June 2010 Blog Posts (13)

The world's seed supply is in crisis.

After World War II F-1 hybrid seeds began to replace open-pollinated (or heirloom) seed stock. The large agribusinesses that sprang up preferred the hybrids because they produced a uniform crop with uniform maturation, generated higher yields, and tended to have greater resistance to disease. Plus…

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The third annual Eat Real Festival, scheduled for August 27th - 29th, 2010 in Oakland's Jack London Square,

is serving up a double portion of local food and fun this year by doubling the number of street food vendors and adding an Urban Homesteading demonstration zone to the celebration.

Founded in 2008 to promote local, sustainable, affordable, and delicious food, the Festival is a celebration of street…

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Here in the Bay Area, where the eating local and organic movement first started in Alice Waters' Berkeley restaurant garden, we still have farms that grow the fresh and fabulous ingredients that inspire some of the best chefs in the world. Now Eating Fresh has put together the Bay Area's very own cookbook to celebrate our seasonal crops and teach locavores how to make mouthwatering meals from them:… Continue

The folks who till the soil at the San Ramon Gardens (officially known as North Gardens) have a long history of mixing individual expression with producing a bounty of delicious, fresh, locally raised vegetables.

Originally located adjacent to now defunct Mudd's Restaurant and the Crow Canyon Community Gardens, the North Gardens were moved in 2008 to…

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Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a popular way for people interested in "eating local" to buy fresh, seasonal food direct from farmers in their area. The catch is you have to learn to cook and enjoy the food delivered in your weekly box as it ripens according to the season, even if there are some unfamiliar veggies in there! The solution is… Continue

Buy Fresh Buy Local, a project to expand markets for family farms in California, has issued the 3rd edition of its Eater's Guide to Local Food, Bay Area. This guide is the ultimate reference to help folks find and enjoy local fresh, seasonal foods from producers within their geographical area.

The amount of information within these 60 pages is amazing, even slightly overwhelming!… Continue

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article about a new generation of "superweeds" that have developed immunity to Roundup®, the legendary herbicide made by Monsanto. Roundup® was considered a wonder chemical when it was first brought to market and Monsanto nearly bankrupted its competitors in the 1990s when it introduced its first genetically modified product - Roundup-tolerant soybean seeds… Continue

Folks in the East Bay are busy and even though they want to eat organic

and local, may not have time to stop at a Community Supported

Agriculture (CSA) farm or Farmers' Market for their weekly purchase of

fruits and vegetables. What's the solution? Direct delivery of affordable CSA farm products to drop-off points in your neighborhood!… Continue

Patrice Hanlon has a gardener's dream job: Garden Manager of The Gardens at Heather Farm (GHF) in Walnut Creek. Before you swoon with envy, realize she is the only paid gardener on site with responsibility for 3.5 acres of developed land containing 24 demonstration gardens and learning sites. That's a lot of digging, planting, and weeding! Of course Patrice has help: a large group of volunteers who propagate plants and work… Continue

Common Ground, the affiliate of Ecology Action, has announced its 4th annual Edible Landscaping Tour for Saturday, July 24th, 2010 from 11am - 4pm. Participants on the self-guided tour will visit ten beautiful gardens with edible, organic landscapes plus tour the Common… Continue

Their name may be Mud, but East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD)

has created a beautiful and informative reference for gardeners tending

their beds in the hills and flats of the East Bay's climate-diverse

communities. The book, Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates of the San Francisco Bay Region,

should be the "bible" on the shelf of every gardener who wants a lush,

eye-pleasing garden without compromising his or her commitment… Continue

Local Harvest

is a fantastic online resource for all things organic, not just for

East Bay folks, but for organic food fans across the country! The

Local Harvest virtual store offers 7,954 products from

family farmers who focus on selling fresh organic products direct to

their local communities or via mail order to the far flung… Continue

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for people interested in "eating local"

to buy fresh, seasonal food direct from a farmer in their area.

Typically the farmer sells a fixed number of "shares" to members of the

community who "subscribe" in the program. Shareholders are then

entitled to a box of fruit, vegetables, or other farm products each

week throughout the growing season. The boxes are picked up at the

farm so you… Continue