This Week In The Garden

The garden is popping with color like a veritable fireworks display! It is so peaceful, yet mentally stimulating to sit outside and enjoy the sounds of birds above, the chitter of chipmunks, the new flowers for the week and the progress of my edibles. I completely get why Jesus would return to the wilderness when he needed to clear and focus his mind. This is yet another reason, we must take care of nature. If Jesus loved it, so should we. Did you know that spending time outdoors can improve your short-term memory? This week in the garden in addition to beautifully textured and patterned foilage, a wide variety of lilies are in bloom, crunchy purple kale grows, jalapeno peppers are popping, maters are being harvested, pink dahlias are hot, euphobia stands stall, native trumpet vine with its tubular flowers feed nectar to the hummingbirds, figs are forming (so pumped!), yellow tinged, airy lady's mantle are standouts, pink sweet peas smell amazing and the pink and white hydrangea are showstoppers.

A New Appreciation for Farmer's Markets and Community Gardens: It's Not All Peaches and Cream

Hello Friends! Excuse my two week absence, I have been either too busy or too lazy (as a survivor, you must learn self-preservation skills) to post, but I do have a lot to share. In recent months the law of attraction has really been in play. Everywhere I turn (even at work), I am encountering folk, some of whom I would not associate with gardens, involved with farming, farmer's markets or community gardens. Some examples:

• Met a college student at the women's summit that started a farmer's market downtown
• Met an environmental justice activist and attorney involved in community gardening projects
• Asked by my son's aunt Lisa to assist with the marketing of a farmer's market in an urban neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio
• Fellow treehuggers open one of only two black owned CSA's in Cleveland
• Family members manage and secure a community garden near the projects
• My brother gets into the windmill business and may build one for the community garden greenhouse
• Joined a local food group in Cincinnati (as part of an effort to promote Lisa's farmer's market) and learn of the trials and tribulations of producers trying to grow good clean food.
• Attend an annual meeting of the nation's oldest foundation and the keynote speaker, Lily Yeh (amazing and beautiful woman), is known for her community art and garden installments across the world (starting in inner city Philadelphia) . Was fortunate enough to attend a community leadership workshop she facilitated the next day.

All of these encounters were not the result of conscious attempts to meet these people, but through my thoughts (turn on the Twilight Zone soundtrack). The power of attraction. Now I'm just waiting on that $100 million to show up in my account! Through these encounters I have learned that the process of growing organic food, starting and running a farmer's market and nurturing a community garden in the city can be complex and unwieldy. Worthwhile, but not as romantic as it may seem. Here is what I learned:

• There are many challenges to starting a farmer's market or community garden in the city, two of the greatest are security and community support/engagement. It is essential to treat the residents with respect and dignity and to involve them early in the process. One should also be aware of criminal elements and gangs in the city and have some sort of outreach to involve them in the process (this is crucial to success), but there will always be folks who want to have what they want, when they want it and how they want it, so tight security is a MUST. I know of two gardens that have 24 hour security. Security and community engagement is also crucial to attract farmers or local food producers. One member of the local food group told me that Lisa may have difficulty attracting farmers due to the perception of crime in the area. Wow! Understandable, but the revelation still caught me off guard.
• One must be prepared to educate, enlighten and be enlightened. Due to decades long absences of grocery stores in many urban areas (food deserts) and the explosion of packaged, processed foods, many of us are unfamiliar with how to prepare meals with a variety of fresh produce. The concept of making a salad without iceberg lettuce is unfathomable. What in the world does one do with a squash, much less an eggplant? I can certainly relate to this, because to this day, I go to farmers markets and see some veggies and feel clueless about how I would prepare them, so I keep moving until I find some greens or tomatoes. Heck, many young people don't even know how to cook , having been raised on canned/boxed food found in the dollar stores and "dollar menu" items. Someone told me that their daughter prefers boxed macaroni and cheese to homemade. What??!!! Having been raised on boxed mac and cheese myself, I almost passed out with palate pleasing pleasure the first time that I had some homemade mac and cheese at a church community dinner, but I digress. The CSA has been great for me, because you get what you get and I have added diversity and fresh new flavors/combinations to my produce diet. Many residents, like most Americans are unfamiliar with the connection of diet to overall health and the benefits of eating a plant based diet. There are also perceptions about the affordability of fruit and vegetables. So there is a need to a lot of advance work and complementary marketing of your market or garden to show people WIIFM - "what's in it for me". That should really be your mantra, because that is what most people care about - themselves. So you have to make your case and make it in a fun, exciting and engaging way.Cooking demonstrations, cooking contests, health fairs that show the diet/health connection, music and drama, art and engaging children are all ways of introducing people to good living through diet. Tracye Lynn McWhirter, the author of the new book By Any Greens Necessary: A Revolutionary Guide for Black Women Who Want to Eat Great, Get Healthy, Lose Weight, and Look Phat, has done a great job of this. In fact, I think the title of her book and her activities, exemplifies the message of this post.
• Appreciation for the efforts of the food producers is essential. On a daily basis through the food group emails, I learn of the challenges these folks tackle in growing healthy food for our consumption. They battle insects, moles, groundhogs, fungus, isolation, ambivilance, poverty, lack of technical expertise and ignorance in an effort to show up at the farmer's markets every week with their bright bounty of love. So please be mindful of this and thank them for what they do and truly feel blessed  by God when you are eating this good stuff. Be mindful as you eat of all of the work that went into bringing these delights to our table.
• Persistance, perseverance, an open mind and faith are tools you will need to build the farmer's market or community garden of your dreams. Sometimes it may take years for your idea to catch on, but if you really believe in your mission, you should be prepared to suffer through the trials, disappointments, dismay, ignorance, disrespect and non-chalance, but when the spark finally catches that dried up, gnarled, thirsty piece of kindling, watch out! You will have a glorious, bright, warm bonfire on your hands  that everyone wants to enjoy. You will light up the lives and spirits of the community. So keep on keeping on. A good book that gives actual accounts of people surviving and thriving in the community garden setting is Edens Lost & Found: How Ordinary Citizens Are Restoring Our Great American Cities, you can read more about Lily Yeh there.
• Finally, don't leave good business sense at home, understand the expenses associated with each venture and the amount of revenue needed to generate a profit. Even a non-profit organization fairs well if you are maximizing the return on your investment of time and resources and generating more than you put in.The excess can be used to expand your programs or save for a rainy day.Also, understand that when dealing with folks, property and food, insurance is crucial as well as strong liability reduction measures.

Okay, my fingers hurt, so it much be time to signoff. Hopefully, this post has given you a better sense of what it takes to green our communities and our meals.

Peace.

Locavore 365 - Find & trade locally grown food, vegetables, fruit

Locavore 365 - Find & trade locally grown food, vegetables, fruit You may know about localharvest.org, the site which helps you find farmers markets and farmers in your area, but what about Locavore365? This site is like a Craigslist or Freecycle for local food. Transalation - you may be able to get fresh local produce for free! One less excuse to eat more fruits and veggies.Try it out and let me know how it works for you in your area. I didn't meet with much success in my area, as it appears my vendors are not aware of the service, so I will have to pass it on to the merchants that I deal with. You can also, just add a vendor. The concept is great, let's make it a success!

Community Organizing Resources

Building Coalitions Fact Sheet Series — Ohio State University Extension I found this great resource for community organizers on the Ohio State Extension website as I was looking for farmers for the farmer' market. There is even a link to "Working with Diverse Cultures". I wonder how much of that advice works in reverse.

Green Summer Living Tips on BAP Living Radio

Hello Friends,

Join me tonight at 7pm EDT, as I share green summer living tips with Ananda Leeke, of BAP Living radio. Click here for details. Have other plans? Don't fret, conversations are recorded and will be posted on my blog later.

Enjoy your day!

Planning a Vegan Picnic: Familiar and tasty stand-bys for picnics and barbecues

Planning a Vegan Picnic: Familiar and tasty stand-bys for picnics and barbecues This beautiful summer weather inspires thoughts of picnics. Fresh and flavorful produce is bountiful this time of the year, so why not try out a new and healthier picnic theme?

A Farmer's Market In The Making

Now that the Elite Women's Economic Development Summit is behind me (see photos), I am working on a new green economic development project - marketing and promoting an urban farmers market that is being launched by my son's aunt in Cincinnati, Ohio. His auntie Lisa is truly a renaissance women - a holder of a Masters in Public Administration, a commercial property owner, she roasts and grounds her own coffee beans, gardens, bakes a mean pie and can put in electrical wiring for an entire building. Her latest venture, is to start a farmers market in an urban area of the Queen City. She started constructing the exterior features of the area and is seeking farmers and vendors currently. My son and I are going to assist her with the marketing and promotion of the market. Michael will create a Facebook page and I will assist with the other aspects of marketing. I found some great local food networks and initiatives that she can link into and I will find her a market mentor in Cleveland. We will also seek support of the community stakeholders, which shouldn't be a hard sell because the only grocery store in the area is a convenient store according to a neighborhood website. Check out this article by Yolanda Adams on the need for an urban farmers market in the city. Based on my research, an idea time to start was March, but we are going to run with it and see where it takes us. There are some great resources available online for anyone interested in starting a farmers market. What kinds of features, amenities and activities do you think would make a farmers market a success in an urban neighborhood?

This Week In The Mid-Spring Garden

A Gulf Coast shrimper stated that this time of the year his body gets the urge to go out into the gulf and catch shrimp. I can completely relate, as each spring I feel an incredible urge to get out into the garden and plant it up! I can't help myself, really. Gardening at any cost is how I feel sometimes. God put it in me and I'm going with it, since only adds value. Anyway, here is what we have in the May garden in Cleveland this time of the year. 1 and 2) Petunias had an amazing sweet and spicy fragrance to the garden and a punch of color 3) Dianthus or Pinks are fragrant and drought tolerant, so I added them to my newest curbside garden 4-7) Bearded irises are tough, fragrant, drought tolerant and have interesting foilage, these are in a curbside bed 8) A gorgeous butterfly ornament that I picked up at a wonderful N. High Street garden center in Columbus, I have a smaller yellow and pink one too 9-10) Peonies, tough and flamboyant beauties 11) Succulents, Hens and Chicks, Sedum, daylillies and a Leo the Lion remnant from a broken pot 12) Allium, an ornamental onion that animals won't eat and that retain their form after the purple flowers dry out 13) My newest bearded iris beatuy, smells awesome, placed in the new curbside bed 14) Another peony (it's hard to kill these tough beauties-not that I'm trying) 15) Another hanging basket - the name escapes me now, but it is also fragrant and butterflies love it, those are two allium next to it 16) A fig tree for the curbside garden

Permaculture Comes to the Inner Ring Suburbs

As you know, I am incorporating permaculture principles into my garden. There are many aspects to permaculture, but the one that I have taken to heart is "obtain a yield". This means to be sure to get a positive return on your investment of resources and energy. While, I have been getting plenty of tangible and intangible returns on my gardening activities - beauty, exercise, creative expression, I thought I would experiment with gardening to generate even more tangible and tasty returns - food! I have always wanted to plant food, but the shady nature of my yard and the terrible soil made that a challenge, so I was limited to tomatoes, herbs and peppers. This year, I am still planting my old standbys, including a pink heirloom Brandywine tomato plant, but have incorporated throughout the garden, broccoli, kale, sunflowers, lettuce, peas, a fig tree and a blackberry vine. The requirements were that the plants must be hardy, but also beautiful. So here you see some of my selections. Please stay away Mrs. Groundhog! Photos from the top 1) This is not an edible, it is a honeysuckle plant that yields hundreds of white fragrant flowers later in the spring, but it serves as a privacy screen on my front patio and currently is home to a Robin and her two babies! 2) These are brocoli plants mixed in with some grasses in my side yard border 3 and 4) Strawberry plants hang out with peachy petunias 5) Close up of the broccoli plants (the leaves are tasty too) 6) Gorgeous purple kale plants sunning on the patio, waiting to be grounded 7) So exciting! A sunflower seedling grows for me. I came home everyday and looked for it to pop up. I planted these into the new curbside bed I dug up this year. I will be a burgundy sunflower. 8) This is a ficus or a fig tree, I put it in the curbside garden late last night as a focal point. Pray that it will actually grow figs! If not, it is still gorgeous. A tip for apartment dwellers: My father grew some spicy hot jalapenos near a sunny window last year and still had peppers growing in October! So there is hope, if you have no sunny window, there are community gardens popping up all over the place for you to obtain a yield for yourself and the community. Also, pick up the latest copy of Urban Farm Magazine, it has some great articles for the urban farmer and community gardeners. http://www.urbanfarmonline.com/

Take Action Now On The BP Gulf Oil Crisis

Okay, as promised here are some great ideas for you to engage in the Gulf oil crisis. My thanks to Amy of "Tacoma Green Mama" for sharing this resource, she always has great information. The most expedient action you can take is to write your representative or President Obama, using the links provided in this blog. Hurry, because it seems as though this oil well is going to gush forever. I just continue to be amazed that with all of these MIT, Caltech, Oxford and Morehouse grads out here, that this problem has not been resolved. Man is playing with God's fire, but doesn't know how to extinguish it. Lessons here?

The Gulf Oil Mess

Okay, I have been watching this entire gulf oil disaster with fear, astonishment and dismay. My one commentary on it all is that, this situation reinforces my belief that we really can't place all of our trust in the government or corporations to look out for our best interests. We need to stop assuming that "Oh it exists, so it must be safe" or "Oh, it's on the market, so it must be safe" and start asking more questions about everything. How is this made? Where was this made? What was this made of? What is impacted in the creation of this product, service? How is this regulated? Is this regulated? What is the worst case scenario and contingency plan? What do I need to do to protect myself and my community? How prepared am I for an emergency situation? (see Haiti and New Orleans).

I will be researching ways for us to get involved in advocating for safer practices in operations that involve our precious natural resources and post them on this site. We need to realize that God designed the oceans, lakes, trees, birds, frogs, insects, wetlands, etc, to all serve a purpose that keeps the earth operating harmoniously and our lives in balance, so we should pay more attention to how business interests impact that delicate balance. We can't just be clueless and let greed (which we rarely benefit from) destroy our environment, we need to pay attention and let our representatives and business interests know that we care.

First Quarter Results: 2010 Green Goals

Hanging tomato plants for the curbside garden and a blackberry vine for the front yard arbor.How cool, sexy and fem is this dress?$30.My Indian inspired sundress. $20.70's vintage. $15. Very retro with a pair of jeans. Ties in the back.

We financial types like to evaluate quarterly results, so I thought I would evaluate my performance to date on my 2010 Green Goals. So here you go:

1) Take the bus to work one day a week: Not quite. Maybe warmer weather will make this a reality
2) 20% of clothing thrift or consignment, 20% organic or fair trade: Yes and it has been fun and rewarding experience. See photos. The jacket is 70's vintage. How cool is that? $15 baby! Who said green isn't affordable?
3) Obtain LEED accreditation: Not yet, probably in the fourth quarter.
4) Green renovation of the bathroom: Competing priorities for funds, but a low VOC paint job is very doable as well as the low flow shower fixture
5) Take advantage of tax credits for Energy Star appliance purchase: Third quarter.
6) Apply permaculture principles in the garden: Yes, mixing edibles in with the decorative plantings. Tomatoes, brocoli, blackberries, arugula, sunflowers and purchasing a cold tolerant fig tree.
7) Host green events: Yes. Included a green business panel into the programming for the Women's Trade Summit I co-chaired and will do a garden party in June.
8) Promote Power of Place Based Education principals. Yes. Shared this info with my Green Schools Action Circle.
9) Act as a Green Coach to an African American business: Working on it! Your referrals are welcome.
10) Make five green business presentations: Getting there. Counting the panel discussion as one, upcoming workshop at an AME women's retreat in June, and a health event in August

So there you have my accounting and progress report on my efforts to live healthier for myself and the planet and to spread the word. How are you doing with your 2010 Green Goals? What are your challenges? What have you been blessed with?

Women's Health Conference: Videos Of The Speakers and Panel Discussions

I have been meaning for the longest time to provide you with a recap of the Women's Health Conference that I blogged live from last month, but with the Women's Economic Development Summit and family stuff, haven't found the time. But guess what? You can view or listen to the conference with a few clicks.If you don't have time to listen or view any other parts of the conference,  you have got to listen to, Lisa P. Jackson of the EPA,  Beverly Wright Phd,Will Allen of Growing Power (he will inspire you and blow you AWAY) and the authors of "Slow Death By Rubber Duck" speak. Teresa Heinz also gives a powerful testimonial of her breast cancer story and our Surgeon General also has an interesting background. All of the speakers were great, so try to listen to them all if possible. Let the journey begin......here

My quick recap:

• Know what you are putting onto and into your bodies - read labels and question ingredients
• Women control these important purchasing decisions
• Use unscented products (cosmetics, cleaners, sprays, etc) or if scented only with essential oils
• EPA needs your help to update its authority over chemicals - only regulates five
• Why are some toothpaste manufacturers using the controversial anti-bacterial Triclosan in the toothpaste?
• A health diet of clean fruits and vegetables can dilute the effects of chemicals
• Indoor air pollution from chemicals found everywhere in our homes are more dangerous than outdoor pollution
• If you use canned foods, you are probably exposing yourself to the synthetic estrogen, BPA
• EDEN foods do not use BPA in their canned products
• One person can create powerful changes
• We need to raise our concerns with our political representatives
• Buy local, use organic whenever possible

GreenChef Jana | The Month Of May’s In Season Ingredients

GreenChef Jana The Month Of May’s In Season Ingredients Before I discovered CSA's and farmers markets, I had no clue about which fruits and veggies were in season. Based on my grocery store experiences, I could pretty much find any product whenever I wanted. Not that I had a diverse palate, I usually ate brocoli, salad stuff, apples, bananas and cherries. Since shopping at the farmer's market I can really appreciate the delicious taste of in season produce. Many vegetables were not in my repetoire of foods, so I had to turn to my cookbooks to figure out how to prepare them and I discovered that many of the recipes consisted of veggies that were all in season at the same time. Wow! How cool was that. I really felt like I was on the prairie with Laura Ingalls (Didn't you just love that series?I did, except for the story about the minstrels coming to town) and we were cooking up (in our cast iron skillet) whatever we harvested that day. Taking this revelation to the next level, I bet that God had a plan for certain foods being in season at the same time. I am certain that further research would reveal that those ingredients combine for optimal nutrition required of our bodies during that specific time of the year. The greener I get, the richer my life becomes.

Happy Mother's Day! I'm off to a Raw Start!

Happy Mothers Day my friends! How fitting is it that Mother's Day commences the beginning of National Women's Health Week. It all starts with us, so I think it is so fitting that I was treated to a surprise raw food breakfast this morning of Apple Cereal and Mango Banana Smoothie. I heard my teen rattling around in the kitchen, but though that he was going to whip up a conventional breakfast for me....until I heard the blender. I thought that it was sweet of him to consider a smoothie in his plans, even though I was somewhat concerned over the loud noise eminating from the blender. To my astonishment, he came upstairs with a bowl of homemade Apple Cereal and a big ole mug of Mango Banana Smoothie. Turns out that he got up early and researched raw breakfast food recipes on the internet, after much searching, he found the website http://www.fromsadtoraw.com/, and made my breakfast! Everthing was good, he actually grated the apples himself and swiped some of the nuts I had soaking for my raw tuna. The one snag that he ran into was that he had no experience cutting a mango. The loooong seed in the mango caught him offguard, he assumed the hard part of seed at the ends of the fruit, were just frozen sections of the mango, so he sliced through them (so manly!) and tossed the chunk into the blender (hence the loud noise heard earlier, at which point he realized it was a seed), so I did have to contend with a few seed fibers, but it was all good. I feel blessed to have such a thoughtful son.

The last photo is a snapshot of a raw starters kit that I put together for my mom. It can be expensive, especially if you are on a fixed income, to get everything you need to get started on a raw diet and she is always game for anything positive that will improve her health, so I put together this ensemble to keep her moving in the raw food way.

On that note, lets all this week try to incorporate one raw meal per day into our diets or at least more fruits and veggies, so we can flip the script on the unhealthy narrative that has been playing out in our lifestyles these last few decades. Check out the blog Chocolate Orchid , for some great ideas on how to get started! Or pick up a copy of the new book by Tracye Lynn McQuirter.By Any Greens Necessary: A Revolutionary Guide for Black Women Who Want to Eat Great, Get Healthy, Lose Weight, and Look Phat.

Happy Mothers Day to all, including Mother Earth!