Peach Jam with Pomona Pectin
Friends have been telling me about the virtues of Pomona Pectin for quite a while. I recently got some from PCC, and now I’m hooked. Because it doesn’t require sugar to jell, you can easily vary the amount of sugar you use or you can use a different sweetener all together.
Time to Dry Tomatoes
There’s no question that it’s been a cold summer this year, and not the best season for heat-loving crops like tomatoes.
This year I planted Japanese Black Trifele tomatoes, and this cold-tolerant plant is actually producing tomatoes that are beginning to ripen. We’re eating them fresh but there are enough that I have been drying them as well.
To dry tomatoes you either need an oven that goes as low as 100 degrees or you need a food dehydrator. By the time fruit begins to ripen around here, the days are cool enough that it doesn’t really work to do sun-dried fruit.
Here are directions on how to dry tomatoes in the Northwest: More…
SARE Grants Available for Sustainable Ag Efforts
Farm Harvest, Photo by Steve Tracy
The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, a USDA grants program, supports agricultural efforts that meet the three principles of sustainability. Farmers and others who participate in the agricultural field need to demonstrate that their projects are economically viable, environmentally sound and socially responsible when they apply to the following grants:
Professional Development Program Grant
Amount: Up to $60,000
Due: November 05, 2010
These grants focus on training agricultural professionals to help them share their knowledge and expertise about sustainable agriculture practices. More details here. More…
How Many Farmers’ Markets Can Survive?
Here is an interesting article from the Seattle PI on whether having more farmers’ markets makes economic sense. What are your thoughts on this? How do you think recent code changes allowing people to sell food they have grown might affect local food access and farmers’ markets?
There’s a weekly ritual savored by a lot of foodies: Stroll to a farmers market, buy some freshly dug heirloom carrots or richly hued purple potatoes, and feel fabulous about supporting local farmers.
Except these days, those farmers are starting to feel stressed out.
As more neighborhoods clamor for their own farmers markets, farmers are watching their revenue shrink, as markets compete with each other and dilute profits.
The recent explosion in farmers markets – including new ones in Belltown and Georgetown this year, and in downtown and South Lake Union last year – have prompted many to ask: In culinary-conscious, urban-ag-loving Seattle, is it possible to have too many farmers markets? More…
Seattle Farm Co-Op
Have you been looking for a source for local feed or a forum to discuss more urban ag topics? The Seattle Urban Farm Co-op is a great resource.
The Seattle Urban Farm Co-op is a community-based organization that purchases supplies for urban farmers in the Seattle area. They get supplies such as animal feed, fertilizers, mulch, seeds, etc., from local and sustainable sources as much as possible, and save money through co-operative purchasing. They also support the growth of urban agriculture by providing a place for tools and resource sharing, educational classes, community information, etc.
You can get more information from their Yahoo homepage or contact them through their group’s email address at: seattlefarmcoop@yahoogroups.com.
New Report on Promoting Urban Agriculture in Toronto
Here is a new report looking at ways of scaling up urban agriculture in Toronto. I wonder which ideas would work here in the Puget Sound region. Some of the recommendations include the following:
Short Term:
- rooftop food production
- development by the City of a strategy to specifically address increasing development of a hub for soil testing for urban agriculture
- construction of a City-staffed, multi-stakeholder steering body to govern foundations and the amount of money being invested in urban agriculture More…
Drafting Locally-Grown Food Laws
San Francisco Mayor Newsome is drafting local food laws, and other municipalities are sure to follow. Doing these correctly is important. The Public Health Law and Policy (PHLP) team, offers some advice on how to do this well.
Concerns about buying food from afar – whether it’s about the safety or quality of the food, environmental impact, or local economic loss – are prompting some states and cities to consider laws promoting the purchase of locally grown food. But because of constitutional restrictions on state and local laws that discriminate against products derived out-of-state, “locally grown food laws” should be drafted carefully. More…
Growings On at the Danny Woo Garden
Jonathan Chen
“We have a new flock of chickens and they are amazing at composting garden waste,” said gardener Jonathan Chen as he looked at the new coop at the Danny Woo community garden. ”The other day there was a grandmother here with her grandaughter. She picked some grass and showed the little one how to feed the birds. This garden is all about positive energy and elders teaching the next generation where food comes from and how to raise it.”
The Danny Woo International District Community Garden is the largest green space in the Chinatown/International District and is managed by InterIm CDA. The garden was named after a member of the Woo family that has leased the property to InterIm CDA since 1975. It is home to more than 100 community garden plots where elderly Asian gardeners tend to vegetables such as bok choy, bittermelon, daikon and watercress. Younger gardeners experiment with strawberries, squash and other fruits and veggies. More…
Cultivation, Cuisine and Climate Change: Tips on Reducing Food Waste
As mentioned in an earlier post, when food is wasted, so is energy. By making the best use of your foodstuffs, you could be reducing the more than 90 billion pounds of food tossed in the trash every year, which uses up to 4 percent of all U.S. oil and more than 25 percent of our fresh water to produce and transport to consumers.
Sometimes it’s hard to eat a fresh, “mostly plant“-based diet without wasting food along the way because, unlike burgers from fast food joints, real food spoils. So here are some tips to help you prevent perfectly good food from going bad:
- Draft a menu – Plan what your family will eat for the week. Focus first on ingredients you already have in the house that are getting close to their expiration dates, and buy the ingredients you need to turn it into dinner.
- Make a grocery list – Making a list while you’re at home will help ensure you don’t buy what you already have lurking in the back of the pantry. And sticking to a list ensures you won’t spend extra on impulse purchases that may not be on the menu that week. More…
Urban Foraging: A Look at the Deep Connections Between People and Ecosystems in Seattle
Do you fancy a little wild fennel? Pluck juicy berries from nearby shrubs? Gather fallen figs, apples, plums, walnuts and chestnuts? Harvest stinging nettles, dandelion, chickweed, watercress or other edible greens? Use Oregon grape or woodland fungi to dye textile fibers? If so, then you just might be an “urban forager.”
Foraging is a deeply interactive nature practice that links urban residents to the intricate web of urban ecology while improving overall health and well-being. Urban ecosystems yield a bounty of edible, medicinal and useful plants and organisms important to the diverse communities. Forested woodlands, parks, alleys, parking strips, vacant lots and other areas outside the garden provide habitat for well over 250 native and introduced species of plants and mushrooms in Seattle, some which are foraged year-round. Gathering vegetative material serves many purposes, including: providing food, medicine, and raw material, strengthening social ties, and maintaining cultural identity. More…
Current Sponsor:
Kippen House chicken coops are well-designed, modern chicken coops with a roof garden or vertical garden!
Categories
News Aggregator
- Why does a posh agricultural college open its doors in summer to urban teenagers? September 7, 2010 Michael Levenston
- The safe use of wastewater in agriculture – Reduced costs for farmers and cities and improved water quality September 7, 2010 Michael Levenston
- USDA Announces Next Steps on Sugar Beets September 7, 2010 Taylor
- Register now for ‘Sheep School’ in Massachusetts September 6, 2010 Taylor
- Urban food garden installations in Bangalore September 6, 2010 Michael Levenston
- Job: Sustainable Agriculture Educator, Garden Manager September 5, 2010 Taylor
- City offers soil-cleaning tips to promote urban gardening September 4, 2010 Michael Levenston
- Michelle Obama in the garden September 4, 2010 Michael Levenston
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