Georgia Organics Conference...at last!

Where did March go…? I’ve been meaning to sit down and bring you all up to date on the Georgia Organics Conference…I, having been tethered to a very old desktop computer for the past 9 years, just couldn’t find the time to sit at the office desk and muster up the patience to endure that slow-as- molasses computer any longer; so, I’ve now done my part as a good American and put some money into the sluggish economy to purchase a laptop! Now I can take it outside, sit down in the Adirondack chair in front of the chicken coop and watch what Bob calls “Chicken TV” while I blog away the hours! What a wonderful life I have, ey?

Day One of the Conference..or should I say Day One/Morning….

It was even more awesome than I could’ve imagined AND was right here in Decatur! Two weeks ago Friday, I awoke at 5:30 a.m. to be at the Conference registration at Agnes Scott by 7 a.m.!...I, being the anal person that I am, didn’t want to be late for registration…so, I was there even before they were setup..and was the 3rd person to register! It was still a bit dark and quite cool, especially in the event tent which was set up on a luscious carpet of thick long, dark green grass. I grabbed a blueberry muffin and some juice from the buffet and headed out the door towards Presser Hall for the extended workshop which was to be given by Jules Dervaes of Path To Freedom . I was just rounding the corner when I spotted a man bending down attempting to pick up several bags and boxes when he, looking up at me, asks, “Do you know where I’m supposed to be setting up?”….oh my gosh that’s Jules Dervaes, I’d know that face anywhere…I’ve watched Homegrown Revolution and other hours of his YouTube ‘episodes’ about urban homesteading in Pasadena! I’m trying not to be star struck, and I never thought of myself as a groupie…I’ve been to lots of concerts of famous artists and never once thought of rushing the stage or camping out for hours to buy tickets…but this was different…this guy symbolizes what I only thought was possible, and yet, he’s been doing it for almost 20 years…farming his suburban residential lot in downtown Pasadena just a couple of blocks from the Rose Bowl and inbetween 2 freeways! He and his 3 grown children grow enough food (about 6,000 lbs. on average) to live off of and to sell (about $20K a year) to local restaurants. Oh wait, he’s not alone…he’s brought the whole family and, …. here comes Anais, the older daughter, schlepping more bags and boxes than Jules. As I walk over to her to see if I can help her carry something, I say to her in my excitement, “I didn’t know you were coming, as well!” She replies, “Yeah, that was a surprise to all of us!” What a deal!...the whole family and even Janice, the administrative assistant, loaded into a van and drove to Decatur from Pasadena, California just for the G.O. Conference! The first thing Jules spoke about was how he used Map Quest to plan his trip route, being so pleased with himself that he figured out how many hours it would take to make the trip, he forgot one little thing…the 3 time zones he would pass on his journey, thus throwing him off by 3 hours! They had arrived in Decatur at 2 a.m. and were on the Agnes Scott campus by 7:15 a.m….I just wanted to hug them all and thank them from the bottom of my heart for sharing with us, for those 4 wonderful and informative hours, for telling their story of how they’ve pioneered the Urban Homestead movement! They grow many varieties of veggies and fruits, gather eggs from their chickens and ducks, and have 2 goats (heavy sigh….) that will soon be giving milk for cheese, they make bio-diesel fuel for their delivery truck, use a solar oven, utilize solar panels for most of their energy (even selling back some energy to their local electric company) and even have and use a solar shower in their garden that waters their banana trees…OK, so maybe that’s taking it too far for some of you…but, just think about it….growing your own food, right there in your own backyard!...they, the Dervaes family, were my inspiration when I happened upon them in my delirium of Googling last April…I finally got a chance to tell them in person that they have given me the confidence (through the virtual medium of cyberspace) to jumpstart my dream of growing some of my own food! Come to think of it, it was about this time last April that I decided to get the chicks and plant a garden after taking up the 100 Foot Challenge on their website. It was a weekend much like this one,…Bob was out of town and I had too much time on my hands…by the end of that weekend and by the time he came back home, I announced that I had this idea of raising chickens and doin’ a little farmin’ in the backyard…he asked me what we needed to do to make it happen, then he helped me make it so! Thanks to Jules and the Dervaes family for showing me that urban homesteading is possible and thanks even more, Bob, for your love, support and assistance in making it a reality!..(pssst, don’t tell anyone but I think Bob’s almost as hooked on this idea as I am…shhhh!)……to be continued ...

"You Are What You Eat"...I have proof!

The Zen Hens were put in my care to teach me the simple, yet valuable, lessons of the Universe.

 

In May of last year Caryn and I drove 50 miles, all the way to Dallas, Georgia to pick up eight baby chicks just two days old. Just like children and pets they began to develop their own personalities. I had some chickens as a young girl in Tucson; made friends with some of them, but didn’t study them as I do now. I would like to think that I’m ‘studying’ them and not just “obsessing” over them. As they grew, one by one each starting to lay eggs like clockwork at 5 months old, I began to pay closer attention to the details. Maybe it was because I knew that I’d be eating those eggs, that I began evaluating what the chicks were eating. I had read that you shouldn’t give laying hens onions or garlic because most likely the eggs would taste of onions and garlic, which I guess wouldn’t be so bad if you were making a Spanish Omelet…but what about when you wanted one of those eggs for a Janet’s Lemon Meringue Tart (more on that later). As all of the hens began to lay, I couldn’t help but noticing that each egg was different in its size, texture, shape and color. As the months passed I’ve gotten pretty good at figuring out who laid what egg.

 

Anyone who knows me knows that I just can’t help feeding those that I love. So, the “girls” eat well. Their everyday ‘chicken feed’ is a hormone and antibiotic free vegetarian chicken food pellet. BUT every morning they get greens…collard greens or mustard greens, napa cabbage or kitchen veggie scraps. Since spring is around the corner, Lorraine and Janet are pulling weeds from their garden and yard, toting them over from down the street, daily placing them at my door like an offering at the alter (they LOVE “the girls”)! Weeds, yummy…dirt and all, are the “girls” favorite snack! They have an addiction, though…corn…corn in any form, it’s like crack-rock to them. The problem is this, corn doesn’t have all the nutrients they need to keep them healthy, let alone to keep them laying. So, corn is a treat given a little at a time. If I change their diet it shows the next day in their eggs, the size and color of the shell, and the color of the yolk inside the shell. For the past 3 days they’ve had an extra abundance of weeds and today their eggs have been the largest and the yolks have been the deepest yellow-orange I’ve yet seen….those eggs are a direct reflection of what the hens eat…and up the food chain it goes…into the next link, me and many of you. It’s so comforting to know where at least one source of my food comes from…the Zen Hens in the backyard!

 

There are farm sources all around us that care as much about the growing of their food as we do. Coincidentally, I just found Eat Wild …a website for meat, eggs and dairy that gives locations near you. You might have to drive a little farther and spend a little more; but, remember...you are what you eat AND you're worth it!

I sometimes get distracted, no surprise here...but I missed President Obama's address to Congress last night...until I realized that I could watch it on CSpan, so I stayed up until past midnight listening. I think it to be important to listen to everything that's available from our new President, to hear his words as they're leaving his mouth...so that the press can't tell me what I heard, as I don't need someone to tell me what I heard if I can hear it for myself. I can't say that I have alot of interest in politics as such, but I do care and want to keep up with those that do, those that have been elected to office, those that have vision, integrity and the competence to accomplish a positive agenda. Let's face it, we do need change, change for the combined good of us all. Obama spoke with a message of hard work but he also gave a message of hope...and where I come from a little hope goes a long way...it makes us want to pick ourselves up and brush ourselves off and become determined to get through the tough times. I am impressed that Obama is listening...listening to and getting advice from those whose expertise, education and experience can guide him and ultimately us through this down swing in the American and world economy.

There are so many issues that haven't been addressed through the last administration, issues that effect us all, one of which I was pleasantly surprised to hear in President Obama's speech concerning my favorite subject...food. I don't profess to know everything or even a whole lot about previous Farm Bills or commodity subsidies; but, I do know that lots of our tax dollars go to subsidize huge agri-businesses (think huge here...not the farm down the road....hundreds of thousands of acres all over America run by megamillion dollar companies like Archer Daniel Midland ADM "the supermarket of the world" as their commercial indicates. This is how it works; Farmers growing corn—the crop most favored by government policies, in this case let's just say the huge agri-business, gets a direct payment based on the past corn acres. They do very well if corn prices go high, and they would be fine if prices went low because another government check would make up much of the difference. This production subsidy policy urges farmers to maximize production of a few preferred crops like corn or soybeans, even at the expense of the environment, instead of a variety of crops that replenish the soil or maintain the integrity of the soil in regards to erosion.

Michael Pollan, the author of several books, one of which is The Omnivore's Dilemma, is the recipient of numerous journalistic awards, including the James Beard Award for best magazine series in 2003 and the Reuters-I.U.C.N. 2000 Global Award for Environmental Journalism. Pollan served for many years as executive editor of Harpers Magazine and is now the Knight Professor of Science and Environmental Journalism at UC Berkeley . He will be the keynote speaker at the 12th Annual Georgia Orgaincs Conference and Trade Show that I will be attending on March 20-21, 2009. In a Georgia Organics interview he was asked what he is the most hopeful about in regards to the new Administration and the new Secretary of Agriculture. His response was, "My hope is that as Obama tackles everything from economic redevelopment to healthcare reform to climate change, there will be a recognition that he needs to deal with the food policy as well. There is not a lot of support, for example, for commodity subsidies in this country. You know, even if you asked farmers, most farmers would like to see them capped, if not radically reformed....So that's what I hope-more visability for the issue (food policy), and I'm hoping both Obamas will contribute to that."

....Bringing me to this point...last night President Obama said that there will be no more commodity subsidies to the big agribusinesses! Now, that got my attention...maybe he is listening...now, if you'll excuse me I've got to get back to reading The Omnivore's Dilemma

I've finally finished reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" a Barbara Kingsolver book about a year of food life, existing almost totally on what she and her family of four could raise on their small Virginia farm. At the end of that year Kingsolver reflects on the meaning of their efforts, "These efforts might just get us past the train-wreck of the daily news, or the anguish of standing behind a child, looking with her at the road ahead, searching out redemption where we can find it: recycling or carpooling or growing a garden or saving a species or something. Small, stepwise changes in personal habits aren't trivial. Ultimately they will, or won't, add up to having been the thing that mattered."

 

I have a small backyard flock of 8 laying hens that, in their zen-like manner, have persuaded me that it's time to follow my heart and my conscience and travel the path to a more sustainable way of life...this Blog will serve as my diary, my blue print and...oh, my thesis!

Thomas Jefferson said it best, "Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independant, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bands....(he then goes on to say...) As long therefore as they can find emploiment in this line, I would not convert them into mariners, artisans, or any thing else. But our citizens will find emploiment in this line till their numbers, and of course their productions, become too great for the demand both internal and foreign."

However, I wonder if Jefferson ever considered that it wouldn't be the cultivators numbers that would exceed the demand but the other way around!