GEFA blog

Planning your backyard fruit garden

This time of year I get inundated with questions from friends and family who, through the observance of the perpetual crescent of dirt beneath my fingernails and the “wild-woman” hairdo (the result of styling with wind), believe I know a thing or two about backyard gardening.  Thanks to a friend and mentor who taught me everything I know about growing fruits without chemicals, I can now pass along some advice for those of you getting ready to expand your backyard small fruits garden or orchard.

• Choose varieties that are appropriate for your hardiness zone.  Here in central Illinois, we’re in zone 5 which means that plants typically grown in zones 6-8 will suffer during cruel Illinois winters and may not survive.
• After purchasing the plants, trees, or bushes, store them in a cool environment and make sure the roots don’t dry out.  A garage or basement is best.
• A hour or two before planting, soak the roots in water.
• Water as much as the plant will take at the time of planting.  Creating a circular dam around the plant will allow more water to reach the root system.
• Mulching will help retain water but may prevent the soil from warming up adequately in early spring.  Depending on the type of spring weather, decide whether to mulch at planting time or to wait until the soil warms.

My husband, three kids and I planted 24 blueberry bushes today.  Everyone was joking and throwing dirt at each other when we were on the 2^nd or 3^rd bush but, by number 21, the air was filled more with groans and complaints than jokes.  Just a reminder:  planting can be hard physical labor so make sure your back can handle as much as your pocketbook can dish out.  Let there be no doubt, however, that the end product is every bit worth the trouble! 

On the Good Earth Food Alliance website:

• Farmer Night at JUNE restaurant will feature GEFA director, Anne Patterson.
• Learn how your business can become a Friend of the Alliance
• Coming soon:  full product offerings and descriptions from Basil's Harvest.
  

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Acronyms.  I’ve never really cared for them.  My husband and I have both worked (and are working, in his case) in corporate America and have found that fluency in acronym usage and corporate upper management are synonymous.  That’s probably why I’m down on my hands and knees in dirt and not giving Power Point presentations anymore…..unless, of course, that presentation has to do with a GEFA CSA.

Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a term that has been around since the 1980’s.  Similar to other acronyms, the elongated wording sheds little light on what it really is.  Let us delve deeper.  Community, in today’s terms, means local.  Although “local” connotes various things to various people, in our dictionary it means we can get there in about an hour or less.  So, those of you who live within an hour or so of any of the Good Earth Food Alliance, or GEFA, growers or producers are part of what we might refer to as community.  Supported Agriculture refers to the raising of certain crops and livestock that are not of the scale and type to be economically viable.  In other words, supported agriculture is producing foods because they are good for the earth and good for our bodies – not because they reap the highest profit.

As a community decides to become involved in the decisions about local land usage, healthful food options, fairly traded foods, wider and fresher varieties of available produce, and local sustainability practices, a CSA provides a vehicle for change.  Small sustainable growers of produce cannot compete financially with large-scale operations and, therefore, need a community’s support to remain viable.  An individual can choose different levels of support starting with purchasing locally produced foods from the grocery store or frequenting a restaurant that serves meals prepared with locally-grown foods.  The next step might be to shop a farmers’ market and patronize vendors selling local fresh foods and using sustainable growing methods.  A third level of commitment is membership in a CSA, whereby food dollars are spent in the spring for fresh local vegetables, fruits, herbs and nuts that are delivered weekly all season long, keeping the refrigerator stocked full of seasonally fresh foods.

Whatever level of involvement an individual or a community seeks, small steps in the right direction will eventually add up to great change.  TTYL!  (chat speak – “talk to ya later!”)

On the Good Earth Food Alliance website:

• Market page will keep an updated listing of area markets where GEFA growers and producers will be selling.  Go meet your grower!
• The history and evolution of CSA's is highlighted here.

Managing pests in the garden is nothing new.  As long as humans have been growing their own food they've been battling the critters who take delight in the fruits of their labors.  Always working one step ahead is the mantra, especially for those choosing to grow food the chemical-free way.

When GEFA grower Jim Stanley was just a young boy, he learned how to deal with pests in the garden.  Although baby rabbits may not appear to deserve placement under the “pests” category, the truth is that they can wipe out an entire crop overnight.  When Jim caught these in his parents’ garden back in the 1950’s, he chose to deal with the rabbits humanely by relocating them to a treeless field nearby.  Today, that treeless field is the site of Woodfield Mall in Chicago. 

Changing times require changing ideas about managing pests.  Abundant pesticide use 50 years ago led to populations of insects that were resistant to insecticides and, in addition, led to the proliferation of secondary pests.  Studies and books released in the 1950’s and 60’s showed that a holistic approach to pest management needed to become the new standard and Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, was introduced.  IPM is an approach to managing pests by combining biological, cultural, physical and chemical means in a way that minimizes economic, health, and environmental risks.

Some examples of IPM might be

• introducing beneficial bugs to the garden (i.e. good bugs eating bad bugs)
• growing varieties that are best suited for local conditions with proven resistance to pests and disease
• removing infected plants from the garden
• hand weeding
• using netting or light fabric covers to repel pests

The work of bringing chemical-free produce to local consumers requires creativity and employs the collective knowledge gained from years of experience in growing foods the sustainable way.  It’s a passion for good, healthful food that empowers growers to always be one step ahead.

Check out these new additions to the Good Earth Food Alliance website:

• A map showing where the GEFA growers and producers live
• An article about a college in Iowa that is moving towards more sustainable eating
• Drop site choices integrated into CSA share choices

The Good Earth Food Alliance of growers and producers aims to bring the very best foods 2009 has to offer to plates throughout west central Illinois.  We're excited about the number of folks who have chosen to sign up for our CSA and the number who have expressed interest in our CSA. 

We've heard your requests and have decided to add another option to our CSA product listing.  It's called the CSA Weekly Half Share.  The same price as a Bi-Weekly Share, the Weekly Half Share simply means a share that is half the number of fruits, vegetables, and herbs as a Weekly Share. Those of you who have already placed orders will be given the option of switching to the Weekly Half Share by dropping us a quick note.

 What is the best CSA product for

you or your family?

Find the description that best fits your situation:

•  A family of 4 or more who eats most of their meals at home and cooks with vegetables regularly

• A mainly vegetarian family of 2 who eats most of their meals at home.

Suggested GEFA product:  The CSA Weekly Share is a full offering of all the bounties of our gardens and orchards.

• A family who eats many of their meals at home but finds an every-Tuesday pick up difficult.

Suggested GEFA product:  The CSA Bi-Weekly Share is a full offering of all the bounties of our gardens and orchards but is picked up every other week.

• One or two people who eat most of their meals at home and are available to pick up every Tuesday.

Suggested GEFA product:  The CSA Weekly Half Share is a half order of all the bounties of our gardens and orchards but not more than what can be eaten in one week's time.

Is this what you've been waiting for?  Place an order now.

Welcome to a season of good health, fabulous flavors,

and living more sustainably!

Thanks for joining the Good Earth Food Alliance mailing list.  There are new items being added to the website daily so we encourage you to check it often.  Here are a few of the highlights:

• GEFA producer Erin Meyer, of Basil’s Harvest in Elmwood, will be presenting at Gardeners' Big Day sponsored by the Fulton County Extension Office this weekend.  Read about it in GEFA in the News.
• Hult Health Education Center in Peoria, Wildlife Prairie State Park in Kickapoo, and Grace Anglican Church in Galesburg will be the Tuesday drop sites for CSA members to pick up their weekly or bi-weekly shares.  Read about it under CSA Drop Sites.
• The Good Earth Food Alliance website is now connected to Google Checkout and is able to accept credit card payments for purchases made through the website.  Orders may also be placed through the "invoice only" option and we'll contact you with instructions on how to complete your order.  Currently, GEFA is offering partial and full payment for Weekly or Bi-Weekly CSA shares.

Contact us with questions, ideas, thoughts, suggestions, and, of course, encouraging words!

Bee Clean!   

Since we’ve had a few warm days, I decided to check on my bees.  They broke cluster to do a little house cleaning.  As you can see, they threw the gunk (my technical term) out the door.  The bottom boards and the hive stands were covered with debris – a combination of old wax, bee bodies and other hive dirt.  Most people don’t realize that honey bees do not hibernate, they “cluster” around the queen and continually beat their wings.  This motion keeps the hive at a temperature of about 57-85 degrees.  If it warms up outside, they will break cluster and do a little cleaning.  In the picture above, you can see all the spots on the snow.  Reminds me of when I sweep the porch.   

From Linda Prescott at Petal Song Apiaries