New Growth in the New Year

Fun at home on Christmas Break

The Christmas/New Year's holiday rush is finally over, and now we can settle back down into the routines of regular life. I'll do a bigger post in the next few days looking back at what happened around the 'Burbstead in 2011, and what I'd like to see happen in 2012. For now, a quick update about a few random odds & ends.

Hoop House:

I got the hoop house covered with the salvaged plastic a while back. I knew that it wouldn't last more than one season, and the fact that the weather here has been remarkably mild up until this past week was certainly helping things. Since New Year's, the temps have been getting down in the 30's (which by itself isn't a big deal), and they've been accompanied by 40+ mph winds. That's started to test the strength of the plastic. I've repaired a number of small tears and holes. Yesterday I found a large opening in the back wall. I'm trying to keep in mind that this is an experiment and that we often learn more from failures than quick success, nevertheless, it's frustrating to have to continually break out the transparent duct tape. The plants have taken it all in stride thus far. I've pulled a ton of radishes, lettuce, and other greens out. The carrots and turnips are looking good, and I'm curious to see when the spinach that I planted in November will start to take off.

Swiss Chard, Black Seeded Simpson and Winter Density Lettuce, Beet and Turnip greens fresh from the Hoop House.

Cool Christmas Gifts

I had the good fortune of receiving a number of awesome Christmas presents this year. I'm not the sort of person who needs a lot of material things to be happy, but it's still nice to get some things that I probably wouldn't have bought for myself. A few of the "Burbstead related things I got were:

Food Mill with 3 different sized sieves.

A couple of books that I'm looking forward to reading

Book Shelf : The Big Picture

I like to read quite a bit. I don't watch TV, and I hardly listen to the radio, so I get the vast majority of my information and entertainment from magazines, newspapers, and books (and of course, the good ol' internet tubes). I regularly haunt the St.Louis County library, and I'm slowly building a personal collection of books that I find inspiring, informative, or otherwise worthwhile. This is the first in what's sure to be a sporadic and informal series of book reviews and recommendations.

For the installment, I've picked 5 books that aren't really "how-to" guides, but rather are inspirational stories about their authors' lives. Some of them are instructional in parts, but overall, they deal more with the big picture of living a more self-sufficient life.

The Contrary Farmer, by Gene Logsdon

Gene Logsdon is a farmer from Ohio who also happens to be a gifted and very prolific author. He's written over 20 books that range from novels to informational non-fiction. 'The Contrary Farmer" is about common sense, small scale farming that is rooted in a genuine love for the land that is being stewarded. Logsdon balances practical know-how with beautiful prose to create a book that informs while still being a pleasure to read.

Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting, by Michael Perry

Perry has an easy going and humorous way of relating the ups, downs, and corkscrews of rural life. While not a farmer by trade, his stories and anecdotes deal with his attempts at raising chickens and pigs, fixing up an old farm house, and the birth of a new child. He filters many of these episodes through his memories of growing up on his parents farm. It's a warm and funny read that is sure to have at least a few parts which any aspiring homesteader can relate to.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver

The premise of this book will be familiar to people acquainted with the local food movement. For one year, the author and her family attempt to only eat food that a) they grow themselves or b) they get from farmers and producers in their bioregion. Along the way they realize just how difficult (if not impossible) it can be to get many of the foods that we consider staples from a local source. As a result, the Kingsolvers broaden their diets, acquire new skills, and develop a deeper appreciation for many of the culinary luxuries that we take for granted. The recipes and sidebar additions from her daughter and husband make this book truly a family project, and it is a lot of fun to see them work their way through it.

Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology, by Eric Brende

In "Better Off", Eric Brende asks a very thought provoking question: How much technology is necessary in a society for its members to enjoy full and leisurely lives? He chose to address this query for his Masters thesis at MIT by moving with his new bride to an ultra conservative, Amish-style community. For the next 18 months, the Brende's lived without electricity, a car (mostly), and virtually all of the other conveniences that make up the fabric of day-to-day modern American life. In doing so, he comes to understand the multi-faceted value of doing things the "hard way". He also notes the inseparable nature of manual labor and genuine community. In the end, a surprising allergic twist seems to be the only thing that keeps the couple from joining the community for good. I picked this book up without realizing that the author lives in St.Louis, and is active at Soulard Farmers Market. I've since met his wife and would love to have the opportunity to talk to him personally. I read the book in two days (I couldn't put it down), and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in self sufficiency, technology issues, or simple living.

Farm City, by Novella Carpenter

The previous four books all deal with, or at least take place in, rural settings. "Farm City" appealed to me because it focuses on this seemingly oxymoronic concept of urban agriculture. Also, Novella Carpenter is funny as hell. She and her boyfriend move to the ghetto in Oakland, California. She proceeds to carve a farm out of an abandoned lot with bums, gangbangers, and crackheads for neighbors. While I don't exactly live in the 'hood, her exploits here really resonated with me. I saw myself in many of her triumphs and failures. She exposes the incredible amount of waste that a city generates, and puts it to good use raising animals and plants. She tackles the issue of eating sustainable and ethically produced meat by raising and butchering her own chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, and hogs. She breaks down many of the common stereotypes about what it means to live in the city and what it means to be a farmer. It's genuine, hip, hilarious, and very inspiring. I can't recommend this book enough to anyone who aims to be an urban homesteader.

Dinner Movies

This past week I had the chance to go see a screening of the movie “Fresh” at a local brewery (Schlafly’s). It was presented by the St.Louis chapter of Slow Food International. It was described as the sequel to “Food Inc”, and I’d been wanting to see it for while. If you haven’t seen either film, I’d highly recommend both. They’re similar in the sense that they both hit the same major points: Interviews with Michael Pollan (author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food”) and Joel Salatin (owner of Polyface Farms and author), unsettling hidden camera footage of CAFO’s and meat packing plants, portraits of farmers trapped in the industrial agriculture system, and breakdowns of just how unhealthy and unsustainable the American diet is. There is, however, a noted difference in the focus of each movie as well.

“Food Inc” is primarily a scathing indictment of our modern food system. It spends the bulk of the film exploring the nutritional, environmental, and ethical shortcomings of how we get our daily sustenance. Monsanto’s role in promoting GMO’s and monopolizing of the seed industry is condemned (something that has provoked a rather vehement response from Monsanto). There’s a heart-breaking scene involving a woman who became a food safety advocate to congress after the death of her son due to tainted meat. Over all, it’s a pretty bleak picture. Salatin’s Polyface Farm and the corporate organic dairy Stonyfield Farms (which is owned by Dannon corporation) are held up as two examples of how things can be improved, but the thrust of the movie is more heavily on what’s wrong with the system.

“Fresh” starts off with a condensed version of much of the material that is covered in “Food Inc”, but it then shifts to highlighting examples of people who are working to change the system. Polyface Farm is again featured, and rightfully so. Salatin has positioned himself as one of the chief spokespeople for small-scale, diversified, ecologically sensitive agriculture. He’s developed a fantastic system, and his passion for what he does is clearly evident when he speaks about his farm. The Ozark Mountain Pork Cooperative, a collection of small-scale pork producers in Missouri and The Hen House Grocery Stores in Kansas City are also featured. The highlight, for me though, was Will Allen’s Growing Power organization in Milwaukee, WI.

Will Allen is a former professional basketball player who began Growing Power in the early 90’s on 3 acres in urban Milwaukee. Since then, it has grown into a network of city farms that cultivate something like 100 acres in Milwaukee, and they’re expanding into Chicago. Will is putting together an organization that grows food, teaches skills, and builds communities. While I don’t think that there is one, right solution to the problems that we are facing, Growing Power is certainly on the right track.

As I said, I enjoyed both films. Neither one really presented me with much new information. I had already read books by Pollan and Salatin. I was familiar with the local food movement. Mostly it was neat to see an issue I was interested in and passionate about presented in an engaging and entertaining format. However, if the only people who see these films are those who are already committed to changing the status quo, then not much is going to change. We need to use movies like these to introduce our friends and family members to this very important issue. In that respect, I think “Fresh” might be more effective at persuading otherwise uninterested people. “Food Inc” is full of good information, much of it likely shocking to folks who haven’t given their food much thought. However, I think “Fresh” does a better job of showing the problem, and then giving lots of inspiring examples of alternative systems (and without alternatives, you’re just bitching into the wind).

So go get some snacks that you grew yourself, invite some friends over, and watch something that will spark more thoughtful conversation than 90% of what comes out of Hollywood these days. It might just be the start of a meaningful change in your community.