August 27, 2003 link
From The New York Times: A Garden Flourishes Amid Chicago’s Projects.
The article is about City Farm, which my neighbor Jes brought to my attention a month ago. The place is run by Ken Dunn, who sounds like an exceptional individual. How many people would be interested in starting a tiny one-acre farm next to a decaying public-housing project? And it’s only temporary—the City of Chicago has plans to develop the land in the near future. After all this work, City Farm will eventually be bulldozed for condominiums or Blockbuster Video. That’s the deal he made with the City, which allows Dunn to use the land as long as it’s vacant. But Mr. Dunn labors at City Farm because he believes in it, and has a vision for urban agriculture.
“This is not a hobby,” Mr. Dunn said. “This is a real product, and part of that is that it must make money. To make a permanent change in society, it has to function in the existing economy, being able to bring its benefits while paying its bills.”
He sounds like somebody I would like to meet. I’m curious about his future plans—I wonder if we could collaborate on a project…
I’m totally serious about that. The more I think about it, the more I speculate that maybe my future is in growing food. If that’s the case, Mr. Dunn’s 60-years of life experience might offer a wonderful learning opportunity for a 27-year-old kid like me. Hmmmmm…
August 21, 2003 link
Gardening teaches us about patience. Every day, you watch your green tomatoes get bigger and bigger—but they just won’t ripen. They stay green for a long time, without a hint of redness. They look like full-size tomatoes, but green. And you stare at them for weeks, thinking “When will it be time?”
August 20, 2003 link
Big-ups to Portland. The Ersson family are doing some pretty amazing things at their house in Portland, Oregon. They grow pumpkins on their roof, and built an ingenious rainwater collection and purification system to provide most of their home’s water needs. Their vegetable garden uses every spare inch of space, even the driveway. And it looks beautiful, too. They did all of this on a small lot in the middle of the city.
I’m not dissing all the nice folks who move to the country in search of…whatever. But we need more people to build their “homesteads” in the cities. People think this sort of lifestyle is only possible in rural areas, but it doesn’t matter. It rains in Chicago just like it rains in DeKalb.
I’m impressed by people like the Erssons. They rule.
August 19, 2003 link
I love collard greens. They’re so cool. In the garden, their bluish-green leaves are like rain ponchos. Unlike most other plants—which glisten with droplets—the collards shed the water instantly. They have this thick, slippery sheen which funnels the water downward toward the roots of the plant. When you water them, you can hear the water bouncing off the leaves like a tin roof. Then reach out and touch the leaves—they will be dry.
This waxy outer covering is why collard greens are always cooked—never eaten raw. After 10-15 minutes in the pot, they unleash their unique slightly-bitter flavor, which is good with or without a bit of meat flavoring. I had a big serving this weekend, along with a baked sweet potato and some sauteed zucchini. Toss in some cornbread and catfish, and I would have been in heaven.
After a hellish work-week, I was ready on Saturday morning for some quality time in the garden. So I spent several hours on my hands and knees pulling weeds in intense heat and humidity. Yeah—it sounds kinda hellish in its own way, but I really needed it. I also planted a new row of broccoli and some radishes for the Fall.
Then I went inside to deal with those zucchini footballs. I shredded them, and packed them in freezer bags. Later, I can pull them out to make zucchini bread or cake or something. After shredding two big zukes, I had about ten bags of shredded stuff. The other unshredded squash went back in the refrigerator.
I used part of it tonight in a zucchini/garlic/herb soup.
So all of this makes me sound like a really healthy guy who cooks all of his meals from scratch. Like some sort of Naked Chef or Bobby Flay wanna-be. But I don’t really dig all that “celebrity cooking” crap. You’ll never find me reading a cookbook with somebody’s smug face on the cover. I mostly like traditional old-fashioned recipes—the kind that definitely aren’t trendy.
Truth is, I’m just learning as I go. Having a garden forces me to learn about cooking. Which is good—it’s all part of a general process of learning basic skills (Isn’t it weird that these days people need to learn basic skills, rather than just absorbing them through daily life?). Working in the kitchen—like working in the garden—is something I approach with a sense of wonder and curiosity. It’s fascinating to study the chemical reactions in a loaf of bread, or to notice the way certain flavors mingle together to produce something greater than the sum of its parts.
When I have time, I cook stuff. It feels good to learn new skills. But I don’t stress-out about doing it for every meal, all the time. I’m also a sucker for fast food, especially Jimmy John’s sandwiches, and Chicago-style hot dogs. Yeah…that’s the stuff.
So what am I trying to say here? I don’t know…
- I like food, and I think about it a lot.
- I set-out to grow a garden, not become a cook. But learning about food is part of the same continuum. That’s cool—I suspect that other disciplines and ideas (weather patterns, ecology, solar energy, botany) are part of the continuum as well. I expect to be fascinated by whatever else comes along.
- I’m hungry. I should stop writing about food, and just go eat something.
August 13, 2003 link
I went out of town for the weekend, and returned to find…squash the size of footballs. Yikes! These monsters are way too big for general eating. Each of them weighs over 2 pounds. I’ll have to find a way to make bread or soup or something…and then freeze it.
In other news, there is no other news. Due to time constraints, the Forces of Nature have been edging back into the picture. Hopefully, this weekend will provide some free time for the garden…and for the kitchen. I need to do something with these zucchini footballs.
August 7, 2003 link
When it rains every day, you don’t need to water very often. Which is good, because I’m very busy these days. On the other hand, without the need for daily watering, I don’t spend much time in the garden. Which is fine, because those tomatoes are still green. On the other hand, it seems like the zucchini squash double in size every hour. And the basil is ready for pesto. Which is great, because I’ve been stocking up on pasta recently. On the other hand, I won’t have enough time to cook a decent dinner for at least a week. Which is okay, because I’ve got plenty of more exciting things going on. But I’ll be glad when life slows down and I can get outside again. The tomatoes should be ripening by then.
August 4, 2003 link
Pictures are here. Check out galleries 1, 2, 3.
August 1, 2003 link
The kid next door—that’s my dawg. When he saw me watering yesterday, he trotted over and asked if he could help. So we each grabbed a hose and started spraying. As we went along, I told him the names of each plant. Then he showed me how a blast of water could take the paint off an old piece of wood.
Which brings me to the other big news: I ditched the watering can in favor of a hose. The neighbors loaned me their extra hose, which finally makes it long enough to reach from the house to the garden. Previously, I was making 15 trips with the watering can. I didn’t mind, but I recognize the inefficiency of my method. At least I proved it could be done.
