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
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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
-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”.
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
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#bloomington #localeats #springgarden #hopireddyeamaranth #dragonfruit #peoplesmarket
