November 25, 2008

Growing and eating by the seasons

Posted by ramblinrobert under Diet, My garden, my life, Urban agriculture | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
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saladOne of the mantras of the eat-local movement is to eat what is in season. This has several advantages, among them reduction in energy used in shipping foods hundreds or thousands of miles, as well as saving the monetary and environmental costs associated with the energy saved. Other advantages are the increase in dietary variety and improved nutritional quality. Instead of eating the same half dozen foods all the time, sometimes from local sources, sometimes from a hemisphere away, eating locally means consuming early, late and winter season foods as they are available.

I’m now producing food year-round, so I am changing my eating habits to match what I produce. (more…)

 

September 12, 2008

Peak harvest

Posted by ramblinrobert under My garden, my life | Tags: , , , , , , |
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It seems like only a month ago I was grousing because I was between my winter and spring crops and didn’t have a lot to harvest. Time flies and I’m now probably at my peak harvest for my summer crops. They will continue to produce for the next several months, but I doubt I’ll beat last night’s harvest. I spent about an hour picking cape gooseberries, tomatoes (four varieties), apples, squash (three varieties), cucumber, string beans and eggplant. Frankly, I’m amazed at all of this, picked in one evening. I’ll certainly have plenty of fresh food to eat for the next few days, plus plenty to share with friends. I’ll be going to a house concert Sunday to hear Ed Miller sing and John Taylor fiddle Scottish folk music. It will be great to take a salad made from my homegrown goodies for the potluck.