10 Day Local Food Challenge

I found this idea on Resilience.org and thought, why not try to float it in the Dundas valley?
So read more here about the Local Food challenge.

Here is the basic idea in Vicki Robin’s own words.

“I invented this thing called the 10-Day Local Food Challenge, which is giving people a game to play that’s like my game, if a little easier. For 10 days (not 30 days), you eat only food grown within 100 miles of your home (not 10 miles), and you give yourself 10 exotics (not 4). October, (the) 10th month, 1st through 10th.

You do it as a process of self-discovery, a process of discovery of your community. I could bundle everything that I just said in terms of what I call “relational eating.”

I discovered that eating is…part of the hyper-individualistic mentality. [Many people in the US] think of eating as an act of consumption. “Food is in the store. We get food and we don’t even have to do anything other than pay for it…. Food is so easy and actually so cheap.”

[W]e don’t have any relationship with the hands and lands that feed us. But when you focus on local food, you realize that your destiny is tied to your place on Earth and to the competency of the people.

You care in a way that is so much more profound, and you know that your environment, it isn’t just a nice place to live…. No, I live in a community that can feed me. That is ultimate, and that’s around relocalization and resilience and resourcefulness."

The whole interview with Vicki is a good read too. http://www.resilience.org/stories/2015-08-05/talking-resilience-with-vicki-robin.

You may have come across her as the co-author of the classic “Your Money or Your Life”.

Reply here or email if you are interested in being part of this. We can talk about it when you come to the farm for your ‘local organic fresh’ produce.

Ian

Old99 Farm, Week of Aug1 2015

Had a computer power failure so am writing remotely now.
We can add several varieties of tomatoes this week, in addition to the bounty I posted last week.
Lamb on special: leg roasts, shoulder chops and loin chops, 25% off. That’s about $7/kg off loin chops.

Healthy eating
Ian and Cami.

Old 99 Farm,. week of July 26 2015

First, no fruit from Palatine because only had 7 boxes committed from y’all, and I need 10 minimum. Lets try again next week.

Tomatoes are ripening in the greenhouse, the plum variety and new spinach is available. Summer squash joins zucchini in the curcurbit family of offerings.

As of July 26th, we can offer 46 items including the following crops: zucchini, plum tomatoes, spinach, cilantro, basil, napa and early white cabbage, arugula (rocket), kale, three varieties of chard, cabbage leaves, collards, and beetgreens, peppers, eggplant, summer squash. There are lots of eggs but they’re selling as fast as I can make ’em.

Almost 700 000 viewers on youtube have wondered what environmental devastation actually looks like. Do you? At TEDxVictoria, photographer Garth Lenz shares shocking photos of the Alberta Tar Sands mining project — and the beautiful (and vital) ecosystems under threat.
Go here!

What does environmental devastation actually look like? At TEDxVictoria, photographer Garth Lenz shares shocking photos of the Alberta Tar Sands mining project — and the beautiful (and vital) ecosystems under threat. Go here to view his ted talk.

Healthy happy eating,
Ian and Cami

the missing map

Old 99 Farm week of July 19 2015

Enjoying the weather? when you look at the continental maps for temperature anomalies we are the sweet spot around the great lakes, very little deviation from ‘normal’. See that white zone? But overall, it’s a scorcher and on track to be the hottest year on record: here’s the link to the full story.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/07/17/3681260/june-2015-hottest-year-record/
Here’s a map showing what I mean.

The lettuce is feeling the heat, starting to bolt, but the sweet potato plants are loving it. Lots of zucchini, beans are in flower, and raspberries! I have yet to see such a crop. I’ll have prepicked and U-pick open this week.

There are pasture raised roasting chickens in the freezer, whole, halfs or quarters.

Palatine Fruit next week. Place your order: I have so far a box of cherries for Joe, Irene, Lenore and Norma. Tell me if I missed you or you decline.

Healthy eating,
Ian and Cami

Raspberry U-PICK

The crop is gorgeous and at its peak now. These are organic berries, not sprayed. I’m encouraging u-pickers to come while it’s prime time.

I don’t know the roadside stand prices but Lindley’s Upick is $5/quart,
Jerry’s is $3/pint, get 7th pint free.
Jordash Gardens is $5/pint (location?)
and Hamilton Berries in Brantford hasn’t called me back.
None of these are organic.

I’m offering organic upick for $1.50 per 100 grams (HUH? that’s $4.50 per pint or $9/qt since a pint weights 300gm) That’s 3 dollars less per pint than on opening weekend last.

quarts are bigger than liters, 1 qt = 2 pints = 1.14L, if you recall. Figure how much jam and frozen berries you want to put by for winter and come on over.

I have boxes and containers here. Come soon for best picking.

Old 99 Farm. week of July 12, 2015

Blueberry u-pick across the road opened up this weekend, inspiring me to hustle on saturday and offer the same for raspberries, currants and vegetables. We had a few eager pickers and will continue this weekend. You too may wish to try u-pick, especially if you want to freeze some chard for the winter.

A couple of new entries this week: beet tops, summer squash and the napa cabbage is joined by an early white cabbage, the Tiara.

Eggs prices are going to increase this week but I will be offering different sized dozens: medium, large, extra large, maybe even a few jumbos. This is not because my feed costs have gone up but the average egg size has gone down, due to the new younger flock. So my average price has gone down while my costs stay the same, comprends?

I got an email today from Palatine Fruit saying they could deliver cherries this wednesday. But that’s too short notice. Let me know if you want cherries next week at $55/20 lb box.

The season of bounty is upon us!

Healthy eating
Ian and Cami

Old 99 Farm, week of July 5 2015

New additions: raspberries and black currants, picked and upick, also Napa Cabbage and sugar snap peas, zuchinis.
That is in addition to the kale, collards, chard, lettuces, parsley, herbs, eggs, meats (hey chicken is in).

See you on thursday!

Climate March Toronto July 5

14 seats remaining on bus chartered by 350.org and Environment Hamilton to get you to the march in Queens Park Toronto next sunday.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jobs-justice-climate-action-tickets-17373043240

Would be great to have you on the bus!
Your kids will thank you some day.

Old 99 Farm, week of June 28th 2015

Some how I got distracted from the computer and did not send out what I composed on Sunday evening. Sorry to all. Now it’s canada day and we’re all celebrating. I’m celebrating at least, it’s a great privilege to be Canadian, to live here in Ontario, to have a civil society and natural abundance. And I’m celebrating that the raspberries are now ripening to harvest. U-pick will be possible this week.

Says Albert Bates in his post today on Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si:
“If we are honest and admit climate change threatens the survival of our species, right now and not next decade or next century, and don’t just turn away or accept the numbing banality that comes with avoidance of the subject, we would have to, to not be hypocritical, actually choose to do something about what we know we know."

“But do what, exactly? Our institutions are not working. Any real change has to come from our personal footprint, changing our choices. Change is our only way of being truthful with ourselves, and not neurotic or schizophrenic. "

It is a thoughtful essay, calling out the Pope on some points, supporting him on others. Read more at http://www.peaksurfer.blogspot.ca/2015/06/the-gift-of-clear-mind-laudato-si.html#links.

We have had 75ml of rain according to my rain gauge on the fencepost. That in two days. Not a record or a disaster but worth a reminder that Mother Nature bats last…

This week we can offer lots of lettuce and greens: romaine, butter (bib) lettuce, collards, kale, three varieties of swiss chard. There are strawberries, rhubarb, eggs, and roasting chickens. This week I take the birds to the processor and will have them here on Thursday for all advance orders to pick up. That’s over 100 chickens!

Anyone going to join me and Cami in the Climate march in Toronto on Sunday July 5th? Environment HAmilton has chartered a bus and you can get on it. leaves at 11am Sunday.
www.environmenthamilton.org

Healthy Eating,
Ian and Cami