Backyard Foodways

Check out our Backyard Foodways photo albums on Facebook.

Thanks to Tatum Stewart for his work with us on growing fruit.
Thanks to Dennis Limon for an extensive lesson on Biodynamics.

Backyard Bio-Dynamics Workshop w/ Dennis Limon

What: Bio-Dynamic philosophy and seed starting workshop

When: March 5, 12 noon - 3 p.m

Where: ENCM (807 main st. 37206)

Cost: Free (donations to speaker accepted)

Limit: 35 people

The second installment of the Backyard Foodways workshop series welcomes Dennis Limon, bio-dynamics guru and educator. Dennis will be joining us in the garden to demonstrate seed-starting the bio-dynamic way, and discussing the philosophy surrounding this mysterious and spiritual gardening method.

We will be starting "leaf" crops--lettuce, kale, collards, etc., etc.--because march 5 happens to be a wonderful time, according the bio-dynamic calendar, to plant these types of crops. Wonder why? Me too! So come find out! A selection of seed will be provided, along with pots, and a bio-dynamically prepared soil mix. However, feel free to bring your own "leaf" seed. You will walk home with a tray of assorted starts to take care of until planting in your personal garden. Also, bring a clean, chemical free container or glass jug to take home a biodynamically prepared compost tea to use on your garden.

Please RSVP in the comment space below. And also direct any and all questions to justin in the comment space below.

The event will be held as scheduled, rain or shine--we can just go inside!

Thanks All Seasons Gardening and Brewing Supply and Gardens of Babylon for donating a portion of supplies.

Planting Potatoes

This past weekend I planted potatoes at the Bells Bend Community Farm. The resulting experience was not something I was expecting. After the planting I felt a heightened connection to my food.

Connecting to my food is a venture I have been on for some time now, and in fact, the pursuit of this connection is ultimately what led me to ENCM to work as the garden manager. No doubt, my connection to food has deepened with every seed panted and every leaf, fruit, root, or flower eaten. But, this past weekend I planting potatoes.

The scene is this:

After an eleven-hour workday of planting at the Inglewood community garden (greens, beets, flowers) and constructing a fence at Kevin and Molly Seale's newly purchased farm in Bells Bend, I called Eric Wooldridge to ask if he was still planting. After a few rings he answered, “Thank God it’s you!”. A short conversation ended with me saying I was on my way to help.

I arrived and parked at the bottom of the newly plowed field. As the field tucked between a row of wind breaking trees, a hedge of brambles, and open cow pasture came into view I saw Eric on the tractor. A handful of folks with baskets of ready-to-plant-potatoes hanging from their hips were moving barefoot in Tennessee’s iconic red soils under Eric’s direction. In no time I had a basket at my hip and was standing in the middle of a fresh furrow.

The instruction for actually planting the potatoes was not totally foreign to me; drop the potato in the furrow eye’s up, and step them into the ground--this is a traditional method of planting. This is what I, and the others, did--dropped the potato and walked it into the dirt; skin to skin.

The act of feeling the potato, the food item I will eat in 100 days, physically touching my foot, the cool soil pressing between my toes connected me to the food, the ground, the future of the food, the future of the ground, and all the familiar faces around me. The word cosmic keeps coming to mind, for this new, deeper, and overwhelming connection to all these thing around me was expected, exhilarating, refreshing, and healing.

Planting the humble potato helped heal me to the Earth we have all become broken to.

I need to further explain why this was a "new" experience, because as i have said i have had many profound openings to food. Why would this experience be any different?

Potatoes are different because of the actual connection to my feet. All other forms of connecting, or re-connectiing, to food is above the waist. When we taste fresh local strawberries for the first it is with our mouth. When I make a connection between local, sustainably grown food and hunger relief, poverty, religion, global economies, the environmental movement, or politics, it is with intellect, or my head. When I am placing a seed in a soil-block at the greenhouse it is with my hand. We rarely consider our feet, or other parts of our bodies, as mediums to connect with food. But when I was planting potatoes and felt them sink into the ground under my bare feet, I instantly felt the connection to the aforementioned ideas. I had beautiful landscape around me; a tucked away field secluded from all society, a hill in the distance between the bare early-spring tress, and a creek just below our field. I had beauty. I had potatoes, the idea of potatoes, and hope.

Connection, healing, and beauty is not something we often truly experience in our daily lives. I encourage all readers of this post to please plant potatoes somewhere--and take your shoes off!

Reflections on Biodynamics

Biodynamics. It seems this word evokes an interesting emotional response when said and talked about among growers, and those new to growing. For me, I meet the word with hesitation and interest. I am hesitant because so much about the philosophy is unknown to me. The mystery surrounding this practice could be intentional as far as I can surmise. I am interested because I’ve seem the amount of food grown on biodynamic fields.

The philosophy, and it is important to consider this a philosophy just like “organic” (when either of these ideas morphs from philosophy to a marketing gimmick, as in organics, the purity of the practice is corrupted) was first described to me as “beyond organics”. And in a sort of weird joke biodynamics was described as “organics on steroids”. “Steroids” is just used to elude to biodynamics being equivalent to organics pumped up, or taken to an extreme. Organic on steroids would just be the industrial food system.

So, my interest finally got the best of me and I have been following a biodynamic planting calendar since early February. The calendar is the only biodynamic practice I am following, I have not yet delved into the world of biodynamic preparations--bull horns, etc. But, following this calendar has proven to warrant public reflection (I am not trying keep biodynamics shroud in mystery!). I would like to express some thoughts on the subject for those who may have never heard of the concept, or are like me with feelings of hesitation and interest but have been scared to try practicing biodynamics.

The calendar is based astrological phases--not very strange since all calendars are basically based on this. But, the calendar is also based on knowing when certain planets will be in a particular alignment with the Earth, moon, sun, and other planets. For example, a biodynamic experiment demonstrated that a particular planet influenced the flower color of certain plants. When these seeds were planted during the period Mars was influencing the earth, the flowers were red. When planted with venus, yellow; with Pluto, blue. This sounds really crazy, and sort of exciting, but as far as I know every farmer, and maybe everyone, in ancient societies knew this type of information. We are all still told in grade school how ancient cultures, the Myans, Egyptians, etc planted by constellations and when they were visible in a particular part of the night sky. It is also well known of how explorers used the stars for navigating. What I am trying to say is that these are not new ideas, and are in fact really old. We have simply forgotten them. In true Puritan/American fashion we decided we would do without ancient knowledge--we would find our own way.

What I feel has been the most positive aspect of using this calendar is its power to organize. The calendar breaks up plant types into four categories--leaf, root, fruit, and flower. Everyday corresponds to one of these categories. So, when I go into the greenhouse to start seeds in early February I can go in knowing exactly what I am going to plant that day. This has brought clarity and focus to my thoughts while planting. If I know it is a leaf day, my mind is consumed with thoughts of lettuce, spinach, kale, collards and other leafy plants. I can focus on those specific plants. I am not distracted by thoughts of tomatoes, or beets, or anything. If nothing else, I think the intentionality that this calendar brings to my interactions with seeds is the most influential result. I am ok with saying that the seeds can detect my energy, and will either feed on or reject that energy. By being as intentional as I can with the seeds, the greater chance I have that they will respond positively to me. And, as a grower, I have a vested interest in how the plants respond to me. The idea of intentionality has opened me up to a prayer I say when sowing seeds. It is an Indian prayer that Indian farmers say during planting. They say, “May this seed be exhaustless.”

I have also found myself feeling personally connected to other farmers following this calendar, and the moon. I’m not sure if this has any real affect on my plants and such, but I can imagine feeling more connected to people and natural elements is positive. When I plant tomatoes and then notice an almost full moon the next night, I feel the moon and I are working together to grow those tomatoes. The same is true with feeling connected to other farmers. I feel supported by them when I know we are all planting the same type of plant on the same days.

There are more scientific explanations of the benefits of biodynamics. It is said that when the moon is closer to the earth or full, it causes the seed to swell from the water in the seed. This makes since considering the moons affect on ocean tides.

I actually haven’t found any negative aspects to working with the calendar. However, I would not recommend relying totally on the biodynamic methods. You still have to be knowledgeable of gardening and farming. You still have to keep an eye on the weather. You still have to build your soil. You still have to cover crop. You still have to listen to your plants needs. And you still have to watch for pests.