Skip to main content

Eat Local!

Today is the beginning of a 2-week challenge to eat local. I can't begin to write constructively about the need for us to "eat local" since so many have done it so well already. Read more about local foods here.

We are personally interested in the eat local campaign because we see that it helps with the economic sustainability of small farms. If you buy direct, at farm stands or markets, the farmer gets the majority of the money and may approach a living wage. If you buy at the large box store, generally you are supporting corporate farms. There is a time and a place for corporate farms. America cannot be fed by small farms exclusively. But the small farmers cannot compete on the same playing field as the corporate farms, and are going out of business at an alarming rate.

Would you please do ONE thing during this 2-week challenge? Visit a farmer's market you haven't been to before. Buy and try a new veggie at the market. Click on the map at Local Harvest to see who's in your area. Or do something of your own choosing--just do it!

Bon appetit!

Comments

  1. I have only been to our farmer's market twice this summer due to us being gone so many weekends, but I promise to go tomorrow morning!!

    Thanks for this great reminder and your valuable perspective as a small family farmer.

    Do you guys have any kind of produce stand, or is your garden just for your use?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pam,

    We eat most of what our garden produces. Sometimes we give away what we don't use. Just haven't made that leap to raising veggies for others for cash yet.

    Thanks for taking the challenge!

    ReplyDelete
  3. We try to eat local as we can -- no farmer's markets nearby but there are a couple of fruit stands, and I buy from them on occasion. Will do more, I promise!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bloggy Giveaway--Now Closed

**This bloggy giveaway is now closed** Thanks to all who participated and gave such great comments. Janette is the winner of the $15 gift certificate to our etsy store . I'm participating in the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival . Click the link to go to the carnival where you can enter to win literally hundreds of things. The good news is that even if you have no time to play on the computer trying to win hundreds of things, you can still enter to win one thing right here. This week, I will be giving away a $15 gift certificate to be used toward the purchase of an item in my etsy shop . This contest is open to residents of the United States or Canada only. The winner will receive free shipping on whatever item they choose. Items in my etsy shop include handwoven rugs, wool yarns and roving from our farm, and the ever-popular cotton dishcloth! To be entered in this wonderful drawing, you must go to the etsy shop and look around a bit. Then come back here and type a comment that

Haying 101

A few posts back, "deep end of the loom" (love that name!) asked me to tell a bit more about the haying process. If you want my version, read on. If you'd like to read the official wikipedia version, click here . Haying happens in three steps: cutting, raking and baling. This process takes several days, as the hay must be dry when baled. Moist hay molds and heats up and has even been known to spontaneously combust, burning down the barn. Gotta have dry hay. This first photo is of our haybine. The haybine not only cuts the hay, it also crimps each piece of long grass in several places, to allow for faster drying. We usually cut hay in the early afternoon, when the dew is gone. When we're done, long row of cut grass lie waiting. The hay is allowed to dry for two to three days, depending on wind and sun conditions. Obviously, the more wind and sun the days hold, the quicker the hay will dry. When we feel like the hay is nearly dry, we go out with the rake. There are diff

This Giveaway Is Now Closed!

Today starts a giveaway at Farming in the Shade! I am happy to contribute this complete hat kit (needles not included) to someone who has a knitting obsession and a small person in their life. Here are the rules (contest open to US or Canada residents only): Giveaway ends May 1 at 9 p.m. EST. Winner will be announced by Sunday, May 3. Enter by posting a comment on this blog post. Tell me something about your knitting--who taught you to knit, your favorite yarn, the coolest thing you ever knitted. Make sure you leave contact information! Earn extra entries by: 1) Following me on twitter. (If you don't know what twitter is, don't worry. It's another way to waste your time on the computer.)  Add a comment here so I will count it as one entry. 2) Tweeting this giveaway (no more than once daily). Add a comment here so I know you did it. 3) Blog about this giveaway. Add a comment (with link) here so I can go visit your blog. 4) Follow or subscribe to this blog (or tell me if have