Slow Food CNY » agriculture

Growing local

Meredith_P — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:32:15 +0000

Two upcoming events make the thirteenth a lucky date for CNY growers in February and March.

This Saturday, February 13, 2010, Syracuse Grows and Canopy present Gardening in Syracuse, from 10am – 1pm at the Bob Cecile Center, 174 West Seneca Turnpike, Syracuse. Three workshops will focus on managing physical conditions of soil, successful vegetable gardening, and soil toxicity. Learn more about this free event here.

On Saturday, March 13, 2010, the 2010 Upstate NY Permaculture Gathering, hosted by Alchemical Nursery, will be at the Gear Factory, 200 South Geddes Street, from 10am-5pm. RSVP and flyer are now available here.

Both events help us build experience towards a sustainable, self-reliant CNY food supply and fit right in with Slow Food. To get inspired, take a look at Josh Viertel’s essay in the Atlantic, “Why Big Ag Won’t Feed the World.” Josh Viertel is president of Slow Food USA.

1000 Acres of CNY Farmland Preserved

psm — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:02:23 +0000

Kudos to New York State! The state’s Agricultural and Farmland Protection Program has put 9,000 acres of active farmland into a trust, with over 1,000 of those acres impacting the Central New York region.

More specifics can be found though the State Department of Ag and Markets , or through the American Farmland Trust.

Slow Food CNY’s First Potluck

psm — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:46:00 +0000

When: Next Friday the 13th (March) at 6:30PM

Where: Westcott Community Center, 826 Euclid Avenue

Bring a dish to pass! Any food that you love to make will be welcome. SFCNY will provide cards so every dish can be identified. Please bring your own utensils and plates!

We are inviting our area Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms to the potluck as well. CSAs provide weekly deliveries of fresh, locally-grown fruits & veggies throughout the growing season. They are also a great way of supporting upstate organic farmers and you may even save some cash in the process….! Now is the season to think about joining a CSA so bring questions for them.

All are welcome!

Phenology

psm — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:51:00 +0000

I recently read an article in Hobby Farms magazine about planning a garden. The article mostly discussed different ways to keep charts and store information, however it touched on phenology as a method of timing plantings. I had never heard of this before so I began to look around and inquire more about it. Phenology, for those not in the know, is basically looking at nature to tell you when to plant things instead of the calendar. It is filled with folksy sayings like “When elm leaves are the size of a penny, plant kindney beans if you’ll have any.” I have found myself incredibly attracted to this method and here’s why:

I’m a Romantic (yes, that’s a big R). I am inherently more attracted to these colorful folksy sayings. But that’s not the true reason….
Climate change. I just don’t trust freeze dates and frost dates anymore. I’ve even heard it said that Syracuse is not actually Zone 5 anymore, but more a Zone 6. This makes me less likely to trust some arbitrary, averaged-out calendar date for plantings. I think it just makes sense to look and see what the land is telling you.

Of course, nothing is without its problems. I’ve looked around a bit online and haven’t found any good books or websites about this. The ones I have found are clumped in with sayings like “Sliver maples show their lining before a storm” which I find less useful for gardening. It seems like the best source for phenology is the Farmer’s Almanac. If anyone has any other recommendations for books, websites, or has had experience using phenology around here in CNY, post your comments!

Secretary of Food

psm — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:12:00 +0000

Here’s an awesome New York Times article discussing the possibility of redefining the position of Secretary of Agriculture into a role that actually focuses on nutrition and food rather than industrial profit (who would have thought?).