In the News: Huffington Post (Denver)

Derec Shuler is running for the Colorado State Senate in District 34 (NW Denver). Although Derec isn't a stereotypically progressive candidate (he's a fiscally conservative libertarian), he does care quite a bit about sustainable living issues.

Derec walks his talk, too -- he owns chickens, bees, rabbits, and grows some of his own food. He and his lovely wife, Camille, have been strong supporters of Heirloom Gardens and attended several of our classes.

I enjoy my friendship with Derec in part because he reminds me that people with seemingly disparate views can sit down together and have a friendly, informative chat. Before I had even heard of the Coffee Party Movement, Derec and I were meeting for coffee and talking for hours about the things that are important to us.

Derec was interviewed by The Huffington Post, and he mentioned Heirloom Gardens. Click here to read Derec's interview.

The Urban Conversion

"What happens when you take a conservative city slicker, and drop him into an 'extreme green' off-the-grid lifestyle? You get The Urban Conversion! There is currently a national movement to create a sustainable homestead type living in an urban environment. And in the world of urban homesteading for dummies, Rodman Schley is the ultimate dummy."

Rodman is also a terrifically nice guy (as is his producer, Tim) who is sincerely interested in promoting the cause of sustainable living. Rodman figures that since he owns seven (!!!) businesses he has a pretty big carbon footprint, so it's part of his responsibility to figure out how to tread a little more lightly.

Rodman is creating a TV series called "The Urban Conversion." In addition to being entertaining (hence the conservative-guy-milking-a-goat shtick) he wants to educate people about urban homesteading and sustainable living techniques, showing how the can use a little of what they see in his show in their own lives.

Rodman and Tim are scouting ideas for the pilot and subsequent episodes, so they dropped by our little homestead for a visit. It was pretty spur-of-the-moment, so I didn't have time to make things pretty for their arrival, but they got the gist of things. Click here to view some of the photos from the visit (plus a sneak peak of the gigantic Lowell garden!).

If you'd like to learn more about The Urban Conversion, you can click here to visit their website.

Planting the Gardens

We worked for 3 weeks during May to get all of our hot season (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, summer & winter squash, cucumbers, and basil) seedlings, plus bean and chard seeds, planted in the gardens. It was a lot of work, but yet another incredible example of what can be accomplished by a group working together. I don't have exact numbers for all of the plants, but I know that we have around 1100 tomato plants in the ground, and some 500 (each) peppers and eggplants. Whew!

Here are some photos from our planting day at Kirk's garden. Many thanks to Courtney for snapping these pics with her phone (I was preoccupied with loading plants into the car, and forgot to bring my camera).

Getting ready to plant tomatoes. We've dug our trenches, sprinkled in the compost, and marked the spacing...

Ta-da! Tomato plants in the ground! Those are all actually pretty large seedlings, but we bury them up to the top crown (hence the trenches) so that the plants will develop an extensive root system.

Planning for our next bed.

Seneca and Betsy planting the eggplants. They're using the stick to measure the correct spacing between plants.

Eggplants in the ground!

Fun with camera angles! Even though we're supposed to be planting (i.e. nurturing plant life), I switch gears into "kill" mode and dig up a few dandelions to clear room for the seedlings.

Thecia showing off the proof of her work -- tell-tale gardener's hands.

HuffPost: Top 10 Mistakes Made by Farmers Market Newbs

A cute little article from the Huffington Post. My favorite "mistake" is the first one: Arriving too late. Trust me -- the produce (and the folks selling it) looks better earlier in the morning, and there's much more to choose from.

Click here to read the article.

In the News: Washington Park Profile

Paul Kashmann wrote a fantastic piece for the Washington Park Profile about our industrial food system and some of its alternatives -- namely CSAs and NSAs. I'm especially happy to see my fellow NSAers Kipp Nash, Debbie Dalrymple and Candice & Jon Orlando mentioned in the article (along with Heirloom Gardens). Go, Urban Ag!

"The food delivery system in the good 'ol U.S. of A. just ain't what it used to be. And if you ask a lot of folks, it ain't what it ought to be either. Not all that many generations ago our nation was a largely agrarian society..."

Click here to read the full article. If you enjoy it, please email the Washington Park Profile to tell them how much you appreciate their coverage of this issue!

Recipe: Fresh Herb Vinaigrette (or Marinade)

We're almost always blessed with a bounty of fresh herbs in our gardens. This has become my favorite salad dressing. You can mix and match a variety of herbs, depending on what you have on hand.

1 oz. fresh herbs (tarragon, savory, thyme, parsley, sage, and/or basil)
1 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons water
1/4 to 1/2 cup vinegar (to taste)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
pinch black pepper
pinch cayenne powder
dash of Bragg's Liquid Aminos or soy sauce (opt)

Rinse herbs and remove any brown or tough stems. Put all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend. Adjust seasonings to taste.
For a great marinade, just omit the vinegar.

Uses for Lemon Mint

Lemon mint is one of those things that grows beautifully, but it's not always clear how best to use it in the kitchen.  Erin, one of our wonderful working members, did some research and came up with these ideas:

Stuff into the cavity of chicken before roasting; good for poultry, lamb & pork stuffing; marinade for fish; tea (especially with honey); substitute for lemon peel in recipes; vinaigrette dressings; add to fruit salads, green salads, smoothies, egg dishes, custard and soups.

Thanks, Erin!