposes over the years, try it in your garden.

Cilantro is relatively easy to grow around here as long as you get it while the weather is cool. Spring and fall suit it best, although it isn't as winter hardy as parsely. If you don't want the coriander, plant a lot of cilantro in the beds that will get later veggies (winter squash? ) then harvest and dry until you have enough for your cooking plans and get it outta there for another crop!

I admit it...

2010-03-20T19:02:00.001-05:00

I'm a secret lover of tacky concrete garden statuary...well, ANY material will do :) I love garden 'jewelry', the little stained glass butterflies, gnomes and of course, water features. But there can be an odd side to the hobby (which I am not indulging in, mind you) a few examples of which can be found here.

Talk to the 'old folks'!

2010-03-19T18:50:00.001-05:00

I've enjoyed talking to my parents (aged late 70's early 80's) about what they ate as children and young adults. We've also talked about where they got thier food and how it was preserved and cooked. Here's a link to a USDA report on food trends over the last 100 years.

How about your family? Find out and then prepare some menus that they remember! No fair cheating with prepared foods :)

I'll do one too.....now to drag out the old cookbooks and talk to my mother-in-law!

Compost Time!!

2010-03-14T15:31:00.001-05:00

     It's amazing what a few days of warm weather can do for the compost piles...you can almost see them begin to shrink! All the happy warmer worms, the frigid microbes and the sluggish other bugs can now work faster. Just like in the fall, the compost piles will be steaming in the chillier mornings, I can't wait!

     As your compost pile warms up, or you start one, here's a great list of all the things you can compost! 163 things to compost is inspiring and thought provoking. What can you add that you use in your life?

     Another compost trick that I use is to throw all the food scraps (especially from a day of canning or freezing or just a heavy cooking session) into the blender and let it rip. You can pour it onto your compost pile, or dig a trench in the garden and pour it in there. The soil critters will appreciate the work you've saved them breaking the big bits into smaller, bite size pieces.

First chip, then shred....

2010-03-09T19:00:00.002-06:00

Lovely weekend weather led to lovely shredded leaf mulch. Yes, we still have bags from the leaf thief ...

but a few minutes with the chipper/shredder... and we have a pile of soon-to-be nutrition for the garden plants!

Here's hoping your garden is off to a warming, microbe teeming start!

*Sorry about that window, that's the neighbor's garage! He's been fixing up, just hasn't gotten to everything!

It's still mostly winter...

2010-03-02T18:47:00.001-06:00

So I'm staying in during the snow and reading...This came today, and it's fabulous!
We are soooo ready to start spring!

An interesting journey

2010-02-22T19:23:00.001-06:00

This is not new, but I was thinking about eating as we planted the first of the seeds for the year.* I remembered a series of photos about families around the world and the food they consume in a week . The Time magazine article about this book shared some representative photos of the selection of foods each family made as well as the money they spent. You can start here and take a look. You might keep an eye on the presence, or absence, of fresh and/or "homegrown" foods.
Can you picture what your family's food would look like? Would you like to see more natural vegetables and fruits and fewer plastic bags and containers? Consider planting a few veggies this year that you know you like...and that you've never tried before~
*beets, spinach, arugula, buttercruch, radishes, turnips, chard and cabbage (all tolerant of the 40 degree soil temperature)

A new toy...er, TOOL!

2010-02-11T18:39:00.001-06:00

Introducing the newest member of the Foodscapes family... to deal with The Artful Pruner's "results". We do try not to waste resources, so all those (non-diseased) limbs will be going into the shredder for lovely mulch.

Here is our pretty new addition:

Quite bright and lovely, eh? And not as noisy as our smaller one! This is a real workhorse. Makes lovely little chips of limbs, shreds wet or dry leaves into rich mulch, recycles veggie vines into the compost pile for quick decomposition.

I can't resist...one moregreat weed control there. This will be a bed of malabar spinach trained over a wire trellis. There's plenty of good fertilizer in the soil and there will be lots of bare ground as we only need a couple of plants to see us thru the summer with greens. I will plant a few flowers and herbs in this bed, but I'll need to get close to harvest so there won't be enough plants to shade out unwanted greenery. The wood chips will also keep me from getting completely muddy feet, I hope!

Robins?

2010-02-03T19:42:00.002-06:00

At least I think they are robins. Gathered, lurking in the barren trees... Perhaps crows or ravens..Nope our sweet pretty robins (The Cultivator's always got the right tool ~binoculars) What could they be after? Surely not.. oh, no. They must just be admiring the late winter bare ground... softened by the rains...waterlogged causing the worms to rise... O dear!

The fat greedy things are after our worms! Time to throw mulch. At least give the worms a chance. We need our worms to turn the good things we put in our soil to fertile, wonderful, lifegiving poop! er, castings! Go away birds!!!!!

How much do you spend on food?

2010-01-29T13:31:00.001-06:00

Or, how much of what you spend is spent on food? More or less over the years? Here's an interesting chart on the food expenditures by families and individuals as a share of disposable personal income from USDA. The high is in 1933, when I think farmers were plowing under rather than sell at depressed prices, or couldn't get the crops out of the fields, or couldn't get credit to plant. Shortages mean higher costs.

We are currently spending 9.5% of disposable income (not gross) on food. And eating more it seems! Definitely more calories per dollar. Looks like the more industrial agriculture/food manufacturers centralized and commodified food, the cheaper it got. Ok, great, you say. Hmmm.. how's your health? How is the health of your community? Diabetes rates among the poor? High blood pressure? Can your kid take peanuts to school for a snack? Allergies, eh?

Supporting local food, local community health and local farmers might mean using more of our dollars to purchase food, but we are buying much more than just lunch. Not least might be the ability to purchase food at all, or to be secure about the sources of our food.

Reading in the Rain

2010-01-17T17:45:00.001-06:00

It's raining, so it's time to read! I've got a couple of new good ones (new to me) on my desk.

Container Gardening for Health has great tips on growing the 12 most impacted veggies. The ones we love, but also the ones that get the most pest/herbicide buildup grown by industrial agriculture. Get the book, find some dirt...and grow your own healthy veggies!
We are both cancer survivors but not quite food purists, figuring we are a bit old to have it help much. We are, however, quite pushy about children's food. Please, start the kids off right.

Easy Gardens for the South is really local. Our own Harvey Cotton and the renowned

Barbara Pleasant who spent many years around here offer up great tips and information on lots of plants. "The Cultivator" really likes the information presentation. He says it really is a useful book. Buy one for yourself and see!

What to eat?

2010-01-16T10:24:00.003-06:00

Epicurios offers this interactive map on what's fresh in season. Short list! Georgia's is longer, and I think more accurate. We still have onions, a few collards, a cabbage or six. There would be parsely...but ::shudder:: I don't want to think about it. Turnips are coming up, so I guess they aren't considered 'fresh' anymore.
Sure glad the pantry is full. Some icefishing may be in order to vary the diet, but other than that, we're doing well!
One more month until fresh green things!!

GentleVoice

The Poor Parsely

2010-01-15T20:23:00.001-06:00

It's pitiful really. I've seen parsely thrive through snow and rain and dark of winter. I don't even pay any attention to it during the summer, but look forward to that bright green all winter. "My parsely will cheer me up!"
Not.
Poor pitiful thing. Sagging and shriveled. I guess the 12 degrees and days of snow/ice were too much. I couldn't even bear to take a picture. Ah well, we'll see how it recuperates!
Onward parsely! (Pay no attention to that little pot of dirt in the south window.)

GentleVoice

Ahhh, The Art of Manliness

2010-01-08T09:48:00.001-06:00

From Art of Manliness article on 45 Manly Hobbies comes this on Gardening:

"Perhaps one of the most powerful manly images in America is that of the yeoman farmer- he’s the self-reliant man who cultivates his own land to provide for his and his family’s needs. You don’t need a homesteading plot to start getting in touch with the land; a small square in your backyard will suffice. If you have a job that keeps you cooped up in an office all day with artificial light and stale recycled air, gardening is a great hobby to pursue in order to get some exercise, sunlight, and fresh air. As you watch your garden grow from seeds to plants, you’ll find yourself becoming more in tune with the seasons. When you harvest your small crop, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment that beats any high score on a video game. And when you make your first meal with vegetables grown in your very own garden, you’ll feel a surge of manly pride."

The Cultivator

4 Season Gardening?

2010-01-03T07:20:00.001-06:00

Is "arctic" a season? 19 degrees and colder this week....time to work quickly on what little there is to do outside!
We'll cut and pull what we can, there's always canning or freezing. Not a good time to set out little seedlings, we'll just start some new ones for the next round as what I have ready is getting leggy. That's the good thing about starting seeds in pots. No backbreaking bending over to see if that peek of green is a seedling or a weed. Little wasted seed (I always overplant in the beds).
Seed starter pots and homemade seed tape...the keys to properly spaced plants!

Back to the fire,
GentleVoice

Trying to Choose Veggies?

2009-12-31T14:02:00.001-06:00

Here's a cute chart for choosing vegetables...What Should I Eat in the Produce Aisle?

So many veggies...so little time! Enjoy!

GentleVoice

It's Up!

2009-12-30T19:53:00.003-06:00

The website is up! Maybe now I can get back to the blog a little more often...

Please wander over and let us know what you think!

foodscapesinc.com

thanks!

GentleVoice

Venison!

2009-12-26T17:54:00.001-06:00

A dressed out deer awaits the freezer! Thanks to the abundant acorn crop and all the rain this year, it was quite well fed, haven't seen that much fat in a while. I'm strongly considering making some stew to can up. We had a short power outage this morning that made me think about relying on the freezer quite so much for meat storage. Some canned soup/stew and some vacuum sealed jerky sounds like a good idea....Any recipies to share?

GentleVoice

Listen carefully...

2009-12-22T12:30:00.001-06:00

The nice USDA lady mentions that the size they are putting up is a good size for a home garden. The farmers' being larger of course. The hoophouse program is based on 20'x100' hoophouses. These do a wonderful job in our climate of letting you do 4 season gardening. (yes, I know the link isn't live yet, but soon!)

You won't do tomatoes and eggplant in December, but you can do lots of greens and cabbages and root crops. And those are just as wonderful...fresh from your yard!

GentleVoice

A Few Notes....

2009-12-21T18:53:00.001-06:00

What a pleasure to have "pool ball tomatoes"! Ok, so it just means I got a bit overwhelmed this summer and threw ripe tomatoes in a freezer bag to wait for a more auspicious time. They don't stick together when frozen and they sound like pool balls when you move them around. Take out as many as you like and leave the rest...or dump the whole bag in hot water and 'squish' off the skins as they thaw. Lovely base for soups and chili!

A lovely day today yielded a laundry basket full of carrots to be skinned and chopped tomorrow. I'm reminded to plant carefully, spacing is very important for having nicely shaped carrots.

We're moving along on the website!! HiWaay gets our business, being local and all. I've heard great things from folks about thier service and support. Sometimes it's so hard to define 'local'... I mean most of the franchise places are 'locally owned', does that count? How much does the parent company take out of the local economy that would otherwise stay here? If Joe had a burger joint "Joe's" .. he's responsible for advertising locally, etc., which is expensive and he may fail for lack of exposure. If Joe has a "BrandBurger" place, there's a bit better chance he will 'make it' due to nationally broadcast advertising and branding that he pays for, but out of increased revenues. A conundrum. Seek out and support local business and pass the word...that is the best and cheapest advertising there is.

A bit of work on the website and up it goes...

GentleVoice

Books I Recommend

2009-12-17T17:49:00.001-06:00

The Green 13 and other movements around Huntsville concerning "greeness" and "sustainability" are really making progress! If you are interested in local food security like we are, you might want to read Bringing It to the Table: On Farming and Food, The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating or Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.)

Hardly a final list, of course, I'll have more as they occur to me...or you could chime in with your favorites and I'll add them in another post.

Happy Reading...and eating :)

GentleVoice

Tis the season...to be busy!

2009-12-13T19:20:00.002-06:00

A quick note to remember what was in the garden this day....
turnip greens, turnip (purple top), collards, cabbage (smooth) and savoy, buttercruch lettuce, chinese cabbage, onions (purple), bunching bermuda (heritage), sage (! even the annual), rosemary, thyme, lavendar (! blooming?) oats and wheat hanging in there...ah, the garlic (elephant).
Not too bad :) and very thankful for the bounty of the summer in jars and freezer.
A quick peek at the website soon!!

GV

Just "Wow"

2009-12-03T17:50:00.001-06:00

There are many reasons to enrich your soil and make and use compost and gather leaves in the fall and all the effort that goes into maintaining fertility. But, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Take a long lingering look.

Gentlevoice

Versatile Recipies...Gotta Love 'em

2009-11-30T16:27:00.001-06:00

We are blessed with lots of fish around the M.U.S.H. So I'm always looking for new recipies for it. Here's a good starter http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cheesy-Fish-Fillets-With-Spinach/Detail.aspx Essentially three ingredients: Fish, greens and cheese sauce.

I've fiddled with it endlessly and you can't go wrong. I've used white bass, catfish, crappie and 'mystery' fish. I've started with spinach, BABY turnip greens, small kale, baby collards, and mustard greens. I've used the recipe's cheese sauce with cheddar (I rarely have swiss around), a light mozzarella/monterey jack sauce, and even Velveeta (both cheddar and jalepeno) thinned a bit with milk.

This is just one of those recipies that really works. See what you can find around your house and give it a try!

GentleVoice

First Bio-Char of the Year!

2009-11-29T19:50:00.001-06:00

The weather is finally turning coolish and we've generated the first bucket of ash from the wood burning insert. Out it goes and gets a cooling splash of water....

What's this? A skim of the fingers and we have biochar!!

Worked into the soil, the biochar 'manages' the release of good stuff from the lovely compost and just generally makes garden beds happy.
"Biochar enthusiasts generally agree that raw biochar needs to be processed further prior to being added to the garden. Composting, or soaking with compost tea is commonly used to charge the pore volume with beneficial organisms and nutrients. Soaking in a nutrient rich solution (examples are urine or fish emulsion) prior to composting is accepted practice." from a Gardening with Biochar FAQ.

The largest pieces will float to the top and can be skimmed off... there will still be some worth saving at the bottom of the bucket amidst the ash.

Be careful sticking your hands in this stuff, it can be quite alkaline and caustic. It's best to find an out of the way corner and dump the ash and water there. You can wash it through a screen to retrieve the rest of the biochar, or leave it and let the rain do the work. Don't dump the ash itself on the compost pile. If your soils are very acid, you can add the recommended amount of wood ashes directly to the soil.
Remember that folks used to make soap out of lye which was made by dripping water through wood ash (particularly oak) and fat.

Frankly, biochar is just 'charred but unburned' organic matter. Fireplaces won't be too good at 'making' it, but inserts and woodstoves will. What you want is 'incompletely' burned wood which means making the air mix just a little lean. Smoldering fire is what you are looking for. Yes, you can spend good money on 'biochar', although I'm having trouble googling any sources just now. But do your research and think about it.

We burn wood anyway, so we'll be thinking more about retrieving those bigger 'charred' logs that used to get pushed back in to burn more completely. We have been fortunate to be able to 'salvage' the trees we use for wood and this is one more way to use them!

GentleVoice

Recipe time!

2009-11-27T20:05:00.001-06:00

Yep, now that it's too late for Thanksgiving, here's a quick and easy recipe featuring my favorite of the moment- Butternut squash

These keep really well and grow nearly unmolested by bugs and such.
Ingredients for a simple sweet side dish:
Butternut squash - peeled and cubed into bite size pieces (seeds and skin bits to the compost). Maple Syrup.

Bake the squash at 350 degrees until beginning to be tender. Drizzle with syrup and continue baking about 10 minutes until tender. Serve warm.

Simple enough? And quick too! Use a bar type peeler if you have it. If the peeling is really frustrating... cut squash in half, remove seeds with spoon and place face down in baking pan. Pour in a little water and bake at 300 degrees until tender. Scoop out flesh and put the shell and seeds into the compost pile. Put the squash in a pan and mash with the maple syrup.

Leaf Thief

2009-11-23T21:12:00.001-06:00

Did you bag your leaves and put them out on the street? Are they still there? Are you sure? We sure have accumulated a lot of leaves this ... 10 minutes. A trailer and pickup truck load in less than 4 blocks. More than we can use actually. But any extra is compost.

Just want to say "Thanks!"

And... next time, put them in your own compost pile. Your garden will love you for it :)

New Beds and Renewed Beds

2009-11-21T19:39:00.001-06:00

A lovely warm fall day to get in some outside work. I shredded leaves over some newly created/recreated beds. We've decide to go to longer, 30" beds on one side, keeping the other side in 4x4' beds.

An experiment in leaning over and reaching the center, to be honest. Greens in the center of the 4x4 beds tend to get a bit old waiting to be cut! We will also gain a few more square feet from eliminating the east/west walkway. More veggies!

The Farmscaper hauled over to the school to put in some beds. Pictures when they are done! Isn't he wonderful? And the opening day of deer season, no less.
The coming week? An essential tool list, a couple of recipes (it is Thanksgiving) and more pictures!

We'll be rolling out soon!

2009-11-18T16:46:00.000-06:00

Please bear with me while I get this organized! We so look forward to sharing tips and trials and news of interest to our customers and friends.

Today The Farmscaper went over to the CASA Garden and worked in the greens patch. He and the Garden Queen met and planned next year's cropping schedule. She's a very nice lady :) The Volunteer Administrator has had some great groups of kids out and worked them hard, resulting in some really nice raised beds.

Off to play with the layout and add what I hope are items of interest to the sidebars!