Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Them Itchin' Green Thumbs
During the month of February we are starting to see little green shoots coming out of the ground, and what an exciting time it is! New life is coming and slowly turning over in the soil, baby goats are being born, and spring is just around the corner. The green thumbs are starting to twitch. This blog is dedicated to all those Spokanites who delight in soil and sprouts. We at the Peach Community Farm and Fresh Abundance will be offering a speckling of knowledge about getting your kids involved in their surroundings, gardening tips, and how to integrate more veggies and local food into your plate and onto your palate. We hope you enjoy it!
Kids- Early Soil Sagas
This time of the year it's hard to motivate kids to do anything. It's gloomy out and summer vacation isn't even close enough to think about. It's what we called the "grey daze" as kids. If only we could break through with a little sunshine.The folks at kidsgardening.com have a great way to break through those winter clouds and get your kids gardening early. They have outlined a way for you to set up a lighting system which will keep your indoor seedlings happy and healthy: http://www.kidsgardening.com/Dig/digdetail.taf?Type=Art&id=2300
Another great thing to do this time of the year is map out secret places in your neighborhood. Take kids around your neighborhood or send them on a quest (with friends) to find secret places and map them out in as much detail as they can, naming trees and plants. They can visit these secret places throughout the year and add to their maps as plants and animals pop up!
And of course you can send your kids to farm camp. They'll learn about greenhouses, sprouts, season-extension, beneficial bugs, and a whole variety of topics to keep your children entertained and learning about their environment. And, best of all, you'll have the Saturday off! www.peachlocal.com/farm-camp
Gardening- Tips from Farmer Chrys
Spring certainly seems to have come early this year. One might even say we didn't quite have a winter at all. Nevertheless, it's almost March and seed planting is already underway here at the p.e.a.c.h. Community Farm. We're planting onions in flats, indoors, since these slow-growing, cold tolerant plants need a long time to get going and size up. If you haven't started your onions yet, you still have time. Even if you wait until well into April, you'll get a crop, but you won't enjoy full-sized onions until very late in the season. Many other seeds will be planted here in flats beginning mid-March with a good portion of our varieties sown every two weeks from then on to stretch our harvesting through the season.
So, where should you obtain your seed for the 2010 growing season? Let's start with the type of seeds to look for. If your home garden is an organic garden (as it should be), you would do well to look for organically grown seeds. Not only will your purchase help support the organic seed growing industry and help reduce the amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides applied to the Earth, organically grown seeds are very likely to perform better for you. They have been grown under, and have, through careful selection on the part of the seed growers, become accustomed to organic management. Plants grown from organic seed aren't expecting an artificial (and toxic) free ride. They're geared towards finding the nutrients they need the old-fashioned way-- through natural interaction with soil microbes and the nutrients they provide, not a soup of soluble synthetic chemicals. They're also more prepared to use those natural nutrients to fend off pests and disease without reliance on chemical warfare agents (war against nature).
So, where can you get organic garden seeds? You can find some organic seeds at local garden centers and seed racks. Look for the word "organic" on the label. Some stores put all the organic seeds in one place while others intersperse the organic seeds among the rest.
I must confess that I'm a bit too fond of the tradition of getting those colorful seed catalogs each winter to thumb through. I have quite a stack of out-dated catalogs to send to the recycling center each year.
One of my pastimes is collecting the names and Internet addresses of seed companies that offer organically grown seeds and compiling them on my personal website http://www.thefutureisorganic.net/. As of this writing, I've collected 49 companies. Here are ten of those to get you started. You can see the complete list by clicking on the picture of the germinating bean seed on my website's home page.
Abundant Life Seeds (Oregon)
Bountiful Gardens (Calif.)
Fedco Seeds (Maine)
High Mowing Seeds (Vermont)
Irish Eyes Garden Seeds (Washington - Organic Potato Seed too!)
Johnnys Selected Seeds (Maine)
Seeds of Change (New Mexico)
Seed Savers Exchange (Iowa)
Turtle Tree Seeds (New York)
Wild Garden Seed (Oregon)
Have a great growing season. I look forward to offering these tips to help you achieve successful results from your organic gardening efforts.
Nutrition- Arelya's Restorative Ra Ra Raw Recipies
I love raw food! It is not only nutritionally superior to many cooked foods but it is also delicious. As the growing season percolates into our mind, let this great recipie bring you a taste of summer! For more raw food "cooking" tips visit me in the kitchen at Fresh Abundance (2015 N Division). Bon Appetite!
Spaghetti Alla Bagutta
1 package of Kelp Noodles
1 cup water
1 fresh tomato or 4 sun dried tomatoes, soaked
1/4 cup cashews
1 garlic clove
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 red bell pepper
1 tsp sea salt
Parsley or Basil, chopped
Cherry Tomatoes
crushed red pepper
Rinse Kelp Noodles in warm water, cut and drain and place in a large mixing bowl. In a Vitamix mix all the remaining ingredients except the basil/parsley and cherry tomatoes. Toss the cream sauce with the kelp noodles and add the remaining ingredients.
This makes great left overs. You can place in the dehydrate at 200 F for 15 minutes to warm. It will not be 200 F and if you use too much red bell pepper it will overpower the creamy flavor.
Here is a brief yet beautiful video describing the mission of Peach (though we have moved & this is a two year old video) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hsS_48XTSg
Upcoming Greenthumb Events
March 6th- Fruit Tree Workshop series with Orchardist Ray Gilbert
March 13th- Saturday farm camp begins
March 20th- Groundbreaking Ceremony @ Peach Farm 10am
March 27th- Starting Seedlings class @ peach farm
For more information about peach visit: http://www.peachlocal.com/
Form more information about Fresh Abundance visit: http://www.freshabundance.com/
Kids- Early Soil Sagas
This time of the year it's hard to motivate kids to do anything. It's gloomy out and summer vacation isn't even close enough to think about. It's what we called the "grey daze" as kids. If only we could break through with a little sunshine.The folks at kidsgardening.com have a great way to break through those winter clouds and get your kids gardening early. They have outlined a way for you to set up a lighting system which will keep your indoor seedlings happy and healthy: http://www.kidsgardening.com/Dig/digdetail.taf?Type=Art&id=2300
Another great thing to do this time of the year is map out secret places in your neighborhood. Take kids around your neighborhood or send them on a quest (with friends) to find secret places and map them out in as much detail as they can, naming trees and plants. They can visit these secret places throughout the year and add to their maps as plants and animals pop up!
And of course you can send your kids to farm camp. They'll learn about greenhouses, sprouts, season-extension, beneficial bugs, and a whole variety of topics to keep your children entertained and learning about their environment. And, best of all, you'll have the Saturday off! www.peachlocal.com/farm-camp
Gardening- Tips from Farmer Chrys
Spring certainly seems to have come early this year. One might even say we didn't quite have a winter at all. Nevertheless, it's almost March and seed planting is already underway here at the p.e.a.c.h. Community Farm. We're planting onions in flats, indoors, since these slow-growing, cold tolerant plants need a long time to get going and size up. If you haven't started your onions yet, you still have time. Even if you wait until well into April, you'll get a crop, but you won't enjoy full-sized onions until very late in the season. Many other seeds will be planted here in flats beginning mid-March with a good portion of our varieties sown every two weeks from then on to stretch our harvesting through the season.
So, where should you obtain your seed for the 2010 growing season? Let's start with the type of seeds to look for. If your home garden is an organic garden (as it should be), you would do well to look for organically grown seeds. Not only will your purchase help support the organic seed growing industry and help reduce the amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides applied to the Earth, organically grown seeds are very likely to perform better for you. They have been grown under, and have, through careful selection on the part of the seed growers, become accustomed to organic management. Plants grown from organic seed aren't expecting an artificial (and toxic) free ride. They're geared towards finding the nutrients they need the old-fashioned way-- through natural interaction with soil microbes and the nutrients they provide, not a soup of soluble synthetic chemicals. They're also more prepared to use those natural nutrients to fend off pests and disease without reliance on chemical warfare agents (war against nature).
So, where can you get organic garden seeds? You can find some organic seeds at local garden centers and seed racks. Look for the word "organic" on the label. Some stores put all the organic seeds in one place while others intersperse the organic seeds among the rest.
I must confess that I'm a bit too fond of the tradition of getting those colorful seed catalogs each winter to thumb through. I have quite a stack of out-dated catalogs to send to the recycling center each year.
One of my pastimes is collecting the names and Internet addresses of seed companies that offer organically grown seeds and compiling them on my personal website http://www.thefutureisorganic.net/. As of this writing, I've collected 49 companies. Here are ten of those to get you started. You can see the complete list by clicking on the picture of the germinating bean seed on my website's home page.
Abundant Life Seeds (Oregon)
Bountiful Gardens (Calif.)
Fedco Seeds (Maine)
High Mowing Seeds (Vermont)
Irish Eyes Garden Seeds (Washington - Organic Potato Seed too!)
Johnnys Selected Seeds (Maine)
Seeds of Change (New Mexico)
Seed Savers Exchange (Iowa)
Turtle Tree Seeds (New York)
Wild Garden Seed (Oregon)
Have a great growing season. I look forward to offering these tips to help you achieve successful results from your organic gardening efforts.
Nutrition- Arelya's Restorative Ra Ra Raw Recipies
I love raw food! It is not only nutritionally superior to many cooked foods but it is also delicious. As the growing season percolates into our mind, let this great recipie bring you a taste of summer! For more raw food "cooking" tips visit me in the kitchen at Fresh Abundance (2015 N Division). Bon Appetite!
Spaghetti Alla Bagutta
1 package of Kelp Noodles
1 cup water
1 fresh tomato or 4 sun dried tomatoes, soaked
1/4 cup cashews
1 garlic clove
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 red bell pepper
1 tsp sea salt
Parsley or Basil, chopped
Cherry Tomatoes
crushed red pepper
Rinse Kelp Noodles in warm water, cut and drain and place in a large mixing bowl. In a Vitamix mix all the remaining ingredients except the basil/parsley and cherry tomatoes. Toss the cream sauce with the kelp noodles and add the remaining ingredients.
This makes great left overs. You can place in the dehydrate at 200 F for 15 minutes to warm. It will not be 200 F and if you use too much red bell pepper it will overpower the creamy flavor.
Here is a brief yet beautiful video describing the mission of Peach (though we have moved & this is a two year old video) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hsS_48XTSg
Upcoming Greenthumb Events
March 6th- Fruit Tree Workshop series with Orchardist Ray Gilbert
March 13th- Saturday farm camp begins
March 20th- Groundbreaking Ceremony @ Peach Farm 10am
March 27th- Starting Seedlings class @ peach farm
For more information about peach visit: http://www.peachlocal.com/
Form more information about Fresh Abundance visit: http://www.freshabundance.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)