Last night I finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kinsolver. Barbara and her family moved to a farm and tried to grow or buy locally 95% of their food for one year. This book is about that journey. The idea wasn't about saving money (although they did), it was to better understand the importance of not relying on food that has to travel many miles. One of the things I loved about the book is that she was never preachy; she was informative and insightful. For me, it taught me things about God's creation that I didn't realize or took for granted. It's a book that opens your eyes and makes you think about your habits and how you can change in small or large ways. I encourage all of you to make it a part of your reading library. You will be glad you did.
On that note, I went to a workshop yesterday on organic gardening at an urban farm. The farm is Zenger Farms on SE Foster Road. Their website is http://www.zengerfarms.org/. It was opened as a Diary Farm in 1913 by the Zenger family and stayed in the family until 1994, when the City of Portland bought it to be a part of their long-term conservation plans for the Johnson Creek Basin and Watershed. In 1999, the Friends of Zenger Farms was established to provide unique experiential learning opportunties for youth, farmers and families. They are also a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).
The farm offers classes throughout the year and anyone can also help on the farm. I attended my first class yesterday called Pest, Plant Disease Managment. I thoroughly enjoyed the class. They strive to be informative, but also experiential. We spent class time learning about the various pests especially to the NW and then spent the last hour in the field actually finding them. I LOVED it! Next week's class is on cover crops and winter gardening. They are also starting a 4 part series on Saturday's in November on Organic Gardening. I'm planning on signing up. If you're interested, contact Ryan at ryanlee.hofrichter@gmail.com or 786.972.1333. (Bruce, wanna come with me???)
I hope you are enjoying this change in seasons and the slowing of the hurried summer pace,
Sammy
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2 comments:
Okay Sammy--I have to say I quite enjoyed reading your thoughts on gardening. Surprising to me since I really don't enjoy the pasttime much. However, I am now thinking I would like a garden space (particularly after seeing yours a couple of weeks ago). You are inspiring! :)
Love,
Karen
I'm loving the change in season! I wish I had more time to be outside during the few sunny days we've had!
Your garden is inspiring, indeed! The Organic Gardening class sounds intriguing...hmmm!!
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