Section » Agtivism: Growing, cooking, doing
Contain your enthusiasm: Review of “From Container To Kitchen”
As an apartment-dweller, I know the frustration of not having enough soil to call my own for a garden. (Why do you think I garden in other people's yards?) For many years,
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Getting Lodi’d: It’s raining apples!
When nature calls on the farm, we listen. Meaning, when a fruit with a short shelf life becomes suddenly ripe, there's no choice but to drop everything else. Did you know there are 7,500
When push comes to chèvre at Lucky Penny Creamery
Before Local Roots Market opened late last year, we expected gaps in the products offered. One specific category of products –- cheese –- kept us from limiting our definition of "local" to "within 100 miles" as we weren't sure how many cheesemakers we
Battling the bugs—and the temptation to use chemical WMDs
Off to war against the weed-lurking worms. (Steph Larsen photos) I'm at war with the common stalk borer. As much as I believe in sustainability and chemical-free agriculture in theory, I've never been more
Chicken expert Gail Damerow answers newbie questions
Cluck, cluck, cluck. Bwaak! These are not sounds I expect to hear on a stroll in my North Oakland, Calif. neighborhood -- the usual soundtrack is more like thumping bass, sirens, and the rattle of fast-food paper bags. And yet chickens are pecking in backyards on practically every block, in converted
Mapping the farm with my ears
Ever since taking a cartography class in graduate school, I've had a penchant for maps. Full of information, they elegantly highlight places and ideas that we may have missed otherwise. As a visual person, I can appreciate the splashes of color and clean designs. But not all maps are visual. We can
Survey explores why Americans garden, but not why they don’t
[Update 6/24/10: corrected heading for column 2 in table] With a terrible economy and lots of coverage of gardening in the mass media, more and more Americans are growing food in home and community gardens. According to a 2009 survey, almost a third of American households intended to grow food that year,
Growing with the grain: Review of “Homegrown Whole Grains”
As you may have guessed by now, I love to bake. And since part of my self-employment now entails baking goods to sell at Local Roots, I'm keenly interested both in sourcing what grains and flours I can find locally — as well as growing what I can. Thanks
So long office, hello farm!
Maybe there's something in the air (or soil or water). Maybe it's the growing (no pun intended) interest in farming around the country. Maybe... it's just time. How else do you explain not one, but three Ethicurean contributors heading off into a new field? Unlike Stephanie
The first rule of farming: Be prepared
(Steph Larsen photos)Everyone knows the Boy Scouts' motto: Be Prepared. While my immediate inclination is to ask "For what?", it's as good a command as any to live by. One at which I failed miserably last week. I came home from work and went out to the sheep paddocks to make sure they looked healthy
Two recipes – and lots of opinions – from ‘Farmers Market Desserts’ author Jennie Schacht
Summer fruits from the farmers market are the supermodels of the produce world. Just like Heidi Klum doesn't need makeup
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Students slice and dice for a better future in ‘Pressure Cooker’ documentary
With a supervisor who doesn't mince words and likes to yell, men and women battling over hot stoves for their big chance, and a ticking clock and other on-camera conventions, Pressure Cooker could be mistaken for a
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Michael Pollan on the rise of the food movement(s)
Pollan nation: In what is ostensibly a five-book review for the June 10 New York Review of Books, journalist Michael Pollan has an epic essay charting the emergence and character of the food movement. Or, as he puts
Green acreage: A farm by any other name
The full spread (Steph Larsen photos) Editor's note: In a new series called Green Acreage, Steph Larsen chronicles the sprouting of a small but sustainable Nebraska property. --------------------------------- Last December,
The Edible Schoolyard brings learning to life
The cover story of this week's East Bay Express has a provocative teaser: "Berkeley's Edible
