Why Saving Farmland Is So Important

Here is my Care2.com posting for this week. I wrote about the importance of saving our farmland. Why?

Well, when I write about our farmers and our farms, I always talk about the obvious reason to keep our farmland, i.e. "No Farms, No Food," as the American Farmland Trust always says.

And, I always talk about how without land; our farmers will be out of business. One of my food "idols" is Russ Parsons, of the LA Times. As he says, farming is a business. This is true no matter how big or small a farm is and if it wasn't treated as a business, they couldn't survive. So, we need to support them and the land that they work so they can survive!

However, there are many other reasons that farmland is so important that most people often aren't aware of. One of the biggest is the fact that our farms are green space and can contribute to a healthy environment. Sadly, we don't hear about all of the work they do in this regard, all we hear about are the big bad, corporations, which I don't really consider "real" farms and which are degrading our environment.

Here's the story I wrote covering all of this, I would love to hear your feedback! http://www.care2.com/greenliving/why-saving-farmland-is-so-important.html

Follow Me On My Slow Project

LA Farm Girl's Farm

As those of you who read LA Farm Girl's ever-decreasing blog entries know, I seem to get busier and busier and get less and less accomplished, including posting here.

That's why I have decided to embark on a personal journey that I am calling "The Slow Project." It came out of a post I did last week for my Care2.com Healthy and Green Living contribution, "5 Easy Ways To Slow Down."  

The response I received from that post, there were over 180 comments, told me that I was on to something, that we all need to take time to slow down a bit.

So, this week I wrote about my own attempt to slow things down and to "walk the walk" and kicked off The Slow Project.

I sometimes feel like such a fraud writing about slow foods, gardening as a healer, and sustainable farming, and then rushing around like a crazy woman in order to that.

I thought it was high time I put to practice what I have been preaching (so to speak). I would love to have you join me and let me know what works for you and how you are enjoying the process of being more mindful and enjoying the things around you.

As part of my efforts to take time to enjoy the literal fruits of my labor, after I tended to the garden, I took the time to look at what I have created, took photos and let myself enjoy it. Here's a couple of shots of what is going on now:

Here's my "Burpless" cucumbers, they are yummy!

flat leaf and curly leaf parsley doing great now!

LA Farm Girl's First Spring Crops

I have been so busy writing and farming that I haven't posted anything in over a month! So, until I have time to compose something meaningful, I thought I'd post a few photos of the first of my new veggies. I am still planting but so far, my burpless cucumbers and sugar snap peas are doing great, and my little tomatoes are growing, although there's no fruit yet.

My first cucumber is nearly ready for picking and several others are starting to pop out of their flowers!

My sugar snap peas are living up to their name, they taste like candy, so sweet! Thanks to Peter Lee, of Environmental Arts for the wonderful seedlings :)!

Spring's Simple Pleasures: Visiting Tapia Brothers Farm Stand

While we hear so much in the media, online and through our social networking sites about urban farms, community and school gardens, we often don't hear much about "traditional" farms that are still surviving and still offering us a chance to reconnect to the land.

Yesterday, LA Farm Girl ventured out to Encino to visit one such place: Tapia Brothers Farm Stand, at 5251 Hayvenhurst Avenue, in Encino, literally just off the Hayvenhurst exit off the 101 Freeway.

Now, many people know Tapia Brothers as home to TomatoMania, but they are so much more. For LA Farm Girl, it's a place to return to for some memories of when I was a kid and I would go to the stand sometimes to buy strawberries with my Grandpa.

Their farm and stand is one of only two such "mom and pop" farm stands left in the once agriculturally abundant San Fernando Valley. They don't even have a web site so if you want to make sure they are open before going, call the stand at (818) 905-6155.

It is a little early still for their tomatoes, but I bought some and they were already pretty sweet, as were the strawberries. As the weather warms up and summer comes, they will have their sweet corn and peaches and much more.

We need to make sure the Tapia Brothers know how much we appreciate them and how happy we are that this family owned farm is still here, so go and show them some love.

Happy Birthday Cesar Chavez: It's Cesar Chavez Day

Today would have been the 83rd birthday of civil rights activist, farmworker, and labor leader Cesar Chavez, who along with Dolores Huerta founded the National Farm Workers Association.

Here are some quotes from Chavez to remind us of the huge contribution he made for farmworker's rights by advocating for justice, equality, and dignity for all Americans.

“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.”

“We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.”

“The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people.”

"Non-violence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not for the timid or weak... Non-violence is hard work. It is the willingness to sacrifice. It is the patience to win.”

It's Tomato Time!

For those of us who live in southern California, most tomato planting begins in mid-to-late March depending on nighttime temperatures. This means now is the time to plant and luckily for us, there are plenty of places to get a wide variety of yummy heirloom tomato seedlings.

Here are a couple of great events to get you started:

• Friday, March 26 through Sunday, March 28, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. TomatoMania! at Tapia Brothers Farm in Encino. This is one of the biggest tomato events in the area, with almost 300 tomato varieties!
• Wednesday, March 31 through Saturday, April 3, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Long Beach City College Horticulture Club Plant Sale will feature 4,000 tomato plants for sale. All proceeds benefit the horticulture program.

If you can't make one of these events, why not buy from a local urban farmer? Laurel Garza is owner of Laurel's Heirloom Tomato Plants in Lomita, Laurel grows and sells over 130 varieties of heirloom tomatoes from her own urban southern California farm. She not only sells year round to online customers, but has on-site plant sales as well. Check out her site for a list of upcoming sales or to schedule an appointment to pick up your plants.

Help Grow LA Victory Garden Initiative

Well, it is hard for me to believe that it's been a whole month since I last posted on my blog! Things have been so busy but I wanted to make sure I got a post up about a great new project that my wonderful Master Garden Program (UC Cooperative Extension Los Angeles County) is launching.

This is the Grow LA Victory Garden Initiative, which is part of UC Cooperative Extension's LA County Common Ground Garden Program.

Click here for a description from UC Cooperative Extension's LA County's own fabulous director Rachel Surls about this exciting new effort, http://ucanr.org/blogs/GrowLA/.

As she says, UC Master Gardener volunteers and community partners are offering a low-cost, four-session class, held at 10 locations around Los Angeles County, to teach new gardeners the basics of successful vegetable gardening. These "Victory Garden Circles" will provide not only basic lessons, but also a way to stay in touch with fellow gardeners, ask questions, and share produce.

Groups are gearing up to start in late March and early April. Participants who complete all four classes will become UC Certified Victory Gardeners. A google map shows the locations and contact information for each site.

They are hoping to start ten more sites in the fall, and LA Farm Girl is looking for a site to do this in her area, the South Bay, ideally, we need both indoor and outdoor access in case of rain or extreme heat.

You can follow all of the excitement on the blog http://ucanr.org/blogs/GrowLA/ or at the Initiative's web site http://celosangeles.ucdavis.edu/Common_Ground_Garden_Program/Grow_LA_Victory_Garden_Initiative.htm