BlogHer - Organic fruits and veggies, simplified - Comments

I've restarted a garden

greenlagirl — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 11:11:48 -0500

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone :) I've just restarted a balcony garden. So far, I have a tomato and some basil -- and am attempting to make a mint clipping live --

greenlagirl.com

Good luck, Lyssann

debra roby — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 10:43:14 -0500

I moved to California from NE Amish country (Geauga Co.) I still miss having a maple syrup and apple cider grown around the corner. I don't miss the 200" of snow or the humidity.

Good luck on your search.

Debra
A Stitch In Time
Deb's Daily Distractions

Central Ohio

Lyssann — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 08:09:07 -0500

But I really did just start looking and I don't know a lot about grains yet. I asked my favorite local bread company and they get their grain from Montana. A fellow Ohio blogger gets spelt flour from her farmer's market.

I grew up near amish communities, and I'm still suspect about how "clean" their processes are. Maybe it was just the ones I grew up around, but their baked goods were never any good and they used excessive amounts of lard which I just don't find tasty (this is me being a food snob). I did find one place last saturday, but I have yet to figure out if their cheese is affordable (the other factor). Although unfortunately the amish communities are a little far from central, there's not as much amish stuff here as NE where I grew up. I guess the bottom line, I"m still looking.

Healthy Manifest

Lots of gardening information on the web

Kalyn Denny — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 10:50:19 -0500

Great post. I'm a long time fan of growing vegetables, and wanted to add that for anyone who's thinking of growing their own food, there is a lot of good information online about gardening. More and more when I have some type of gardening dilemma, I use google to help me find the answers. And garden blogs are popping up everywhere.

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen

Lyssann, where in the Midwest..

debra roby — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 09:12:45 -0500

Lyssann,

Where in the Midwest?

My best solution for finding locally made cheeses are to locate your closest Amish/Mennonite region. They really are all over the Midwest and their dairies/cheese factories support many in the community. I've heard that many are moving to get organic certification to improve their profile.

Wheat isn't something often grown by small farms, or grown in most regions of the Midwest (well, I grew up in Ohio and it wasn't grown there). Even if it's grown there, you'd want to know where they get it milled. Maybe consider working with a different grain?

Debra
A Stitch In Time
Deb's Daily Distractions

I'm obsessed

Lyssann — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 08:13:19 -0500

I have recently become obsessive about this. I turned mostly organic a few years ago (wow was 2004 that long ago?) which is sort of difficult to do in Ohio, but since finding out about the 100 mile diet I've started shopping 2-3 farmer's markets on Saturdays and my brother and I are sharing a CSA (it would be hard for me to eat so many veggies). This is one time where those of us in the midwest may have the advantage, lots of local farms and still a little bit of a tradition of the roadside farm stand. I am having problems finding things like local flour and cheeses, but then again, I just started looking.

Oh, and herbs are really easy to grow. Put them in a terra cotta pot and water them in the morning before work if it's going to be hot and hasn't rained. I've never been given gardening instructions before and I've done ok. Plus if you can find a local garden center (not home depot) they'll tell you what to buy.

Healthy Manifest

Organic fruits and veggies, simplified

greenlagirl — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 00:44:34 -0500

So you're curious 'bout the 100-mile diet. You've heard about Plenty, you know Twinkies can't be good for you, you're not a fan of pesticides, and you find your left eyebrow arching when you see organic asparagus from China in your grocery store.

But if you're like most newbie greenies, you're overwhelmed by the seeming wealth of options out there. Should you opt for an organic fruit delivery service? Or plunk your money down for this mysterious thing called a CSA farm? What about the farmers' market -- and what about all this stuff about food sufficiency and growing my own produce?

Below's a simplified list of what you can do to eat like you mean it -- without continuously obsessing over the "best" way to eat. Of course, this simplification's ordered in my order of preference, obviously affected (victimized?) by my personal whims and opinions. Still, I hope you'll find this list useful:

1. Hit the farmers' market. The farmers' market isn't just about eating local -- it's about building local community. Sure, we've gotten used to e-ordering what we need over the internet without ever having to "deal with" a real human being. Yet in a sprawled city like ours, what many of us crave -- sometimes without even recognizing it -- is connection.

Even if you really believe you don't give a shit about anyone you don't already know, you should still hit the farmers' market for selfish reasons -- Yummy, organic, local food that tastes like -- real food. If you've been getting all your fruit at Vons, you'll be in for a surprise -- A bite into a fresh, ripe tomato will be a sumptuous shock to your palate -- one you'll likely find addictive, leading to a regular farmers' market habit --

2. Consider a small garden of your own. Okay -- This is one area I should work on myself, as I have a decidedly black thumb. However, my friends tell me that -- if you're not too hung over to remember to water stuff -- tomatoes and herbs really aren't so hard to grow in SoCal weather. Plus, you'll likely find pretty, organic starter plants at your nearest farmers' market, yours at a cut-rate price for a new balcony garden. And lots of books can help you get started.

3. Meet your CSA. CSA = Community-Supported Agriculture -- basically a farm supported by the community around it that's willing to pay for local produce. For a good sense of what CSA looks like, watch The Real Dirt on Farmer John, a film 'bout a Chicago-area CSA. In the LA area, our closest CSA's the Tierra Miguel Foundation CSA â€” an organic farm, nearby in Pauma Valley, Calif. Unfortunately, I had to opt against these peeps because subscribers have to pick up their produce -- and I had no drop-off spot near me. You might, however --

4. Get organic fruits and veggies delivered to your doorstep. I've outlined local organic delivery services here -- I recommend both ParadiseO and Organic Express, both of which I've tried myself.

5. Opt for organic at your nearest co-op grocery store, Wild Oats, or Whole Foods. Or if you're really in a pinch, just try to buy organic what you can -- I know some of you out in the boonies just don't have a lotta options aside from Walmart.

6. Try turning your workplace on to organic fruits. The Fruit Guys deliver some yummy organic fruits in a way that'll be palatable to many office atmospheres. If you're sick of the Fritos and DingDongs options, tell a few of your co-workers 'bout this amazing fruit delivery service --

Happy eating --

[Image of 100-mile diet logo from 100milediet.org. Photo of Santa Monica farmers' market by Siel]

BlogHer Contributing Editor Siel also blogs at greenLAgirl.com.