Hi - We haven't posted in a while, time to get updated!!

Check out the new links on our Island Grown Produce Page
and if you're wondering about new happenings on the island, here's one of the exciting newest (with great pictures of these enthusiastic young farmers and their amazing and wonderful nonprofit endeavor: Full Belly Farm. 
We'll write more about what is happening at the Land & Sea community garden in mid-August, so check back. 
  
Read a full list of where to get locally grown farm produce, meat, dairy, seafood, baked goods, and lots more at our own Island Grown Produce and Markets page!!!

We'll be updating the links on the sidebar and posting new pictures and news about the Land & Sea community garden in the coming weeks, too. Watch for those updates... 

SAT/SUN Pruning Workshops for Older Fruit Trees!  

10 am 2/11&12 - no equipment needed

Hi Everybody

We have a great opportunity this coming Saturday (and now a Sunday workshop at 10 am has been added) for anyone interested in learning a bit about pruning older fruit trees! The lovely heritage apple and pear trees located at our Land & Sea garden site on Blair St. across from the High School and Middle School will be pruned this Saturday, at 10 am.  (An additional workshop has been added for those who can't come Saturday; it will be this Sunday at 10 am.)

If you attended the workshop last year then this year will be nice to see how to prune your older tree a following year.  If this is new to you, then welcome!  Last year, people had to brave a pretty chilly morning but it was so interesting the whole crowd stayed.  Who knows what the weather holds this year.

This simple workshop will be about an hour and a half and will be of help to people who have older fruit trees. If you're interested in attending, please let us know by emailing back to slowfoodlandandsea@gmail.com. or call Linda at 317-5890 (leave a message).  We hope to film the pruning - wish us luck!

Hope to see you Sat or Sun's workshop! (or both!)

Look for greens and winter vegetables that are now available from Nootka Rose, Blue Moon, Talking Horse and other San Juan islands farms at the SJI Food Co Op on Mullis in FH!

  
Seed Saving Workshop!

December 12th at Skagit Valley College Friday Harbor Campus on San Juan Island, you can learn the basic skills to start saving seed on your farm. Seed can be a valuable crop for sale or on-farm use. It also holds important implications for crop conservation and food security, but growing seed successfully requires a basic understanding of seed biology and production techniques. 

Micaela Colley from the Port Townsend-based Organic Seed Alliance will combine a class lecture with hands-on demonstrations with topics including selecting crops, harvest techniques, and seed cleaning skills.

Thanks to a grant from the USDA this class is offered for a low cost of $10.

Pre-registration is not required, but is available. To save a spot, contact Candace Jagel at 360-370-7664 or candace_jagel@wsu.edu.
Thanks Candace and WSU Extension Office for putting together this learning opportunity! We are so lucky! 

Organic Seed Alliance is wonderful. Anyone who has seen "Food Inc" or read or or experienced what is happening to our seed supplies and our nation's small farmers knows how important it is to protect and nurture the earth's seed supply  - please take a look and see even just a little of what they do.
You can support or become a part of the Alliance by going by going Here.  You can also find some really great holiday gifts at this spot, believe it or not!

CHECK OUT HOBBES' NEW BLOG!!

San Juan Island vegetable farmer and cook Hobbes Buchanan

Check out this new blog (click here) from great cook and SJ Island vegetable farmer Hobbes Buchanan.

Part of Mr. Buchanan's bio: "Trained in the art of cooking for 22 years by Chef Jacquelyn Buchanan, N.E. (nutrition expert). I've gained experience at the following restaurants in the San Francisco/Bay Area: Post Street Bar & Cafe, Hayes Street Grill, and General's Daughter (Sonoma County). I sold my

 vegetables to many of the most successful restaurants in San Francisco and Sonoma and Napa Valleys..."

Check our sidebar for other great island blogs from other local producers. including Thousand Flowers Farm. Matt's Fresh Fish, and the adventures of hunter-gatherer Eleanor, manager Anna, and many others in Eleanor's Letters from the San Juan Island Community Co Op.

LAND & SEA GARDEN/COMMUNITY GREENHOUSE

Our next post will have information on the progress of the wonderful new student initiated community greenhouse now being erected at the Land & Sea Garden site across from the High School and Middle School on Blair Ave. 

Students from Jenny Wilson's Community Projects class, heroically mentored by Marion Melville, and mightily assisted by adult volunteers contractor Terry Whalen, the generous John Stamey, the hardworking Chris Wilson, Jim and Cathy Cole, able go-to person Helen Venada, generous John Towson and his youth Leo Lions crew, and other kind volunteers have spent a number of weekends putting up this lovely greenhouse, and need only a few more days, and a few more able hands to finish up this pretty building which will provide a community site for greenhouse growing for years to come. 

Please stay posted for more information on the next date and time we will be finishing this building up - maybe you can come and take part! 

Also look here in coming days for more info on the new greenhouse.

Please write to slowfoodlandandsea@gmail.com with questions, or call Linda at 350-317-5890

PERCY SCHMEISER - A BRAVE EXAMPLE WE CAN FOLLOW

  

Hi Everyone - 

The San Juan Agricultural Guild (SJ Ag Guild) is sponsoring Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser's visit to the San Juan Islands. This is one very brave man, with a compelling story, who hopefully helped change the way the wind blows when it comes to genetically modified foods and a huge corporation's ongoing campaign against the small family farmer. You can read more - at the link above - about this quiet farmer who, with his wife, and against incredible odds, stood up - and has continued to stand up - for what they know is right.

Mr. Schmeiser will be at the SJI Grange hall on Sunday, October 23rd from 7:00-8:30 pm. 

Cost is $15. Mr. Schmeiser will talk about the years spent battling Monsanto in the courts, and the dangers of introducing genetically modified organisms in the food system. 

On the same subject...

Go here to find out how to let the nation's top grocery stores know you have concerns about Monsanto's new genetically modified sweet corn.

Read the latest news on genetically modified crops here, and about simple ways you can take effective action.

Fish consumers, Pacific Northwesterners: Read about genetically modified salmon - classified as a "drug" so as to take advantage of less stringent rules - now up for approval by the FDA, here and here.

Hey, We have Visitors!! Kallari Chocolate!

Hi Everyone!

Ecuadorean Kallari chocolate maker

Long time no see! Now we're back to catching up this page, and the first thing to know is that we have visitors from the Ecuadorean Kallari chocolate Cooperative arriving early next week and staying for 4 days! Read below about the programs they'll do while they're here, including a chocolate demo at the SJ Co Op.
The second thing is through this Saturday 10/15, for any size donation, you can become a member of Slow Food. Go here to do that.


The Visit - Events
Activist and Kallari Cooperative founder Judy Logback, and cacao farmer, chocolatier and financial director for Kallari Leonor Cayapa are arriving on San Juan island late on Sunday evening,
and spending Monday all day at the high school, headquartered in HS Spanish teacher Brook Landers classroom, with other classes including Mr. McNairy's and Ruthie Paull's classes stopping in.

Leonor speaks her native Spanish and Kichwa,  and English, and Judy will also translate for Leonor.
Brook Landers has generously offered to be Judy & Leonor's escort and ambassador for their trip.

Kallari chocolate

Caffe Femenino coffee grower

Monday after school, they'll all be heading to the Co Op around 5 pm to do an open house with chocolate samples and with Caffe Femenino coffee supplied by Friday Harbor's Soroptimists. Soroptomist Anna Coffelt, who is also our SJ So Op manager spearheads the work the Soroptomists do with this WA based coffee company and will make the coffee. Anna saw that Caffe Femenino's mission and Kallari's are similar.

Tuesday am Judy and Leonor will do a program at the Friday Harbor Library from 10:30-12
noon, then a truffle making class from 1:30 - 4:30 at Marion
Melville's kitchen, over on Bison Lane off Cattle Pt. rd. We're
charging 25$ for that, so that we can cover the cost of chocolate and
travel expenses. Marion and Doug have also donated their guest house for Judy and Leonor's visit.
While Judy and Leonor are here, they'll also have the opportunity to connect with our wonderful island farmers. We want these two, the  Kallari farmer and the cooperative organizer, to get to meet
everyone and compare notes and make a connection. We think we can learn a lot from this cooperative, and the more small farmers connect worldwide, the better.

Wednesday these two inspiring women will have a chance to rest and see the island, and  
Wednesday night they're going to have dinner at the Community Dinner at the High School before
they have to take off either that evening or early Thurs for an event in Seattle Thurs morning at 10.

The Food for Thought Community Dinner features island grown beef and produce and is planned and prepared by the high school Culinary Arts students and Andy Radziolowski and Liz Varvaro, who teach these kids and run the Food For Thought program at the school. Dinner is 5$ and will be incredible!

We sure hope you can make it to one of these events. Everyone adds something special to all this.
All of us connecting - that's how we can change the world!

cacao beans

There's a great paper Judy wrote about what they've done with the Kallari
cooperative, with many observations that can be a big help to us here on our island.
It's worth looking at if you have a minute. Double spaced for easy reading.

Kallari Cooperative member

About Kallari

Ecuadorean river, Napo region

KALLARI (kah-YAH-di) is a cooperative of over 850 Kichwa cacao farm families in the Amazonian Napo Province of Ecuador. With student activist Judy Logback, the Kichwa people created this cooperative for more control over revenues. Realizing most profit is made from sales of chocolate bars, not the cacao beans, the Kallari Association decided to produce their own chocolate. Robert Steinberg, a founder of Scharffen Berger chocolate, advised the cooperative on chocolate making and Stephen McDonnell, the founder and chief executive of the Applegate Farms organic food company, helped them establish the Kallari Chocolate Company. Kallari is doing something never done before in the global chocolate industry, with self-reliant governance and innovative economic model. The cooperative provides the Kichwa people economic resources to resist both logging their forests and short-term-only riches offered by environmentally harmful petroleum extraction. 100 percent of profits from sales of chocolate bars is returned to the Kallari cooperative. The Kallari cooperative is Rainforest Alliance Certified, which is denoted by the little green frog seal on the packaging. Farms that are Rainforest Alliance Certified protect wildlife, wild lands, workers' rights and local communities. In 2004 a chocolate bar made with Kallari beans was presented at the Slow Food Terra Madre conference in Turin, Italy. Slow Food selected the rare organic Cacao Nacional cacao bean found only in the Kallari communities for the Presidium Award.

RYAN, PARKER AND CODY'S COMMUNITY GREENHOUSE PROJECT

Community Garden on Blair and Second - last year's crops.

The three boys from Jenny Wilson's high school Community Service class - Cody, Parker, and Ryan - working on building a community greenhouse hope to site it on this educational garden property. The boys are also putting together a plan b and c in the event this site doesn't work out; other possible places to use as an alternate set up site, or as the place for temporary storage if the greenhouse is sited here, but needs to be moved at a later date to accommodate the county's plans for the property.

The boys' aim, as they explain it, is to grow greens for the school lunch program in their greenhouse, and make it sustainable by recruiting underclassmen each year to carry oversight of the greenhouse on, and to use the income from the greens to pay for supplies and maintenance. They decided this garden site they're hoping for is a pretty great spot for this use.

Heritage pear trees and the garden field . Maybe there will be a pretty little greenhouse out here, too!

What has happened so far: Land & Sea mentors Scott and Linda visited the Community Services class and talked about the community garden. These three students came up with the greenhouse idea for the site, then worked with Scott on getting a grant to fund the purchase. The agreement the chapter has for use of the property would have to be expanded to allow the boys to site their greenhouse. Scott, Linda and Marion of Land & Sea, as the contractor, checked with the county to see if that might be possible, and got a positive response. In the meantime, thanks to the boys' and mentor Scott's hard work and the work of another greenhouse student years before, the boys were approved for a grant. 

Now the three boys are working to get on the County Council's agenda to see if final approval from the County Council members is possible.

Some history: The opportunity for the boys to get this far in  this project was also made possible by the work of another Community Service class student a few years back who also was successful in getting funding to build a community greenhouse. That greenhouse was not built due to the difficulty of finding a property owner willing to site the project; the difficulty most times due to liability and related issues. The schools, fairgrounds, and other properties became not possible then for those reasons. His initial work, and the foundation holding the grant, helped make Parker, Ryan and Cody's new project possible.

Cody, Ryan, and Parker's project would be under their supervision, under the auspices of Land & Sea Slow Food chapter, so that if sited on the property on Blair and Second it would become part of our county agreement, if approved, and included in our insurance coverage. Land & Sea chapter would be willing to take ownership of the greenhouse in order to make this project possible, with the express intent to turn ownership over to the school or county if ever that is possible or desired by the school or county, and to make the greenhouse completely available for use by the school and community until that time comes. Any other ideas for ownership of the greenhouse will be welcomed;  Land & Sea's whole interest in this project is in making it possible. - Any one willing to take on ownership and responsibility in our place so this greenhouse can happen in a timely manner will be welcomed!


The greenhouse the boys chose is able to be moved, in case the time should come that the county would need the property for other uses.
These kids are really amazing, and so motivated! They worked on this individually and as a group all through the break to get their project ready to present.

A separate bank account within our non profit chapter would be opened, would be overseen by the kids who run the project, and would be devoted simply to the greenhouse. Any money coming in through Land & Sea to the greenhouse project will go into this account and then directly back to the greenhouse.
(See info at bottom of post about our main account).


Ryan, Parker and Cody are making plans for presentations to the FH Town and SJ County Councils, and will be doing a number of presentations to the public about their project.
We wish them the best with their project. They're amazing boys doing something a lot of people in our county are really excited about! Great job Guys!

[Land & Sea chapter's policy on financial donations: Donations go to our account at Islander's Bank. Any and all money that comes in goes directly back out into the community. Although we've rarely actively sought donations, donations offered to us have funded an irrigation system, our insurance coverage for the garden, and a small one-time stipend for our Community Projects/garden manager mentor this season.
Also funded: scholarships to the Quillisascut teaching farm, for 4 local young people so far. These scholarships are ongoing, are especially targeting local high school students and graduates, and have been provided by two local donors. The experiences the Quillisascut opportunity has provided for kids from our community has been called life changing by the participants. We actively seek young people who have been through Andy and Liz's Food For Thought Chef program. The first student we sent to Quillisascut  2 summers ago was a high school student in our Slow Food Youth program we had placed as an intern with Quail Croft Cheese here on the island. Her scholarship was provided by an  island resident who's also allowed us space in her greenhouse on the west side to grow starts in this spring.
Donations will also help fund a farm work internship program for young students, now in the works.]


A reminder of the lovely harvest from last year's first garden.

UPDATE ON THE SUCCESSFUL TREE PRUNING WORKSHOP, AND THE GARDEN'S GARLIC AND PEAS

 

Garlic in the garden. We're not using the irrigation system at this point - there is plenty of water still falling as rain!

   

One of Keith's lovely older pruning tools. He likes these even better than the modern metal ones   available these days - the older wood ones are lighter and work really well! Keith said he found these in Eastern WA.

Here's one of the apples after pruning.

And a couple of the pears a few weeks later, now showing more signs of buds and leaves.

The educational podiums at the garden, school in background

   

Click on photos above and below to enlarge for reading

 

Some of the current info in the podiums.

 

  

In the garden, looking towards the SJ County's Administration building. The garlic is looking great!

Tree Pruning Workshop For Older Trees This Sat. at Land &Sea Garden on Blair Ave! 

Movie, "FLOW', Wed night at Drs Office Cafe!

Trees in late summer

Hi Everyone! 
This Saturday, for anyone interested in learning a bit about pruning older fruit trees - The apple and pear trees located at our Land &Sea Garden site on Blair St. across from the High School and Middle School will be pruned this Saturday, at 10 am. 

This simple workshop will be about an hour long, and will be of help to people who have older fruit trees.
If you're interested in attending, please let us know
by emailing back to slowfoodlandandsea@gmail.com. or call Linda at 317-5890 (leave a message).
We hope to film the pruning - wish us luck!

New - Work Party and Pruning Workshop!!

Fun in Our Garden!!!
Moving Garlic, Planting Favas/Peas (3/5/11), and 
Free Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop (3/12/11)

Garden manager Scott and Land & Sea invite you to come to a work party this Saturday, March 5th at 10 am at the Land & Sea Garden on Blair St. across from the High School/Middle School. 
Scott says "I would like to move one row of garlic plants and put a few rows of favas and peas in the garden this Saturday."

The next Saturday (3/12/11), we'll be sponsoring a workshop on pruning fruit trees, when pruning techniques will be demonstrated on the lovely old apples and pear tree  at our garden site  
(that's Blair St, across from the high school and middle school).  
Saturday March 12, 10 am.

Scott says: "Can we send out a request for volunteers/workshop attendees for both of these?"

If you'd like to come, just show up at 10 am. We'll have some hand tools for the work party, but you can bring your own if you'd like.
Questions? Write slowfoodlandandsea@gmail.com,
or call 317-5890
Thanks!   Linda and Maureen

Check changed dates! (as of 2/23/11). We're All in This Together film series at

DOCTOR'S OFFICE CAFE - starts Next Week! 7:45 pm (All welcome - space limited)

85 Front St.  -  Across from the ferry landing

Mar 2 / Mar 9  -  FLOW : For Love of Water

Mar 16   -  FRESH : new thinking about what we're eating

Mar 23 -  NET LOSS: The Storm Over Salmon Farming

recommended donation $2 or whatever you can!

Sponsored by Land & Sea and the Doctor's Office Cafe 

New films to be added at the end of March!!
we're all in this together!

Suzy Pingree of Westcott Bay Cider/SJI Distillery sent us a note:

photo, above left: Westcott Bay apple orchard, and other photos of SJI farms represented on the SJ County Agricultural Resources Committee

From Suzy: "We are organizing a "gin tasting" to get our recipe right, it's February 28th 2 to 4 pm at Coho Restaurant.  Can you come and help?" [Participants must be at least 21 years of age.]
 

"We just got our federal and state permits to begin operation as a local craft distillery, we own Westcott Bay Cider and we are planning to make apple brandy from the cider (apple brandy ages for 3-5 years before it can be sold). But in the meantime, we are making gin from the cider. It's delicious!

Thanks!" Contact the Distillery to sign up, or write Suzy at suzy@sanjuanislanddistillery.com

San Juan Island Distillery on San Juan Island, owners of Westcott Bay Cider, a prize-winning cider works, now has a craft distillery license to make gins and apple brandy from their excellent cider.

Every season, some apple eau de vie will get put into oak barrels for aging, and some will be sold separately for those who love the fresh taste of fine cider apples in a digestif!
Follow on SJI Distillery's facebook page, and follow on Westcott Bay Cider's facebook page as they harvest apples and make cider in the fall, and bottle the cider in the spring and summer. Distilling is what they do in the winter.

Our small island distillery will start production at the end of January, 2011. We are distilling cider in our small 30 liter copper still while we wait for delivery of our 200 liter copper still from Germany. It will be so beautiful.

12 Anderson Lane Friday Harbor WA 98250 (360) 378-2606

San Juan Island Distillery makes spirits (gin, apple brandy) & hard cider from their antique apples at Westcott Bay Orchards. Saturday tastings 3-5pm at Westcott Bay Cider Works

www.sanjuanislanddistillery.com

Watch the film FRESH at SJI Library 1/13/116 PM - Free. See details below:

Corrected Date! Sunday Feb 13th

FRESH - FILM SCREENING AT SJI LIBRARY FEB. 13, SUNDAY, AT 6 PM  - FREE - OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

We are all hearing a lot of things about what's wrong with our nation's food production systems. How about hearing the ways we can start to solve the biggest problems? Attend the screening of the film “Fresh”, a documentary encouraging us to think about the food we are eating, looking at the issues today’s farmers are facing, and most importantly, looking at people who are doing great things, and who have found do-able ways to make healthy food available for everyone. 

You can walk out of this film feeling ... Happy! And powerful.

 An informal discussion will follow.  For more information on “Fresh” visit the film’s website:  http://www.freshthemovie.com/.  

This event is co-sponsored by the San Juan Island Library and Land & Sea, a chapter of Slow Food.
This event is made possible by Land & Sea members Michelle and Chad. Thanks, Michelle & Chad!

Questions? Contact:
Linda & Maureen at 317-5890/slowfoodlandandsea@gmail.com , or
Adrienne at abourne@sjlib.org /378-2798


Photo above center - One of the subjects of the film FRESH . Go here to read other bios from the film, look below for Will Allen short bio.

Will Allen   The son of southern sharecroppers, Will Allen always believed that everyone should have access to fresh, healthy food. Today, he lives his dream growing amazing products on a 3-acre lot in the middle of urban Milwaukee. By converting a million pounds of waste into energy via composting, Will also leads the way in visualizing zero-waste composting.

6ft 7″former professional basketball player Will Allen is now one of the most influential leaders of the food security & urban farming movement. His farm and not-for-profit, Growing Power, have trained and inspired people in every corner of the US to start growing food sustainably. This man and his organization go beyond growing food. They provide a platform for people to share knowledge and form relationships in order to develop alternatives to the industrial food system.

                                                                                                    

www.growingpower.org