Slowing down our food5thMarch
Many of our great grandparents had gardens: fig trees, chestnuts and fresh vegetables. They ate local dairy and meat: raw milk delivered to their door with rabbits in backyard hutches and cows in the field down 39th street. Times are different, or are they? I bet we all can name one friend or neighbor that has chickens in their Portland backyard. Or there is someone you know growing tomatoes or, of course, zucchini along the hedgerows.
The world has seen many changes in the past few months. We will continue to see more. Friends and neighbors intend to plant gardens this year not as a hobby but as a necessity. Is this a tragedy or is it a victory? With a garden you get more time out of doors, more nutrition from your food and the convenience of harvest just outside your backdoor.
Today, we are also lucky to have so many new or old understandings and resources available to us. From Bill Mollison's Introduction to Permaculture to Ruth Stout's How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back, there are countless ways to simplify your life while, as Scrooge McDuck says, "Work smarter, not harder." Think about the years that you spend developing a career and think about the hours you can spend growing a bushel of carrots. One could help you become a very important person, the other simply means you enjoy fresh carrots.
Stock Your Fridge with Life! Lacto-fermenting Vegetables & Condiments March 28, 2009
TrackersNW is proud to offer classes with Chris Musser and Lost Arts Kitchen. Not only is Chris one of our favorite parents with an amazing daughter named Annabel, she is a culinary genius. Her work was featured in the Oregonian article, Eco-conscious cook teaches others to eat better for less.
Wild Plants Tuesdays Every Tuesday
Emily Porter, aka Penny Scout, teaches Wild Edible Plants every Tuesday night. March will be the final month of the weekly programs with night drop ins and then we will move onto a monthly series. Come check them out while they are still here. Emily's schedule for March...
March 10: Tree identification. Buds & bark. How to identify a “naked” tree. Leaf ID.
March 17: Flower identification. Flower parts and terms. How to use popular field guides. Keeping a plant notebook.
March 24: Common plant families. Recognizing patterns.
March 31: Using simple and advanced dichotomous keys.
Register or learn more here
Video: Jason removes his fridge, DIY food preservation
Jason Craban, TrackersNW urban homesteading instructor is beginning his new blog, Little House in the Big City. Its cool to have someone like Jason living by Laura Ingalls Wilder series of books. We all know that Trackers has more in common with the Little House books than Man vs Wild.
Watch Jason's video
Check out Jason's new blog Little House in the Big City
