Urban Agroecology

Kevin Costner’s character, Ray Kinsella, in the 1989 movie Field of Dreams improbably plows up his corn field to build a baseball diamond when he hears a voice say “Build it and he will come.” Robert White’s story is just the opposite and equally improbable — but true. When Robert  became possessed with the idea of growing food, he’d never done it before. But he went ahead anyway, starting with taking over an existing baseball diamond in Asheville NC and turning it into an urban farm. When I visited there in April, (more…)

I tend to get too busy, trying to fill my life with all the things I love to do. So, it’s nice to remind myself sometimes to slow down, relax and savor the moment. Saturday mornings–like today–are wonderful when I take the time to relax and enjoy my time at home, in the garden and eating breakfast.

This morning, (more…)

Last November, I planted eight cloves of garlic as an experiment. I’d never grown garlic before and wanted to give it a try. This is the result, nine months later. I’m quite pleased. These were easy to grow, and can be grown in my shallow one-quarter oak wine barrel. They taste good, too. I’ll definitely be growing another–and larger–crop this year.

I had two potlucks this past weekend, a Saturday night potluck at a Scottish Country Dance and a Sunday night potluck at a house concert. So, I hit the garden Saturday afternoon to see what I could find for the potlucks. I managed to come up with (from left to right) brocolli florets, baby butternut squash, zucchini and yellow crook-neck summer squash, three varieties of cherry-sized tomatoes, and two varieties of cucumbers. Here’s what I cooked up.

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As mentioned in an earlier post, my berry harvest was phenomenal this year and I’ve started experimenting with preserving methods. One tasty little experiment, suggested by a coworker, Rebecca, was to make liqueur. I’m not a big drinker, nor do I know much about alcoholic beverages, including  liqueurs. But, I’m fortunate that her husband is a rum meister, recognized as one of the new “mixologists” for his work as a professional bar tender/tropical drink creator/tropical drink bar creator. (For more, see writeups in the SF Chronicle and NY Times, as well as this site for his new SF bar, Smugglers’ Cove, opening this fall.) So, when I received an email with Martin’s instructions for making liqueur, the scientist in me decided it was time to experiment.

Here are his instructions: (more…)