Summertime, and the Livin' is Easy

Updates will be coming soon, we're too busy eating peaches and tomatoes! But, stay tuned.

How Green Is Your Garden?

A NYT story highlights a new report that includes proposed guidelines for creating sustainable landscapes, as well as diverse examples of successful restoration projects.

Victory for Gardeners

This exchange from “Being There,” in which Peters Sellers plays Chance the Gardener, reminds me a lot of what you hear of CNBC these days:

President "Bobby": Mr. Gardner, do you agree with Ben, or do you think that we can stimulate growth through temporary incentives? [Long pause] Chance the Gardener: As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. And all will be well in the garden. President "Bobby": In the garden. Chance the Gardener: Yes. In the garden, growth has it seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get spring and summer again. President "Bobby": Spring and summer. Chance the Gardener: Yes. President "Bobby": Then fall and winter. Chance the Gardener: Yes. Benjamin Rand: I think what our insightful young friend is saying is that we welcome the inevitable seasons of nature, but we're upset by the seasons of our economy. Chance the Gardener: Yes! There will be growth in the spring! Benjamin Rand: Hmm! Chance the Gardener: Hmm! President "Bobby": Hmm. Well, Mr. Gardner, I must admit that is one of the most refreshing and optimistic statements I've heard in a very, very long time. [Benjamin Rand applauds] President "Bobby": I admire your good, solid sense. That's precisely what we lack on Capitol Hill.

On the White House South Lawn, on today, the first day of spring, Michelle Obama and a bunch of fifth-graders broke ground for a vegetable garden. This story on the front page of today’s New York Times gave me hope.

After the debacle that was the 2000 Presidential Election Re-Count, I became completely disenchanted with national politics. In the intervening years, a great many of our worst fears have, indeed, come true. President Al Gore would have started us on a path towards greatly needed environmental and agricultural reform, but it was not to be. I believe that it was at that time that many individuals did the same thing that I did. They started asking themselves “Despite what’s happened at the national level, what actions can I take at a personal level that may begin to make some small difference in continuing on the right path?” The concerns I’d heard Alice Waters, among others, voice about the importance of local food began to resonate. I’ve made small efforts since then to learn about, promote when I can, and get involved in local food issues. It kept me sane through two terms of GWB, and today, well-- I never thought the day would come that the South Lawn would be dug up to plant an organic vegetable garden! Let’s just call it the “Non-Toxic Assets Relief Program.” I think it's reason to hope because it's a sign that other efforts that started at the grassroots will soon come to the national stage after such a long wait. As Chance might say, "The garden will weather all types of hardship, but it will eventually produce!" Even after 8 years...

Let's keep the momentum going, because now that we've got their attention, we can do even more. I want to challenge each of you to grow something edible at your own house. Pot or plot, it doesn’t matter. Experience the joy of growing something (particularly since it doesn’t look as if our investments are going to be doing that anytime soon), and marvel at the wonder and sense of accomplishment you’ll feel. Just don’t sever the roots.

Here’s a great planner to get you started. And here's further inspiration from the past.

New Day, New Food Policy?

This article raises a lot of issues I've been thinking about lately with regard to local food.  Will President Obama bring a new emphasis to food policy issues?  I'm not too impressed with his appointment of Tom Wilsack as Secretary of Agriculture, but will he take the advice of Michael Pollan and others and advocate moving nutritional programs out of the Agriculture Department? It's not too early to start thinking about the next Farm Bill!   As the economy declines, food sovereignty becomes an even more crucial need.

Blast You, Jack Frost!

I love "homegrown tomatoes," and it makes me sad to see my beautiful plants blackened, struck by Jack Frost, after the magnificent job they did during the past growing season. The onset of cold weather also put me in mind of the whereabouts of "Ann," the elderly homeless woman wandering through my neighborhood who picked two luciously ripe tomatoes out of my front yard a couple of months ago. She came back a week later. When I confronted her, she at first denied taking my tomatoes, and asked if she could sit and rest on my front steps. I told her she could and offered her a glass of water. (It was a very hot day, that.) When I came back with the water (and a fresh, local peach), she confessed that she had indeed taken the tomatoes, having given into temptation (who said Eve ate an apple?!) She then launched into a rapturous description of how much she had enjoyed them. One she had bitten into before she got halfway down the street, with the sweet juice running down her chin; the other she took to a friend's house and made into a tomato sandwich! I was so taken by our shared appreciation of tomatoes that we sat and talked for about a half-hour. She said her name was Ann, and she answered my questions about her experience of being homeless, and I answered hers about how I prepared the soil in the garden for the tomatoes. Before she left (and I gave her the tomato she had been eyeing in the first place) I asked that the next time she wanted a tomato from my garden, to ring the doorbell, and just ask. She smiled, gave me a hug, and said "It's a deal!" I left for vacation the next day, and when I got home, I still had loads of to matoes in the garden, but I haven't seen "Ann" since! Now the tomato plants are gone, too, and I'm wondering if Ann is staying warm, and whether I'd see her late evenings at the Bojangle's dumpster, since gleaning in the neighborhood is pretty sparse these days.

CoolGlobes

CoolGlobes is, indeed, a cool project designed to raise awareness about climate change by having artists from all walks of life design globes. (Remember the Palmetto Tree project here in Columbia a few years ago?) My vote goes for the "Plant It!" globe pictured at left. The description from the website:
Get in touch with the earth by growing fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Instead of buying produce that has been packaged and shipped, enjoy homegrown fruits and vegetables–fresh from the garden to the table. Even those without a backyard can green their neighborhood by working in a community garden.

More than 2,000 colorful seed packets envelop this globe as it rises like a flower from a terracotta style pot filled with live plants. Gardens absorb carbon dioxide, reduce the amount of energy from the sun that is retained by paved surfaces, and slow rainwater flow into storm-water sewer systems. They also help people actively tend the earth and tune in to its changes. The artist demonstrates that planting a garden need not be a huge endeavor. Even a small pot or container garden can make an impact.

Time for Fall Gardening

Last winter, in attempts to eat more seasonally and locally, I probably ate more greens than I had in a long time, so I'm looking forward this year to "growing my own." Get inspired with this article "Toss a Fall Salad Mix in Your Garden." If you're not up for getting your hands dirty, be thankful that the local farmer's market movement is starting to take off in South Carolina, with the Charleston Farmer's Market recently named fifth in the nation, beating out San Francisco's!