Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

I had the opportunity to represent Peaceful Valley at the 2009 PlacerGrown Conference (Feb. 7 in Lincoln, CA). It was a great event attended by the “who’s who” of small scale agriculture in Placer and Nevada Counties. There were many workshops focused on the following “Strands”, or topics: Community, Getting Started in Farming, Miscellaneous (included workshops on honeybees, producing firewood, and carbon sequestration in agriculture), Farming & Ranching as a Business, Marketing, Interns, and Livestock. Workshop facilitators included Dan Macon, Roger Ingram, Keith Crabtree, Cindy Fake, and Carol Arnold, all very reputable and knowledgeable people involved in agriculture.

Jim Gates (“Meat Jim”), High Sierra Grass Fed Beef

I was especially excited by the Keynote speaker, Micheal Dimock of “Roots of Change” (ROC), a collaborative of people intent on establishing a sustainable food system in California by the year 2030. ROC has a strategy to get critical people and groups working together to establish political momentum, informational links, cohesive vision, and needed grant money. His talk was both intellectual and inspiring; I walked out with a larger view of the complexities involved but hope of the real possibility of a sustainable food system. Check out the website http://www.rocfund.org/, and be sure to endorse the “Declaration For Healthy Food and Agriculture”.

I’d encourage anyone in the Placer/Nevada County area interested in local agriculture to attend next years’ conference!

From our limited perspectives on time, it is easy to forget, that humans have not always been farmers and gardeners. As we plant our fall crops, just before this year’s harvest festival, let us remember our ancient prehistorical heritage. Let us take a momentary look at those first few awkward steps from reliance on the bounty of nature and the luck of the hunt, to nurturing food-bearing crops. For over 90% of human existence on this planet we survived by picking what grew without interference in the wild, and also by the meat of the animals we could hunt by our strength and wits.

The exact beginning of plant cultivation is difficult to determine. In part, this is due to the fact that writing and thus written history, occurs thousands of years after the prevalence of hunter-gather type social groups. Yet also, it requires an act of luck on the part of modern researchers to find the remnants of plant material needed for evidence, when these fragments are tens of thousands of years old and highly perishable. (more…)

I belong to a CSA, which means every week I get a box of the freshest veggies possible… from just down the road. Every year I find myself subconsciously competing with my CSA farmer… and I must admit I always lose. He always has tomatoes and peppers sooner, his lettuce and cabbage heads up better than mine, in short his thumb is just plain greener. And this year I’ve decided to be alright with that, I’ve decided to grow all the other things I like to eat that I never get from my CSA. Now this idea may seem elementary, but to me it’s a revelation.

For those of you who are not hip to CSA membership here’s a quick overview; A farmer near you grows a diverse yet practical variety of veggies, usually on a small amount of acreage (1-5 acres). You join the CSA (community supported agriculture) and pay for a box of veggies a week. It’s kind of a subscription to fresh local food. Usually $15-$40 a week paid in advance or in two or three payments. The idea is that by paying in advance you give the farmers the money they need to get off to a good start. In return you not only get the freshest veggies possible, you also get to”know your grower” which is a rare thing these days. For a more detailed explanation of CSA here is what Wikipedia has to say.

So this year I will grow some unusual greens; Double Purple Orach, Purslane, Miners Lettuce, Italienischer and Regal Spinach. Most of which I have no idea what they will taste like. Even though my CSA has tons of tomatoes, I’m still going to grow my own, mostly sauce tomatoes for canning, you can never have too many tomatoes in my opinion. The same goes for onions and garlic, in my house we eat so much of these it’s a surprise our friends can stand our breath. In addition I plan to grow pickling cucumbers, some specialty squashes like flying saucer and portofino. I also acquired a few giant pumpkin seeds from a winning giant pumpkin (800+ lbs) and I can’t wait to see what comes of that! Herbs are still on the plan this year, dill (for the pickles), cilantro, basil and parsley, and thyme. Shelling peas will be a new addition to my garden and so will the beautiful scarlet runner beans I picked up at a seed swap. Also in the plan this year are berries of the straw, blue and rasp varieties. The blueberries will be the only new item on the menu and even though I just put them in the ground yesterday… my mouth waters already.

My garden plan for this year started out as a supplement to my CSA, giving me the veggies I would not see in my weekly box. It quickly became more about exploring new kinds of vegetables. And while I realize that my garden this year will barely scratch the surface of the vast realm of vegetable variety… I’ve got to start somewhere… and my garden seems like the right place.

What’s in your garden this year?

This comes from Tilth Producers of Washington:

“The 2008 National Women in Agriculture Educators Conference will take place on April 1 & 2, 2008 in Oklahoma City, OK with a Pre-Conference Seminar on March 31, 2008. This year’s conference promises to be an excellent venue for women, in particular, who are involved with agriculture programming efforts. We encourage and invite your attendance and hope that you will take the opportunity to participate in the many informative sessions dealing with a wide array of risk management education topics and issues relevant to women producers in the 21st Century.”

Go to the conference site here.

Visit tilth producers of Washington.