Local Delicious

Now here’s a nifty idea, thanks to a post I came across on Twitter by Cooking up a Story. For anyone who loves fresh salad but doesn’t have anything more than a balcony or deck to work with, you can easily grow your own custom salad mix in a container.

For the full story check out Container Gardening: Growing Salad Bowls

These days many gardeners are concerned about the quality of the seeds they use in their gardens.  There are a few reasons why it matters:

1. Local — Seeds that are cultivated in your local geography are adapted to meet the soil and weather conditions of your local geography. That means they need less outside interference to thrive. Hmmm, seems a little obvious when you say like that, doesn’t it?
2. Biodiversity — With an estimated 80% of all seeds worldwide being provided by only a couple of companies who can limit the variety of seeds  available, the world is in danger of losing many plant varieties that were adapted to micro geographies.
3. Nutritional quality — Poor quality seeds produce poor quality food. With all the effort put into gardening, you want to be growing nutritionally rich food. Plus, it tastes better.
4. Organic — If you want truly organic vegetables, doesn’t it make sense to use organically produced seeds, as well as ensuring you’re cultivating it in an organic environment?

The question of whether to choose heirloom or heritage seeds, rather than random seeds which pretty much all come from the same Monsanto bin, is an important one to consider.

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Gina Mallet’s book, Last Chance to Eat is an easy to read story of how food has changed as a result of the post- WWII environment. What I found especially interesting was the many unique local varieties of any given food over very short distances. Who knew?!

Have you ever wanted to just chuck it all and escape back to the land? I’ve harboured that fantasy every once in a while when the rush of urban life seems too much. Yes, even though the thought of actually getting my hands dirty grosses me out. (Hey, I’ve never claimed to be more than a bumbling gardener at best!)

I’ve recently come across an organization that has me seriously considering an escape. Okay, not quite to the far reaches of the Sub-Sahara, but certainly to spots somewhat closer to civilization. Like maybe a berg in the Maritimes or a homestead just up the river from Dawson City, Yukon. (It’s beautiful up there, I’ve been twice.)

Apple Press, WWOOF Australia

World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) is an international network of organizations that offers access to organic farms throughout the world where volunteers can learn about farming and contribute to the running of the farm in exchange for room and board.

The criteria are simple. Volunteers must:

• Have a genuine interest in learning about organic growing, country living or ecologically sound lifestyles.
• Help their hosts with daily tasks for an agreed number of hours.

Hosts are required to:

• Grow organically, are in conversion, or use ecologically sound methods on their land.
• Provide hands-on experience of organic growing and other learning opportunities where possible.
• Provide clean dry accommodation and adequate food for their volunteers.

Other than that, the specifics vary from host to host, with summaries posted online. For a $20 annual fee you can read the full details and contact the host whose project interests you, literally across the globe.

In checking out the site I was astonished at the wide variety of locations and job descriptions, and quickly became lost in time as I contemplated how wonderful it would be to escape to a far away place and get back in touch with the land in a very tangible way. Working with livestock, building, clearing land, planting, harvesting, you name it.

Even me, with my loathing of dirt and distaste of bugs, could find a spot that suits me, and allows me to contribute. Hmmm, I’ve always wanted to explore Newfoundland, and go back to Spain, and explore New Zealand…

Often when we think of food costs, we’re only considering the immediate funds out of pocket. But it’s also important to factor in the big picture. Food is fuel for your body. If it’s poor quality, your engine isn’t going to run as well as you need it to.

It may be hard to make a tangible connection between long-term poor diet and health care costs that impact you financially, because the results are often not immediate. But what about the costs to quality of life which, if left unchecked, become those health care costs?

About 15 years ago a friend of mine had what I considered a horrific diet, even back then before “organic” was a mainstream word. No breakfast, lots of fast food for lunch and dinner, and — what grossed me out the most — she started each day with a giant Pepsi from the local 7-11, and usually had a few more by the time the day was done. She had stomach problems and a lot of headaches, but it wasn’t until she decided to clean up her act in preparation of getting pregnant that she realized how much her diet was affecting her life.

“I didn’t know you could get up in the morning without a headache!” she told me, once she’d been “clean” a few months. She’d become so addicted to caffeine that by the time she got up in the morning she was experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Not that she knew what it was. She just knew that drinking another gallon of Pepsi and taking an aspirin made the headache go away.

What kind of toll is your diet taking on your body right now?

What we eat, how our agricultural systems work, and how the food industry operates are entirely entwined. Think about it. We don’t eat what we want, we eat what’s put in front of us.

Food expert, nutritionist, NYU professor, and author of Food Politics, Marion Nestle explains how our food systems have reached this point, and what you can do to choose the healthiest food.

An articulate, thorough, must-see perspective of the food industry…

Marion Nestle at Gel 2009 from Gel Videos.

Hey gang, drinking beer just got a whole lot more local, thanks to the newly revived BC hops growing industry and partnerships with local breweries.

“Sixty years ago, the sight of workers harvesting hops in the fall was commonplace in BC, especially in the Fraser Valley, where as many as 4,000 seasonal labourers were needed to pick more than 1,600 acres that were under cultivation when the industry peaked in the late 1940s.

But today on the Saanich Peninsula, a dozen years after a prolonged price slump drove the province’s once-thriving hops industry to extinction, a fresh crop of locally grown hops is an exceedingly rare commodity.

Phillips is one of a growing number of BC microbrewers who, driven by record-high prices and unstable supplies in recent years, are seeking partnerships with local farmers to grow the essential beer-making herb on contract.”

Read the rest of the article at Granville Magazine Online.