Check out a fascinating first-person inside look at the vibrancy of the small- and community-farm revitalization movement. Local dynamo Alex Bryan sheds some light on what it's really like to chase the community agriculture dream with this guest post from Beginning Farmers.
01/02/2012
The Year in Food: 2011-2012 Photojournal
This winter has alternated between sudden snows and surprisingly warm, wet conditions.
Digging these Jerusalem artichokes was easy as late as November, though the ground stayed soft through December.
Getting out for some sun and exercise in the winter, and working up an appetite for hearty root vegetables.
Fall greens and mature lettuces thrived as a long, mild autumn did not succumb to any sudden fall frosts.
Welcome visitors to the garden were 'spotted' on these lemongrass transplants brought inside for the winter.
All photos (c) 2012 Gabriel Biber
12/29/2011
Resolutions for the end of the world...
You know those stamps with an adjustable date? Like the ones library's use for a due date...you think that sounds old fashioned? Stuff like that is usually built to last only so long. Like all those forms that asked for a year like this: 19___ . Obsolete now that we are in the dub millenium. Ok, so now think of 2012. Was this just as far as the Mayan's felt they needed to think ahead? Maybe its not the end of the world, just as far ahead as they felt it necessary to account for with their quotidian instruments of temporal measurement. Or as Wikipedia has it, "The 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of...beliefs according to which cataclysmic or transformative events will occur on December 21, 2012.[1][2][3][4] This date is regarded as the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. Various astronomical alignments and numerological formulae related to this date have been proposed....Scholars from various disciplines have dismissed the idea of such cataclysmic events occurring in 2012. Professional Mayanist scholars state that predictions of impending doom are not found in any of the extant classic Maya accounts, and that the idea that the Long Count calendar "ends" in 2012 misrepresents Maya history and culture."
And yet, we are indeed threatening the existence of the world as we know it. Regardless of the peril of Dec. 21, 2012, if that's the deadline we need to get ourselves in gear, let's use the energy. I would suggest following the guidance of Franklin Rooselvelt, when in his inaugural he suggested attacking the economic and natural resource management problems of the day with the same mobilization and unity of national force that typically attends a war party. In that spirit, here are ten personal and national resolutions to avoid a cataclysmic destruction of our planet at our own hands. Don't let the hype fool you, destruction is real.
Resolutions for End the End of the World
- Eat in moderation.
- Drink more, flush less: Conserve water, and drink it instead of soda. Consider a gray water system to fill your toilet tank.
- Walk a mile. Whether its to the store or in the other guy's shoes, literal and figurative journeys at the speed of a walk allow for a human-scaled understanding of our environment and fellow peeps.
- Save your money for when you need it.
- Meet your neighbors. When armageddeon hits, there might not be time for coalition building. Then again, if we all work together, maybe we can de-stress the planet enough to avoid further catastrophe.
- Laugh at the good and the bad, cry for the good and the bad. Finding a middle ground between attention and despair allows for action without panic or apathy.
- Do that thing you've been thinking about all year (or for your whole life). Get started.
- Choose based on principles. Evaluate habits and ask yourself, why do I do this?
- Connect with others. Let's all model for one another that we can rise above divisiveness, jealousy, fear, and hate.
- Love with actions. Love this life, love this planet.
It's all one.
12/01/2011
Jerusalem (Sunchoke) Artichoke Soup
Freshly dug they look like this:
Simmered, mashed and seasoned (with a cup of cream), they look like this:
And along the way, like this:
and this...
Roots!
11/29/2011
11/19/2011
Keep Your Dough: Local Economy for Shopping
Eating local is an integral part of supporting a local economy, and vice-versa. Getting Thanksgiving turkey from a local supplier? Don't stop there. Before heading to the mall or a chain store for holiday shopping this year, check out the independent stores here in greater Lansing. Got a favorite? Let us know below.
11/10/2011
Requiem for a Tree
Ah, memories. In the early days of this blog, one of my first posts was about the ephemeral gifts of the magnificent tart cherry tree growing along Michigan Avenue two blocks east of Sparrow hospital.
That tree is no more. When the long-vacant brick building on the property was being demolished last week, a section of wall seemed to be temporarily protecting the tree from the big diggers excavating and flattening the site. Temporarily, indeed. By the time crews were done, nothing remained on the lot but lawn, a parking lot and a building site. Compare to another local institutional behemoth, MSU, which goes to great lengths to protect every last valuable tree on a construction site. Sparrow, take a cue from the Spartans and leave us our neighborhood tree treasures as you reshape the 'hood.
Image from Google Maps showing the now-demolished building with cherry tree at right.
10/31/2011
10/13/2011
Sukkot?
Sukkot commemorates the history of the Hebrews. The sukkah is reminiscent of both temporary harvest abodes and nomadic shelters.
Taking meals, spending the night or otherwise enjoying the sukkah are encouraged activities.
The covering is proscribed to allow one to see the stars and permit the entrance of rain.
10/03/2011
09/30/2011
Cold Snap: Harvest Time
Some of the quick-growing fall plantings are nicely mature now, like these radishes. But this is also the time to make a final harvest of peppers and other highly sensitive garden crops. Tomatoes may need protection outdoors or to finish ripening indoors as the chance of a hard frost increases over the next few weeks.
Hardy crops like carrots, leeks and the like can be left as-is in the garden for a while yet. If you've got sweet potatoes growing, be sure to harvest them as soon as frost kills off the leaves if not sooner.
If your tomatoes are still green when hard frost threatens, consider keeping them individually wrapped in newspaper in a warm, dry place in your home. They will slowly ripen and you can enjoy them for months. Some varieties keep better than other, always be sure to regularly inspect and EAT your stored home-grown food.
