Save the Date: Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 10 for the “Fairfield social event of the season”. The Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, will be holding its first annual Harvest Supper, a celebration of local farm fare prepared by renowned area ‘farm to table’ chefs.

Hosted by DJ Carey, the Editorial Director of the beautiful Cottages and Gardens publications, the fundraiser will be held at the landmark Pequot Library in Southport. Guests will be treated to a bountiful farm-to-table menu, seasonal wine and craft beers, fresh desserts, and foot-tapping music.

The Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm’s mission is to celebrate the town’s agrarian past (Just 90 years ago there were more than 100 farms in Fairfield), educate youth and adults about sustainable gardening practices, promote good stewardship of the land and sound nutrition, and to provide a fresh local source of  organic produce.

Visit the Farm online at www.fairfieldorganicteachingfarm.org, follow them on Facebook, and subscribe to their e-newsletter to stay informed about this and other projects, including the Seed to Seed Library at Fairfield Woods Branch Library.

Editor’s Note: If you planted garlic last year, hopefully your plants are doing well and have a good amount of top growth. Thanks to the generosity of CT NOFA and farm member Wayne M. Hansen of Wayne’s Organic  Garden, we are are able to share some of the best garlic planting, growing, cultivating and harvesting advice available for the organic backyard gardener in Connecticut.

Growing Garlic at Wayne’s Organic Garden

By Wayne M. Hansen

Garlic is a perennial but is grown as an annual.  It is not difficult to grow, but, as with almost everything, attention to detail gives best results.

Generally speaking, there are three easily distinguished types of garlic: softneck, hardneck or stiffneck, and elephant garlic.  Softneck garlic is the kind most commonly found in the supermarket; larger cloves surround smaller cloves in a bulb.  Hardneck garlic bulbs feature four to eight larger cloves around a central stem.  Elephant garlic, actually more closely related to leeks, has very large bulbs and the cloves are around a stem.  Being very much milder than true garlic, it is good when roasted or baked or even sliced raw in a salad.  Many varieties of softneck and hardneck garlic are out there, but there seems to be only one elephant garlic.  Try two or three varieties to see what you like and what works best for you.  I find the porcelain or continental varieties such as “German Extra-Hardy” are easy to grow and give good results.

Soil Preparation

Good garden soil with a pH near 7 (6.8-7.2) is best.  Bury any green manure crop a couple of weeks before planting.  I try to apply compost to the bed and linseed meal, greensand, and azomite in the row.

Seed Selection

As a rule, plant the largest cloves selected from the largest bulbs.  Save the smaller cloves for kitchen use, or plant for spring greens.  Bulbs two inches in diameter and larger seem to work best.  Remember that garlic acclimates.  Seed from a source local to you is often your best bet.  If you try seed from a distance, like the West Coast, replant it for a couple of years even if it doesn’t do well right away. Be aware that the devastating Bloat Nematode has been recently found in garlic in New York state. Be careful about the source of your seed garlic.  “Pop” the cloves from the bulb not more than a day or so before planting.

Planting

I try to plant in the last two weeks of October.  This allows some root growth and a minimum of top growth before the ground freezes.  Too much top growth can lead to winter kill when the really cold weather hits.

I plant cloves with the root end down, the base about three inches below the surface.  I space the cloves five inches apart in rows twelve inches apart.  I use a six-foot dibble board for even spacing and to save time in a large planting (I plant about 3,500 row feet).  Smaller plantings can be punched out with the handle of a hoe.  For elephant garlic, I place the cloves twelve inches apart in rows eighteen inches apart.

Make sure that the root end of the clove is down.  It will grow upside-down, but with the stem coming up in a “J” and the roots like an umbrella, and the energy required for that reduces the bulb size.  I cover the holes using a wheel hoe with a small cultivator shovel on each side of the row, pushing dirt up over the holes.  I mark varieties plainly on a stout stake and mulch right away with four to six inches of loose straw (more on elephant garlic).  Then, I leave it alone till spring.

Early Spring Care

After the harshest weather is over (late March?) check to see that all the bulbs are sending up leaves.  Some varieties will show before others.  If a lot are up but there are gaps in the spacing, check to see if the leaves have grown sideways under the mulch.  If so, just lift them up straight.

At three inches or so of top growth (early April?) I try to spray with Neptune’s Harvest fish hydrolyzate or fish with kelp.  Doing this every three weeks or so has worked well for me, but often I get in just one spraying.  Garlic likes plenty of nitrogen and blood meal is a good source of it, spread between the rows.  I’ve not done this since I stopped removing the straw mulch as  I used to.  David Stern of the Garlic Seed Foundation has recommended that I resume the blood meal, even atop the straw.  But, he says, the garlic does not benefit from nitrogen applied after early May.  I would say that the fish spraying could still be beneficial in late May if you have the time.

Late Spring Care

I irrigate if it is a dry spring. I use drip lines atop the straw.  Stop irrigating about mid-June.  Scapes, those flower buds that grow up out of the stems of the hardneck and the elephant garlic, should be snapped or cut off to get good bulb size.  These appear around the second week in June.  I begin to take them off as soon as they are a couple of inches above the top leaf.  I try to get them before the buds have swollen much.  Use or sell these.  Minced and stored in the refrigerator, they are a good addition to salads or dressings, and they make a dynamite pesto!  Add them to cooked dishes late in the cooking as their flavor goes quickly with heat.  They’re excellent raw in sour cream as a dip.  They will keep a few weeks or longer whole or minced in plastic in the refrigerator, and minced, will freeze for winter holiday dips.  Sheep and goats go wild for them, but it may affect milk flavor.  I don’t know.

Be sure to keep weeds out of the garlic plot. Like other alliums, garlic does not compete well with weeds.  The straw mulch will keep most of them down, but occasional hand work may be necessary.

Harvest and Storage

Garlic top growth ends about June 22 in the Northeast.  At that point, the energy goes to the bulb.  David Stern advises harvesting within thirty days after June 22.  He also says that most of us harvest too early, and that when garlic is at its harvest peak, the bulbs will show a tiny space between the stem and the clove.  You can only know this by cutting through a bulb.  I have always gone by the six green leaves rule.  When most or many of the plants have the sixth leaf from the top beginning to brown, it’s ready.  This has done well for me, but I’m also going to try David’s suggestion.  As head of the Garlic Seed Foundation, he is exposed to a lot more information than I am.

At any rate, I find that I harvest usually in the second and third weeks of July.  With garden cart at hand, I plunge a spading fork alongside the garlic row and pull back to loosen the plants.  I do this for a few feet, the pull up the bulbs by the stalks and brush away any clumps of heavy dirt.  The bulbs are stacked in the cart and moved to the storage shed and NEVER EVER left in strong sunshine where surely they will bake.

Using loops of twine, and usually with the help of two assistants, we gather six or eight plants into a bunch and secure it at one end of the loop, a second bunch at the other, then hang the two connected bunches over a nail on a joist in the barn.  They need a well-ventilated spot out of direct sunlight.

Another new (to me) suggestion from David Stern is to wash the bulbs under a spray like that from a hose nozzle.  Dunking in a bucket is likely to spread any disease present.  Spraying is done before hanging.  Stern says that this leaves the garlic whiter and saves cleaning.  I’ve not done this, but may give it a try.

After the garlic is hung, particularly in rainy and humid conditions, a fan helps to dry it.  In 2000, a cool, wet summer, friends of mine lost all their crop to rot from inadequate drying.  I use a twenty-inch window fan in each of the three bays of my carriage shed to keep the air moving.  If you do wash the bulbs, I think this would be especially important.

The bulbs are well enough cured for storage when the stem is dry when cut one half-inch above the clove tops.  I usually cut and store them in clean onion bags at 55 to 65 F in a well-ventilated area out of direct sunlight.  You can also store them with the stem on, if you have room, or braid bunches.  I recommend braiding softnecks soon after harvest while the tops are still pliable.  Most varieties will store four to eight months or longer after curing, elephant garlic often longer.

For further study, get Growing Great Garlic by Ron. L. Engeland, available from Filaree Farm, 182 Conconully Highway, Okanogan, WA 98840.  Filaree has a great catalog of seed and information.

Join the Garlic Seen Foundation, c/o Rose Valley Farm, Rose, NY 14542-0419.  $15 for the first year, $20 for two-year renewals gets you the occasional newsletter, The Garlic Press, with festival listings, recipes, and garlic and medicinal information.

To contact me:  Wayne Hansen, Wayne’s Organic Garden, P.O. Box 154, Oneco, CT 06373, 860-564-7987; waynewog1co@sbcglobal.net

Related article: Living on the Earth: Harvesting Garlic, by Bill Duesing, Executive Director of CT NOFA and an organic farmer.

Whether you’re planning to start a backyard garden or are a seasoned gardener, there’s always something new to learn from Master Farmer Annie Farrell at Millstone Farm in Wilton. There’s so much to think about – where to plant, what to plant, how to plant (raised beds or not?), companion planting, watering and fertilizing (without chemicals), and how to deal with disease and pests. Learn best practices to ensure your gardening success during this 3-hours workshop where you’ll also enjoy a farm tour.

Please call 203.834.2605 or email fmasani@millstonefarm.org to reserve a spot (limited space).

If you’re planning to plant a garden this spring, now is the time to flip through your seed catalogs or visit your favorite seed companies online to make your selections. Backyard, community, and school gardens are wildly popular and last year I had to live without some of my favorite seeds because I waited too long to order.

If you’re new to gardening, consider starting small with some easy cool weather crops like peas, radishes and lettuce. Even if you just plant peas in a container on St. Patrick’s Day (less than 3 weeks away!), you will enjoy the freshest, most delicious peas you’ve ever had because you’ve grown them yourself. Research has shown that children who grow and pick their own food tend to eat it. That means they’ll eat more vegetables!

Check out this WTNH Good Morning CT Weekend segment for a quick lesson in getting your spring container garden started with Comstock Ferre’s heirloom seeds and supplies from Gilbertie’s Herb Gardens.

In mid to late spring the peas will be ready to harvest and enjoy in salads or cooked in stir fries and other dishes. Some varieties of peas, such as the heirloom Blue Podded Pea, can be harvested early and eaten like snow peas or harvested late as a shell pea according to the Comstock, Ferre & Co. catalog. The 100-year-old Thomax Laxton shell pea matures in 55 days and because it’s so sweet, I’m expecting it to be a hit with the kids.

Once the hot weather arrives and the vines begin to fade, take a pair of scissors and clip them at soil level, leaving the roots  behind. The roots of legumes “fix” nitrogen in the soil, enriching it for the next crop, so be sure to plant something else in the container, right on top of the pea roots. The pea vines might just be the first plant trimmings to go in your compost pile.

Seeds are very inexpensive, and if you make your own compost, you’ll likely wind up saving money by growing your own. A fantastic online source of inspiration and advice for home gardeners is Kitchen Gardeners International, the group behind the campaign to replant a kitchen garden at the White House.

Some of the best planting advice is dispensed by the experts at our local garden centers and one of my favorites is Gilbertie’s Herb Gardens in Westport. They sell everything you need to start your own organic garden, from soil and containers to seedlings and raised beds. A few weeks ago I got a sneak preview of the gorgeous Western Red Cedar wooden planter boxes and raised garden beds they are stocking for the spring. Assembled in 5 minutes, these planters are designed for the home gardener looking to grow on patios, decks, and even rooftops. The elevated garden beds are a great solution for anyone with limited mobility or just plain tired of gardening on their knees!

After watching this video about Comstock Ferre & Co., a 200-year-old seed company in Wethersfield, CT, that was recently acquired by Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company of Missouri, I ordered  the seed catalog and chose a number of heirloom varietals I had never heard of before. The Comstock Heirloom Seeds catalog offers over 250 seed varieties, all of which were part of their original 1820-1950 heirloom seed collection. An heirloom seed is one that is at least 50 years old and has been selected to be saved and passed down from generation to generation because it grew well and tasted good. Heirloom seeds, unlike hybrids or GMOs (genetically modified seeds) will reproduce true to the parent strain. Rewarded with the same excellent vegetable they remember from past years, gardeners would again save seeds for the next season’s planting. You can save seeds too!

Comstock, Ferre & Co., located in historic Wethersfield, CT, is the oldest continually operating seed company in New England and is set to celebrate its 200th anniversary this summer. Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company is  committed to restoring Comstock Ferre to its original state, including choosing historic art work originally commissioned by Comstock from local artists to grace the covers of their seed packets. Comstock, Ferre is planning a huge 200th birthday celebration in Old Wethersfield on June 5, including several acclaimed garden authors and speakers, live music and vendors.

How to Purchase Comstock Heirloom Seeds:

Seed packets are available for purchase at the retail store in Wethersfield, CT, just 5 minutes south of downtown Hartford. Comstock, Ferre & Co. is located at 263 Main Street in Old Wethersfield, and is open Monday through Friday from 9-4. Phone: 860-571-6590 860-571-6590 or visit them online at www.ComstockFerre.com to order a catalog or place an online seed order.

Written by Betsy Keller, MS, RD

I have kalephobia. I should not admit this as I am a Registered Dietitian and have openly and hypocritically blessed Kale’s virtues over the years.  The phobia might have developed due to overactive bitter taste buds (new research has confirmed this) or it might be my lack of patience to scrub hidden dirt from thick and curly leaves. I recently discussed my phobia at a dinner party and was surprised to learn three other guests also shared my disdain for this healthy and supposedly delicious leafy green.

Veggie Therapy

In order to overcome a phobia, experts suggest desensitizing yourself to the reviled object/experience over time.  I am an all or nothing personality, so today is National Kale Day at my house (so many declared holidays I think the kids might go for this).  I have prepared a short speech about how kale was loved by the Romans, European peasants and early English settlers. For breakfast I prepared a kale frittata, lunch will include Kale in my soup and unbeknownst to my children, kale will be served roasted and crunchy and sprinkled in mashed potatoes with dinner.

The frittata was delicious (thank you Whole Foods for the wonderful recipes).  Torn into small chewable, digestible pieces, I may be convinced that Kale can be added (hidden) in many of my staple recipes. I am only halfway through day one so my enthusiasm may be tempered by the end of the week. I remain hopeful that my family will enjoy the new recipes and unconditionally accept kale into their life.

Kale Facts

Kale is a member of the cabbage family – cousin of broccoli, cauliflower and collard greens – but its leaves do not form a head.   There are several varieties of kale – curly kale, ornamental kale, and dinosaur (or Lacinato or Tuscan).

One cup of kale (36 calories) is chock full of beneficial nutrients such as:

Fiber – 5grams fiber; raw fiver binds bile acids and helps lower blood cholesterol levels

Antioxidants (carotenoids and 45 flavinoids),

Vitamins (1000% Daily Value vitamin K and 200% DV C) and Minerals (15% DV calcium, 40% DV magnesium, iron, magnesium)…

Sulforaphane a sulfur substance that may protect against certain cancers.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids – It only takes 100 calories of kale to provide us with 25-35% of the recommendation for the basic omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA).

Indole-3-carbinol- may play a role in repairing cell DNA.

Glucosinolates – compounds which provide cancer-preventive benefits.

Cooking Kale

Select firm, deeply colored leaves with hardy stems. Smaller sized leaves will be tenderer and have a milder flavor. To store, place kale in a plastic storage bag removing as much of the air from the bag as possible. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days as it gets bitter (or more bitter in my case) after this.  Do not wash kale before storing because excess water will lead to spoilage.

To ensure quick and even cooking cut the leaves into ½” slices and the stems into 1/4″ lengths. Let them sit for at least 5 minutes before cooking to enhance the health benefits.

For kale recipes, visit the ever-popular Tuscan Kale Chips post on this site and try:

Whole Foods website: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=recipe&dbid=40

Trying this one tonight! http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001566.html

What are your favorite ways to cook kale?

Betsy Keller, MS, RD is a nutrition marketing and communications consultant specializing in sustainable food, nutrition and health-related issues. She is a freelance writer and also lectures in Fairfield County, CT.

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Wilton Library is proud to host a talk by Joan Dye Gussow about her latest book, Growing, Older : A Chronicle of Death, Life, and Vegetables

Thursday May 12, 2011 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Brubeck Room

Michael Pollan calls her one of his food heroes. Barbara Kingsolver credits her with shaping the history and politics of food in the United States. And countless others who have vied for a food revolution, pushed organics, and reawakened Americans to growing their own food and eating locally consider her both teacher and muse.

Joan Gussow has influenced thousands through her books, This Organic Life and The Feeding Web, her lectures, and the simple fact that she lives what she preaches. Now in her eighties, she stops once more to pass along some wisdom—surprising, inspiring, and controversial—via the pen. Gussow’s memoir Growing, Older: A Chronicle of Death, Life, and Vegetables begins when she loses her husband of 40 years to cancer and, two weeks later, finds herself skipping down the street—much to her alarm. Why wasn’t she grieving in all the normal ways? With humor and wit, she explains how she stopped worrying about why she was smiling and went on worrying, instead, and as she always has, about the possibility that the world around her was headed off a cliff. But hers is not a tale, or message, of gloom. Rather it is an affirmation of a life’s work—and work in general.

‘In Growing, Older Joan Dye Gussow once again proves herself the consummate writer, gardener, cook, professor and-it turns out-philosopher, too. This is a memoir about death, but much like Joan herself, it’s brimming with life. A vivid, unflinching, and unexpected self-portrait.’–Dan Barber, chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Joan Gussow is a highly acclaimed nutrition educator who has demonstrated that year-round eating from 1,000 square feet in a suburban riverfront village is possible, life-sustaining, and delicious. She is the Mary Swartz Rose Professor Emerita and former chair of the Columbia University Teachers College Nutrition Department. She lives on the Hudson River in Piermont, New York.

Q&A following the talk. Michel Nischan, who will introduce Ms. Gussow, will also provide finger food for the reception following the talk. No charge. Sponsored by the Betsy and Jesse Fink Foundation for Wilton Library’s Environmental Initiative. Books available for purchase and signing; purchases will benefit the library. Registration strongly suggested. To register, please call 203-762-3950 or visit www.wiltonlibrary.org/events. Wilton Library, 137 Old Ridgefield Road, Wilton.

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By Analiese Paik

The Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm is starting the year off with a bang as they make good on their commitment to keep the “teaching” component of the farm active throughout the year. The Farm’s Winter Workshop Series begins on January 15 with a composting workshop and runs through February 5. If you’re a newbie farmer, don’t miss Starting up a Farm on February 5 with Annie Farrell, Master Farmer at Millstone Farm in Wilton, and Dina Brewster, owner/farmer at The Hickories in Ridgefield. Workshops run only 90 minutes and are quite affordable considering the expert presenters.

Please contact the Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm to register or request more information at 203-951-3617 or at www.fairfieldorganicteachingfarm.org.

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Happy Holidays!

Looking for a special holiday gift for the gardeners, cooks and green food lovers in your life? This first installment of our Holiday 2010 Green Food Gift Guide contains 3 clever, thoughtful and fun ideas that were featured on WTNH’s Good Morning Connecticut Show on Saturday, December 6.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to be notified when the next Holiday 2010 Green Food Gift Guide post is published. New gift idea will be published each day on the Blog over the next two weeks.

For the Gardener:

Heirloom Seeds from Comstock, Ferre & Co. in Wethersfield, CT

Comstock, Ferre & Co., located in historic Wethersfield, CT, is the oldest continually operating seed company in New England and is set to celebrate its 200th anniversary this summer. Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company of Missouri recently purchased Comstock, not only saving it from demolition, but also committing to restoring Comstock Ferre to its original state.

The retail and catalog heirloom seed businesses are now up and running and the 260 seed varieties being offering this year were part of the original 1820-1950 heirloom seed collection. An heirloom seed is one that is at least 50 years old and has been selected to be saved and passed down from generation to generation because it grew well and tasted good. Heirloom seeds, unlike hybrids or GMOs (genetically modified seeds) will reproduce true to the parent strain. Rewarded with the same excellent vegetable they remember from past years, gardeners would again save seeds for the next season’s planting. You can save seeds too!

Many of the heirloom varieties sold by Comstock are at least a few hundred years old and trace their roots to the founding of our country. Squash and pumpkin, so-called New World varieties, are native to the Northeastern US and the seeds were originally acquired from Native Americans. Others were introduced to this country by the Pilgrims and other European immigrants, including the bulb onion (not to be confused with native wild onions).  The legendary Wethersfield Red Onion served as a major cash crop in the 1800′s and today remains “an icon and logo of Wethersfield” according to the catalog where it is sold in packets of 300 seeds.

Illustrations of vegetables from antique seed packets found in the company archives now grace the covers of heirloom seed packets and decorate the newly minted 2011 catalog, all of which are sure to become collectors’ items. To order a Comstock seed catalog, register at the Baker Creek web site and anyone in the Northeast will automatically be sent one.

Note: No catalog orders are being taken until after Christmas.

How to Purchase Comstock Heirloom Seeds:

Seed packets are available for purchase at the retail store in Wethersfield, CT, just 5 minutes south of downtown Hartford. Comstock, Ferre & Co. is located at 263 Main Street in Old Wethersfield, and is open Monday through Friday from 9-4. Phone: 860-571-6590 or visit them online at www.ComstockFerre.com (this site is under construction)

For the Cook:

A Woolly Pocket Kitchen Herb Garden

Bring the garden indoors this winter in a Woolly Pocket Garden container so your favorite cooks have easy access to fresh culinary herbs. Made in the USA from recycled plastic bottles, Woolly Pockets make indoor gardening fun and easy because they are specially designed to keep plants moist and surfaces dry.

Woolly Pockets should be filled with good quality potting soil and healthy herb plants that will grow well indoors. Remove the guess work by heading over to Gilbertie’s Herb Gardens in Westport to talk to one of their experts. They steered me towards the Aussie basil because it grows straight up and does well indoors. Pictured here is the peacock blue Tina model from Woolly Pocket Garden’s freestanding Island line with Aussie basil, parsley, thyme, orange mint, and garlic chives from Gilbertie’s. Be sure to pick up a complimentary copy of Raising Herbs Indoors when you check out so the gift can be properly cared for.  Also, Gilbertie’s is hosting a winter farmers’ market each Thursday from 10-1 starting December 9 and will offer free gardening lectures at 11 am.

Bonus: When you make a purchase on WoollyPocket.com, the company will donate a Wally One modular wall system to the school of your choice to help them build their Woolly School Garden. Wally One can be hung from a door or wall to bring the vertical space to life with living art.

For the Chocolate Lover:

Organic Fair Trade & Direct Trade Chocolate

Organic Fair Trade and Direct Trade chocolates make a delicious stocking stuffer that’s good for both people and planet. Organic growing practices protect and preserve fragile ecosystems and the Fair Trade Certification signifies that farmers receive fair wages and work under fair labor conditions.

Two of my favorites are Taza Chocolate and Equal Exchange.  Taza Chocolate is a Somerville, Massachusetts-based sustainable and socially conscious company which produces a line of 100% stone ground organic chocolates made in the authentic Mexican style. According to the company, Taza Chocolate purchases cacao beans through a Direct Trade Agreement that provides high quality producers “with the economic security and flexibility necessary to conserve natural resources and protect the rights of workers.” These handmade chocolates are available in bars or discs in a wide range of flavors including Salted Almond and Guajillo Chili and fit neatly into a stocking or gift basket. Children especially enjoy making Mexican hot chocolate with the discs and I recommend viewing Taza’s head chocolate maker’s “How to Make Mexican Hot Chocolate” video on the site’s recipe page. Taza Chocolate can be purchased online via the company’s web site, where shipping is free through December 15 on orders over $50, or at Walter Stewart’s Market in New Canaan, Fairfield Cheese Company in Fairfield, and Caseus in New Haven.

Equal Exchange is a leading producer of high quality organic Fair Trade coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, healthy snacks and bananas. Cacao beans are sourced from over 40 small sustainable farm co-operatives in Peru, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, and Panama, and then made into fine chocolate bars in Switzerland. The 65% cacao Orange Dark Chocolate is reminiscent of dark chocolate dipped orange peels and new flavors include Organic Chocolate Caramel Crunch with Sea Salt (55% Cacao) and Organic Ecuador Dark Chocolate (65% Cacao). Equal Exchange chocolates can be purchased at major retailers including Whole Foods Market and via the company’s web site.

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When was the last time you bought someone a gift of food directly from the source? Local honey lovers, and anyone interested in becoming a convert, are invited to attend a very special holiday boutique at Red Bee Apiary in Weston on December 11 and 12, 2010 from 1-4 pm.

If you’ve never tasted single nectar source honeys side-by-side to compare and contrast them, this is your chance to do so with the beekeeper herself, Marina Marchese. Once you’ve picked your favorites, choose from a wide assortment of beautifully packaged individual bottles of honey or boxed gift sets that include lavender lip balm and beeswax candles. Relax by the fireplace and enjoy the live music as your gifts are boxed up, compliments of the house.

For the book lovers on your list, pick up a signed copy of Marina’s “Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper” along with some honey, honey-based skin care products, or beeswax candles.  Carol Herman, the Books Editor at The Washington Times, named Marchese’s HONEYBEE one of the “Books We Loved” in 2009.

Marina’s transition from art director to beekeeper is being told via a beautifully produced Yahoo  Second Act video and will no doubt lead you on a delicious adventure in local honey.

Red Bee Honey is listed in the most recent edition of Patricia Brook’s “Food Lovers’ Guide to Connecticut”, a best of the best foodie guide to Connecticut.

To learn more about Red Bee Honey, visit the web site and read Lessons from a Local Beekeeper on this site.

Red Bee Honey Apiary & Gardens

77 Lyons Plain Road

Weston, CT  06883-3034

www.redbeehoney.com

Call Toll Free: 1.866.530.3022
Email: redbeehoney@gmail.com

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Wednesday evening’s screening of Nourish the film at Wilton Library kicked off an evening of lively moderated discussion about local and sustainably grown food with guest panelists Annie Farrell, Tim LaBant and Jim Hunter.

Every seat in the house was taken, a testament to the popularity of the topic and guest panelists and coordinated team effort in planning and organizing the event by the co-sponsors: Wilton Library, Wilton Go Green, Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm and Fairfield Green Food Guide.

About the Film:

Nourish is an educational film about the story of our food – food from a global perspective to personal action steps. Nourish illustrates how food connects to such issues as biodiversity, climate change, public health, and social justice. Hosted and narrated by Cameron Diaz, Nourish features interviews with best-selling author Michael Pollan, sustainable food advocate Anna Lappe, eco-chef Bryant Terry, pediatrician Dr. Nadine Burke, and organic farmer Nigel Walker. With beautiful visuals and inspiring stories, Nourish traces our relationship to food from a global perspective to personal action steps. Nourish the film was created by WorldLink, an Emmy Award-winning media group with twenty years’ experience in designing education and outreach programs, in order to deepen our national dialog about our food.

“Food is not just fuel. Food is about family, food is about community, food is about identity. And we nourish all those things when we eat well.”
— Michael Pollan from Nourish the film

Visit the web site and view the trailer.

About the Panelists:

Annie Farrell, Master Farmer, Millstone Farm.

Millstone Farm is owned by Betsy and Jesse Fink and is a for-profit working farm whose mission is to operate in a sustainable manner, both in economics and best farm practices. Millstone Farm is an important provider of high quality fresh produce to local families, restaurants and retailers. Annie Farrell, Betsy Fink and Millstone Farm are celebrated in a newly released and very beautiful cookbook, Harvest to Heat: Cooking with America’s Best Chefs, Farmers, and Artisans, that was just named Best Cookbook Overall 2010 by Epicurious and will be featured on the Martha Stewart Show next Wednesday, November  24. Look for Betsy Fink and Annie Farrel in the audience.

In keeping with their goal to see local food production become the norm rather than the exception, Millstone Farm also serves as an educational outreach hub, supporting other farmers, community organizations, school groups and restaurateurs who are interested in learning more about the practice of sustainable agriculture, its implementation and its impact on local economies and food quality. The Millstone Farm Charitable Fund helps support philanthropic initiatives, such as school and community gardens and healthy food initiatives. Millstone Farm was recognized with a Green Coast Award at the Third Annual Green Faire at the Stamford Marriott Hotel and Spa on the morning of this event.

Tim LaBant, Chef/Owner of the Schoolhouse at Cannondale.

Tim’s uncompromising commitment to serving the highest quality fresh, local, and seasonal food has won Schoolhouse numerous awards including a Top 10 Ranking on Open Table’s Best of the tri state area, Best Special Occasion restaurant 2010 by Westport Magazine, and the top Fairfield County Pick for the Best of New England 2010 guide. Much of the food on the menu is sourced from Millstone Farm and some is even picked by the chef himself.

Starting Dec. 9 Tim and his team will be serving lunch, along with other farm-to-table chefs, on rotating Thursdays at the indoor winter farmers’ market at Gilbertie’s in Westport from 10-1 pm.

Jim Hunter, Biology and AP Environmental Science teacher and founder of the organic edible school garden at Wilton High School

Jim has taught at Wilton High School for the past nine years and recently founded Wilton High School’s edible school garden, made possible through funding from Newman’s Own Foundation and funding and other support from The Betsy and Jesse Fink Foundation and Millstone Farm. Jim spent years learning to garden organically from Annie Farrell and her time and expertise were key contributors to the project’s success.

The panel discussion lasted about an hour and we invited the audience to submit questions on question cards that were collected during the final 20 minutes of Q&A.

It was my great pleasure to serve as moderator for the guest panel and this was my introduction:

“We are delighted so many of you were able to join us tonight. I know you will leave feeling uplifted and inspired by our guest panelists Annie Farrell, Tim LaBant and Jim Hunter. As you listen to their stories, it will become evident that Wilton is indeed a very special place where people who care deeply about nourishing the community are working in concert with one another for the greater good.”

The following questions were presented to the panelists by the moderator and some of their answers can be read in the article Residents Encouraged to’Eat Local, Think Global’ by Kara O’Connor, a staff writer at the Wilton Villager who attended the event. A second article, Panel Promotes Farm Fresh Food, by Anthony Buzzeo at The Daily Wilton conveys a few additional thoughts. And my favorite is Film and Discussion at the Wilton Library Nourishes the Community by Audra Carbone of the Wilton Patch.

Panelist Questions:

Q1: The final chapter of the film encourages us to Be the Difference. Each of you IS the difference, working to transform the way we eat and nourish the community. Would you please tell us more about your work?

Q2: The film encourages us to Vote With Our Forks. What does that mean and what are some ways to do that here in Fairfield County?

Q3: Is being a conscious eater enough? Should we all be growing some of our own food and finding ways to support programs and initiatives working to transform the food system into something more sustainable, just and healthy?

The following audience questions were taken on cards and answered by Jim Hunter, Tim LaBant, and Annie Farrell, respectively.

Q1: Will gardens be put in the elementary and middle schools in Wilton?

Q2: What’s local in season November through April?

Q3: What workshops and programs are offered at Millstone Farm, how do you find out about them, and how do we encourage more people to grow in their own backyards?

Many thanks to Tim LaBant and Schoolhouse Restaurant for the delicious cassoulet, Wave Hill Bread for the bread used in the dish, and Vintage Fine Wines of Wilton for their support with the wines. A red and a white wine were served, a 2008 Bonterrra Vineyards Chardonnay and 2006 Lolonis Cabernet, both California wines made from 100% organic grapes.

Guests enjoyed the food and wine during the networking event that followed with panelists and exhibitors Wilton Go Green, Millstone Farm, Fairfield Green Food Guide, Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm, and Ambler Farm.

Thank you to the many guests who supported the library through donations and purchased DVDs from the non-profit Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm to share with their family, friends, businesses, school and organizations. Many thanks to the Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm for their sponsorship of the Nourish screening.

(from the web site)

Nourish is a multi-year media and education initiative. The purpose of Nourish is to open a broad public conversation about our food system that encourages citizen engagement, particularly among young people and families. To inform and inspire, Nourish combines television programming, short films, web content, and learning tools. With a distinctly positive vision, Nourish celebrates both food and community.

Nourish is a project of WorldLink, an Emmy Award-winning media group with twenty years experience in designing education and outreach programs. To maximize the effectiveness of Nourish, WorldLink is collaborating with more than 40 organizations dedicated to creating a sustainable food future.