Tonight we got our first CSA delivery of the season.
In our basket we got-
1 large green cabbage
5 large radishes
Small bunch of greens (not sure what type, I’ll need to ask the farmer)
1 ½ lbs of new red potatoes
Because a lot of the spring greens were damaged in a hail storm we had last month, the early CSA veggies are going to be somewhat sparse. According to the farmer, the summer pickings should offset the sparseness of the spring, helping to even everything out in the long run. Like my mom always says, “It will all average out.” And I’m sure it will.
If you are interested in finding a CSA near you, or other locally grown or produced goods, check out Local Harvest. They have a searchable site that allows you to find local farmers, bakers, dairies, and more.
Showing posts with label Community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Community. Show all posts
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Purchasing Locally Grown Produce
As many of you know, we signed up for a half share of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) to supplement the vegetables that we will be harvesting out of our garden. We will be getting a weekly delivery of in season vegetables, right to our door. Not knowing how our first year gardening in Florida will result, I figured it was a good idea to supplement our efforts with the CSA. I have paid $15 a week for our weekly half share, which will continue for the next thirteen weeks and will be delivered on Thursdays.
In addition to the weekly CSA delivery and our garden, we are still going to the farmer’s market each week to see what the farmer’s have in stock. I am finding my weekly farmer’s market trip to be very relaxing and educating. I talk with the local farmers, find out about their produce, and learn a bit about what grows well locally. I have met a wonderful organic seedling farmer (who gave me a “new” type of tomato to try last Saturday) who is very knowledgeable and has beautiful herb, vegetable, and flower seedlings. She is one of many local farmers who are interested in getting to know the people who are purchasing their goods and to share their philosophies, background, and little tips to boot.
To cover all my bases, last week I also signed up for a local “buying club.” This buying club is for organically grown local veggies. I paid $10 to become a member for the year and will be able to purchase in season vegetables each Saturday as I need them. This farmer has a website that will list the weekly offerings and prices, so I will know ahead of time what is available for pickup each Saturday. My friend and I both had trouble finding his farm last week, so he has generously offered to specially pick strawberries for us this week, which are no longer part of his weekly offering.
Because my CSA delivery is on Thursday, and I can check on my buying club offerings at any time, I will know before Saturday’s farmer’s market what I will need to round off our fruits and vegetables for the week, hopefully allowing me to frugally buy locally grown, in season produce each week.
I feel that it is important to support local farmers and local businesses. Buying locally grown and produced goods help reduce the need for transportation of such goods. Take for instance a bunch of collard greens. Buying locally grown collard greens eliminates the need for fossil fuels to be used to transport collard greens thousands of miles from another country, or even from another part of this country. Buying locally also helps the local economy. If my dollar is going to the local farmer, that farmer is then able to spend the dollar at a local restaurant or to purchase clothing from a local retail shop, keeping the money circulating in the local economy.
I know that we won’t be able to purchase all of our produce locally, but we are sure going to do our best. I have decreased our purchasing of produce such as bananas (which for some reason don’t seem to be grown in abundance locally) and avocados (from Mexico). I try to stock up, in particular, when I see locally grown fruits. For instance, I’ll be getting three pounds of strawberries from the buying club this weekend. I’m sure the kids will eat quite a few, but I plan to freeze a good portion of them for use throughout the summer. When our garden’s vegetables are ready, I’ll be canning and freezing them so they too can be used throughout the year, rather than buying the same item later in the year from another country.
I’m looking forward to the challenge of buying locally, or if necessary, at least produce grown in the USA. I’m going to start having the kids look at the labels on fruit and vegetables at the grocery store and talk to them about where our food is coming from and see what they have to say. I’m betting that they will choose to buy local goods rather than those from another country, and may even choose to walk right on past the grapes from Chile.
In addition to the weekly CSA delivery and our garden, we are still going to the farmer’s market each week to see what the farmer’s have in stock. I am finding my weekly farmer’s market trip to be very relaxing and educating. I talk with the local farmers, find out about their produce, and learn a bit about what grows well locally. I have met a wonderful organic seedling farmer (who gave me a “new” type of tomato to try last Saturday) who is very knowledgeable and has beautiful herb, vegetable, and flower seedlings. She is one of many local farmers who are interested in getting to know the people who are purchasing their goods and to share their philosophies, background, and little tips to boot.
To cover all my bases, last week I also signed up for a local “buying club.” This buying club is for organically grown local veggies. I paid $10 to become a member for the year and will be able to purchase in season vegetables each Saturday as I need them. This farmer has a website that will list the weekly offerings and prices, so I will know ahead of time what is available for pickup each Saturday. My friend and I both had trouble finding his farm last week, so he has generously offered to specially pick strawberries for us this week, which are no longer part of his weekly offering.
Because my CSA delivery is on Thursday, and I can check on my buying club offerings at any time, I will know before Saturday’s farmer’s market what I will need to round off our fruits and vegetables for the week, hopefully allowing me to frugally buy locally grown, in season produce each week.
I feel that it is important to support local farmers and local businesses. Buying locally grown and produced goods help reduce the need for transportation of such goods. Take for instance a bunch of collard greens. Buying locally grown collard greens eliminates the need for fossil fuels to be used to transport collard greens thousands of miles from another country, or even from another part of this country. Buying locally also helps the local economy. If my dollar is going to the local farmer, that farmer is then able to spend the dollar at a local restaurant or to purchase clothing from a local retail shop, keeping the money circulating in the local economy.
I know that we won’t be able to purchase all of our produce locally, but we are sure going to do our best. I have decreased our purchasing of produce such as bananas (which for some reason don’t seem to be grown in abundance locally) and avocados (from Mexico). I try to stock up, in particular, when I see locally grown fruits. For instance, I’ll be getting three pounds of strawberries from the buying club this weekend. I’m sure the kids will eat quite a few, but I plan to freeze a good portion of them for use throughout the summer. When our garden’s vegetables are ready, I’ll be canning and freezing them so they too can be used throughout the year, rather than buying the same item later in the year from another country.
I’m looking forward to the challenge of buying locally, or if necessary, at least produce grown in the USA. I’m going to start having the kids look at the labels on fruit and vegetables at the grocery store and talk to them about where our food is coming from and see what they have to say. I’m betting that they will choose to buy local goods rather than those from another country, and may even choose to walk right on past the grapes from Chile.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
A Fabulous Farm Fieldtrip
Today we celebrated Earth Day by going on a fieldtrip to a local farm. This farm is actually the one I get our free range chicken and eggs from, and starting next week (as well as in the fall), where I will be getting my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) vegetables.
The kids got a chance to walk around the farm and see the raised vegetable beds, which they weren’t overly thrilled about. Mr. Farmer and one of our homeschool moms got to chatting about some organic/natural farming methods and the kids were not interested, so they wandered around, climbing on wood piles and playing with the farm cats. I enjoyed seeing how Mr. Farmer planted the vegetables in his raised beds so close together; having some vegetables “share” the same space. An example was turnips and carrots. Mr. Farmer explained that since the turnips would be harvested much sooner than the carrots, they could occupy the same space because when the turnips were ready to come out, the carrots would be ready to start rooting more deeply and would then have the space needed to thrive. I didn’t plant my seeds as closely as Mr. Farmer did, but did utilize more of a wide row planting method as opposed to traditional rows. I’ll have to do some more research and see if maybe next year I can have some of my veggies “share” the same space, thus saving me precious garden space.
The laying chickens and sheep were a huge success. There was a four day old lamb and a twelve day old lamb that the kids took a liking too. Mr. Farmer let the kids into the pen with the laying hens and let them feed the chickens some fresh grass. I was proud that none of the kids chased the birds, but instead respected their space and crouched down to feed the birds, allowing the birds to come to the kids if they were interested. The meat chickens weren’t as interesting. They were kept in smaller pens that are moved every day to allow them fresh “grazing” space. We had some vegans in the mix, so I’m not sure that the talk of utilizing animals for meat was very popular.
Mr. Farmer showed the kids a wild blackberry that had vined itself around a small hedge and the kids went to town. I don’t think my kids had ever had blackberries before, but let me tell you my boys loved them. Jolie wasn’t a big fan, but enjoyed picking them for her brothers. We also went mole cricket hunting, with no success.
The kids wrapped up the fieldtrip planting seeds of their own in small peat pots. Jake and Jensen planted watermelon, and Jolie planted watermelon and sunflowers. I have some watermelon plants ready to go in the ground, so we should have plenty of watermelon to go around this year. I also got to take home some goodies. Mr. Farmer had some left over pepper and tomato plants, so I grabbed two large red cherry tomato, two banana pepper, two jalapeño pepper, and two bell pepper plants. I need to try to get them in the garden tomorrow.
My kids left saying that they all wanted to be farmers when they grew up. I said I too wanted to be a farmer when I grew up. Jake spoke with Mr. Farmer about coming back at some point and doing some work around the farm. I think that might be a great plan. Mr. Farmer offered to have us back again soon, maybe to see one of the other plots they have…either cows, timber, or some other wonderful farm area.
I think it the farm fieldtrip was a wonderful way to spend Earth Day. Happy Earth Day, everyone!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Do You Freecycle?
What is Freecycle you ask?
Freecycle is a network of people who give things to others (for free) that they might otherwise toss into the landfill when no longer needed, though those things might still have some usefulness left in it. Items that you have outgrown or no longer love, but have not worn out or worn through, are all acceptable offers on Freecycle. No, those holey shoes your son wore through wouldn’t be a good thing to give through Freecycle. But that cool mist vaporizer you have sitting in the garage would.
The mission of Freecycle is “to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community.”
To get involved with the Freecycle network, check out their website. It is a great feeling to know that the Freecycle network is available throughout the country and across the world.
We recently Freecycled a VCR, two fake-leather folding chairs, and a vacuum that needed a new plug. I was in need of a carpet shampooer and asked if anyone had one they were looking to get rid of. A few hours later a woman posted that she did and would leave it on her porch for me.
Freecycle is a great way to keep useful things out of the landfill, save some money, and help out others in the community that might be in need of something you are ready to get rid of. I have another pile of things in the garage just waiting for me to post to my local Freecycle list. I hope that they will be useful to someone else and continue to be utilized.
Freecycle is a network of people who give things to others (for free) that they might otherwise toss into the landfill when no longer needed, though those things might still have some usefulness left in it. Items that you have outgrown or no longer love, but have not worn out or worn through, are all acceptable offers on Freecycle. No, those holey shoes your son wore through wouldn’t be a good thing to give through Freecycle. But that cool mist vaporizer you have sitting in the garage would.
The mission of Freecycle is “to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community.”
To get involved with the Freecycle network, check out their website. It is a great feeling to know that the Freecycle network is available throughout the country and across the world.
We recently Freecycled a VCR, two fake-leather folding chairs, and a vacuum that needed a new plug. I was in need of a carpet shampooer and asked if anyone had one they were looking to get rid of. A few hours later a woman posted that she did and would leave it on her porch for me.
Freecycle is a great way to keep useful things out of the landfill, save some money, and help out others in the community that might be in need of something you are ready to get rid of. I have another pile of things in the garage just waiting for me to post to my local Freecycle list. I hope that they will be useful to someone else and continue to be utilized.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
A Mentor Comes out of the Woodwork
Jake has been interested in woodworking for some time. He got a set of tools for the holidays and thus far has cut down a dead tree and repaired a toy with them. He would really like to start designing and creating some projects, but woodworking is not one of Justin or my skills. Don’t get me wrong, I loved shop class and would love to build some great projects with wood, but we are lacking in tools and I’m lacking in time right now.
We brought the kids with us to Justin’s most recent General Surgery appointment with the approval of the surgeon. I mentioned needing to find a babysitter and he said to just bring the crew with us. So we did. Jake was really impressed with a wooden ship that was on a shelf in the doctor’s office. He got it down and showed it to Jake, telling him that he had designed and created it himself. Jake was very impressed and told him about his interest in woodworking. The doctor continued around the room showing Jake all of the items that he had created and told him about the furniture that he made in his shop at home. Needless to say, Jake was impressed.
It was then that an amazing thing happened. The doctor asked Jake if he would like to come to his shop and learn about woodworking. After looking over at Justin and I with a gleam in his eye, he exclaimed that he would love to. The doctor gave us his card with his home number and address on it and encouraged Justin to bring Jake over and that he would teach Jake about safety, design, and woodworking. Jake has been ecstatic the past 36 hours thinking about the possibilities.
I am a firm believer in the importance of mentors. I try everyday to set a good example for my children, but know that there are areas my children are interested in for which I do not have the adequate skills to assist in their development. For Jake that is woodworking and for Jolie that is art. Jolie has found a wonderful art teacher that, though I am paying her for classes, I feel Jolie looks up to as a mentor. Jake will now have the same opportunity.
If we lived closer, I’m sure that the kids would receive lots of mentorship from their grandparents, and aunts and uncles. Being a military family, most of the time we look to each other for mentorship and guidance. I am glad that the doctor was genuinely caring enough to give of himself to benefit my son. I look forward to watching their relationship grow over the next few years. As soon as Justin is feeling better, he is planning to take Jake over for his first “lesson.”
We brought the kids with us to Justin’s most recent General Surgery appointment with the approval of the surgeon. I mentioned needing to find a babysitter and he said to just bring the crew with us. So we did. Jake was really impressed with a wooden ship that was on a shelf in the doctor’s office. He got it down and showed it to Jake, telling him that he had designed and created it himself. Jake was very impressed and told him about his interest in woodworking. The doctor continued around the room showing Jake all of the items that he had created and told him about the furniture that he made in his shop at home. Needless to say, Jake was impressed.
It was then that an amazing thing happened. The doctor asked Jake if he would like to come to his shop and learn about woodworking. After looking over at Justin and I with a gleam in his eye, he exclaimed that he would love to. The doctor gave us his card with his home number and address on it and encouraged Justin to bring Jake over and that he would teach Jake about safety, design, and woodworking. Jake has been ecstatic the past 36 hours thinking about the possibilities.
I am a firm believer in the importance of mentors. I try everyday to set a good example for my children, but know that there are areas my children are interested in for which I do not have the adequate skills to assist in their development. For Jake that is woodworking and for Jolie that is art. Jolie has found a wonderful art teacher that, though I am paying her for classes, I feel Jolie looks up to as a mentor. Jake will now have the same opportunity.
If we lived closer, I’m sure that the kids would receive lots of mentorship from their grandparents, and aunts and uncles. Being a military family, most of the time we look to each other for mentorship and guidance. I am glad that the doctor was genuinely caring enough to give of himself to benefit my son. I look forward to watching their relationship grow over the next few years. As soon as Justin is feeling better, he is planning to take Jake over for his first “lesson.”
Monday, January 12, 2009
A Cultural Experience
We feel that it is important to expose the kids to all types of people, cultures, and religions. Americans are fortunate that our country is a melting pot of diversity. We can all learn so much from people who are different from ourselves. Variety is the spice of life, is it not? If everyone were the same, the world would be such a boring place.
Today, I had the opportunity to branch out and expose the kids to something new. We were invited to join a group of homeschoolers for an African drum performance and a Tibetan bowl demonstration.
The African drum performance was wonderful. The gentlemen went through some African history, touching on the importance of the drums and their link as a sort of ancient telephone, used to communicate with others throughout the village and beyond. The kids learned a West African welcoming song, Funga Alafia, as well as a rhythmic song that we all danced to. They have hardly stopped singing Funga Alafia since we left the get together, and were sure to teach it to Justin when he got home from work.
The Tibetan bowl demonstration was very interesting to me (I’m not sure that the younger kids got as much out of it as was hoped). The local gentleman used different mallets to create different pitches from the many antique bowls. One of my friends was asked to stand in the largest bowl while he created different vibrations and pitches with that and additional bowls. At the end of her time in the bowl, she had gone from having a horrific toothache, to having no pain at all. At the end of the demonstration, the gentleman explained the natural healing powers of the vibrations of the bowls. It is definitely something that I would like to do some more research on.
We were all glad that we had the opportunity to attend and learn something new. The hostess is hoping to hold other cultural events at her home throughout the year. I look forward to her next event and getting the opportunity to expose the kids to yet more culture from this greatly diverse nation of ours.
Today, I had the opportunity to branch out and expose the kids to something new. We were invited to join a group of homeschoolers for an African drum performance and a Tibetan bowl demonstration.
The African drum performance was wonderful. The gentlemen went through some African history, touching on the importance of the drums and their link as a sort of ancient telephone, used to communicate with others throughout the village and beyond. The kids learned a West African welcoming song, Funga Alafia, as well as a rhythmic song that we all danced to. They have hardly stopped singing Funga Alafia since we left the get together, and were sure to teach it to Justin when he got home from work.
The Tibetan bowl demonstration was very interesting to me (I’m not sure that the younger kids got as much out of it as was hoped). The local gentleman used different mallets to create different pitches from the many antique bowls. One of my friends was asked to stand in the largest bowl while he created different vibrations and pitches with that and additional bowls. At the end of her time in the bowl, she had gone from having a horrific toothache, to having no pain at all. At the end of the demonstration, the gentleman explained the natural healing powers of the vibrations of the bowls. It is definitely something that I would like to do some more research on.
We were all glad that we had the opportunity to attend and learn something new. The hostess is hoping to hold other cultural events at her home throughout the year. I look forward to her next event and getting the opportunity to expose the kids to yet more culture from this greatly diverse nation of ours.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Chalk4Peace
We spent Saturday afternoon participating in a local Chalk4Peace event. Our Roots & Shoots group gathered at the local natural foods store and chalked peaceful drawings all over the natural foods store's sidewalk.
Chalk4Peace is a worldwide effort meant to spread the idea of peace through creative expression in the medium of chalk. The event started in 2003 in Arlington, VA as a weekend sidewalk event and quickly spread; now spanning several continents.
Saturday was a beautiful day for the event. The kids were a bit hot, so the shade from the building came in handy from time to time, giving them a chance to cool down in between their drawings.
The whole family participated, drawing what peace meant to each of us. Justin drew an American flag with a peace symbol; I drew several well-known peace symbols; Jakob wrote down each branch of the US military; Jolie drew some peace signs and hearts; and Jensen wanted Batman drawn in his square.
A local newspaper reporter was also there to document the event. The article was published in yesterday’s paper and can also be found online. I’m not pleased with my “quote,” but I’ll survive(I don’t think I usually talk in run on sentences like that, do I?).
The kids had fun and thought it was neat to have their photo in the newspaper.
It would be great to see more groups participating in events such as Chalk4Peace. I hope that our Roots & Shoots group will continue to be active in similar events.
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