Our Garden

I'm so happy I was able to participate in this class with all of you! I've had a lot of fun, and I'm glad we were able to create our own little presence on campus. I'll be here over the summer, so hopefully I'll be able to see a few of you working on our garden, or perhaps at one of the other community gardens in the area. I definitely believe it's important for those of us staying to keep in touch so our garden doesn't go untended. We can check this blog, or perhaps form our own e-mailing list. I also love the idea of creating other small plots like this in random spots around campus. Everywhere I see an empty grassy spot I think "what a great place for a vegetable garden!" Perhaps different different groups on campus can be encouraged to organize and maintain their own plots. We can gather our resources together, and and harvest time can have a big campus cook-out, or perhaps donate excess veggies to Fields for Families.

And now for a trip down memory lane:

City Paper - Finding the Good Life in Your Own Backyard

The City Paper did a nice write up of some of the gardening and farming activities in Charleston including mention of the Bogarden as well as discussion of some of the great local farms in our community such as Ambrose, Rosebank and Thornhill.

One of the mentions that most interested me was Chef Fred Neuville's heirloom chicken farm out on Wadmalaw Island. Chef Neuville is the head chef at the Fat Hen on Maybank Highway. He has started a program called Farm Kids that aims to connect children living on the Island to their food. The kids get to collect eggs, check out the baby pigs and even make candles in the honey house. I think that its really great for these kids to learn about where their food comes from and to gain a working respect of the hard work that goes in to raising these animals, as well as a healthy respect for the animals themselves that nourish us. Hopefully none of these kids will grow up thinking that food comes from a supermarket and that's the end of the story.

I'm really happy to see all of the gardens and farms in the area getting some recognition!

Watering

As we are attempting to pass off the bogarden to the neighborhood, me immediate fear is that there will not be consistent watering. This is another problem that seems common in gardens that many people have a hand in. Thus, I have found a pretty reasonable solution to ensure that plants have adequate water through this hot South Carolina summer. Basically, this system is similar to what I suggested for making compost tea in the garden bed. All you do is sink a 2 liter bottle or a milk jug (depending on how many plants you need to keep watered) half way in the soil and poke two pencil sized holes in the bottom of the jug. Every time you water the garden, fill up the jug, as water is removed by the plants, it will be drawn out of the container and into the soil. Even allowing the top two inches of soil to dry out can stress the plants and keep them from producing at their best.

A word on when to water:
Just because plants are wilted, it does not necessarily indicate that they need water. Too much water, disease, and plain old heat (a common thing down here) can cause plants to wilt. Before you decide to water, put your fingers in the soil and see how moist it is. If the top two inches are dry add enough to thoroughly soak the soil. It is ideal to water infrequently but deeply. This encourages root growth into the soil by keeping a large area moist without risking squeezing all the oxygen out of the soil. It is ideal to water in the morning to allow water to evaporate before the heat of the day. Watering at night can lead to problems with disease, so avoid watering the leaves if you have to water at night. Also, water in a large circle around the crops which will ensure more healthy root growth.

Good luck keeping the garden alive and well this summer!

Lessons from the Bogarden: Compost Tea & Using Compost

Trying to maintain rich soil without the use of artificial fertilizers can seem daunting today when we are taught through marketing to think that you need to add miracle grow to get good results in the garden. However, preparing compost tea is an easy and free method for introducing nutrients along with beneficial microorganisms to your soil. Seth Pritchard touched on a few methods for preparing compost tea when he spoke to our class a few months ago. However, I found a few low-tech methods for producing this nutrient rich brew without having invest in air stones and any other fancy equipment.
First, I found a simple method in Rodales's Garden Answers: Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs which has proven to be a helpful guide all around. This book's suggested method for producing compost teas is to put a shovel full of compost in a porous bag (burlap, pillowcase, etc), steep it in a bucket of water for a few days, and then dilute it to the color of tea. I am currently trying this method because many of the seedlings in the bogarden are not growing very well, which leads me to suspect that the soil is poor in nutrients. It is relatively easy however I question its effectiveness because there is no way of keeping oxygen levels high in the soil unless you occasionally pull the bag out and break the soil up. Seth Pritchard's method is similar to this but it ensures a steady supply of oxygen by using air stones to saturate the soil while it is submerged.
Another way to produce compost tea without having to do any major engineering is to simply place a handfull of compost in a clay pot sunk half way in the ground next to your seedlings. Place water in the pot when plants are watered and compost tea is made in the pot and immediately diffused directly to the roots of the plants. This may be a good option for the campus garden to avoid having to repeatedly haul tea/fertilizers to campus.
Finally, we recently came in contact with two guys who are starting their own verme-composting business. They collect the worm castings (excrement) from the bottom of the pile and sell the juices as liquid fertilizer. I applied the fertilizer a few weeks ago and the plants have noticeably improved. I spoke with the guys today and they told me that their juice wasn't particularly rich in nitrogen, so if one is to use worm castings as a compost tea, keep in mind extra nitrogen may be needed around flowering time to ensure proper vegetable production.

Lessons from the Bogarden: Crop Rotation

Although it may be difficult to maintain a cohesive long term gardening plan in a college environment where students come and go quickly and many hands are involved in planting, trying to maintain a 3 year crop rotation is beneficial to the soil and consequently the plants will grow better. This system is an organic alternative to controlling pests and diseases by allowing the correct balance of nutrients to stay in the soil which supports diverse communities of microorganisms. First, here are some basic families. Plants from the same family should not be planted repeatedly in the same raised bed.

Beet family: beet, chard, spinach
Cabbage family: broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, radish, turnip
Carrot family: carrot, celery, cilantro, dill, parsley, parsnip
Grass family: corn
Lettuce family: artichoke, lettuce
Lily family: chives, garlic, leek, onion
Pea family: bean, peanut, pea
Squash family: cucumber, melon, pumpkin, squash
Tomato family: eggplant, pepper, potato, tomato

Plants from these families consume similar nutrients and also contract similar diseases. Thus, in the bogarden, where we are having trouble with a fungus on our tomatoes, it is advisable not to replace our diseased tomatoes with peppers, potatoes, or tomatoes.
Furthermore, to diversify the output of each bed (which is important in community gardening operations) you can practice companion planting. Such pairings can be for structural reasons (e.g. beans grow up a corn stalk and squash protects against weeds) or for nutrient balance reasons. An extensive list of proper companion plants (and planting schedules for Charleston) can be found at Hyams garden center on Folly Rd. or online at www.companionplanting.net, attra.ncat.org

Odds and ends

So many new posts since I left for my conference last week! When I came home, I found a fridge full of strawberries. My daughters and husband went back to Ambrose and picked more. :  )

We need to stake the tomato plants ASAP. The vines are touching the ground which is bad news. I will try to find time today to go find some suitable stakes. If any of you have time to do this, let me know and I'll take it off of my list.

Those of you who will be around this summer and want to help keep the garden going, post here.  I'll be around through June, but I'll likely take a few weeks off in July. 

What a great semester!!

I really enjoyed this class and this semester with all of you. It was a rocky start with us actually organizing the garden project behind the Sociology building, but thanks to those individuals who stepped up and got the ball rolling we finally got on track. I hope that the garden remains well cared for throughout the summer and hopefully next year other environmental studies minors can pick up where we left off. I hope that this garden project becomes a part of campus and lasts well beyond this one growing season.

I also very much enjoyed reading both of the books this semester. The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved was a very informative look at what we eat and how those foods get to our table. I think that the second book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle was by far the better of the two. Reading it you almost didn't realize how much you were learning because of the story like format the book took. With recipes and side stories contributed by her family members, Kingsolver really created a book that was both very informative and very fun to read. Following her family through their journey to eat only what they could grow or what they could get locally, in season, was a refreshing look at ho food could be, and is, for some dedicated people.

On another note I just wanted to discuss with y'all who would be around this summer to care for the garden. I will be here most of the summer, I am taking a few trips but overall will be living downtown until the end of July. I would be happy to help keep up with the care of the garden and was just wondering who else would be available and willing to help out too. We should make some sort of schedule or figure out who can take care of it when. I would hate to see the work that we put into the garden be for nothing if it goes uncared for. We all know how hot it gets here in the summer! Y'all let me know if you will be here and we can work something out.

It was great to get to know all of you this semester and I hope to see those of you who are staying in Charleston after this class ends!!!

Earth Day!

April 22nd 2010 – Earth Day! While I didn’t do any volunteering this Earth Day like I typically do, I did learn of many different ways I can help out this summer relating to themes we've been going over in this class. Afterall, Earth Day should be celebrated year-round! The CofC student association Alliance for Planet Earth (APE) hosted a wonderful outdoor dinner at the Stern Student Center Gardens in support of nonprofit Lowcountry Local First. The purpose of the event was to link together community members interested in promoting sustainability and local food while sharing a meal and having fun. Many of our classmates were there! Rice and beans were served, as well as a variety of light snacks and appetizers. In true green fashion, most people brought their own utensils and dishes. Blankets were spread out in the sun, guitars riffs broke out, shirts were tye-dyed, and Frisbees thrown. (Sharing food and getting hit by a Frisbee are great icebreakers btw!) The star guests were Elizabeth Beak, Director of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative at LLF, as well as the three interns for the LLF Growing New Farmers Incubator Pilot. This apprenticeship program not only connects apprentices with local farmers to learn how to be a sustainable farmer, but teaches them the business aspect of farming. Farmers, chefs, and activists are all involved. The Charleston City paper published a cover article this week detailing the pilot program (with CofC’s own Nikki Seibert on the cover!). It’s important that our local farmers have community support. Afterall, No farmers, no food.
After everyone got a chance to eat a socialize, we circled up to make sure everyone knew of these and other happenings in our community relating to local food and sustainability. The interns and anyone else who were involved in or knew of a project were given an opportunity to speak. There are volunteer opportunities through our local farms and nonprofits such as Lowcountry Local First. Also, there are community gardens that could use our support. The Bogarden could use come love, and the Charleston Area Children’s Garden Project could always use volunteers. I look forward to getting involved with these and other organizations over the summer, and getting my hands dirty!

Lessons from the Bogarden: Diseases

We invested a lot of time to producing seedlings for the bogarden. Unfortunately, due to factors beyond our control something we used in the garden was contaminated with the spores of the fungus (septoria leaf spot) that infected our tomato plants! It was first evident that there was something wrong when they did not grow anymore after we transplanted them into the garden. Next, the leaves turned yellow and eventually developed little black spots that rotted from the inside out. Unfortunately, many of the tomatoes were all planted in the same bed so they all contracted the disease. This should be a lesson to everyone to avoid mono cropping and use companion planting to reduce the risk of diseases spreading throughout the crops. Also, a local master gardener suggested a few things. Here's what she had to say:

"Good garden hygiene is very important. Make sure you dispose of all the infected leaves and clean your tools when you switch working with different plants or areas"

"Once the tomatoes have it, the soil is contaminated because the fungus is spread by spores. I would start new tomato plants in different areas and replace the tomatoes with a different crop."

"You can help prevent fungus in tomatoes by keeping the leaves dry; most plants don’t like their leaves wet so when you water water around the base of the plants."

Also, an online resource had this to say about the fungus. It is surprising to me that its development was so widespread due to the relatively low humidity we have had in Charleston this spring.

"Because free moisture is necessary for spore infection through stomates, long-lasting dew and rainy days (100 percent RH for 48 hr accumulated over several days) favor disease development."
Also, the only way to get rid of a fungus involves use of fungicides that are dangerous substances to other organisms. She also said:

"trying to get rid of the fungus involves things I wouldn’t use in my garden and the plants never really thrive after that."

I though it was also interesting that the fungus can be carried in the seeds. Thus, buying seeds from large seed producers (which is where we got our tomato seeds) may risk your plants contracting the fungus. The Cornell's gardening website (http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/factsheets/Tomato_Septoria.htm) said:

Tomato seed has been shown to carry spores and produce infected seedlings, but whether the pathogen is truly seedborne is unknown.

Lessons from the Bogarden: Compost!

We started composting in the bogarden about a month ago and because this is the first large compost I have worked on I've learned a lot! It is a really amazing process to watch yard and kitchen scraps turn into a beautiful pile of soil building compost (of which we are in dire need at the bogarden). Detritivores do most of the work, you just have to keep an eye on it. It also keeps costs low for gardening operations (don't have to buy soil which is usually shipped in) and it makes good use of materials that would otherwise go into the trash. So here are a few simple guidelines to help you start your own compost.


1.) Use a well aerated bin/ container that is easily accessible.
Compost needs lots of air! Because detritivores like bacteria, fungus, worms, and insects are all heterotrophic they need oxygen to break down the material. So the more oxygen the better and the more often you stir the compost, the faster the organic material will break down. If I could do it again, I would have used a large container on a that could be rolled easily to avoid excessive time spent mixing/aerating the compost. However, if you're working with low budget materials, all you really need is some wood to keep everything in a coherent pile. Thus, we used a few spare pieces of scavenged wood and a couple of shipping crates. To keep it aerated, I shovel the pile from one bin to the other at least once a week. This is more often than necessary, but our tomatoes are not growing well and they are in need of some nutrients, so I'm trying to break everything down pretty quickly. Using a rolling container like the one below will make it much easier to aerate the pile and they're fairly easy to make.

2.) Put 3 times as much brown matter into the compost as you put nutrient rich green matter.
Brown matter includes dry leaves, weeds, plants, sawdust, paper, straw, and hay. These materials are high in carbon relative to other nutrients and thus provide the base to which you add more nutrient rich material. Green materials include kitchen scraps (veggie, fruit, coffee, tea, fresh leaves {not walnut or eucalyptus} and grass). You should avoid meats and dairy because they are "too hot", as Seth Pritchard would say. Ideally you will reach a ratio of 30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen and the pile should be extremely active with decay! Sometimes compost heaps get so hot from all the biological action they spontaneously combust! Once you achieve the right ratio, the more you aerate and water it, the hotter it will get. If it gets so hot that you cannot comfortably keep your hand in the middle of the pile, then you are "hot composting" which leads to quick decomposition but also the loss of nitrogen as gas from your pile (although i'm sure being elbow deep in rotting kitchen scraps is not a pleasant thought for some of you).

3.) Keep the pile relatively moist Moisture is another one of those essential elements for keeping your compost pile in ideal conditions to sustain a wide variety of decomposing organisms. You want it to have enough water that it will always be damp, but never so much that you squeeze out all the oxygen in the pile. Typically, I put five gallons of water on a pretty large pile about once a week (when I stir it).

4.) Try to use material with high surface area
Before you put scraps in your compost, chop them up a bit to increase the surface area on which bacteria and other microorganisms can grow. A whole onion can take weeks to break down but if you chop it up (which i usually do with a shovel while i'm stirring) it will break down in days. I just hope i haven't cut too many worms in half in the process.

5.) Activate your compost by adding materials already rich in detritivores.
To active our compost I added a little bit of compost from all seasons and then some worms from some folks that run a verme-composting business. Worms really seemed to make a huge difference! Also, you can use activating kits that are packages of billions of microorganisms waiting to eat your waste. A less material intensive method that a friend who went to school for permaculture told me was to put your pile in direct contact with the ground to allow for migration of organisms upward into your compost.

So that's pretty much what I've learned. It's so easy to do and only takes a small time investment. It also makes you feel much more connected with your soil, which determines how well your plants will thrive. So go get your hands dirty!

Urban Aqriculture Explodes in Seattle

It seems like almost overnight urban agriculture has bloomed in Seattle. According to Seattlepi.com, residents in Seattle have a few love, and are utilizing every patch of land to begin urban garden plots. Local churches and community centers have even torn up their traditional landscaping to make room from garden plots. The Seattle Central Community College is even offering the city's first, and quite possibly the country's first, program focused on sustainable urban agriculture. The classes are already filling up. What is it exactly that has caused this boom in urban agriculture? Seattle is known far and wide for being a city very much concerned with the environment so is it really any surprise that residents are now desiring more fresh, local and seasonal foods? One of the biggest challenges so far is finding spaces for these gardens (a problem we are more than familiar with here in Charleston). The solution came with one woman's idea to create a website that matches farmers with available plots around the city. There are currently 400 listings on the site. (Maybe this is an idea that Charleston could use if the interest picks up enough in the years to come?) Urban gardens are springing up in the most unusual of places, such as the front lawns of churches, but the idea is catching on and one by one people are lining up to get a plot of their own.

I feel like this is kind of what is happening here in Charleston. A year or two ago the idea of urban gardening was a foreign one to me and there were few, if any, urban gardens around town. It seems like in these past two springs, this one especially with the birth of the Bogarden, have marked a turn in the popularity of Charleston's urban agriculture scene. Who knows what next year will hold. With the growing interest and public awareness of the various urban gardening projects around town who knows how many gardens we will see pop up next spring.

Farmer Pete

I really enjoyed the visit to Ambrose Farms last Friday. Farmer Pete was an extremely nice guy, who is passionate about local produce and has very good intentions. It was very nice to try fresh crops as we were strolling the farm. He grows everything from strawberries and asparagus to eggplant and olive trees (which takes about 7 years to grow!) It was very interesting seeing all the different methods that Farmer Pete used, and he even shared some of his little tricks, for example he doesn’t use biodegradable plastic because the very bottom doesn’t degrade so you still end up having to pull it up! (Suggested invention…) It was a great closing to Urban Agriculture as we saw everything we talk about in class and read in Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle come together.

Farmer Pete had great ideas about ways to be more resourceful. For example he wanted to put a pipe through his mulch pit to energize his green house! One of the main problems he saw was the lack of connection between local farms and the community. Although CSA does great things, he felt that even a simple sign could help connect the two. Essentially, there should be a better middleman between the farmer and the consumer. How do we improve community outreach? With frontline activism, local food can move more into grocery stores and citizens have more options to buy local produce. I feel that many people would buy local but do not know where to find it. Like Tavner mentioned, we really are so lucky to have so many local farms surrounding us and we should really take advantage of that. Local foods should be sold more at the grocery stores, and may be eventually the infrastructure of the global food trade can be recentralized.

Ambrose Farms Field Trip!

It was a pleasure to meet and talk with Pete Ambrose, owner of Ambrose Farms on Wadmalaw Island. He welcomed us to his farm last Friday, narrating his experiences while welcoming us to try his organic strawberries and asparagus – fresh off the plant! I never realized how delicious asparagus could be raw! A farmer for 35 years, Pete Ambrose begun making the transition to organic farming about 3 years ago. At first he was apprehensive about the change – he preferred his rows of vegetables tidy and free of weeds, and wasn’t sure organic farming would do the job. However, members of his blossoming CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program appeared to want it. This consumer demand combined with encouragement from a fellow farmer convinced him to try. Today, this farm and CSA program is a success! A member of his CSA program myself, I can verify the value and quality of Ambrose vegetables. I received my first share of the season that day, including arugula, garlic, sweet onions, icicle radishes, turnips, asparagus, and of course strawberries. For more information on their CSA program, please visit their website at http://www.stonofarmmarket.com.

While an evaluator can come out tomorrow and label Ambrose Farms as USDA certified organic, Mr. Ambrose wishes not to due to the amount of paperwork and hassle. It can be quite difficult for smaller farms to be labeled as such. Fortunately, by dealing directly with consumers, this doesn’t matter much. The community seems to be in strong support of Ambrose Farms. This was particularly evidenced by the huge outrage that broke out last December when a former race car driver and his wife, who live next to the farm, filed a civil suit against the business due to grievances over the U-Pick operation, even though it was in place before they moved there. Here’s an article that further details the situation, and the eventual dropping of the lawsuit: http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/dec/12/farmer-relieved-ex-racers-suit-dropped-but-still/.

Everyday brings new challenges and opportunities to the farm. Things are always changing, every season is a little different, and it takes real experience to make a farm work. As Mr. Ambrose said, “You can’t read a book and farm.” Always looking for ways to improve, he is currently experimenting with such things grafting tomatoes and growing different heirloom varieties to see which will work best. Support from the community in these endeavors is essential. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to my next box.

Ambrose Farms

I really loved our trip to the farm on Friday. It was so cool to see everything that we have talked about in class up close. Mr. Ambrose was an articulate and knowledgeable individual. It was surprising to learn that he was not pursuing the organic label mostly because of the tremendous amount of paper work involved. I had not ever thought about that but it makes a lot of sense. If he is growing his crops in a sustainable way, then why does he really need some label?

It makes me wish that Whole Foods carried more local growers. The one in Mt Pleasant has some fantastic produce, but why should I buy an organic tomato from California when I could have one of Mr. Ambrose's tomatoes from just a couple islands away? The whole experience of being out on the farm and picking my own strawberries ans asparagus really highlights our responsibility to support local farmers. It is a privilege that we live somewhere where there is an abundance of local produce to choose from, and makes me regret my decisions in the past to purchase out of state.

Marion Square Farmer's Market

It was a nice day to spend wandering the farmer's market yesterday and full of great finds. My roommate and I had planned to pick up some produce as we normally do, but quickly started buying up the makings of about three different meals for the week. Though the fruits and veggies weren't as myriad and local as I would have liked, for obvious seasonal reasons (one stand was mostly Florida produce) there was still plenty to choose from, and even more items I hadn't been expecting. I think I noticed at least two different places selling local, grass fed beef and pork (at about $6/lb the ground beef was comparable in price to the GF ground beef from NC I bought at Whole Foods last week) and at least two stands selling raw milk! *For those of you who have never tried it but want to, you can buy an 8oz individual serving for only 75 cents* In addition, there was goat cheese, eggs, breads, and my favorite stop--the fresh pasta/ravioli. I was happy to discover that even if I couldn't grow and make all this stuff myself, there were plenty of options to purchase local products for a week's worth of meals. Alas, here is what we bought and will be having this week:

-Fresh crab, bacon and corn ravioli with a chive and garlic butter with sautéed grape tomatoes

-Chilled strawberry, melon, honey and mint soup with spinach and strawberry salad

-Corn on the cob, fried okra, red potatoes and grilled asparagus

*We got EVERYTHING I just listed at the farmer's market for less than $40! Also, in addition to the usual stands along the far end of the square, Fields to Families has their produce set up about midway through the King St. section--good selection and great cause to support!

Wild asparagus

I was out in my yard yesterday and was pleasantly suprised to find some wild briars poking their heads out of some of my flowerbeds and other un-frequented parts of my yard. Usually people don't like dealing with the mess of climbing vines that shoot up overnight and have thorns, but to me they are a delicious part of spring! Those knarled devils walking sticks are the best for eating with thick stems and resemble asparagus in taste and smell (darker thicker stems left and right). They're super easy to spot because only the edible tip is without nasty thorns, so it is really important to get them while they're shorter and easier to reach. there are some other littler briars that are thinner but taste just as good (they're the brighter green ones in the picture above). Just saute them in some butter for about ten minutes and they're good to go! I would suggest just taking the top 6" off the plant to eat. The plant will sprout another tip within a few days so frequent checks mean more chance of getting a good haul. This is the only type of asparagus I'll eat. I hate the store bought kind so to me fresh is best. I really hope those of you without a cultivated asparagus patch try this! Happy hunting :)

Ambrose Farms Field Trip Details

We are going to meet out at the farm between 2-2:15. It is a good way from campus, so give yourself time. I have promised rides to two students and have room for one more. If you need a ride, please comment on this post so we know. There is no assigned parking, but I'll be parking in the u-Pick area. We'll hang out, maybe pick some strawberries or admire the crops until Pete or Babs can meet with us.

Speaking of which, the Strawberry U-Pick is open. If you like strawberries, bring some cash! I believe Babs said they are $2 per lb. They are delicious!

Here is a link  for directions.

Urban agriculture is worldwide!

Saw in article on cnn.com about urban agriculture activities worldwide in places like Kenya and British Columbia. It was really cool to read that Canada actually has an Office of Urban Agriculture. The most interesting place though was probably Cuba. The article discussed how Cuba has had vibrant city gardens ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union when they lost their supply of cheap oil. I find it interesting that they went organic not out of choice but necessity. They no longer had oil to power the tractors on the large-scle commercial farms, so they turned to urban gardens to continue to produce food. It makes me wonder if it would take a massive shortage of oil in this country for us to really convert our farming practices to organic. I want to believe that we would do it voluntarily, but it doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon.

I also wanted to say something about this summer and try to figure out who is going to be around to continue to maintain the garden. I guess its something we can talk about in class.

Kingsolver

In chapters seventeen and eighteen, Kingsolver explains how farm lifestyle adapts to winter months. For starters, there are less eggs. However, her daughter Lily quickly adapts to the situation, creating her own egg business and charging locals $2.50 for a carton of eggs. I found this funny compared to the usual lemonade stand a girl her age would use to make a little extra money.

Kingsolver also addresses the different holidays in America. She explains how Fourth of July and Thanksgiving are the only true American holidays. While Fourth of July is all about processed burgers and hot dogs, Thanksgiving is about seasonal produce and families, making it Kingsolver's favorite holiday. I was surprised when she wrote how Europe has no turkeys, something I had never really thought of before. Kingsolver also explains how a large part of Thanksgiving is always having more than enough food. I can definitely relate, as my family of five usually prepares about eight dishes to eat, giving us enough leftovers for weeks.

In chapter eighteen, Kingsolver addresses the "hardships" of winter time for a family living off what they grow. She explains how winters are made easy when properly planned for. Her freezing and canning of tomatoes, meats, vegetables, and sauces left her family with plenty of food to live off of for the winter. My only question would be: how big is her freezer?
She also believes that every class should take field trips to local farms for each season, which I think would be a great idea not only for kids, but for adults too. They would be able to see what grows when and how, and really get a sense of where there food is (or should be) coming from. Our field trip tomorrow is a great start!

Field Trip to Ambrose Farms

We'll be posting meet-up information, driving directions and other information this afternoon. The basic plan is to go out to the farm and poke around until Pete or Babs can meet with us. I'm taking some cash and picking strawberries ($2 a lb, I believe) while I'm out there. Strawberries are my favorite and I've been very disciplined waiting to buy  locally grown berries this year.

Our Garden

I thought it might be nice to share a few pictures with you of our garden located behind the Sociology/Anthropology department. These pictures are from the day our first plants got in the ground in late March. We didn't have a hose yet, so we watered our babies with whatever containers we happened to have available, including coffee mugs. It's been a lot of fun so far working with all of you on this garden project. It will be exciting to see our plants grow over the next few weeks. Hopefully most of us will be available to see this happen. Is there anyone else who will be available over the summer to help tend it?

Are we meeting at the garden today or the classroom?

Better Late Than Never!

So I just might be the most forgetful person on earth, but here I am, finally blogging! I was really excited at all the progress we made last week. The Tater-Tower was begun, finally there is soil in the second box, and the heirloom tomatoes donated to us by Dr. Hays are in the soil where they belong.

I wanted to share with y'all my own garden that I have been working on this spring too. Since my house this year has no yard to speak of, I decided to attempt a container garden. I was successful with a tomato plant and some herbs last year, so I decided to expand my attempts this season. I will admit it was a little ambitious but with all of my plants surviving, I feel quite successful. This year I planted: tomato, cherry tomato, carrot, onion, mesculin, mustard greens, arugula, spinach, habanero peppers, snap peas, and herbs. So far so good. I am cutting mesculin this afternoon! Looks like a big green leafy salad with dinner!

The Bogarden!

March 20^th - What used to be a vacant lot devoid of activity is filled with the sounds of shoveling, hammering, and laughter. The corner of Bogard and Rutledge is becoming home to the latest community garden on the Charleston peninsula - a place where the community can gather to work together, socialize, and grow vegetables. I was happy to be able to come out to this work day to help others build garden boxes, fill them with compost, and even plant some of the first basil starters. The high-quality compost delivered that morning was made possible by a fundraiser party the night before, of which I must say was a rocking good time. Things are really coming together at the Bogarden, and since that work day I'm sure even more has happened! Below are a few pictures from that day. If any of you are interested in getting a plot at the Bogarden, helping out, or if you would like like more information send an e-mail to thebogarden@gmail.com. They also have a blog located at www.thebogarden.blogspot.com. Updates are sure to follow!

A New Way to Spend Time in Jail

I saw this neat article on CNN.com today:http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/04/12/prison.farmers/index.html?hpt=C2 discussing a partnership between the Florida department of corrections and the University of Florida's agricultural program. Essentially, the program at UF was experiencing budget cuts that prevented them from being able to manage their fields, so now non-violent offenders are working in the research farms five days a week to help out. Not only does it help deal with financial issues on the university's end, but the prisoners are getting to eat the food they grow, defraying the cost of their food for the state. I'm sure it's nice that they are getting more fresh food, that's locally grown, but they're also learning valuable skills. (actually the article noted some of the prisoners are already quite experienced farmers--growing crops of an illegal variety). Still, we've talked about the growing problem of US farmers that are aging, and that lack of knowledge being passed on, but what if a lot of these inmates were to fill that gap when they're released? This seems like such a good idea for correctional facilities all over the country, with the work ethic and skills that are being developed clearly having the potential to give back more to society that the ability to make license plates!

The tater tower is complete!

So last Friday I went ahead and planted five seed potatoes in our tater tower. I planted 3 different kinds, so we will have a good variety. Once the plants get about 24 inches high the other tire will need to be stacked and filled. I don't know who is going to be taking care of the garden after the semester is over but hopefully the garden won't go to waste. By the end of the summer there will be red, white and blue potatoes ready to eat.

If anyone wanted a few potatoes for their own garden I have a bunch more to give away. Just let me know if you are interested :D

Life in the Red State

In the chapter "Life in the Red State", Kingsolver explains how the month of August means tomatoes to small farmers. Fifty pounds of tomatoes quickly became over 300 pounds, and Kingsolver's family turned to different storing methods. She explains how canning has a bad reputation as being "murderous to women's freedom and sanity" (200). She parallels canning with her friends to a book club, and enjoyable put time consuming way to spend your time. She also explains how one can freeze whole tomatoes in the feezer, which I had no idea you could do. Another interesting thing Kinsolver goes into is the packing of organic produce. Organic commercial farming is hard work because farmers need special training, orgainic certification, reliable markets, and a packaging plant. She gives us a look at the behind-the-scenes workings of one orgainic packaging plant, Appalachian Harvest. Appalachian Harvest packaging plant is on the border of Virginia and Tennessee. Farmers bring in their organic produce, which is then washed, sorted, and packaged in the plant. The sorting of the produce must comply with rediciulus supermarket standards, such as cucumbers between 6 and 8 inches only. The farmers are paid after the supermarkets issue their checks, with Appalachian Harvest taking a 25% commission. Although sales have gone up, organic Californian tomatoes were being sold for less and beat local farmers to the markets. Though they are still organic, produce from California being sold in Virginia represents a lot of fossil fuels being burned from transportation. That's a whole lotta pollution that could be decreased by buying organic and local.