Showing posts with label Blogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogs. Show all posts
Monday, November 21, 2011
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
A Response to Another Blog
On the Cincy Locavore listserv I spotted this question:
And here is my answer:
I prefer local over Organic and I am one of those growers who is not certified Organic but grows that way. But by no means are all the local growers growing Organically, even if they say they are. My farm was certified organic by OEFFA for over 6 years back before the USDA took over. I learned an awful lot about organic farm management and Organic growing during that time and find it to be vitally important to keep growing that way. But I also know that before I went through the process of transitioning to Organic and Organic Certification I would tell my customers when asked, "Yes we grow Organically" because I really thought how I was growing was Organic. I was dead wrong. I found out that Organic really doesn't have much to do with avoiding pesticides and fertilizers. As a matter of fact both are used on well managed Organic farms certified or not. What I did fond out is Organic is all about soil management and it is this facet of Organic farm management that puts us apart from the conventional farmers. I also learned that it takes around 7 to 15 years to get one's soils healthy after decades of abuse from conventional salt based fertilizers and pesticides, not the 3 year transition period used by the USDA (which is an arbitrary number that was used by many pre USDA Organic certifiers that would allow some recovery by the soils but not keep farmers waiting so long to get certified that it would make any economical sense to 99% of them).
Most people, including many farmers, believe that Organic farming is all about avoiding certain inputs (pesticides and fertilizers and hormones for livestock). They simply do not understand the processes that must happen to make one's farm truly Organic and thus see no problem with using a bit of RoundUp on "really bad" weeds or some sort of chemical and very toxic insecticide like Sevin dust because they think without it they will lose their crop(s). My point is that a lot of the farmers/growers at farmers markets who are not certified Organic are also not growing Organically, even though they say they are and may believe they really are (as I used to as well until I found out I was anything but Organic at the time) so do not fool yourselves into thinking that all local farm are organic farms. Yes there are those of us who really are Organic and no longer feel the need to have papers that say we are and I do know a few farmers who have never gone through Organic cert. but are indeed deeply Organic in how they grow (generally because they worked on a certified Organic farm for a few years before going out on their own or because they are the type of person who loves to do research and have taken the time to learn what Organic farm management entails). But I find from talking to farmers at markets that most are at best quasi Organic, especially the livestock people who rarely feed Organic feed and thus are feeding GMO's to their stock (which in my mind is NOT Organic and for me is a deal breaker).
But all that said I would rather support quasi Organic farms and conventional farms that are local to me than buying Organic from who knows where
That's my 2¢
Hey Everyone,I put a post on our blog today about buying local over organic when you have to choose. I thought folks on this list might be interested, and I wonder if people agree with my current assessment.Any comments - here or on the blog - would be great!Thanks,Gavin DeVore Leonard
And here is my answer:
I prefer local over Organic and I am one of those growers who is not certified Organic but grows that way. But by no means are all the local growers growing Organically, even if they say they are. My farm was certified organic by OEFFA for over 6 years back before the USDA took over. I learned an awful lot about organic farm management and Organic growing during that time and find it to be vitally important to keep growing that way. But I also know that before I went through the process of transitioning to Organic and Organic Certification I would tell my customers when asked, "Yes we grow Organically" because I really thought how I was growing was Organic. I was dead wrong. I found out that Organic really doesn't have much to do with avoiding pesticides and fertilizers. As a matter of fact both are used on well managed Organic farms certified or not. What I did fond out is Organic is all about soil management and it is this facet of Organic farm management that puts us apart from the conventional farmers. I also learned that it takes around 7 to 15 years to get one's soils healthy after decades of abuse from conventional salt based fertilizers and pesticides, not the 3 year transition period used by the USDA (which is an arbitrary number that was used by many pre USDA Organic certifiers that would allow some recovery by the soils but not keep farmers waiting so long to get certified that it would make any economical sense to 99% of them).
Most people, including many farmers, believe that Organic farming is all about avoiding certain inputs (pesticides and fertilizers and hormones for livestock). They simply do not understand the processes that must happen to make one's farm truly Organic and thus see no problem with using a bit of RoundUp on "really bad" weeds or some sort of chemical and very toxic insecticide like Sevin dust because they think without it they will lose their crop(s). My point is that a lot of the farmers/growers at farmers markets who are not certified Organic are also not growing Organically, even though they say they are and may believe they really are (as I used to as well until I found out I was anything but Organic at the time) so do not fool yourselves into thinking that all local farm are organic farms. Yes there are those of us who really are Organic and no longer feel the need to have papers that say we are and I do know a few farmers who have never gone through Organic cert. but are indeed deeply Organic in how they grow (generally because they worked on a certified Organic farm for a few years before going out on their own or because they are the type of person who loves to do research and have taken the time to learn what Organic farm management entails). But I find from talking to farmers at markets that most are at best quasi Organic, especially the livestock people who rarely feed Organic feed and thus are feeding GMO's to their stock (which in my mind is NOT Organic and for me is a deal breaker).
But all that said I would rather support quasi Organic farms and conventional farms that are local to me than buying Organic from who knows where
That's my 2¢
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Organic Farming Data
Here is a great post about organic farming data from Marion Nestle's blog Food Politics. It's got lots of USDA statistics, hits the topic of organic vs conventional nutrition and tells us who owns what in the organic realm.
Happy learning
Happy learning
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Farm Share Blog
I just posted 3 (three) new entries to the Farm Share Blog I have over at Local Harvest. These newsletters (I have the whole season to date) should give you a good idea of what goes on with our Farm Share Initiative-what kind and how much food, farm events, etc.. Check it out.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Like a CSA Only More So
On Facebook today I was asked what makes our farm Share Program "more so" as in "Like a CSA Only More So", good question.
I have noticed as the locavore and organic foods movements gain strength more and more people are jumping on the bandwagon. This is good as long as the people are local producers. But producing all the food you sell is a lot of hard work. So when something is hot there are people who are not exactly honest about what they do. I have seen a lot of this with the USDA certified organics program. Check out the Organic Consumers Association's as well as La Vida Locavore for some eye openers as to how companies thwart the regulations.
Well, I see the same thing is happening with the locavore movement. My first inkling of this was when I was interviewed by Ben Sutherly of the Dayton Daily News last year about Fulton's Farm Market getting into the CSA biz. At the time I was not exactly pro-CSA and was less so when I had described to me how they would do their CSA. It would go something like 10 months of the year and most of the year members would get about 40% of their share from produce grown on Fulton farms and the rest would come from elsewhere. And I was told Fulton's had invested in a fleet of delivery vans to deliver the shares to the member's doors.
This rankled me because one of the reason's one should use the CSA model as a marketing tool is so the members get reconnected with the farm. This cannot happen if everything is delivered off farm. If the farmer is not growing most of the food, well, how can that farmer hope to be able to start the reconnection of eater to their food process. I say it would be getting close to impossible.
This winter via the Cincinnati locavore email list I was made aware of Door to Door Organics which advertises itself as a CSA as well (but at least they don't claim to be a farm). I was also made aware of another such company setting up shop in SW Ohio/Cincinnati area but I cannot recall the name. Anyhoo, I have a real problem with such companies saying they are CSA when they have no connection to a farm. Yes, they may buy from some local farms but this is not Community Supported Agriculture in any way shape or form.
So here we have various example of the CSA marketing model being stretched all out of shape so pinhookers (a term I like for farmers who resell) and non farmers can participate. A model so warped that there is virtually no agriculture left for a community to support. A model so bent out of shape that it is a parody of itself.
And this is why I say our Farm Share Program Is Like a CSA Only More SO. Because, like fewer and fewer such programs, ours is farmed based, does not have any delivery and has activities such as farm tours that, hopefully, will engage our members with the farm they have joined.
When people join our FSP they will be getting food grown on our farm and they will be able to experience a real deeply sustainable working small diversified farm that is there to serve our fellow locavores.
I have noticed as the locavore and organic foods movements gain strength more and more people are jumping on the bandwagon. This is good as long as the people are local producers. But producing all the food you sell is a lot of hard work. So when something is hot there are people who are not exactly honest about what they do. I have seen a lot of this with the USDA certified organics program. Check out the Organic Consumers Association's as well as La Vida Locavore for some eye openers as to how companies thwart the regulations.
Well, I see the same thing is happening with the locavore movement. My first inkling of this was when I was interviewed by Ben Sutherly of the Dayton Daily News last year about Fulton's Farm Market getting into the CSA biz. At the time I was not exactly pro-CSA and was less so when I had described to me how they would do their CSA. It would go something like 10 months of the year and most of the year members would get about 40% of their share from produce grown on Fulton farms and the rest would come from elsewhere. And I was told Fulton's had invested in a fleet of delivery vans to deliver the shares to the member's doors.
This rankled me because one of the reason's one should use the CSA model as a marketing tool is so the members get reconnected with the farm. This cannot happen if everything is delivered off farm. If the farmer is not growing most of the food, well, how can that farmer hope to be able to start the reconnection of eater to their food process. I say it would be getting close to impossible.
This winter via the Cincinnati locavore email list I was made aware of Door to Door Organics which advertises itself as a CSA as well (but at least they don't claim to be a farm). I was also made aware of another such company setting up shop in SW Ohio/Cincinnati area but I cannot recall the name. Anyhoo, I have a real problem with such companies saying they are CSA when they have no connection to a farm. Yes, they may buy from some local farms but this is not Community Supported Agriculture in any way shape or form.
So here we have various example of the CSA marketing model being stretched all out of shape so pinhookers (a term I like for farmers who resell) and non farmers can participate. A model so warped that there is virtually no agriculture left for a community to support. A model so bent out of shape that it is a parody of itself.
And this is why I say our Farm Share Program Is Like a CSA Only More SO. Because, like fewer and fewer such programs, ours is farmed based, does not have any delivery and has activities such as farm tours that, hopefully, will engage our members with the farm they have joined.
When people join our FSP they will be getting food grown on our farm and they will be able to experience a real deeply sustainable working small diversified farm that is there to serve our fellow locavores.
Friday, February 27, 2009
We are a Great Locavore Blog!
This blog got a mention in the post "10 Great Locavore Blogs to Chew On over at Best Green Blogs Diary. We are in rare company with blogs like Local Harvest, Eat local Challenge, Ethicurian, La Vida Locavore and Cincinnati Locavore (which I contribute to on occasion and has been a super supporter of Boulder Belt), among others.
Woo Hoo.
So go and check out these wonderful blogs and get your locavore blog on
And for more wonderful blogs about food and farming check out my list in the right sidebar. There are some really well written ones on that list go visit.
Woo Hoo.
So go and check out these wonderful blogs and get your locavore blog on
And for more wonderful blogs about food and farming check out my list in the right sidebar. There are some really well written ones on that list go visit.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
GMO Crop Implicated in Honeybee CCD
Genetically Modified Crops Implicated in Honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder
Sunday, January 11, 2009 by: Patty Donovan, citizen journalist
(NaturalNews) As the disappearance of honeybees continues, researchers are trying desperately to discover the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). General concensus at this point is that there is more than once cause and the latest culprit may be genetically modified crops. This is one area of research being neglected as mainstream scientists insist GM crops are safe.
For the last 100 years, beekeepers have experienced colony losses from bacteria, (foulbrood), mites (varroa and tracheal) and other pathogens. These problems are dealt with by using antibiotics, miticides and and other methods of pest management. Losses are slow and expected and beekeepers know how to limit the destruction. This new mass die-off is different in that it is virtually instantaneous with no warning of the impending collapse.
John McDonald, a bee keeper in Pennsyvania with a background in biology, speculated that genetically modified crops could play a role in CCD. Although the government constantly reassures us that these genetic manipulations are safe for both humans and the environment, his hope is that looking more closely at these issues might raise questions about those assumptions.
The common bacterium, bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) supplies the most commonly used segment of transgenic DNA. Bt has been used for decades by farmers and gardeners to control crop damage from butterfy larvae. Now, instead of spraying this bacterium directly on the crops, where it is eaten only by the target insects, the genes containing the insecticidal traits are incorporated into the genome of the plant itself. As the genetically modified plant grows, these Bt genes are replicated in every cell of the plant, including pollen. Therefore, every cell of each GM plant contains its own poison aimed to kill the target insect. The target insects consume some portion of the plant, then once ingested, the toxin produced by the Bt genes causes crystallization in the guts of boring larvae and thus death. The primary toxin is a protein called Cry1Ab. In the case of field corn, the targeted insects are stem and root-borers and butterfly larvae.
Although scientists "assure" us that bees (hymenopterans) are not affected, there are Bt variants available that target beetles, flies and mosquitoes. There is indisputable proof that Cry1Ab is present in beehives. Beekeepers spray Bt under hive lids to control the wax moth because the larvae cause messy webs on the honey. Canadian beekeepers have noted the disappearance of this moth even in untreated hives, apparently the result of bees ingesting Cry1Ab while foraging in GM canola plants.
Bees forage heavily on corn flowers to obtain pollen for the rearing of young bees. These pollen grains also contain the Bt genes of the parent plant, because they are present in the cells from which pollen forms. Mr. McDonald believes it may be possible that while Cry1Ab has no direct lethal effect on young bees, there may be some sub-lethal effect, such as immune suppression, acting as a slow killer.
Tens of millions of acres of genetically modified crops are allowing the Bt genes to move off crop fields and contaminate other flowers from which bees gather flowers. "Given that nearly every bite of food that we eat has a pollinator, the seriousness of this emerging problem could dwarf all previous food disruptions".(John McDonald) He proposed an experiment to compare colony losses of bees from regions where there are no GM crops to losses of colonies where they are exposed. He wanted to put test hives where GM crops are so distant from the hives that the foraging worker bees would have no exposure to GM crops. Researches readily dismissed his ideas and no one followed through with such an experiment.
At this point, he decided to do his own investigation at his own expense. He established 8 colonies in new wooden hives to ensure no possible disease transfer from old hives. The bees were fed continuously with sugar syrup until the hives were placed at the selected locations.
"At both sites the flowers of goldenrod provided ample pasturage, with the honey flow commencing in the middle of August and tapering off by the second week in October. Medium-depth empty honey storage supers (a super is the part of the beehive used to collect honey) were put on the hives at this time in addition to the three brood chambers already there. By the simple expedient of lifting the hives from behind, progress could be roughly monitored.
This monitoring showed that the hives of the farmland bees, while numerous, were not gaining weight. Meanwhile, the non-farm colonies steadily gained weight. This part of the experiment was terminated Oct. 14 with the removal of the honey storage supers, with these results: The farmland bees had not even started to work in the honey supers and will require extensive feeding before winter sets in. The non-farm bee colonies produced, in total, nearly 200 pounds of extra honey in addition to about 150 pounds per hive stored in the over-wintering brood supers. These colonies will be left in place to see whether the die-off of last season is repeated. These results should encourage new research to determine what factor or factors are present in farm country to cause such a discrepancy in honey production." John McDonald
John McDonald is a beekeeper in Pennsylvania. He welcomes comments or questions about the bee problem at mactheknife70@hotmail.com.
Another study indicating that Bt may be contributing to the death of honey bees was undertaken in Mexico. This study compared the effects on young adult honeybees of 2 concentrations of Cry1AB (3 and 5000 parts per billion) to a chemical pesticide, imidacloprid. 3 different effects were evaluated by the researchers:
1. Survival of honeybees during sub-chronic exposure to Cry1Ab.
2. Feeding behavior.
3. Learning performance at the time that honeybees become foragers.
Neither test concentration of Cry1Ab had lethal effects on the honeybees, however, when exposed to the higher concentration, feeding behavior was affected. The bees spent longer ingesting the syrup which contained the Cry1Ab which could mean smaller amounts of pollen would be collected. These bees also had impaired learning performance. Honeybees normally do not continue responding to an odor when no food is present, but should be discouraged and seek other sources. These bees continued responding to the odor which again, could affect pollen gathering efficiency. This study indicates that although Bt is not directly lethal to honeybees, it could indirectly lead to colony death due to failure to collect enough food to sustain the hive.
These findings may be the key to the difference in honey production in Mr. McDonald's experiment. Bt appears to have non-lethal effects which become apparent only when the lethal effect is absent. Although not directly lethal to non-target organisms, the toxins from the Bt gene potentially puts non-target insects such as honeybees at risk.
http://persianoad.wordpress.com/2008/01...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18206234
Sunday, January 11, 2009 by: Patty Donovan, citizen journalist
(NaturalNews) As the disappearance of honeybees continues, researchers are trying desperately to discover the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). General concensus at this point is that there is more than once cause and the latest culprit may be genetically modified crops. This is one area of research being neglected as mainstream scientists insist GM crops are safe.
For the last 100 years, beekeepers have experienced colony losses from bacteria, (foulbrood), mites (varroa and tracheal) and other pathogens. These problems are dealt with by using antibiotics, miticides and and other methods of pest management. Losses are slow and expected and beekeepers know how to limit the destruction. This new mass die-off is different in that it is virtually instantaneous with no warning of the impending collapse.
John McDonald, a bee keeper in Pennsyvania with a background in biology, speculated that genetically modified crops could play a role in CCD. Although the government constantly reassures us that these genetic manipulations are safe for both humans and the environment, his hope is that looking more closely at these issues might raise questions about those assumptions.
The common bacterium, bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) supplies the most commonly used segment of transgenic DNA. Bt has been used for decades by farmers and gardeners to control crop damage from butterfy larvae. Now, instead of spraying this bacterium directly on the crops, where it is eaten only by the target insects, the genes containing the insecticidal traits are incorporated into the genome of the plant itself. As the genetically modified plant grows, these Bt genes are replicated in every cell of the plant, including pollen. Therefore, every cell of each GM plant contains its own poison aimed to kill the target insect. The target insects consume some portion of the plant, then once ingested, the toxin produced by the Bt genes causes crystallization in the guts of boring larvae and thus death. The primary toxin is a protein called Cry1Ab. In the case of field corn, the targeted insects are stem and root-borers and butterfly larvae.
Although scientists "assure" us that bees (hymenopterans) are not affected, there are Bt variants available that target beetles, flies and mosquitoes. There is indisputable proof that Cry1Ab is present in beehives. Beekeepers spray Bt under hive lids to control the wax moth because the larvae cause messy webs on the honey. Canadian beekeepers have noted the disappearance of this moth even in untreated hives, apparently the result of bees ingesting Cry1Ab while foraging in GM canola plants.
Bees forage heavily on corn flowers to obtain pollen for the rearing of young bees. These pollen grains also contain the Bt genes of the parent plant, because they are present in the cells from which pollen forms. Mr. McDonald believes it may be possible that while Cry1Ab has no direct lethal effect on young bees, there may be some sub-lethal effect, such as immune suppression, acting as a slow killer.
Tens of millions of acres of genetically modified crops are allowing the Bt genes to move off crop fields and contaminate other flowers from which bees gather flowers. "Given that nearly every bite of food that we eat has a pollinator, the seriousness of this emerging problem could dwarf all previous food disruptions".(John McDonald) He proposed an experiment to compare colony losses of bees from regions where there are no GM crops to losses of colonies where they are exposed. He wanted to put test hives where GM crops are so distant from the hives that the foraging worker bees would have no exposure to GM crops. Researches readily dismissed his ideas and no one followed through with such an experiment.
At this point, he decided to do his own investigation at his own expense. He established 8 colonies in new wooden hives to ensure no possible disease transfer from old hives. The bees were fed continuously with sugar syrup until the hives were placed at the selected locations.
"At both sites the flowers of goldenrod provided ample pasturage, with the honey flow commencing in the middle of August and tapering off by the second week in October. Medium-depth empty honey storage supers (a super is the part of the beehive used to collect honey) were put on the hives at this time in addition to the three brood chambers already there. By the simple expedient of lifting the hives from behind, progress could be roughly monitored.
This monitoring showed that the hives of the farmland bees, while numerous, were not gaining weight. Meanwhile, the non-farm colonies steadily gained weight. This part of the experiment was terminated Oct. 14 with the removal of the honey storage supers, with these results: The farmland bees had not even started to work in the honey supers and will require extensive feeding before winter sets in. The non-farm bee colonies produced, in total, nearly 200 pounds of extra honey in addition to about 150 pounds per hive stored in the over-wintering brood supers. These colonies will be left in place to see whether the die-off of last season is repeated. These results should encourage new research to determine what factor or factors are present in farm country to cause such a discrepancy in honey production." John McDonald
John McDonald is a beekeeper in Pennsylvania. He welcomes comments or questions about the bee problem at mactheknife70@hotmail.com.
Another study indicating that Bt may be contributing to the death of honey bees was undertaken in Mexico. This study compared the effects on young adult honeybees of 2 concentrations of Cry1AB (3 and 5000 parts per billion) to a chemical pesticide, imidacloprid. 3 different effects were evaluated by the researchers:
1. Survival of honeybees during sub-chronic exposure to Cry1Ab.
2. Feeding behavior.
3. Learning performance at the time that honeybees become foragers.
Neither test concentration of Cry1Ab had lethal effects on the honeybees, however, when exposed to the higher concentration, feeding behavior was affected. The bees spent longer ingesting the syrup which contained the Cry1Ab which could mean smaller amounts of pollen would be collected. These bees also had impaired learning performance. Honeybees normally do not continue responding to an odor when no food is present, but should be discouraged and seek other sources. These bees continued responding to the odor which again, could affect pollen gathering efficiency. This study indicates that although Bt is not directly lethal to honeybees, it could indirectly lead to colony death due to failure to collect enough food to sustain the hive.
These findings may be the key to the difference in honey production in Mr. McDonald's experiment. Bt appears to have non-lethal effects which become apparent only when the lethal effect is absent. Although not directly lethal to non-target organisms, the toxins from the Bt gene potentially puts non-target insects such as honeybees at risk.
http://persianoad.wordpress.com/2008/01...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18206234
Sunday, August 03, 2008
This is Not a Spam Blog
For the past couple of days Google has locked this blog so I could not post. They said they suspected it to be a spam blog.
I guess they have decided that this is not a spam blog and now I can post again. Hmph!
I guess they have decided that this is not a spam blog and now I can post again. Hmph!
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Stuff White People Like
Today I found out that I am a white person according to the blog Stuff White People Like. It turns out my love of local food/farmers markets, distrust of corporations, having Gay friends, t-shirts and several other criteria make me a White Person, who knew?
Any hoo this is a very funny blog and well worth checking out.
Any hoo this is a very funny blog and well worth checking out.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Hoop House redux
Robin over at Seasons Eating Farm has a post about her hoop house/green house and notes that hoop house/season extension/green house posts tend to drive traffic to farm blogs that post about them and have pictures. no pictures on this post but if you look at the links below (in order) you will not only see pictures of our hoop houses but also how to put one together for under $750US. We have put up 3 hoop houses this season. 2 are 15' x 100' and one is 15' x 50'.
http://boulderbelt.blogspot.com/2006/02/hoophouse-how-to-part-1-what-you-need.html
http://boulderbelt.blogspot.com/2006/02/hoophouse-how-to-part-2.html
http://boulderbelt.blogspot.com/2006/02/hoophouse-how-to-part-3.html
http://boulderbelt.blogspot.com/2006/02/hoophouse-how-to-part-1-what-you-need.html
http://boulderbelt.blogspot.com/2006/02/hoophouse-how-to-part-2.html
http://boulderbelt.blogspot.com/2006/02/hoophouse-how-to-part-3.html
Friday, November 23, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Nice Anti-GMO Blog
Recently I joined something called blog catalog to get some more traffic to this blog. I am not sure if I am getting any more traffic but I have found some great blogs over at this site and have even made a virtual friend. The blog find of today is
If you are like me and concerned about ingesting food that contains GMO's or aspertame than go and read this blog. Lots of information and I hope the info keeps on coming.
Genetically Modified Foods, The Silent Killer
If you are like me and concerned about ingesting food that contains GMO's or aspertame than go and read this blog. Lots of information and I hope the info keeps on coming.
Monday, September 03, 2007
New URL; Update your Bookmarks and links!
After two years of having the wrong spelling in the URL for this blog I finally corrected that spelling from "boulerbelt" to "boulderbelt" (note the addition of the letter "D"). If you have this blog linked to your blog or website please update the URL. Time to update bookmarks too.
Having changed the URL (which I cannot undo as a spam site has taken over my old URL-that took under 24 hours) may have been a bone head move in the short run as a lot of people cannot find this blog via their links and bookmarks but in the long run it should be a brilliant move as now this blog will show up in search engines when "Boulder belt" is typed into the search box.
It has been fun trying to remember where I put up the URL to this site and changing them all (over 20 links so far and I am sure there are others), especially in light of the fact I am using a brand new computer that I have not been able to transfer anything from my old computer (because it died 36 hours before I got the wonderful and beautiful new iMac) to so I do not have many of my old bookmarks and only 10% of my email list
Having changed the URL (which I cannot undo as a spam site has taken over my old URL-that took under 24 hours) may have been a bone head move in the short run as a lot of people cannot find this blog via their links and bookmarks but in the long run it should be a brilliant move as now this blog will show up in search engines when "Boulder belt" is typed into the search box.
It has been fun trying to remember where I put up the URL to this site and changing them all (over 20 links so far and I am sure there are others), especially in light of the fact I am using a brand new computer that I have not been able to transfer anything from my old computer (because it died 36 hours before I got the wonderful and beautiful new iMac) to so I do not have many of my old bookmarks and only 10% of my email list
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Boulder Belt is in Ohio Dammit
I was googling myself, really Boulder Belt Eco-Farm, and found BBEF is listed on a Boulder Colorado site as a local farm. They had a link to my Local Harvest store but not this blog or my farm website. This explains why, in the past several months, I have gotten the occasional call from Boulder, CO wanting local food or, in one case, a guy wanting to sell me plastic to package chickens in.
In the past, many people have assumed Eugene and I are from Boulder because of our farm's name, we are not. Neither of us has even visited the state of Colorado. I do not know why it is so difficult for some people to realize that Boulder, CO does not have a monopoly on boulders, that they do exist right here in SW Ohio. On our farm even, hence the name Boulder Belt, named for the Bloomington Boulder Belt that cuts a NW to SE swath through Preble county.
Boulder Belt is in Ohio, Dammit!
In the past, many people have assumed Eugene and I are from Boulder because of our farm's name, we are not. Neither of us has even visited the state of Colorado. I do not know why it is so difficult for some people to realize that Boulder, CO does not have a monopoly on boulders, that they do exist right here in SW Ohio. On our farm even, hence the name Boulder Belt, named for the Bloomington Boulder Belt that cuts a NW to SE swath through Preble county.
Boulder Belt is in Ohio, Dammit!
Monday, May 07, 2007
It's Farmers Market Season Again
We had our first market of the season and it was the best opening market we have ever done, by far. We harvested 3 to 4 times more than we ever have in the past and we sold everything we brought except 3 bunches of chives (which have never been a good seller for us but have sold better his year than at any time in the past). It was a good feeling to go home with empty coolers (except for milk, eggs and meat that we picked up at the market) and pockets full of money.
The market was not a busy one but we were the only produce vendors at the market and we had aspargus and lettuce, among other things, making us very popular. Our fresh produce sold like hotcakes.
Met "Wine Deb" (of Key West wine and garden blog) which was fun. Heard the sad news that Don E's wife had suddenly died two weeks ago than ranb into Don, he looked so sad. At the end of the market I was invited to the 29th (30th?) installation of St Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast.
It's good to be back
The market was not a busy one but we were the only produce vendors at the market and we had aspargus and lettuce, among other things, making us very popular. Our fresh produce sold like hotcakes.
Met "Wine Deb" (of Key West wine and garden blog) which was fun. Heard the sad news that Don E's wife had suddenly died two weeks ago than ranb into Don, he looked so sad. At the end of the market I was invited to the 29th (30th?) installation of St Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast.
It's good to be back
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Out of the Ashes
One of the blogger farmers in mt list of farm blogs had a devastating fire recently. But out of the ashes has risen a lot of good community things like his CSA members and church helping him out in a myriad or ways and the Internet communities to which he belongs have also come forth with offers of money to help him re-buy seeds, tools etc..
Marlin you may not have a house but you seem to have excellent Karma and I think that your God's message to you is community is far more important than stuff.
Go read his story
Marlin you may not have a house but you seem to have excellent Karma and I think that your God's message to you is community is far more important than stuff.
Go read his story
Saturday, December 23, 2006
festivus time
While not making Christmas cookies I found myself surfing blogs and found a great festivus post over at Slowly She Turns..
I had forgotten all about Festivus despite several stories on NPR the past 2 weeks
My grievances are as follows:
But to those of you who will respect the entire ritual I bid you a Happy Festivus
I had forgotten all about Festivus despite several stories on NPR the past 2 weeks
My grievances are as follows:
Any and all news stories that involve puppies or kittens or small children or women riding mopeds who end up in wells or storm drains and are not from the area covered by local news should be banned from the airwaysNow I do not have an unadorned alumunim pole set up not any dinner planned. And I probably will not do feats of strength (unless with Nate the dog).
I am on the do not call list so telemarketers quit calling me
People who drive while talking need to have their vehicles taken away. either drive or talk but not both
The Ohio smoking ban is simply stupid and unenforceable. Not to mention it is prohibiting a legal substance from being used on private property.
Anything Bush has done in the past year pisses me off. Same with Cheney
I buy raw milk but why do I had to fill out a 14 page contract to buy it legally. Why do I have to do this for a pure product but milk that is factory farmed and pumped full of drugs is sold over the counter? Pisses me off!
This fear leading to hatred of Muslim Americans pisses me off. Hey we are all human beings here!
I have a real problem with Industrial organics. More so if they are being sold by Wal-Mart
Ads in movie theaters. I do not go to many movies (maybe 1 a year) and this trend of commercials in the previews is sick and wrong. I pay good money to see a movie ad free.
But to those of you who will respect the entire ritual I bid you a Happy Festivus
Sunday, December 10, 2006
A New Look
I decided to try out NEW Look for the blog today.
Too brown? Does this mean I'm in a brown mood (wot ever that means)?
I do like the side bar being on the left and I think it is more readable. But I also think the posts are too close together. not enough space or other things separating different posts. perhaps having fewer post showing up in the page will help this out.
What do you think?
Too brown? Does this mean I'm in a brown mood (wot ever that means)?
I do like the side bar being on the left and I think it is more readable. But I also think the posts are too close together. not enough space or other things separating different posts. perhaps having fewer post showing up in the page will help this out.
What do you think?
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Yay local Food
I found this post surfing blogs via Blog Explosion called Do you Know Where Your Food Comes from posted on the blog Mando's World. Nice little treatise on why we should all be buying/growing/eating locally grown food. has links two two good food sourcing sites-Local Harvest and Food Routes
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