MLT NEWSLETTER

Fall 2010

Cultivating Resilient Communities

MLT and the Transition Movement

    

Ben wrote about the Jubilant Gardens project in the winter 2000 newsletter. Ben and grew up in nearby rural Lacota, MI, but now lives near Charlotte, MI. Last names are removed for privacy.

Jubilant Gardens Friends are largely made up of former supporters of the Jubilant Gardens Project, which happened in 2000-2001. The Jubilant Gardens Project allowed Ben Brown to receive basic training in GROWBIOINTENSIVE agriculture techniques developed by John Jeavons of Ecology Action and to return to his community to implement and demonstrate the techniques among subscribers to the project. Summing up the experience of using GROWBIOINTENSIVE techniques: My parameters were a digging spade and fork. On 700 sq ft of pasture I worked to develop a compost, food and income production model with fewer outside inputs and water than most other conventional or sustainable agriculture models. The results were more productive than anything I had seen before.

The Jubilant Gardens Project was a seed of community development centered around becoming more efficient and definitely more sustainable with gardening and micro farming. Supporters were encouraged to try out demonstrated techniques, share gardening experiences and create a network. I was available as part of the agreement to help each household set up a test plot to try on their own property. Regarding results: Even though that demonstration site was lost, (seems to be a pattern if you don't own property) former participants continued to network. Of 17 households; two non gardeners before the program are still gardening, one agribusiness donor now has a satellite farm that is totally organic, and one household became involved w/poultry and egg production in addition to improving gardening techniques. The non gardener-now gardener has gone on to encourage both extended family members and local community members to try food production as well as seed saving.
The Ranch CSA is still in the process of defining itself. On 500 sq ft of land in several sites in the Charlotte area, Ben, his housemate Leon, plus several members of his community have been creating a tiny network of food and horticultural gardeners. Other friends without time for gardening have shown an interest in purchasing locally grown foods raised without chemical inputs from Ben. The Ranch is a test CSA providing several households with vegetables such as chard, beets, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach, eggplant, garlic, basil and additional herbs.

2010 Garden Evaluation – The Ranch CSA & Jubilant Gardens Friends…

    Things cooperating, the garden seemed to hit its stride this year.  We estimate in our household we ate, stored, and enjoyed roughly $1,500.00 worth of produce with more on the way.  In addition we also trialled a test subscription program with several local supporters and we supplied the land owners with increased vegetables from our tiny plot.
    Last year we had great success with saving scallion seed using multiple plants. Attempts to save onion seed from the Giant Zitau bulb did not produce. The reason was the flower is “perfect” meaning it can’t fertilize itself, there needs to be more than one plant. We’ll be saving several bulbs from this year’s harvest to replant. Onions are one thing we consume in quantity. I myself probably consume a bushel and a half in a year. We grew quite a few and still have a significant number in storage. It appears Zitau stores better than Alisa Craig onions, so that is what’s I’ll be starting the end of January.
    We planted more crops carefully using spacing advised in How to Grow More Vegetables. We had a resultant increase in yields and size of produce. Beets and onions gave us far better yields than in the two years previous using a standard row planting.
    The recommendation of Betty, convinced us to try cutting our celery with a result we still have celery on November the 12th to cut and I believe the plants will remain productive for the foreseeable future.
We trialled cylindrical beets. My initial response was they were serviceable, but not as good as Detroit Red. Through the season though my opinion changed as the flavor improved, they became sweeter and remained tender. Pickled they were a fantastic treat, especially using the low and no salt recipes for the pickled beets, onions and cucumbers. Many thanks to Leon for doing the lion’s share of canning/pickling. If we can locate more seed we will be planting these again. A plus of cylindrical beets are that they are more productive per area as they produce the same diameter as other beets we’ve grown, but with additional length.
    We trialled both Cherokee Chocolate and a keeping tomato, Yellow on the Outside, Red on the Inside. The chocolate is a smaller version of Cherokee Purple. The taste was slightly milder, but still fruity. It lacked the winey, smokey aspects of the purple, but was pleasant enough. It was very, very prolific.
    As the year moves toward its end, I’m finding I like the keeping tomato much better than any store chain tomato in the store. I also have to thank Glenda and her mother for introducing me to storing green tomatoes to allow them to ripen in a cool place like a garage. Most of the tomatoes, keeping or traditional taste great and it seems like an absolute luxury to have them.
    Leon did an excellent job of trellising or staking and shaping tomato bushes. Different varieties of tomatoes responded differently to being trellised or staked. Leon did both a single pole method trimming the plant to a single central stem as well as selecting several branches to be tied along a fence. He trimmed and tied the plants at least once weekly and often two or more times a week. The Oxheart and Cherokee varieties performed best, with mixed results from Rutgers and the keeping tomato. At a protected site the Yellow on the Outside trimmed to a single stem produced almost a bushel from a single plant. The protected site Cherokee also did well. Whether because it was more open to the winds or a soil difference the “espaliered” tomatoes of the same variety did not perform as well.
    Due to lack of space we also trialled an Italian heirloom BC provided by Jamie's garden. The shape is somewhat pear shaped. The fruit is lightly hollowed and wouldn’t take much to stuff. Our first taste was this was a very sweet paste tomato with meaty side walls and less juicy than some varieties.
    As mentioned in an earlier e-mail I made a third attempt to grow sweet potatoes. After my "pep" talk from Nancy several years back, I did not continually hill them up. The result was a good number of enormous sweet potatoes. They yielded better than the white potatoes. For seven plants we got about 1/2 bushel. Flavor/cooking wise the potatoes needed to bake longer in the oven to bring out the sweetness and be thoroughly done. Sweet potatoes for their nutrition and flavor are a staple on my dietary list. Right now I’m experimenting with growing sweet potato vines in the house. (from a store bought potato). Mom use to grow sweet potato vines in the house. I don’t remember us eating the shoots which are supposed to be a delicacy. If they get too out of hand growing in the house we might have to try them.
    It had been a concern for some time to find the specific variety of squash, great grandmother Ozora and grandmother Mary Lou grew. The only leads I had was that they made a banana pie out of it. After searching and talking to members of Seed Savers, we guessed it was one of several varieties of squash belonging to a group called banana squash. We trialled a variety called Guatemalan Blue. (Another possible candidate is the Arikara squash, from the Arikara tribe.) Banana squash were available from seed sources during the 1800’s and early 1900’s.
    I had grown the Guatemalan twice before once from a Seed Saver source in Detroit and it had produced stunning robin egg blue fruits. I didn’t though have a chance to eat those fruits. This variety of Guatemalan Blue was a slate greyish blue...
    We had multiple fruit reaching adult size (it needs a long season.) Steamed, the flesh is similar to winter squash, perhaps with a slightly sweeter rounder flavor. It faintly reminded me of the blindingly delicious dumpling squash. It could make a nice pie. Information about this squash claimed it could be partially sliced, with the remainder stored without rotting. We cooked it all at once so I don’t know.
    It seemed pretty susceptible to squash bugs. I’d like to grow it again, but we have several squash requests for other varieties, Fiesta, Hubbard and Patty Pan, in this coming year. Oh for land… but that is a story for later…
    We added horseradish, bush cherry, micro height blueberry, red raspberry, rhubarb, asparagus to the strawberry and gooseberry at the home site, plus perennial herbs. (Less lawn to mow) How wonderful to grab a handful of raspberries on the way to open the garage door. I am hoping the planter w/horseradish has at least one root for making horseradish sauce…
    The basement redworms have increased to the point we don’t have to worry about who will pick up the household compost to take to the regular garden site, 1 1/2 miles away. Now I can just walk downstairs and take care of it myself. I find I value their tea as a pick me up for plants. I discovered this year that oxygenating the vermicompost tea definitely increases its effectiveness. I am still looking to better investing in the garden site regular compost bins in the possible future.
    I’d been asked about doing a weather extension something for the garden greens and plants. Last time we did some sort of greenhouse we combined several different ideas and ended up only protecting a fraction of what could have been saved. I had cold feet, but was talked into doing that instead of studying for chemistry tests. The end result our raised bed is mostly under “glass”. The lettuce, broccoli and spinach is responding well… The end result is we have fresh food for at least 10 months and a protected place to put out our tomato cuttings I saved just before the frost later… at the price of food a place to grow food is a real value. (With peak oil from conventional sources having been reached two years previous, you can trust the price of food will be a significant and serious upward rise from now on.)
    We mainly worked with what I had learned from working with Dad on our greenhouses and in working with Ken in the bedding industry. Leon contributed tools, expertise and the desire that the work looked professional. Ed advised us on doing a full fledge hoop house([in the future) and Christine kept cheering us on to finish it. Time and money winding down, with me wearing out, we are 90% of where we wanted to be with plant protection, but we have a winter garden and the promise of spring growing.
    Ed and Chris also let us know the business is up for sale, but don’t think we will have to worry about a buyer soon. [Our main garden is on the businesses back property.] The result is I have been looking at area property and praying for the ability to finally have land that is mine to grow on, while staying in school and working. There are a couple of sites within 10 miles of Charlotte. I’m trying to pull together the necessary steps and see if it can be made to happen.  This would be a good time, perhaps the best time to do it… We’ll see.
    So here we are at the “end” of the growing cycle, but the start of the next one. Because of the gardens both at home and at “The Ranch” we experienced weeks without the need to purchase vegetables or fruits. We are improving our cultivation of calorie crops and working on carbon and compost production. In truth, I grumble and complain at times, but few things are more dear to me than my partnership with creation and coworkers in food production.
    What John predicted is finally coming to pass, people are beginning to look to gardeners as rock stars. Having disconnected our local food economy to the degree farmers faded away who couldn’t compete with multinational or overseas providers we are now facing more expensive transportation costs and fewer people who know how to produce diverse, healthy food locally.
    Gardening is returning to the realm of the real world. People who know how to grow food and are doing it within the resources around them hold as much as anyone, the security of their communities.
You know how to raise and produce chickens, then you are a resource. …manage a hive of bees naturally… raise grain biointensively; fruit or nuts… I am thinking, no, I am certain, you are more important than you know. Keep growing, work to develop your skill and value the trust given, to care for creation and your neighbor.
    Grace and peace,                             Ben Brown

Successes and “Failures” in Permaculture   

Sassafras (Sassafras Albidum)

                            By Rita Bober
   
Sassafras trees are one of the wild edible plants that many people already know about.  It is one of the easiest trees to identify.  My husband, Norm, likes to call it the “mitten” tree because one of its leaves looks like a mitten.  Sassafras is a medium-sized tree with irregularly furrowed, red-brown bark.  The leaves come in three different shapes, one is oval, one has two lobes (like a mitten), and one has three lobes.  All the leaves are 3 to 5 inches long and have a pleasant fragrance.  In the fall, the leaves turn a beautiful orange/yellow/red.  The tree reproduces itself prodigiously by runners as it tries to compete with taller trees in a maturing forest.  Some of the immature saplings can be uprooted and used for food and medicine.
 
Sassafras leaves can be harvested from spring to fall, while the twigs and roots are good all year.  All parts of the tree make a reddish-brown herb tea though the root will make the strongest tea.  For medicinal use, the root is best.  Scrape off the outer bark and use the inner bark.  It is best to simmer rather than steep the root, leaves, or twigs.  Wash the soil off the part that you are using before simmering for 20 minutes in a covered pot.  When finished, strain and serve.  Many people love to make root beer by adding seltzer water and sweetener to the tea.  You can also grind the dried inner bark in a spice grinder or blender and use as a substitute for cinnamon.  Dry sassafras leaves can be ground into a powder called gumbo filé.  It can be used to flavor and slightly thicken soup.  Southerners often use gumbo filé – when you have enough soup to serve six, turn off the heat and stir in half a cup of this expensive gourmet item.

Native Peoples used sassafras as a blood purifier or alternative (cleansing the whole body) which helps specifically for a variety of skin diseases such as acne, burns, skin infections and poison ivy rash.  It can be useful for eczema and psoriasis and it is especially good as a spring tonic.  Herbalists also suggest that sassafras is good for rheumatism, gout, and arthritis as well as treating colds and fevers. The plant has disinfectant action so it would be good as a mouthwash. In addition, it can be used to combat head lice and other body infestations.

To prepare the tea, pour a cup of boiling water onto 1-2 teaspoons of the dried herb and leave it to infuse for 15 to 20 minutes.  If using fresh parts, place 1 tablespoon in the pot before adding the hot water.  Drink a cup three times a day.  It can also be made into a tincture.

There has been some concern about the carcinogenic properties of safrole which is found in small concentrations in sassafras root bark.  Research scientists isolate the element safrole in their research with rats.  If the element is isolated, its concentrated quality could be harmful.  However, other research indicated that using the whole root does not yield the same concentration of safrole.    Rats used in research convert safrole into a carcinogen but humans do not according to “Wildman” Steve Brill.  The safrole found in a 12-ounce can of old-fashioned root beer is not as carcinogenic as the alcohol (ethanol) in a can of beer.  Safrole is also found in many common foods and spices including sweet basil, nutmeg and black pepper. Used in moderation, many people have enjoyed sassafras products for thousands of years with no ill effects. 

Head out to the woods and collect some roots before the ground freezes.  Both leaves and root bark can be dried and stored through the winter.  It will be hard to get the roots out once the ground is frozen.  If that happens, you could use twigs and dried leaves.  I’ve used the leaves and roots myself but not the twigs.  I’ll have to get Norm out to our patch of sassafras to get root bark to dry for future use.  See you in the sassafras!

Resources:
    Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places.  Steve Brill with Evelyn Dean.  William Morrow & Company, New York, N.Y., 1994.
    New Holistic Herbal: A Herbal celebrating the wholeness of life.  David Hoffmann.  Element Books, Inc. Rockport, MA, 1992.
    The Way of Herbs.  Michael Tierra, C.A., N.D.  Pocket Books of Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, N.Y., 1990.