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How Does Your Garden Grow?

by Expat Chef

I've lived with the Curse of the Black Thumb for some time now. Virtually any, any houseplant that arrives at my door is living on borrowed time. The fact that the little seed starts I planted with my Kiddo over the winter not only lived to see the Great Outdoors, (or at least the backyard) is something of a milestone for me. After all the years of tossing my dead houseplants, I can only sit and marvel that I might actually grow a strawberry this year and a few things more besides herbs.

I contemplated these things tonight while staring in wonder at the sunflower seeds that had the great fortune to actually sprout despite my careless planting. Perhaps this gardening thing is learned, after all, not some magic gift of genetics like my father's athletic ability that somehow completely passed me over.

Let's hope. But even if the gene pool is not required, I can at least look to the family tree for some inspiration. Just a couple weeks ago, as I went to give my grandfather his last respects (just a day short of his 90th birthday) I saw, tucked under his arm in the casket, two packets of tomato seeds.

I'll try. And if, by chance, I do succeed in this growing pursuit, it's a sure bet I had some help.

I chose a lot of heirloom varieties to grow in our own "teaching garden" at home; Red Russian Kale, Roma Beans, Shell Peas, Purple Hull Peas, Black Crowder Peas, Romanesco. Chard and Strawberries thrive amidst herbs like basil, mint, lemon verbena, tarragon, sage, chives, thyme, rosemary, stevia, savory and catnip (kitty needs to eat local too).

I want the garden to be a place where I can teach my child about growing things. As it is, she's become so accustomed to being able to walk up to any pot, pick off the leaves and eat them, well, I have to hide anything that is an ornamental.

I marvel daily at the flowers and tiny strawberries that have started to grow. Container gardening is an easy entry for the "Black Thumb" set. It requires little weeding, and you can start the planting in a soil mix of compost, vermiculite and peat moss that makes a perfect growing environment.

Even the shady spots were not safe from my new interest in gardening. I recovered a shade garden space from the weeds. As a family project we put in over 100 shade plants and bulbs. No space is left unconsidered. A patch of empty space will soon have lilies and daisies as well as rhubarb alongside the huge horseradish plant. Lately, I am dreaming of fruit trees in the front, too. Apple, peach, fig. Yeah, fruit trees. And some more shade plants. I missed a few herbs like dill, too. And ... I dunno, maybe some golden fennel.

Who needs grass?

Validated by BusinessWeek

by Julie Cummins

This one’s for locavores with friends and family who still think you’re off your rocker. BusinessWeek now officially sees us as a market force to be reckoned with. Next time your investment banker brother or your recent MBA friend tells you to shut up and eat, you can recite a quote from BusinessWeek.com: “This is not a fringe foodie culture.”

The article goes on to say, “It's a movement that is gradually reshaping the business of growing and supplying food to Americans. The local food movement has already accomplished something that almost no one would have thought possible a few years back: a revival of small farms. After declining for more than a century, the number of small farms has increased 20% in the past six years, to 1.2 million, according to the Agriculture Dept.”

The article also points to the locavores' impact on food retail, where even “the giants are devoting a small but growing share of shelf space to locally bought produce.”  And “it’s showing up in unexpected places. Corporations such as Best Buy in Minneapolis, DreamWorks in Los Angeles, and Nordstrom in Seattle are providing local options in their cafeterias.”

Click here to read The Rise of the 'Locavore.'

Go us!

Julie Cummins lives in Oakland, CA and is Director of Education for the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA).

 

Low cost labor and untaxed fuel cause migrations of frozen fish

By Marc

Some of the world's sea creatures make incredible migrations to feed or mate.  Tuna, for example, swim back and forth across the Atlantic or Pacific.  In the globalized economy, some fish go on long migrations even after they have been frozen.

The new book "Bottomfeeder," by Taras Grescoe provides a fascinating look at the state of the world's oceans (I reviewed the book over at The Ethicurean). The book is a compelling combination of nature, history, politics, and culinary arts.  If you want to understand more about why certain fish are rated "best," "good," or "avoid" on lists like the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch list, "Bottomfeeder" is a must read.

Near the end of the book, Grescoe visits a fish processing facility in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.  Some of the fish that go through the plant have been on long migrations before arriving and some fish continue their migration after processing.