Love is all around

Tree hosts monthly Eating Meetings attended by The Free Farm’s core group of regular volunteers. These meetings are an opportunity to reflect and engage in long-term planning, which now includes the prospect of losing our growing space in a few years so anything constructed should be portable. Last Thursday, our Eating Meeting was filled with our hopes, wishes and plans to make our remaining time at The Free Farm really worthwhile . . . and afterwards, I just felt like twirling around and tossing my tie-dye hat in the air because we’re gonna make it after all (like Mary Tyler Moore’s theme song)!

Who can turn the world on with her smile?
Who can take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?
Well it's you girl, and you should know it
With each glance and every little movement you show it

Love is all around, no need to waste it
You can have a town, why don't you take it
You're gonna make it after all
You're gonna make it after all
“Love is all around” lyrics by Sonny Curtis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPdh7aLJVDE

My three wishes: growing permaculture food forest (no longer feasible, but see http://crosscut.com/2012/02/16/agriculture/21892/Nation-s-largest-public-Food-Forest-takes-root-on-Beacon-Hill/), cultivating “wild” medicinal herbs and incorporating universal design principles to make edible gardening more accessible to persons of all abilities.

The Free Farm to be saved by endangered rodent?

In addition to expanding our gardening activities, including improving our documentation (labeling, mapping, adding more details in our seed propagation and planting logs), our discussion included the following:

1. Page plans to document wildlife found in The Free Farm: flycatchers, peregrine falcons, hawks, hummingbirds, etc. Tree mentioned that one volunteer recognized a mouse on site that may be of an endangered species. Beekeeper Pam noted The Free Farm might be saved by that mouse because land development is not allowed within 5,000 feet of an endangered species’ habitat. If we can confirm this, we agreed to do all we can to maintain an endangered mouse habitat!
2. Beekeeper Pam plans to purchase plant dye seeds and schedule dye workshops—indulging my inner hippie for psychedelic tie-dyes!
3. Margaret plans to respond to a request by St. Mark’s Lutheran Church (where we held our Volunteer Appreciation Party last month) for our assistance in working with seniors in their garden.
4. After Page completes the railing project, we plan to construct a garden bed table top near our entrance on relatively flat ground to make The Free Farm’s edible gardening activities more accessible to the seniors who visit our produce stand. If we build it, they will come!
5. Tree wants to obtain more seeds to give away seedlings so people can grow their own.
6. Tree mentioned that he’s received many requests from groups who want to volunteer at The Free Farm. Several school groups will join us during spring break next month, but he’s also had to turn away other groups. While it’s wonderful to host groups interested in urban farming, Tree noted that we need more workday leaders to accommodate requests to visit outside of our usual Wednesday and Saturday workdays.
7. To do all this and more, we are looking for volunteers to take on coordinator roles and/or join our grant writing team! If interested, please contact iamtree99@gmail.com. We really appreciate your support!

Meet some of our cool volunteers
We enjoyed another warm, dry, sunny winter day at The Free Farm – but the guys kept their shirts on so no beefcake photos today (hehe). Thanks to our greeter Joyce, our volunteers now wear name tags so we don’t strain the brain remembering names :-). Seated are Nao, Monisha, Paul and Ro sorting perennial leek bulbs by size: harvesting larger ones, and transplanting smaller ones to continue growing. Standing are first-time visitors Janet and Mary from SF Vegetarian Society, and Janet's neighbors Amelia and Rosalyn from nearby Saint Francis Square Cooperative. Though I expected Mary’s visit as we’re both involved in planning garden bed table top, I was pleasantly surprised by Janet’s visit because she usually works on Saturdays as the gardening librarian at SF Main Library. Janet explained that she was able to take the morning off so she and her neighbors could check out The Free Farm for inspiration in growing their own community garden!Academy of Art student filmmakers are shooting a documentary about The Free Farm for entry in an Eco Film Festival. My hands were in potting soil for most of the day so I couldn’t take as many photos, like Big Picture High School adviser Tomas stopped by with the update that Ezekiel is wrapping up his internship at The Free Farm and he was visiting briefly to videotape an interview. They hope to share completed video with us so stay tuned!

Janet inspects worm poop

Returning volunteer Amy brought over Adam, whom I met after I won a rainwater barrel through Neighborhood Empowerment Network (NEN at http://empowersf.org/) two years ago. I offered the barrel to my dear landlord, who pays directly for our water usage but he declined. (The Free Farm didn’t have a roof to capture rainwater back then.) When I mentioned to NEN’s Daniel that I decided to donate the barrel to SF Permaculture Guild for a public workshop, he suggested that I blog about it and got me in touch with Adam who was working on NENtv. Well, after the barrel was delivered to Hayes Valley Farm (which is scheduled to lose its space in June), my Guild contacts postponed workshop dates and then ended up installing the barrel—unbeknownst to me and Adam, so we had nothing to blog and film. But I kept running into Adam, who does amazing community building in Inner Sunset District by organizing street fair, farmer’s market, parklet, etc. And yes, Adam’s also known as the guy who avoided getting into a car (not even carpooling) for a year; check out his blog at http://gubbinsexperiment.blogspot.com/.

Tree wants to focus on seedlings so we are partnering with Alemany Farm volunteers to help us while we provide access to our greenhouse so we can speed up germination. Here Tree gives out seed packets to sowing team: Kom, Alexia, Zoe and Jason of Alemany Farm (http://www.alemanyfarm.org/). Mary and I later joined them to plant varieties of tomato and brassica. Jason’s so cool because he’s a Getup grad, who visited my Getup class as part of a panel discussion on food security. As editor of Earth Island Journal, Jason recently published an insightful article about how rising gas prices may have contributed to housing meltdown at http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/eij/article/material_world/.

Washing arugula for our lunch salad

Workday leader Alen serves up lunchI brought my latest gluten-free GOMBBS (Dr. Fuhrman’s acronym for top cancer prevention foods: Greens + Onions + Mushrooms + Beans + Berries + Seeds) creation: an adaptation of Dan Dan noodles!
1. Cook 1 lb. brown rice pasta.
2. Blanch 6 oz. wood ear Mushrooms. Drain and chop to bits.
3. Mix dressing ingredients: ½ cup unsalted peanut (Bean) butter + ¼ cup Bragg’s liquid aminos + 1 Tbsp sesame oil + Tbsp minced garlic + 1 Tbsp Chinese Five Spice + 1 Tbsp honey + 1 Tbsp water + ? rice vinegar + ? shaoxing rice wine (crunchy peanut butter got stuck in my blender so I kept adding unknown quantities of vinegar + wine to dilute dressing mix enough so blender could do its job)
4. Toss dressing into pasta, mushrooms, 1 cup chopped red-purple cabbage and chopped bunch of Green Onions.
5. Garnish with goji Berries + black sesame Seeds (whatever quantity as desired).

Busy beekeeper Pam arrived with beeswax + jars of honey from our beehives! (Just behind Pam is Sander, who volunteers at both The Free Farm and Alemany Farm.)Trained as a veterinary nurse, Pam raised silkworms before becoming a self-taught beekeeper. Her landlord wasn’t very responsive to her request to maintain beehives in her building’s rooftop, but The Free Farm welcomed Pam and her bees. Super talented DIY Pam is an award-winning book artist (http://www.feltandwire.com/2011/06/03/maker-faire-bay-area-2011-pam-delucos-typefacebook-made-a-great-impression/ & http://www.feltandwire.com/2011/10/13/pam-deluco-talks-typefacebook-on-maker-faire-tv/). If you came to our Volunteer Appreciation Party, we gave The Free Farm Congregation memento printed on Pam's hand-made paper! (http://thefreefarm.blogspot.com/2012/01/celebration.html)

Pam adds landing rocks so bees won’t drown while trying to drink water

Pam, Damon and Joyce are local volunteers from the neighborhood

Brittany and Rachel from Stanford Glean

Sunset District residents Adam, Amy and Mary make Vitamin D

While clasping Alen’s palm, Joyce revealed that she was a professional palm reader when she wasn’t teaching English.

Back to work after wine + dine

Alexia, Jason and Zoe mix water into potting mix

Potting mix includes red lava rocks!Mary joined sowing team with Kom, Jason and AlexiaStanley and Pam at produce stand. One visitor told me that she was taking our organic greens to feed her rabbit—whether as pet or food source, who knows? Maybe if I catch her next time, I’ll ask!Transplanting perennial leekNao arrived in SF a month ago to study photography at SF Art Institute. She has been photographing at The Free Farm and plans to contribute photos to our blog!

Thanks for all that you do and see you next week!

Public Service Announcements:

Mon., Feb. 27, 2012, 7 pm TransitionSF Meeting: Why Label Genetically Engineered Foods?
The "Gazebo" at CPMC Davies Campus, 45 Castro St. between 14th & Duboce, SF 94114
Frank Plughoff and Liz Kroboth - Label GMOs SF coordinators - will be presenting at the February TransitionSF meeting to explain what genetically engineered foods are, what health and environmental concerns have come up around GE foods, and how the ballot initiative is addressing this issue. Please let us know if you want to help us gather signatures from attendees. Directions: From the Duboce Street entrance of California Pacifica Medical Center, follow the driveway in and curve around the building on your left onto a large patio area. The Gazebo is the glass-walled structure in front of you.
labelgmossf@gmail.com, http://www.labelgmos.org/lizkroboth/san_francisco_transitionsf_meeting_why_

Wed., Feb. 29, 2012, 7-8 pm The Art and Language of Flowers
Richmond Branch Library, 351 – 9th Ave. between Geary & Clement, SF
Join local florist and owner of Columbine Design, Kathleen Dooley, for a flower arranging demonstration. Learn about the meaning of flowers and how to convey messages with colors, shapes and flower types that go beyond what's written on the card. We will also talk about different cultural meanings of flowers and colors and have time to discuss our own favorite flowers.
http://www.sfpl.org/index.php?pg=1009938001

Thurs., Mar. 1, 2012, 6-8 pm “Truck Farm” Presentation
Pacific Energy Center, 851 Howard St. at 4th St, SF
Presentation of "Truck Farm", a unique project that transformed an old pick-up truck into a traveling 20-member CSA enterprise. Using green-roof technology, lightweight soil and heirloom seeds, filmmakers Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis transformed granddad's '86 Dodge half-ton into a farm on wheels. They planted between the wheel wells with arugula and tomatoes, parked the truck on a Brooklyn street, and waited for sun and rain to work their charms. When the first sprouts came up, Truck Farm (truck-farm.com) was born. Subscribers received deliveries of produce, arriving via the mobile farm itself. Come and hear from the folks who made this happen. 6:30pm to 8pm (light refreshments at 6pm). Register online. http://www.pge.com/mybusiness/edusafety/training/pec/

Trees

Tu B'Shvat at The Free Farm

Stanley sent these photos from our February 5th tree planting in connection with Tu B'Shvat (aka Jewish Arbor Day). This event took place during Congregation Emanu-El's usual 1st Sunday workday at The Free Farm, and included participants from Contemporary Jewish Museum’s Contemporaries and Moishe House.

Gravity Goldberg of Contemporary Jewish Museum

Today I took this photo of our three thriving new pluot trees that were planted for Tu B'Shvat."If you were a tree, what kind would you be?" (Barbara Walters)

I think I would be my favorite kind -- our one and only Tree :-)! Two weeks ago, Stanley's son Joe interviewed Tree as his local hero for his 826 Valencia writing workshop! This past Thursday night, Tree hosted monthly Eating Meeting in his cozy home with The Free Farm's core group.
Tulipmania at Pier 39: Edibles + Ornamentals Unite!
Inspired by Georgia O'Keefe. . .Public Service Announcement:
Tues., Mar. 6, 2012 Do Not Destroy: Trees, Art and Jewish Thought (free admission)
Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission St. between 3rd & 4th St., SF 94103
Do Not Destroy: Trees, Art and Jewish Thought is an exciting opportunity to explore the subject of the tree in Jewish tradition through the lens of contemporary artists who enable us to see the world in new ways and to encourage us to find fresh meaning in tradition. The tree is a universally potent symbol with particular significance in Judaism, especially now as global environmental concerns have begun to impact contemporary Jewish practice.
The title of the exhibition Do Not Destroy (Bal Tashchit in Hebrew), is taken from a commandment in the Torah (Deuteronomy 20:19) that forbids the wanton destruction of trees during wartime. During the rabbinical period, this concept was broadened to encompass humanity’s responsibility to shield all of nature from unnecessary harm. This ancient evidence of environmental protection, along with the rise of a distinctly Jewish environmental movement, inspired the CJM to explore a parallel initiative within contemporary art practice. By creating works of art with the tree as a central motif, artists reference the real world while envisioning an alternative.
11:30 am Public Tour of Do Not Destroy Trees
2-3 pm & 3:30-4:30 pm The documentary, A Home on the Range, tells the story of Jews who fled the pogroms and hardships of Eastern Europe and traveled to Northern California to become chicken ranchers. Even in the sweatshops of New York, word spread about the town of Petaluma where the Jews were neither shopkeepers nor professionals, but were farmers.
http://www.thecjm.org/index.php?option=com_ccevents&scope=exbt&task=detail&oid=58This part of the exhibit is free -- just outside CJM on Jessie Square. SF environmental design firm Rebar installed this Nomadic Grove of five brightly colored mobile islands encouraging us to "sit, relax, meditate and enjoy." Visitors are encouraged to participate in the "contemplative and hopeful act of wishing" by writing their wishes on tags tied to branches on each of the three planted Wish Trees. Yoko Ono first created Wish Tree in 1981, inspired by her childhood experience of writing wishes on thin pieces of paper that were tied to trees in temple courtyards so they looked like "white flowers blossoming from afar."Some wishes were whimsical like this one: "More love . . . and sandwiches." Many wishes were for "health" and "happiness." Several wishes were political: "I WISH ISRAEL'S GOVERNMENT STOPPED UPROOTING PALESTINIAN OLIVE GROVES AND INDIVIDUAL TREES." One stated, "I wish that there was no use for money in this world." Whoever wished that should come to The Free Farm:-)

Let's grow plants that we eat

To add to all the exciting activities going on at The Free Farm as described in Tree’s posting below, I hope this posting about Conscious Eating inspires more people to not only eat plants, but to come grow with us as well!

I wore this shirt this past Saturday when I played hooky from The Free Farm to attend Conscious Eating conference (http://www.idausa.org/conscious_eating/) at UC Berkeley. While I look forward to our Saturday volunteer days at The Free Farm, I can’t seem to resist events that refer to eating :-) and the conference invitation read: “Experts in the field of sustainable agriculture and eating will speak on a truly stable global and local food system where we all have access to healthy food, where all are treated with compassion, and where all are well fed.” Lofty agenda, plus breakfast and lunch were included so I just needed to show up :-)

Cinnamon rolls for breakfast or dessert? Julia Ross, author of The Diet Cure and The Mood Cure books (excerpt at http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/dietcure.htm), suggests breakfast with at least 20 grams of protein to counter sugar/fat cravings. Do saturated fats (found in animals and tropical oils) or refined sugars cause heart disease and diabetes? UCSF’s Robert Lustig declares sugar is toxic at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html.

The first presenter was Karen Davis, President and Founder of United Poultry Concerns (http://www.upc-online.org/), who showed a graphic video of how chickens are mistreated (debeaked, crammed in filthy wire cages in semi-darkness, semi-starvation diets, etc.), and then violently slaughtered. In contrast, her table exhibited these happy free-range, pastured chickens rescued from industrial farms.

James McWilliams (http://www.theatlantic.com/james-mcwilliams/), historian and author of Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly, presented “The Alternative to the Alternatives: Veganism as a Response to Industrial Agriculture.” His main argument was that the factory farm alternative remains a form of moral schizophrenia—though raising animals more humanely, it’s the same game when the owner’s ultimate goal is to end an animal’s life because there’s a market for it. He wants to reach an audience interested in sustainable food because their consciousness has already been raised so he can “try to flip the switch to a better direction”—veganism.

Eating animals is environmentally unsustainable: over half the water in the U.S. goes to raising animals for food; 80% of agricultural land in the U.S. is used to raise animals; 70% of the grains grown in the U.S. are fed to livestock. Globally, as more people from developing countries like China and India create a demand for animal meat, rainforests are destroyed to make pasture for grazing cattle.

LabelGMOs - It's Our Right to Know: Help ensure the safety of food for Californians. Let's get labeling of genetically modified foods on the Ballot for 2012! http://www.labelgmos.org/volunteering

Food Empowerment Project (http://www.foodispower.org/) conducted study on Access to Healthy Foods in Santa Clara County’s Communities of Color and Low-Income Communities noting the lack of meat and dairy alternatives such as meatless burgers/bacon/deli slices/sausage, soy hot dogs, soy cheese, etc.—highly processed convenience foods that aren’t healthy whole foods.

Darina and Jon of Justice for Animals (http://justiceforanimals.net/) staffed VegFund's table, offering $2 to anyone willing to watch graphic video of animals tortured for food production. It was upsetting to watch so I ended up donating $2 for their outreach efforts. More videos at http://vegvids.com/.

Sailesh Rao, executive director of Climate Healers (http://www.climatehealers.org/), wrote book Carbon Dharma. He writes of our need to transform from destructive Caterpillars to healing Butterflies, stating “I believe the most effective step that I can take in an urban setting to promote the Butterfly culture is to switch to an organic, vegan diet.”

Making the case for eating mostly plants

Since I knew many of the attendees (including The Free Farm volunteer Julia who’s back from Taiwan!), it was like the presenters were preaching to the choir – and there was quite a bit of advocacy going on. I’m totally comfortable being around earnest, thoughtful and peaceable people who don’t harm living creatures. But I was really uncomfortable with the gory visuals of animal torture and wondered if they were intended to provoke guilt over eating animal flesh. I sorta came for the food, but I was really losing my appetite from viewing and listening on this topic. (Proper digestion requires that we eat in parasympathetic or relaxed mode so we produce watery saliva, which contains digestive enzymes and moistens our food. When stressed, our saliva is thicker and contains fewer enzymes; we release less stomach acid, less blood flow to the stomach; muscle contraction slows, etc.)

It’s not that I’m a Pollyanna or Candide, but I don’t like feeling “stuck” with tragedy (save animals by not eating them) so I feel like following up with something more constructive or hopeful. The conference was about sustainable food choices—getting nutrients directly from plants rather than animals—but the presenters had little to say about growing our own and actually eating plants as a pleasurable alternative. I favor agroecology, which supports crop/animal integration, and I’ve lived on "self-sufficient" farms with pastured chickens for manure and eggs, goats for manure and milk, bees for pollination and honey—without intentional killing of these farm animals (but predators like wild dogs might eat chickens).

Neighbors Opposed to Backyard Slaughter (http://noslaughter.org/) supports plant-based agriculture but wants to leave animals out of it.

Mark Zuckerberg said, “I've basically become a vegetarian since the only meat I'm eating is from animals I've killed myself. So far, this has been a good experience. I'm eating a lot healthier foods and I've learned a lot about sustainable farming and raising of animals.” (http://postcards.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2011/05/26/mark-zuckerbergs-new-challenge-eating-only-what-he-kills/) Wonder whether he grows the vegetarian foods that he eats?

Conscious Eating conference seemed to focus on avoiding animals for food, but not so much on avoiding industrial food products. But if people want to consciously transition away from the Standard American Diet (SAD) with animal meat as their prime protein source (along with white starch potato/bread and high-sugar refined flour cakes/cookies), go for whole plant foods like classic whole grains + legumes – instead of substitutes like faux meats made of highly processed wheat gluten + soy proteins and “edible food-like substances” passing as vegan butter.

To be sustainable, a veg*n diet has to support one’s health—though one decides to become veg*n for reasons other than health, such as sustaining the environment, animal welfare, or even religion. Most healthy people can make the transition to a vegetarian-whole foods diet, but others with food allergies/sensitivities or compromised health should consult with a health care practitioner trained in nutrition before making dietary changes.

Merely eliminating animal foods, without replacing them with high-quality plant foods, doesn’t make a vegetarian diet healthier. When I transitioned to a vegetarian diet, my work involved a lot of travel and I often ordered my meals vegetarian at restaurants in places not as veg-friendly like SF. For example, when I asked for a Chicken Caesar Salad to be made vegetarian, I would be served Caesar Salad without the chicken, and no protein alternative like tempeh. As a result, I was hungry and ate often—snacking on nuts/seeds.

A vegan diet (which eliminates all animal products like eggs, dairy and honey) is more challenging without supplementation or fortified foods to get needed nutrients. Check out this wonderful post, which includes “Food Guide 4 Vegans,” by Ginny Messina, RD, at http://www.theveganrd.com/2011/11/vegan-nutrition-sometimes-the-devil-really-is-in-the-details.html And here’s a post about preparing plant foods in traditional ways to maximize nutrition at http://nourishedkitchen.com/what-vegns-can-learn-from-traditional-foods/ An awesome local resource for information and support is SF Vegetarian Society (http://www.sfvs.org/), which hosts monthly potluck lectures and annual Meat Out (March 18, 2012 featuring Jack Norris, RD, who co-wrote Vegan for Life with Messina) and World Veg Festival (October 6-7, 2012) events.

Flacos delivered yummy lunch of mixed greens, rice, black beans and tamales.

“A falling leaf returns to its roots” (Chinese proverb)

Magnolia leaves at SF Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park

My own journey to a plant-based diet began as a child in my family’s own kitchen garden in Hawaii so we always had year-round access to lots of fresh produce. And I loved playing with vibrant colors found in fruits and veggies, while animal meats were kinda dull looking! My parents always reminded me of people starving in China and other developing countries so I was always grateful for food and ate whatever was served, including bitter melon.

As a teenager, I ran away from home to attend college in the Bay Area. But I didn’t try a vegetarian diet until my study abroad at Peking (Beijing) and Fudan (Shanghai) Universities in China because the foreign students canteen was limited to mostly vegetarian fare: braised veggies, peanuts, grains (rice, noodle) with some “mystery meat” (perhaps wheat gluten or soybean?) sauce, and fresh fruit after each meal. I also got drunk on lung ching (dragonwell) tea like the locals! Since I didn’t like spending much time over squat toilets, I found lots of fiber and hydration provided by plants was great for healthy bowel movements :-)! (Vegetables and fruits are often more than 90% water; grains and legumes are more than 80% water when cooked.)

Newly vegan Bill Clinton mentioned being influenced by T. Colin Campbell, who led The China Study, finding that Chinese who ate just 5% animal protein had very low rates of disease. Traditional Chinese view that 5% animal qi energetic as part of a balanced diet, while vegetarian diets are suitable for monks who lead sedentary and stress-free lives. But it’s worth noting that some of the largest and strongest animals are herbivores: gorillas, giraffes, elephants, bulls, rhinoceroses, etc. Humans are omnivores so we can consciously choose what to eat.

Before I became vegetarian, I ate some fish—even catching them from the Pacific Ocean. As a child who went fishing with my dad, I questioned the morality of killing fish to eat, but Pop explained that if we humans didn’t, then larger predatory fish would end up eating the smaller fish so same fate. I actually was troubled hearing this because I was the youngest and smallest in my family so I developed a tendency to root for the underdog. But I was already guilty of killing our goldfish, which I loved to watch while feeding until they bloated and then floated—dead of obesity :-(. Anyway, after learning more about the toxins in polluted waters that accumulate in fish, I began losing my appetite for fish. When I gave up fish, I found myself a vegetarian.

“Let us cultivate our garden” said Candide

"all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds"

Well, if we’re gonna eat mostly plants, we ought to grow them too! In response to my posting with veg groups to encourage growing our own greens, John Kohler of Growing Your Greens wrote the following:

I would encourage for all living and raw foodists on this list to grow your own greens and other fruits and vegetables. It’s one of the components to a successful living foods diet that MOST people miss. Even if you live in an apartment, you can grow your own food.

Here is the correct link to the video at the Free Farm, which gives away free produce and even will give you some free plant starts to help you get your garden growing. In addition, they will TEACH you how to grow your food if you have never done it. It’s fun, easy and rewarding.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDSGQYN8l48

Even if you don’t have space for an outdoor garden, you can grow a garden in a wine barrel on your patio or walkway. Here is a video where I show what I’m growing over winter in my wine barrels:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqbvp1RXLwE

and here is a video that shows you how to set one up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff-B1kiHi7Q

If you don’t have the space, you can always grow sprouts in your kitchen, here is a video I am growing sprouts inside a warehouse, you can easily grow wheat grass, pea greens, buckwheat greens, sunflower greens in this same manner.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiYFjW_ezns

Keep on Growing and Eating Living Foods!
John

Raised veg bed collects overflow from rainwater catchment system

Terence, Hannah, Mike and Liz weigh produce for The Free Farm stand

Hope to see you soon at The Free Farm, where we can grow plants that we eat!

Public Service Announcements:

Wed., Feb. 22, 2012, 1-2 pm, Do Not Destroy: Trees, Art, and Jewish Thought Lecture
Jewish Community Center of SF, 3200 California St., SF
The symbol of the tree appears throughout the Torah and rabbinical literature and is used as a metaphor, the tree of knowledge, for the Torah itself. This talk highlights how artists and emerging Jewish environmental groups, incorporating reclaimed wood into their projects, examine and celebrate the tree in today’s culture. The exhibition includes an interactive project; a survey of work by international contemporary artists, and the Dorothy Saxe Invitational, a series of commissioned artworks by local and national artists in response to the Jewish holiday Tu Bishvat, a “New Year” for the trees.
https://www.jccsf.org/programs/adult-prog-con/art-lectures-at-the-jccsf/do-not-destroy-atree/

Wed., Feb. 22, 2012, 6-7:30 pm, California Native Plants in a Managed Landscape
Koret Auditorium, SF Main Public Library, 100 Larkin St., SF
A multimedia presentation about California Native Plants and the best operating practices for a managed landscape, which you may even be able to use to help sprout the gardens around your own homes and businesses. Reservations: This is a free event. As seating is limited, please call 415-379-8000 to reserve a space. Sponsored by the Stegner Environmental Center and the California Academy of Sciences. This is a Green Stacks Program. http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=1007938501

Wed., Feb. 22, 2012, 7-9 pm Bay Area Foraging
Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley
Kevin Feinstein, coauthor of the new book, The Bay Area Forager, will speak at the Ecology Center about local foraging and share stories of writing the book. The talk will be followed by Q&A and book signing. Kevin Feinstein is a Bay Area writer, teacher, and researcher of plants, food, sustainability, and natural health. There will be roasted bay nut samples! http://www.ecologycenter.org/calendar/event.php?eventID=37551

Mon., Feb. 27, 2012 Global Day of Action: Occupy Our Food Supply
Join the Occupy, sustainable farming, food justice, buy local, slow food, and environmental movements for a global day of action. Inspired by the theme of CREATE/RESIST, thousands will come together to creatively confront corporate control of our food supply and take action to build healthy, accessible food systems for all.
http://ran.org/occupy-our-food-supply