Anxious

This week is the busiest week for Team Green, and any organization supporting an environmental cause... it's Earth Day week. In fact, all of April is Earth Month and for the past six weeks Nashville has been bombarded by green gadgets and gimmicks. It is a shame that the community really only comes together once a year to celebrate the Earth. All woes aside, Nashville Earth Day Festival is this Saturday and, amongst others, Team Green has been running around trying to make this the best Earth Day event Nashville has ever seen.

Meanwhile, I've been running around trying to close on my new house. I guess I should call it my new house, since I'm honestly afraid the loan won't go through. Because of the housing market fall, terrorism, bail outs, and dirty money all across the United States, honest people like me are being scrutinized and turned down on honest investments. Wish me luck. I'll post again when a final say on my status as homeowner is determined for me. Lame.

The Beautiful Truth

I watched a very interesting documentary with my roommates the other night, call The Beautiful Truth. It covers the research done by a teenage boy who looks deeper into the disappointments of cancer cures and a simple, beautiful truth that so many of us ignore. The food we eat impacts our immune system, so by subscribing to an all natural, organic diet, we empower ourselves to cure our own cancers. The documentary also discusses the presence of mercury in amalgam dental fillings and the real impact of fluoride on our health. Not everyone will agree with everything in the documentary, but it will with out a doubt get you thinking.

The primary focus of the documentary is the Gerson Therapy:

A natural treatment developed by Dr. Max Gerson in the 1920’s that uses organic foods, juicing, coffee enemas, detoxification and natural supplements to activate the body’s ability to heal itself. Over the past 60 years, thousands of people have used the Gerson Therapy to recover from so-called “incurable” diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.

A word of warning however: the narrator's voice is on the side of story teller creepy. You'll know what I mean. Eventually you get used to it, so don't let his voice discourage you from welcoming the content.

In Your System

It's such a shame that so many people missed out on last night's Engage Green. We still had a decent crowd, with about 15 in attendance, but nothing to compare to last month's 40 count. All three presenters did a great job covering their topic and providing wonderful research tips about CSAs in general. I want to give a huge thank you to Jennifer & Tim, Tana, and Sizwe.

Our first presenter was Sizwe with Earth Matters. He discussed permaculture and the importance of engaging in a culture that can be sustainable by living off the land and giving back to the land. His Community Garden collects leaves from all around Nashville and creates art piles to compost. To enrich the compost with nitrogen, they also collect old coffee grounds from Starbucks and other food scraps to mix in with the decaying leaves. This compost can be picked up for FREE to add to your soil at home. The only thing they ask is that the compost be used to grow food, not flowers and shrubs.

Our second presenter was Tana with Eaton's Creek Organics. She is the farmer for a certified organic farm here in Davidson county (near Joelton). She focused on the history of CSA programs in the United States and abroud. Did you know that the food we eat travels an average of 1500 miles before it arrives at our dinner table? That's just an average. Some of our food travels more than 3000 miles. Think of the reduction in your carbon footprint when you choose to purchase your food from only 15 miles away.

Our third presenter was Tim with Avalon-Acres. Below is an outline of the presentation he gave:

What is a CSA?

• Community, corporate, or congregation Supported Agriculture
• Subscription based farming in which members share in the harvest, for good or bad
• Regular deliveries for 26 weeks
• Members receive assistance in preparing food (recipes, ideas, new foods to try)
• The members build a connectedness with the local land, weather, and other members

Why buy local?

• Livestock: Animals are outside on pastures, with no hormones or antibiotics because they are treated humanely. Did you know that commercially raised animals require antibiotics because the stress of living in confined space makes them susceptible to diseases? Did you know that those antibiotics get into our systems and the systems of the other animals and creates a resistance to those antibiotics, which makes it more difficult to cure ailments?
• Produce: Bio dynamic and diverse, sustainable growing methods are encouraged while the use of unnatural fertilizers and pesticides are discouraged. Many CSAs also work in conjunction with other local farms to build the variety of produce and meats offered.
• Food is picked ripe: When you purchase a tomato from the grocery store and throw it on the ground, it will likely bounce. Tomatoes should not bounce, they should splatter! Commercially farmed produce is picked premature and is artificially ripened after traveling across the nation to your town.
• Local Supporting Local: More money from a CSA goes directly to the farmer ($0.55 compared to $0.09 at grocery stores), and in turn the farmer uses that money to support other local businesses as they buy supplies and other living expenses.
• Knowledge: You have the ability to speak directly with the farmer about who grows the food, how the food and meat is grown and packaged, and where the food comes from. You also become aware of how you are intricately connected to this planet... you notice the development of rain clouds in time of drought, and how the seasonal changes affect the types of food that can be produced.
  
• Health: You eat much healthier food with a greater variety of food choices in season.
• Preservation: Heirloom and Heritage varieties of plants and animals are preserved. By purchasing a Heritage variety turkey from a CSA, you help encourage the reproduction and spreading of a dying species.
• Connection to the Community: Tim started to tear up he as spoke of one of his members. They told him, "My favorite day is Wednesday (drop off day) because I get to sit on the patio with my daughter and shuck peas before dinner. Because of you my family is closer than it ever was before."

At the end of the presentation, everyone who attended was given a FREE dozen organic eggs, courtesy of Avalon-Acres. Growing season has started and many CSAs around Tennessee begin deliveries by the end of April, early May. Don't miss out on your chance to enroll in a CSA. In the Local Table Magazine you can find a very extensive list of local CSAs along with a chart of what food is naturally in season when.

CSA is the Way

I brainstormed some ideas to water seal my worm composting bin. Beeswax seems like the best option, but is probably pretty expensive. Olive oil is also a good option that may turn out to be expensive. I think I may go with canola oil or vegetable oil. Unfortunately, it keeps raining so I haven't had a chance to test it out on the bin yet.

Tonight is Engage Green: Community Supported Agriculture. I'm pretty excited about this one. I've been wanting to enroll in a CSA program for the past year, but I learned about it too late in the game and enrollment had already filled up. From what I understand, each week you get a box of fresh produce from the farm (and eggs or meat if you selected those packages). However, each box is filled based on what produce was most recently picked, so each week you get a different selection. Sometimes you'll end up with a bunch of corn, and the next week a bunch of peppers, and the next week a bunch of egg plant, so you need to become creative in how you cook your meals. Otherwise, you'll get sick of corn... or peppers... or egg plants! I embrace the challenge. My crockpot might become my new best friend this year. Another thing is that a bushel, or even a half bushel, of produce is actually a very large amount for one person. You may need to pitch in with your roommate, friends, or co-workers to split up the produce, and the cost.

Tonight we have Eaton's Creek Organics, Avelon Acres, and Earth Matters presenting on different CSA program types. Eaton Creek Organics will focus on the benefits of organic practices, Avelon Acres will present on the benefits of supporting local farms, and Earth Matters will present on community gardens and how to really engage in the cultivation of the food you eat. To find out more about tonight's Engage Green, visit TeamGreenOnline.com!

Coffee Stains

After all my hours of hard labor last year building a worm bin for my worm composting, the roomies and I decided it just wasn't up to par. It sat low to the ground, was made out of chemical soaked plywood and, well, I'm not a carpenter. So, Jim and I built a new bin that is raised, with storage space below, hinged doors to keep the compose shaded for the worms, and screened windows (or skylights as Shane puts it) to allow some rain water and fresh air in. I really wanted to stain it, but the guys were against the idea. "That compost is going into the garden, too feed the plants you'll eat from," they said. Most stains have strong chemicals and preservatives in them, which can be absorbed by plants and grown into the food you eat.

Then my brilliant sister came up with a plan, "Coffee stains everything else, maybe it'll stain wood." Sure enough, we filled a bowl with pre-ground dark coffee roast (that none of us liked), ran some water through the coffee maker to heat it up (PS. it's a great way to heat water quickly for tea and hot cocoa), poured the hot water in the bowl, stirred it and allowed the grounds to seep. Then I took an old wash cloth, soaked it in the bowl, and squeezed the fresh brewed coffee on the wood. I also made some swirls in the wet coffee puddles on top of the wood for effect. After a few hours of letting it soak, the wood bin now has a nice honey mocha stain to it... and smells like coffee. Not to mention, I saved about $15 by not buying stain. If I want to weather proof it, I can probably rub some beeswax or coconut oil over it. I'll need to look into those options some more...

I broke my camera on the last caving trip with Team Green, so I can't show a picture now. But if I ever do take a picture of the new bin, I'll be sure to post it.