Urban CSAs

This is a really interesting take on CSAs (community supported agriculture). Normally, CSAs allow a person to invest in a farming operation and reap the benefits. This company has started retrofitting people's backyards into vegetable gardens and then the CSA operates on a very local level.

Read more about this in The New York Times.

As someone who grew up on an orange grove, but now mainly works with urban gardening, I love this concept. I really think people should be growing more of their own food anyways. It may not be as efficient or economical, but there's something very satisfying (and educational!) in saying I grew this whole salad in my backyard.

Over the years, I've volunteered quite a bit with Ag in the Classroom. The purpose of the organization is to educate youth about where their food comes from and help create well-rounded, critically thinking consumers. Many of the third graders that we would work with often said their food came from grocery stores. If you asked what they had for breakfast (usually orange juice or milk and cereal), and asked where the orange juice came from, it was always grocery stores. Sometimes they could make the connection back to the orange, but almost never could they make the connection back to the tree.

I know most people are now two to five generations removed from a farm, but this is still really sad. I want my kids to be very concerned with where their food comes from and how it's produced. I want them to think critically about production, processing, and marketing of food and make their own decisions. I think it helps when we are able to grow even a little bit in our backyards.

So, I guess what I'm saying is these urban CSA programs are great. If the vegetable garden is right in your neighborhood, you can visit it, ask questions of the homeowner (and the farmer who's helping), and still reap the benefits. It may even inspire you to try a tomato plant or two in your own yard!

So to inspire you, here's a picture that Kim took at the Garden Writers conference in Oklahoma this year. It's okra that was grown locally in a home vegetable garden. And, it's a great picture.

Aaahhh!

I bought vegetable plants on the way home today. I got a 9 pack of silver queen corn, 9 pack of black beauty eggplants, a 6-inch ichiban eggplant (which I've been dying to try), and a 6-inch Mr. Stripey tomato. I was especially excited about Mr. Stripey. I also got some citrus fertilizer and a couple of large tomato cages. I'm trying to get ready so I can be a challenger in the First Annual Wacahoota Guy vs. Girl Gardening Contest. I put all the plants on the picnic table in the backyard with the rest of the seedlings that John's already started. We're borrowing Tom's rototiller this weekend, so I was planning on putting them in the ground tomorrow.

So, I was sitting at my computer catching up on my blogs and talking about my day with John, and I looked out the window.

Me: "AAAAAHHHH!!! He's eating my plants"

I rushed outside. Tebow had gotten Ichiban off the table and was eating the pot. I was able to rescue Ichiban and quickly replanted him. Tebow got a good scolding. And, everything was good.

Not 20 minutes later, I again looked at the window, and...

Me: "AAAAHHH!! He's eating more plants"
John: "Hurry, get them!"

I rushed out the door and into the backyard with John on my heels with the broom to swat the dog. The corn, eggplants, and Mr. Stripey were all over the ground. I was able to rescue most of the corn and eggplants, but Mr. Stripey bit the dust. I'm very upset over it. John is currently outside potting the corn and eggplants into small containers (outside the dog area), so that they don't dry out before we have a chance to plant them.

John: "It's just a stage. He'll grow out of it."
Me: "He better. Poor Mr. Stripey."

Guy vs. Girl Gardening Contest

John has challenged me to a vegetable gardening contest. We have two raised beds and we're each going to take one of the beds. John decided that Tom should be the impartial judge. At the feed and seed today (before I knew about John's challenge), I bought three trays of tomatoes and peppers, so we're splitting those. And, we're starting some stuff in seed trays. We'll split those also. I told him he had to help me clean up my bed and get it ready. He planted his tonight. Or at least the starter plants that I brought home. My bed still has lettuce growing in it, so I wanted to wait to harvest that before planting mine. I won't be at work tomorrow, so the harvesting will have to wait till Wednesday. I probably won't get to my bed till this weekend, so John will be a week ahead of me. Tom would say this is a good thing because then we've staggered planting dates. (Apparently, I'm not supposed to plant everything at once so that you have vegetables all season instead of all at once.) The loser has to take the winner out on a child-free date. It should be a fun gardening season! Now, if only Tebow would stay off of my bed, I might be the winner.