“The retreat brings people together, builds community in the forest, gets participants outside and off their screens, and uses nature sustainably to heal and inspire minds and souls,” stated Great Mountain Forest Executive Director Michael Zafros. Retreat registration closes on July 30.
It has been tedious sorting through garden vegetables that were either stuffed into the refrigerator or placed in a cold room when brought in from the precipitous advent of frigid temperatures and arctic winds three weeks ago.
Beginning with an aspect of the backstory of seed development seems fitting as the old year turns to the new and all of us have already or will soon choose seeds for our gardens and farms.
Sow seed for heat tolerant radicchio lettuce and Rainbow Swiss Chard now for beautiful, long lasting autumn harvests. Frost tolerant crops like kale are worth planting now, too.
Although the vegetable gardener is focused on growing staple foods, immeasurable benefit is gleaned when “edge elements” are included. Plants of purely botanical and ecological interest invariably attract beneficial birds and insects.
I have grown enamored of naturally fermented pickles and other vegetables, both for their great flavor and for their incredible health benefits...it is amazing what people did with food before anyone understood the science behind it. Ketchup, marmalade and relishes also used to be lactofermented. Ketchup, originally known as ke-tsiap, was a spicy, pickled fish sauce made of anchovies, walnuts, mushrooms and kidney beans from Indonesia.
