Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

I know everybody is just coming down from the busy-ness of the Summer gardening season, especially for you hard working people still canning and processing (tomato sauce, apple sauce, pear sauce, whatever sauce), but don’t forget about the wonderful bounty Fall can provide! I’ve been planting onions, garlic cloves, broccoli starts, and seeds of all sorts of greens. It’s so exciting to think about the deliciousness these favorites will provide! Of course, onions and garlic won’t be ready to harvest until July, but the greens and brassicas will be enjoyed through Winter. For anyone who hasn’t had success growing broccoli in the Spring, try now instead. It’s a struggle in the Spring when temperatures warm up rapidly to keep the plants from bolting, but in the Fall, broccoli (and other brassicas-cauliflower, cabbage, brussellsprouts, etc) just gets sweeter as the temperatures get cooler (for those of us who like to know the “why”, it’s because brassicas produce sugar to act as an “antifreeze” to protect their cells from being damaged by cold-cool, huh?).
Happy Fall!

I want you to imagine for a minute… more fresh vegetables than two people could eat, salads with five or ten different varieties of greens… imagine knowing that your produce has only been touched by one or two other people by the time it shows up on your table.

If these are not astonishing ideas to you… you must be eating locally, you must know your grower.

I’m three weeks into my CSA membership and already I am knee deep in greens. For real… Andrew (that’s my farmer), slow down there buddy! I’ve had a giant salad 3 nights out of 5 and I still have 3 big bags of mixed greens in my “crisper” drawer. Now if you don’t know anything about CSA’s you should read my previous post here.

Even though I complain in jest… I actually I love it! These first few weeks are like a warm-up, in the early season there are only a few kinds of veggies that are ready to harvest; greens, broccoli, radishes, and the like. So my box is loaded with ‘em. There is nothing like coming out of winter and suddenly you have more fresh garden goodness than you can eat.

As I crunch on salad and steam the greens I start to crave the squash and tomatoes that are on their way. Beets, turnips, kale, potatoes, carrots, peas, corn… oh sweet corn… my mouth waters at the thought of it.

Please I implore you… I’ve said it before… but once again; If you only do one thing for yourself and your planet this year…. JOIN A CSA!

Originally written for FreshmanFarmer.GrowOrganic.com

I am pretty new to the “Buy Local” or “Know Your Grower” concept, I joined my first CSA only last year. In that short amount of time I have become a huge supporter of the local food movement. Joining and volunteering on a CSA farm was so influential in my life that since becoming enlightened to the movement I have changed my career path, my eating habits, and my leisure activities to align with the movement, even my politics have been effected.

Lee helps Andrew put the Agribon out

Read the rest of the post here.