Say Hello to the 100 Trillion Bacteria That Make Up Your Microbiome – NYTimes.com.

Well, that was all fine and good until I really started digging in.  It was at that point I realized this was going to be expensive.  How was I going to be able to afford all this?  I first took a look at my overall monthly spending across everything.  Wow!  Shocking!  When I finally recovered from that seizure, I found a lot of easy ways to save a bunch – e.g. dropping the land-line, renegotiating cable TV, Internet and newspaper subscription rates, etc.

But we’re more concerned here about how to get good food more affordably.  So my mission over the next year will be to figure this all out.  I’m a little nervous about this.  It will be a lot of experimenting, trial and error, maybe even a mild case food poisoning.  I’ll be documenting my adventures here on the Pasadena Learning Gardens website so you guys can benefit from what I’m doing, learn from my mistakes, and hopefully improve your health and your pocketbook at the same time.

My plan will involve three main strategies:

1. Finding the right source – Good quality food at a good price.
2. Buying in a collective.
3. Producing food myself.

So for starters, I want to talk about store-bought foods that may seem healthy and cheap but really aren’t.  I first looked at some of the stuff I was buying regularly at the store and calculated how much it was costing me per serving.  That’s when I realized how expensive a lot of it actually is.  Case in point: Iced Green Tea.  I love iced tea, especially green iced tea.  I used to buy about four 33.8 oz. bottles of Trader Joe’s Unsweetened Green Iced Tea per week, preservatives and all, for $1.49 each.  (Don’t get me wrong – this TJ’s tea is pretty good from a health and cost perspective versus most of the competition, but I can do better.)  I typically get about three servings per bottle and I drink at least two servings per day.  So at $0.50 per serving, I was spending $1 per day or $30 per month on green iced tea.

Iced Green Tea

On a trip to 99 Ranch Market, I took a look at the basic green tea in bags like the kind you get at Chinese restaurants.  They had regular green and Jasmine green for $3.29 for 100 bags (I think there was one that was even cheaper).  After tasting a few kinds, I settled on the Jasmine green, which tastes great and I don’t need to use any sweetener.  I brew about one gallon each week (slightly less than the amount in the four bottles per week I used of the TJ’s stuff, which was my weekly addiction) using eight tea bags per gallon.  And I do it directly in the refrigerator so no need for hot water.  (I let it brew overnight and it tastes great.)  The tea bags alone cost about $0.28 per gallon while LA DWP charges me about half a cent for the water.  The water filter on my faucet maybe runs another penny or so per gallon in terms of cartridge costs.  Total Cost: somewhere around $0.30 per gallon for my green tea, or less than $0.03 per serving – versus $0.50 with the premade stuff.  So I turned a $30 per month habit into one that runs less than $2 per month.  And I avoid the preservatives.

Some additional thoughts if you’re going to do this on a regular basis:

•  Avoid sun-brewed tea.  It can easily harbor bacteria and you really only can store it a day or two.
• For regular brewed tea, I’ve read it can last in the refrigerator in an airtight container as long as two weeks but more often I read that it lasts 4 – 5 days before turning and starting to taste stale.  Note that this is if the tea is unsweetened.  If it’s sweetened, much shorter, maybe a day or two at the most.  If you put a sprig of fresh mint into the water while it’s brewing, it can last a day or two longer.  And it will also keep longer if you put it in the fridge immediately after making it.  The less time any food spends at room temperature, the better.
• I actually brew it in the refrigerator thus no hot water.  I brew it overnight.  I’ve read that it can last about 3 – 4 days so I brew about 2/3 of a gallon at a time.
• Make sure to clean your tea jug or bottle regularly with soap and hot water – or run it through the dishwasher.
• There are many great ways to flavor or sweeten your tea.  Check out www.theyummylife.com/Flavored_Iced_Tea_Recipes for some great ideas.  But remember, when you sweeten it the shelf life will be shorter.

So try out green iced tea for starters.  It’s really easy.  And check back next week.  It will be even more ambitious.  We’re going to try fermenting.

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.

At some point, this toxic substance needs to be banned.  It’s the most popular herbicide in the world and its residue is found on the most common foods of the Western world, including sugar, corn, soy, sugar and wheat.   The industry asserts it is minimally toxic to humans, but this study finds otherwise. (Surprise surprise.)  Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, inhibits cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, which play a crucial detoxifying role in human biology, thus enhancing the damaging effects of other food borne chemical residues and environmental toxins.  The negative impacts work slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body.  The consequences are most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet, which include gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

This also brings GMOs into the picture.  The most common GMOs in industrial agriculture, corn, soy, sugar and wheat, are all modified primarily to develop resistance to Roundup, thus allowing for mass spraying of Roundup to control weeds without killing the primary crop.

So, not only should we never use Roundup at home in our gardens but we should work even harder to avoid foods produced from GMO crops, which is a heck of a lot of stuff.  Best to buy locally-produced organic produce and non-GMO processed food.  And/or to grow it and make it yourself.

I have been growing my own tomatoes for more than 15 years and have figured out what works best for me.  I live in the San Fernando Valley but what I do is applicable to most of Southern California, which includes Sunset Zones 18 – 23.

THE BASICS

Soil

More content coming soon.

Location

Finding the right location is critical to growing great tomato plants and maximizing yield.  Tomatoes like the heat and as much sun as possible.  Ideally, tomatoes should be grown in full sun for 8 hours per day.  You can do it with less sun (as little as 5 or 6 hours per day, as I do) and still get good results, but 8+ hours is ideal.

I plant my tomatoes in both raised beds and large containers as I like to have lot of plants each year.  When planning out your garden, keep in mind crop rotation.  Particularly for tomatoes, annual rotation is important to improve yield and minimize the risk of soil-borne diseases.  Ideally you should have a 4-year rotation but in a small backyard garden that can be tough.  Even just having 2 locations and alternating each year can help, which is what I do.

Timing

Once you’ve determined that you have a good location, you need to figure out the optimal time to plant.  If you’re sowing from seed, you should start them indoors from January through March (starting approximately 8 weeks before last frost).  You can then transplant your seedlings into your garden from March through June.  If you have a coldframe or greenhouse, start even earlier, in December.

I typically buy plants at the local nursery (4″ containers) and put my first ones in the ground in March and then add more plants approximately every 3 weeks so that my harvest times are well staggered and my severe heat risk is lessened.  For the first plants in March, I typically put clear plastic on the ground for a couple of weeks prior to planting to warm the soil.  I then use Wallo’Water Plant Protectors to create a temporary greenhouse.

Plant Selection

Given our ideal climate in Southern California, there are virtually hundreds of tomato varieties to choose from.  Having experimented with dozens of different tomatoes over the years, I have concluded that I want to use varieties that are very easy to grow and that provide great yields.  Thus, I often pick hybrids like Early Girl, Better Boy, Big Beef, Yellow Pear and Momotaro.  This year I’m trying out Jetsetter, which got a lot of great press in 2012.

Planting

Tomatoes should be planted roughly 24″ to 36″ apart depending on the variety.  It’s important to give them space to allow better sun exposure and provide adequate air circulation, which lessens the chance of disease outbreaks.

When you’re ready to put the plants into the ground, dig a hole much deeper than the root ball so you can bury a few inches of the stem.  Roots will develop from that buried part of the stem creating a healthier and higher yielding plant.  After your plants are in the ground you should stake them or use tomato cages.

Care

Tomato fruit is 95 percent water and they need a lot of water to develop.  Tomatoes should be watered every 5 – 7 days.  Watering should be deep, soaking the root ball.  As you start seeing fruit on your plants, you should water less frequently so that you don’t dilute the flavor.  If you’re growing in containers, you will need to water more often, even daily when it’s extremely hot.

With regard to fertilizer, make sure you’ve properly amended the soil before planting.  Once the plants are developing flowers you can fertilize once again.  And don’t forget to pinch off the suckers.  They steal away nutrients from the plant and don’t produce any fruit.

Problems

There are various pests, diseases and environmental disorders that can hurt your tomatoes.  I have been fairly lucky over the years, having few problems with the exception of the occasional cutworm or mold.  One of the best resources I’ve found for identifying and treating tomato problems is the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program.  Check it out at UCIPM Online.

Harvesting

For the best flavor let the fruit ripen fully on the vine.  They should be full size and have deep color and be slightly soft.  Hopefully you’ve planted multiple plants over several weeks so that you can get continuous fruit throughout the summer.

Eating and Processing

Tomatoes fresh off the vine are a real treat.  When eating tomatoes uncooked, pick them as close as possible to the time you’ll be eating them.  It’s best not to refrigerate as a cold tomato has less flavor.  Another flavor tip: the seeds and jelly have more flavor than the meat or skin.  So I never remove those when eating or making things like gazpacho.

More info on processing and preserving coming soon.

Additional Resources

Here are some of our favorite web resources for growing tomatoes.

Steve Goto, the Tomato King, is an expert nurseryman and lecturer based in southern California. He uses organic gardening practices to grow over a 900 varieties of heirloom tomatoes and other vegetables.  Check out his site: Gotomato.us.com.

Tomatomania! is a must-have guide to hundreds of heirloom and hybrid tomatoes as well as a huge community of enthusiastic fellow tomato lovers and the world’s largest (and most fun) tomato seedling sale!

Organic Gardening has always been a great reference.  Here are their 10 Tips.

Here is a site in Sonoma that sees things a little differently but are mostly aligned with how we see this evolving.

Creating a Neighborhood Garden Wheel | iGROW Sonoma.

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 9^th, 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:

• Analysis and Policy - Food deserts and where can my chickens live, and doing it sustainably…
• Educating / Resourcing - Utilize and support school, community and private gardens and orchards to build, educate and resource local citizens and communities.
• Production - Produce it: for ourselves, our communities, or our markets.
• Distribution - Foodswaps, farmer’s markets, entrepreneurial efforts and buying cooperatives.
• Funding - Making this organizationally sustainable.

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

Open the Slaughterhouses – NYTimes.com.