You talkin' about my Mama?!?!

One of my favorite org’s Sustainable Harvest is offering a great Mother’s Day gift… For yo Mama and another person’s Mama!!

“When you give a Gift of Hope, we send your recipient a beautiful, specially-designed notecard, and your support provides farming families in Central America with the tools and training they need to preserve the environment while improving their standard of living. For a limited time, when you order a Gift of Hope valued at $45 or more in honor of Mother’s Day, we will send a free, hand-made Honduran doll. Please order by Sunday, May 2.”

…………… Hey, it’s better than that crappy doily or hand made sea shell picture frame you were going to get her!

Ummmm, LOVES IT!

How fabulous is this!?

The other weekend I was at the Ferry Building in SF, doing my normal troll of all things fabulous. Really, if you haven’t been there – go! It’s pretty much like Mecca for those of us whose God is food. Yes, you will have to go early to avoid the dreaded mom’s with their entourage of strollers – or those coffee lunatics who create a line with as much depth and length comparable to the great wall of China – but beyond that, it’s fabulous.

Once I got my peas from Louie, some flowers from Cypress Farms, and all the cheese I can get my hands on from Cowgirl Creamery, I drifted over to my fav part of the market. You see, vegetables are great and everything but chocolates are better, and they are located inside.  But it was the mushroom stand that had these fiddlehead ferns for sale. They are commonly used for cooking, but I’d love them just to keep in a bowl in my kitchen. Gorgeous.

Those assholes trying to ruin the environment and our health at the same time Monsanto has been trying to pass genetically modified alfalfa to the USDA. This has incredibly horrendous effects on our organic food industry as a whole.

Please take (literally) 10 seconds to sign the petition and help stop this pending approval.

Go to Food Democracy Now to sign. Thanks!

2010 New Year’s Resolution: Boycott Chemical & GMO Foods, Eat Organically

Organic foods, especially raw or non-processed, contain higher levels of beta carotene, vitamins C, D and E, health-promoting polyphenols, cancer-fighting antioxidants, flavonoids that help ward off heart disease, essential fatty acids, and essential minerals.

“On the average, organic food is 25% more nutritious in terms of vitamins and minerals than products derived from industrial agriculture. Since on the average, organic food’s shelf price is only 20% higher than chemical food, this makes it actually cheaper, gram for gram, than chemical food, even ignoring the astronomical hidden costs (damage to health, climate, environment, and government subsidies) of industrial food production. Levels of antioxidants in milk from organic cattle are between 50% and 80% higher than normal milk. Organic wheat, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, onions and lettuce have between 20% and 40% more nutrients than non-organic foods.”

For more info and to jump start your resolution, check out www.organicconsumers.org

70% of the processed food we eat is genetically modified. The coffee you drink at Starbucks. The meat you eat almost anywhere. And almost 90% of what you buy from Safeway – including gum, toothpaste, and diapers. For more info watch this movie.

Get ready to cry and barf at the same time.

A couple of clicks makes a huge difference. Come on! Dooo it!

Along the same vein as the post below about greenwashing… every one’s trying to get their dirty hands on organic labels. The organic symbol is supposed to show us good from evil – but with ever varying definitions of organic, it’s been convoluted to say the least. Click above to do your part on keeping organic labeling Organic!

The Farm-Vet Coalition information:

The Farmer-Veteran Coalition seeks to help our returning veterans find employment, training, and places to heal on America’s farms. At the same time the Coalition hopes that some of these young men and women may help address our country’s critical need for more good, hard-working people entering the field of agriculture.

The coalition is acutely aware of the high number of soldiers entering the military from our rural communities and the need to improve both job opportunities and veteran services in these areas. We believe that our family farms, the sustainable farming movement and growing support for local and regional agriculture could all be well served by people already accustomed to hard work, discipline and dedication. If given the opportunity, our returning veterans can benefit from and help to stimulate the growing green economy, even in these hard times.

Our goal is to start with an initial program focused in California, and move quickly into a national organization.

The organization will hold strictly to being politically neutral and take no position on the war.

Leafy Greens -

Lettuce
Chard
Kale
Cabbage
Arugula
Spinach

These can all be planted now and in successions until November. You may not get your last crop due to the weather, but if you do you’ll be happy you planted it. Sow seeds or plant plugs every two – three weeks.

Root Crops -

Carrots
Garlic
Shallots
Onions
Potatoes
Beets
Radish

If you are shooting for potatoes, get them in the ground right now, and you’ll have potatoes for Thanksgiving. Carrots can be planted now for about three successions – re-planted every two weeks. Garlic can be planted now and then another crop in November – same with shallots. Onions can be planted in successions for the next few months. Careful on the watering with all of these come October….

Legumes -

Beans
Peas

These can be planted in successions now until about November. The later season beans may not taste as good, but will still be very healthy to eat. The fall peas are wonderful and much sweeter than in the summer.

Everything Else -

Brussel Sprouts
Leeks
Cucumber

**Also try anything you want…. melons and tomatoes and corn are much too late, but I always tell people to try it, may get a little crop by thanksgiving. Comment if you have any questions… Jenn

What do you listen to when you’re doing tractor work?

(In order…This will get you through a couple hours of discing…)

1. 99 Problems – Jay-Z
2. What More Can I say – Jay-Z
3. Beautiful Morning – Little Brother
4. Say It Again – Little Brother
5. Sexual Eruption – Snoop Dogg
6. Drop It Like It’s Hot – Snoop Dogg
7. Signs, Charlie Wilson – Justin Timberlake
8. Where Did Our Love Go – The Supremes
9. Uptight (Everything’s Alright) – Stevie Wonder
10. I Heard It Through The Grape Vine – Marvin Gaye
11. Papa Was A Rolling Stone – The Temptations
12. Isn’t She Lovely – Stevie Wonder
13. For Once In My Life – Stevie Wonder
14. My Cherie Amour – Stevie Wonder
15. Living For the City – Stevie Wonder
16. What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
17. All Over Again – Justin Timberlake18. Get To Know Ya – Maxwell
19. Lifetime – Maxwell
20. For Lovers Only – Maxwell
21. Strange Behavior – Macy Gray
22. Finally Made Me Happy – Macy Gray
23. Obsessed – Mariah Carey
24. Touch My Body – Mariah Carey
25. Shake It Off – Mariah Carey
26. September – Kalai
27. With Eyes Closed – Kalai
28. Waiting For Blue Sky – Kalai
29. Dos Almas – Ibrahim Ferrer
30. Si Te Contara – Ibrahim Ferrer

Hands down the best place to buy garlic (other than from me of course!)

Now is the time to get orders in for quality garlic. The tiny bulbs you can buy at the nurseries are crap…. Buy now, plant in September, harvest next July!