Vintage Flapper's Garden

Freedom Gardens: Hi VintageFlapper congratulations! You have been selected to be the Freedom Gardener of January 2009!

Tell us a little more about your garden.

VintageFlapper: Thank you so VERY much for this honor. I am seriously excited about this, and it totally made my day.

In 2008 I had gardens in two locations, in 2009 it will expand to three locations. First, my small main garden is at my home. I live in a housing co-operative and we are allowed a small front and small back garden area for our use. The past four years I have gardened in large and small containers on the 100 square foot backyard deck and also on the 100 square foot of land surrounding my deck. In 2009 I will continue gardening in the back area and am planning to try to extend my edibles into the front garden area (roughly 150 square feet).

My second garden is at my rural parcel nearby. I have a 1.5 acre parcel with a pole barn and a large fenced area for my rescue dogs to run around and play in when we visit (there is no fenced yard at the co-op). In 2008 I also had a 1000 square foot fenced garden at the land. In 2009 we will be adding a second 1000 square foot fenced garden area. The parcel is also edged with grape vines on 3 sides and provides us with a number of small grapes for fresh eating, jams, jellies, etc. We also have a number of black raspberry plants growing in the rear of the parcel.

In 2008 we found that, while having the garden at the parcel was nice, we probably should’ve planted less time and water intensive plants there. We also found out, the hard way, that our parcel is actually in a “cold pocket” in the area. We lost the majority of our tomato harvest and summer squash to an early extreme dip in temperatures, far colder than had been forecast. As we try to live as car-free as possible, we were only able to take trips out to the parcel once or twice a week, and that just wasn’t often enough for optimal watering and weeding of the garden’s “prima donna” summer vegetable plants. We decided that in 2009 we will focus on growing more easy root veggies & pumpkins out at the parcel, and will move the tomatoes, summer squash, and other more labor intensive crops to a plot in the community garden within walking distance, pretty near my bus stop. This will be our third garden.

We generally grow tons of heirloom tomatoes (my favorite!), herbs, greens, peas, beans, potatoes, spaghetti squash, peppers, cucumbers, carrots, and summer squash. I like to try my hand at growing new-to-me and unusual things, like rice beans, or long keeping storage tomatoes, so I always have a number of “experimental” plants in my garden at any time. In 2009 we will be adding beets, radishes, turnips, pumpkins and possibly more. Our big 2009 experiment will be growing a small crop of sugar beets at our rural parcel & making a smal batch of sugar out of them. I am very unhappy about the decision to allow GMO sugar beets to be planted and am attempting to, as a long term plan, incorporate more honey and homemade sugars into my diet.

Freedom Gardens: Behind every garden, there must have been blood, sweat and tears. What have you felt was (is) the hardest thing you’ve faced (or are facing) in your gardening? Would you care to share a story?

VintageFlapper: The biggest difficulties are witnessing plant dying and crop failure (like our big freeze out this year, or the powdery mildew problems of 2006). It’s also difficult to schedule enough garden time while not neglecting the rest of my life. My friends now know that if you want to hang out with Meg in the spring/summer, you need to go to the garden, or if you want to hang out in the fall, you’ll probably have to do so while working in the kitchen helping to preserve the harvest! I commute via a combination of walking and bus riding, and this eats up a lot of my time as bus schedules often conflict with work schedules. I feel that it is important that I support and promote the idea of commuting without a personal auto (I’ve been doing it for a decade now), and it is also key for me that I have the “down time” in my commute to read, listen to audiobooks or music, work on to do lists, etc. It is also a challenge to garden productively at my home while still meeting the co-op’s requirements that the garden be “aesthetically pleasing” as I am one of very few gardeners here who incorporate any fruits/veg into their gardens. In fact, I believe I may be the only one in the co-op who gardens exclusively with edibles! It is a challenge, for sure, to keep the garden both pretty and productive at the same time.

Freedom Gardens: What do you feel is the most important thing in gardening?

VintageFlapper: To me, the most important things in gardening would be a) delicious organically grown produce, of whatever varieties I want, for very little cost and b) the fact that through gardening I can further my goals of living a more self sufficient and sustainable lifestyle.

Freedom Gardens: Have You Changed – emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually – since you’ve gardened?

VintageFlapper: I’ve always gardened (mostly helping out my stepdad or his parents in California as a kid and teen, and at least a little bit of container gardening on decks, if not full out gardening in my adult years), but I’ve been taking it more seriously and trying to be more self sustaining with my gardening choices. Since I’ve been focusing on learning more and growing more intensively I’ve developed a big sense of accomplishment and pride in what I do. It’s also helped train my brain towards a more seasonal eating cycle.

Also, I tend to be a very busy, constantly on the go sort of person and two things have really helped me slow down and enjoy life more…one is gardening and the other is working with special needs rescue dogs. Both have taught me to focus more on the moment and enjoying my life as I have it now. In 2007 I was diagnosed with a major heart defect and a major lung problem caused by the heart problem for which there are no cures. I found that my lifespan will be greatly reduced as a result of these illnesses. Thank goodness for the life lessons I learned from my dogs and my garden, or this terrible time would’ve been much worse for me. I was already so much more focused on living in the now and enjoying what I had at the moment that it’s been an easier transition for me. As far as physically…the garden really helps me keep in good shape. I am limited to what I can do, exercise-wise, but most gardening work and walking are still open to me, so I do them happily. My doctors say this is basically the exercise plan they would prescribe for someone in my situation, if I weren’t doing it already!

Freedom Gardens: Has the website (freedomgardens.org) helped you with your garden?

VintageFlapper: Both the Freedom Gardeners site and the Path To Freedom site have been a major help. The Freedom Gardeners is great because I have learned so much just browsing the boards, gotten great ideas from listening to other peoples’ plans or looking at their garden photos, and from the information and idea exchanges constantly going on. I also love sharing info I have with others. I’ve met some really great, likeminded people here, which is awesome, and I must say that the Homesteading Newbies group is GREAT! Where I live (southeast Michigan) most people I meet can understand the concept of gardening for fun and a little extra produce, but think I am really wacky because I do not store buy bread, but make it….because I can and freeze food and am excited about the idea of drying/dehyrating food. They think I’m odd because I believe strongly in supporting the local farmers and local food economy and, thus, refuse to buy sugar grown out of state, refuse to buy potatoes, apples or berries/cherries grown out of state (all of the above are big Michigan crops), and generally try to make most of my non-homegrown produce, wine, and food purchases from in-state growers/producers. No one I have talked with locally is as interested in food security issues or self sufficiency/sustainability issues as I, yet here on the Freedom Gardeners there are a lot of us for whom these things are of key importance. I think this is great!

The Path to Freedom site made me realize it *is* possible to be more self sufficient and live more sustainably while living in a city. They also made me realize that, yes, I can live as frugally as I do and am not really weird because I don’t believe in spending tons of money. The inspiration I got from that site helped me formulate my long term plans to move to Alaska to garden and work with rescue dogs in the Mat-Su Valley (the agricultural capital of Alaska). It also helped me feel that, yes, I can quit my higher paying, but stressful job and do something I like more that pays less. I really needed a wakeup call on that one, and the Path To Freedom ideal of working at something you love and enjoy helped me to quit my stressful job this summer and make a career change to a field I enjoy more. It’s less prestigious and the pay is less than 2/3 what I had previously, but I am much happier *and* the key rush/busy seasons are in the winter, versus my former job where I busy time was at harvest time, so I am much less stressed during the busiest garden/harvest seasons now!

Freedom Gardens: Anything else you’d like to share with other freedom gardeners?

VintageFlapper: : I seriously want to tell people who aren’t familiar with it that solar cooking is not as weird, scary, or hard as it may sound. Like PTF I’ve been solar cooking for years (right around two decades now, plus or minus a couple of years) and I found it much simpler and easier than cooking on the stovetop or regular oven. In the summer, when my mom and stepdad were busy with garden harvest and preserving, it was not uncommon for me to be the person in charge of dinner….back when I was a pre-teen and teenager. It’s that easy. It is pretty simple, basic, and fun method of cooking and the food tastes fabulous.

I’ve posted a bunch of general info and some recipes over in the Homesteading Newbies group, and anyone/everyone is welcome to stop by and gather info. My current solar cooker is the Sport Solar Oven I bought from PTF’s Peddlar’s Wagon store, and I am extremely happy with it. I hope to add one of their fancier versions in the shop now once I’ve relocated to Alaska and will have even more summer sun to work with, as I know I will probably be wanting to cook more than 2 dishes at a time and would need more than one oven to achieve this. For now this one works great for our basic household needs. You can even cook with it in the winter when the sun decides to pop out for a day or two, which is great!

Thanks again to all of you for selecting me for the Freedom Gardener for the month, I am so very pleased and excited.

Freedom Garden: Thanks, VintageFlapper for sharing your growing experiences with us. It’s always fascinating to read about other’s gardening journey and especially how gardening has had a positive effect in both your life and health. Even more exciting was to read about your low impact cooking methods and long term plans - a move to Alaska!

If you haven’t had a chance check out Vintage Flappers photo gallery it’s full of wonderful snapshots from her urban homestead.

All of us at Freedom Gardens wish you a productive, bountiful and healthful new year.

Be sure to visit VintageFlapper’s profile to make a connection with this homegrown revoluntionary.

Freedom Gardeners of the Month receive a gift from the online store Peddler’s Wagon - Green Goods for the Good of the Planet. (Please support Freedom Gardens and help us grow by purchasing from our store)

{Please note we are going to be installing local meetup capabilities for your city/town very soon!  So hold onto to your trowels and seeds because soon a Freedom Garden Meetup is coming to a city near you!}

Northern California Meetup

Hey all you Northern Ca homegrown revolutionaries, would you like to meet PTF?  PTF is traveling North to the Wild & Scenic Film Festival so let’s meetup!

This gathering will only happen if there’s any interest and available people.  So please note this is still a tentative event and will be “played by ear”

When: Sunday, January 11  (10:00 AM)
Where: California Organics, 135 Argall Way Nevada City
What: Urban Homesteaders and No Cal Freedom Gardeners Meetup

Contact our staff for details ( info(at)pathtofreedom(dot)com ) , let us if know you will be coming!

For more information on the festivities happening during Jan 9-11 visit our website

Southern California Meetup

When: Sunday January 25 ( 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM)
Where: 626 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA  91103
What: Film, food & fellowship.

Event Schedule

5:00 PM - event starts / Freedom Garden Meetup & Swap N Trade & perhaps even a FREEDOM SEED table filled with safe, secure & pure seed varieties

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM - potluck

7:00 PM - film screening ‘HUMAN FOOTPRINT’ ( 90 min)

8:30 PM - discussion

9:30 PM - event ends

Film

With the aid of eye-opening visuals, this National Geographic special illustrates the true nature of the “footprints” human beings leave behind on the planet. By tracing the arc of an average person’s life — a time period that spans about 2.5 billion seconds — the program reveals how much energy a person consumes, how much waste he or she produces and even how many people they will have met by the time they die.

The Human Footprint hosted by Elizabeth Vargas reveals the extraordinary impact that each of our lives has on the world around us. In a playful, surprising and thought-provoking portrait of our time on earth, National Geographic demonstrates, in a series of remarkable visuals, what makes up an average human life today and how everything we do has impact on the world around us. In this unique journey through life, it shows all the people you will ever know, how much waste you will produce, the amount of fuel youll consume and how much youve got to pack in during your 2,475,526,000 seconds on Earth.

Potluck

Bring something (preferably vegetarian) to contribute to the potluck - bring enough food for yourself/family and a bit to share. The primary focus of the ‘Locavore’ potluck is to promote eating whole foods, in their nature-made state, focusing on fresh food from local sources (or as local as possible)

If not FROM BACKYARD then locally produced.
If not LOCALLY PRODUCED, then Organic.
If not ORGANIC, then Family farm.
If not FAMILY FARM, then Local business.
If not a LOCAL BUSINESS, then Fair Trade.

Freedom Garden Meetup

Join local homegrown revolutionaries - swap crops, seeds, expertise and more.

Growing for 21st century food security, FreedomGardens.org is a free interactive, online social community of gardening enthusiasts who are fed up with foreign oil, frequent food miles and high food prices.

To reserve space for this event fill out this easy registration form or contact 626.844.4586

Freedom Gardens: Hi SoCalDan congratulations! You have been selected to be the Freedom Gardener of  December 2008! Tell us a little more about your garden.

SoCalDan: My garden was inspired by the Dervaes’s family garden. I first stumbled onto their website around two years ago while searching for edible landscaping ideas. When I saw the pictures of their garden and read accounts of what they had done, I was utterly amazed. I always assumed that a large vegetable garden would be look utilitarian and ugly. Their garden was just the opposite, it was a wonderful balance of beauty and practicality.

It was then that I decided to model my garden after theirs. Since 2005, the garden in our backyard has tripled in size to 1200 sq ft and should nearly double again by the end of next season. A number of fruit trees will go in mid January, the beginning or our bareroot season. After that, we’ll have a little more in the backyard to complete before we begin the front yard.

Currently, growing in the garden I have: carrots, beets, broccoli, chinese broccoli, swiss chard, turnips, peas, kohlrabi, kale, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, cabbage, nappa cabbage, spinach, lettuce, tatsoi, mizuna, daikon, burdock, garlic, zucchini and other chinese greens.

Our harvest so far this year is about 1300 lbs, much more than we were anticipating. Still, there were mistakes and some major disappointments, especially with our tomato harvest. We are hoping for 2000 lbs next year.

The harvest still takes big swings up and down transitioning between seasons. I still need to work on this to produce a more consistent harvest year round. I anticipate that once the kinks are worked out, our harvest will consistently out produce our needs. Initially, we considered selling the excess to supplement our income. We may do this someday, perhaps when we retire. But, we have found that sharing our harvest with others to be much more rewarding.

Freedom Gardens: Behind every garden, there must have been blood, sweat and tears. What have you felt was (is) the hardest thing you’ve faced (or are facing) in your gardening? Would you care to share a story?

SoCalDan: For most gardeners, late summer is best time of the season with harvests in full swing. For me, however, July and August are the most difficult months. It’s a time when the disease, weeds, insects and heat are at their worst, often devastating the garden. During the rest of the year, insects and disease are rarely a problem, any damage is usually minor and self limiting. It’s only during the heat that the insect numbers explode and infestation often becomes severe. This is also the time when powdery mildew is most malignant spreading through the garden.

It’s difficult at times when large swaths of the garden which has grown so healthy and strong all spring wither and die in 6 weeks. This combined with the heavier workload of the summer harvests, more frequent and longer watering and controlling the weeds that seem to accelerate in the heat makes July and August maintenance extremely trying. A few times the work and damage were so overwhelming that I just quit and left the garden to the weeds

Last year was especially rough. I missed the mites on the tomato plants. By the time I caught it, it was too late. The infestation severely damaged the tomato plants, prematurely terminating our best harvest ever in mid season. Powdery mildew – it’s especially brutal in So Cal - had swept through the garden for the second year in a row. Despite all my efforts I lost all the cucurbits (zucchini, melon, squash, cucumbers) – a fifth of the garden - in August.

This year is much better; I think we’ve finally turned the corner. We sailed pretty smoothly through the season. The damage from powdery mildew was mild. Perhaps some adjustments to the cucumbers and zucchini planting and spraying very, very early with Serenade did the trick. Summer maintenance is much easier now that we installed an automatic drip system and framed each bed (raised bed) with 2×6’s. These two changes have saved hours of work each week by eliminating watering (drip) and reducing weeding by 80% (drip and frames).

I’m optimistic, my wife, Kathy, is now involved. Before, although she relished the harvest, she was content to sit back and let the garden rest on my shoulders alone. Initially, she started out here and there to help me out. But, now the garden has gotten into her blood. Everyday, she enjoys stepping into the garden now. She’s become the chief harvester, gathering up all the vegetables and deciding what to make for that day’s meals.

Freedom Gardens: What do you feel is the most important thing in gardening?

SoCalDan: For me, it’s the soil. I guess it’s because I started with such poor soil and saw the difference soil improvement had on the quality and vigor of the plants. Our home was situated in a new development where the builder had stripped the topsoil in grading the hillside into a stair-step of quarter acre flat lots. The land was gritty and hard – rock hard. When dry, you needed a pickaxe to loosen the soil. When the ground was thoroughly soaked, you could dig, somewhat, down to about 12 inches. There you would hit the hardpan, dirt so hard and compacted like concrete, created from the weight of the earthmovers that carved the hillside.

The first garden was pretty sad. I didn’t know much about gardening and did minimal if any soil improvement before starting. My first tomato plant grew to a whopping 2 feet and looked a lot like a green stick with a few leaves; for those that remember, a “Charlie Brown Christmas tree” would be a pretty good analogy. My first fixes were with Miracle Grow and 15-15-15. The plants did grow bigger initially but looking back, they probably caused more problems than they solved.

I started reading garden books and began to realize the importance of soil. One book in particular “The Soul of Soil” by Grace Gershuny stood out. It explained not only why but also how soil is important. Soil fertility is more than providing N, P and K. It is about humus, tilth, aeration, CEC, pH, macro and micro nutrients, actinomycetes, bacteria and fungi. It’s about managing all of these as a living ecosystem; which when fully functional, is soil fertility. You don’t feed the plants rather you feed the soil which in turn feed the plants.

As I fed the soil, the soil changed; the tilth has increased, becoming softer and fluffier; it holds more water; it’s darker and smells richer. The plants grow very well now. This year the tomato plant hit the 8 ft mark.

Freedom Gardens: Have You Changed – emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually – since you’ve gardened?

SoCalDan: I was aware of environmental issues such as global warming, soil loss, peak oil, and peak resources but since they hadn’t directly impacted our lives the urgency was lost. Ambivalence has been great, it permitted us to live our mainstream American consumptive lifestyle guilt free.

I see the world differently now; Omnivores Dilemma, One Man One Cow One Planet, We Shall We Gather By The River and The World According to Monsanto have seen to that. Together, they paint a painful portrait of corporate exploitation of man, plant, animal and environmental destruction that is hard to ignore.

My garden, much larger this year, has also made it more personal. The volume of time, thought and energy that we spent in the garden and the daily harvest that we came to depend on for our meals, drew us me much closer to the process of growing food. The direct link to our food source increased the perception of vulnerability to threats from global warming, genetic loss and GMO seeds.

This has forced deep introspection; I’m no longer comfortable with the status quo. I am beginning to realize that as a society much of what we choose to purchase inflicts severe damage to our environment. I’d like to say that I am reformed, that my carbon footprint is minimal, but I can’t, fifty years of habits are hard to undo. I am changing however, making a number of small changes: cfls, powering down, organic and local when available, and simplifying. It’s a start – wish me luck.

Freedom Gardens: Has the website (freedomgardens.org) helped you with your garden?

SoCalDan: Gardening is all about experience; gathering more of it each season tending the garden then applying that wealth of knowledge to each successive garden.

Absolutely. I enjoy reading and participating in many of the discussions. It’s allowed me to tap into the experiences of many of the participants and introduced me gardening topics that I was unfamiliar with. Thanks to a thought provoking post by AgrarianLife on the tragic erosion of our genetic seed heritage and many encouraging post by GirlGroupGirl and others I have begun saving seeds this past season.

Friendships and sharing experiences is another reason why I enjoy it here. I’ve had some great discussion with many gardeners. One person in particular is FarmerAmber. It has been amazing, although we live half a continent apart, our paths in gardening has been almost identical over the past few years. From the start, to the inspiration, expansion, size, trials and successes the similarities have been uncanny.

Another great part of FreedomGardens that we have been able to form a nice network of local gardeners in the greater LA area. Many of us have been able to meet and get familiar with one another at local gatherings. StacyMckenna’s acorn flour at the last gathering was a standout. Her muffins and cookies were delicious. It’s turning out to be a great on and off line social network.

I anticipate the local network will be a greater asset come spring. It will so helpful to exchange observations effects of local conditions, diseases, resistance, insect outbreaks and remedies.

Freedom Gardens: Anything else you’d like to share with other freedom gardeners?

SoCalDan: I guess it would be my motto; it’s what my garden has taught me:

Patience Persistence and Humility

Patience –  Growing a garden, everything takes time. I’ve learned not to try and rush things but to be patient, observe and enjoy process. It’s not only the plants that need a season to go from seed to harvest, but the soil – if yours is poor – that may take years to mature. It’s also the garden, which with proper care evolves from a bed for vegetables into a healthy, diverse ecosystem.

Persistence – Gardening has always been two steps forward and one step back. You must learn to take the setbacks in stride and push forward; it is part of the process. The value is what you learn overcoming these problems.

I, now, approach each setback/failure as an opportunity to learn. It’s a puzzle that I need to find the solution to. I try to analyze it; why, how did it happen, what contributed to it, how can I fix it. I try different fixes, sometimes it works many times it doesn’t, but I keep trying.

Humility – No matter how successful I have been or how good I think I get. Mother nature never fails to remind me who really is in charge. I always try to remember that I am just the caretaker and the harvest is a gift from God .

FG: Thanks for taking the time from your busy urban farm life to share with us your insight, SoCalDan  We were thoroughly impressed with your harvest tally!  Way to GROW!   It’s often said that when you garden you grow and you have shown us a shining example of that motto with your Patience, Persistence & Humility sentiments.

Be sure to visit SoCalDan’s profile to make a connection with this homegrown revoluntionary in Corona California.

Freedom Gardeners of the Month receive a gift from the online store Peddler’s Wagon - Green Goods for the Good of the Planet. (Please support Freedom Gardens and help us grow by purchasing from our store)

What: Film Screening & Vegetarian Potluck

When: Sunday, December 28 (5:00 PM - 9:00 PM)

Where: 626 Cypress Ave, Pasadena CA (see map)

Cost: $10 donation (children under 12 are free)  Your donation helps pay for facility rental, screening licensing fees, sound system, and purchase of eco friendly. compostable dinnerware

Space is limited so please RSVP by calling 626.844.4586 or filling out online reservation form

Event Schedule

5:00 PM - event starts / Freedom Garden meetup

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM - potluck

7:00 PM - film screening ‘Broken Limbs’ (57 min)

8:00 PM - discussion on sustainable food & pop quiz (win prizes!)

Film

“Broken Limbs is a very accurate and moving description of what is happening to agriculture in America.” - Fred Kirschenmann, Director, Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University, organic farmer

BROKEN LIMBS, an Emmy nominated documentary, explores these hopeful stirrings within agriculture, and outlines ways in which any individual can play a role in saving America’s farmers. Told from a hometown perspective, the film presents the stories of farmers attempting to create this new model for agriculture and emerging, more sustainable solutions to the crises of recent years – solutions applicable not just to apples and not just to farming, but to nearly any sector of the American economy troubled by the effects of consolidation and globalization.

View trailer

Potluck

Bring something (preferably vegetarian) to contribute to the potluck - bring enough food for yourself/family and a bit to share. The primary focus of the ‘Locavore’ potluck is to promote eating whole foods, in their nature-made state, focusing on fresh food from local sources (or as local as possible)

If not FROM BACKYARD then locally produced.
If not LOCALLY PRODUCED, then Organic.
If not ORGANIC, then Family farm.
If not FAMILY FARM, then Local business.
If not a LOCAL BUSINESS, then Fair Trade.

Freedom Garden Meetup

Join local homegrown revolutionaries - swap crops, seeds, expertise and more.   

Growing for 21st century food security, FreedomGardens.org is a free interactive, online social community of gardening enthusiasts who are fed up with foreign oil, frequent food miles and high food prices.

To reserve space for this event fill out this easy regisration form or contact 626.844.4586

What:

When: Saturday Dec 6 (6:30 PM)

Where: a private home in Eagle Rock, CA with the producer/director Robert Mcfalls and Path to Freedom (winners will be given the exact home address)

Enter Ticket Raffle

Win a chance to see HomeGrown and support this site at the same time.

How to get your tickets

Share, connect, grow

On Sunday, November 23, Path to Freedom – Urban Homestead will host a vegetarian potluck followed by a screening of the documentary Shall We Gather At the River.

This event will be held 5-9 PM on the grounds of 626 Cypress Ave. in Pasadena. Suggested donation is $10. Space is limited so reservations are necessary. To reserve, please call (626) 844–4586 or register online at www.pathtofreedom.com/form/eventregistration.htm.

A heart stopping new documentary, Shall We Gather At the River (2008; 90 minutes; directed by Don McCorkell), has just been released which exposes a huge health and environmental scandal in our modern industrial system of meat and poultry production.

In 1906, public outrage at the scandal exposed by Upton Sinclair in the novel, The Jungle, led to major reforms that cleaned up a corrupt and dangerous system. It is the hope of the filmmakers of Shall We Gather At the River that their film will mobilize a similar public outcry for reform.

For the vegetarian potluck, attendees are encouraged to contribute food produced within a 100-mile radius of their homes (Santa Barbara to San Diego).  If that’s not possible, then strive to purchase organic foods grown within the closest distance.

EVENT SCHEDULE

5:00 pm So Cal Freedom Garden Meetup (members can swap crops, seeds, etc)
5:30 pm -  6:30 pm Harvest Potluck (no alcohol allowed on school campus)
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm Film Screening ‘Shall We Gather at the River’ (90 min)
8:30 pm - 9:00 pm - Join in discussion

For more information about the event visit
http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2008/10/29/november-film-food-night/

Upcoming film screening about a 21st century family farm who are founders of this revolutionary social network site and Freedom Garden meetup opportunity.

‘HomeGrown’ Film Screening Dates

Nov 3 GreenScreens New York, New York  (more info)
Nov 16 St Louis Film Festival Missouri (more info)

Meet-up Material

Here’s some nifty Freedom Garden badges you download and print on label paper wear with your FG ID name.

Or print up some of these flyers to hand out at the event to recruit more Freedom Gardeners in your area.

Freedom Gardeners

Who are Freedom Gardeners?

Growing for 21st century food security, Freedom Gardens is an online social community of gardening enthusiasts who are fed up with foreign oil, frequent food miles and high food prices.

Also use this comment box below (or Freedom Garden Forum) to give a shout out if you will be attending and start hooking up and networking - hey, even bring seeds to swap.  It’s up to you to make this screening a “happening!”

We’d love to have photos of the film premier complete with a GROUP shot of Freedom Gardeners who attended.  We’ll post the pictures and reviews of the film.

Any volunteers?

Spread the word, there’s a homegrown revolution afoot.

Please note: we are in no way associated with the distribution and showings of this documentary. If you would like more information regarding please contact the filmmaker directly.

Freedom Gardens: Hi AgrarianLife, congratulations! You have been selected to be the Freedom Gardener of  October 2008! Tell us a little more about your garden.

AgrarianLife: In my garden it is important to grow crops and seed varieties that fulfill specific qualities such as hardiness, vitality, yield, storage. We are growing in a short season so our soil needs to be fertile and healthy to produce a year’s worth of food in four months. It is also important to me to be able to save seeds from the crops I grow, I am trying to figure out how to save seeds from chard, kale, leeks, brussels sprouts and the like. If I cannot mulch over them, or store them for six months, then I will consider substituting them with other crops.

Fulfilling our nutritional needs over winter is also a priority in my garden. For example, within our limited power system we have no budget for growing lights, and green houses or hot beds are overloaded with snow (up to 14 feet last winter), so we use sprouted seeds for fresh greens through the winter. I grew broccoli this year, not for the heads in the summer when we have so many other choices of green vegetables, but for the seeds to sprout this winter. When I find a seed variety that fits our needs, I try to continually improve it by selecting seed from the healthiest plants. I simplify where I can, keeping only the best varieties, making room and time to diversify and experiment with new crops so that I can produce as much of our needs as I can.

Each year I set new goals: this year we grew grains for the kitchen and animal feed, as well as experimental crops of hulless oats, amaranth, millet, quinoa, popcorn, poppy seed and pumpkin seed. My herb garden expands each year with culinary and medicinal herbs. Each year I take steps in expanding my knowledge as well as my practical skill. Having an intimate relationship with my food, from growing, to cooking and preserving, gives me peace of mind and a peaceful living, along with physical and mental health.

FG: Behind every garden, there must have been blood, sweat and tears. What have you felt was (is) the hardest thing you’ve faced (or are facing) in your gardening? Would you care to share a story?

AgrarianLife: Gardening began for me as a protest. The more I learned about soil erosion and mineral depletion, dependence on oil, and the use of modern slave practices in food production, the more I felt compelled to become directly responsible for what I consume. There is only so much I could boycott or buy responsibly before I wanted to learn more about being a producer. My garden is the only reliable way I have to deliver food to my family’s table without involving violence, slavery or destruction of the environment. When I put this challenge to myself four years ago, I could hardly take care of potted flowers. It has been a steep learning curve and a massive change in lifestyle for me.

Growing our food is a full time job for both my husband and I, and choosing to disengage from the wage economy has both freed our time and restricted our economic choices. We have learned to be adaptable and resourceful. Relying less on money, and more on our own resources to provide our needs makes me feel proud of our work and confident, but sometimes concerned by how intimately I depend upon the weather and climate.

Growing our grain this year has brought up strong feelings in me, looking at our harvested wheat and oats in the barn next to the hay, knowing that we had enough put away to feed the animals that feed us and provide manure for the garden, gave me a palpable sense of security, stronger than having money in the bank, especially with the recent financial mess. But the climate is perceptively changing here, making food production even harder in an already short season. My heart dropped when I wondered what we would do if we lost our grain crop next year. There are risks involved. But I feel more secure investing in soil than I do investing in property values. Investing in soil and the living ecology of our homestead is a sure thing, and will provide a buffer against crop damage from weather or pests. We are growing a diversity of crops to feed our animals and ourselves: wheat, oats, rye, millet, amaranth, peas and root crops. Where one crop fails, another thrives. It is possible that one year we will have very little wheat, but I can learn to make beautiful potato bread and oatcakes.

FG: What do you feel is the most important thing in gardening?

AgrarianLife: I approach my garden as a closed loop cycle, which means that everything must be appropriately scaled in relationship to everything else. Whenever something is out of proportion, everything else suffers. The size of the garden is dependent on the amount of manure, the number and kinds of animals are dependent on the pastures and grain we can grow, everything hinges on the energy and time we have to tend all of these things, and our energy and stamina is dependent on the quality of nutrition we receive from the food we grow. All of these things are dependent upon healthy soil, and the millions of micro-organisms in every teaspoon of garden dirt.

So far, I have been focused on learning the very practical skills of planting, cultivating, harvesting, preserving and seed saving. This winter will provide the time to research and learn about the complex relationships between minerals, nutrients and soil biota. I think the most important thing is to keep learning, always observe, take good notes, and to use our skills to continue improving the crops and soil. Our greatest human inheritance to date is our food crops, what would we be without domesticated cattle, goats and sheep, without the thousands of years of selection that produced our apple trees, grains and diverse vegetables? It is important that we carry this tradition on, to stop the erosion of this inheritance or trusting it to the hands of the few at the top, and make sure that the generations to follow receive at least a portion of the inheritence we received.

FG: Have you changed - emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually - since you’ve begun gardening?

AgrarianLife: Gardening has foundationally changed me in all of these ways. I am healthier emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. But what is more interesting is that gardening, and all that growing my own food entails, has changed the way I see the world, changed the way I relate to people, and helped me to believe that there are real ways each of us can right the wrongs we see in the world. Gardening has given me that opportunity to right some of the wrongs I see, and that very important first step has emboldened and encouraged me to continue to stand up for what is right and fair in this world.

FG: Has this website (freedomgardens.org) helped you with your garden? If so, care to share “how?”

AgrarianLife: The forum has, and I am sure will continue, to answer specific questions as well as giving me new ideas to try in my own garden and kitchen. It has also helped me to share some of my experience, which is important to me because very few people in my daily life value what I do. The forum has put me into contact with some great people, and connected me with a movement. Most importantly, the Freedom Gardens community has taught me that I am not isolated, and reinforced my belief that what I am doing, and what I am so passionate about, is relevant and has an impact on shifting our social and economic structures.

FG: Is there anything else that you would like to share with other Freedom Gardeners?

AgrarianLife: Growing our own food is hard work. It is consistent, and requires time and attention every day. It is a responsibility and a commitment, and outside of the family who sits at our tables, and fellow freedom gardeners, not many will praise or value our work.

I believe that those who benefit the most from our work are those we have never met, mostly people who live in the third and fourth world and have suffered under an exploitive economic empire. When I look for inspiration I see Congolese women trying to rebuild their war-shattered villages with a bag of seed and wooden tools, working the land with song and sweat. When I look for motivation I see the hungry faces of children everywhere, asking why we, who have more than enough, accept extreme poverty as a consequence of our demand for cheap goods. I cannot personally feed all of these children or help these women plant their seeds, but I can stop participating in the economy that deprives them of the opportunity to do the very same thing I am doing, to provide food and shelter for my family in a peaceful and dignified way. And I can participate in a new economy of sustainable communities centered around locally grown and equitably traded food.

FG: Thanks for taking the time from your busy farm life to share with us your insight, AgrarianLife!  The inspiration and motivation you gather from the Congolese women and hungry children everywhere is one that each of us can take to heart, also.   It’s so easy to  be overwhelmed with images of war and famine and to feel helpless.  And yet, like you, we should be thinking of ways to do what we can with our own lives.

Hey readers, AgrarianLife has an amazing blog and this husband and wife have been sharing their fascinating experience with growing wheat and grains on the Freedom Gardens community. Be sure to visit AgrarianLife’s profile to make a connection with this modern pioneer couple in Canada.

Freedom Gardeners of the Month receive a gift from the online store Peddler’s Wagon - Green Goods for the Good of the Planet. (Please support Freedom Gardens and help us grow by purchasing from our store)

Tally “Hoe” Contest

This year, we urban aggies here at Path to Freedom,  are on a personal challenge to grow from our annual 6,000 lbs to 10,000 lbs harvest on a 1/10 acre garden – how close will we get to our goal?

How to Enter

It’s easy, all you have to do is enter the following information into the comment box below for a chance to win

1. Your Freedom Gardens user name (not a Freedom Gardener, here’s how to join)
2. Your guess for the poundage harvested at our Freedom Garden for the month of July
3. There is a limit of one guess per person

Deadline: The contest ends on Friday October 10 at 9:00 PST . We’ll announce the winner on Monday, October 13th

Note: You MUST be a registered member of FreedomGarden.org (not a member, sign up!) If no one guesses within 50# of the LBS harvested, “the pot” will roll over until there is a winner!  In case of a tie two prizes will be awarded.

Prizes: Gift certificate to the Peddler’s Wagon

1st $ 25.00
2nd $15.00
3rd $10.00

HINT: worst September ever, thanks to the wacky weather that played havoc with the summer garden

WE HAVE WINNERS!

With one of THE WORST September harvests ever, a measly 524 lbs, the winners for this month’s contest are

First place - AZ Gardener - 550# 

Second place - Yvonnes - 580# 

Third place - Ann - 627#

Freedom Gardens: Hi Yvonnes, congratulations! You have been selected to be the Freedom Gardener of September 2008! Tell us a little more about your garden.

Yvonnes: I live on the westcoast of Sweden. We have a little homestead but no farm animals, only two cats. My kitchen garden is about 66 x 50 feet. I grow my vegetables mostly in raised beds because, when it rains a lot, the soil gets waterlogged. The beds are about 3 feet wide but  are a  different  length. They are about 1 foot in height. I mulch them with lawn clippings, leaves and other organic things. The mulch layer keeps the weeds down and keep the beds moist and my helpers – the worms – love it! I don’t dig in the soil if I don’t have to. I want to keep the layers in the soil as is. I grow a mix of vegetables, berries, herbs and flowers but not a lot ( about 3×3 feet) of each in one place. I try to spread it out so I don’t have the same crop beside each other, but in lots of other places in the raised beds. Flowers are good to have in different beds beside the berries and the vegetables.  The red and black currents grow around the kitchen garden inside the fence. Below the bushes I grow flowers, herbs and vegetables, different ones each year–some in pots, some in the soil. We also have a greenhouse in the kitchen garden where I grow cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and basil. In the spring I have my seedlings there as well.

FG: Behind every garden, there must have been blood, sweat and tears. What have you felt was (is) the hardest thing you’ve faced (or are facing) in your gardening? Would you care to share a story?

Yvonnes: For me, the hardest thing has been to keep my crops for myself. Why? We have roe deer and elk just outside in the woods, so we have been forced to put up a fence to be able to grow anything at all. Snails and slugs are another problem, we have a native small slug that is very nasty. I try to kill as many I can but they still are a problem some years. The lack of daylight in the winter here in Sweden is a problem if you want to grow year around. From November to February, I can only dream about gardening!

FG: What do you feel is the most important thing in gardening?

Yvonnes: The most important thing for me is to use only environmentally friendly methods in the garden, no chemicals at all. I try to take care of the soil and all the creatures that live in the soil in the best way I can.  If the soil is good then the things that are growing in the soil are going to be good as well. Sometimes a crop fails, but most of the time you can harvest some of it anyway. You see, a garden for me is a bit of nature borrowed and we are put here to take care of it the best way we can. Growing food is the most important thing we can do if we have a garden, balcony or just a windowsill. A couple of years ago I read about permaculture in the garden and suddenly everything I had thought about came to me: To make the most of everything you have and use it in many ways, that’s what permaculture is for me. Nowadays I think in a different way about things.

FG: Have you changed - emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually - since you’ve begun gardening?

Yvonnes: I think I have changed since I have gardened. I am more sensitive when it comes to how we treat nature, animals and the whole Mother Earth. I feel that we are more connected to nature than many of us will admit.

FG: Has this website (freedomgardens.org) helped you with your garden? If so, care to share “how?”

Yvonnes: Yes, Freedom Gardens and Path to Freedom are two websites that have inspired me very much from the first time I visited them. I felt a little bit lonely before. It was only me who was interested in growing food, I felt. Now it’s so nice to see so many people interested in the same thing – growing their own food.

FG: Is there anything else that you would like to share with other Freedom Gardeners?

Yvonne: I have recently bought Bokashi-buckets to compost my kitchen scraps and feel it is the best way to do that. When I put the fermented compost in the worm compost, they love it! I don’t know but it is something about the fermenting thing they like. I also am beginning to use EM (Effective Microorganism) when I water the indoor plants and in the garden. So far I have noticed that the indoor plants look more healthy, but in the garden there are not any changes yet. I started at the end of summer so I guess I have to be patient! This autumn I will prepare the soil with EM and compost and see how it will work out next spring. I also hope I will get some chickens next spring as well, so all of my vegetable scraps  (a lot of lettuce) can be of use and we can have some eggs.

FG: Thanks for sharing with us Yvonnnes and giving us an insight to your life there in Sweden!  Your connection to your garden and the nature which nourishes it is an inspiration. We hope to be reading more about your adventures as you try new ideas in the spring and add some chickens to your life. Thank you also for your willingness to be interviewed, especially since English isn’t your native language.   You did a delightful job and your interview was very interesting and enjoyable! Hey readers, Yvonnes has been sharing with us photographs of her beautiful garden!   These are a real treat to browse!   Be sure to visit Yvonnes’s profile to see these photos, learn more about her garden and send your well-wishes to Yvonnes as she battles pesky pests and nears the season in which she can only dream about gardening!

Freedom Gardeners of the Month receive a gift from the online store Peddler’s Wagon - Green Goods for the Good of the Planet. (Please support Freedom Gardens and help us grow by purchasing from our store)