Garden Update: Challenges, Solutions, Bounty and Beauty

I haven’t given a garden update in awhile. Today we have our first sunflower of the season, but really the first sunflower in four years!

This little guy comes from an “Elves Mix” that offered seeds from a variety of dwarf sunflowers. I thought these would grow well in the raised beds out front, so I sprinkled them amidst herbs, perennials and annuals. I haven’t tried to grow sunflowers since our first year here. I heard they attract groundhogs, and I also didn’t want to dedicate too much space to them in my Big Bag Bed garden. These little guys seemed like a great compromise, especially since I doubled the size of the front garden last Fall.

I have a bunch of full size sunflowers growing out back, but those haven’t yet bloomed. Meanwhile, the squash and sweet potatoes are going crazy. You can see some of the sunflowers thriving in the Big Bag Beds, even though that area gets only about five or six hours of full sun per day. I’ve got lettuce tucked behind the other growth, and I keep hoping it won’t bolt since it gets less sun. We shall see.

Despite the prolific growth of the butternut squash vines, I ran into an annoying issue with blossom end rot. This was entirely preventable, and I’m kicking myself for not listening to my intuition. A few weeks ago, an obsessive thought kept crossing my mind: “You should really put down some gypsum for those squash plants. Your soil needs calcium.” I found a bag at the local gardening center, but I walked there. It was a 20 pound bag, so I opted not to get it. Instead of asking David to drive me home or ordering some online, I did nothing. I thought, “There’s no overt sign of a calcium deficiency. I’ll just wait, and if I see a sign of it, I’ll correct things then.”

Well, I got my overt sign, alright! I ended up needing to throw out twelve butternut squash with blossom end rot — whose solution is adding more calcium to the soil. Once it starts, you can’t correct it on an individual squash, though. In the past, I’ve added diluted milk to both tomato and squash plants, both of which can suffer from low calcium in the soil. I had used worm castings and an organic fertilizer mix, but — duh! — I should have trusted my intuition. I ended up tossing two tomatoes, a zucchini and those twelve butternut squash. 😦

In order to correct what had become a much larger issue, I needed to add two half gallons of milk on consecutive weeks, plus a bunch of gypsum (which takes longer to incorporate into the soil). So far the new growth looks fine, but I learned my lesson. When my intuition starts nagging me to add a certain nutrient to the soil, just do it!!! A wise lesson for broader life, as well. I’m happy to report delicious harvests of other zucchini, peppers and tomato. Hopefully I’ve resolved the issue.

Some clients asked me how I handle various pest pressures in the garden, so I’ll share a few tips here. Long time readers of this blog know that grrrrrrrrrroundhogs(!) are my biggest concern. I’ve inured myself to the cuteness factor …

… because these whistle pigs will decimate a garden, given half a chance. Here’s the most recent one alerting friends and family that “Mr. McGregor lives here! Mr. McGregor! Stay away! Crazy gardener alert. Oh, no, this yard is NOT worth a visit!” He turned to face me just as I snapped the photo. Indeed, with groundhogs, I’ve learned to give them no quarter. When they first appear, I run outside like a wild banshee and scare the dickens outta them. I hate doing it, but I’ve learned that once they feel comfortable in my yard, nothing gets rid of them except my old neighbor Randy trapping and relocating them.

Randy died on the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse of May 2021, so I’m on my own unless Randy’s ghost makes an appearance. I do feel like he haunted the yard last year, because I only saw one groundhog, once, last year. Randy had watchdog energy while he lived, and he continued watching over our place last Summer. It feels like he’s moved on now, so “Shock and Awe” is in effect. I put on a Faery Glamour to appear much larger and scarier than I am, and so far, I’ve not had the same groundhog repeat an adventure in our yard. Just in case, I sprinkle organic hot pepper flakes on all my front yard lettuce and chard. I also have various stinky sprays, but those aggravate me more than the critters. 🙂

In terms of bugs, I prefer to attract predator wasps by planting things like yarrow and letting some of my dill, parsley and carrots flower. Some insects can only feed on these types of flowers that face upwards with a wide landing pad:

I also intersperse borage all around the garden. These pretty blue flowers taste like cucumbers, and honeybees LOVE them. So do nearby plants. Something about borage makes it an ideal companion plant to just about everything. Whether you want more pollination, greater mineral uptake or something pretty to create a cottage garden, borage works well.

My only caveat with yarrow and borage is that both can be a bit invasive. I only plant yarrow in containers. It kind of took over parts of the yard in Goshen! You can pull it out and compost it, or make an analgesic tea from the leaves. I have magenta yarrow, which also makes a long lasting cut flower that even looks good as the blooms fade. I just keep it in pots now, because yarrow can be a garden thug. Like borage, it’s a fantastic companion plant — as long as you contain it!

Borage is an annual, so you can keep that under control by deadheading most of the flowers after they’ve bloomed. I like to let a few of them go to seed, so they reseed next year. This goes for parsley and cilantro, too. I have perpetual parsley and cilantro because I let a few branches go to seed and just weed out or transplant the extra seedlings in Spring. I do this with love in a mist and miners lettuce, too. I don’t really enjoy growing things from seeds indoors. A little weeding in exchange for keeping the hardiest, naturally seeded plants feels like a good trade-off.

What about the dreaded cabbage moth caterpillars?! Uggh. Those are not my favorite. The mesh cage around the Garden Tower keeps out the moths unless they sneak in while I’m watering or harvesting.

A downside is that my collards and kale tend to grow much larger when planted in raised beds — but then the moths go to town with their egg laying. The best defense for me seems to be spraying water where the little black eggs collect at the base of the kale stems. I also manually pick off the green caterpillars, and I have a resident frog who also likes to munch on them. Predator wasps and spiders take care of the rest.

Bee balm is another pollinator favorite. In the backyard you see the more traditional purple color, whereas I have the showier red variety up front. Little orange nasturtium flowers peek out the bottom. (If you’re wondering about all the orange flowers — “red hot poker,” naturtiums, and orange day lilies — I plant these because orange is David’s favorite color.)

I currently have an earwig issue, but it’s not terrible. These little pincher bugs love decaying matter and curly leaves like some lettuces and Napa cabbage. They’re terrible around wood mulch! I don’t grow Napa cabbage, so it’s not an earwig pregnancy resort here, but if they get any worse, I’ll sprinkle some diatomaceous earth in areas where they congregate. Diatomaceous earth is an organic powder that kills most insects, so you need to make sure not to put it near flowers. You don’t want to kill the pollinators. I prefer not to kill anything, but sometimes you need to catch issues before they go crazy. Diatomaceous earth adds minerals to the soil and quickly gets rid of slugs and earwigs.

My main advice for garden pests is to plant a wide variety of crops, intersperse them with flowers, and pay attention to soil and light conditions. Plants growing in optimal conditions manage to fight off pests more easily than ones struggling to get what they need. Below you can see purple kale, marigolds, borage, zinnias, garlic, a dwarf sunflower, and cosmos getting ready to bloom.

Tucked away in those same beds are also parsley, lettuce and pepper plants. I like that you can look at the front garden and have no idea it’s an edible garden. All the flowers and different colored varieties of veggies make it the kind of spot that only an experienced gardener would recognize as food. This also helps keep the animal buffet to a minimum. I can’t prove it, but I strongly suspect the motion detector light David installed above our garage door has kept away the deer. But maybe it’s Randy Baker — the best neighbor we’ve ever had. Cheers to you, Randy! We miss you.

Food Security and the 2016 Election

I just read another ra-ra piece from Jon Rappoport called “Trump Scorches Dallas ~ Why it Matters,” and I left the following long comment. I’ve mentioned this before, and I will continue to mention it, especially so the more frenzied the hoi polloi deification of him becomes. Whether you think Donald Trump will save the US or whether you think he’s a narcissistic misogynist with zero filter doesn’t matter to me. The fact is, that he’s stirring the pot in a big way, and the populace has begun to salivate over some of his promises without having any concept of immediate fallout of their implementation.

Whether Trump wins or the poked and prodded mob consciousness demands these changes from someone else, we would be wise to consider the bigger picture of either side of the wildly swinging pendulum. Too many illegals needing aid crash the system; no more illegals also crash the system — especially the food system.

For consideration regardless of your politics, particularly if you live in the US:

People really need to research the conventional US food system and just how reliant it is upon illegal immigrant nearly slave labor. I recommend the documentary, “Food Chains,” as it’s a real eye-opener of how the bulk of the food in the US is harvested, and by whom. In order for Trump’s plan to get rid of all illegal immigrants to work, then we need a new food system pronto, or individuals and communities need to be building soil, starting organic farms, indoor aquaponics systems, etc. … yesterday. When you see the conditions of migrant farm workers, you realize they are basically slaves. Supermarkets would not pay them a penny more per pound of picked tomatoes. The going rate is one penny per pound. How much do you pay in the store for conventional tomatoes in February?

The whole GMO debate and Trump’s anti-illegal immigration plans and tariffs — sure, the system’s broken … but if you just yank the bottom out of that food system, then the 2011 Executive Order that allows the Feds to force anyone to do whatever job it assigns without pay (i.e. slave labor) will become necessary in the US in order to prevent a famine. I’m all for changing the system, but some massive supports need to be started right away if this has any hope of succeeding without millions of people starving due to skyrocketing food prices or harvests just rotting in fields because no self-respecting American will work 16 hours per day being sprayed by pesticides for a few dollars.

Ditto the GMO ban. I’m all for it on paper, but if that were implemented right now, we’d have riots in the streets once the food prices skyrocketed. Toxic food is cheap food. We’re a food stamp nation now. If we want to turn things around, we each need to be finding ways to grow our own food and helping to build community resilience with organic, year round, local farms. Those are the safety nets that would allow these changes to happen without food riots or a police state crackdown. I see all these people cheering for Trump’s rejection of illegals, and yes, I know we have a huge problem, but if people want his policies to work, they better get planting, learning how to farm, and get their own communities up and running. Otherwise, the transition period of his immigration policy and any transition period in this country for Jon [Rappoport]’s proposed GMO ban will create just the kind of chaos and excuse for crackdown the elites have been fomenting all along.

We need to prepare for change if we really want it. Careful what you pray for … if it happens before you and your community are ready for it, you might realllllly not like the requested changes, even if they’re “good” changes. Starvation has a way of shifting people’s priorities, and this food stamp, just in time, pampered nation has no idea how to feed itself on a large scale without slave labor. Better learn quick, because growing food has quite the learning curve.

Seed Starting Indoors ~ How to’s, tips and tricks, do’s and dont’s

It’s that time again! Actually, I’ve been planting seeds weekly for about a month — some cold hardy crops outdoors in the cold frame, some herbs in milk jugs sealed with duct tape, a leguminous cover crop under the straw mulch outside, clover on the pathways, and most recently a round of indoor germination of warmer crops started in the basement. This video gives good tips on how to get started and what to watch out for. Seeds are cheaper than buying plant starts, so they’re a great way to experiment with new varieties.

A Lovely Police Story from Alabama

Thanks to Rumor Mill News for this one, which warms the cockles of me heart!

TARRANT, Alabama – Helen Johnson stared in amazement at the piles of food accumulating in her small Tarrant apartment on Wednesday.

“The last time I saw my house this full, I was 12-years-old and staying with my grandmother,” said the 47-year-old mother and grandmother. “I’ve been crying all day.”

On Wednesday, Tarrant police delivered two truckloads of groceries to the woman, who on Saturday was caught stealing five eggs from the nearby Dollar General. Instead of arresting Johnson, Tarrant Police Officer William Stacy bought her a carton of eggs and sent her home with the promise to never shoplift again.

That in itself, Johnson said, was a blessing. But those blessings now seem to have taken on a life of their own. Tarrant police said they’ve received calls from across the United States and world since hearing of Johnson’s plight. People have offered food, money and clothing.

It’s been so overwhelming, said Tarrant Police Chief Dennis Reno, he had to bring in a second police dispatcher to handle the volume of calls. Police officials today also set up a fund at People’s First Federal Credit Union on Ford Avenue in Tarrant to benefit the Johnson family.

“It’s growing and growing and growing,” Reno said. ” A guy called me from New York and just broke down. He said for two months he’s been angry with police, and he said this has totally changed his mind.”

A food bank from Memphis is set to arrive in Tarrant this evening. “This woman’s getting plenty of food,” the chief said. “She shouldn’t be hungry for a while.”

What a difference a week makes. Johnson’s two daughters, a niece and two grandchildren, ages 1 and 3, live with her in their Tarrant home. The kids’ mother gets a welfare check – $120 a month – but that check was lost in the mail. Johnson herself gets a disability check, which is set to come this week.

By Saturday, the family had gone two days without food. Johnson went to Dollar General on Pinson Valley Parkway with $1.25 and thought that would be enough to buy a carton of eggs. When she realized she was 50 cents plus tax short, she stuffed five eggs in her pocket out of desperation.

She didn’t get far. “Of course when I put them in my jacket pocket they broke,” Johnson said in an earlier interview. “I’m not a good thief at all.”

A store worker stopped Johnson and asked her if she had taken the eggs. She said she did, and they said they had already called the police.

By the time she got to the door, Tarrant police Officer William Stacy was there, and told her to stay put. The officer said he’d already talked to Dollar General officials and they said they weren’t going to press charges.

Johnson didn’t know that, and said she was waiting for him to bring out the handcuffs. Instead, he went into the store and came back out with a carton of eggs. “She started crying, she got very emotional and was very apologetic,” Stacy said. “She tried to give me the money she had on her, $1.25.”

Johnson said she was stunned. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, thank you Jesus for this man,”’ she said. “He is my hero.”

Stacy said he can remember times growing up when his mother had trouble finding ways to feed him and his sister. He had been on a call to Johnson’s house once before, and had gotten a glimpse of the living conditions. The furnishings are sparse, and the family sleeps on mattresses on the floor.

“The story she told me Saturday matched up with what I had seen when I was there,” he said. “I felt like it was the right thing to do. I didn’t want to pass judgment on her.”

She asked how she could repay him, and he told her to not shoplift again. “Sometimes the best route is to not arrest,” Stacy said. “I hope she won’t do it again. I pray she doesn’t, and I don’t think she will.”

Johnson asked Stacy if she could hug him, and he said yes. Unbeknownst to both of them, a man named Robert “Dollar” Tripp filmed the scene on his cell phone and later posted it on his Facebook with the hashtag “feelgoodstoryoftheday.”

The story went viral. On Tuesday, Tarrant police showed up at her home. “I was shook and so scared,” she said. “I thought it was about the eggs. My grandbaby said, ‘Are you going to jail?’ and I said I hoped not.”

Instead, Tarrant police took Johnson to headquarters, where they signed her up for the annual Tarrant Toy Drive, and also are helping to coordinate the offers of food and clothing also pouring in, said Tarrant police Sgt. Larry Rice.

On Wednesday, Stacy and Officer Jay Jenkins took two loads of food to Johnson’s apartment. She couldn’t stop crying, and she couldn’t stop hugging Stacy. “I just busted out and started hollering,” Johnson said of all the food delivered to her home. “I was yelling so loud. I would have been a good cheerleader.”

With help from a nearby church, Johnson spent much of Wednesday reorganizing her kitchen cabinets to make room for all the food. The family, who by Tuesday was down to one slice of bread, had their pick of what to eat.

So what did they eat? “Cereal,” she said. “That’s our favorite.”

Her grandchildren were also happy to see the officers at their apartment. “You back?” said 3-year-old Tamarose, as she grabbed various cans of food to show the family.

Asked what she would do if someone else in need asked her for a slice of bread, she said, “I would give them the whole loaf. And then I would give them Officer Stacy’s number.”

Johnson said her life is forever changed because of the actions of Stacy and the Tarrant Police Department. “My heart,” she said, “is wide open right now.”

Anyone who wants to make a donation to Johnson can do so at People’s First Federal Credit Union. Checks should be made payable to the Tarrant Police Charity Fund c/o the Johnson Family. Checks can be mailed to the bank at 1140 Ford Avenue, Tarrant, Alabama 35217.

http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2014/12/tarrant_police_officer_deliver.html

Why You’ll Want a Garden This Year

Long term blog readers know I love my organic garden and all the adventures and delicious produce it provides. I generally like to focus on the positive motivations of gardening: fresher produce, grounding with the planet, chance to observe and commune with Nature, greater independence and cost savings. This year, though, the world –particularly the US — faces some potentially major food shortages. All of the greatest food providing regions in our country and many others around the world are experiencing either severe drought, unprecedented snowstorms, or major floods. You can read articles like “How to Beat Coming Killer Food Shortages” and “California Drought Threatens Entire Country. Three Pictures Show How Bad It Really Is” to find very sobering maps, photos and statistics.

I’ve already suggested people on the West Coast build orgone chembusters to break up the geo-engineering chemtrails exacerbating the situation. You can find substantial evidence for weather manipulation if you look for it. Some theorize that “someone” is trying to keep the Fukushima radiation cloud from hitting the West Coast, but even assuming this as a “benevolent” intention, the fact remains that most of America’s food comes from California. After hearing that the Fed’s won’t provide them water (or worse, are trying to allow private companies to claim available water!), farmers have decided to plant far fewer crops or none at all. Fruit and nut orchards face devastating consequences from the worst drought in 500 years. Prices will skyrocket as the longer term effects play out — unless other regions step in to fill the void.

Every crisis presents opportunities to grow and thrive. With the technology and know-how now available for growing in small places and growing indoors in off-grid greenhouses, people looking to fill a definite need would be wise to investigate ways to produce organic foods in their area. Next winter will likely highlight the worst effects from the California and Western droughts, since the rest of the country doesn’t tend to grow food in winter. We have about 9 months to shift that dynamic, and we would be wise to do so. Those reading from other countries would also be wise to explore ways of becoming more self-sufficient, especially with an eye towards fall and winter. California exports a lot of food to other countries. If you value food, you’ll want to find ways of replacing those imports into your own nation.

People without their own land can join community gardens or team up with neighbors who have yards but don’t garden. Offering a share of produce in exchange for the land brings benefits to both parties. People who have a little space can learn from this earlier post about maximizing vertical growing space. The Organic Prepper article I linked to in the beginning also shares great information on intensive gardening. Those who have land but not much sun, can look forward to a future article I’ll post on tips for gardening well in moderate shade. For getting the most out of very small spaces, I suggest tiered raised beds like the InstaBed Cubic Foot Gardening system or The Garden Tower Project.

I used three of the InstaBed’s last year, and the black beds raised soil temperatures enough that we had tomatoes far earlier than anyone else we knew. In retrospect, I would suggest building those in concentric circles rather than the “cascade” setup and also splurging on the extra soil mixture to fill the beds completely, rather than backfilling them with compost. Ours sank a lot! We did, however, have highly, highly productive plants. The InstaBeds work better for backyard gardens, as they look less attractive until your plants cover the black plastic. The Garden Tower Project, by contrast, offers a complete system –vermicomposting, gardening, fertilizing and extra compost creation — and looks especially attractive in the terra cotta version. You could totally display a Garden Tower in your front or side yard! I plan to order one myself just to demo for our town. Maybe some locals will decide to buy them for winter gardening or an off grid greenhouse by next fall.

Those who already do garden and who love to garden: please consider planting extra this year. I’ve composted and mulched our entire front yard as an experiment but also because I anticipated the coming food shortage. I intend to plant edible ornamentals far beyond our own needs, just in case neighbors can’t afford their own food. If we don’t need all that produce, then it will still look pretty, or I can donate to food banks, but in the event we need an urban farm … um … we’ll have it! LOL, but seriously. I’ve layered up so much compost and wood mulch that I hope the front won’t need much, if any watering, especially after all this snow. You can’t put wood mulch right next to veggies, as it will rob nitrogen, but in between plants, the wood mulch stores many times its weight in water, slowly releasing it to the soil as needed. Leaf mulch works great closer to each plant, and the more organic matter you add to your soil, the more water it will hold.

All these tips represent practical, 3D things you can do, and I highly recommend doing any or all of them. Even if you can’t become 100% food self-sufficient, you’ll still save money on produce and eat fresher food. On more metaphysical levels, those in drought areas can pray for rain, make offerings to the water spirits, and/or do rain dances. I’ve shared before just how effective rain dances and working with the Elementals can be! Every time I mention this again, more people tell me their amazing stories of Nature’s response. We can also work with the plant Deva’s, asking them to nurture our gardens and farms. Organic and heirloom plants work best for this, since Nature and Nature Spirits don’t dig on GMO’s! At all.

Companion planting and certain “stinky” flowers will help with unwanted bugs. Marigolds and red geraniums not only look pretty; they also repel unwanted eaters. Various herbs and flowers like lavender, borage and zinnias attract beneficial insects that eat the eaters. By working with Nature, you can let Nature do much of the work for you. Gardening need not take massive amounts of time. Work smart and sacredly, not hard. 🙂

On an even more metaphysical/magical level, you can practice generating “supply” with your mind. This takes instant manifestation up several notches, so that you can actually create something out of the ideal in your mind. Thanks to Ariadne Stardust for the suggestion to read Life and Teachings of the Masters of the Far East by Baird T. Spalding. David owned this set when we first moved in together, and I’ve reached over it every day to answer the phone since we moved to Goshen! Whether or not you believe the adventures occurred exactly as written, the techniques work. I’ve long practiced versions of them just on my own — manifesting things I need within moments to days of visualizing and requesting. Someone either gives them to me, I find them on super-duper sales, or sales clerks remark that they’ve “never seen this item in inventory before. It’s not even in our computer!” Hmmm, well, fancy that. 😉

I don’t tell this to many people and no one believes me when I do, but I will share it here as relevant: I once created seven $10 bills out of thin air. They literally appeared as crisp, new $10 bills inside a previously empty hat. It freaked me out so much I never did it again that way, but I know for an experiential fact that we can supply ourselves with what we need. Emphasis on need, not for party tricks. My late friend Leigh went through a period of extreme poverty before she passed. She would often go to the grocery store with no money in her purse, select everything she needed to purchase, and when she checked out, she’d find exact change in her purse to pay for her goods.

While married, I went through a period in which money flowed out more than it came in, and I remembered Leigh’s experiences. I would select whatever we needed without tallying up the cost. Every time, it always came in just under what I had to spend — even if that took 75% off sales to make it happen. It always did. I also frequently found unexpected $20 bills in pockets or wrapped around credit cards, which I know did not exist until I needed them. I share these details here not to brag, but as testimony that we have many ways of meeting our needs. Whether food or money to buy food, the principle remains the same: tuning into the pure image of what we need and then allowing the Divine Spirit to respond and create through us.

I truly believe all the challenges facing our wold today offer opportunities to return to our Divine connection, spiritual tools and natural abilities. Faery tales — great repositories of truth — describe so many situations in which people with pure hearts receive even the most impossible gifts. People say with scorn, “Oh, that’s just a fairy tale, a myth,” in order to dismiss something as ridiculous. I could not disagree more. Our weakness, disconnection and “need” to struggle are the biggest lies ever told. Faery tales, folklore, ballads, and myths — real ones, not Disney — give us clues and wisdom for a return to more magical lives.

Blessed Be, and be the blessing!

If It’s Not Fun, Then It’s Not Sustainable

While riding the synchronicity train this weekend, I passed several stops on the way to Whitley Strieber Station, most of which had to do with local food and the phrase, “You are where you eat,” which I found in a book and then online. The following series of videos from Canada’s ChekNews explores “the importance of self-sufficient food farming on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.”

I love, love, love that this appeared on mainstream news and that they later posted the videos on YouTube! Even though Jennifer Crosby investigates Vancouver’s local food scene, she includes copious details about North American agriculture in general and why we would all benefit from stronger local food security. This video series interviews farmers, chefs, grocery store owners and gardeners, and it gives lots of tips for ways that anyone — from consumers to growers — can contribute to a strong, local food movement. Each video, shown throughout the week, explores a different facet of local food security.

Synchronously — or should I just say, “in the ever more intricately and obviously organized and expanding web that is my life” — my friend Mitch sent me the last video below, which finishes with the title of today’s post: “If it’s not fun, then it’s not sustainable.” Yep! Pretty much sums it up for me. Education, community, delicious food, creativity … fun! What’s not to love?

The why of local food security:

The economics of farming and the importance of supporting local farmers if you want access to local food:

Creative use of space: “beyond the backyard” … using public space:

Part 4 is MIA!

“Have attitudes changed enough for farmers to have a future on Vancouver Island?” This farmer is so enthusiastic!

And finally, the video I found in my inbox this morning explores a new type of community garden using a new model in order to make use of vacant land that might sell again if/when the economy recovers. It’s “an excerpt from the upcoming feature-length documentary: Promises of Urban Agriculture, directed by Joseph Redwood-Martinez. Jay Rosenberg speaks about Hayes Valley Farm demonstrating urban agriculture as a strategy for interim land use in San Francisco.” As with the Vancouver information above, this video offers ideas applicable to any town or city with vacant or underutilized land:

On Wednesday, I’ll also be meeting with some people from our Historic South Side Neighborhood to discuss ways to connect non-gardening people with sunny yards with would-be gardeners blessed with tall trees, shady yards or no yards. Land use in exchange for produce — one step at a time towards local food security!

GMO’s and Food Security

I haven’t blogged much about this because I wanted the event to stand for itself, but three of us from Transition Goshen reached out to organizations and creative, involved individuals in our city and nearby Elkhart to put together a dynamic week called Share the Bounty. We and partners like our local food co-op, the Farmers Market, individual farmers, a local food alliance, directors of food banks, Church Community Services, local politicians, community gardeners, representatives from schools, and many others are joining together this week for round table discussions, public screenings of the film “A Place at the Table,” an Open Space meeting about food security, a co-op board meeting open to the public, and a Harvest Festival that donates funds to double SNAP credits at the Farmers Market. Last night I attended a food insecurity panel discussion hosted by Goshen College’s EcoPAX.

I am both humbled and thrilled on a moment by moment basis to be a part of this community. The level of caring, cooperation, devotion, creativity and willingness to get down and dirty (sometimes literally) with our community’s (and country’s) most pressing problems is astounding to me. Every person I’ve met this week and during the two weeks of planning, phone calls, meetings, discussions and emails that have resulted in this week … without exception, every single person has blown me away. I learned that after the 2008 crash, some areas of Elkhart County experienced 70-80% unemployment. Let that sink in a moment. 70-80%. We didn’t live here then, so when we arrived grassroots strategies had already developed by sheer necessity. Today, Goshen has experienced a real renaissance, especially in the areas of local businesses, music and local, organic food.

But we are far from finished addressing the 2008 downturn. The stories I’ve heard talking with teachers, guidance counselors and food pantry workers are heart wrenching, and they reveal a majorly broken system. Expanding welfare and food stamps isn’t going to solve the problem. Neither is getting a third job. Last night we discussed ways of — OK, I brought this up myself — “busting the entire paradigm, breaking through the box, when two jobs isn’t doing it, the third job’s not the solution. Who’s telling these people to quit their second job and volunteer at a CSA and get abundant, free food? Who’s telling these people how to assess their community’s needs (fresh, local food) and helping them to become entrepreneurs? The system’s broken. Why are we trying to expand it? Let’s build a new system.” To my surprise and delight, I was showered with business cards, offers to connect with grant writers, local farmers saying they would love the extra help in exchange for giving free food, local businessmen excited about how providing living wages in one area forces places that aren’t to start improving their wages or they won’t have employees … . Ideas were off the charts!

I have confidence that we are onto something in our area, and food security is gradually beginning to morph towards food sovereignty.

It is with this background — six months of efforts to increase community gardens and implement food forests in projects that specifically engage those who most need them, as well as November’s incredible push to get this event off the ground — that I wrote the following comment in reply to someone’s reply to my earlier comment on Jon Rappoport’s blog. It’s long, but I present it here for larger consideration by people frustrated that we still don’t have GMO labels, bans or even the awareness that such things might be necessary for the continued survival of many species, including our own:

@CriticalThinker, I agree with you that “having a different opinion than someone else and presenting supporting evidence and logical arguments for this viewpoint isn’t ‘attacking people’.” I was referring to numerous earlier posts that have resorted to name calling, outright mockery, misquoting and unsupported (though suspected) allegations, which I WOULD put into the category of attacking people.

RE: “raising consciousness,” I am referring to everything from discussions about what is in GMO labeled food; to teaching people how to prepare fresh, mostly raw organic food and encouraging them to see how their brain works differently; to yes, some of these commercials and strategies Jon suggests; to offering various models of how a positive, healthy world could look for people who are so far from that mindset or awareness that they can’t (yet) even imagine what that would look like.

Before you call that last one vague, I will share that we are actively doing this at the local level where I live, and I know that other towns and cities have pockets of people doing the same. The message in this case isn’t “Your food is poison,” because some of the people we’re working with don’t even HAVE food. At the local level, we have organic farms dedicated to feeding the poor high quality food, teaching them how to make that food and helping them to get back on their feet enough so that they have time and energy even to CARE about something like GMO’s. The unpleasant fact in the US is that an embarrassingly large portion of the population is food insecure, living on ramen noodles (no exaggeration) and/or dependent on SNAP and food banks. Processed, crap, GMO food is usually the cheapest, unless local farmers find ways to shift that dynamic — and we are here. They are in Milwaukee. They are in Oakland … and Detroit … and many other places.

This is a very large portion of the population who is being courted by certain political parties (no, I don’t believe in that whole system, but the system itself has turned this part of the population into a very large pawn). I am not disagreeing with Jon’s points, just wondering why someone who champions imagination as the key to everything shares so few positive imaginings and seems so intent on lampooning other routes and strategies attempting to achieve similar goals. I agree “Right to Know” has not been a winning campaign. Not including at least some of the why was, imho, a mistake. Where I disagree is that ALL labeling campaigns, including CA and WA, are therefore worthless. I also disagree that there is only one way to raise awareness that leads to a ban, i.e. blasting the airwaves with how toxic everything is.

I don’t claim to know Jon’s sources and contacts or what social circles he runs in. I just know that I have lived in 42 different places across the US — some extremely ritzy, some poor, some mountain areas, some coastal, Pacific Northwest, Southwest, Northern and Central California Coasts, Chicago, Madison, smaller Midwest towns, North Carolina, the Northeast Corridor, including the Philadelphia area and much time in NYC, and more. Too many to list. A one size fits all approach is unlikely to fit such a diverse area or the concerns of such a wide variety of people. In California, everyone I knew (except my now ex-husband) ate organic and mostly raw food. In Northern Indiana, we have a huge grassroots organic gardening, farming and community garden culture, but we’re surrounded by GMO corn syrup growers on the one hand and Amish people without TVs or a desire to vote, on the other. I have seen first hand that what works to raise awareness in Northern California is not the same as in Sedona is not the same as in Goshen, Indiana or Chicago, Illinois. They are each radically different places filled with individuals but also with their own local and state values that may or may not be shifted most effectively by a political campaign.

Ignoring the enormous contingency of people in this country (who do vote because they want to keep their SNAP cards) who are too frazzled working three jobs and traveling among different food banks is a mistake, imho. That COULD be a very vocal contingency, since they already ARE vocal about a number of other things. In order to get these people to care about GMOs, education is required, but they are just going to tune out the above message [that everything is poison]. How do I know this? Because I know some of these people, and I know a lot of people who work in food banks, community services and social work. Together, we are working on a very local and county level to increase access to and demand for fresh, organic foods. Most of us would love a ban on GMOs, but there are layers and layers of education and action needed in our communities. Before someone is going to care if their pop tarts are going to give them cancer in seven years, they need to know they can put food on the table tomorrow night. This is a reality in much of the US — a much larger contingency than most people want to imagine. The research is there, though. There are many roads to the same goal … sometimes it just helps to know the people who COULD be traveling such roads.

A Note About Food Security and Solar Flares

I’ve mentioned before that a large cut in food stamp benefits begins on November 1, 2013. Depending on where they live, various people in the know have begun to sound alarms about the potentially severe impacts of these cuts — not just on those who can’t afford to buy food, but also the ripple effects into the communities. Hungry people with hungry children can behave in desperate and ugly ways. If you live in the US and are in a position to donate food to a local food pantry, church, or soup kitchen, the month of November — especially early November — would be an excellent time to do so.

Here in Goshen, several of us began talking about food security in late Spring, but we’ve ramped up our efforts in tangible ways that now involve a council of church leaders, the main soup kitchen in town, the college social work program, a low income housing program, the farmers market, and many other groups and individuals coming together to address holes in our community safety net. If you are at all able, I strongly urge people to begin networking within your own community, helping to raise awareness about the value of keeping well stocked food pantries as a way of keeping the peace and building community in these wild times. You’ll likely meet some incredible, like minded, caring, trouble-shooting people you wouldn’t otherwise have known exist, and who knows, those people could become good friends or part of your tribe.

Obviously, if you have the means to do so, please make sure you have some non-perishable food supplies available for your own use as well. In addition to the food stamp issues, we’ve got some wild space weather predicted for November, including one of the top astrological economists sounding the alarm about how November 13 — when the US government just happens to be having a comprehensive, national grid down scenario drill — shows the strongest likelihood of a solar kill shot he’s ever seen in hundreds’ of years worth of charts. Though not a guarantee of grid down, his accuracy in other areas, as well as similar nudges and synchronicities to be prepared for widespread power outages, is enough for me to pass along another suggestion to stock up on food, water and cold weather essentials. Another high solar kill shot date is December 19, 2013, plus or minus two days on either side of each prediction.

I debated whether or not to post the video/audio interview with Arch Crawford (the astro-economist) and have decided to do so. It’s a fascinating interview, although the sound quality’s not quite balanced, and Arch does share some potentially alarming details. No guarantees, and, of course, being prepared is not the same as freaking out! I’m not.

However … I did take this interview as yet another synchronous message along the lines of: “We’re all safer, happier and healthier if we live in a community that cares for each other and that recognizes a need for people to come together to address and begin to resolve areas of vulnerability.” For most communities in the US right now, the glaring vulnerability is food security. Grocery stores keep 1-3 days worth of food on hand, and we have millions and millions of people on food stamps. People who live EBT payout to EBT payout usually do not have more than a day or two of food on hand. Any disruption in the infrastructure, for any reason at all, could cause some serious food shortages and the possibility of riots. Even people not on food stamps often live paycheck to paycheck without putting away more than a day or two of food. After Hurricane Sandy, people began looting and rioting and claimed to be “starving” after only 3 days. Hard to believe, yes, but there you have it.

Knowing these facts, we can do our best to shore up supplies, communication systems and community networks so that a small or even large scale emergency reveals just how well we all work together instead of how badly FEMA can fail yet again. In NYC, after Sandy, the Occupy Movement was more organized and did a far better job distributing food and water to those who needed it than the Red Cross or FEMA.

However you feel about Occupy, they stepped up during and after Sandy. How were they able to do so? Because they already knew each other. They already had networks in place. They knew how to organize events together. They knew how to talk to neighbors and regular people down on their luck. You don’t need to join Occupy to participate in a similar way in your own community. Part of the evolution offered to us at this time is to find ways to support ourselves and support each other — ways that preempt and make obsolete the global New World Order that would love to take advantage of (or even cause) any and all crises headed our way.

Forewarned is forearmed. As the Hopi say, “this could be a good time.”

“You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. And there are things to be considered . . .

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.
It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.”

Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, “This could be a good time!”

“There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are torn apart and will suffer greatly.

“Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above water. And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, Least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

“The time for the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from you attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

— attributed to an unnamed Hopi elder

Hopi Nation

Oraibi, Arizona

The Arch Crawford interview follows:

“The Future of Food: Urban Bio-Economies in Europe and America” at the Nanovic Institute

David and I are excited to attend a symposium on Wednesday, May 8 at Notre Dame: “The Future of Food: Urban Bio-Economies in Europe and America.” We’re especially excited to see Will Allen of Growing Power, as well as Ron Finley of LA Green Grounds.

“6ft 7 inch former professional basketball player Will Allen is now one of the most influential leaders of the food security & urban farming movement. His farm and not-for-profit, Growing Power, have trained and inspired people in every corner of the US to start growing food sustainably. This man and his organization go beyond growing food. They provide a platform for people to share knowledge and form relationships in order to develop alternatives to the industrial food system.Will Allen works with at-risk urban youth, helping them learn farming skills for a more positive life trajectory and food system “that works for everybody.” On Wednesday he’ll talk about “The Good Food Revolution.” You can meet him in this video introduction to Growing Power:

“Ron Finley plants vegetable gardens in South Central LA — in abandoned lots, traffic medians, along the curbs. Why? For fun, for defiance, for beauty and to offer some alternative to fast food in a community where ‘the drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys.'” On Wednesday, he’ll be talking about “The New Urban Food Forest,” but you might enjoy his talk here about food deserts and what we can do about them:

(You can click on the flyer above and then click again to view it full-size.)

Here’s the Nanovic Institute’s event description:

With a grant from the European Union Delegation to the United States, the Nanovic Institute for European Studies invites you to celebrate Europe Day by attending a symposium to be held on Wednesday, May 8, 2013, entitled “The Future of Food: Urban Bio-Economies in Europe and America.” The event (with the exception of lunch) is free and open to the public.

The purpose of this convivial event is to gather farmers, chefs, restaurateurs, policy-makers, academics, and members of our wider community to discuss new developments in urban food systems. As we know, the world’s population is now more urban than rural, a shift that has had enormous effects on food production and distribution. When it comes to feeding urban areas, what are the most pressing problems, ingenious approaches, and sustainable new practices?

Lunch will be a very special Farmers Market feast, sourced entirely from local farmers and purveyors and designed especially by Chef Don Miller, Notre Dame Food Service Executive Chef.

[Note from Laura: Registration for the luncheon buffet ended on May 1, but the event is still free and open to the public. This is a phenomenal gathering of great speakers, community outreach, visionaries and people embodying the idea that “the problem is the solution.” I feel passionate about food security and and food as a social justice issue, so I’m really looking forward to gathering and brainstorming more ideas to implement at the local level. Please join us if you can!]