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Loving Garland Green at the Garland Marketplace

 

Today (July 19) was the third Saturday of the month and thus the monthly Garland Marketplace.  It was the first time that Loving Garland Green had a booth there--actually, we shared a booth with Fresh Connections who have a community garden  located at the Buckingham United Methodist Church on 1212 West Buckingham Rd. Garland. TX -  75044.   

If you missed the Marketplace today, you'll have a second chance on Saturday, August 16.  We plan to have two booths. side by side on that date.  I hope you'll be there.

In addition to fresh produce, both Loving Garland Green and Fresh Connections brought live plants to sell.  These plants were cuttings from our own gardens.  Below is a photo of 12 blackberry plants that I brought for Loving Garland Green.  We sold out at $4 dollars a plant. Margie and Gene brought pecan and apricot trees; Marie and Jean brought a plethora of aloe plants; members of Fresh Connections brought numerous varieties of flowering plants for sale.  Residents who are interested should mark their calendars for August 16, the date for the next Garland Marketplace as there is likely no place in the DFW area where you can purchase plants at such discounted prices.

One of the ongoing goals of Loving Garland Green is to show our community, by example, just exactly how gardens can enrich the local economy by creating new markets and supporting existing markets.  Today, solely through the sale of locally grown produce, cuttings from our garden, and an organic plant spray we made from cayenne pepper and water, we earned $97.  As each new garden is installed in our community, our local economy will be enriched--not only in measurable dollar and cents value, but in other values as well that are not so easily measured.  For example, how do you measure the value of the satisfaction you feel when you eat a tomato or a peach from your garden?  How do you measure the value of feeling connected to the people in your community?  How do you measure the value of improved health?

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Kirk Lovett, owner of Eventive Marketing Solutions, has worked hard for over a year now to attract vendors selling local produce at this marketplace.  At last it looks like all Kirk's hard work is paying off.  It's also nice to remember that a portion of the proceeds earned by the vendors at the Garland Marketplace go to support the Good Samaritans--a local nonprofit dedicated to giving a hand-up to the working poor in our community.

I didn't count the vendors, but an eyeball survey tells me that at least 50% of the vendors were those selling edibles.  And many vendors such as Melyssa Childs-Wiley, owner of Fat Lady Foods who makes delicious jams, purchase the goods they don't grow themselves from local folks.  As for her commercial kitchen, Melyssa goes to the Hour Kitchen right here in Garland where she lives. That's how things work in a healthy local economy.  Most of the money spent in a healthy local economy stays and is recirculated in that economy.

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Visiting a Few of My Old Friends at the Marketplace

That's the only bad thing for me about helping out in a booth at the marketplace--I don't have much time left to visit with all the other vendors, but I did make it around to a couple of the booths today.

The Ragsdales

Naturally I had to stop by the Ragsdale Farms booth and chat with Paul Ragsdale and his son, Zach.  They reported to me that today was their most successful sales event at the marketplace since they began participating last summer of 2013.  I was so happy to hear that as I cannot think of any two people more deserving of success.  Ragsdale Farms is located in Caddo Mills and they sell aquaponic produce, fresh farm eggs, mesquite wood and Moringa trees.  Sounds like Zach is moving closer to commercial production of his Moringa Oleifera health products.  The Moringa is tropical plant said to have over 46 antioxidants and 92 nutrients.  It also contains 36 anti-inflammatory and over 20 amino acids. Moringa leaves also contain vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B7, C, D, E and K,  Moringa has many medicinal uses and has been used to treat conditions such arthritis, rheumatism, anemia, cancer, diabetes, epilepsy and stomach complications such as spasms, ulcers, stomach pain and constipation. It is said that Moringa can also help to boost the immune system. Zach grows Moringa trees at the farm and he sells them at the Garland marketplace. I traded him a blackberry plant for a Moringa today.

 

Stephanie Cole of Pic-licious

Stephanie also uses local sources for her supplies.  Her food products are all pickle-based and quite interesting combinations.  For example, she makes sweet and savory, "guilt-free" dessert pickles. featuring: Caramel English Toffee, Dutch Chocolate, French Vanilla Ice Cream, Banana Cream Pie, Cheesecake and Peach Cobbler.  She makes beverage pickles such as Pina Colada and Hurricane Rum.  She makes fruity pickles such as strawberry and grape.

The sample I had was a chocolate pickled cucumber--same as last month.  I know, it sounds awful, but guess what--as Stephanie says at her site, it was Pic-licious.  Her pickles will add a new twist to any meal.  To contact her directly, call her at 214-670-2042 or you can write to her at stephaniepcole@yahoo.com.  She already has a restaurant in Irving that is serving her zesty marianades.  Even more business will come her way as Stephanie is soon to be joined by her daughter from Colorado who is marketing professional.  She has promised her mom to grow the business into a "real" company.  Near as I can tell, Stephanie's company is already real--real good and pic-licious.

 

Delia Mora of Pura Life  (Homemade Soy Candles)

 

All of the lovely scented soy candles you see in the photo above were made in the home of Delia and Randall Mora.  In addition to these candles, they also create interesting pictures with dried flowers and leaves.  Below is my favorite one of a little creature.  Visit their website at Pura Life.

 

 

 

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Lots of events and actions items are on the Loving Garland Green Calendar!

Garland Marketplace

Coming up fast is our first participation in the Garland Market Place this Saturday, July 19, from 9 to 2PM on the downtown square of Garland.  Fresh Connections have generously agreed to share their booth with us.  I've been busy getting things together that  I will be selling.  You can look forward to other items from other Loving Garland Green Members as well as from Fresh Connections.

  • Organic Applications to Discourage Insects
    We will feature organic sprays concocted by members from items you can find right in your kitchen.  The beauty of these insect repellents is that once they are gone, you don't have to spend extra money to purchase more.  Instead you can just go to your kitchen pantry and mix up the replacement yourself, using the container the original contents came in.

  • Cuttings from a Juicy Prolific Thornless Blackberry Plant
    Four blackberry plants in my yard have supplied me with 15 pounds of juicy tasty blackberries and they are not finished yet. They began yielding fruit in mid May.  It you consider the average price for blackberries this season has been $4.98 per 12 ounces, those four bushes have thus far provided $99.60 worth of blackberries.  If you consider they only take up 16 square feet of space and require only infrequent watering to grow. . . then if you consider their health value as antioxidants,  blackberries are a plant worth considering for your North Texas garden.

  • Cuttings from a Delicious Concord Grape Vine
    The second most productive plant in my North Texas garden this year has been two concord grape vines I planted last year.  Thus far these two vines have product 18 pounds of grapes.  At and an average of $3 a pound, the dollar value of these grapes is $54.  However, the taste is priceless.  If wine were made from these grapes, it would be a sweet wine such a Mogen David.

 

5.5 pounds of Charlie's tomatoes

  • Tomatoes from Charlie's Garden
    Although Charlie is coming to an end of this batch of tomato plants for the spring/summer collection, he will still have a few pounds to sell on Saturday.  Don't expect them to last so come early if you want any.

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LOVING GARLAND GREEN PROGRAM:  "ANOTHER NEIGHBORHOOD COMMUNITY GARDEN"

Members from Loving Garland Green met (with Jim Griffin from The Good Samaritans, Mike Nunn and his son, Jonas, a Boy Scout from our community) to begin planning the installment of a neighborhood community garden to be located in the backyard of The Good Samaritans home on 12th street here in Garland.  It was decided to have a Watermelon Kickoff meeting in mid-August for residents of the neighborhood to get them excited about participating in the installation of a fall garden at this site.  Jonas and another Boy Scout will be assisting us in the design and build for this garden.

Loving Garland Green will be assisting other neighborhoods in similar installations in Garland.  We hope by spring of 2015 to have a network of at least four of these neighborhood gardens established. Gardens strengthen families, neighborhoods, and entire communities.

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LOVING GARLAND GREEN SUBMITTED THE PAPERWORK LAST WEEK FOR OUR IRS FILING AS A NATIONAL NONPROFIT

Some folks don't realize this but filing with the state of Texas and obtaining state status as an nonprofit does not entitle a nonprofit to apply for most of the grant money that is available.  The organization must be recognized by the IRS and registration with them costs $850--not to mention a rather horrendous amount of paper work.  We look forward to the opportunity to seek funding from national foundations soon as some of our programs such as "Another Urban Garden" are at a standstill from lack of funding.

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LOVING GARLAND GREEN WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN THE UPCOMING HEALTHY LIVING EXPO HERE IN GARLAND SEPTEMBER 27

We've already begun preparation of our demonstrations for this event.  

Save the Date!

Healthy Living Expo 2014
Saturday, Sept. 27
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Curtis Culwell Center
4999 Naaman Forest Blvd

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In 2007 Naomi Klein published a book titled "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism".  The book makes a good case that libertarian free market policies (as advocated by the economist Milton Friedman) have risen to prominence in some developed countries because of a deliberate strategy by some political leaders.  While citizens are too busy dealing with meeting basic survival needs during disasters to pay attention or mount resistance, these policies are passed into law and become entrenched in the society as "acceptable ways of life" in a democratic society.  

One such example includes the removal of usury laws.  In the USA we once had laws that protected us from lenders who would charge more than the total value of the loan in interest rates.  Those laws have long since disappeared in our society and debt is now one of the leading causes of poverty in the world today--particularly in the USA. Instead of looking at the fact that lenders are making the total value of the loan in profit and condemning this raw greed, we blame the borrower. We label them as "losers" who shouldn't have borrowed in the first place--after all this is a "free" country.  Instead of charging wealthy people who can afford it higher interest rates, we think it fair to charge higher interest rates to poor people who can't afford these higher rates. Thus poor borrowers are more likely to default on their loans because of this extra burden.  We are living in a world with upside down values and few are even aware of it.  Instead, we accept it as the norm.

Such disasters referenced in the shock doctrine include natural ones such as hurricanes and earthquakes and those created by the leaders themselves such as economic recessions and wars, and even those created by corporations who cut corners creating disasters such as the BP oil spill.  In short, the disaster is the intial reason for leaders to act outside the bounds of the law and/or what is generally accepted as the decent way for human beings to behave. Then such behaviors over time become the rule, the accepted way of doing things and not the exception.  One change that has occurred over time since the creation of our last and present recession that begin in 2008 is that work has been devalued.  People now receive less pay for the same work they did prior to 2008.  In fact, many people are even doing more work for less pay.  

Justifications for this behavior are made and new words creep into our language to justify it.  In 2010, for example, we began to read about the "jobless economic recovery". When I first heard a pundit using the term "jobless recovery", I laughed in disbelief. This term was introduced to explain the rise of wealth in the USA at a time when so many people were and are still out of work.  People belonging to the investor class (those with annual incomes exceeding $170,000 whose wealth comes primarily from their investments and not work they actually perform) are doing just fine.  

In 2010 I looked back at the increase in the net worth of our elected officials in Washington D.C. in the year from 2009 to 2010.  At a time when many of their constituents were losing their jobs and homes, U.S. Senators and Representatives were increasing their net worth by hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Some of them, such as Nancy Pelosi, increased their net worth by millions (far exceeding their annual $176,000 salary).  Rep. Pelosi increased her net worth during that one year by almost $21,000,000.  The wealthy class in the USA have never experienced the current recession that most Americans are still reeling from.

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I haven't thought of all the above for a couple of years now.  It's too depressing and too frustrating because I understand fully how little control or power I have to change any of that.  However my thoughts returned to that national scene this morning when a friend wrote to me requesting money to help the Detroit Water Brigade send water to residents in Detroit. The Detroit Water and Sewage Department is going door to door in Detroit, cutting off approximately 3000 customers per week who are delinquent on their water bills. As the Detroit Channel 4 news noted, it’s hard to understand why poor residents who owe a few hundred dollars should have their water turned while Detroit golf courses and stadiums that owe “big money” (per Channel 4) have no such threat.

Democracy Now did a segment on Detroit’s water woes within the past couple of weeks. People in Detroit paid an average of $150/month for water. The US average was about $50/60. (Per capita income in Detroit is $14,861 as compared to $25,547 for the state of Michigan.)

The people of Detroit are paying to help service the outrageous debt their city leaders incurred for them years ago by signing a rigged contract.

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So why is Detroit in the horrible place it is today? The answer is DEBT.

Detroit must use the revenues from its three casinos: MGM Grand Detroit, Greektown Casino, and Motor Casino to cover a $4.2 million monthly payment to the banks before a single cent can go to schools, transportation and other critical services.

A few years ago Detroit struck a derivatives deal with UBS and other banks that allowed it to save more than $2 million a year in interest on $800 million worth of bonds. But the fine print carried a potentially devastating condition. If the city’s credit rating dropped, the banks could ope out of the deal and demand a sizable breakup fee. That is precisely what happened in January of 2009. After years of fiscal trouble, Detroit saw its credit rating slashed to junk. Suddenly the sputtering Motor City was on the hook for a $400 million tab.

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So what does all of this have to do with us who live in the DFW area?

There are some lessons that we can bring home from Detroit.

1.  We can remember the value and importance of local politics and thereby start attending our council meetings where important decisions are made (twice a month in Garland) that directly affect our lives.  We can also run for local office and volunteer to sit on city government commissions.  It is most unlikely that we can influence politics at a national level or even at the state level; however, we can change things at a local level.

2. We can plant gardens in our homes, apartments. We can join groups like Loving Garland Green and the Greater Dallas Organic Garden Club.  Gardens support the local economy by creating  new markets and also by supporting existing markets.

Today, Detroit is struggling to return to a plant-based economy.  It remains to be seen if they will be successful in converting "Mo Town" to "Grow Town".  Municipalities who begin the transition to a strong local plant-based economy while their local governments are still solvent have a better chance of success.  Begin preparing for your fall garden today.  

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UPDATE ON Detroit's Debt

April 11, 2014 Detroit won permission to pay UBS AG (UBSN) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC) about $85 million to cancel interest-rate swaps, a deal that may help the city speed the end of the biggest-ever U.S. municipal bankruptcy. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes approved Detroit’s third attempt at a settlement with UBS and Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit. The swaps have cost Detroit taxpayers about $200 million since 2009. 

Please remember that even if this ruling sticks that the people of the City of Detroit still must pay these lenders $85 million on top of the $200 million they have already paid.

And how do you think all these payments to these lenders are being financed?  They are being financed by cutting jobs and pensions to workers.  Apparently anything goes to pay the banks and their investors.  This is all the more ironic since the money was initially borrowed in the first place in 2005 to help meet the city's obligation to pay these pensions.

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Attendees of Loving Garland Green's June 16th meeting -  Every Monday 6:30 to 7:30 PM at 216 East Kingsbridge Drive 75040.  Loving Garland Green is a nonprofit organization and our meetings and membership are open to the public.

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Last night the members took a vote and we decided to devote the last Monday of each month entirely to discussions and presentations of garden topics--no business.  We are not opposed to folks bringing homemade snacks from their gardens and kitchens to share with the attendees.

Monday, June 30th will be devoted to discussions of methods of organic pest control.  We are inviting members and guests to bring samples (or a sample) of their own special pest remedy.  

Names will be put into a flower pot and at the end of the meeting they will be drawn and the remedies will be given out to the winners.  In addition, if  you bring a concoction, please bring about 25 copies of the recipe for discribution.

Below is a photo of the giveaway organic pest control I'm bringing.  It is a can with both ends cut out of it.  It comes with no guarantees.  However, it represents my last-ditch effort to successfully grow squash.  To date all the squash I've planted grows into great vines with lovely flowers.  Then one morning I go to inspect my garden and the vine is withering.  I inspect closer to where the stem goes into the earth and I see the stem has a big hole in it.  From my childhood I remember my grandmother putting tin cans around her plants when they were young to prevent worms from eating the stems.  She did it with her squash as well as her tomato plants.  For me, knock on wood, bugs don't bother my tomatoes--only the squash.

 

Ever "the scientist", I've set up an experiment in one of my garden beds.  One squash plant with a tin can, one with a plastic plant container and two I've done nothing to.  I'll keep you posted on the developments.

In the meantime, if you want to learn about other methods of organica pest control, attend the Monday, June 30th meeting of Loving Garland Green from 6:30 to 7:30 at 216 East Kingsbridge Drive 75040.  Who knows what you might learn?

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Five-year-old Abu was camera shy and tried to hide behind his mom, Nighat Ghakhar--but he was not garden shy.  He is the one who wanted to go on the garden tour and excitedly took radish seeds at my house, a cucumber at Gene and Margie's and tomatoes as well as seeds at Charlie's place.

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One thing's for certain, children are among the most enthusiastic supporters of gardening.  Perhaps it's because they are still young enough to appreciate the miracle of a seed.  Myself, as an old adult, must be reminded of this phenomenon once in a while in order to feel the awe.  

A few days ago when Charlie was carefully preparing seed packets for visitors to his garden, I had one of those moments in which I remembered just how special seeds are.  If you've ever seen a Brussels Sprout seed, or a Broccoli seed, you'll know what I mean. Here they are: teeny specks--so teeny that if you drop them on your kitchen floor, don't hope to find them again (especially my kitchen floor).  Yet, in spite of their size, they come fully programmed to grow into enormous plants.  Some of Charlie's Brussels Sprout stalks stood five feet tall this year--all from one teeny seed.  How does all this information get stored in a seed?  If a human were building the seed, just think how big it would have to be to contain enough computer chips to store all that information for one plant.  How does a Brussels Sprout seed know to grow into a Brussels Sprout plant and not an Okra plant.  To contemplate the seed is to contemplate the infinite and the miracle of creation itself.  

I think the child's mind is still uncrowded enough to appreciate the miracle of the seed and that may be one of the reasons they seem to love the garden even more than adults.  It could be their unbridled joy at picking the food and eating it right from the garden (a joy that even most adults share with children).

I thought about all this as I watched the children who visited my garden on Saturday.

Above we have Candi Reindl and her two sons along wih Joan and John Baer with their granddaughter, Autumn.  The children frolicked in the garden and found a few blueberries to eat.  Joan and John are currently in the process of building their own urban garden.  Of course, as with all the visitors to my garden, I invited them to join Loving Garland Green.

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A view in my garden featuring a Midsummer Nights fairy and one of Margies crystal plate flowers 

CHATS IN THE GARDEN WITH MEMBERS OF GARLAND'S OLD GUARD AND MY NEIGHBORS

That's another thing about gardens--the urgency of time slows down.  Sometimes when I'm out in my garden I'm shocked to go in the house and realize that several hours have passed.  Sue Holmes-Watkins who writes for the Dallas Morning News stopped by and we had a nice chat.  I've read many of Sue's articles but never had the opportunity to meet her until the garden tour.  Turns out that her family are among the original families here in Garland and she went to school with Monroe Todd whom I've written about before here on my Eat Green blog.  The conversation moved in that direction when mentioned that I was surprised to learn that Sachse is older than Garland (founded in 1891).  A few days ago when Charlie and I were driving through Sachse to go to Lake Lavon to watch a sunset, I happened to notice a saying noting Sachse's foundation in 1845--forty-six years earlier.  It's interesting to me how/why some communities grow into large urban areas and others stay small.

As we were chatting, Melissa Vernon pulled up on her bicycle.  Turns out that Melissa's forebears were also among the early settlers of Garland.  Sue and Melissa joked that they were probably related somewhere down the line.

Gardens bring people and neighborhoods together--especially gardens that are in the front yard.  Until I put my garden in my front yard last June 2013, I doubt that in the 10 years that I've lived here any more than five people stopped to talk with me when I was out in the front yard.  I started keeping track of the people who began stopping on June 15, 2013 and kept track until about the middle of August when I stopped counting at 95 visitors.  If you are lonely, one great cure is to start digging up your front lawn and putting in a garden.  I guarantee that you will have more than enough people to talk with.

But if you really want to talk garden, come to a Loving Garland Green meeting.  We meet every Monday 6:30 to 7:30 PM at 216 East Kingsbridge Drive (the part of Kingsbridge that is close to Naaman School Road).  My home is only four houses up from Naaman School Road.

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A view from Margie and Gene's garden featuring dinner plate flowers and a toilet planter.

GARDENS, YARD ART AND GENE AND MARGIE

Another aspect of gardens is the fun aspect.  Gardens, in addition to their practical offerings, are just plain fun--particularly when you add yard art to the mix and even more so when you make some of your yard art. One of our members, Margie Rodgers, makes "flowers" for the the garden from dinner plates and other china and crystal ware.  I'm after her to start selling them.  Perhaps Loving Garland Green will have a booth at the Garland Marketplace in July and among the produce we might feature some of Margie's plate flowers.  (However, I think the jury is still out on the toilet planter.  Still, it's one example of the permaculture principle of reuse.  What happens to old toilets any way?  Did you ever think about that?  Where do they go?)*

*Some Answers for You:

1. Toilet recycling programs crush porcelain and use in concrete for roads and sidewalks.  Check with your city to see if they have a recycling program that includes toilets.

2. Habitat for Humanity has stores in the USA and Canada called Habitat ReStores.  These retail centers sell new and gently used household goods and use the proceeds for local building projects.

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A BIG THANK YOU AND HUG TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED AND SUPPORTED LOVING GARLAND GREEN'S MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S GARDEN TOUR

We appreciate you all and hope you will continue to grow our local economy by growing more of the food you eat.  In the fall we are planning another garden tour which is likely to be in mid to late October as the Autumnal Equinox for 2014 falls on September 23.  Likely this day will be a bit early for our fall harvests, but we will see.

As always,  you are invited to join Loving Garland Green.  We meet every Monday at 216 East Kingsbridge Drive Garland Texas 75040 from 6:30 to 7:30PM. 

 

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Kirk Lovett, President Eventive Marketing Solutions

Yesterday was not only the Summer Solstice, it was the third Saturday of the month and thus The Garland Marketplace!  There were at least twice as many food vendors at Saturday's event as there were the last time I visited.  I'm very excited about this as the best way to build a healthy local economy is to move in the direction of a local plant-based economy.  The more people who grow plants locally, the more stable and prosperous our local economy will become and the less we will be affected by national and international economic recessions that have become the rule and not the exception for the lives of all Americans.

Charlie Bevilacqua, a member of the board of directors for Loving Garland Green went with me.  One of the first stops Charlie and I made was to say  hello to Kirk Lovett.  Kirk is the man whose marketing firm heads up the efforts to put the Garland Marketplace together once a month.  This is the second year for the monthly marketplace on the square.  In a rare moment I snapped a photo of Kirk sitting down.  Part of the proceeds that Kirk takes in from the vendors goes to The Good Samaritans, a nonprofit organization here in Garland.  This group is dedicated to preventing homelessness and hunger among the working poor.  

We also stopped and chatted with Anita Goebel, the council member representing the downtown area of Garland.  All our council members and Mayor Athas have supported the efforts to get a marketplace in downtown Garland, but I know that Anita has worked tirelessly in making this event happen for the citizens of Garland.  In addition, she continues to support it well.  I've never been to the market without seeing her there.

Special Note to my readers:  I was in a hurry when I visited the marketplace as there was also a wedding and the Midsummer Nights Garden tour on my schedule for this day.  Please write to me at eebemma@yahoo.com if I got any names or phone numbers incorrect and also to add any additional information.  All these people are too important to the prosperity of our local community and its economy to get any information about them wrong.

Returning Food Vendors to the Garland Marketplace

The following vendors are among those whom I know have appeared at the Garland Marketplace at least once.  Some, like the Ragsdales, haven't missed a time since the marketplace opened up last year.

 

 

Ragsdale Farms were there.

My friends Paul and Zach Ragsdale from Ragsdale Farms were there and I had a chance for a brief chat with them.  Ragsdale Farms is located in Caddo Mills and they sell aquaponic produce, fresh farm eggs, mesquite wood and Moringa trees.  Sounds like Zach is moving closer to commercial production of his Moringa Oleifera health products.  The Moringa is tropical plant said to have over 46 antioxidants and 92 nutrients.  It also contains 36 anti-inflammatory and over 20 amino acids. Moringa leaves also contain vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B7, C, D, E and K,  Moringa has many medicinal uses and has been used to treat conditions such arthritis, rheumatism, anemia, cancer, diabetes, epilepsy and stomach complications such as spasms, ulcers, stomach pain and constipation. It is said that Moringa can also help to boost the immune system. Zach grows Moringa trees at the farm and he sells them at the Garland marketplace.  Go there in July and you can buy one.  The Ragsdales are great with children too.  Give them a holler and schedule a tour for your Girl Scout or Boy Scout troop.  Give them the opportunity to see a real working farm with ducks and chickens.  Get Paul started on the topic of chickens and he will talk your leg off.

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Granny's Gourmet was represented.

Last month I purchased a delicious banana nut bread loaf from Suzanne Matthews of  Granny's Gourmet so I stopped by to chat briefly with her on Saturday.  Business is going great.  If you want to order something delicious from this Mesquite TX bakery, give Suzanne a call at 214-809-9984.  If you have a sweet tooth, you won't regret it.

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Tom Whitley scooping up some of his delicious popcorn for Charlie and Liz.

T.W. Dreamer, Concessions were there with their delicious kettlecorn

Charlie and I took shameful advantage of Thomas Whitley's generosity.  Tom is a member and official popper of this family-owned business..  Tom popped a fresh kettle of corn for us and gave us a bag.  This food vendor is a locally owned business here in Garland.  They are located at 3352 Broadway Blvd. Suite 513- Garland 75043.  Call Tom at 214-388-8973 and schedule him for your event or fundraiser.   

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Jami's Handmade Pies & More

Next month I will buy one of the delicious-looking pecan pies from this food vendor.  Jami's slogan is "For Some It's about the filling--For others it's about the crust--For us it's both.  If you can't wait until next month for the taste of what looks like a delicious homemade pecan pie call Jami's at 214-704-3831.  Jami has some stiff competition.  Another local food vendor and friend of mine, Delores Elder Jones of D's Delectables, makes the best pecan pie I've ever eaten thus far in my life.

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Food vendors and plant vendors who were new to me at the Garland Marketplace

Fat Lady Foods

Melyssa Childs-Wiley, owner of Fat Lady Foods make delicious jams.  Like most of the vendors here at Garland Marketplace, Melyssa purchases the goods (that she doesn't grow herself) from local folks.  As for her commercial kitchen, she goes to the Hour Kitchen right here in Garland where she lives.  If you are looking for some fantastic jam, give Fat Lady Foods a try.  When you do, remember that when you buy local, more of the money you spend is recirculated in  your local economy than when you don't. 469-744-5700.  Melyssa is so local that I can even walk over to her house at 205 Faircrest Drive- Garland 75040.

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 Stephanie Cole--Owner of Pic-licious

I predict that someone is going to want to support Stephanie big time with her business.  Like Melyssa, and most local entrepreneurs, Stephanie also uses local sources for her supplies.  Her food products are all pickle-based and quite interesting combinations.  For example, she makes sweet and savory, "guilt-free" dessert pickles. featuring: Caramel English Toffee, Dutch Chocolate, French Vanilla Ice Cream, Banana Cream Pie, Cheesecake and Peach Cobbler.  She makes beverage pickles such as Pina Colada and Hurricane Rum.  She makes fruity pickles such as strawberry and grape.  She makes spicy pickles.  There is no end in sight to the variety of pic-licious pickles as there is no end to Stephanie's imagination. However she did tell me that some of her experiments don't turn out to be pic-licious and thus don't get introduced into her product line.  The sample I had was a chocolate pickled cucumber.  I know, it sounds awful, but guess what--it was pic-licious.  I asked Stephanie how she got started in this business.  She told me that she had a relative who pickled just about everything under the sun.  Indeed, as Stephanie says at her site, Pic-licious, her pickles will add a new twist to any meal.  To contact her directly, call her at 214-670-2042 or you can write to her at stephaniepcole@yahoo.com .

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 David Price with his tropical plants

Last fall David purchased a green house and assembled it in his backyard.  From there he has followed his ambition to propagate tropical plants such as passion flower and plumeria.  He had somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 plants for sale at his booth. Who knows where this newly started venture will end.  Perhaps he will sell to florist shops eventually and/or perhaps garden stores such as our own local Rohdes.  Perhaps he will become a wholesale florist.  If you think passion flowers are cheap--think again.  FTD florists charge $124 a bouquet for them.

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Phideaux Cuisine

"If you treat your dog like a princess with Phideaux Cuisine, you'll never have a mutt."    We met Roger, one of the owners of Phideaux Cuisine.  He and his partner of 19 years,  Chuck, grew their gourmet pet treat business out of their mutual love of animals.  Here is an example of the ingredients for one of their products:  Buddylicious Cake Dog Treats:  Brown rice, applesauce, powdered milk, vegetable oil, eggs, parsley and cinnamon.  They are located in Royse City TX 75189.  Visit their website at Phideaux Cuisine.

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EVEN MORE VENDORS WERE SELLING PLANT-BASED PRODUCTS

I can't begin to cover all the vendors there but here are just a few briefs on some more that Charlie and I visited:

Free Spirit Creations was there with their awesome eco friendly products.  This locally based company sells their great soaps and candles at numerous locations throughout the DFW area.

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Satchamo's Bakery is new to the DFW scene and if their baked goods tastes as good as they look. . . . Satchamo's is nearly new and did not have business cards yet to hand out.  Yea!  Another new local business.

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InHome Wholisticare & Wellness

From their website:  "InHome Wholisticare and Wellness, locally owned by two sisters and a life-long friend, have over forty-five years of combined experience in healthcare. In 2011, Cecilia Mitchell retired from a successful career as a Physical Therapist and home health care company owner. After experiencing the challenges of our current healthcare system and her own healthcare challenges, it became clear to Cecilia that prevention of disease and management of health challenges through WELLNESS was the key to well-being."

"Equipped with her extensive knowledge of nutrition, exercise, and healthcare, Cecilia had a vision of integrating these skills to create a private duty homecare company that provides compassionate care with a focus on the whole person and that promoted independence through WELLNESS."  They featured tasty samples of some of the food they prepare for their clients.  As you can tell from their beautiful smiles, they exude health and kindness.  Who wouldn't love to have them in their homes taking care of a loved one?

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Round Rock Honey Comany

The Round Rock Honey Company was well-represented.  Visit their website to learn more about the Texas honey company.

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South Texas Beef Jerky  -- Daryl Haynes makes some great beef jerky.  I especially like his habanero pepper beef jerky.  Charlie bought two bags.

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The Spicewood Food Company  

Next month I will certainly purchase one of the aged Balsamic Vinegars from this vendor as I'm addicted to french bread dipped in a good balsamic vinegar.  I hope he returns in July.

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Tjernlund Goat Farm from Grand Saline, TX.  They make all natural goat milk soaps.  Their bars contain at least 25% goat milk.  In case you don't know it, goat milk slows down the skin aging process, retains skin moisture and rebuilds skin cells.  They currently have 29 goats on their farm.  I invited them to Loving Garland Green's Midsummer Nights Garden Tour, but they had to get home to milk their goats.

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People are waking up to the tremendous economic potential behind a local plant-based economy. Certainly the vendors at the Garland Marketplace seem to have caught on to the possibilities offered by such an economy as opposed to the unmanageable international economy that has in essence abandoned Main Street.  As more people grow at least some of their own food, we will see more and more of this shift over to a local, plant-based economy.  Urban gardeners generate new markets and support existing markets--all forming a stronger, more resilient local economy--one that is not at the mercy of national and international economic trends.  Let's get out and support these people.  In fact, let's become one of them!  By working together and getting to know and support our neighbors, local people can and will rebuild our local economy.

In closing, we all need to remember there is more to value than the price of an item.  Some folks complain the price of handmade items are more expensive than commercially produced goods.  This is true.  However, there are other benefits we derive from purchasing locally-made goods that are not readily apparent.  Most local urban farmers and artisans support a whole network of local businesses.  Many of the people I chatted with yesterday emphasized to me they used local businesses as their suppliers.  This is why so much more of the money we give for the purchase of goods from a locally-owned business stays in our community and enriches all of us by strengthening our local economy.

This is not to say we don't need and shouldn't support chain stores.  However two points on that issue:  1) Spread it around by supporting locals too.  In fact you might even be surprised when it comes to prices as I sometimes find better deals on plants at Rohdes and Roaches than I do at their chain store competitors. And 2) When you do shop at a chain, shop at one that is located in your city.  For example, if you live in Garland and shop in Sachse, 2% of any Texas sales tax you may pay on goods purchased goes to Sachse, not Garland.

NOTE:  I apologize to many other vendors who are not mentioned in this article, but as I mentioned, this was a whirlwind tour as Charlie and I had a wedding to attend and were also each hosting a garden tour at our homes later that evening. We didn't stop at any of the vendors who were not promoting food or plant-based items.  You'll have to go and see for yourself on Saturday, July 19 (the third Saturday of the month).  We will stop at those booth too and visit with those vendors.

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216 East Kingsbridge Road (four houses up from cross street of Naaman School Road)

I hope  you will be able to come out tonight and meet me and my garden--along with 6 other gardens featured on Loving Garland Green's first annual Midsummer's NIght Garden Tour.  I would love to meet you and talk garden.

 

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The maps are almost finished.  Later this afternoon they will be featured on the homepage of Loving Garland Green and a few of them will be available tomorrow at Garland merchants.  Also, on Saturday morning members of Loving Garland Green will be handing them out at the downtown Garland Marketplace. You can start your celebration for the beginning of summer early while the produce and other goods at the market are still fresh.

 

Seven Gardens Are Featured on the Tour

Of course people can and should visit the gardens in whatever preference they choose.  That way, we won't have everyone at one garden at once.  You didn't hear this from me BUT:  

  • I would begin the tour with Daniel and Carol's garden at 2514 Diamond Oaks Drive- Garland 75044. Their front yard is all garden and is quite a treat to see.
  • From there go to Bob Phillips garden which is located at 3510 Colbath- Garland 75040.  Bob is a master gardener and his front yard looks like a florist shop.
  • After viewing Bob's garden, move on the Robert and Anita's garden which is featured at 3221 Kingswood Drive - Garland 75040. I really like their garden because they don't have a fence in their back yard.  The openness of it is quite lovely.  
  • From their garden of monster veggies, travel on over to 211 East Kingsbridge where you can see Margie and Gene's fantastic garden. I would park my car on Kingsbridge and walk to the rest of the gardens. In addition to Margie and Gene's plants and flowers, be sure to look at all their handiwork which includes yard art designed by Margie and special garden tools built by Gene such as a composter and a self-watering planter.  
  • From Margie and Gene's, walk across the street to my garden at 216 East Kingsbridge Drive.  You can't miss my garden because it is planted in my front yard and features a variety of mostly edibles--from artichokes to zucchini.  You will also have the opportunity to view the monster blackberry bushes and see the two that have produced over 10 pounds of blackberries this season.  
  • After looking at my garden, there will be arrow signs directing you down the alley to Charlie's place (two houses down).  Charlie's street address is 269 Bellwood Drive, but on foot, the alley is the fastest route.  Besides, Charlie's garden is out back.  He has raised beds surrounding his swimming pool.  Of all the gardens I've visited so far this year, Charlie's has the most and the tastiest tomatoes.  Charlie is also giving away seeds from his prolific brussels sprout plants.  
  • As a grand finale, end the tour at 4022 Naaman School Road which is the location of the Garland Community Garden--the first community garden in Garland built on City property.

 

Be sure to Visit the Winding Garden at the Back Edge of the Garland Community Garden

The Winding Garden is an approximate four feet wide and 170 feet long garden.  This garden space is created following a method of raised bed development often called the "Lasagna Raised Bed."  

To create these types of beds use cardboard, leaves and organic matter to create alternating layers.  Use two parts carbon or brown matter (dry leaves, small branches, cardboard) to one part green matter (green leaves and even vegetable scraps).  Many alternating layers that are heavily watered is the key to success.  Some even sprinkle a little garden soil every so often during the layering process.  The bed should be about 10 inches high when complete.  Mix about four inches of garden soil with compost and spread on the top of the bed. 

Personally, I am turning toward the lasagna method of building raised beds.  This method follows closely the method for constructing raised beds that was advocated by Ruth Stout for years.  She never tilled the soil in her gardens.  She never fertilized.  Instead, she just kept piling mulch (usually hay and vegetable scraps on top of the beds.  She would even sow seeds in the mulch.  She claimed (and her plants proved it) the decaying organic matter was all the fertilizer needed.  She also claimed that her gardens required little to no water.  (But we have to remember that she lived in New England.)  Of course, it is no surprise that she came to be known as "the mulch queen."  Ms. Stout lived well into her 90's and wrote several organic gardening books.

Be sure to notice the feeder baskets that we've inserted into the soil in many of the beds.  These baskets are cylinders fashioned by hand from chicken wire and sticks.  The basket is inserted about 10 inches down into the bed.  A mixture of vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and cardboard are put into the baskets--just about any non-animal organic matter except for citrus which worms tend to reject.  The baskets are watered to facilitate the decay process.  Roots of the plants are attracted to the basket for nourishment.  Some claim this method can reduce the need for water by up to 50%.

The Winding Garden April 29, 2014.

 

The Winding Garden June 8, 2014, about six weeks later.

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Pokeweed growing in a pot in my yard

About six weeks ago a plant appeared in an empty pot in my back yard.  Margie identified it as a "Polkweed".  She told me the leaves can be eaten if you boil them three times, pouring off the water each time and replenishing with fresh water.  According to Margie, some people enjoy eating the leaves mixed with scrambled eggs.

According to Wiki: "Phytolacca americana (pokeweed) is used as a folk medicine and as food, although all parts of it must be considered toxic unless, as folk recipes claim, it is "properly prepared". The root is never eaten and cannot be made edible.   Berries are toxic when raw but cooked juice is reportedly potable, whereas the seeds are supposed to remain toxic after cooking. Pokeberry juice is added to other juices for jelly by those who believe it can relieve the pain of arthritis. In a traditional Cherokee recipe for fried poke stalks, young stalks are harvested while still tender, peeled to remove most of the toxin, washed, then cut into pieces and fried like okra with cornmeal.

Young pokeweed leaves boiled three times to reduce the toxin, discarding the water after each boiling, results in "poke salit" or "poke salad"  or "poke sallet" and is occasionally available commercially. Many authorities advise against eating pokeweed even after thrice boiling, as traces of the toxin may still remain. All agree pokeweed should never be eaten uncooked.
Since pioneer times pokeweed has been used as a folk remedy to treat many ailments. Dried berries were ingested whole as a treatment for boils, taken one berry per day for seven days Grated pokeroot was used by Native Americans as a poultice to treat inflammations and rashes of the breast  Independent researchers are investigating phytolacca's use in treating AIDS and cancer patients. . . ."
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According to most sources, pokeweed is an easily grown plant, succeeding in most soils and full sun or partial shade. The stout erect stalk is tall, growing to 10 feet or more, smooth and branching, turning deep red or purple as the berries ripen and the plant matures. The root is conical, large and fleshy, covered with a thin brown bark. Leaves are about 5 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide, simple, alternate, ovate-lanceolate, and smooth. The flowers which appear from July to September are long-stalked clusters and each has 5 whitish petals with green centers. The fruit is a rich deep purple round berry, containing a rich crimson juice.  
 
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Pokeweed May Offer a Cure for Cancer

 
Other research on pokeweed revealed the root is alterative, anodyne, anti-inflammatory, cathartic, expectorant, hypnotic, narcotic and purgative. It is used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, tonsillitis, mumps, glandular fever and other complaints involving swollen glands, chronic catarrh, bronchitis and diseases related to a compromised immune system it has potential as an anti-AIDS drug.
 
Some of the chemical constituents in the plant are triterpenoid saponins, lectins, antiviral proteins and many phytolaccagenic acids, which are not completely understood. New research has revealed that a possible CURE for Childhood Leukemia called (B43-PAP) is found in the common Pokeweed. Anti-B43-pokeweed antiviral protein, B43-PAP, PAP is a pokeweed toxin. The B43 carries the weapon--the PAP--to the leukemia cells.
 
It has been touted as a smart weapon. In one study 15 out of 18 children who had participated had attained remission. The following is part of a repot from Parker Hughes Institute: The two parts of this drug are the B43 antibody (or anti-CD19) and the pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP) immunotoxin, a natural product in the pokeweed plant. B43 is designed to recognize specific B-cell leukemia cells just as natural antibodies attack and recognize germs. When the antibody finds a leukemia cell, it attaches and B43 delivers the other part of the drug, PAP. Inside the cell, PAP is released by the antibody and inactivates the ribosomes that make the proteins the cell needs to survive. With the cell unable to produce proteins, the specific leukemia cell is killed. More than 100 patients have been treated with B43-PAP and shown only minimal side effects.

Caution is advised as the whole plant, but especially the berries, is poisonous raw, causing vomiting and diarrhea.
A beautiful red ink and a dye are obtained from the fruit. The rootstock is rich in saponins and can be used as a soap substitute.
 
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Social Aspects of Pokeweed - the food of poor Southern people

In 1970 Tony Joe White wrote a song titled Polk Salad Annie.   This brings another question to the forefront:  Some sources refer to the plant as "polkweed" and other sources call it "pokeweed".  I wonder why?
 
Here are a few of the lyrics from the song, Polk Salad Annie:
 
"If some of ya'll never been down south too much
I'm gonna tell you a little bit about this 
So that you'll understand what I'm talkin' about
Down there we have a plant that grows out in the woods
And in the fields looks somethin' like a turnip green
And everybody calls it polk salad, polk salad
Used to know a girl lived down there 
And she'd go out in the evenings and pick her a mess of it
Carry it home and cook it for supper
'Cause thats about all they had to eat, but they did all right . . . "
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Since it grows all over the DFW area, it's somewhat comforting to know that those of us who live in this area may never have to go hungry. The other day when I was over at Charlies' I saw several large pokeweed plants in his front yard.  Charlie says he won't even try to eat any, but I think I will.  Who knows?  Perhaps someday we might be glad to have pokeweed to eat.  I may as well develop a taste for it now.
 
 
Pokeweed Growing in Charlie's Yard
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 Please join us Saturday June 21st for our Midsummer Night's Dream Garden Tour from 6PM to 9PM.  It's free and open to the public.  Maps will be available by Wednesday, but if you can't find one, go to 211 East Kingsbridge Drive at 6PM on the 21st.  You can start the tour there and Margie and Gene will tell you where to go next.

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First Bounty from the Garland Community Garden:  Jalapeno peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, radishes, yellow cherry tomatoes ,one large heirloom red tomato, and basil

This morning I went down to the garden to check on things and to water some perennial transplants I installed a few days ago.  Naturally I had to inspect the entire garden.  To my surprise, the concrete block garden actually had some produce:  radishes, yellow squash, a cucumber, radishes and a zucchini.  Inspired, I searched the rest of the garden and came up with one large red tomato from the square foot garden,  three or four jalapeno peppers and lots of yellow tomatoes from the winding garden area.

I went home and picked some greens, a few blueberries, blackberries and strawberries and a little bouquet of roses, rosemary, mint and tarragon.  The photo below shows the washed greens along with the vegetables. The greens came from my garden.  I put the produce in baggies and took it along with the bouquet to the Good Samaritans house here in Garland.  The Good Samaritans are a local nonprofit whose members are dedicated to preventing homelessness and hunger in our community.   

 

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The fresh food I brought to the Good Samaritans today was enough for two great salads (tomatoes, cucumber, greens, basil and radishes);  a vegetable stir-fry for two with yellow squash, zucchini and jalapeno peppers; and one serving of blackberries, strawberries and blueberries.

Now, just think:  What if next week everyone in Garland with a garden shares some of their bounty with one of our local food banks?  How much would that be?  Quite a lot of fresh meals is my guess.  No doubt  such a little effort from so many would result in several hundred pounds of fresh food.

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Celebrating Growth and Triumphs as Our Work Evolves

It's good to take pictures and then review them from time to time.  Once in a while I slump into the pit of negativity thinking thoughts along the lines of " . . . What does it matter?  It's too much work for such meager returns.  Nothing seems to be growing.  We will never get there. etc."

By accident the other night I was cleaning the photos off my desktop and I came across some that I had taken a couple of months ago during the installation of the concrete block bed down at the garden.  Wow!  I had forgotten how far we have come.

These concrete blocks were in my back yard.  It was the first raised bed I ever built.  Unfortunately it was in my back yard which is filled with trees and no sunlight so nothing grew in it last year.  At one of our meetings this year I donated the blocks to Cary and Regina, members of Loving Garland Green.  In fact, Cary is now an officer of our board.  We later decided to install the bed at the Garland Community Garden and thus it became the second bed we installed there.  

Evolution of the Concrete Block Garden

Below we have Charlie and Cary building the trellis for the concrete garden in late April.

Below is a shot of the garden only a few days after its build.  I brought down two heirloom tomato plants and put them in front of the concrete blocks to reduce the tacky factor--ironically I overlooked the fact they were planted in recycled trash bins which aren't themselves all that attractive either.

Below is a closeup of the tomatoes as they looked when first planted the end of April.  Each pot has two ollas for water conservation.

Below is a photo of the tomatoes today six weeks later.  The plant on the left is loaded with large heirloom Roma tomatoes.  The one on the right is loaded with heirloom tomatoes that were especially developed for our hot dry summers.

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The Keyhole Garden

That was then (May 3)

And this is now (June 14)