As everyone who has attended one of my soil classes knows, I am enchanted by microorganisms and through understanding the relationship between them and plants I’ve reexamined my thoughts about them and me… Then comes my guy Michael Pollan ready to share the model that we are not alone. We are superorganisms… Here’s his article from the New York Times Magazine…
Say Hello to the 100 Trillion Bacteria That Make Up Your Microbiome – NYTimes.com.
Another great article on the deep benefits of seed saving. It’s time for us to have a seed bank…
The Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save Food
via Why the Most Powerful Thing in the World Is a Seed by Abby Quillen — YES! Magazine.
In my studies of sustainable agriculture and food forests I’ve come to own the importance of a little wildness in the garden. We create room for plants and critters to work out who is doing what. It seems the same can be said about our communities. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and so together we can emphysize our strengths and overcome our weaknesses. So we love the idea of Neighborhood Gardens where the land, labor, expertise, and money can flow into a process that creates community, connection with nature, and a lot of great local seasonal healthy food.
Here is a site in Sonoma that sees things a little differently but are mostly aligned with how we see this evolving.
The Next Course – Pasadena
Visioning a healthier more sustainable future.
Our first meeting was an inspiring success. Forty-five passionate, engaged people gathered at the Armory on Earth Day to share their ideas, skills and histories and, most importantly, revealed that we have the people, facilities and the need to redefine our relationship with our food and the environment.
We hope you can come to our second meeting: Thursday, May 9th, at the Altadena Community Garden. We’ll have a garden tour at 6 and the program will start at 6:15. The garden is located at the corner of Lincoln and Palm, on Lincoln a block north of Altadena Drive.
For our second meeting we’ll hear from Pasadena Public Health Director, Dr. Eric G. Walsh, MD, MPH, who has done great work to increase the awareness of the health impact of an inappropriate diet – as well as of stress and economic uncertainty. He is a compelling speaker whose work has increased support for healthy food and gardens. We’ll then discuss what we can do – what this piece of the puzzle looks like.
Then we’ll discuss Pasadena Learning Gardens’ great passion to make gardens into educational resource centers to the communities around them. Local urban homesteader Hop Hopkins will discuss his work with the Los Angeles Land Trust that will bring a new garden to the Ville-Parke Community Center, and the experience of using his homestead (Panther Ridge Farms) as a resource to the community. Mark Rice will follow to discuss his gardens at PUSD Community School Madison Elementary and the Altadena Community Garden (located in a county park).
The Next Course initiative is a process that will initially work to identify a framework within which communities can gather and focus on their passions while working with other communities. We will coordinate our activities and be the change we want to see. And we want to hear from YOU!
Our initial areas of focus will be:
Pasadena Learning Gardens, in partnership with La Loma Development and others is convening and facilitating four meetings with the last focused on our next steps. We take time to get to know one another and our passions and build a plan to better collaborate in this important work. Note that we intend to have task forces in each of the above groups, so even if you can’t attend but are passionate about one or more of these topics just let us know of your interest. We also hope to identify a liaison to all our sister organizations so if that’s you, let us know!
Our third meeting will be in June and will focus on Production and Distribution.
Come be part of this important dialog; where informed community members will report on their efforts follow by an open dialog.
Facilitator for the Series: Mark Rice, Executive Director of Pasadena Learning Gardens, Garden coordinator at Hathaway Sycamores and Madison Elementary School, program coordinator at Altadena Community Garden, Member of LA Food Policy Council Urban Ag working group, and Master Gardener.
Speakers: Our Next, Second Meeting
Dr. Eric G. Walsh, MD, MPH: City of Pasadena Public Health Director – If you’ve not heard Dr. Walsh just google Eric Walsh Pasadena and filter for videos.
Hop Hopkins: Manager of Panther Ridge Farms and Program Director, Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust
Speakers: First Meeting – Earth day 2013, Armory Center for the Arts
Marco Barrantes: Owner of La Loma Development and author of the Berkeley Food Policy Council report Feed Your City from 2002.
Gail Murphy: Founder of Ripe Altadena, a thriving community of food sharers, and accomplished gardener and fruit tree grafter (late cancel who we hope to hear from at meeting 3)
Elizabeth Bowman: Graduate of Antioch’s Sustainability Program, co-founder of the Altadena Farmer’s market, Member of LA Food Policy Council Urban Ag working group and author of the urban agriculture survey used by LAFPC
January Nordman: NELA Transitions board member and co-founder / designer of the Throop Church Learning Garden
Brian Biery: Director of Community Organizing at the Flintridge Center and who helped facilitate the Pasadena City-School work plan community meetings.
The following two meetings will be announced to the Pasadena Learning Gardens Urban Farmers Meetup, (http://www.meetup.com/la-kitchen-gardeners/), and other community group distribution lists. Also, check TheNextCourse.org for updates
It is wonderful to announce that as part of our Next Course Pasadena initiative where we are working with local schools, community centers, community gardens, and private gardens to resource our community to eat better food and understand what is better food, that we’re getting a greenhouse. Local Girl Scout and healthy living advocate Miranda Allen will use this page to document our progress as she resouces the community through her Gold Award Project…
One of my apprentices has started raising rabbits and slaughtering and eating them. While I’m convinced this will lead to his becoming a vegetarian, I’ve become aware of how completely I’m gotten unhooked from the production of meat and this makes it too easy to engage in this karmic crime against animals and the earth -
As we have learned on my previous post, soil plays a vital role on the growth of the plants. It gives nutrients to the plants which is needed for them to grow. After learning the pH test and type of soil, let us learn how healthy your soil is through earthworm test.
As we have long-established, earthworms are classified into three according to their habitat:
I love to plant in the ground, but sometimes we just don’t have the space or the soil to grow food. I really like this model and am going to give it a try…
Learn about Straw Bale Gardens from from the NY Times article Grasping at Straw – A Foolproof Vegetable Plot.
Learn to Grow a Straw Bale Garden from this collection of videos assembled by growtest.org
While we are the consumers of industrial food, and at PLG we are particularly focused on consuming non-industrial, local, seasonal, fresh, and often home grown food; there is much to be learned about our whole society by examining this history.
Many well intentioned people from the first to transcend our forging ancestors, to hard workers ripping out the prairie grasses to make room for us, to Monsanto and Wal-mart trying to decide what we eat and where, how ecologically, and how humanly it is produced.
Here are a number of great pieces from Amy Goodman and Bill Moyers…
3 Apr 13 Food day: Jon Tester presents a compelling case against the Monsanto Protection Act, an then there is an informed discussion.
An amazing story of a farmer facing off with Monsanto.
So many young people are getting hip to the issues related to food
SoCal
CalPoly Pomona
Pomona garden
Occidental
NoCal
National
We’ve recommended the UMASS Amherst soil testing service for years and are fans of thier Center for Agriculture.
As you may know, we love Whole Foods. They supply juice bar pulp for our worms – they eat better than me… So it is great to hear that they will move the GMO issue along. It was amazing to see all the parent firms of leading organic brands pumping money into the no campaign to prevent labeling GMOs, and where the head was wagging the tail, perhaps now the tail can wag the head.
\Whole Foods Market Takes Huge Stand Against GMOs: Mandatory Labeling by 2018.
Great article by Sarah Spitz on taking leftovers from the farmers markets and distributing to the needy… Food Forward strikes again…
Gleaning program provides fresh produce to the needy – Santa Monica Daily Press.
Pasadena is looking to address the needs of the city by addressing the needs of the students, and especially those in at risk communities. This is great work and a strengthening of the relationships that schools need.
School/City Partnership – Human Services and Recreation – City of Pasadena, California.
John Jeavons has carried on the French biointensive system of agriculture that we love. I came across an expert trainer from Willits back in 2008 who gave me two of his books and a dvd that shaped how I look at growing food. I am not as big a proponent of double digging – it’s hard and disruptive to the soil biology, but if you need some food fast it may be a great first pass. Here are 13 great videos from the man himself.
Session 1: GROW BIOINTENSIVE: A Beginner’s Guide — Introduction – YouTube.
4. Bed prep 2
10. Saving Seeds
11. Choosing your crops part 1
here is the audio of our latest show
I remember the first day of recruiting students to participate in the new Muir High Garden Program. I was going to distribute an excerpt from the letter Michael Pollen had written to President Elect Obama about food in America. Someone from the afterschool program came and gave me a bowl of candy and said none of the students will stop if you don’t have this. Twenty students took my letter, the candy, signed up, and none came to the first day of the afterschool program… Now the fruit trees we planted in 2008 are bearing fruit, and we have a Director of Public Health, Dr. Eric Walsh and a PUSD Health Coordinator Ann Rector who are helping us all understand the importance of eating well.
Here is a talk by Dr. Walsh speaking at All Saints Church
Her is an interview with Ann Rector about the school district changes. Pasadena Weekly – Less is More.
And while this isn’t Pasadena, I’m now on the Los Angeles Food Policy Council and know Pasadena will be thinking this way soon…
We are big fans of saving seeds. Here is a wonderful text from The Seed Ambassadors Project. And here, a great video presentation by Vandana Shiva
Locally you’ll want to hook up with the crew at the Learning Garden in Venice and get involved with the Seed Library of Los Angeles.
And our favorite book is Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth
This is the Blog of my mentor and the gardenmaster at the Venice Learning Garden, David King, the writing is great and the information valuable. A great local resource.
