Recent News Stories

A couple of interesting stories from the New York Times this week.

The first is about two regular people who quit their day jobs and bought a farm in Georgia where they are raising organic meat. Click through to their web site after reading the article. Their blog would make James Herriot envious.

New York Times story
Nature's Harmony Blog

The second is about Stonyfield Farms, the yogurt maker, trying to make the cows that supply them produce less methane (and global warming) by feeding them a diet that is more consistent with their natural diet.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/us/05cows.html

Finding Farm Fresh Close To Home

Change happens slowly over time and it is hardly noticed. Tomatoes, corn and other vegetables at the supermarket take on a bland homogenized taste over time as they are bred for characteristics that make them better at being shipped than eaten. Eventually we take it for granted that fruits and vegetables have no flavor.

The first summer after we moved out of Jersey City, we found a local farm stand and were shocked at how rich and flavorful the fresh Jersey corn and tomatoes were. It became common for us to drive around with an eye out for a new farm stand and it became the norm to supplement what was being grown in the backyard with the flavorful produce of the farm stand.

http://www.localharvest.org/ is a great site which allows you to find farm stands in your area, the products that they sell and the seasons they offer them. Chances are you will be surprised at how many of them are within a short distance from your home and you have maybe even regularly driving past them without even realizing it.

In addition to the farm stands, search for the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms in your area as well. In a CSA, all the members pay an up front fee in exchange for a regular share of the farms harvest. This share usually consists of a weekly basket of whatever is fresh and in season at the farm which is often delivered to a convenient pick up point. It is a convenient way to ensure a steady supply of fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the growing season as well as an opportunity to try new varieties you would not normally find at the supermarket.

We've joined the Mountain Lakes Organic Vegetable Coop and have been getting a weekly basket of organics. The price is reasonable, the taste is better and about once every six weeks or so there is a variety in the basket that we might not have thought to try otherwise.

That Picture In The Header Does Not Look Like New Jersey

The picture in the header was taken in Japan during the summer of 2008 in Osaka prefecture. We were going to go swimming in a river and along the way we passed many small farms and rice fields such as the one in the picture. This was the first time I had ever been out of the city in Japan and shows an aspect of the country that many people might not be as familiar with as those of the crowded streets of Tokyo.

While the picture itself is of an actual farm and this is supposed to be a blog about backyard gardens, it is still a nice, green picture and I think it works well in the header.

In Japan, you see a lot of backyard gardens brimming with eggplants, tomatoes, and cucumbers. It gets very hot and humid early on and by June they are already where we wouldn't be until early August here in the North Eastern United States.

A close up picture of a rice field: