All posts in the topic Food Growing Coop (Short link)
Summary
- There are 15 posts — by 9 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Jack Rowe at May 09 04:52 UTC
I had mistakenly replied this letter to Alma specific, and it was not sent as a
reply to the list... Somehow, it might be advisable to get a reply that
automatically replies to list, and not just to sender...
Dear Alma and List,
I say let's form a food growing coop. We probably have a consensus that
organic is the way. And what do we get from a growing coop? A refrigerator
full of fresh produce as well as learning how to grow organic, from simply
showing up to volunteer. Hours put in now means great benefits at harvest
time, and everyone is happier, when needed work gets done.
Thanks so much for the insightful, diplomatic, and enlightening way of stating
truth on your posts.
I have been in the [mostly] vegan/raw lifestyle for over 35 years, and have
avoided MD's for decades, as they are mostly trained in drugs, chemicals,
surgery and related ways, yet some are now turning holistic. Allopathic
remedies have saved countless lives, so I don't knock them all - just prefer
natural and healthy nutritional remedies. Growing food in your own back yard,
or close to home, is the best advice for healthy food. I also feel organic
growers deserve to be paid more than MD's, as their food generally keeps people
healthier.
My best advice for folks is to realize with respect where we originate, and do
our best to assimilate where we are now.
So, here it is: Alima has land and water for a garden up near Cleveland, and
I'm putting in a 4 1/2 acre garden South of town near La Loma / Anton Chico
with irrigation. We both need help. More people in the gardens means a better
harvest, and we all benefit.
We are waving our flags and saying come on out, enjoy the food, fresh air,
water, etc.,... and we guarantee you WILL reap rewards at harvest as well as
now, as it can be FUN when we approach growing food with the right attitude.
...and it will also make you proud when you see food you've helped produce on
shelves at Semilla, Whole Foods, La Montanita, etc...
Planting starts in a few weeks, and now is the time to get our gardens plowed,
prepped, and ready.
This is a way to really learn so much, especially if we could arrange dates or
times when a group could tour to each others' gardens to learn how and why we
do things certain ways. We need to figure a way to get folks working fields on
weekends as preferable to TV, golfing, etc... better exercise, too!
Dennis Knicely
i would add to this that we here at Friends Farm in
anton chico have a ton of growing space available,
irrigated and in dire need of tlc. also an established
1/2 acre of grapes(definitly long neglected) and an
orchard. i am the sole caretaker, and while there are
plenty of visitors, its none too organized. and i'm
just one little tired out body doin' the best i can.
i've already got lettuce, beets , peas, carrots coming
up in the garden...but as for the other 40 acres down
below....its growin' grass.
community supported agriculture is the way to go. i'd
bet theres a list a mile long of farms w/out enough
hands. we would love to see this farm become a csa
once again...it once supported 4 families from a one
acre garden.
if anything i'll be schlepping my goods to the vegas
farmers market where i hope to see you all!
cheers!
I guess the consensus here is a number of us have similar ideas and ideals,
growing produce to share/sell both locally and regionally, as well as for our
individual families.
To make this work, we have to make it the fun, enjoyable, and right thing to
do. Yet we live within a society that have for decades relied on migrant
workers and others, that no longer exist, to do the dirty work. Why is this?
The only excuse I come up with is we [as a society] have gotten lazy [or busy
doing other things], thinking someone else can do it... but what is the
reality? We need help. There are a few of us that realize how important
growing our own "clean" food is. Yet too many have relied on colleges and
universities for jobs / education that have [mostly] taught us we are too good
for this kind of work, and we need better paying jobs so someone else can do
it.
....And what do most educational facilities teach, until recently? That
factory farming, utilizing chemicals, poisons, genetic modification, etc. is
the key. To go into the gory details of what this does to our minds, bodies,
nature, and the surroundings is pointless right now, since most of us already
know what this has done to the environment, yet how do we change it around,
before it is completely too late?
It would be good to organize a meeting, and see how we can change things.
Others know the community better than I, so someone has to step forward to
arrange the meeting place and time.
We can look at this as an excuse to get together, have potlucks, make a party
out of it, help each other, and get the crops in. I say this is important, as
for too long we have relied on imported foods, that are getting more expensive
every day because of fuel costs. It is not necessary if we have adequate
freezers / root cellars for storage, and take some advice from what our
ancestors did for survival.
Personally, I come from a lineage of farmers that taught the earliest European
migrants how to survive in America. I can both teach and learn, as everyone I
meet give me clues and ideas how to do things better. This is how we can
achieve our goals, and really reach out to "all our relatives", making ours an
"all inclusive" society, and not just the "I, me, mine" stuff that seems to
permeate things at times.
That means I have lots to share, yet hold great value in what has been given to
me as care taker.
We really need to get on this, as planting/prep time is now, and the season
will not wait on complacent ways. Can someone else help arrange a proper way
to proceed? ...looking for answers myself.
Dennis Knicely
The Barter Hours group will be meeting again soon. I believe info about the
group is posted on the web page for Las Vegas Issues
Bob Wallace can expound on it virtues but it might be a ready made basis for
the helping hands issue.we will be meeting again soon.
We have already started to make a list of people with locally grown food
available.People there may be able to barter time for product.
On Sat, Mar 29, 2008 at 7:48 PM, Dennis Knicely <<email obscured>>
wrote:
hey thanks for the reminder about the barter
group!...that might be the perfect framework for all
this desire/need.
Barb mentioned that Travelers Cafe on the Plaza in LV is a good meeting space.
Why don't we call for a first meeting of the Food Growing Collective there at
6PM on Tuesday this week? I think that would be a good independent start,
April 1st 2008, to at least sit down and meet each other. No "fooling around",
though [ha ha]...
There is a barter group meeting coming up, I think Thursday, with folks over
there interested, yet I feel this should be its own entity for now,
incorporating the barter group also.
This way we can really communicate ideas how we can work together, arranging
times when all our gardens can get attention needed.
Please feel free to get the word out to anyone you know that might be
interested in helping with this, regardless of whether they are on this list or
otherwise. The more the better. Strength happens in numbers.
Note: Since I am not familiar with the Travelers Cafe, can someone check in
with them to make sure this is feasable, and they are open?
Let's really do what we can to get a sustainable lifestyle happening.
Thanks - Dennis Knicely
Works for me -
Some random thoughts -
An indigenous farmer was asked what he thought of American agriculture.
He said "I don't know if there is hope for people who call their soil
"dirt."
The dirty work of planting, mulching, etc is the best work. On one
level, we are planting food, but on another level, we are regaining what
has been lost by renewing our connection with the earth beneath our
feet. Gardening is a doorway through which we may reestablish our
awareness of the seasons, the forces of nature, the processes of life,
death and decay, and thereby return to an understanding of our place in
nature and our relationship to other living things.
"Dirty work?" It's the best work! Lets get our hands in the dirt, or
rather, soil, and reacquaint ourselves with that from which we came and
which in the end will welcome us back into its embrace.
Lee
Dennis Knicely wrote:
> Barb mentioned that Travelers Cafe on the Plaza in LV is a good meeting
space. Why don't we call for a first meeting of the Food Growing Collective
there at 6PM on Tuesday this week? I think that would be a good independent
start, April 1st 2008, to at least sit down and meet each other. No "fooling
around", though [ha ha]...
>
> There is a barter group meeting coming up, I think Thursday, with folks over
there interested, yet I feel this should be its own entity for now,
incorporating the barter group also.
>
> This way we can really communicate ideas how we can work together, arranging
times when all our gardens can get attention needed.
>
> Please feel free to get the word out to anyone you know that might be
interested in helping with this, regardless of whether they are on this list or
otherwise. The more the better. Strength happens in numbers.
>
> Note: Since I am not familiar with the Travelers Cafe, can someone check in
with them to make sure this is feasable, and they are open?
NOTE: Meeting Location has been changed to Dick's Deli, on the bottom floor,
at 6:00pm tues. 4-1-08
This meeting is also open to discussion about true sustainability, how can we
achieve it, possible resources available, pros/cons related to form a true
collective, etc. To get these ideas really working, it takes direct
communitcation.
As a side note to anyone interested, Santa Fe FreeCycle has posted the message
below:
(BTW: El Guique is closer to Espanola than Santa Fe)
To: <email obscured>
From: "sundancerstudio81" <<email obscured>
Subject: [FreeCycle_Santa_Fe] seed giveaway
HTML Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer ]
I am passing this on as Wade requested.
hello all,
we are winding up another season of seed cleaning here at the "seeds
of change" research farm, and you know what that means - our seed
giveaway is just around the corner.
we're moving it up a couple weeks on the calendar this year to give
you all a chance to start tomatoes and peppers on time. as usual,
though, it will be held at the farm in el guique - the address is 340
county road 57.
pertinent info:
seed giveawy will take place between 2 p.m. - 5 p.m., friday, April 4th.
Remember to bring plastic bags and a marker or pen to label each bag
with.
potluck to follow.
please feel free to pass this info on to anyone else you might think
might be interested.
thanks, and hope to see you on april 4th.
505-852-1508
if you have any questions about the giveaway, feel free to give me a
call.
wade collins
seed cleaning coordinator.
Hi, all - if anybody's on a laptop at the meeting, I can take part long
distance, maybe. I'll stay signed in for a while, anyway. Pretty quick
results!
Alima
As many of you know the first meeting took place on 4.01.08, at Dick's Deli.
Thanks Jonathan! Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of Dennis' notes or sign
in sheet so have briefly reconstructed the meeting notes below:
Next meeting will be held at Bob's home on Tuesday, 4.15.08 6pm 923 Jackson
Street, Las Vegas. If possible, please RSVP, to be sure we have enough chairs
or you may want to bring your own. We may be able to connect via laptop this
meeting, certainly worth the try...unfortunately, we didn't see Alima's notice
until after the last meeting.
We had 12 people in attendance which on such short notice was outstanding!
Clearly, there is high level of interest in learning, sharing and involvement
in creating a sustainable local growers group.
Briefly, topics discussed:
Renaming Local Growers Co-op to LOCAL FOOD MATTERS [LFM]
Continued support of the Tri-County Farmers Market by all Local Growers. There
is a suggestion on the table to have a year-round indoor farmers market.
After speaking with Daniel Hern's mother by phone, some of the concerns of the
Farmer's Market at present are WIC funding and keeping the number of vendors
consistent. Mrs. Hern also expressed a desire to open the market earlier with
vendors from Ft. Sumner since the crops mature earlier in Quay County, with the
assurance that Tri-County farmers would have exclusive selling rights as our
crops became available.
Initiating a CSA, sharing work, produce, and benefiting both farmers and
community members. Marc May will be speaking on this further and contacting
Daniel Hern.
Suggested carpooling with other LFM members to help work with our neighboring
farms and crop growers to help with their planting, harvesting and
miscellaneous needs.
We have growers in San Juan, La Lomas, Tecolote, Dilia and the City of Las
Vegas.
Elizabeth Ratzlaff is preparing a brochure of all local food producers and
growers. (veggies/fruits/eggs/dairy/poultry/meat). If you know someone that
isn't yet connected with Local Food Matters or Barter Hours please let
Elizabeth know by calling: 505-454-9242 or an e-mail to myself or Bob.
Please pass this information along to those you think would be interested in
attending as well.
Keep it Growing!
Hi Folks, Can anyone supply me w/ some info by replying to this list (then everyone can read it) about the progress w/ Local Food Matters, next meeting, etc? I want to promote the idea by including regular news on the Barter Hours website (http://barterhours.org). Thanks!
Thanks, Jack. I agree. I'd love to hear more from the Local Food Matters folks. Updates, meeting announcements and such would be great. pat leahan On May 7, 2008, at 8:24 AM, Jack Rowe wrote: Hi Folks, Can anyone supply me w/ some info by replying to this list (then everyone can read it) about the progress w/ Local Food Matters, next meeting, etc? I want to promote the idea by including regular news on the Barter Hours website (http://barterhours.org). Thanks! Jack Rowe Sapello Info about Jack Rowe: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/jackrowe This topic's messages may be viewed at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/ r/topic/31SJ8KaTDaOeDtBOojqeH3
Hello, everyone! Do you know about www.localharvest.org ? It has listings for local growers who register with them. You can set the mileage radius you want. I use 100 miles, but my understanding is that the guy (can't remember his name) who defined the 'local food movement' (Gary Paul Nabhan?) says that in the SW our local area is a radius of 500 miles (!) while in wetter climates it's 50.... Peace and Namaste, Ganga Jack Rowe <<email obscured>> wrote: Hi Folks, Can anyone supply me w/ some info by replying to this list (then everyone can read it) about the progress w/ Local Food Matters, next meeting, etc? I want to promote the idea by including regular news on the Barter Hours website (http://barterhours.org). Thanks! Jack Rowe Sapello Info about Jack Rowe: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/jackrowe This topic's messages may be viewed at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/31SJ8KaTDaOeDtBOojqeH3
That's a great site Ganga, thanks! There's a lot more local production than I
had realized.
I bet some here would be interested in hearing about that gravity-feed drip
hose you found for going under mulch...