March-April 2010 edition

T H E

V I L L A G E G R E E N

FLORIDAECONET.NET

THE VILLAGE GREEN IS A PROJECT OF THE FLORIDA ECONET

March-April, 2010 Volume 1, Issue 8 FREE

DID A TURTLE BRING MY FOOD?

page 4

LOVIN’ THAT KIMCHI page 7

HAPPY COWS

Love Daytona page 5

WE’RE TINKERING... page 2

A PLANTER WITH A VIEW page 5

FRESH FOOD FOR

THOUGHT End the Trend

page 6

HER LUCKY MARKET GARDEN

page 3

Page 2 The V i l lage Green Volume 1, I ssue 8

We’re tinkering... Shannon McLeish, editor and Ciana Maglio, publisher

Okay, maybe a bit more than tinkering…. We’re talking metamorphosis, Green Beans. We’re flowing with the tide, following the road where it may lead, embracing our destiny, shooting for the heights – and yet, keeping it real and staying true to our roots. Go Green Daytona will be changing its name to Florida EcoNet in order to better reflect its mission to be a network and resource for businesses, consumers, non-profits, and others interested in becoming more green or connecting to other green groups. Please, give a big round of applause for our new Coordina-tor, Nicole Miller. Nicole has been an inspiring and active member for over six months and has a stellar reputation with us, as well as her customers and colleagues at Bene-dict Advertising. We are privileged to have her expertise, fortitude, and contagious enthusiasm. Furthermore, we will no longer act as an umbrella group with various committees. The Education and ECOnomics committees have agreed to start their own nonprofit, but keep the mission to educate the community on how to go green. They will now be known as Eco.nomics.edu. They have also chosen to continue helping with EcoNet’s pilot project of turning the downtown Daytona Beach area into a green district – and we couldn’t be more grateful for their collaboration. For more information on Eco.nomics.edu, please visit http://ene-inc.ning.com/ We will continue to further our collaborations with Teens Go Green, the Fair Share Urban Garden Project, Green Hal-loween®, and the Daytona Beach Partnership Association. We are in the process of forming a more active collabora-tion with the Art Consortium of Volusia County, the Environ-mental Council of Volusia Flagler, and Turning Point Youth Collective. Our new website is under construction at the moment, but we will be certain to let everyone know as soon as it is up and running. It will be a Ning.com based site and we would love for all of our supporters to join us at http://floridaeconet.net As always, we would love to hear from you. Try our new email address, [email protected] Thank you for your past and continued support.

Shannon and Ciana PS: Don’t forget to become a fan of the Florida EcoNet on

Facebook.

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Chasing the Green Organic Planting at Pauline’s Lucky Market Garden by Pauline Copello

It's 9:00 a.m., breakfast is done, my son is in school, and I wander outside. The air feels crisp now, but I suspect by noon it will warm up considerably. I need to harvest spring mix, pea tendrils, and collard greens for my Tuesday delivery, but first the baby plants in the hoop house have to be watered. So begins another day on the farm.

The hoop house, basically just a metal frame with clear thick plastic pulled over it, provides a buffer from extreme cold and shelter from heavy rains and drying winds. When spring transitions into summer the plastic is replaced by a heavy shade cloth. It's low tech but it's a big value, helping to ensure good germination and strong growth. I have thought about upgrading to something bigger with automatic sprinklers, but for now I pull out a long hose and do the watering by hand. Inside the hoop house, the trays soak up the well water quickly as it rolls off the crowded lime green and deep crimson mini romaine and oak leaf lettuces, feathery mizuna, and red Russian kale seedlings. Some will be ready to transplant in a few weeks. I have to reseed them all regularly to have a continuous supply! By 9:30, I'm cutting tender baby lettuce into waxed cardboard boxes. I move down the rows quickly so the delicate leaves don't wilt. Harvesting the spring mix is gratifying work, blending textures, shapes, flavors and colors. I add a splash of baby bok choy leaves and some tendrils from my pea plants. Now that's a great looking salad! Today's harvest is 16 pounds, but when things really get rolling in another month it should be closer to 50 pounds. Leaving the harvested spring mix in the shade, I take my scissors to the front field to gather collard greens. I harvest dinner plate sized leaves from the base of huge plants to be bunched later in the barn. I count them as I go to make sure I have enough to fill my order. Then I toss in some extras for my dinner tonight. I like them best sliced into narrow rib-bons, cooked briefly in boiling water, and seasoned with olive oil and salt. As I pull my loaded wagon back to the barn, I am reminded of the best parts of farming. Even when things get very busy and hectic, it's that rewarding feeling of pride from growing fresh quality veggies folks look forward to putting on their tables that keeps me heading back out to the fields each day. Pauline Copello lives in Barberville where she cultivates a one acre minifarm. She gained much of her knowledge and inspiration at Persephone Farm, a certified organic farm in Lebanon, Oregon, where she spent 3 growing seasons Her farm, Pauline's Lucky Market Garden, was one of the featured stops in the 2007 Volusia County Annual Farm Tour. She has been providing spring mix, lettuces, and a variety of specialty vegetables to local, restaurants, stores and buying clubs for over 7 years. She also designed and helped install Ellis's Garden, a project at the Pioneer Settlement for the Creative Arts in the fall of 2008. She recently was accepted as a member of the Daytona Beach Downtown Farmers' Market Committee. Pauline can be contacted at (386) 589-3118.

As I pull my loaded wagon back to the barn, I am reminded of the best parts of farming.

Gripe, the Green Guru Why Buy Fresh and Local? What in the World is Slow Food? (Did a Turtle Bring it?)

Ok, let’s start with a question, and by the time you read to the end of my ravings, you’ll be sure to have the answer. (And you might even be inspired to make a few life changes, too.) Which is the more “sustainable choice”? Buying an organic mango trucked into Florida from Mexico, or an or-ganic Mango bought at your local Farmers’ Market straight from the grower? When we buy produce from our local grocery store, we are most likely supporting a farmer hundreds of miles away from our own community; sometimes even in a different country. Now I say “supporting” in a very liberal sense, because the average farmer only receives 18 cents on the dollar for the price you pay for his hard earned goods. Additionally, one has to consider the environmental impact of the gas emissions needed to get that produce to our local area. On the other hand, when consumers buy from local growers, whether at a local store or a Farmers’ Market, they are enabling the farmer to receive the highest pay for his product, supporting local community, enabling fewer toxic emissions, as well as eating food statistically higher in nutrients than those purchased at your local grocery store. (Didn’t know that last fact, did ya?) Now, you might be thinking, Hey, I eat organic. My food is healthier, right? Although, old traditional or heirloom methods of organic farming do yield crops often 30-80 percent higher in nutritional value than conventionally grown pro-duce, the longer it takes your food to go from harvest to table, the less nutrients it will contain by the time it is consumed. Why? Respiration.

Respiration? Yeah, when I first heard that term the image that came to my mind was some weird Frankenstein vegeta-ble with little lungs and an oxygen mask while in transit. Thankfully, my warped imagination wasn’t quite accurate. Respi-ration is actually the physiological process where plants take nutrients and convert it to energy. While growing, plants upload nutrients from the soil, but after harvest, respiration still continues. However, since the plant no longer has soil as an advantage, it must use its own nutrients to continue to make energy. So the longer it takes for your vegetable to go from its mother-stem to your mouth, the less nutrients it contains. (Gives a better understanding of the term “fresh pro-duce” doesn’t it?)

Slow Food. There is a national nonprofit with thousands of sup-porters and over 200 chapters, globally as well as nationally, that is actively working to make our food system sustainable. It is Slow Food USA. Slow Food’s mission is “to create dramatic and lasting change in the food system; reconnect Americans with the people, traditions, plants, animals, fertile soils and waters that pro-duce our food; and work to inspire a transformation in food policy, production practices and market forces so that they ensure equity, sustainability and pleasure in the food we eat.” The Answer. I guess that is pretty obvious by now, isn’t it? So, the next time you’re getting ready for


a trip to the grocery store, consider a detour to the Farmers’ Market and think about what your support of local produce means to you and your community. Being a Slow Food supporter is more than promotion of buying fresh and local, backyard gardens, home-made food, and connections to en-vironmentally supportive restau-rants. Slow Food members work to cultivate healthy communities, revi-talize traditions, raise public aware-ness, strengthen local economies, and encourage the togetherness, fulfillment, and pride that used to be synonymous with the creation and enjoyment of food. Try chewing on that.

Until next time…

...some weird Frankenstein vegetable with little lungs and an oxygen mask...


A Planter with a View by Debra Parsons, CDA

Green Gems Why is She the Slow Food Director?

by Trish Strawn

Deep Creek Ranch produces superior tasting, tender, nutri-tious, and safe grass-fed meats available for direct sale to Florida consumers only. We believe foods are best con-sumed close to where they are grown. Since 1883, our family owned and operated ranch has produced food on our land near De Leon Springs. The cattle and sheep are naturally raised, always free of added hormones, growth enhancers, antibiotics, and other chemicals. Our animals graze on native pastures. Production of our fully matured meats is as unhurried as in Great Grandfather and Grandmother Strawn’s time. The Ranch’s operations are entirely consistent with the philosophy of Slow Food, a movement that links food and its producers with a healthy community and environment. Deep Creek Ranch embraces the Slow Food philosophy. The ranch focuses on local marketing and consumption. We believe in management integrity, carefully selected genetics, environmentally sound practices, choice forages and grasses, sensitive health care, and humane treatment. We owe much of our success to the Slow Food chapters across the state of Florida. As the movement expands, we now sell to chefs across Florida. Trisha Strawn, Ranch Sales and Marketing Director, has been honored to serve as Co-Leader of Slow Food Or-lando. It takes up a great deal of her time, but she believes that we should feed Florida from Florida and is willing to assist anyone who is interested in eating local food. The Slow Food Orlando Convivium covers seven counties and has over one hundred farms and better than one thousand consumers as members. It is particularly exciting to us that consumers are eager to support local farms. If you would like further information about Slow Food Orlando, please visit www.SlowFoodOrlando.org. Our family has worked hard to provide superior beef and lamb to an informed and discerning market. We firmly be-lieve that our customers are getting the best possible prod-ucts. We hope that you will try our grass fed and grass finished meat. We unconditionally guarantee your satisfac-tion, and the marvelous quality of our healthy products. Please visit our website www.DeepCreekRanch.us to learn more about purchasing our meats and about our family ranch. Come visit Deep Creek Ranch at the Daytona Beach

Downtown Farmers’ Market. The Downtown Farmers’ Mar-

ket is located on City Island near 105 E Magnolia Avenue.

It is open every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

If you’re thinking of starting a garden or just looking to sprout some seeds, this is a very environmentally friendly, educational and fun way to do so with your children. You will need: 1 Half gallon cardboard container - any product- rinsed and dry 2 to 3 cups potting soil 6 seeds - your choice 2 cups water or your watering can The following tools: Scissors, clear plastic wrap, masking or duct tape, rubber band and a small garden shovel. To prepare the container, it needs to be clean. Measure 4" from the bottom. Adults may need to cut and puncture this project. Cut the upper part off and recycle. Carefully puncture the bottom of the planter with three to four holes at least 1" apart for the excess water to drain. To create the window for your planter, on one side of the bottom portion place a cut ½" from the corner, straight down to ½" from the bottom. On the other corner of the same side, make the same cut ½" from the corner and ½" from the bottom. Fold the flap down at the ½" base. Place a 3½" wide and 6" inch long strip of plastic wrap centered over the window. Tape the plastic wrap to the sides of the planter. Fold the flap back up. Place a rubber band around the top of the planter to hold the window closed. Place about 2 cups of soil in the planter. Place three seeds across the back side of the planter and three seeds directly next to the plastic wrap on the soil in the front of the planter. Add more soil according to the needs of the seeds. Water well. You may want to place your planter on a decorative plate or a planter tray to catch the draining water. Be sure to check your planter every day and water according to the needs of the seeds. In a week, you can lift the rubber band and carefully peek at the seeds to watch them sprout. Later, you can watch the roots grow as the plant grows. May the fruit of your labor bring joy to your soul. Debra Parsons is the director of WHOLE (Wise Holistic Observations of our Living Environment), empowering families on the journey of edification. The class focuses on positive Interaction and conscientious stewardship. For more information, call (386) 675-8907.ook.


Springtime… and once again all across America organic gardeners are turning rich earth growing fresh, nutritious food for the kitchen table. This time of year there are thou-sands of people diggin’ this growing trend. Many of these smiling green people are backyard gardeners. Many living in cities large and small are diggin’ a community garden along with dozens of other happy gardeners from the area. Many organic gardeners are diggin’ in containers on patios, walkways, and rooftops.

Fresh Greens End the Trend

by Joel Tippens

Organic gardeners take pride in their efforts and each spring always marvel at the little mysterious miracle of those first sprouts pushing through the soil and reaching for the sunlight that gives life and vitality. The planting, the cultivation, the harvest, the preparation, the meal… all cherished moments of personal satisfaction that all gardeners share in common as the “grow your own” trend continues growing every spring. Another movement spreading across the land springs from folks taking it to the next level. These are the new organic farmers. The new farmers are a diverse breed of citizens who have recognized the need to bring sustainability to our food system and have answered the call by rolling up their sleeves and sowing the seeds of a better way; doing battle with the status quo of modern industry and creating cultural connections with consumers who prefer to buy local in that quest for freshness.

This new breed of farmer labors with love of land and country… and city! Urban

farmers are utilizing unused vacant lots and transforming them into lush, fertile green spaces amidst the steel and glass and concrete and asphalt. Sustainable urban agriculture has great potential simply because of the advantages of bring-ing the farm to the greater population centers, as well as potentially creating new jobs within low-income neighborhoods. The quest for fresh food is a growing trend in America… but it must become so much more. Shouldn’t our food system be sustainable? Or are we simply a complacent and trendy people? Will America need a wake-up call? Americans could learn a lot about sustainable agriculture from some of our closest neighbors living just beyond Key West… in Havana, Cuba. In 1989 there was a wake-up call and it ushered in what is called the “Special Period.” Follow-ing the collapse of the Soviet Union, which coincided with the tightening U.S. trade embargo, Cuba’s industrialized agri-culture system began breaking down almost overnight as imports of fuel, machinery parts, and petro-based fertilizers stopped. The Caribbean nation was plunged into the worst food crisis in its history. Food was rationed. People were mal-nourished. But what began with small urban gardens among desperate residents soon resulted in a national strategy for restructur-ing agriculture. Conventional large-scale, high input monoculture systems (like ours in the U.S.) were converted to smaller scale, organic and sustainable farming systems with an emphasis on using low cost and environmentally safe natural inputs. Relocating production closer to consumers cut down on transportation costs. Urban agriculture blossomed, and by 1994, the city of Havana had broken ground for more than 8,000 city farms. Even the front lawns of municipal buildings were cultivated and offices and schools were growing their own food. Now, sustainable urban agriculture produces about 60 percent of all vegetables consumed in Cuba. The lessons to be learned should be clear. Cuba has developed a proven time-tested model that could not only be replicated here in the U.S. but would also serve well in the rebuilding of Haiti following the devastating, catastrophic earthquake that struck on January 12th. The people of Haiti want to be free of dependency on imports – as they once were. Haiti must be empowered to feed Haiti. Here in America it is springtime, and the good news is that growing organically and the quest for freshness is a growing

trend. But the bad news is that a trend will never be enough. America needs a fresh food revolution. Join. Joel Tippens is the director of the Fair Share Urban Garden Project. For more information visit http://wedigfairhsare.org

Little Green Apples Lovin’ that Kimchi

by NCL Farms

At NCL Farms we are concerned about healthy and right living. In addition to offering organically and naturally grown Florida produce, we also like to pickle just about anything that can be pickled. And speaking of pickling, have you ever tried kimchi? If not, you should! For all of you kimchi lovers, you know what I’m talking about. Kimchi is an ancient Korean recipe that we have adopted into our diets. It has been ranked as one of the top five healthiest foods in the world. Proven to aid digestion, it is high in vitamins and some studies indicate it could possibly reduce cancer growth. Did I mention good taste, too? Not only is kimchi healthy; it tastes amazing! NCL Farms currently sells two different kinds of kimchi, as well as offering some recipe ideas for making the most of this tasteful and fully healthful food. Traditional kimchi is made with Napa cabbage, garlic, ginger, leeks, and green onions in a fiery red pepper sauce and anchovy paste that is reminiscent of most traditional Korean kimchi. We also sell a daikon radish kimchi that is truly to “die” for. A helpful website is www.lovethatkimchi.com, if you’re looking for more on the history of this wonderful food or to find more recipes like the one below:


SHARE A Little Green Apple

by sending your recipe submission to

floridaeconet @gmail.com

Ingredients: Baechu (Napa cabbage, 10 pounds), salt, sweet rice flour, sugar, water, garlic, ginger, onion, fish sauce, salty squid, hot pepper flakes, leek, green onions, carrot, radish. Directions: 1. Trim the discolored outer leaves of 10 pounds of napa cabbage. 2. Cut the cabbage length wise into quarters and re move the cores. Chop it up into bite size pieces. 3. Soak the pieces of cab bage in cold water and put the soaked cabbage into a large basin. Sprinkle salt. *tip: 1 cup of salt will be used for 10 pounds of napa cabbage 4. Every 30 minutes, turn the cabbage over to salt evenly (total salting time will be 1½ hours). 5. 1½ hours later, rinse the cabbage in cold water 3 times to clean it thoroughly. 6. Drain the cabbage and set aside.

Make porridge: 1. Put 3 cups of water and ½ cup sweet rice flour (chapssal garu) in a pot and mix it well and bring to a boil. Keep stirring until the porridge makes bubbles (about 5 minutes). 2. Add ¼ cup sugar. Stir and cook for a few more minutes until it’s translu cent. Let it cool. Make kimchi paste: 1. Place the cold porridge into a large bowl. Now you will add all your ingredients one by one. 2. Add 1 cup of fish sauce, 2.5 cups of hot pep per flakes (depending on your taste), 1 cup of crushed garlic, 1-2 tbs of minced ginger, 1 cup of minced onion. *tip: Much easier to use a food processor. 3. Wash and drain the salty squid. Chop it up and add it to the kimchi paste. 4. Add 10 diagonally- sliced green onions, 2 cups of chopped leeks, 2 cups of julienned Korean radish, and ¼ cup of

julienned carrot. 5. Mix all ingredients well and your kimchi paste is done. Action! Mix the cabbage with the kimchi paste! 1. Put the kimchi paste in a large basin and add all the cabbage. Mix it by hand. *tip: If your basin is not large enough to mix all the ingredients at once, do it bit by bit. 2. Put the kimchi into an air-tight plastic container or glass jar. 3. You can eat it fresh right after making or wait a couple of days or until it’s fermented.

Please stop by and sample some of ours. You can find us at the Ormond Beach Farmers’ Market every Thursday morning, and on Saturday mornings at the New Smyrna Beach Farmers’ Market and Downtown Farmers’ Market in Daytona Beach. Thanks for supporting Florida growers and healthy eat-ing. We hope to see you soon!

Contact

Editor:

Shannon McLeish

McEditing.com

386-672-5028

Publisher:

Ciana Maglio

Green Halloween®

386-676-0011

(386) 668-1860

Coordinator:

Nicole Miller

Benedict Advertising

[email protected]

(561) 843-3948

Cover Art

“In the Garden” by

Sarah Barnaby

Sarah Barnaby moved to Florida from Georgia in the 1980s. Inspired by her great-grandmother, an artist in North Georgia, Sarah’s early paintings were rustic attempts at landscapes, but in 2004 she chose a more serious approach and began studies under Deborah Elmquist, who taught old master techniques for still life. This gave her the basics she needed to paint in earnest. She has also studied under Barbara Perotti to learn land-scapes, and under Toelle Hovan and Linda Thale Barnett. Since then, she has painted both still lifes and landscapes in oil, acrylic, and pastels. Ms. Barnaby is a member of the Artist Workshop in New Smyrna Beach, Palette and Brush Club, and one of the founders and co-coordinators of the Art Consortium of Volusia County. Sarah’s art style is a combination old master and impressionistic landscape. The old master style helps her develop the light and dark contrasts ef-fectively while the impressionistic aspect helps her to produce softness in the backgrounds. She mainly works with oils, a preferred medium since her high school years, but occasionally produces work in acrylic and pastels. Sarah enjoys toying with various painting sizes of both large and small scale. Many of her customers favor her minia-tures, which have been called "little jewels." Recently, Ms. Barnaby has begun a series of Car-ibbean figures in island settings. The painting "In the Garden" is oil on a 4"X6" canvas panel in-spired by the vision of an elderly man working in a garden near the ocean. To contact Ms. Barnaby please email [email protected], or better yet visit her during First Friday Fest in downtown Daytona Beach, every first Friday of the month from 5 to 9pm.

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March-April 2010 edition