Eating Well...

We have been planning our garden for months.

Late winter is spent perusing seed catalogs and choosing what we need. We generally start tomatoes and peppers indoors in February, cabbage and other cole crops soon after. But only since April has the weather been such as to allow us to play in the dirt outside.

Our cole crops, onions, lettuce, chard, and peas are now planted in the garden proper. We also have overwintered garlic, leeks, multiplier onions, and early spring greens and radishes already producing in barrel containers made from the drums our soap oils come in. These barrels are critter proof and have good drainage, unlike the garden's heavy clay soil. We also filled 2 whole upright barrels (with drain holes in them) with soil and planted an artichoke in each - yet another attempt to foil the gophers from another of their favorite delicacies.

This year we are building a retaining wall and leveling out the main part of our garden. It sets back our planting dates by several weeks, so we are starting even more plants indoors to be ready to transplant when the project is done. It delays our garden harvest gratification, adding to the bit of envy we feel seeing all the early bounty in the Farmers' Markets out on the coast where the climate is so much milder (see our blog post: Time Travel - into Spring).
On the other hand, now that these markets are up and running for the season, we can get a preview of the garden delights to come.

No matter where you live, you probably have access to locally grown fresh food. As big and as urban/sub-urbanized as the United States is, there are still community gardens, small farms, and local markets virtually everywhere. Getting food from the area where you live is a good experience for many reasons. Not only is the food fresher, you get to experience what is "in Season" and close to the earth, and you support your local farmers. On top of that, the carbon footprint of local produce vs. that which has traveled hundreds (if not thousands!) of miles is much, much smaller. And, environmentally speaking, that is a huge benefit even if you leave out the part about supporting your local ORGANIC farmers.

So how to locate sources of fresh local food near where you live?
One way is to use the "Eat Well Locally" search tool to the right of this post. Another great tool is LocalHarvest. Use it to find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area. Enjoy!