Growing the Politics of Local Food

By Molly Davis, 2009 NFI Community Supported Gardening share-holder

D.C.'s local food movement is blooming. A crowd gathered at the Big Bear Cafe on the night of Saturday, Oct. 24 to listen to live music, drink a few beers, and talk about the issue of healthful food access in the District. The crowd included Neighborhood Farm Initiative growers, teachers, and volunteers, as well as Greg Bloom from Bread For the City, which offers food distribution and other services to low-income residents.

Greg talked about his group's new project, a blog, that he hopes will serve as a hub for all things healthy, with a bent toward social justice and nutrition. Although the DC Food For All blog will focus on broad food access issues, Greg says that growing food locally is definitely one of the solutions to the challenges our city faces.

"I think that all these issues are fairly linked. I'd say for example efforts to localize food production goes hand in hand with efforts to provide access to food," he said at the launch party at Big Bear.

The new blog is being launched by the same coalition of groups that built the DC Food finder, where District residents can search an interactive map of farmers' markets, food banks, cooking classes and other sources.

"What? You mean access to fresh, reasonably priced food isn't evenly distributed throughout the city?"

But the atmosphere at the launch party wasn't all serious. The supporters spilled out onto the sidewalks when the rain subsided, enjoying the warm fall evening. And inside the cafe, local food supporters connected over clinking glasses and shared missions.

That's exactly what Greg had been hoping for. He says that the coalition wanted to bring people together, using technology to create opportunities to talk to one another. "We looked at food as the first and easiest way to explore these opportunities," he said.

District-wide Community Garden Census

By Katie Cerretani

I grew up with a backyard vegetable garden and have been yearning to have my own ever since I moved to the DC area about six years ago. Being easily distracted and moving frequently enough, I’ve limited myself to container gardening for the most part, but have become intrigued with the community garden concept ever since I had the chance to help out with NFI’s garden census.

Bea interviews a gardener at Melvin Hazen Community Garden

I visited several gardens in the upper reaches of the District with Bea as part of NFI’s effort to map out gardens and interview their denizens. We started at Fort Totten, taking GPS points to get an accurate picture of the garden’s size and location and interviewing some folks tending their plots. When we found people to talk to (rain threatened all day and likely kept people closer to home) Bea would interview the garden managers, and I got to chat up the gardeners themselves.

As I spoke with the gardeners at Fort Totten, I was struck by how peaceful it seemed, despite (or perhaps because of) the reggae music spilling over from a nearby party. I could get used to spending more time out there. And the plots were chock full of vegetables (and some fruits), so many so that when I attempted to record the different crops, I started out writing feverishly and eventually gave up in favor of more general descriptions with a few examples. It never ceases to amaze me how much you can grow in a small space if you work at it.

Throughout our afternoon trek, smaller community gardens dominated, with one exception (Blair Road Community Garden) that was an oasis of ‘open’ space on the edge of town. Standing in the middle of this community garden, I almost forgot I was even in a city – road noise was nonexistent; the dominant sound was wind blowing through crops and the grasses in between.

Blair Road Community Garden is DC's largest garden - over 5 acres!

One of the gardeners I met there had started his plot a few decades ago and was still going strong. He looked confused when I asked where he had learned to garden. He learned it growing up, from his father. Ask the younger gardeners, and they will probably say they learned through trial and error, reading books, or web research. Prod them a bit more, and maybe they’ve observed or even chatted up other gardeners. A couple had even attended NFI courses. Not only can community gardens be a place you go to for your own little space, but they are real places for exchange and even education.

Establishing a Cover Crop

By Tommy Pyne, NFI Intern

Autumn is now upon us, and with it comes the end of the growing season for the many vegetables and herbs grown this year in our garden. But while the cooler weather marks the end of the vegetables, it also signals the beginning of another important phase in the development of our garden. One of the greatest challenges faced by organic farmers and gardeners alike is providing and maintaining adequate nutrient levels in their soil without the use of conventional fertilizers. The use of winter cover crops is one simple and effective way to add nutrients, while maintaining the complex soil ecosystem we've worked so hard to develop.

Cover crops, which can also be referred to as green manure crops, are traditionally sown at the end of the growing season. They provide numerous benefits including increasing available nutrients, increasing water holding capacity, suppressing the growth of weeds, controlling erosion, providing a habitat for beneficial insects, and breaking disease cycles. The cover crop will grow over the winter and then be incorporated into the soil prior to planting in the spring.

When spring rolls around and we begin to sow our crops for the new year, their roots will begin to penetrate the soil in search of vital nutrients. Most notably, nitrogen. Nitrogen is essential in the formation of amino acids, which are the building blocks of all living organisms. While nitrogen is in abundance in our atmosphere, in fact it is the largest single constituent(~75%) of our atmosphere, this form of nitrogen is not usable by plants or animals. Fortunately we are able to gain access to this reserve through the use of plants which convert or "fix" atmospheric nitrogen into plant available forms. Instead of applying an outside source of nitrogen come springtime, our cover crop will be working throughout the winter to store nitrogen for our crops in the spring. Then when we incorporate the cover crop into the soil in the spring, the plants will begin to decompose, releasing more nitrogen and other important nutrients into the soil.

Aside from providing vital nutrients, the cover crop will also help maintain the soil that we already have. If we were to leave the garden bare for the entire winter our soil would be exposed to the elements for many months. Rain, snow and wind would slowly wash away the most nutrient rich portions of the soil. The foliage and roots of the cover crop will keep hold of our soil and make sure those vital nutrients remain in our garden.

This year we chose to use a mixture of four crops; Bell Bean, Winter Pea, Vetch and Oats. The first three fall into the nitrogen fixing category, and they constituted about 90% of the mix. While the oats do not provide any nitrogen fixation, they provide a wide, fibrous root base which will be essential in preventing erosion. To establish the cover crop we first had to remove the dead plants and weeds and transfer them to our composting heaps. Then in each row we plowed three smaller rows and lightly seeded the cover crop by hand.

Cooking With Fresh, Local Herbs

Written and posted by Molly Davis, 2009 NFI Community Supported Gardening share-holder

Fresh herbs can fetch a pretty steep price at the grocery store, and that's not the only downside. They're also not likely to have been grown organically, they come with as much packaging as they do flavor, and they traveled long distances to reach my plate. Those tiny bunches carry a big environmental footprint.

So one of my favorite things about having a share in the Neighborhood Farm Initiative has been the abundance of fresh herbs in my weekly sack of goodies. The NFI garden has seen an explosion in delicious basil, mint, chives and other herbs this summer, so much so that I've struggled to use them all before the next bag comes.

But having a small party is a great excuse to cook up some finger foods that incorporate all the most brilliant tastes of summer, as I discovered when some of my good friends recently got engaged. I'm spoiled now! After having big, glorious fountains of herbs straight from the farm, I'll never be able to work within the confines of those 1oz. grocery store packages again.

First, we made a mint julip punch. It was basically one big mint julep -- a punch bowl of freshly mottled mint floating in bourbon, simple syrup, and ice. Make the syrup by heating equal parts sugar and water over the stove until the sugar dissolves. Mix in syrup until you like the way it tastes. Watch out, this is strong!

Fresh picked Basil and Cherry Tomato's included in a

typical NFI Community Supported Garden Share

The following are my recipes for a relatively easy and colorful party menu. Enjoy!

Individual apricot cheesecakes

Make these first because they need the longest time to cool. For both the cheesecakes and the spinach tarts, it's extremely helpful to have a mini-muffin pan.

For the filling, mix 24 oz. cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tsp vanilla, and mix until it's fluffy. Add two eggs and two egg yolks, and mix until combined. Add 1/4 cup heavy cream and 1 can of apricot pie filling and mix again.

You can make your own pastry (this can be painful) or use the crescent roll dough that comes in cans at the store. Unroll the dough and cut into squares. Flatten them (your fingers work fine for this) and press down into the muffin pan to make the individual crusts. Fill each one almost up to the top with cheesecake batter. Cook at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Press a piece of a pecan into the top of each personal cheesecake. Cool in the fridge for at least four hours. Garnish the serving tray with sprigs of mint.

Spinach mini-tarts

Follow the same pastry instructions, but allow the dough to cook in the muffin pan for minutes before adding the filling. Again, 375 degrees.

The filling for this recipe is less exact. Add more cream if you want it creamier. Add more spinach otherwise. Add or remove ingredients depending on what you've got in your fridge. It's going to taste good no matter what.

Chop up a bunch of fresh spinach and chives. Grate a good melting cheese of your choice, and add a little parmesan to the mix if you have it. Add some of your leftover heavy cream from the cheesecake recipe and some whole milk. Add salt and freshly ground pepper.

After cooking the pastry initially, pull out the pan and fill the cups. Press as much filling down into the cups as possible. Don't be afraid to pack it in. The spinach will cook down, but the top will be a gorgeous skin of melted cheese and crispy, toasted greens. Place the muffin pan back in the oven and cook for five more minutes.

For an optional spicy kick, I diced a spicy pepper and mixed it with apple cidar vinegar and a little salt and pepper and let people spoon it onto the tarts themselves from a bowl.

Bruschetta

Make the tomato mixture early and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours if possible. Just chop a bunch of tomatoes and basil and mix with olive oil, salt, and fresh pepper.

Slice a baguette and broil the slices for two minutes on each side. Plate the toast and spread the raw tomato mixture across it.

NFI Celebrates a Fantastic Season!

On October 3rd we celebrated a fantastic season as a way of thanking our generous volunteers for all their time, love, and energy! We began the day with a fall-prep work day, for which we were joined by a group of 10 volunteers working as part of the South Asian Americans Leading Together’s (SAALT) Be the Change national day of service. We were also joined by countless other volunteers, both new and long-standing, and got a lot accomplished. At noon we wrapped up the work and had a potluck lunch, which was supplemented with fresh picked cherry tomatoes, watermelons, green beans, and other goodies we have in great quantities!

SAALT and other volunteers work in the plot of a Garden Class student who moved away from the area last month. They were excited to find and eat the hidden treasures, including Carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil, growing amongst the weeds.

SAALT volunteers remove Morning Glory from the NFI deer fence. While morning glory flowers can be beautiful, the vines can take over and, if left unattended, could tear the fense down!

Weeding and mulching the fall greens.









Sifting Compost is a lot of work, volunteers took turns using a digging fork to transfer the mix of finished compost and partially composted weeds from the bins onto the Bread Crates above. Then, other volunteers worked and loosened the soil sifting it through the holes in the crate, and into wheelbarrows. Anything not broken down enough to fit through the holes, went back in the pile!


There was plenty of finished compost to go around, and any gardeners who had come for the garden clean-up day were welcome to add it to their plots.





Volunteer Neil harvests some Heirloom Tomatoes to add to our potluck lunch spread.
Volunteers gathered around the food, cooling off from working in one of what could be the last hot days of the season, with fresh picked watermelon and iced lemonade.
After lunch we were joined by a group of dozens of bicyclists who were part of a Harvest Bike Ride, a 26 mile randonneuring bike tour of gardens and worker-owned food cooperatives in the DC area.

This event was a great opportunity for new folks to be introduced to our project, and also for people who had volunteered early in the season to come back and see how much we had accomplished in one summer. It was truly an chance for us to all appreciate the fruits of our labor!

It's been a busy Fall!

During the month of September, we logged more than 150 hours of volunteer time, and are still working hard to get ready for winter! Our tomatoes have finished for the season and have been removed and replaced with a cover crop, and our compost pile has composted and is ready to spread on newly tilled ground! In addition to working in our garden, volunteers sold produce at the Mt. Pleasant Farmers Market, and also conducted a DC-wide Urban Garden Census! We are looking forward to another busy month in October, and then winding down our work-days by the end of the month. There is still lots to do between now and first frost though!

Our summers work has really paid off, as our September Harvest has been bountiful, beautiful, and delicious!
Our many rows of basil has paid off, keeping our CSG shares large and our freezer full of a years supply of Pesto!





Bea Sifts Compost, beautiful beautiful compost. It's amazing how this rich soil was just a pile of weeds and food scraps just a few months ago!
Volunteers enjoy a watermelon fresh picked only moments ago!
Volunteer, Carolyn, plants winter greens in a special 4’x12’ garden mat, donated to NFI by the office of Vermont Senitor, Bernie Sanders.


Fresh Picked Cherry Tomatoes: Just like candy!













Harvested for Mt. Pleasant Farmers Market







Volunteers remove the tomato plants, in preparation for planting cover crops.

Looks like our fall greens will be plentiful at least up until the first hard frost!

A Month of Harvesting (and Weeding!)

August has been a very busy month at NFI, we have had more than 100 distinct volunteers dedicate over 350 volunteer hours to making NFI's harvest season a success. We have done a little bit of everything this month (and a LOT of some things!) It is a very rewarding time to be out in the garden as you can really see the entire seasons process happen literally all in a day.

For example, a few Saturday's ago we started at 7AM harvesting bucket-loads of cherry tomatoes to sell at the Mt. Pleasant Farmers Market, and then continued from there to do everything from weeding, turning compost piles, and even hand turning used beds, spreading compost, and planting our fall chard crops.

Below, volunteers Anna-Beth and Katie sample some goodies at the Mt. Pleasant Farmers Market, while selling produce so fresh the tomatoes were still warm from the sun!


We learned the hard way that a lot of rain early in the season can weaken a plants immune system and make them more susceptible to disease. We had an outbreak of the Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus kill about half of our cucumbers and squashes. Here, volunteers Neal and Laura examine plants to determine which ones are healthy, and which need to be removed to stop the disease from spreading.








Volunteers and class participants enjoy a cold watermelon at the end of a long day of weeding and learning in the sun. Thanks to volunteer Neil for running out mid-morning to procure our mid-day treat!







We've been fortunate enough to harvest basil pretty much every other day for the last month. As a result Basil has been bountiful in our CSG shares, is often available by the bunch at Glut Food Coop and the Mt. Pleasant Farmers' Market, and we've even had plenty left over the turn into Pesto for the winter!




One Day's Harvest!
On August 15th, we held our 9th (and second to last) class in our season long Gardening Education Program. This class focused on Harvesting and Preparing your Harvest, and was taught by guest speaker Ed Bruske. Throughout the course of the season, Ed Bruske has featured NFI three times on his blog. We encourage you to browse through his blog to learn all about the best ways to turn your harvest, into your dinner. The posts directly related to NFI were made on April 30th, August 17th, and August 28th.

On August 12th, we had a 35 person volunteer crew, ranging in age from 5 to 65, from St. Louis come join us for an afternoon. They spent two hours working in the field, and then we migrated up to a nearby park for a cookout. Everyone had a great time, got some dirt under their fingernails, and enjoyed the fresh air! The crew was on a two week bus trip to visit urban gardens in Chicago, Denver, and Washington DC. They said their two DC highlights included a tour of the White House Garden, and their afternoon with NFI! Below, Bea helps a group of kids find gloves that fit their little hands!







They worked in teams to do everything from mulching with Straw, weeding, and Spreading Wood-chips.






(Click any photo to see larger image)









One group even took freshly harvest basil and turned it into hand-made pesto which we then ate on our veggie burgers for dinner!


We ended the evening with a delicious feast, a discussion of locally produced foods in our respective communities, and a true sense of accomplishment!