Popeye the Sailor Man

Well today is a beautiful day here in the Chi-town area. Temperatures reaching the 60's and sunny. It seemed like the perfect day to work in the garden. I added compost to each of the raised beds and turned the soil over with my pitchfork. Then I planted some spinach seeds. I seeded an area about 2 feet wide by about 3 feet long. More than enough spinach for this first round of growing. I will try to get in a late crop as well this year, but more on that later in the year.

Spinach is a great cold weather crop. It can be planted in early April (I know its not April yet but it is spring break) and then again in early fall. When the rest of the garden is brown this little patch of green just helps me to get revved up for May.

On another note, many of my friends will tell you I am not a big leafy eater, however the leafy greens I do like include spinach. There is something about a spinach salad with any type of vinaigrette dressing that is just so refreshing.

Well hope to see some sprouters in 8 to 10 days.

Last of the flats planted

Today Naomi planted the last two flats with Broccoli, two kinds of popcorn, and cucumbers. All of them were new varieties. The broccoli was a variety called Romanesco, which is supposed to have superb flavor and texture. We bought two varieties of heirloom popcorn; 2 inch strawberry popcorn and Tom Thumb popcorn. The last seed planted was double yield cucumbers, which are supposed to be prolific producers and excellent for pickling.We also reseeded a couple of the pots that did not sprout.

So that finalizes the seeds that we planted indoors. Tomorrow we will put sow some spinach seeds outside so that we can get an earlier spinach crop. Later this week we will plant some carrots and peas. The garden is coming together.

The Real Dirt on Farmer John-Review

This past Friday night Naomi, a friend, and myself went to the Byron Colby Barn to watch the movie The Real Dirt on Farmer John, which is a personal documentary or an autobiopic (is that even a genre). John Peterson is a farmer, artist, eccentric visionary who lives just outside of Rockford, IL. The film documents John's personal struggles from the deaths of his uncle and father, losing his farm in the 80's, and his hard fought rebirth back into farming. John faced prejudice, vicious rumors, and more from his rural neighbors. One gets a detailed look and feel of what rural America was like during the 80's for anyone who broke away from the norm of society.

In 1990 John Peterson returned back to what was left of his family farm. There he began farming again with the help of family and friends. However, with his return John brought a farming method that he had witnessed during his time in Mexico. A natural system that didn't degrade or sterilize the land, an organic way of farming. In the next few years John was taken by the writings of Rudolf Steiner, a philosopher and visionary from Austria, and began to introduce biodynamic farming to Angelic Organics in 1993. In that same year Angelic Organics became a Community Supported Agriculture or CSA farm. Angelic Organics has slowly grown and is now one of the largest CSAs in the United States with over 1400 families participating as shareholders.

All in all this is an entertaining and uplifting movie that shows us how one individual with the help of others can create a small food revolution in the heart of middle America.

Trailer

They are Sprouting

Well not to long ago I wrote about constructing the seed rack. I installed the shop lights put in plant florescent lights, planted the seeds, and then nothing. Unfortunately the basement was too cold and the lights, just not enough heat. So Naomi ordered some seedling heat mats from Horticulture Source. Then in almost no time at all we had some of our first sprouts, tiny basil sprouts.

Then came the onions and the gourds. The gourds seemed to explode out of the ground. In the morning there was not even a hint of action and then by the afternoon they towered above the dirt.

Next our tomato seeds sprouted which gave me a bit of relief. I had seed saved a couple of varieties from last year. One variety happened to be an heirloom of Naomi's aunt Nancy and the others were some heirloom tomatoes that I picked up at a farmers market in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The Story of Stuff

Slightly off topic but it was on my mind...

Over the course of this year my classroom has been learning about sustainability. They have done many lesson led by Naomi our Environmental Educator. One lesson revolved around the online movie The Story of Stuff. I found this movie enlightening, hilarious, and educational. It does a very nice job of taking a complicated issue and breaking it down into very understandable parts. Many of my students were very affected by this movie and its sister movie the Story of Bottled Water, which is another very large issue. In fact a group of my students are taking on the issue of bottled water as their service learning project.

Prairie Crossing Barn Movie Night

This Friday, 7:30 March 26^th at the Byron Colby Barn, we'll show the critically acclaimed film, THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN. For close to a century, a great American epic has been played out in the tiny town of Caledonia, Illinois, about 75 miles west of Chicago. THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN tells the story of one man, his farm and his family—a story that parallels the history of American farming. But Farmer John is no laconic, Grant Wood-type with a scowl and a pitchfork. Equal parts performance artist, writer and farmer, John Peterson has been known to switch out of his overalls into leopard latex or a purple-feathered boa.

After almost losing the farm in the 80’s John turned his enterprise into an organic operation, naming the farm Angelic Organics. He was soon invited to become a community supported agriculture (CSA) farmer: “I realized that my whole life had been about community—enabling people, bringing them to the farm, working and playing together, sharing the farm experience.” The story of Angelic Organics’ success as a CSA farm over the last 15 years is the final delight of THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN.

Better than Popcorn!!!! Beginning this week, we will have Organic Farm Fresh eggs from the Learning Farm to sell at the movie.

Why Choose Organic

Well there has been a lot of debate of why someone should choose organic over conventional produce. Many people talk about the nutrition benefits or lack thereof in organic produce when compared to that of conventional. Now this is a hard thing to measure scientifically, since to do it adequately one would have to change only one variable. Variations in soil, irrigation methods, climate, and many other factors change the outcome. However, for me its not as much about nutrition as a lifestyle choice. I want the decisions I make to have the smallest impact I can make. So when I choose organic produce at the store it is an environmental choice more than a health choice. I do not buy much food at the grocery store. In fact one of the house rules is to buy produce that is in season and as locally as you possibly can. For this past winter Naomi and I have used produce that we froze or canned last year. We are beginning to run out of some and still going strong on others.

Article about the Choice

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2010/03/is-organic-better-making-sense-of-organic-choices.html