Using What I Have

June 26, 2010 By Nourishing Words in Farmers Markets & CSAs, Gardening, Healing and Wellness, Herbs, Local Food Tags: CSA tips, garlic scapes, lavender, pattypan squash, pesto, radishes, strawberry jam 11 Comments

I have a lot.

I’m growing more in my garden this year than ever before. Herbs, edible flowers and lots of vegetables. On top of that, I have the weekly bounty of my summer CSA, bringing gorgeous, fresh, organic vegetables every Wednesday.

And then, of course, my love of farmers markets. I seem to find myself at two or more a week, as much for the community as for the produce and products.There’s always something tempting. Today, it was the purple radishes, which, by no definition of the word, do I “need,” and a tiny, golden pattypan squash.

Am I in over my head?

I’d like to think not. At least, not if I make a conscious effort to use what I have.

Last night, I stuffed a jar with purple basil, added a couple of garlic cloves and filled it to the brim with white champagne vinegar. It should be beautiful, aromatic and delicious in about a month. I’ll filter it and pour it into a couple of attractive bottles, each with a new sprig of purple basil and a fresh clove or two of garlic.

Today, I whipped up a batch of garlic scape and parsley pesto.

Parsley was not in the plan, but I added too many walnuts, so I needed more green for balance. (I used no cheese in my pesto.) It’s delicious and I expect it will keep a couple of weeks in the refrigerator. I could even freeze it.

I cut lavender, tied it in bunches and hung it in the mudroom to dry. I’ll use the dried flowers to make an infused oil that I’ll combine with beeswax to make salve.

Tonight, I’ll make a very special strawberry jam, a recipe from Jennie at Straight from the Farm, that uses lemon juice and vanilla bean (and no pectin). What a perfect way to remember strawberry season later in the year, or next winter. And, if it’s as delicious as it sounds, it should make lovely gifts.

I’ll soon be borrowing or buying a dehydrator, to make better use of my tomatoes. (They’re thriving, so far.) I also hope to can or freeze some tomato sauce (and maybe, salsa) this year.

As my beautiful herbs grow, I’m challenged to get to know each one of them. Drying some of them for teas seems like a good plan. Cutting others for infused oils and tinctures is part of the plan as well. And, of course, I’m using them every day in cooking.

No doubt, these things all sound pretty routine to my farm-dwelling readers. For me, they’re all part of a commitment to use what I have, from my CSA, my garden and visits to farmers markets.

Use what I have, first, before heading out to the grocery store or coop for other ingredients.

I realized, in talking to a friend yesterday about making the most of CSA vegetables, that I’ve been in a regular routine of making and freezing vegetable stock for well over a year now. And, it’s just that: a routine. Other than washing the pot and wiping up, it’s not even much of a chore.

The idea of buying stock doesn’t begin to make sense to me anymore. My soups are delicious and nutritious, and the stock costs me nothing. No MSG, no packages to deal with, just good stock, whenever I need it.

My goal is to make using what I have be routine. A summer without trips to the grocery store would be the ultimate success.

Followed by a winter of very special memories of summer, as easy as opening the cupboard or the freezer.

Fresh-Picked Local Strawberries: Should We Worry About Pesticides?

June 22, 2010 By Nourishing Words in Environment, Food, Healing and Wellness, Local Food Tags: methyl iodide, organic, pesticides, strawberries 11 Comments

Fresh strawberries are so worth the wait.

I’m not one to purchase my strawberries in the grocery store in January, no matter how delicious they look. Instead, I wait patiently for June to arrive.

New Hampshire strawberries, fresh-picked and still warm from the sun—juicy, sweet and redder than red—are perfection. Those winter strawberries can’t begin to measure up.

I wish I’d taken a picture early Sunday morning at the local farm where I picked my strawberries. A bucolic, hilltop farm with rolling fields and a dozen or so stooping pickers in the early morning light. Even if I had taken a picture, two important things would have been missing: the sweet smell of strawberries in the air and the quiet chatter of the pickers. A blissful summer scene.

Of course, a few of those berries didn’t make it into my box. They were so perfectly ripe they just had to be eaten right there in the field. Warm from the sun.

Should I worry about eating a few unwashed strawberries in the field, given that it was not an organic farm? Should I worry about eating the big box of strawberries I brought home and washed?

We’re hearing a lot right now in the news about California’s debate over the approval of the pesticide methyl iodide for use in the state’s strawberry fields. Sadly, the danger seems to be mostly for the workers who are exposed in the field. Methyl iodide is a neurotoxin, a developmental toxin and an endocrine disruptor. It causes autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and various learning disorders as well as cancer.

According to the United Farm Workers, life expectancy of field workers in California’s strawberry fields is 49 years.

A “top 50″ list I found names 50 pesticides currently in use in California for strawberries. Whether those toxins are passed along to consumers almost isn’t the point. It’s yet another hidden cost of our dysfunctional food system that we support this industry that poisons its workers, all so that we can have big, red strawberries all winter long throughout the country.

Not me, though.

I buy my strawberries locally, and pick my own when I can. (All this information is draining a little bit of the joy out of my Sunday strawberry picking experience.)

What’s my risk? And, are any field workers or farmers being harmed in the production of my beautiful strawberries?

I don’t know the answer to those questions. I do know that strawberries are hard to grow without chemicals and I do know that I love them—probably enough to accept a little risk in order to eat them.

Of course, I’d choose organic if it were easily available.

In fact, there’s only one organic pick your own strawberry farm in New Hampshire (the Shirley Farm in Goffstown), although there are many small organic growers. The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension website provides advice for strawberry growers; the chemicals chloropicrin, thiram, danitol, lorsban and sevin are just a few of those listed for dealing with the pests and diseases that might afflict strawberries.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) ranks strawberries third on its Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides List of Fruits and Veggies, a list of the 49 most toxic fruits and vegetables (behind peaches and celery in toxicity). The EWG conducts its tests using washed fruit, just the way we’d eat it at home. Since we eat the entire fruit, skin and all, we’re injesting whatever residue is left on the skin of the fruit as well as what was absorbed through the roots.

Strawberries are mostly water; that’s water drawn up through the plant’s roots. At the risk of over-simplifying, it seems logical that any pesticides and chemicals applied once the plants set fruit would end up, in part, in the fruit itself.

I take comfort in knowing that both of the local farms whose berries I either purchase or pick describe their strawberry farming methods as “low spray.” It’s great knowing that they care about this, think about it and manage their use of chemicals carefully.

However, I’m struck by how little I know about what “low spray” actually means.

As much as I love my strawberries, I really do owe it to myself to dig a little deeper and ask a few more questions next time. What kinds of chemicals? When? For what? What happens when they use less?

With a little more knowledge, I could make this organic vs. non-organic choice with more confidence. And I might learn a thing or two about strawberry farming in New Hampshire in the process.

In the mean time, my fresh strawberries—those that aren’t yet in the freezer or already eaten, that is—still hold plenty of joy for me. Not the least of which is the joy of learning a little bit more about one of my favorite foods and what’s involved in bringing it to my table.

How important is organic to you when you decide where to buy or pick your strawberries?

Summer CSA Week One: What’s Cooking This Week?

June 20, 2010 By Nourishing Words in Food, Herbs, Local Food Tags: Brown Rice and Bok Choi Salad, CSA, CSA tips, Spinach and Yellow-Eyed Bean Soup 2 Comments

Here’s a quick roundup of what I’ve been cooking with this week’s CSA veggies.

Before I begin, I must confess that I neglected to take my own advice to clean out my refrigerator before the first pickup of the summer CSA season. As a result, I was faced with the temptation of using those crispy-fresh new vegetables before the slightly older ones in the veggie drawers. (I didn’t cave.) I won’t be making that mistake again. Next time, I’ll make and freeze stock so I can dive right in!

Having caught up on my “old” vegetables, I set to work this weekend on the CSA veggies.

Greens!

I’ve been dragging my feet on the big Vitamix purchase—the kitchen appliance that would allow me to eat “more greens in less time.” One day I want it. The next day I don’t. Until I can make it for two straight weeks, consistently thinking it’s a great idea, I won’t be taking the plunge.

Maybe some part of me just believes that I should be chewing my vegetables?

And, chewing is what I’ve been doing. I’ve been eating lots of salads.

A few months ago, I would have delighted in braising or stir-frying my greens and eating them with rice, another grain or a gluten-free pasta. But, it’s summer now, and eating crisp, cold greens seems like the most attractive (and easiest) option. With one exception, that’s what I’m doing this week.

This week’s CSA greens included spinach, beet greens, bok choi and romaine lettuce. All are fair game for salads, along with lots of things from my own garden, like sorrel, arugula, radishes, snow peas, edible flowers and herbs. I’m still using the chive-infused apple cider vinegar I made a few weeks back, in various combinations of delicious dressings.

Creating an easy salad routine with CSA veggies is no different than with grocery store veggies. I wash them and bag them all as soon as I get them home. Adding a few leafs of fresh lettuce from the garden, some interesting herbs, radishes, snow peas or other greens is quick and easy.

There’s no explaining why I was moved to make soup today, as hot as it was, but that’s what I did. I made a summer vegetable and yellow-eyed bean soup. I used spinach and tomatoes from the CSA, celery greens and fresh oregano from my garden, garlic scapes from the farmers market and brown rice pasta. The stock was from the freezer, thanks to my winter CSA vegetables.

Thick shavings of a nice Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese would be a perfect garnish.

I’ll freeze some for later. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder when it comes to soup cooked in batches for ten, but feeding only one.

Rather than stir-fry the bok choi, I used it raw in a bok choi and brown rice salad that I’ll be eating all week. Add greens, and dinner is done.

No recipe is needed.

Just cook up 2 or 3 cups of short grain brown rice and let cool. Chop the bok choi (easy, because it’s already washed) pretty finely. Chop lots of garlic, green onions and any other fresh vegetables on hand that seem right. I added a carrot for color and sweetness and lots of fresh Italian parsley. I look for a balance of about half vegetable, half rice.

Dress with olive oil and vinegar (I’m still using that chive-infused apple cider vinegar) and season with reckless abandon. Bring on the fresh herbs!

With a busy week ahead and meetings almost every night, it’ll be great to have a hearty salad and containers of soup ready to go, in the fridge.

And the Livin’ Is Easy

June 18, 2010 By Nourishing Words in Food, Gardening, Herbs Tags: arugula flowers, herbs, salad, sorrel 3 Comments

What a perfect day to take off from work. It was warm, dry and sunny, with a gentle breeze blowing all day long. Among other things, perfect for relaxing in that easy, summer kind of way.

I didn’t tackle any strenuous chores today. The garden doesn’t need much from me right now, which suits me fine. A little tomato pruning and tying was about the extent of my labor. I did water the vegetables this evening, admiring their progress. Eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and squashes are all in bloom and settting fruit. The peas, of course, continue to bloom even as I pick them. (They never seem to make it out of the garden, however.)

The arugula is blooming too.

I picked a zesty salad for dinner. First, the sorrel, mizuna, arugula, lettuces (red and green) and radishes. Then sage, parsley, dill, purple basil and flowers–arugula and nasturtium. Arugula flowers are deliciously nutty, slighltly peppery, but milder than arugula greens. Nasturtium flowers, in addition to offering a dramatic burst of color to a salad are a delicious, peppery addition.

I’ve made a commitment to using fresh herbs every day and I’m especially enjoying having them chopped right into my salad. It makes for a rich, complex palate of flavors–far from a dull green salad. What’s the worst that can happen? Maybe an awkward combination that I wouldn’t choose to repeat. So far, so good.

The garden is doing well right now. June is a good month and the weather has been good, too, with a pretty good balance of sun and rain. The increased sunshine in the front yard is paying off with steady growth, strong plants and lots of blooms.

I still have some resident ladybugs, I’m happy to report. Whatever they’re eating, I’m grateful, and I tell them that every time I happen upon them.

And, on the neighbor cat front, Nugget has laid off the bean and tomato beds and moved on to other adventures. She obviously had an enthusiastic encounter with the catnip I planted for her; I found it smashed to the ground, flattened. (I propped it back up on a stick so she’ll be able to find it tonight.) She’s also been spending time in the huge patch of catmint on the other side of the yard. From the looks of its flattened center, she’s been curling right up to sleep right in the middle of it, just as other cats before her have done. Whatever it takes to keep her out of the bean and tomato beds is fine with me, and I’m getting quite the image of what her late night escapades entail!

Although the official start of summer is still a few days away, it doesn’t get much more summery than today.

Now for a glass of that sun tea, which should be ready by now. With some fresh mint. Maybe some freshly picked strawberries from Apple Hill Farm for dessert.

Easy.

Growing Vegetables Is About More Than Food

June 13, 2010 By Nourishing Words in Food, Gardening, Herbs Tags: bok choi, CSA, farmers market, herbs, peas, Sage, vegetables 7 Comments

I keep a small vegetable garden for so many reasons, many of which have to do with food. Many have nothing to do with food.

The truth is, my CSA and local farmers markets could keep me supplied in beautiful produce, maybe even better quality than what I can produce myself. There are so many reasons, so many things I love about gardening, that it wouldn’t occur to me hang up my trowel and give it all up.

I love trying to grow things that I’d never find at the grocery store or even the farmers market. Like pink banana squash. Wow.

I love being able to stay mostly out of the grocery store for the summer.

I love clipping fresh herbs whenever I want them. Making fresh peppermint tea. I love nibbling a little sage while I’m working in the garden, knowing that generations of nibblers have done exactly the same in hopes of improving their memory.

But I love the process of gardening, too.

Even on yet another cloudy, cool, somewhat drizzly day like today, I enjoyed tending to my plants and laying down fresh straw mulch. Pulling a few weeds and generally tidying up.

It’s all so manageable in a small raised bed garden. While the perennial beds are becoming jungles with all the recent rain, I can turn my attention to my three small raised beds in my front yard, where weeding is completely easy. Even fun.

I love figuring out whether my tomatoes should be tied up with strips of an old sheet or twine. (I’m going to use strips of an old sheet—when the tomato plants are dry enough to touch.)

I even loved figuring out how to deal with my neighbor’s cat, who makes regular visits to my bean bed.

I love going out to the garden to pick greens, radishes and peas for a salad in the springtime. Dressing it with a little chive-infused apple cider vinegar, garlic and olive oil dressing and a few crumbles of fresh goat cheese from a local farm. Serving it to a friend or eating it alone.

Today, I harvested more bok choi, lettuce, radishes, herbs and peas (not all of which made it into the kitchen).

My ladybugs, or most of them, seem to have moved on to greener pastures. Some insect continues to eat the bok choi. Flea beetles, earwigs? Resisting the option of putting down row cover over the entire bed, I sprayed today with neem oil, hoping that will take care of the problem. With only a few bok choi plants left to harvest, the problem may disappear on its own. (I used the neem oil on a bit of powdery mildew beginning on the bee balm, as well.)

Other than a few little holes in leaves here and there, everything seems to be thriving in the garden. I love that.

I love the daily routine of checking on everything, noting progress and stopping to ponder problems. In the twenty minutes or so that I spend at that routine, my imagination runs into a future where everything in the garden is huge and perfect. I see six-foot tomatoes, heavy with perfect fruit. I see lemon cucumbers and little striped squashes tumbling out of the beds. I see deep purple eggplants and more green and purple bush beans than I know what to do with. I see a two-foot swiss chard plant (and imagine their six- to seven-foot roots bringing minerals up from deep in the subsoil) where there’s a little six-inch plant now.

And, then, into the house I go with my little harvest. Thankful for what the garden has given me today and what it might give me in a few weeks—if the bugs, the weather, my own skills and the neighbor’s cat allow. What’s not to love about all that?

What do you love about growing a vegetable garden?

Concord Residents Work Toward Agricultural Commission

June 11, 2010 By Nourishing Words in Environment, Gardening, Local Food, Sustainability Tags: agricultural commission, Concord, Farming 1 Comment

A group of passionate gardeners and local food lovers from the Capital City Organic Gardeners (CCOG), here in Concord, New Hampshire, are in the process of forming a feasibility committee as the first step toward creating an agricultural commission in the city.

We submitted a grant proposal and were approved to receive 50 hours of technical assistance from the Central New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission to guide the process. This support is made possible through the Community Technical Assistance Program (CTAP), which provides support and technical assistance to the 26 communities impacted by the I-93 improvements project.

We’re starting with a small group, including a few local farmers, that will work together over the next several months to build community support for the idea. Concord has such a rich agricultural heritage and, even in the face of heavy development, retains nearly 2,000 acres in agricultural use. We believe an agricultural commission would give a voice for agriculture in the city, and raise the profile of Concord’s farms and farmers. CCOG will serve as the initial catalyst for the process.

The recent City of Concord Master Plan 2030 details several important agriculture-related goals for the city, which this effort will support. Among other goals, it articulates the need for preserving both the rural character of the city’s open spaces and its prime agricultural soils. An agricultural commission would advise city boards on the needs of the agricultural community, in order to help make sure these goals and others are met.

Enabled by New Hampshire RSA 674:44-e, communities may establish agricultural commissions “for the proper recognition, promotion, enhancement, encouragement, use, management, and protection of agriculture and agricultural resources, tangible or intangible, that are valued for their economic, aesthetic, cultural, historic, or community significance within their natural, built, or cultural contexts.”

The purpose of an agricultural commission is to protect farmland, support the local agricultural economy, preserve rural character and promote local agriculture to community members and visitors.

Agricultural commissions are advisory only in nature, and do not have a regulatory role. They are the ambassadors of the farming community, acting as educators, advisors and promoters to help keep agriculture viable in New Hampshire.

It’s one more way to bring people closer to agriculture and food production, developing a better appreciation of open space, soil and farming. At a time when those are increasingly hard connections for many people to make, that’s an important goal.

To date, there are 14 agricultural commissions in New Hampshire towns; if Concord forms one, it will be the first city agricultural commission in New Hampshire. We think that’s pretty exciting.

Interested people, especially farmers, should contact me directly for more information about next steps.

Personal action can change the world.

Concord Farmers Market: 39 Delicious Reasons to Check It Out

June 10, 2010 By Nourishing Words in Farmers Markets & CSAs, Local Food Tags: Concord Farmers Market, farmers market, Local Food 4 Comments

The 2010 Concord Farmers Market offers a diverse and lively lineup of vendors. Baked goods, vegetables, fruits, plants, dog treats, wine (even worms) and plenty of friendly people make for the biggest and best farmers market in the region. With live music and so much good browsing, chatting nibbling and shopping to be done, there’s just no reason not to stop by on Saturday morning.

The Concord Farmers Market, which kicked off the first Saturday in June, is open every Saturday morning between 8:30 and noon, on Capitol Street in Concord (adjacent to the statehouse).

Concord Farmers Market vendors:

Catamount Farm – Barnstead, NH (dairy products)
The Vegetable Ranch – Warner, NH (vegetables)
Apple Ridge Farm – Boscawen, NH
Glenn Currie
Blasdell Body Care
Chases’ Country Corner – Weare, NH (jams and jellies)
Meghan’s Chocolates – Weare, NH
Abigail’s Bakery – Weare, NH (organic breads)
Two Sisters Garlic – Canterbury, NH (garlic and garlic jellies)
Grand View Farm – Canterbury, NH (lamb, maple syrup)
Rollin’ in the Dough – Sanbornton, NH (breads and pastries)
Bonnie Brae Farms – Plymouth, NH (venison)
Molly Lane Gardens – Pittsfield, NH (jams and jellies)
Miles Smith Farm – Loudon, NH (grass-fed beef)
Ron’s Woods and Goods
Joan’s Famous Composting Worms – Henniker, NH
The Mill Fudge Factory – Bristol, NH (fudge)
Peacewell Farm – Canterbury, NH (vegetables)
Milk and Honey Farm – Canterbury, NH (vegetables)
Granite Ledge Coffee – Canterbury, NH (fire-roasted coffee)
Huckins’ Farm – Hebron, NH (vegetables)
Meadowview Farm – Sutton, NH (lamb, beef and eggs)
Yellow House Greenhouse – Canterbury, NH (potted plants, cut flowers)
LaLa’s Hungarian Pastry – Manchester , NH
Apple Hill Farm – Concord, NH (fruits and vegetables)
Sanders Fish Market – Portsmouth, NH
Lewis Farm – Concord, NH (vegetables)
Mrs. Beasley’s Gourmet Dog Treats – Weare, NH
Jewell Towne Vineyards – South Hampton, NH (wine)
Baby Bear Apiaries
Porkside Farm
Heart Song Farm – Gilmanton, NH (goat cheese)
PetChew – South Sutton, NH (dog chews)
Field of Dreams Farm, LLC
Twist of Fate Farm – Dunbarton, NH (beef, pork, lamb and chicken)
Maple Ridge Farm
Mulberry Ground Farm
Stanhurst Farm
Michele’s Sweet Shoppe – Concord NH (gourmet popcorn)

I’ll add links, new vendors and other information to this list as I receive it, so check back again. Please contact me or comment on this post if you have further information about any of the vendors.

See you at the market!

How to Make a Wattle Fence

June 7, 2010 By Nourishing Words in Gardening, Sustainability Tags: wattle fence, wattle fencing, willow fence 27 Comments

A nagging problem confronted me in my new front yard kitchen garden: an unsightly view of my neighbor’s driveway with its several cars, just a couple of feet away.

My garden is located in the sunniest part of my small yard, which just happens to be adjacent to this eyesore. A four-foot cedar stockade fence stops short of hiding it; continuing that fence several feet more toward the street would create a shadow over the edge of the garden and just wasn’t aesthetically what I was looking for.

A wattle fence was the answer.

Wattle fences, traditionally made from willow, have been in use since medieval times. With posts made of sturdy willow, and smaller, flexible willow suckers or saplings—”withies”—woven back and forth between the posts, these fences served early farmers well. The willow posts would usually take root in the ground, creating a strong, living, long-lasting fence that kept animals from wandering between fields and provided a wind break as well.

Farmers “pollarded” or “coppiced” willow trees to produce a continuous supply of sucker growth for use in fence building and other willow craft—an impressively simple renewable resource. The practice continues in some places throughout Europe today, where wattle fences and willows can be found side-by-side.

I love the look of traditional wattle fences, but there’s one problem: I don’t have access to any willow available to cut. I do, however, have lots of saplings and stump growth of various kinds, so I decided to create a wattle fence of mixed materials, in my own style.

I used three-foot grade stakes for posts, spacing them about 18 inches apart and pounding them into the ground a full foot. Though I would have preferred to use saplings, my sapling and sucker supply was fairly small in diameter, and I doubted I could come up with posts strong enough to endure the pounding and last a few years. I’m counting on the grade stakes becoming gray in color over time and more or less disappearing into the withies.

I cut down as many saplings, suckers and as much stump growth as I could find in my own yard, before paying visits to two friends’ yards to gather more. (I knew it was time to visit a friend when I found myself eying my lilacs, loppers in hand.)

The optimum withie diameter for the 18-inch post spacing seemed to be 1/2 to 3/4 inch, although I used some much smaller pieces here and there, and a few that were closer to an inch in diameter. I discovered that the pieces had to be at least 40 inches in length to be able to grab a few posts and hold tight. The longer the better, really. Stripping the withies of leaves and shoots was fairly quick and easy.

Weaving the withies in and out among the posts was straightforward. I’ve read that you can use dry material if you soak or steam it, but using it green is easiest. I used cherry, maple, hemlock, beech, dogwood, oak–even forsythia–and found that the variety of colors and textures worked out beautifully.

This project was simple, and I’m happy with the outcome. Authentic willow wattle fencing can actually be ordered by mail from England, and plenty of other fencing materials are available for purchase locally. Making something myself from readily available materials was infinitely more satisfying. For the few hours invested in cutting saplings and suckers and weaving the fence, I got exactly the rustic, handcrafted look I wanted.

The end result is two feet tall and about 12 feet long. Although I can still see the driveway full of cars next door, the wattle fence does exactly what I hoped it would do. It stops my gaze as it moves through my garden and provides a beautiful backdrop for the herbs and flowers planted against it. It has become a new focal point in the garden.

Now, when I tend to the herbs planted along my wattle fence, I’ll think of 12th century farmers and the long tradition of farmers and gardeners who have continued to use available, local materials to build what is needed.

Local, Organic and Sustainable Choices Abound at Concord Farmers Market

June 5, 2010 By Nourishing Words in Farmers Markets & CSAs, Local Food, Sustainability Tags: Concord Farmers Market, farmers market, Local Food, organic, sustainability 3 Comments

Today is the official start of summer here in my hometown of Concord, New Hampshire, with the opening of the Concord Farmers Market. I enjoyed a satisfying hour or so of shopping and chatting, and was left pondering the complexity of choices consumers are faced with in considering where food came from and how it was produced.

Concord Farmers Market Opens for Summer

Heavy thunderstorms caused a little trouble for vendors setting up early this morning but, just about the time the market opened, the sun broke through. Sunshine prevailed for most of the morning, and area shoppers responded by turning out in droves.

This is a lively market, with live music and a good mix of produce and products for sale. I found:

plenty of spring vegetables (even dandelion greens);
strawberries;
perennials and vegetable seedlings;
dog treats;
baked goods;
locally-raised meats;
fresh eggs;
composting worms;
local wine; and
jams and jellies

I connected with market organizers while I was there and hope to post a complete vendor list on this site before next Saturday, so check back for that list. The market is open every Saturday, from 8:30 to noon, and takes place next to the State House on Capitol Street. Plan to swing by before starting your weekly grocery shopping.

The Concord Farmers Market, like many, is a gathering spot for local dog lovers. Curious dogs are rewarded with a treat or two when they poke their noses into the Mrs. Beasley’s Gourmet Dog Treats tent, where nutrient-rich, handcrafted treats are available in an endless variety of flavors, shapes and sizes. It’s the first thing my dogs look for when I return from the market, and they’re never disappointed. Today, I brought home crispy lamb liver treats. The customers were satisfied. (Even the Westie, who’s too shy of cameras to make an appearance here.)

Local, Organic or Sustainable: Are the Choices Clear?

It’s gratifying to see the steadily increasing interest in good, local food throughout New Hampshire. Along with a desire to buy fresh, locally grown and produced food, people are giving more thought to how that food is produced as well. At recent farmers markets, I’ve overheard many conversations between farmers and shoppers about whether or not certain products (like the perfectly ripe strawberries I purchased from Apple Hill Farm) were organic.

Organic food is wonderful, and choosing organic is a good first step in knowing that we’re buying nutritious food, free of chemicals. But it’s not the whole picture.

There’s so much education that needs to be done on this issue. Overhearing various responses to that question, the farms that choose a non-organic route sometimes have very compelling arguments for doing so. Whether it’s to lightly spray a pesticide or fungicide at a particularly vulnerable point in a crop’s development, or simply choosing not to participate in the cumbersome requirements to become a certified organic producer, these farmers are making thoughtful choices.

Unfortunately, in some cases, only the customers who ask are hearing the depth of the farmers’ decisions.

It strikes me that many consumers aren’t there yet with the distinctions among these choices; it’s all too easy to adopt an all-good/all-bad approach. After all, we’re so often looking for simple rules to guide our choices, and certified organic has provided that for us.

Now come choices like “sustainable” and “organic methods.” Add to those the option of buying local, or not, and weighing the benefits of each can become confusing. What’s most important. What’s bad or good, anyway?

What’s the solution? I offer two ideas, one for consumers and one for farmers and producers.

Consumers should ask questions; by asking and being sincerely open to understanding the farmer’s or producer’s choices, we’ll learn and then be able to make more informed choices ourselves.

Farmers and producers could greatly improve their own communication on this issue by creating simple, informative signs for their booths, explaining their philosophy, whatever it is. If they have a website, they should post information there.

Maggie Mae Farm in Belmont has a detailed mission statement on its website, and a blog post with an even more detailed description of the farm’s philosophy regarding sustainability and organic practices. Find Maggie Mae at the Canterbury Community Farmers Market on Wednesday evenings (4 to 7 p.m). and at the Laconia Farmers Market on Thursday evenings (3 to 7 p.m.).

With more and more consumers looking for answers to these questions, proactively providing the information would create transparency and credibility for farmers and producers, no matter what their choices.

I believe there’s room for all philosophies. It’s just so great to see the proliferation of vendors at all the local farmers markets and the positive response from consumers, hungry to purchase locally grown and produced food. Adding a little information to the mix can only make a good thing better.

I was recently stumped by the question, “How would you prioritize ‘sustainable,’ ‘organic’ and ‘local’ in making your food purchasing choices?”

How would you answer that question, and why? Is there one, clear answer for you?

Ladybug Picnic

June 3, 2010 By Nourishing Words in Food, Gardening, Herbs Tags: ants, arugula, beneficial insects, bok choi, ladybugs, lettuce 13 Comments

Everything seemed to be going along perfectly in my small vegetable and herb garden. The warm weather, good rains, fresh compost and careful tending were paying off. I saw only perfection and potential.

Closer inspection revealed tiny holes in my bok choi and arugula. No!

I couldn’t seem to find the culprits who’d been doing the nibbling, but something needed to be done. I prefer my greens intact.

Tiny ants scurrying about on various plants caused me to wonder if aphids might be the problem, knowing that ants are attracted to the “honeydew” they create. If that’s what’s going on, the ants actually make the problem worse, because they carry the aphids to and fro, while fending off natural predators.

But, do aphids leave holes in leaves?

That’s as far as my scientific diagnosis progressed; there was no time for delay. In a tiny garden, every lettuce leaf, every arugula leaf and every bok choi leaf counts.

I went shopping for ladybugs, and ladybugs I got: twelve hundred of them. ($9.99 at the local farm store, with free advice at least doubling the value of my purchase.)

Ladybugs primarily feed on aphids, but will eat other small, soft insects and the eggs of other, larger insects like Colorado potato beetles. They eat a lot. They’ll eat 50 to 60 aphids a day and, if no other food is available, will even cannibalize each other. They’re fearless little predators. One adult may eat as many as 5,000 aphids in its lifetime.

Medieval gardeners believed that ladybugs were sent by God—actually, the Virgin Mary—to rid their gardens of pests. In fact, they were called “The Bug of Our Lady,” before the name was shortened to “ladybug.” The French still call them “les betes du bon Dieu”—creatures of the good God.

My ladybugs will fly away if they can’t find food in my garden. The ladybug’s little wings beat at 85 beats per second when it flies, so I’m hoping my brood will relax in my garden, at least for a while. To entice them into staying, I watered the garden well yesterday evening, and released the ladybugs carefully after dark, spreading little clumps of them here and there at the bases of plants. Dozens opted to crawl up my arm, needing to be coaxed down into their new home.

I opted not to try spraying them and my plants with a weak Coca Cola solution to help them to “stick around,” a tip I’d read online. I just couldn’t do it. Mine is a healthy garden, after all.

Today’s downpours worried me. I imagined my ladybugs floating away on little ladybug rivulets, out of my yard and down the road to some other garden. Perhaps where insects are not welcome at all, no matter what their specialty.

Although I’ll never know how many of my 1200 ladybugs are still around, this evening’s inspection found lots of them. It’s hard to tell if a ladybug is happy, but I would say they all looked happy, healthy and content.

Some might have even been mating.

With any luck, some of my lady ladybugs will lay eggs within a week, and I’ll be off to a great start for the summer. There’s no telling for sure how many females I have; although females are noticably larger than males, doing an inventory seems a daunting task. They all look pretty big to me! (At 3/16 of an inch in size, that is.)

And, predators won’t be bothering these fearsome beauties, because they produce a foul-smelling chemical to make sure they’re left alone.

Ladybugs enjoy special status here in New Hampshire. In 1977, the legislature declared the ladybug the state insect, thanks to the efforts of a group of fifth grade students from Concord. I like to think that at least a few of those students are tending organic gardens in the area today.

Our garden friends are not the larger Asian lady beetles that swarm in houses (at least, in New Hampshire) in the fall, looking for nooks and crannies in which to spend the winter. That beetle is, in fact, an invasive species that was introduced in the early 90s as a possible beneficial insect.

There are about 5,000 species of ladybug in the world, and 400 of those species live in North America, so encouraging those already here might have been a better idea.

In the absence of aphids, other small insects or insect eggs, ladybugs enjoy dining on the pollen of plants with umbrella-shaped flowers. In my area, these might include dill, cosmos, cilantro, yarrow and dandelions. More good reasons to plant flowers in my kitchen garden!

I’ll do what I can to keep my new ladybugs content and, maybe attract more to my garden, along with other beneficial insects. And, if the holes in my greens keep multiplying, I’ll work harder on my diagnostic process and try another solution.

I’m hoping the ladybugs do the trick.

Do you think this will work?

Nourishing Words

on food, gardening and healthful living

Monthly Archives: June 2010