The Smart Alecky Gardener

Earth Source Gardens Mission Statement

Thu, 21 May 2009 16:29:00 GMT

Earth Source Gardens Mission Statement
(The New Pioneer Co-op Board of Directors Planning Committee recently asked members and staff for input regarding the future of New Pioneer Co-op. Here is my vision.)

Mission: How do we expand the seasonality, availability, variety, affordability, and sustainability of local foods in accordance with natural and organic principles?

Create programs which empower individuals, business owners, and the community to produce and consume good clean local food, as well as to have fun, and learn from educational events.

By: Establishing a non-profit foundation possibly named Local Abundance, with a board of directors from the local community, beginning with grants and creating funding streams, with staff paid by grants and money generated by projects.

Who might serve on Board: a Co-op vision person, a small biz and finance person, a grant-writing person, a knowledgeable legal person, possibly the land owner, possibly a food bank person, animal welfare person, Project Green type community person, City of IC person, local food growers, consumers, and buyers?

Year One: Year of the Vegetable

Consumer Project: Individual garden plots using sustainable methods
Small Business Project: Market gardens, bedding plants, hoop greenhouses, root cellar space delivery or rental, winter CSA
Educational Project: Classes as suitable on various aspects, with demos and hands-on experience
Cultural Project: Begin to establish an Arboretum starting with perennial fruits and vegetable beds, create associated seasonal events
Capital Needs: Land, seeds, plant material, water source, fencing against deer, hand and power tools, and storage for tools, produce washing station, seated classroom/cooking classroom with kitchen on site
Community Service: Donation of surplus produce to food banks, creation of picnic campfire site

Year Two: Year of Grains and Dried Beans
(Continue previous year’s projects)

Consumer Project: Continue individual garden plots using sustainable methods
Small Business Project: Small scale grain and dried bean production (especially soy for tofu, and corn for cornmeal), cut flower markets, establish prairie plantings for seed harvest, raise red worms for sale, bee-keeping, tofu-making, maple syrup production, natural tobacco
Educational Project: Continue classes that are popular from Year One, plus harvesting, winnowing, and grinding grain, making tofu, tour Arboretum to see what is thriving Cultural Project: Establish additional species in Arboretum, including fruit trees, herb and craft plants in arboretum, add perennial and annual and flowering plants, trees and bushes in arboretum
Capital Needs: Land, seeds, plant material
Community Service: Campground for local groups on site

Year Three: Year of the Chicken
(Simultaneously continue all of previous years’ projects)

Consumer Project: Continue individual garden plots as previously
Small Business Project: Establish a laying flock/sell eggs, raise and slaughter meat chickens, raise crops to feed chickens, make and deliver chicken waste compost
Educational Project: Continue year one topics of interest, plus aspects of egg harvest and chicken dressing
Cultural Project: Establish additional fruit trees, herb and craft plants in Arboretum
Capital Needs: Chickens, seeds, plant material, create or locate chicken shelter, fence protection from predators, facilities for on-site overseer
Community Service: Creation of meditation/spiritual studies site, all faiths welcome

Year Four: Year of Milk
(Continue all previous years’ projects)

Consumer Project: Continue individual garden plots using sustainable methods
Small Business Project: Establish cow and goat dairy herds, market milk, make cheese
Educational Project: Continue previous years’ classes as interest directs, IE: how to milk a animal, make cheese, butter, ice cream, sour cream
Cultural Project: Ice cream social, cheese donations
Capital needs: Land, animals, dairy equipment, plant material, shelter for animals
Community Service: Educational tours for groups

Year Five: Year of Meat
(Continue all previous years’ projects)

Consumer Project: Continue individual garden plots using sustainable methods
Small Business Project: Establish beef, pork herds, and goat meat harvest in conjunction with dairy goat management; establish organic local meat processing plant
Educational Project: Continue previous years’ classes and more as interest directs, IE: how to milk a animal, make cheese, butter, ice cream, sour cream, grazing management
Cultural Project: Ice cream social
Capital Needs: Land, animals, shelter for animals, plant material
Community Service: Donate meat to shelters

Realizing the Local Food Vision: How Would It Work?

Thu, 21 May 2009 16:25:00 GMT

Realizing the Vision: How Would It Work?

(A follow-up to my summer Catalyst article discussing Earth Source Gardens and the proposed future vision for our community accessing local foods.)

Years One Through Five
Community Garden Plots

Idea: Community garden plots with soil cultivation for a flat or sliding fee
Tasks: Negotiate use of land, negotiate access to water, create guidelines and legal agreement concerning liability and gardening practices, publicize opportunity, sign people up, prepare soil, mark plots, assign lots, establish protection (fencing) against wildlife (This aspect of the program has been launched as a pilot project as of spring 2009.)

Agreement Guidelines:
• Use natural and organic methods of soil enhancement and pest protection
• Use sustainable practices of weed management
• Unattended or neglected lots will not be renewed
• Follow guidelines on use of trellises, plant supports, fencing on plot
• If all above in order, lots could remain under a person’s care from year to year
• Primarily work with hand tools
• Work cooperatively to accomplish large tasks - IE participate in Work Days
• Submit grievances to garden committee for decision

Needs: Shed for equipment storage, like wheelbarrow?
• Facility to wash vegetables on site

Fun Side Stuff:
• Seed saving demos and workshops
• Educational workshops on how much to plant, how to manage pests naturally
• Coaching on best varieties for root cellar crops, best canning, freezing and drying crops, which varieties and how to do it?
• Actual canning/freezing workshops/classes somewhere
• How to extend the growing season
• Passive solar greenhouse in south facing slope
• Build use of row covers
• Grow starter plants from seed
• Create water catchment, water transport systems
• Have potlucks on the land
• Fall harvest party? Pumpkins for Halloween, gourds, colored corn
• Notes: Workshops could be held on site or remote, at library, for example.

Critical Issues:
• Make this a site on which the program can GROW over years
• Exclude deer? Create double fence “deer run” occupied by chickens? Or dog?
• On site compost making? Large and small scale? Mulch and compost available for a modest fee
• Access to water
• Facility on site for classes, events, tool storage?

Entrepreneurial Aspects:
• Larger plots for those who wish to grow commercially for sale to Co-op or at Farmers’ Market?
• Provide starter plants from seed for others on site, greenhouse production in hoop units

Entrepreneurial Needs:
• Specialized mentoring for small market growers in business skills and crop concerns, purchasing, utilizing and storing commercial growers’ equipment to produce in volume, warehousing facility for produce, cold storage facility for produce

Years One through Five
Educational Demo Plots
• Arboretum/Botanical Garden
• Plantings of perennial fruits and vegetables for tours and educational purposes; set aside land for future heirloom annuals and more plantings in years to follow, focus on underutilized, easy, generous crops capable of feeding many

Tasks:
• Get funding
• Determine site
• Lay-out arboretum plan
• Plant material - water, mulch and maintain plantings for each year

Goals:
• Demonstrate how various varieties do in this climate
• Hold educational workshops to explain correct culture for various species
• Include: small fruits like berries, fruits as feasible and time and funding permits, vegetables like asparagus, rhubarb, horseradish, sorrel, Jerusalem artichoke, hazelnuts, what else? Self-sowing annuals, demo plant supports

Fun Side Stuff:
• Sell at very low cost starter plants of hardy generous food plants from above as possible
• Have cooking classes showing how to use abundant foods in season

Year Two
Year of the Grains and Beans:
• Continue with community garden plots as in previous years

Arboretum:
• Establish new plantings on demo plots of grains and beans, heirloom annuals, herbs and vegetables Arboretum Plantings of healing and culinary herbs, plants used in crafts, Healing herbs

Cultural Connection with the Land:
• Arts and crafts plants: Identify and add to arboretum “art” plants: basket willow, natural dyes, dryable flowers for cards, bird house gourd art, and fragrant herbs for potpourri and personal care, bittersweet wreaths, May baskets, egg coloring, natural incense

Educational:
• Classes in grain and bean harvest, winnowing, grinding, tofu-making and cornmeal-grinding and on traditional use of local healing herbs, annual and perennial culinary herbs: cooking classes on use, how to preserve culinary herbs and spices by drying, freezing
• Establish bee colonies and teach how to maintain hives
• Host natural and organic honey production workshops

Cultural Project
Spiritual Link:
• Make natural space available to interested groups: Labyrinth? Earth based spirituality? Medicine wheel? Four corners circle?
• All faiths welcome
• Big campfire area for parties
• Available to youth and church groups?
• Possible camping site with some facilities

Prairie:
• Create prairie plantings in natural style
• Also possibly in arboretum style to generate local prototype seed source

Entrepreneurial Opportunity:
• Grow and harvest prairie seeds for sale, sell local prairie seed plants starts

Year Three: Consult with animal rights people on sound animal husbandry

Introduce animals:
• Establish a laying flock
• Geographically separate from community gardens
• Tasks: Create or locate shelter, brood chicks, protect from animals, gather eggs for whom? Harvest roosters?
• Use animal waste in compost
• Protect associated plantings from chickens

Entrepreneurial
• Raise meat chickens?
• Sell eggs?
• Sell and deliver compost?
• Plan, create and maintain personal gardens as garden consult and garden worker

Fun Side Stuff:
• Host children’s tours gathering eggs
• Raise interesting breeds
• Teach how to maintain laying flock
• Teach how to candle eggs for sale

Educational workshop:
• How to kill and dress a chicken
• Learn about Chicken Tractor concept
• Chickens can clear land, how use?

Year Four
Year of the milk and cheese

Establish natural and organic animal processing plant
• Year of the milk animal: goat sheep cow

Educational opportunities
• How to make butter, sour cream, yogurt, ice cream
• Have an ice cream social
• Practice milking cows and goats

Entrepreneurial opportunity:
• Establish goat herd and sell milk
• Sell or slaughter males for kid meat?

Year Five
Year of meat from big animals

• Sell and raise pork, beef, and lamb

Educational Workshops
• How to slaughter and butcher animals
• How to grow herd through keeping offspring
• How to breed animals
• How to dress and preserve meat
• How to make jerky and smoked products
• How to make sausage

Can You Taste the Flavor?

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:33:00 GMT

It was a great year for local apples in Johnson County, and as a friend and I munched on apples fresh from the tree she said, “The Macintosh apples have good flavor this year.”

I pondered this. Wouldn’t Macintosh apples always taste the same, at least those from the same tree? Did favorable conditions, like the weekly inch of rain that caused havoc elsewhere, allow the best potential flavor of the Macintosh apples’ genetics to be manifest? This seemed likely.

I continued my exploration of flavor with my own apples. My big old tree, a Jonathon, produced a bumper crop. I harvested several boxes right ahead of the deer and squirrels.
I planned to make applesauce although the apples tasted starchy. I figured a bit of sugar, cinnamon and lemon can fix any applesauce. But I was called out of town suddenly to assist my elderly father. I literally looked back over my shoulder at the boxes of apples stacked in the porch as I walked to the car, sighing that the apples and applesauce project would have to wait in the warm weather for my return.

Presently I was back with the apples, armed with my Foley food mill and lots of ambition. To my surprise the passage of three days sitting on the porch in the fall warmth had changed the apples completely. They were now sweet with natural sugars! Delighted, I made and froze giant batches of applesauce, with no need for sugar.

What more subtle experiments could I make? I had to eat two slices of pumpkin pie very slowly and thoughtfully to answer my companion’s inquiry if there was too much cloves in it. (Ah, the challenge of research.) Similar thoughtful examinations occurred as we looked for optimal salt levels in oatmeal. I hope I never am obliged to go salt-free! Salt awakens flavor and we humans love salt even when we do not grasp its critical role.

Where does the charm go as a muffin ages? The day-old muffins that occasionally cover the break room tables at Co-op are nowhere near as enticing as those fresh from the oven.
They are a bit stale. What does staleness mean? Does the drop of vanilla evaporate? Wikipedia tells me staleness is the migration of moisture from the starch granules into the interstitial spaces. Wow! The intermolecular bonds in these day-old muffins are breaking down and all the hungry staff can think is that they are free.

Not unlike the approach of a wine enthusiast hoping to experience every flavor note, the key to tasting food more fully may be to slow the dining experience and reduce the distractions.

What have I tasted lately that was really good? At Thanksgiving my sister roasted two turkeys, one a common white breed, and the other a heritage breed. As the birds were sliced and served, our eyes met and she said, “See if you like this more pinkish-fleshed turkey.” I did! It tasted quite different, a more bold and round flavor with no hint of gaminess. Soon the whole table had made the taste test and arrived at the same conclusion.

In meat, as in coffee, wine, chocolate and muffins, ongoing research leads to remarkable discoveries. Take up your fork, spoon, coffee cup and wine glass and enjoy the hunt for best flavor!

sun shines on bike to work week

Mon, 19 May 2008 17:13:00 GMT

New Pioneer Food Co-op has been an ongoing success because we make doing the right thing feasible and fun.

New Pi sponsored Bike to Work Week 08 with contributions of food, money and time. (Our food, your money and my time!)

All the B2WW events (for a retrospective see cicbikeweek.org) demonstrated that bicycles are a viable method of transport. Bikes provide exercise, reduce gasoline usage and resulting pollution, and make our community less congested.

As always, we love a party for a good cause. The ride from “old pi” (the flagship store) to “new pi” (Coralville) enjoyed perfect weather. I appreciate the compliments on the refreshments, hummus, pita, chips, strawberries, frozen treats. I cannot take credit for the perfect weather! Thank you to the B2WW steering committee (we welcome new members), the CV department managers who assisted, and all the folks who rode the 31/2 miles en masse.

I personally was inspired to buy a new bike. My old steel frame was 15 years old, with all the components worn out. Ah, a good bike does seem to make you a better rider.

I am not like the gal who carefully calculated the weekly cost of gas, the exact price of the new bike and arrived, with some pride and pleasure, at the exact date she would have recouped her investment in the bike in savings at the gas pump. I do respect her thought processes, though.

I am more the happy kid who keeps an eye out for turtles as she passes the river, and delights in sailing though the scent of blooming shrubs.

My focus this week: helping with customer service workshops for staff and hosting a table the Oral B Employee Wellness Fair.