Looking for a way to grow more of your own produce a home? Raised bed gardening gives you superior control over soil quality and helps avoid burrowing pests. For nearly any size garden, building beds creates a more attractive, more productive, lower-maintenance, semi-permanent installation.
The problem is materials.
Pine rots too quickly. Oak, hickory and similar are expensive, heavy and hard to find in quantity. Pressure-treated wood is out because it can leach harmful chemicals into your growing soil. The best option is cedar, which combines light weight with exceptional rot resistance. Around here, though, cedar costs an arm, a leg and a few miscellaneous bits you'd probably rather not part with ($30 or more for a 8' 2x6 board!).
So a few of us are planning to get together to order northern white cedar dimensional lumber from Portage Mills in Maine (rough-sawn 2x6 boards, one good face, ideal for raised beds). Portage is a local business, family-owned and operated for about 50 years near the Canadian border. They produce lumber from trees harvested by professional loggers using sustainable logging practices. By buying in bulk direct from the mill and having the wood freighted to us, we can save a good deal of money. We get a further savings by having the lumber shipped to a business, rather than a home, and the Bradfords have agreed to be our drop point for delivery.
Our final price will depend on how many feet of lumber we end up ordering, so the more folks we have going in together, the more lumber we can order and the more broadly we can defray the freight charges. If you're interested in being a part of the order, please contact Christy Shi or Brian Little by Friday, March 21st. You'll need to be able to pick up your order from the Bradford farm within a couple of days of delivery, and payment will be required up front.
Let's get gardening!
Saturday, March 15
Farmer Feedback
Just a few notes from the farmers from yesterday's run:
Landis Gourmet Mushrooms
* An article in the Salisbury Post has pictures of the operation...very interesting place! http://www.salisburypost.com/area/299517670802691.php
* John is now packaging the mushrooms in reusable blue containers. Please rinse and return these containers at future pickups.
* They are working with NC A&T for expansion into shitakes
Wild Turkey Farms
* Will be participating in the Davidson Farmers' Market (starts May 3) http://downtowndavidson.org/davidson_farmers_market.htm
* Has spring produce in the ground including arugula, greens, cauliflower, and broccoli
* Save your egg cartons, please!
Bird Brain Ranch
* Will be participating in the Davidson Farmers' Market (starts May 3) http://downtowndavidson.org/davidson_farmers_market.htm
* Holding an Open House on April 19th. Speaker from NC State will compare the dinosaur to the ostrich. Lake Norman's only dinosaur farm!
* Is looking into creating raw pet food for BARFers (Bones And Raw Food)
Grateful Growers
* Will be participating in the Davidson Farmers' Market (starts May 3) http://downtowndavidson.org/davidson_farmers_market.htm
* Participating in Taste of the Nation on April 16 in Charlotte
* Is holding spaces in their Chicken Club for us through March 29. This is probably your only opportunity to get locally produced chicken for the next year.
Apple Orchard Farm
* Art just made the apple jelly, so it will take about a week to set/firm up.
* Can sell beef at a reduced rate if a group of you want to go in together on a whole cow; you would receive the meat after it is processed, of course.
* Save your egg cartons, please!
Locavore Re-cap (for The Muncher)
By Northwoods Locavore
Every dollar that I spend is a vote cast for something I believe in. At least that’s the way I like to think about money. Dollars aren’t just about economics: they are my chance to say yes to family farms, small businesses, ... - http://northwoodslocavore.blogspot.com/
Every dollar that I spend is a vote cast for something I believe in. At least that’s the way I like to think about money. Dollars aren’t just about economics: they are my chance to say yes to family farms, small businesses, ... - http://northwoodslocavore.blogspot.com/
Spring 2008 Ordering Process
We will run to farms twice per month in March, April, and May. View the schedule for exact dates. View the list of participating farms for more information on what will be available.
10 days before farm run
Christy Shi confirms farms participating on run and pricing for expected products available
8 days before farm run
Christy posts order form on blog
Members submit their orders online
5 days before farm run
Christy consolidates orders and notifies farms
Day of farm run
Christy or T. McLeod visits farms, pays for, and collects orders
Day after farm run
Members meet at Bradford Farm Store to pay for and pick up orders
10 days before farm run
Christy Shi confirms farms participating on run and pricing for expected products available
8 days before farm run
Christy posts order form on blog
Members submit their orders online
5 days before farm run
Christy consolidates orders and notifies farms
Day of farm run
Christy or T. McLeod visits farms, pays for, and collects orders
Day after farm run
Members meet at Bradford Farm Store to pay for and pick up orders
Thursday, March 13
Who owns organic?
If you want a good example of why eating local can be more important than eating organic, you could do worse than this diagram of who owns the assorted organic foods makers. Naked Juices? Pepsi. Silk? Dean Foods. Muir Glen? General Mills.
It's enlightening, and perhaps a little scary.
It's enlightening, and perhaps a little scary.
Wednesday, March 12
Locavore Reading List
Want to know more about what others are experiencing as they eat locally? Check out this list of six books gives a brief summary of each...several I haven't read yet but want to!
http://sfreporter.com/articles/publish/devour-031208-reading-list.php?ref=rss
http://sfreporter.com/articles/publish/devour-031208-reading-list.php?ref=rss
Beneath the term locavore lies...confusion
This post and its subsequent comments underscore the many reasons why we might or might not choose to eat locally.
RSS in Plain English
This movie clip tells you exactly what you need to know and understand about RSS Feeds. Please post any questions in the comments area that you may have, and I will be happy to help you.
Do you know where your food comes from?
|
CFSA Charlotte-Metro March Meeting Reminder
| |||||
| |||||
Windcrest Farm | 518 Greenfield Drive | Monroe | NC | 28112 |
Tuesday, March 11
LFC Social Event
Hello Everyone,
Mark your calendars for our LFC social event. The event is scheduled to be held on Thursday, March 27th at 7pm at Christy Shi's house. We will be having a Q & A session about organic gardening. Please plan to come if:
A) You have lots of questions about gardening
or
B) You have lots of experience gardening.
The goal of our social event is to meet each other and have the opportunity to share experience and knowledge.
Our discussion will include (but not be limited to):
* What fruits and vegetable grow well in our area.
* When and in what order to plant.
* How to work the soil.
*The pros and cons of starting from seed versus starting from plants.
* Organic/pest control
Directions to Christy's house and any last minute details will be posted soon.
Looking forward to seeing everyone there!
Mark your calendars for our LFC social event. The event is scheduled to be held on Thursday, March 27th at 7pm at Christy Shi's house. We will be having a Q & A session about organic gardening. Please plan to come if:
A) You have lots of questions about gardening
or
B) You have lots of experience gardening.
The goal of our social event is to meet each other and have the opportunity to share experience and knowledge.
Our discussion will include (but not be limited to):
* What fruits and vegetable grow well in our area.
* When and in what order to plant.
* How to work the soil.
*The pros and cons of starting from seed versus starting from plants.
* Organic/pest control
Directions to Christy's house and any last minute details will be posted soon.
Looking forward to seeing everyone there!
Calling LFC Technophiles
If any of you are interested in posting to the LFC blog, please let me know.
If any of you are interested in sharing with others how to subscribe to RSS feeds, please let me know.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can disregard this message.
Organic isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be: Try Going Local
clipped from http://eatdrinkbetter.com/
|
My Forbidden Fruits (and Vegetables)
|
Where's the government involvement in local food?
I'm becoming increasingly convinced that eating locally is more than a delicious indulgence. It's a community good which can only be protected by a community, at all levels. Voting with the fork is a great start, but we've got to be aware of the greater policies that have the potential to profoundly affect our local farms.
One of the best things about the local foods movement has been how citizen-driven it is. That’s also been one of the most unfortunate things about it. A rash of articles out this week remind us that any substantial change in the nature of our food will need to be at the very least supported—and more probably, mandated—by government. |
Monday, March 10
Gristmill: Conditions sour for organic dairy farms
"The following guest essay is the latest installment in a debate between Ed Maltby, executive director of the Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, and Gary Hirshberg, CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farm. Maltby opened the debate with this post; Hirshberg responded here; Maltby's response follows below. We are airing the debate at length because we think our readers should know that our organic dairy farmers have reached a crisis point -- squeezed by production costs that are rising much faster than the price they receive in the market."
Grateful Growers Chicken Club Info
2008 Chicken Club Memberships are Now Available ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Local Food Club has reserved a limited number of memberships through Grateful Growers. Club members must pay their deposit during March to get one of these memberships. There's a waiting list, so we'll give back any reserved memberships in April.
Here's the skinny for this year's club.
Local Food Club has reserved a limited number of memberships through Grateful Growers. Club members must pay their deposit during March to get one of these memberships. There's a waiting list, so we'll give back any reserved memberships in April.
Here's the skinny for this year's club.
- Whole birds only (we remove feathers, feet, head and giblets)
- 1 membership option only (1 bird per harvest for 8 harvests).
- 1 membership per family
- Harvests are June to Thanksgiving-ish
- Membership payment is due in full at the beginning of the season; we'll settle up at the end of the season if your birds were more or less than the average 3.25 pounds per bird used to calculate the membership fee.
- Birds will be delivered through the LFC when possible. Otherwise, birds will need to be picked up at market drop-off points:
- If you can't pick up your bird on the designated date, please notify us in advance of the pickup day- preferably by email.
- Birds not picked up by the end of the market day (12noon on Saturdays, 630pm on Tuesday evenings at the Tailgate) will be sold to others without a refund to the member that failed to pick up. If you know you can't make it to the market, send a neighbor or let us know in advance and we'll make other arrangements for pickup.
Local Food Club Update
Welcome to the Local Food Club! (For those of you who haven't already been notified of getting a slot, consider this an invitation...place your order and I'll know you're joining.)
Our first run of the spring season will take place this week. Complete the order form http://localfoodclub.blogspot.com/2008/03/march-1415-2008-farm-run-order-form.html within the next 48 hours; orders must be received by noon on Wednesday. Pickup is Saturday, March 15 from 9:30-11:00 at the Bradford Store. We only accept checks or cash; checks are preferred.
If you have not yet paid your spring membership dues ($60), please do so at the first pickup.
If you have any questions, please contact: localfoodclub@gmail.com.
Thanks!
Sunday, March 9
Slow Food Charlotte Event: Restaurant Tour, Intermezzo Pizzeria and Cafe
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
Slow Food Charlotte | POB 668186 | Charlotte | NC | 28266 |
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
I think there are a thousand great reasons to support local agriculture--you're preserving diversity, enjoying the aesthetic opportunity to buy what you don't grow yourself (or don't grow enough of) from farmers' markets, CSAs, or farm stands, and giving your hard-earned dollars to your neighbors as opposed to faceless megacorporations, aka agribiz, just to name three.
Giving agriculture a human face and making it personal is what eating locally is really all about. To reduce the idea of making food choices to a carbon-emissions equation is appalling to me--like telling people to go to McDonald's rather than cooking their own food.
No, thanks. I'll keep growing as much as I can and buying as much of the rest locally as I can, because I believe with Wendell Berry that having--or creating--a sense of place is the best hope we have of having a future in a healthy world.