Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Attend Longfellow Sustainable Yards Workshops, March 20

The Longfellow Community Council is hosting a workshop this Saturday on sustainable practices for your yards and gardens. Workshop topics will include:

* Rain Gardens
* Landscaping with Native Plant Species
* Composting
* Fruit Trees and Shrubs
* Vegetable Gardening

At the event, you can also learn what's behind the City's stomwater fees and Do and Don't of boulevard planting.

Light refreshments will be provided. Longfellow residents are eligible to save energy, water and time with an array of door prizes - such as rain barrels, compost bins, native plants, fruit trees, green cleaning products, low-flow shower heads and more.

The event is free, but please click on the link below to RSVP:

Register Now!

Saturday, March 20, 2010
10:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Sanford Middle School
3524 42nd Ave S.
Minneapolis, MN 55406

If you have any questions, contact:

Kim Jakus
Longfellow Community Council
kim@longfellow.org
612-722-4529 x 5


[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Friday, February 19, 2010

Shepherd's Way Weekend

Shepherd's Way will be at the Indoor Winter Farmer's Markets in Minneapolis and Saint Paul this Saturday.

They'll be at Local D'Lish in the warehouse district:
Local D'Lish
208 North 1st Street
10:00 am and 2:00 pm
612-886-3047
www.localdlish.com

They'll be at Golden's Deli in Lowertown Saint Paul:
Golden's Deli
275 4th St East
9:00 am until 1:00 pm
651-224-8888
www.goldensdeli.us


[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Thermal Banking in Lake City, MN

Source: Cooking Up A Story (CUPS)

This is the second in a series of “how-to” videos showcasing the knowledge and creativity of farmers who are have worked with the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program (SARE)—either as grant recipients, cooperators or leaders. In the first video, Jeanne Carver (Imperial Stock Ranch, Eastern Oregon) described her ranch’s approach to value-added marketing.

Now we turn to the Midwest where Steven Schwen of Earthen Path Organic Farm (Lake City, Minnesota) has built an innovative greenhouse that allows him to extend his growing season while reducing energy costs. SARE’s Farmer-Rancher Grants program provided critical assistance for Schwen in the beginning phases of his project.



At Minnesota’s latitude, farmers who can extend their growing season have a distinct advantage in the marketplace: By offering a product outside the “normal” growing season, they can receive a higher price.

That’s what Schwen has done with his greenhouse vegetable production, starting earlier in the year with seedlings of warm-season vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and peppers), and continuing production into the fall and even the winter months when he grows cold-tolerant crops such as salad mix, cilantro, scallions and carrots.

Season extension is a common enough practice, but what makes Schwen’s operation so unique is the added innovation of thermal banking, which significantly reduces the energy costs of running a greenhouse for cold-season production. Schwen’s simple description of thermal banking is that it’s like a savings account: Instead of money, you save (or store) energy for future use. In this case we are talking about the heat that accumulates in a greenhouse during the daytime, especially on sunny days.

As you watch the video, you’ll appreciate the level of detail Schwen provides about the greenhouse’s design and construction. In addition, he has made the design drawings available for reference (PDF), and viewers are encouraged to download those and follow along as Schwen talks about the construction process. Note that in this set-up, it’s more about what you don’t see underground, than the greenhouse structure itself!

Schwen views this technology as a key component of his farming operation, particularly in this time of global climate change and energy insecurity. He feels this project moves him closer to his ultimate goals of energy independence and self-sufficiency.

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To view another CUPS video about Steven Schwen, click here.

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

University of Minnesota Hosts Sustainability Programs

Source: Beth Mercer-Taylor
Sustainability Education Coordinator

The Sustainability Studies Minor at the University of Minnesota is excited to announce two programs at the Bell Museum this spring semester. They will focus on the topic of agriculture and sustainability. Both events will include panel discussions with farmers followed by interactive dialogue between the speakers and audience. In addition, the second event will include the short film A Farm for the Future. At the beginning of the events, the Museum's Hungry Planet exhibit about what people eat and where it comes from will be open. Programs are free for everyone, and the public is invited to join us! If you have any questions, feel free to email Lance Brisbois, student intern for the Minor.

Agriculture and Sustainability Panel with Minnesota Farmers

Tuesday, March 23
7:00-9:00pm
Bell Museum, University of Minnesota – Minneapolis campus
Why is sustainability important for land and for people? What is being done in Minnesota to help reduce environmental degradation? Why should we care?

Speakers: Jim Riddle, organic farmer and sustainable agriculture advocate, and other local farmers will share their stories of farming using organic and sustainable practices and tell us about the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Sustainable Alternatives to Conventional Agriculture
Thursday, April 8
7:30-9:00pm
Bell Museum, University of Minnesota – Minneapolis campus
Rural areas are experiencing significant population losses, and industrial farms are not sustainable in the long term. What can be done to revitalize rural communities and ensure environmental stewardship in farming practices?

Speakers: Kathy Draeger, Director of the Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships and Big Stone County farmer; Jim Kleinschmit, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Rural Communities program.

Film: A Farm for the Future 2009. Investigates how to transform a family's farm into a low-energy farm for the future, and discovers that nature holds the key. Originally aired on the BBC's Natural World series. 50-minute run time.

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Film Showing: HomeGrown: The 21st Century Family Farm

HomeGrown: The 21st Century Family Farm
Thursday, February 4, 2010
7:00 pm
Free admission
Bell Museum Auditorium, corner of University Ave. & 17th Ave. SE,
Minneapolis

The Agri-food Reading Group at the University of Minnesota is
sponsoring a showing of the film HomeGrown: The 21st Century Family Farm.
The Dervaes family grows over 6,000 pounds of produce on one city lot in
Pasadena, California, as well as generating much of their own power. Relying
mainly on their own words, this documentary provides a portrait of how they
moved from conventional homeowners to cultivating their own urban
"homestead." See more information at http://www.homegrown-film.com.

The film will be immediately followed by a panel discussion
on urban agriculture and its relation to sustainable and just urban
development. Scheduled panelists are:

* Melvin Giles - Community organizer, peace activist, and educator.

* Collie Graddick - Agricultural Consultant with the Minn. Dept. of
Agriculture. Has extensive experience working with local governments and
community groups throughout the Twin Cities on gardening and sustainability
projects.

* Metric Giles - Has two decades of involvement with community gardens,
volunteering in community schools, and working to address housing
disparities throughout the metro area.

* Art Serotoff - Longtime social justice advocate who has experience
starting community gardens and creating public health initiatives, currently
working at the Sabathani Community Center.

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Black Garlic Smashed Taters

The kind folks at Marx Foods sent me some amazing black garlic to sample awhile back. There's something about garlic and smashed potatoes that makes me happy, so I thought to myself, "how about black garlic smashed taters?"

Black garlic is amazing. It's got a sweet, umami flavor that packs a lighter punch than conventional garlic. It is, in fact, conventional garlic, but it has been fermented at a high temperature for a month, resulting in softened, sweetened, and blackened cloves. Read all about it here: www.marxfoods.com/Fermented-Black-Garlic

Here's how to make the black garlic spuds:

* 3 pounds waxy potatoes, quartered and boiled until tender
* 2 cups half and half (Cedar Summit)
* 3 tbsp butter (Hope Creamery)
* 6 cloves black garlic mashed into bits
* 5 ounces Cedar Grove Cheddar Cheese
* salt and pepper

Directions:

Boil potatoes until tender. Drain the pot. Leave spuds in pot.

While that boils, smash up your black garlic.

In a saucepan, warm half and half and butter to a light simmer. When it gets to simmering, turn off the pot and pour it over the spuds. Mash together. Fold in cheese, garlic, salt and pepper to taste.

I served mine up with some baked Fischer Farms pork tenderloin and steamed green beans from the garden, which were hiding in the deep freeze.