Saving Seeds

It wasn’t until I had the best tomato in my life that I considered saving seeds. I always thought seed saving was something that only very advanced and sophisticated farmers did. But, it was the Purple Cheyenne heirloom tomato from Salt Creek Farm that turned me into a seed savor. We probably grew and preserved a hundred pounds of tomatoes this year: All from the seeds of one tomato. It’s so simple too. All you do is take the tomato seeds out of your finest ripe specimen and place them in a jar, add a little water and wait a few days for the seeds to ferment. This helps to break down the outer gel casing of the tomato seed. Strain the seeds, rinse with water and let them dry on a paper plate. Package them in an envelop. Easy.

Seeds hold the essence, the whole potential in their tiny package. In Chinese medicine, we understand that jing energy, also called essence, governs the developmental growth processes in the body. It nourishes and fuels the body. It can be strengthened and preserved though diet and lifestyle just as the seeds of tomatoes can be strengthened by good growing conditions; healthy soil, adequate water and plenty of sun. Preserve essence, save seeds: You will be well nourished

Mushroom Hunting

This past weekend, our friends and guides, Liz Graham and Chris O'Connell, guided us on our yearly mushroom hunt through the old growth forests on the Olympic Peninsula. We had to cross a river twice which meant currents of freezing cold water challenged every barefoot step and rose up to my underwear (I took off my pants). We also walked in the rain for one of the days so we were as moist as any Northwest piece of moss, but like all devout mushroom hunters we were undeterred. There is a very palpable siren call that draws you into the serenity of the forest, guiding you from one beautifully poised mushroom, proud in its singularity, onto the next surprise, a patch of fruiting bodies occupying a down sloping hollow and on you go, deeper and deeper into the forest, knife in hand, bending low. One might disappear; entranced by the mushrooms, giddy from the hunt, footsteps silenced by the deep forest duff. We probably gathered 50 lbs of mostly chanterelles but some massive cauliflower mushrooms and humble hedgehog mushrooms as well. Now, the task at hand is to dry, saute and freeze, and cook up these deliciously earthy morsels.

Do not miss the 2008 Wild Mushroom Exhibit on October 11 & 12th at the Center for Urban Horticulture if you want to learn more about this most abundant member and resource in the Northwest.

Fermentation Workshop

Sunday, October 19th

1pm - 4pm

$35.00 per person

Parsley Farm

I am excited to introduce Eveline Mueller-Graf, nutritionist and avid food gleaner. She will teach a hands on workshop and address the nutritional benefits of fermented food for the digestive system. We will make kefir, whey, sauerkraut, ginger beer and a fruit kimchi. You will sample all the flavers and come home with a jar of sauerkraut and recipes. Call or e-mail Joyce to register. Space is limited.

Energy at Parsley Farm

I knew my energy was getting blocked when I would go into Puget Sound Coop and feel steamy mad at the cost of groceries. No matter how nice the checker was at the register I always felt resentful for forking over a bundle of bills for a pitiful amount of food. My internal shout was "FOOD SHOULD NOT COST THIS MUCH!". I knew my energy started to flow when I read Barbara Kingsolver's book, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and subsequently suggested to Craig that we should turn our whole lot (4500 sq. ft.) into organic food production. He immediately said, "Yes! I'll cut down the five trees in the front yard so we can farm it." Allot of energy, mostly Craig's energy, went into transforming the yard into garden beds, mini orchards and mushroom and berry growing patches, not to mention a building a chicken coop and a 1500 gallon rain catchment and irrigation system. We started the process in July of 2007 and by February of 2008, we had all our perennial trees, vines, bushes and spores planted as well as our early annual crops like sugar snaps peas, spring greens and potatoes. And, chickens too! Because our timing and soil health was on the mark, we have been eating and preserving an abundant and constant array of fruits and vegetables since last April. My energy goes into orchestrating the daily tasks of seeding and maintaining new crops as well as harvesting the plants at their prime. I made a commitment to myself to eat and preserve the fruit and vegetables when they were screaming with vitality because the forces of stagnation have delayed me in the past resulting in unused and ultimately unattractive food coming out of the garden. This is a very good discipline for me because I find that my energy flows really well when I am faced with a cornucopia of gorgeous food. As a result - my cooking is now inspired and Craig is profoundly appreciative of it; I find enormous satisfaction in every day chores; our chest freezer and cupboards are full and our garden is still churning out fall and winter crops. Craig and I feel more secure in these troubling economic times because we have invested our energy into soil: It's our gold.

How I continue to know that this is a good direction for us is that we are inspired to do more: more research, more water barrels, more growing areas, more food, more recipes. I know our energy is flowing because physical and emotional energy is available for an ever expanding list of tasks, no resistance, and every task brings some satisfaction. We constantly work on our garden and It feeds us, literally. I believe that the goal of just growing food for ourselves and the scale of our operation is what makes it successful for us. A focus on nourishment has brought me to the conclusion that quality food equals a quality life. Probably a simple, biological fact but one that has eluded me up until now.

New Chicks at Parsley Farm

Boarding Impass

On the morning that I was leaving for Fort Lauderdale, I could not print my boarding pass at home, then I could not print it at the self check in machine at the airport. Even the woman at the counter had difficulty printing it but I finally got it in my hands and passed through security and went to my gate with a bit of unease. At the gate, I looked for my boarding pass but could not find it anywhere so I asked the man with a Delta uniform if he could print me another one and at the same time I inquired about being bumped from the flight. He told me there was the possibility that I could get bumped and asked me to wait to see if the plane was overbooked. He would call out my name. I stood there with my backpacks slung over one shoulder while my mind tried to scratch out a pattern. It seemed that this was the moment that I could prove something to myself about the nature of a phenomenological universe. In my mind, there were only 2 options for how to look at this picture: I obviously was having obstacles getting the boarding pass and keeping my hands on it because I had such trouble printing it and then losing it, so if I got bumped it would indicate that I was never meant to board this plane. The other option was that If I didn't get bumped then that would mean there is actually no pattern to any of these circumstances and I just made useless and unnecessary assignments to the events that transpired; I made it up in my head. So, I’m standing there alert like a lion about to pounce on her prey because I know that in just a few minutes I am going to get an answer that I’ve been hunting down my whole life. Finally, the man at the counter called my name and informed me that they did not need my seat so I would board the plane. However, he was bumping me up to first class because I offered up my seat.

At the great risk of constructing yet another useless reality – I might suggest that the either/or scenarios I put together in my mind did not leave room for a third option, which went beyond my expectations. J.C. Cooper who wrote Yin & Yang, The Taoist Harmony of Opposites says, “All duality and polarity calls for a resolving third, which is on a plane above the opposites and acts as a catalyst, bringing about a state of equilibrium between extremes….It requires the reconciliation third to rescue the two powers from eternal tension; the interplay and interaction of the third ensures the ultimate completion. I’m not exactly sure if J.C. Cooper’s words apply to my experience, but hopefully I’ll get more chances to give test questions to the universe. If anyone reading this has any answers please clue me in by commenting.