Spring Planting Party this Saturday

If the Wigshop were to be a sorority (one can only dream!), I'd like for us to have two philanthropies: CAC Beardsley Farm and Food in the Fort. We've made friends in both organizations and we really like what they do for our community.

My friend Jess Wilkins has recently been crowned the "Food in the Fort Gardens and Lunch Coordinator" which means she is the liaison between the two groups. She would be the one to come to our chapter meetings and tell us how to be involved.

Let's pretend now we're all dressed in white sitting on the floor of a room in Panhallenic (does that place still exist?). I introduce to you, Jess, Food in the Fort Gardens and Lunch Coordinator.

You may remember reading about CAC Beardsley Community Farm in a posting last October when B wrote about her visit. Well, this time the good people at the farm have teamed up with local nonprofit Food in the Fort, a part of Redeeming Hope Ministries, to bring fresh, locally grown, and sustainably farmed fruits and veggies to the homeless and underprivileged of Knoxville.






















This Saturday their inaugural Spring Planting Party is taking place to kick off the 2011 growing season. It is an opportunity for people to come out to CAC Beardsley Community Farm, take a tour of the farm, learn Gardening 101, and enjoy some coffee and pastries. We will also be planting tomatoes, peppers, cauliflower, and broccoli that will benefit Food in the Fort. If you have no idea about gardening, come and learn. If you have every idea about gardening and want to put your skills to good use, come and show off. If you have nothing to do this Saturday morning come and enjoy what should be lovely weather and an even lovelier cause.

Here is what you need to know:

Saturday, February 19, 2011
9-12 (Rain or Shine) at
CAC Beardsley Community Farm,
(1719 Reynolds Street, Knoxville, TN 37921)

Contact for more information or questions:

865.546.8446,
BeardsleyFarm@gmail.com
Jess@RedeemingHope.com

A courtesy RSVP is warmly encouraged and recommended, but not required. We hope to see you there!

Thanks, Jess. Meeting adjourned.

The truth about Beardsley Farm {it's awesome}

Even though I've heard the name Beardsley Farm thrown around quite a bit the past few years and have participated in Snow Day, their winter fundraiser, for the longest time I've had no idea what they are all about. Until yesterday.



Katie Ries invited me to take a tour of the farm. She is one of four AmeriCorps workers there, and she gave me a much-appreciated rundown of what happens on the urban development farm. If you read no further, just know this: It's really really awesome what Beardsley Farms does.

First, and I think most importantly, did you know that they don't sell any of their produce? Well, I didn't. They give it all away to organizations like the YWCA and Food Not Bombs. They also use organic practices, no pesticides and all that stuff. This philosphy in itself is pretty amazing to me: to give the very best to those that cannot afford it.



Another function of Beardsley is to provide community beds where anyone can coordinate with them about planting and harvesting their own food. Food in the Fort has about five beds that they use for their program to feed the homeless. Something I think is pretty sweet as well is that next to the community beds, they have a gleaners bed with produce that anyone passing by can take.

The more I learned yesterday, the more I wanted to know how to help them.



My first proactive endeavor is to ask you to consider going to their next fundraiser called "Raise the Roots" on Monday November 22. Mahasti Vafaie, owner of the Tomato Head, and head cook of the Maryville T Head, Robert Birkholz, are going to prepare a meal for all those attending to help raise money for the farm. The event is at the Tomato Head in Market Square and you can buy tickets in advance here.



The fact that this private event is at Tomato Head sells itself, and for a mere $25, to have a seated meal prepared by the owner of one of the best restaurants in Knoxville (and maybe the world), with all the planning and preparation that go into events like this, well, it's a steal.

Some of the ingredients will be provided by Beardsley, and Tomato Head is providing the rest. Alcohol is not included but will be available for purchase.

Need a date? As an added bonus you can take Knoxville's 72nd best blogger, yours truly. Take a ticket, gentlemen, and get in line.

***

If you can't attend the event, Here are other ways you can help and support Beardsley Farm:

You can donate money.
You can donate tools, materials, and seeds.
You can donate time by getting your hands a little dirty. Just call or email them.
You can spread the word to your friends and peers.
If you're a teacher, plan a field trip with them.



Oh, and they have bees!!

Beardsley Community Farm
1719 Reynolds Ave.
Knoxville, TN 37921

Urban Farming Redux

Year two for Farmer Pol is looking promising.

I have expanded my beds, refined my layout, and timed my planting more appropriately. Lettuce, kale, sugar snaps, snows, brussels, broccoli, okra, tomatoes, and asparagus are on the menu for spring/ summer and I've got more in the works for summer/ fall.

Things I've learned this year:

- You can plant earlier in downtown than elsewhere because of the radiant heat. We likely average a good 3-5 degrees warmer which extends our growing period by a few weeks.

- Peas need a horizontal support, vertical wrought iron sounded like it would work well but the peas prefer something smaller to latch on to.

- One 4 foot row of Kale is enough for anyone.

- Go easy on the lettuce seeds, their germination rate is closer to 90% than 9% like I assumed.

- Small spaces allow for a more targeted and orderly garden. The design is as important as anything as it is a showpiece and a functional space.

I love my garden. It is big enough to produce enough produce to be practical, but not so big as to be a burden and time sink. I like to think that people headed to the city county building or out for a walk are pleasantly surprised to see such and unexpected thing in the middle of town as a garden.

Come by, enjoy, I'm happy to share (especially the kale). There are two pretty gardens on W. Hill at Henley, mine, of course, and Brian Pittmans just up the street. Neither of us mind if you look.

The Green Contagion

A few weeks ago, I pondered over the question, "Could I commit to only buying my groceries from the Farmer's Market this spring and summer?"

I know you will all be surprised to learn that my answer has turned out to be No.

I actually believe this endeavor could be possible for a highly disciplined person, but I'm afraid that is not me. I have also come to terms with my chronic disdain for grocery shopping, and although shopping in Market Square is more glamorous than going to Kroger, it's still grocery shopping.

but...

I finally made it out to the Farmer's Market on both Wednesday and Saturday this past week. I bought a few things but mostly began warming up to the idea of becoming a regular.

I bought some strawberries (which apparently are coming in fast this year and won't be around much longer) from Mountain Meadows Farm, some bread from VG's Bakery (that is freakishly delicious), and some turnip/mustard greens and spinach from Organicism (a farm run by one very hip looking couple).

I know I didn't buy much, but I'm following the advice of commenters/you to start small and I'm OK with that. I did peruse the other items available and am excited about potential future purchases:

-sheep's milk cheese
-eggs
-milk
-lamb
-maybe a ribeye or two
-salsa
-more greens...

Saturday is the day to go for all of these items; Wednesday is slim pickin's, but there's still enough out there from which to choose.

It's strange, but walking through the Farmer's Market must have sparked an earthy flame in my heart. Last night I walked to the Co-op to give them my once-every-three-month visit. Each time I go there, I like it more and more. I decided to only buy items on sale, and so it didn't end up being too expensive. The cashier was super nice and talked to me about how even single mothers in ghettos form co-ops, a conversation that amused me greatly (in an intellectually stimulating sort of way). Today, one of my neighbors let me take away a bag full of lettuce from his garden, and later on a walk, my friend talked me into eating my very first mulberry off of a tree on 4th Avenue, which made me feel like a true Urban Land Scout. And this week, hopefully, I will start a garden in the backyard of Mr. and Mrs. Lo.

If anything, I'm learning the whole local/green quest takes more effort (or so it seems from the outside) but it's a lot more exciting, engaging, and tangible than scanning my items at the self-checkout at Kroger. (Please don't hear me say I think Kroger is run by the devil. It's not and self-check out is great, but it doesn't hurt to ask how much distance it may be creating between the sources of our food and, in a social sense, the people that sell our food to us.)

Anyway, I haven't completely turned over that organic leaf, but it's being rustled. I like to think that maybe it's made its way onto its side.

You gotta fight for your right to keep chickens in Knoxville

A few months ago ck wrote about the growing interest to change city code to allow hens in Knoxville. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. This is a small step to creating sustainable urban systems and chickens are integral to helping provide healthy nutrition (by way of eggs) and a rich source of soil amendments (through litter composting). Somewhere way back in knoxville’s history (and probably most cities for that matter) a line was drawn to restrict “barnyard” animals from the city. But Knoxville isn't the pioneering the "hen revolution" (see Seattle, Portland (OR), San Francisco, Denver, Fort Collins, Madison, Cedar Falls, Asheville, and Porland (ME) who have all recently changed this archaic and discriminatory practice against chickens!)

Yes, for a long time we did have only horses to get around, and the sights and smells were far from pleasant (read the first chapter of Superfreakonomics if this piques your interest). Maybe chickens were kicked out because they precipitated the perception of backward, no-shoes, toothless Appalachian culture that city-folk wanted to shake. Or maybe it was because a mayor back in the day got attacked by a rooster as a kid. (note: the city code amendment does not allow roosters, only hens) Who knows? But small backyard animals in small numbers like chickens, when If you think about it though, with good housing and clean bedding, are not much different than our typical household pets. In fact, under the new guidelines, chickens would be more regulated than cats and dogs under current city code!

Here are the highlights of the proposed code amendment: 1) annual permit to keep chickens is $25 2) how many chickens you can keep depends on your lot size (starts at 6 hens) 3) you have to keep it clean and have a nice structure (with a $25 building permit) 4) eggs=yes, meat=no (put down your cleaver, ck)

So, my question is this, Knoxvillians- are you with me?

If yes

Send an email to the police chief, mayor, and city council and tell them in what neighborhood you live and that you support the code amendment.

If no (or yes)

Educate yourself more about urban chickens! Go see the movie Mad City Chickens this first Friday from 7-8:30 in the Old City at Remedy Coffee House located at 125 West Jackson Avenue in the Old City!

Knoxville Urban Hen Coalition is teaming up with Three Rivers Market and the Parkridge Community Garden to screen it as part of the effort to educate Knoxville on keeping hens in the city, and to build support for the Proposed Knoxville Ordinance.

Mad City Chickens is a sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical look at the people who keep urban hens in their backyards. From chicken experts and authors to a rescued landfill hen or an inexperienced family that decides to take the poultry plunge—and even a mad professor and giant hen taking to the streets—it’s a humorous and heartfelt trip through the world of backyard chickendom. The movie runs about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Donations will go to support the Parkridge Community Garden.

What to do this weekend

If for some reason you're not going to the Jubliee Festival this weekend (And I think you should, because it sounds awesome), there are two other ways to get out and about in Knoxville.

1. Remember the schoolyard garden at Fulton HS that I mentioned a week or so ago? They're going to get started on Saturday at 10 a.m. Meet at the flagpole at Fulton (Broadway and Woodland) and bring any kind of gardening tools you might have (shovels, wheelbarrows, spades, hoes, whatever you've got!). They really, really want this to be a community garden, but that will only be the case if the community gets involved. Check out their Facebook page here.

2. The Knox County Library is celebrating five years of the Imagination Library with an event called the Great Cake Bake at the L&N on Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. There will be neato cakes to view, a cake-decorating contest, cakewalk and cakes and cookbooks for sale. Chef Walter will be there too doing some sort of demonstration. Tickets are $5, and proceeds benefit Imagination Library (you know, the service started by Dolly Parton that sends free books to kiddos).

Y'all have no excuse to sit around the house this weekend now!

Thoughts on the season to come...

I'm currently planning out my early garden and have recently had two mild obsessions as far as my agri-urban life goes.


First, what nut trees would work well in Knoxville? I've looked into pecan, which may be an option but the maturity is 12 years or more. Does anyone out there know of any productive nut trees in our area, are any on public property? And in the same vein, are there any fruit trees that people have access to?


Hat tip The Daily Green

Second, I've read articles about urban bee raising, Mrs. The Pol is not excited about this. Apparently, it is possible to have bee hives on top of building and harvest honey made with the pollen and flavors of downtown Knoxville- tempting I know. Does anyone already do this in Downtown? Would this be a crazy idea?

Feedback please...

Schoolhouse gardens rock

Community gardens (and personal gardens for that matter) are a good thing. They encourage a community to come together to create a beautiful space that everyone can enjoy. The ones that include edible items? Well that's just a big fat bonus.


I was thrilled to hear that Amber Houser, a science teacher at Fulton High School in North Knoxville, and some of her fellow teachers and students are working on creating a schoolyard community garden with the idea of possibly providing some fresh food for use at the Fulton cafeteria and maybe even hosting a farmer's market if their garden yields enough.

And in true community garden fashion, Amber is inviting the community to be a part of the process. The teachers and students would love to have some help from those who know about gardening especially in the planning stages -- how to create the garden, what to plant, how to raise money to cover the costs, etc. etc.

So if you're interested in helping out, there will be an informational meeting with Amber and some of the student leaders at 4:15 p.m. in room 403 at Fulton (Woodland at Broadway). Some of the discussion topics will include organizing some neighborhood workdays, funding, composting and timeline for planting.

What a great way to introduce community gardening to high school students. I can't be there Thursday, but I want to encourage everyone who's interested to attend. I'll try to keep you informed on the progress of the garden.