local support...

i've always been a fan of supporting anything local (artists, farmers, business owners). in fact, one of my all time favorite restaurants happens to be fore street in portland's old port district. sam hayward, the chef, believes in building his menu fresh with items from maine's community of farmers, fishermen and cheesemakers.

image courtesy of garden & gun magazine

so i guess it doesn't surprise me that there have been a lot of articles lately on 'recession gardens' and other do-it-yourself, give back to the community projects taking place these days. in reading the smartest farm, an article in Garden & Gun Magazine this month about a sustainable farm in Virginia, i was inspired by one of the headings in the article, "paying it forward". it reminded me of the 'plant a row for hunger' campaign which was launched in 1995 by the garden writers association. you can donate some of your own harvest to local food banks and soup kitchens in your neighborhood. living in the heart of boston homelessness and hunger are apparent to me the minute i walk out my front door. and now that my own seedlings have started to sprout i'm realizing i might have a few too many of each item. of course i'll share my harvest with friends, but i might just donate some of it too...i'm definitely a firm believer in karma, we receive in this life/world what we put back out into it...

with that as inspiration, i'm looking forward to getting my seedlings planted, come the beginning of may hopefully. these are the raised planters i purchased last week (2 of them but without the legs). they are 24Hx37Wx20D and made from western red cedar which is a natural insect repellent and ages nicely in the elements. it's been exciting for me to watch them grow a little bit more each day...
my current interest in gardening has brought me to a couple of great websites to check out... local harvest is a great organization to help you find local community supported agriculture programs in your area. federation of mass farmers markets is a great way to find out where the farmers markets in massachusetts are.

image courtesy of edible communities

and when the boyfriend and i were up visiting friends in vermont i was introduced to a wonderful publication, edible communities. there are many many other 'edible' locations, edible green mountains is the initial one i was introduced to, but edible boston is my local version. it's a great resource for seasonal recipes and other happenings in the culinary world.