GARDENING DEMOS THIS WEEK AT THE FAIRGROUNDS

This week, Backyard Farms will be participating with the FAMU workshops at the North Florida Fair. They will be exhibiting elevated raised beds, discussing their versatility, and growing great gardens from seed.

SHOULDN'T WE ALL SQUISH OUR FRUITS TOGETHER?

ORGANIC PLANT SALE

Saturday, September 26
12:00 PM - 3:00 PM

1235 Apalachee Parkway

in parking lot in front of New Leaf Market

O'Toole's Herb Farm will have Certified Organic® plants, organic potting soil and worm castings for sale for your fall garden. Come early for a good selection.

BPA and Aluminum Bottles

I recently purchased an aluminum bottle that has a design and feel that I really like. Unfortunately (for me) it has been appropriated by one of my offspring and is now dangling from his backpack.

I had been using a glass bottle at my office and had been holding off purchasing an aluminum one to carry with me because of articles I had seen about those that contained BPA. Now, all bottles manufactured by both SIGG and Laken are being made with new liners that are certified to be BPA- and phthalate-free. Prior to August of 2008, aluminum bottle that this companies produced and sold was lined with a water-based epoxy that contained BPA.

Thanks to our friends at Reusable Bags, they report that bottles manufactured by Laken and SIGG no longer use this epoxy and use no organic solvents
(VOCs ) and is leach-free. SIGG reports it uses its SIGG EcoCare Liner. SIGG is manufactured in Switzerland, and Laken is made in Spain not China. You can tell if your bottle has the new liner which is a pale yellow coating like the one on the left in the picture or look for the BPA free logo.

NEW FARMER'S MARKET DOWNTOWN

The FAMU Statewide Small Farm Program has established a new market at the Florida Department of Education building, which will be open on Thursdays from 3:00 PM to 5:30 PM

Thanks to the continuing incredible work of Dr. Jennifer Taylor, this market brings fresh produce closer to FSU and FAMU, the Capitol and surrounding downtown neighborhoods where no grocery store exists.

ORGANIC GARDENING WORKSHOP

Organic Gardening Workshop - Double-Dug Raised Beds

September 13 from !:00 PM - 5:00 PM. Cost is $15.00 per person. $25.00 per
couple, $10.00 for students, and children 12 and under are free.
Backyard Farms, 1276 Cherry Tree Road, Monticello

This workshop, sponsored by FAMU's Small Farms Program, will demonstrate construction of a double-dug raised bed, discuss lunar planting, and more. There will be "plant" door prizes, as well as free-range eggs, strawberry plants, and vegetable plants (all naturally grown) for purchase. Call 997-4647 to register.

BREAD AND ROSES SECURES A SPACE

The emerging Bread and Roses Food Coop will be located at 617 Industrial Drive in Railroad Square (the former Bali Hi space).

They report they are up to 102 members and plan to open their doors in October.

A continuing member meeting is held every Tuesday at Black Dog Care from 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM. All are invited to attend, ask questions, etc.

Look for them at the Krank It Up space this upcoming First Friday, September 4th.

BREAD AND ROSES COOPERATIVE

Talking with Heather at First Friday, she gave me an update on developments of the emerging food cooperative in Tallahassee. Efforts to secure a space in Railroad Square look imminent, memberships have been coming in and vendors secured.

The next informational meeting will be held at the LeRoy Collins Public Library, August 12th starting at 7:00 PM.

More info at the bread and roses web site.

PLANT YOUR FALL GARDEN!

The Backyard Farm in Monticello is offering organic gardening workshops, sponsored by FAMU, on Saturdays throughout the Fall.

"When and How to Plant your Fall Garden" will be on August 15th (rain date August 16th) from 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM. Handouts from Part I will be available, in case you missed it. Topics will include water conservation , intercropping, companion planting, intercropping, pest, disease and nutrition challenges will be covered.

The cost for the workshop is $15 per person or $25 per couple ($10 for students and free to children 12 and under).

Contact: pam@farmerpam.com or call 997-4647 for more information, directions, etc.

handsome fellow courtesy of farmerpam.com

THE TROUBLE WITH HONEY(BEES)

Tony Hogg, owner of Full Moon Apiary, will speak on the troubles facing honey bees this Saturday, July 25th, beginning at Noon at Tupelo's Bakery and Cafe in Monticello.

He will talk about what we can do to keep bees safe and will also touch on the art of bee keeping and offer samples of his honey. Honey will also be available for purchase. Details at Green Calendar.

A local radio story on the new law regulating Florida honey at NPR.

ORGANIC GARDENING CLASSES

The Backyard Farm is offering organic gardening workshops, sponsored by FAMU, on Saturdays throughout the Fall.

The July workshop, "When and How to Plant your Fall Garden" will be expanded in August. The date will be announced soon for the August event, or E-Mail: pam@farmerpam.com for more information, directions, etc.

The cost for each workshop is $20 per person or $30 per couple ($10 for students and frees to children 12 and under).

BUILD A SUSTAINABLE TABLE

Jennifer Taylor, Director of FAMU StateWide Small Farm Programs, Office of
Cooperative Extension Service sent along this update:

Working to build a sustainable table . . .

Summer lives at the Growers' Market. Enjoy summer's produce beautiful fresh deliciously tasty heirloom varieties, tomatoes, sweet corn, zukes, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, melons, cucumbers, peas, yellow squash, lettuces, squash flowers, shallots, mushrooms, arugula, hot peppers, butternut squash, chard, kale, sprouts, garlics, green onions, veggie plants, bitter melons,
herbs, etc. Also, vibrant local sunflowers, zinnias, grass-fed beef,
lamb and goat, Sweet Grass Dairy goat and cow cheeses, fresh local
breads, tupelo honey, organic methods eggs, and lots more. Meet your
local small farmers at the Growers' Markets.

The Growers' Market Hours: 3:00pm - dusk, Wednesdays, rain or shine.
229 Lake Ella Drive. Behind the Black Dog Cafe, Tallahassee.

Royce Lovett will provide music to beat the heat during market hours. His classic inspirational music will begin at 4:00pm.

Susan Winters baker/owner of Tallahassee's Three Sons Bakery
will feature several freshly baked specialty breads including
gluten-free seed bread (with millet and sunflower seeds), a chocolate
bread, fruit bread, and very honey whole wheat. Susan will provide
samples of her gluten-free with flaxseed bread during market hours.
Three Sons Bakery demonstration starts at 4:00pm and continues during
market hours.

Costumed interpreters from Tallahassee's San Luis Mission will feature
heirloom produce from local food traditions and traditionally
organic methods of the 17th century during market hours. Taste and
learn about the food traditions of this area. The San Luis Mission
demonstration starts at 3:00pm and continues during market.

Learn more about the nutritional and environmental benefits of organically grown eggs and about the new Egg-CSA (community supported agriculture). Twin Oaks Farm will talk about the organic egg during market hours.

NEW - Green Grocers Growers' Market
Located at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection 2600 Blairstone Road, Tallahassee.

Featuring fresh seasonal organic and sustainably grown produce direct
from local small farmers.
Every Monday afternoon from 3:00pm - 5:15pm, rain or shine.
Provided in collaboration with the local small farmers, the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection located at 2600 Blairstone Rd
and FAMU StateWide Small Farm Programs.


NEW - Tupelo's Growers' Market
Enjoy lunch at Tupelo's and shop for fresh local organically grown
produce. Meet local Jefferson County farmers.
Location: inside Tupelo's Bakery and Café 220 West Washington Street, downtown Monticello, FL
Hours: 11:00am - 1:00pm, Wednesdays AND Saturdays.

The Green Market
Featuring fresh organic and sustainably grown produce every Thursday
from 11:00am - 1:00pm.
Located at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, off of Capital
Circle Southwest, on Commonwealth Blvd. Tallahassee.

Apalachicola Growers' Market
Enjoy fresh local gourmet veggies from Crescent Moon Organic Farms.
Every Friday, 3:00pm - 5:40pm, rain or shine.
Solar Oven Demonstrations will start at 4:00pm and continue during market hours. Downtown Apalachicola at the corner of Market Street
and Avenue D/in front of the Natural Medicine Shoppe.

Port St Joe's SaltAir Farmers' Market
Every 1st and 3rd Saturday, 9:00am - Noon, rain or shine.
Enjoy fresh produce, seafood, art and more.
Downtown Port St. Joe next to City Hall.

Sunshine Growers' Market
11:00am - 2:00pm, every Monday, rain or shine.
Features fresh local veggies and fruit.
SouthWood Office Complex, off of Capital Circle SE, on
Esplanade Way, next to Florida Department of Health, Tallahassee.

NEW - Wakulla County's Tuesdays Farmers' Market Features organically grown veggies, local fruit, honey, and seafood. HOURS: Every Tuesday evening, 3:00pm - 6:00pm.
Jane Ellen Strickland will provide a demonstration on "how to make
butter from fresh milk" on July 28. Demonstrations at 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00pm.
Located at Purple Martin Nurseries, 1554 Crawfordville Highway, Crawfordville.

For additional information about other sustainable development
capacity building efforts and the growers' markets, contact:
FAMU StateWide Small Farm Programs/Cooperative Extension Service Jennifer.Taylor@famu.edu

LOCAVORE - IT'S OFFICIAL!

The word 'locavore' is officially in the dictionary!

BEEF FROM SWEET GRASS

Sweet Grass Dairy, home of some amazing cheeses, announced their 100% grass-fed beef is available for sale. This beef, which is free of hormones, and antibiotics, can be purchased from the Sweetgrass Diary Marketplace, 19345 US Highway 19 North, north of Thomasville. They are open Tuesday - Saturday from 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM. For more information or a map, check out their website.

FRESH THE MOVIE

Thanks to Rick over at Heavenly Homestead in Monticello for recommending FRESH the movie. He hinted that they might be bringing a screening to this area. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, support your local growers. Rick and Amy produce some wonderful, wholesome eggs and chickens that are healthy, antibiotic free and never caged. You can order chickens for the entire season and they will lovingly grow them for you and even provide yummy, easy recipes.

SHOPPING ORGANIC

My friends with those pesky I-phones can have this 'Shopper's Guide' loaded right to their device. The rest of us who live in Luddite-land, can download it from this site.

(By the way, I think I will stop using the Luddite stereotype in that it diminishes their contribution--they were, after all artisans in England, whose main objections were to the introduction of automated looms that could be operated by cheap, unskilled labor, resulting in the loss of jobs for many skilled textile workers.)

The Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce was developed by the not-for-profit Environmental Working Group. Their research found that people who eat the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables consume an average of 10 pesticides a day! Those who eat the 15 least contaminated conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables ingest fewer than 2 pesticides daily.

The Guide helps consumers make informed choices to lower their dietary pesticide load. It ranks 45 types of commonly purchased fruits and veggies according to their level of chemical contamination, with 1 being the most contaminated (peaches and apples won this honor) and 45 being the least contaminated (onions, who knew?).

As priority choices, buy organic:

Peach
Apple
Bell Pepper
Celery
Nectarine
Strawberries
Cherries
Kale
Lettuce
Grapes (Imported)
Carrots
Pear

The online version of the guide, also provides the group’s methodology for testing and up-to-date coverage on food related issues around the world. Compare this year to last year's post here.

YOU'LL NEVER LOOK AT FOOD THE SAME WAY

Scroll down below these posts to the trailer for Food Inc.

possibly the movie we didn't know we were waiting for. . .

Why Aren't All Restaurants Doing This?

Green Living reports that Tallahassee Kool Beanz Cafe on Thomasville Rd now uses bioplastic to-go containers! Bioplastics are compostable, plant-based plastics from sugarcane, potato, corn and hemp.

Ask for them when you order takeaway and thank them for using these whenever you dine on their yummy entrees.

Open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday at 921 Thomasville Road, Tallahassee.

BPA AND MY CILANTRO

Saturday, a good Tallahassee downtown market day with fresh, non-fungicide strawberries, a passel of blueberries and a gigantic bell pepper that would be perfect for stuffing if I made stuffed peppers. Yesterday, we finished off the last of the first-season Georgia peaches. [an aside, the new Haagen-Das 5 ice cream comes in ginger flavor! The combination of this ice cream and fresh sliced peaches produces an amazing taste extravaganza.]

I cut some cilantro from my porch garden to concoct a black bean salsa with leftover, fresh corn from the cob when I realized we were out of tomatoes! I meant to go back to a farmer's booth, but got distracted by the orchid display from Emerald Gardens out of Perry.

I opened a can of tomatoes, thinking about how the lining of the can provided an easy rinsing before being placed in the recycling basket. A thought balloon burst as I remembered an article I read in this week's USA Today: The FDA says BPA is safe, but the Endocrine Society released a report saying that this chemical contained in some plastics poses 'significant concern for public health.'

As a general rule, containers with a 3 or 7 on the bottom should not be used for food. Just got through checking the few plastic containers that I have in the house, they all said 5.

It's the number 7 that is predominately polycarbonate. The problem with polycarbonate is that it harbors bisphenol A (BPA). Studies have shown that BPA damages the reproductive systems of lab animals by interfering with the effects of reproductive hormones and has other serious health effects. BPA’s has the capacity to mimic the human hormone estrogen and has been linked to prostate and mammary gland cancers, early onset of puberty and reproductive-organ defects.

Although the FDA says that chemicals can leach into food and last year Canada declared BPA to be toxic, it has not yet been banned in the US. The good thing is the a bill has been introduced in Congress to ban plastics with BPA. Read about The Ban Poisonous Additives Act of 2009 here. The act would ban the use of BPA in reusable beverage containers, including baby bottles, thermoses, and water bottles. Canned food and beverages (including infant formula) containing BPA could not be sold, either.

One catch: If a manufacturer can prove there's no technology available to make a food or beverage container without using BPA, the Food and Drug Administration can choose to administer a one-year waiver that could be renewed annually. However, the company would be required to list on the label that BPA was used.

In the meantime, it's important for us to understand not only to not use baby bottles that contain BPA, but that cans containing infant forumula are lined, with BPA. just like the can of tomatoes.

Major baby bottle manufacturers have come out with non-BPA bottles in response to consumer concern and their bottom line. So, breast is best and the fine art of canning in glass jars are some of the best lessons from our grandmothers.

COW POOL

Time Magazine recently featured the national movement of cooperatively purchasing farm raised animals, often through a CSA (community supported agriculture). Direct buying from a farm you get to know, provides consumers with the opportunity to purchase animals that have been raised in pastures, fed grass without growth hormones, antibitics or other chemical stimulants.

Eat Wild lists a number of farms that provide grass-fed cows, chickens, pigs and goats. There you can find farms like Flashlight Farm, a family run farm located 20 minutes from Lake City that offers poultry and eggs, grass-fed beef, and pastured pork, or Florida Organic Pork, in Parrish, (near Bradenton), Ashlin Farm in Jacksonville, and the Grass Fed Gourmet near Citra, southeast of Gainesville.

Join with friends and cow pool.

WHO CHECKS THE COWS' BREATH?

“Thee cows are healthier,” said one of the cow herders at Stonyfield Farm, producer of organic milk and other products. “Their coats are shinier, and the breath is sweet.”

The New York Times reports that since January, cows at 15 farms across Vermont have had their grain feed adjusted to include more plants like alfalfa and flaxseed — substances that, unlike corn or soy, mimic the spring grasses that the animals evolved long ago to eat.

As of the last reading in mid-May, the methane output of the herd had dropped 18 percent. Meanwhile, milk production has held its own.

The news report did not include who or how the cow's breath 'sweetness' was measured.

NEW FARMER'S MARKET IN PANAMA CITY

Not within the 100 mile radius, but if you're traveling over to Panama City, the Zen Garden Market is a new Native-Edible-Exotic-Medicinal Plant Nursery that encompasses a Fresh - Local and Organic Produce Market as well as a Health Store.

Over 95% of their plant stock  and over 65% of the available produce is grown in Florida. 

707 Richard Jackson Blvd., Panama City Beach, FL 

More infomation at their Zen Garden website. 

SECOND ANNUAL TOMATO FEASTIVAL

2nd Annual Tomato Feastival

Turkey Hill Farm - (Tallahassee, Florida)

Bring your tomatoes bring your father, our Fathers Day Tomato Feast is great fun. tomato tasting, best tomato judging, cake walk, silent auction, live auction, local farmers, old friends and new. basically a great feast and party.

Date:	Jun 21, 2009
Start Time:	4:00 PM
End Time:	8:00 PM
Organized by:	Turkey Hill Farm
Web site:	home.igc.org/~divine/index.html
Address:	3546 Baum Road Tallahassee, FL 32309
Phone:	850 216 4024

BEARE'S BLUEBERRIES

For mid-afternoon at the end of May, it wasn't that hot when I arrive at the outskirts of Havana and the entrance to Beare's farm, marked by a sign and a street sign to show the way. I was the only 'picker' at the U-Pick farm, $3.50 per pound, you pick, you pay, the honor system. There's a cooler of iced water bottles and soft drinks if you're so inclined. Please deposit $1 per drink.

There's a sign to direct you down which rows to pick from.

The bushes are full with mostly light pink berries. Some branches, full of not-ripe clusters, would have one deep blue berry at the very tip of the branch, evidently the first one that ventured out in late spring. I slowly examined branches and even more slowly filled my plastic pail with enough berries to cover the bottom.

I predict in less than two weeks, the branches will be loaded down with dark berries. Nothing better than naturally grown berries picked by hand, topped off by the ice cream enjoyed at a sidewalk table in downtown Havana.

WHAT'S IN SEASON?

Check out the what's in season site from the Florida Department of Agriculture. There is also a shopping list that includes fresh Florida fruits and vegetables.
(I have finally found some organic red grapes, first of the season) Also for shopping enjoyment is a de to buying Florida seafood and a shopping list for Florida seafood that includes alligator! (recipes here)

We also have a Chef, Justin Timineri, who has his own website The Florida Chef, that this month has some yummy smoothie recipes.

We've added a link on the right so that you can check back during the year to find out what's in season!

HEALTHY EGGS, HEALTHIER YOU

Good article from our friends over at Food Renegade on healthy eggs and the differences between 'cage free' that one buys in a supermarket vs. pasture eggs that one buys at the Farmer's Market.

See also this previous post on a Florida 'cage free' chicken factory.

File Under: Americans caffeinate everything?

Apropos of nothing on this holiday morning:

Moonshot is caffeinated beer. Yes, available at pubs in Boston, New York and Pennsylvania, it's the beer that keeps you both inebriated and awake.

WHEN IS ORGANIC SOY NOT?

It's annoying to read the Cornucopia Institute's 'Soy Report and Scorecard.' It rates companies that market organic soy foods, such as soymilk, tofu and “veggie burgers,” based on ten criteria. Silk Brand Soy Milk? Scored a zero. Publix Greenwise Soy Milk? Scored a zero. White Wave? Zero. Eden Foods Soy Milk, however, scored the highest rating - 955. Check out the report and see where your favorite brand is on the chart.

ORGANIC BLUEBERRY TIME

Green Meadows Farm opens its organic U-Pick Blueberries on May 26, 2009, Tuesday thru Sunday, from 8:00-11:30 AM and 5:30-8:30 PM. Closed Mondays.

Price will be the same as last season--$3.00 a pound. The Farm is located at 177 Bluebird East, Monticello. Contact: 850.997.4886.

REGIONAL FRUIT CALENDAR?

When are fruits are in season locally? Slow Food Tallahassee is hosting a fruity potluck this Tuesday and discussing what's in season when, along with tips and recipes for using our local fruits. Check the Green Calendar for detais and the link to RSVP.