Showing posts with label heirloom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heirloom. Show all posts

Friday, February 25, 2022

Garden Season Spring 2022

Local Food News – Spring 2022



QUOTES FOR THOUGHT

-*Sustainability is a political choice, not a technical one. It’s not a question of whether we can be sustainable, but whether we choose to be” By Gary Lawrence

-*“Anything else you’re interested in is not going to happen if you can’t breathe the air and drink the water. Don’t sit this one out. Do something. You are by accident of fate alive at an absolutely critical moment in the history of our planet.” By Carl Sagan

-*-“Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man.” By Stewart Udall

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FOOD WORD Chit – to chit your potatoes comes from the EU and means to set out potatoes in a warm place to sprout and fatten the eyes (rather than have them grow leggy (my experience) before planting.

 

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-Indiana Bee School XX – Feb. 26,2022 - Beekeepers of Indiana Tomorrow

https://indianabeekeeper.com/

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-Almanac’s Planting Calendar

-Organic Seed Production course set for March 20th, 2022

https://seedalliance.org/news/

-Indiana Vegetable Planting Calendar

The Almanac has a great list for when to start seeds, when to transplant and when to directly sow seeds.

-Planting Calendar - https://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-calendar/IN/Indianapolis

Vegetable Gardening Information - Indiana Vegetable Planting CalendarVegetable Gardening Information

 

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 Spring!!! May it bring lots of clarity, healing and gardens of abundance!


The last few years, I have been finding a new way for me to garden. I appreciate the Seminole Squash and kale growing that has been done on my behalf! Into to the yard garden, I planted a Yacon, Earth Apple after having it circle my awareness for decades. Each time I read about it, it called to mind those living with diabetes, and more recently my attempts at creating accessible sweets with coconut sugar and agave. Although it did not produce any little sunflower like flowers (I think because it was planted so late in the season), I was able to harvest and save the plants through the winter! This year, I plan to grow many of them in containers. I’ll see how that goes.

The bulk of my gardening has been done in containers. Last year, I tested out a few very old seeds and to my amazed joy, ended up growing out a container of the beautiful Whippoorwill Peas! I also grew and saved a few other heirloom beans; started Black Hollyhocks, grew a long living kale, strawberries, a few herbs and flowers for a variety of uses including tea, seasonings and botanical dye.

 

whippoorwill peas 

These peas came to america along with enslaved african peoples.   this Pre-1700s heirloom variety is drought-tolerant and will grow in almost all soils. 5 ft. vines produce extended harvests of 7-9 in. green pods. These Small seeds are light brown with dark speckles.

 

I am waiting to see how the kale made it through the winter out in the unheated greenhouse. The Resina Calendula self-seeded so well, I potted up the seedlings and covered them with bubble wrap and placed on a top shelf inside of the greenhouse near a potted tier of strawberries, also with the bubble wrap tent around it. The plants seem to be alive and the strawberries had ripe fruit on the plants into December!


Container garden season has continues through the winter with my choosing to focus on my houseplants as pets. Oh my! So much cleaning to prepare for recovery after my benign neglect! I have had to learn so much, sometimes , it was beginning with plant identification, because after twenty to thirty and more years, who knew where the original name tags were.


With the houseplants, food for my spirit and recent seasons of explorations into container gardening, I am learning and having a few detour food adventures that have led me into what I hope is not a food rabbit hole; Dragon Fruit! I love the Hylocereus Megalanthus, Yellow Dragon Fruit for eating and the amazing color of the red fruits. Many people really enjoy the fragrant quality of the red. I have become a Dragon Fruit Mama!


It is spring, a time to begin again. May we begin with love and appreciation for our earth mother and grow something, offer care to some aspect of our natural home and if possible, save a seed or two.


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I am saddened when I recall the seed varieties being saved and available in the seventies and eighties and see fewer of them in the seed catalogs. Foods, seed varieties available a hundred years past have fallen out of memory and have not been maintained in our seed repositories.


What are the best plants to grown in our gardens? The best plants will always be heirlooms; heirlooms are plants that have stood the test of time in relationship to our bioregion and grown in the region. This may become even more important as climates shift with global warming.


When purchasing seeds, go with open pollinated heirloom varieties because these seeds are our genetic seed heritage, and organic when possible, because less damage to our environment occurs with organic and biodynamic gardening systems.

I am uplifted and hopeful because of the work of preservation taken on by individuals in all places of our earth!

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If this country is to survive, the best-fed-nation myth had better be recognized for what it is: propaganda designed to produce wealth but not health” ~ Adelle Davis

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Summer Savory Seedlings

What are cool-season vegetables?

They are plants perfect for springtime weather. They can withstand light frosts and nighttime temperatures above 40 degrees, but hot temperatures (above 80 degrees) will cause them to go to seed and taste bitter.

Plant cool-season crops two to four weeks before the last frost; around May 15 in the north and April 23 in the south.  It is a great time to also begin your herbs.

You may plant radishes, lettuces, spinach, beets and any kind of peas and carrots from seed simply by reading the package directions. For broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and onions, just buy plants to pop in the ground. Other green veggies to try include parsnips, turnips, Swiss chard, kale and collards.

https://www.purdue.edu/hla/sites/yardandgarden/publication/spring-gardening-stories/

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-Living Roots Farm and Organic Farm School

https://www.livingroots.org/


-Places to visit in Indiana - https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/indiana/spring-garden-in/


-Indiana Organic Gardeners Association

https://www.gardeningnaturally.org/


-Indiana Grown - https://www.indianagrown.org/


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Wylie House Museum to lead Indiana Heirloom Seed Savers Showcase and Exchange March 5, 2022

 

Wylie House Seed Show Case and Exchange 

 

In 2021, the Wylie House Museum was caretaking a variety of herbs and flowers – the list is here:

https://libraries.indiana.edu/2021-seed-list#content


 

Yacon in the fall


QUESTION – What is a Yacon? 

Yacon root looks like a sweet potato, but it has a completely different taste, texture, and nutrient profile. This tuber has a creamy white-yellow color and a uniquely refreshing taste that's similar to apple, watermelon, and celery combined. Unlike a sweet potato, yacon is often eaten raw and contains no starch.

Yacon root, or Smallanthus sonchifolius, comes from the Andean mountains of South America, growing as far north as Colombia and as far south as Argentina. Yacon is sometimes called strawberry jicama as the two root vegetables are similar. Other common names for yacon are Peruvian ground apple, poire de terre, yacon strawberry, and Bolivian sunroot.

 

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 ~Seed Savers Alliance

https://seedalliance.org/2021/can-i-save-my-seed/


~Indiana Organic Gardener’s Association

https://www.gardeningnaturally.org/



-Check out the Seed Savers Exchange for great resources - https://www.seedsavers.org/ and seek our certified organic open pollinated seed sources.


Saving Heirloom Seeds Can Protect Crop Diversity

By Helen Anne Curry, The Conversation

Beyond seed banks, saving seeds and cultivating local varieties may help feed us in our climate-changed future—and preserve them for future generations. 

https://civileats.com/2022/01/27/op-ed-saving-heirloom-seeds-can-protect-crop-diversity/


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-Ark of Taste in the USA

Since 1996, more than 3,500 products from over 150 countries have been added to the International Ark of Taste. Over 200 of these foods are from the USA, and we are always seeking more edible treasures to include. 

https://slowfoodusa.org/ark-of-taste/

 

-Brown County Seed Project

https://www.facebook.com/BrownCountySeedProject


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-Heirloom SEED SWAP – JANUARY 28th, 2023

https://hcmga.org/public-education/heirloom-seeds-program/seed-swap

 

Perhaps there will be more Seed Swaps to list!


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IN FOOD NEWS

~We lose a vital resource with every heirloom that goes extinct and threaten our food supply. Heirloom vegetables are vital to our future and yet they have been disappearing by the hundreds since the USDA’s catalog of foods in the early 1900’s.

 

-List of 12 Common Foods that May Become Extinct Due to Climate Change

https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/these-12-foods-may-become-extinct-in-our-lifetimes

~Are we eating ourselves to extinction?

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/sep/17/are-we-eating-ourselves-to-extinction

 

~Titanium Dioxide Ban from foods in EU

Prof Maged Younes, Chair of EFSA’s expert Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF), said: “Taking into account all available scientific studies and data, the Panel concluded that titanium dioxide can no longer be considered safe as a food additive. A critical element in reaching this conclusion is that we could not exclude genotoxicity concerns after consumption of titanium dioxide particles. After oral ingestion, the absorption of titanium dioxide particles is low, however they can accumulate in the body”. 

https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/news/titanium-dioxide-e171-no-longer-considered-safe-when-used-food-additive

Further information - Titanium dioxide ban comes into force, companies have six months to adjust

https://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/news/titanium-dioxide-ban-comes-into-force-companies-have-six-months-to-adjust.html


~Roundup Cancer Lawsuit - Monsanto Roundup Lawsuit

Monsanto Roundup weed killer is supposed to kill weeds but instead it could be causing cancer and killing people

On Thursday, February 24 2022 at 10:00 AM there will be a hearing about Roundup Products Liability Litigation MDL No. 02741 with The honorable judge Vince Chhabria (Applegate v. Bayer AG, Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings).


Investors are demanding nearly $2.5 billion from Bayer AG in a potential German class-action lawsuit over Bayer’s $63 billion acquisition of U.S. company Monsanto. The investors claim that Bayer deceived them about the risks of pending U.S. consumer lawsuits related to Monsanto’s infamous Roundup weed-killer.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/bayer-bid-to-end-roundup-suits-draws-u-s-supreme-court-inquiry


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~Community Resources

 

-Food Pantries Bloomington, Indiana Area

https://www.foodpantries.org/ci/in-bloomington


-Peoples Market – Bloomington

https://www.peoplesmarketbtown.org/

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-Bloomington Community Orchard

https://bloomingtoncommunityorchard.org/site/


-Bloomington Community Gardens

https://bloomington.in.gov/parks/community-gardening


Anything else you’re interested in is not going to happen if you can’t breathe the air and drink the water. Don’t sit this one out. Do something. You are by accident of fate alive at an absolutely critical moment in the history of our planet.” By Carl Sagan



#seedsaver #open pollinated #certified organic #heirloom #bioregion #seedsaving #bees #foodnews #communityfood #seeds #containergardening #wipperwillpea #seminolesquash #localfoodbloomingtonindiana #garden #roundup #titaniumdioxide

#bloomington #localeats #springgarden #hopireddyeamaranth #dragonfruit #peoplesmarket


Saturday, July 15, 2017

the Heirloom Expo - September 2017



 the Heirloom Expo - September 5th – 7th, 2017 in Santa Rosa, CA2017



7th annual National Heirloom Exposition on September 5, 6, 7 in Santa Rosa, California.  We are again seeking volunteers to help us spread the word. We need your help especially if you live on the West Coast and would like to distribute brochures to let people know about the expo, please email us at info@theheirloomexpo.com.  Please consider sharing the info with your garden groups, educational organizations, churches, pure food societies, etc.
   
The National Heirloom Expo features three full days of nationally and internationally acclaimed speakers that include Vandana Shiva, Ronnie Cummins, Jeffrey Smith, Robert Kennedy, Jr., along with many more.  More than 4000 varieties of local produce will by displayed.  Purchase gardening supplies, seeds, sustainable living goods, and so much more from 300 vendors.  The exhibit hall will be home to more than 150 heirloom related exhibits.
 
Please email us at info@theheirloomexpo.com and let us know how many brochures you can distribute to let more people know about this exciting event.

Why send them photos and stories pertaining to your or another’s garden.
Please email your photos and stories to seeds@rareseeds.com and to the attention of Kathy.
 
Local Food is Asking the question:

“Why is seed preservation of great importance to all Eaters?”. 

Hope you, or someone you know makes it to 

Heirloom Expo 2017!







Saturday, July 02, 2011

Blueberries and Jam



Blueberries June 2011

Walking up the gravel drive on a break away from the computer, out of no where, I thought to see how the blueberries were doing. I wanted to eat at least a bowl of them, maybe even ten. It actually was possible I might be able to eat a gallon or six or more. Maybe make a little jam. I thought that might be wishful thinking, with bird netting still waiting to be hung, and birds, well birds, and deer and raccoons and possibly other neighbor creatures always knew when any of the fruits, wild or cultivated were ripe and ready for picking.



Approaching the oldest of the blueberry bushes, each a good foot taller than I, the birds were on alert calling out in alarm, some daring to fly out toward me as I approached the bushes. It was easy to see why as I approached. There were berries ripe for picking. I turned away from the bushes toward the house where I a donned a hat and long sleeved shirt, choose a quart sized stainless bowl, then returned to the garden. Taking a moment to size up the ripe fruit, I went to one side and began picking. The air was filled with bird talk.

That bowl filled quickly and I returned to the house for a larger one. On the short walk back, blue jays and other winged ones swooped quickly in and out of the plants. As soon as the picking begun, I knew that I would have to pick whatever I could because once I walked away, those birds would be in there snatching for anything ripe for picking.




A few hours later, I‘d harvested enough blueberries to make one batch of jam plus a few pints for the pleasure of fresh eating. Since the birds were on to me, that was it for a while. That day onward, still uncovered, they consumed the berries as fast as they ripened. It is what I expected. Last year, well, last year, I recall enjoying maybe a single pint over the weeks of these plants season. The birds were not as generous with my sweet cherries. That is another story or a poem. There are a few berries coming on now, the bird covering is up, and I can take pleasure in eating a handful of two of warm from the branch berries. Smiling in remembrance as I sit down to blueberry rice waffle, , topped with fresh blueberry jam and a light sprinkling of fresh berries and a generous dollop of yoghurt, I am glad for whatever prompted me to check out the plants that day.

Patricia

© All rights reserved. For permission to reprint, contact Patricia at localfoodbloomington@gmail.com

Patricia C. Coleman (aka Food Fairy) has been exploring organic gardening and fruit cultivation of heirloom varieties since the mid 1970's. Early studies included sustainable agriculture practices of heirloom indigenous agricultural plants and practices that also introduced her to permaculture, edible landscaping and the Findhorn Garden. All work one does with love is a form of play and she enjoys many forms of play and is grateful for every opportunity she has to play in this glorious earth garden.