Friday, April 15, 2011

The CHICKENS are coming!

The Chickens are coming!
I did it. Today I purchased six 7 week old Rhode Island Reds for our Urban Plot. Let the next phase of "grow your own" begin.

We now have until Tuesday to get the coop built and the run put up! You know, sometimes you just have to paint yourself into a corner to make the things happen that you want to have happen... otherwise it is easy to keep putting it off. It is the getting started that can be hard to get to! But when I give US a deadline... well, stuff starts happening!
I have been wanting to get chickens for a very long time. But just for your amusement... I am amused.. here is the "timeline" for painting myself (and David) into this corner we are now in!
  • For many years: Reading about getting chickens, planning and dreaming and wondering where to put the coop in our yard. Looking at coop plans, will it be a tractor or a stationary coop? Etc...
  • 4 months ago: Finally figured out where I want to put the coop and pen! In the shady bottom of the garden where nothing really grows well, but where chickens will be happy.
  • 3 weeks ago: I took a "Getting Started with Chickens" class at Eagledove Greenhouse in our neighborhood. It rocked!
  • 2 weeks ago: I ordered plans for the City Biddy Chicken Coop
  • 1 weeks ago: I  purchased water and feeder units for my theoretical girls.
  • Today I went in a paid for 6 chickens at Eagledove to pick up on Tuesday... The deadline is set!
Here is an image of the coop we are working towards... although ours will have a front porch for the girls...
Stay tuned for pictures of our progress and of our actual coop.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Sow True Seeds

We are SO lucky to have the Sow True Seed Company in our town! I wanted to share this piece with you that was published in their most recent mailing. This local seed company ships around the country...so if you are not able to come visit them in Asheville, you can still have their wonderful seeds and support a business that has as their goal the best interests of our planet and our health! 
We Step Up to Say NO to GMO


On March 29, 2011, Sow True Seed joined 60 family farmers, seed businesses and organic agricultural organizations to file suit against Monsanto Company to challenge the chemical giant's patents on genetically modified seed. Once released into the environment, genetically modified seed contaminates and destroys naturally reproducing seed for the same crop.  For example, soon after Monsanto introduced genetically modified seed for canola, organic canola became virtually extinct as a result of cross-contamination.  Organic corn, soybeans, cotton, sugar beets and alfalfa now face the same fate, as Monsanto has released genetically modified seed for each of those crops, too.  Monsanto is developing genetically modified seed for many other crops, thus putting the future of all food, and indeed all agriculture, at stake.  

“It is challenging to find non-hybrid (open-pollinated) corn seed that has not been contaminated by genetically modified pollen,” says Sow True Seed Co-Founder Peter Waskiewicz.  “We choose to test our corn seed to ensure it is free of GMOs before we offer it to our customers. In the last decade, it’s become nearly impossible to ensure corn seed is free from contamination.”

“We never planned to become involved in a lawsuit, but morally it has become necessary to stand up and fight for keeping open-pollinated seed safe and available,” says Co-Founder Carol Koury. “Sow True Seed was founded to promote and foster sustainable regional agriculture by helping to preserve our shared botanical heritage and seed a new era of sustainable culture and ecological wisdom. Monsanto not only does not embody this vision, but is actually encroaching on our ability to offer open-pollinated and organic seeds. We are fighting against this injustice.”

Waskiewicz adds, “We recognize that the unlimited production and distribution of open-pollinated seed is primary to the growth and endurance of sustainable, regional farming communities. Sow True Seed endorses the basic right of all the earth’s people to enjoy a safe, ethical and sovereign food production and distribution system.”

For more information, please visit: http://www.pubpat.org/monsanto-seed-patents.htm

To get involved:

Friday, March 11, 2011

Organic Ag Can Double Food Production in 10 Years


 I just had to share this quote that I got from the latest Organic Consumers Association Newsletter. Read the whole article here.

Eco-Farming Can Double Food Output by Poor

"To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming techniques available. Today's scientific evidence demonstrates that agroecological methods outperform the use of chemical fertilizers in boosting food production where the hungry live - especially in unfavorable environments.

"To date, agroecological projects have shown an average crop yield increase of 80% in 57 developing countries, with an average increase of 116% for all African projects. Recent projects conducted in 20 African countries demonstrated a doubling of crop yields over a period of 3-10 years."

-Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food and author of the report "Agro-ecology and the right to food," published March 8, 2011.