If It’s Not Fun, Then It’s Not Sustainable

Posted December 9, 2013 by laurabruno in Uncategorized. Tagged: Food Security, Local Food, Permaculture, Sustainability, Sustainable Living. 1 Comment

While riding the synchronicity train this weekend, I passed several stops on the way to Whitley Strieber Station, most of which had to do with local food and the phrase, "You are where you eat," which I found in a book and then online. The following series of videos from Canada's ChekNews explores "the importance of self-sufficient food farming on Vancouver Island, British Columbia."

I love, love, love that this appeared on mainstream news and that they later posted the videos on YouTube! Even though Jennifer Crosby investigates Vancouver's local food scene, she includes copious details about North American agriculture in general and why we would all benefit from stronger local food security. This video series interviews farmers, chefs, grocery store owners and gardeners, and it gives lots of tips for ways that anyone — from consumers to growers — can contribute to a strong, local food movement. Each video, shown throughout the week, explores a different facet of local food security.

If It's Not Fun, Then It's Not Sustainable

Synchronously — or should I just say, "in the ever more intricately and obviously organized and expanding web that is my life" — my friend Mitch sent me the last video below, which finishes with the title of today's post: "If it's not fun, then it's not sustainable." Yep! Pretty much sums it up for me. Education, community, delicious food, creativity … fun! What's not to love?

The why of local food security:

The economics of farming and the importance of supporting local farmers if you want access to local food:

http://youtu.be/pwsn-KI74g0

Creative use of space: "beyond the backyard" … using public space:

http://youtu.be/Sl7xdUHYvoo

Part 4 is MIA!

http://youtu.be/Sl7xdUHYvoo

"Have attitudes changed enough for farmers to have a future on Vancouver Island?" This farmer is so enthusiastic!

http://youtu.be/GnosKTBgqdw

And finally, the video I found in my inbox this morning explores a new type of community garden using a new model in order to make use of vacant land that might sell again if/when the economy recovers. It's "an excerpt from the upcoming feature-length documentary: Promises of Urban Agriculture, directed by Joseph Redwood-Martinez. Jay Rosenberg speaks about Hayes Valley Farm demonstrating urban agriculture as a strategy for interim land use in San Francisco." As with the Vancouver information above, this video offers ideas applicable to any town or city with vacant or underutilized land:

http://youtu.be/964rsllOEh0

On Wednesday, I'll also be meeting with some people from our Historic South Side Neighborhood to discuss ways to connect non-gardening people with sunny yards with would-be gardeners blessed with tall trees, shady yards or no yards. Land use in exchange for produce — one step at a time towards local food security!

Related

GMO's and Food Security
In "A Place at the Table"

Happy St. Gertrude's Day!
In "Be the Change"

Some Thoughts About the Supposedly "Imminent Food Crisis"
In "Corn Crop Failures"

Indoor Garden

Bringing the Garden Indoors

Posted December 10, 2013 by laurabruno in Uncategorized. Tagged: Cold Frame, Dried Produce, Indoor Garden, Tree Collards. Leave a Comment

Several people have inquired if I'm growing any food indoors this year. Initially, my answer was, "No! I burned out on deadheading last winter's basil. Every. Single. Day." In the past few weeks, though, I've reconsidered, taking cuttings of some favorite non-cold-hardy plants like pineapple sage:

I also brought in the terra cotta pots of pink geranium and lemon balm, as well as starting another lemon balm in a small pot:

In the above photo, you can also see our Christmas cactus (from my friend Sherri's grandmother) getting ready to bloom, and thriving jade and aloe plants that I got through freecycle.org. To the right, you can see just the tiniest bit of a very happy spider plant started by David's sister.

Because my red geraniums helped so well with garden bug control, I decided to rescue a few of them from the brutal cold:

We've got dried mint for smoothies and teas (plus a whole bunch of other dried herbs not pictured):

It is so cold outside right now (hasn't gotten above freezing in many days!) that I've not ventured out to check on the cold frame. In retrospect, I wish I had located that bed just a bit further back so that it would get morning sunshine. My uncovered plants on the East side of the house actually look happier than even the covered ones out back, because they get sunshine at the coldest part of the day — early morning. Oh, well! I trust at least some of my cold hardier plants will survive this week's deep freeze. In the meantime, we've enjoyed meals featuring dried and then rehydrated tree collards from this Fall:

A quart (half this jar) has provided us with ample greens for 5 different meals featuring tree collards, which taste like an intriguing cross between collards and kale with just a hint of purple cabbage. They're great in stir fries, "beanie greenies," soups and even in scrambled eggs. Above, you can also see some of the many tomatoes I dehydrated, beginning in late July when our supply went through the roof! We even still have some German Yellow Tomatoes ripening inside:

At last week's cold frame workshop, someone reminded me that cilantro and arugula grow well indoors, so I will plant a few seeds of each in small pots once it gets a bit warmer in our garage. The thought of 9 degree planting efforts just doesn't feel very enticing right now. [Update: oh, my goodness! Make that 3 degrees.] Planting in single digits is about as enticing as redistributing the rest of the mulch in our driveway, which I had reallllly hoped to have finished by the holidays. Excuse me, Mama Nature, I'd like to order a string of high forties days with a side of sunshine. Hold the wind, please and thank you!