Tag Archives: Food Security

Love And Lettuce

Posted on February 17, 2020 by Ann Lovejoy

Another national epidemic concerns food safety, perhaps most notably with Romaine lettuce, which has been fingered in several recent E. coli outbreaks. Though the government investigation is still ongoing, there are multiple possible causes for E. coli contamination, from water passing through areas where livestock is grazing to field contamination from wild animals and birds (not to mention humans; many growers haven’t supplied field toilet facilities, but that’s changing). This fits right into my own ecological grief; when even organic produce may not be safe, what can we trust? Happily, there’s a simple solution: Grow your own. One great thing about greens is that they can be grown in very little space, and many will flourish in containers on a balcony or deck where garden space is limited. Continue reading →

Posted in Edible Flowers, Garden Prep, Health & Wellbeing, pests and pesticides, Soil, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Grow, Grow, Grow Your Own

Posted on January 13, 2020 by Ann Lovejoy

In this community, a handful of us grow some of our own food, and if everyone who could, did, that could make at least a little difference. I’ve been concerned about food security for decades and even in this tiny garden space, we’ve still got some potatoes, garlic, and lots of kale to harvest. An amazing number of local weeds and native plants are edible to some degree. Though some, like elderberries, need cooking and others taste better for it, many wild greens are packed with Vitamin C and other phytonutrients… When I returned to those nursery catalogs over a bowl of bean soup just now, I noticed that between breakfast and lunch, my choices had shifted from pretties to practical. Beans and potatoes are both good bets in terms of nutritional density, and both can be productive in small spaces. Raspberries and blueberries of course, along with my espaliered apple tree. More kale, always. And that gardenia? It stays, for gorgeous flowers that smell like joy. Because we also need beauty, whatever happens. Continue reading →

Posted in Health & Wellbeing, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Being Prepared: Food Security

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Ann Lovejoy

We might also pay a lot more attention to selecting OP varieties. OP stands for Open Pollinated, which means that seed strains have been grown long enough to stabilize and you can save and sow the seed yourself with a reasonable expectation of raising crops that look and taste the same as their parents. Seed saving also involves selecting a few of the best plants and allowing them to go to seed, then collecting and preserving that ripe seed for another year. That’s important, as it’s tempting to save seed from less desirable plants but logically, that will lead to weakening the stock. Pollinator friendly flowers and herbs are just as important to food security as the main crops themselves, of course, and room must be found for these (again, along bed edges and ends are great spots). Continue reading →

Posted in Early Crops, Health & Wellbeing, Recipes, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments