We closed out our year of meetings with Downtown Greens' Laura Shephard, educating us about organic gardening at our June 6th meeting! See the end of this post for highlights, links, and pointers. Our next meeting will be on September 5th, with CSA gardener and organizer, Tom Miller, on the topic of canning and preserving. Meanwhile, here is what we shared this time around..Raw Tacos from Rawvolution cookbook, a party in your mouth!
A fresh from the garden salad...
a raw salad (with an amazingly rich dressing, the name of which escapes me at this moment!...)
some raw onion bread (can you tell that our speaker on raw foods a few months ago really got into our heads?)...
raw vegan cherry chutney with cucumber slices...
a beautiful pasta dish with peppers and tomatoes...
Lemon Walnut Brown Rice casserole...
fresh cucumber salad...
deliciously warm veggie couscous...
Udon noodles with seitan and Thai basil...
and last but not least...dessert! To start, Chocolate Pudding Cups...
adorable mini muffins...
strawberry-coconut macaroons (yes, they're raw, too!) from Ani's Raw Food Desserts...
and raw Cinnamon Girls (from Rawvolution- recommended to keep these in the freezer or fridge right up until serving)...So, here are the highlights about organic gardening that Laura imparted upon us:
First, intentions matter. If you put pesticides on your soil, they may or may not work. If you have good intentions - treat the soil, water, plants, and everything with care, you will still have "problems" just as much as if you use all the chemicals in the world, but everything is a choice. Make good choices and good things will usually come out of them.
- Good soil: compost, don't till let the worms do their work, it's good to have bacteria in the soil (natural)
- Good seeds: try different varieties, heirlooms, etc. Growing one kind of seed doesn't help diversity and taste. Rotate crops.
- Good water: filtered doesn't always mean it's any good.
- Don't use chemicals: pests become resistant, chemicals destroy bacteria in the soil, destroy the soil itself, you ingest them, gets into the water, etc.
Get Back to (Grass) Roots (eating local "wild" plants)
USDA National Organic Program
Certified Naturally Grown
Suggested Reading:
The Lost Language of Plants, by Buhner
Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture, by Steiner
The Secret Life of Plants, by Tompkins and Bird
Introduction to Permaculture, by Mollison
www.soilfoodweb.com, by Dr. Elain Ingham
Energy Evolution, by Shauberger
The Humanure Hand Book, by Jenkins
Cradle to Cradle: remaking the way we make things, by McDonough and Braungart
Hepburn Permaculture Gardens - 10 years of Sustainable Living, by Holmgren
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