July 10, 2009

Some large producers are quietly exiting the organic certification program and going "natural".   Problem is that there are no standards for what natural means in regard to most foodstuffs.  Labeling a product "natural" tells you nothing about how the ingredients in the product were grown.  They may be minimally processed but that doesn't mean they were grown without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides.

USDA certified organic products have been grown to standards and the producers are inspected annually for adherence to those standards.

To protect yourself, your family, the environment, and the organic farming community you can do several things -

Join the Organic Consumers Association and respond to their action alerts.

When buying from grocery chains, tell them you want to have an organic choice

Buy from your local grower and ask how your produce is grown  - what materials are used for fertility, how are weeds and competitor species kept in check?  Go with the grower who stays closest to nature - even if they are not certified.  Many small growers find the paperwork and cost of USDA organic certification to be unsustainable but still grow in an environmentally responsible manner.

Finally - consider the vegan way - vegan farms are committed to respecting all life - they do not use slaughterhouse products such as bone or blood meal for fertilization and they do not use any pesticides out of respect for life and in an effort to maintain natural checks and balances.  My personal experience with vegan organic (veganic) growing is that abundant quantities of beautiful, tasty, and nutritious produce can be grown without the use of products made from animals.  If you can't find a vegan farmer near you ask your local farmers to consider growing the vegan way - or grow your own!

June 6, 2009

The above title is a line from a poem by Antonio Machado.  It's a favorite of a friend of mine who has good reason to know.  Anyway - the bit below is pieced together from excerpts from e-mails to friends following a recent "life change".  The situation hasn't changed but my feelings about it have - the angst, while necessary to processing the change, is gone - replaced by an understanding that we do - indeed - make the road by walking.  And so, we continue our journey - remaining open to the possibilities while taking the steps we can to assure that we can take advantage of the possibilities.

****************************

“She had a dream
And boy it was a good one
So she chased after her dream
With much desire
But when she got too close
To her expectations
Well the dream burned up
Like paper in fire”

            John Mellencamp – Paper and Fire 

May 1

Well  - April now classifies as one of my worst months ever - from poor little Jeffrey leaving us on April 2 to the FDA denying Northfield's application yesterday plus all the other nasty events in between - not to mention the nearly constant rain.

Yep – beloved spouse is now unemployed.  From here I have no idea what is next.  So, I am going to spend today in a nasty all out funk and then face facts tomorrow.

May 1 

I am just aimlessly cleaning things up, wandering around, blah blah blah - 

I don't want to go back to full time corporate work, I want to go to Jane Addams and get that MSW, I am feeling sick and it's not the flu - 

At least I am employed for now - even if only for 24 hours a week for the month of May. 

Ah, well - just another one of those opportunities to deal with what is... 

May 2 

Yes - it's been tense for a while - I've been keeping to the yoga, to reminding myself that life comes with no guarantees, that we are still in good shape financially, that I can craft options, that I can go pull weeds and harvest and sell asparagus - 

I don't want to ignore or sidestep the troubling feelings but I don't want them to take over my life either - so, as with my sweet little Jeffrey - I will mourn and then I will find that place where I know that life is, after all, "Just this". 

May 4 

I am finding it disconcerting because it throws so many of my plans up into the air and I have no idea where they will land (and you know how much I like feeling in control).  But - in between the blues I am working on using this as an opportunity to find the opportunities and the work arounds.  In any case, an excellent experience for my future profession of counseling/coaching.  Yep - maybe I'll specialize in dealing with uncertainty...though, ya know, I think I am not so fond of learning experiences while I am experiencing them... 

May 5 

Yeah - it pretty much sucks - I'm still waking up in a funk - I sleep fine but wake up with that sense of loss and powerlessness that accompanies any unalterable occurrence.  I've been spending wake up time feeling sorry for myself and wondering how it will all play out - but, feeling sorry for myself doesn't get the weeds pulled or the onions planted and so I eventually roll out of bed, take care of sweet little Pumpkin, and get on with life. 

I'll be searching for scholarships to Jane Addams as well as developing some alternative sources of income - 

Life works out - very often not in the way we expect it to or the way we want it to - but - life works out.  Once I've come to accept what I cannot change I'm able to work with whatever it is that I can do.  I'll be doing my level best to push it to work out in my direction – 

One of Shawn's favorite lines is "The road is made by walking." and I cannot think of a better way to address reversals of fortune. 

May 6 

Two of my grafted trees are finally blossoming - 5 years down the road.  Wow - I hope they bear at least a few apples - talk about slow food. 

Outside the veggie world things are topsy turvy and I am sure will stay that way for some time.  I threw a major hissy fit today at beloved spouse.  Anyway - am still following through with Jane Addams and considering the options there - need to research scholarships pronto if any are still open.  Also went to CLC tonight to hear about their new Wellness Coaching Associate's Degree program - the deparment chair was so dynamic that I am going to investigate further - less time and less money than Jane Addams though a very different type of degree - but still - if I can't go to Jane Addams this will make a fine Plan B - assuming we don't end up relocating. 

It's the topsy turvy I don't care for but whether counselor or life coach, I think this experience will be invaluable - too bad learning from experience is typically a discomforting experience. 

Anyway - my little miss is lurking near - expecting me to feed her - have been trying all day but she is adamant about refusing her regular food - maybe tummy troubles again - maybe just a missy fit. 

May 7, 2009 

Went to the CLC presentation on their new program for Wellness Coaching - actually looks like a great program and even if I do manage to end up at Jane Addams I think I will definitely take some of the courses or at least get the Life Coach certification - I'd especially like to take the anatomy and kinesiology courses (great for teaching yoga) and they even have a yoga for wellness course - plus they have some courses on coaching and on writing a business plan - all very valuable. 

If I can't go to Jane Addams I will go ahead and get this AA - I can probably place out of half of the classes so it would only take a year full time or two years part time if I need to keep working (and assuming we stay here) - so - there is a very solid Plan B in place as far as I'm concerned - and the whole thing reminded me of what I really want to do in the first place - not heal the sick but help people from getting sick in the first place, not mend broken minds or spirits but help people keep their minds and spirits healthy in the first place - so, even if I do go to Jane Addams I will focus on the "what's right" instead of the "what's wrong". 

So - at the very least this whole thing has forced me to re-explore my options and gotten me back in touch with where my real passion is - taking people (any myself) to the next step of wellness and wholeness. 

And - if we need to move - then I guess I will develop Plans C and D and go from there. 

You were right - it's about buying new paper.

June 3, 2009

So, you know what didn't work for seedlings - well, here is what has worked.

Find some space where you can set up a shelving unit near a sunny south window or glass door.

Plant your seeds in trays that will drain.

Use a thermostatically controlled heat mat set to about 90 degrees for heat loving plants - or heating pads set on low.

Suspend shop lights from the shelving unit (mine has mesh shelves) so that they are just above the seedling trays.  Move the light units up as the seedlings grow.

If you use a potting mix such as peat and perlite (1:1), start fertilizing the seedlings once they're up.  I've tried waiting until the first true leaves but it just seems to delay progress.  Fertilize weekly.

I've used a variety of fertilizer recipes - here is one -

Per gallon of water:

1 tsp each of Synergy, Mineral Matrix, and, Ruby Fulvic, 4 tsp BioGrow, and 1 oz Maxicrop

from time to time I've also added Nature's Nectar nitrogen and potassium according to package directions

I had the healthiest seedlings ever last year - I'm not sure that all the ingredients are absolutely necessary but this year I didn't have the BioGrow or the Maxicrop or the Nature's Nectar potassium and the seedlings did poorly.

Pot up your seedlings to bigger containers as they grow and start getting them outdoors as soon as possible to get direct light.

Take the move slow - seedlings can die of sunburn.  A few minutes twice a day is enough for the first few days - then start increasing the time in the sun.  I usually double the time outdoors each day.  Once they can stay out for an hour they can stay out all day.  If it's cool out let the seedlings stay warm in some sort of greenhouse.  I use a small "Flower House" - a pop-up greenhouse that's about 2 feet tall and fits several seedling trays.

On transplant I most often add a handful of alfalfa meal to the planting hole and wet it down with a fertilizer solution - I'm not convinced it makes a real difference but I've been superstitious about it.  You can try experimenting - if it doesn't really make a difference you can certainly save yourself some money and time!

Now is a good time to start fall crops such as fall cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, and summer lettuces.

June 2, 2009

Despite the setbacks with the seedlings, progress is being made on other front.

The potatoes were planted in late May.  Most other farmers have had their potatoes in for a while but my soil is clayey and stays wet for a long time in the spring.  But late planting has one major advantage - it stymies the Colorado potato beetle - the major pest of potatoes in Northern Illinois.  While the potato beetles are just now emerging they will end up going hungry because the potatoes are not yet up.  By the time the potatoes do emerge most of the potato beetles will be gone.  Timed planting is a great way to avoid using pesticides (a no-no on  a vegan farm) or rowcover (expensive).

This year I used my own seed potatoes - saved from last year's bumper crop.  I stored them in a fridge in the basement. (BIG P.S. here - do not store food in a fridge in your garage once the temps in the garage dip below freezing - whatever is in the freezer compartment will thaw while whatever is in the fridge portion will freeze - ask me how I know...).  Anyway - I took the potatoes out of the fridge about two weeks before I was ready to plant and let them warm up on the kitchen table where they had plenty of light.  This helps them set nice stocky eyes.  I personally like to cut up my potatoes a few days before planting to allow the cut ends to heal over to forestall problems with rot.  I build raised rows and plant the potatoes about an inch deep - eyes up.  Since I do have problems with drainage this helps the potatoes survive heavy rains and the shallow planting depth helps them emerge more quickly - important since I plant late in the season.  The downside to planting in raised rows is that it makes the later hilling more difficult since I have to push the dirt up higher than if I had just planted into furrows - but you do what you have to do based on the characteristics of your land.

Corn is another crop that benefits from timed planting - too early and you risk the seed rotting in the ground - too late and the striped cucumber beetles and Japanese beetles will eat the silks down before the pollen can make it's way down to the individual kernel.  Here in Northern Illinois, mid-May is an ideal time to plant sweet corn.

The winter squash also went in this past week.  With luck the recent rain and colder temperatures won't cause the seed to rot.  A similar cold rainy spell led to a lot of crop loss last year...only time will tell at this point.  I knew it was going to rain - but at some point you just have plant and take the risk.

The snap beans also made it into the ground - and I am hoping that they too survive the rain and cold.  However, like the corn and the potatoes, it's a good idea to get beans in sometime in mid to late May to avoid bean pests - especially Japanese beetles.  I don't have the dry beans or soybeans in yet but need to get that done within the next few days to avoid beetle predation.

One thing any beginning gardener or farmer should know - it doesn't matter how much you read about planting or how much you talk to other farmers in your area - you won't really learn what works and what doesn't work for your particular situation until you start growing.  Some things will fail miserably - others will succeed beyond your wildest dreams.  Last year my potatoes did fabulously and my garlic was much bigger than that grown by the veteran farmer across the street from me - even as my eggplants stubbornly refused to yield a single fruit.  So - bottom line - get out there and try it - and keep good notes - that way you can work on reproducing your successes and avoiding your failures.  And remember - the prime objective of any plant is to grow!

June 1, 2009

Well, I'd love to be able to tell you how to successfully start seedlings every time.  But, it appears that what I'm really good at is killing seedlings.  Not to say that I kill them every time, but I do it fairly often.

Here are some sure fire way to kill seedlings:

Drown them - don't leave seedlings out doors in containers that don't drain if you're expecting rain.

Cook them - seedlings with bottom heat and overhead light are prone to drying out quickly.

Poison them - regardless of what you may read, dilute solutions of coffee or tea are not for seedlings.  It seems to work OK for mature plants as a foliar feed but NOT for seedlings.  Remember what Mom told you?  Coffee is for grown-ups.

Infect them - mycobacterium are fine to use with seeds if you are direct seeding into garden soil - there are lots of competitor microbes to keep them in check.  If you use it in seedling media such as peat moss and perlite you will get a fungus infestation and have to pitch your seeds  - they won't even germinate.  Same thing for adding stuff like alfalfa meal - great for garden plants, awful for seedlings.

Here are a few ways to stunt your seedlings:

Keep them in seed starting media without fertilizing them properly.  It is very very hard to find vegan fertilizers.  I have made do with a variety of potions but most lack sufficient phosphorus.  I know successful farmers who start seed directly in trays filled with soil and compost from their farms.  If you have good quality soil and compost, go ahead and try this.  The tomato volunteers in my backyard are bigger and healthier than my seedlings...

Wait too long to pot them up - the sooner the better and the more room the better each time they are potted up.  Use soil and compost if available to pot up - at this stage the plants really need nutrients.

Start them in the basement with shop lights.  Too cold, not enough light and a huge hassle when  you want to start hardening off.

BUT - plants are tough and really really really want to grow - so even if you have spindly leggy puny seedlings - get them in your garden - I've been amazed at how eager my pathetic little seedlings have been to get growing!

PS - Those are last year's cabbage and lettuce seedlings - I poisoned all of them with coffee this year...sigh...

April 2, 2009

Love has its price.  That price is grief.  Today we lost our little love, Jeffrey, to kidney failure.  Jeffrey came to us just six short months ago, a rescue from a local shelter.  Jeffrey had been found by police in an abandoned apartment.  He was in horrible shape with badly matted fur and toenails that curled under his paws.  He also had leukemia.

Despite it all, Jeffrey was a happy little guy who loved being petted and hanging around the nearest person.  He loved food and, after wolfing down his own meal, would lurk around his rescue-mate Pumpkin’s bowl as she ate, waiting eagerly to snatch any leftovers.

Jeffrey delighted us with his Bichon “waddle” (if you have ever been privileged to share your life with a Bichon then you will know what I mean).  Even more delightful was his Bichon “run”.  Jeffrey took an ownership interest in the house and always took great care to alert us when there were raccoons hanging about outdoors – going on high alert with his tail high and a bark ferocious enough to scare away the intruders.

Jeffrey graced us with his presence and we are only sorry that he could not spend more time in our home.  He will, however, live on in our hearts.  He was a kind soul, who despite abuse and neglect, learned to love and trust again.

Jeff – thank you for your lessons in love and for the joy and laughter you brought into our lives.  We miss you, buddy.  We will always hold you close in our hearts.

March 1, 2008

February 16, 2009

Seed catalogs are one of the great pleasures of winter.  Fabulous pictures of mouth watering produce selections fill most of the catalogs - though some are strictly black and white and stick to mouth watering descriptions of fabulous produce.

The problem is, the available selections are just too tempting and it is very very very hard to know when to stop.  In past years I have had to whittle down my tomato selections from 50 varieties to just two dozen or so - and I agonized over each cut.

So, given the abundant variety of vegetables, herbs, and flowers that is available - how does one go about selecting the ones that will taste great and produce well?  Here are a few helpful hints.

First - Order your catalogs if you haven't done so already.  A list of my favorite catalogs is here:  http://www.reverencegardens.com/content/415

Second – Think It Through.  Consider your budget, how much space you have, the time and space you have to start seedlings, your climate, your soil, and your experience level.

Budget – How much can you spend?  It’s easy to over order and end up paying a lot more for seed than you expected.

Space – How much room do you have?  I always wanted to grow corn and pumpkins but had to wait until I had the land to do so – they take up a lot of room!  In my 600 square foot backyard garden I was able to grow tomatoes, peppers, carrots, eggplants, beans, beets, chard, onions, basil, and radishes– but I had to forego the corn and pumpkins.

Seedlings – Do you have the time and space to start seedlings?  If you live in a colder climate and want to grow tomatoes, eggplants, or peppers from seed you must start them indoors.  Do you have a nice sunny area?  Can you supplement with light banks and bottom heat?  Are you willing to carry seedlings outdoors and then back in as the weather improves?  If no, consider buying seedlings either mail order – or better yet – from you local farmer when the early markets start up.

Soil – Check variety descriptions to see what sort of soil the plant is happiest in.  Generally, most plants do best in well amended soil.  If your soil is not well amended you can still go ahead and plant, just expect lower yields and continue to amend the soil more each year.

Climate – Don’t try to grow long season varieties in colder areas.  Know your last and first frost dates and check the maturity dates for each variety.  Don’t forget to check to see if that maturity date is from transplant or from direct seed.

Your Experience Level – If you are new to the growing game, consider transplants for some items like tomatoes. peppers, and eggplants.  Also consider some of the hybrids – they can be easier to grow and are often bred to be disease and pest resistant.  Please note that hybrid does not mean genetically modified.  All of the catalogs on the link noted above sell only non-GMO seed.  Don’t think that hybrid means tasteless – the hybrid Purple Haze carrot is much sweeter and tastier than the somewhat bitter (to my taste) Purple Dragon heirloom.

Third – Prioritize.  What do you want most?  Tomatoes?  Basil?  Melons?  Choose the vegetables and varieties you want most first.  Then – if you have space left over in your garden, go ahead and order other items on your wish list.  Most catalogs will provide information on optimal plant or seed spacing.  That can help you determine how many tomato plants you can put in and if there will be room left over for cucumbers.  Don’t forget about succession planting – once lettuces are done (usually by early July in Zone 5) you can put in a late planting of beets or carrots or put in broccoli seedlings for a fall harvest.

Fourth – Get organized.  I like to set up a chart for each type of vegetable I’ll be ordering.  For instance – I’ll set up a column for each catalog and a row for each particular variety – then I’ll compare quantity and price, keeping in mind that organic seed is somewhat more expensive (but worth the cost environmentally speaking).  Be careful, though, that you don’t end up paying more in shipping charges than for the seed order.  It’s often wiser to consolidate to fewer orders than to pay a $5 shipping charge for a $2.95 packet of seed.

Fifth – Select.  Read seed catalogs like a detective.  Looking for lettuces or carrots that taste sweet?  Make sure the catalog description says that the variety you are interested in tastes sweet.  If there is no mention of taste there is usually a reason.  Also look for clues that the variety will do well in your climate and soil.  Choose varieties that will ripen before your first frost if you live in a colder area.  Many catalogs will state if a variety is unusually tolerant of heat or cold, drought or deluge.

Finally – Order.  Ordering on-line is fast and you’ll know immediately (in most cases) if the product you want is in stock or if you’ll need to make another choice.

That's it!  Six easy steps to ordering seeds - enjoy!

January 19, 2008  The National Day of Service

"I am only one

But still, I am one

I cannot do everything

But still, I can do something

And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something I can do."   Edward Everett Hale

Today is the National Day of Service - a day to act - a day to do the something that each of us can do.  Many of us are newly involved under the auspices of USAservice.org, many of us are carrying through on long personal traditions of service, and many of us are wondering how to become involved - how to do that something that we can, that we must do.

Changing the world is not something we can leave to someone else and we cannot put it off until tomorrow.  If we want change - if we want to make a difference - we must commit ourselves to action and we must commit ourselves now.  We may sometimes work at cross purposes, we may not always agree on goals or methods, but with good will and an intent to understand each other we can change the world and make it a place worth leaving to our children and grandchildren.

Today - even if you cannot participate in the National Day of Service - make a commitment to do the something you can do - donate to a food pantry, plan a community garden, read a story to a child, make a contribution to your cause, volunteer at a homless shelter, adopt a homeless pet, turn off that extra light that's burning in your home, warm the heart of a stranger with a smile.  Make a commitment to do that thing you can do every day - it doesn't need to be the same thing everyday and it doesn't need to be an earth shaking event - but if each us of does that something we can do, we will change the world.

Today - do that thing you can do.

If you live in the Lake, Northern Cook, or McHenry County areas of Illinois, please check out a new grassroots service organization -

www.grassroots4change.us

December 27, 2008

Winter is for dreaming.  Dreaming of the return of the light, dreaming of the first hint of the apple blossoms, of the first emergence of the crocuses and daffodils, of the budding of the lilacs and forsythia, of the first bits of green on the grape vines and raspberry canes - and dreaming of the growing season.  Winter dreams are aided and abetted by the seed catalogs that are coming daily now.  The catalogs are full of temptation - gorgeous photos of tomatoes, peppers, beans, and melons adorn the pages of every catalog.  The hardest part of winter dreaming is deciding which varieties to order...so much to try and so little room in the fields.

The season ended gracefully and the fields are ready for spring planting - resting beneath blankets of cover crop, hay mulch, and snow.  Potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, garlic, squashes, pumpkins, and cabbages are stocked away and being gratefully used in warming winter dishes.  Asparagus soup and tomato sauces are stocked in the freezer along with sweet corn, herbs, and edamame.  One of the best parts of farming is not having to buy vegetables in the grocery store - the freshness and joy of summer are to be had only steps from the kitchen, even in the dead of winter. 

There are some exciting developments - Reverence Gardens is listed on the new veganic farming website - www.goveganic.net.  Check it out and also check out the other veganic farms listed on the site - please be sure to patronize these farmers if you live near by.  If you don't live near by please consider starting your own vegan garden.  This year Reverence Gardens will be featuring step by step instructions on how to grow veganically - from seed selection though seed starting, transplanting, fertilizing, weeding, insect control, harvesting, and storage.  Even if you don't have much room you can grow a few things and feel the thrill of working with the earth to produce your own healthy and peaceful food.

Keep an eye on the site - now that the chaos of shutting down the farm for the season, finishing final exams, integrating our two adoptive dogs into the family, and getting back into the corporate contract world has settled down I'll be adding updates on a more regular basis.

Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year and winter dreams filled with wonder and delight.