Eggville

I've mentioned localharvest.org several times now and it has always served me well. It allows the user to enter their zip code and search for farms and fresh vegetables near their home. I like to check back from time to time to see if anything new is in the area and was rewarded with Eggville.

In the spirit of growing my own vegetables, Eggville is a nice, local source of fresh eggs. The cost was about the same as eggs from the supermarket. The hens are kept in a nice, big run with plenty of room to run around. When we approached the coop, the hens excitedly came to the fence I suspect in the hope that someone was coming to feed them. The stared and us and made a quiet "bawk bawk bawk" noise. It's nice to know these sort of things are around if you look for them a little bit and everyone should try to find their own, nearby Eggville.

Saving Heirloom Animal Breeds

I've posted a number of times about how over time different types of food disappear. Older, maybe tastier, varieties fall out of favor with producers to be replaced by fruits and vegetables that ship and store better.

Places like The Seed Savers Exchange deal mostly in hard to find and heirloom vegetables in an effort to preserve some of these varieties. There are also a number of seed banks which save seeds to prevent against a disaster or disease which might wipe out an important food type.

The New York Times had an article today about a group that is saving farm animal embryos with cryogenics of breeds that have since fallen out of favor and are no longer being heavily raised any more. These animals, like the previously mentioned vegetables, may actually be tastier or better for the environment, but have some element to them which does not make them consistently homogeneous to raise and market.

Getting Rid Of The Christmas Tree

With the start of the new year, it is time to get rid of the Christmas tree.

Many towns, mine included, have curb side pick up and then chop the trees into mulch which is then given out to local residents for free.

Some wildlife management departments will collect trees and sink them in local lakes to make habitats for fresh water fish.

This year I am going to chop up all the small branches and throw them in the compost pile. They'll break down a little bit slower than the rest of the pile and be slightly acidic, but both of these things can be easily corrected with some garden lime.

Last spring, I started a stick pile by the back fence. It used to be that when branches fell off trees, I would bag them for the yard waste pick up. Now I cut everything into 2 foot sections and stack it in a pile. At the moment, it is serving no purpose other than a hiding place for chipmunks (better there than in the house foundation), but it is better than the landfill. I'll cut the trunk into similar size pieces and add that to the pile as well.

Disappearing Orange Stands

Back in the 1970's, both my maternal and paternal grandparents used to drive from New Jersey to Florida on an almost annual basis and there were a number of souvenirs which always accompanied each trip. The red mesh bags of of oranges and grapefruits was one, a jar of local honey with honey comb in the jar was another and a jar of marmalade was a third.

An article and slide show in today's New York Times comments on how the number of stands which sold these types of products have been dwindling over the years and the irony in this given the locavore movement which is helping the farm stand to make a comeback in other areas.