From the Cleveland Plain Dealer
Treat yourself: Taste something local and organic for Earth Day
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Debbi Snook
Plain Dealer Reporter
I once looked up from gardening to find an asparagus growing when I had planted none. It stuck out of the ground between shrubs in a dark corner of my landscape border, tempting me to guess its origin. A gift of the wind? A seed-carrying bird? Or pure garden magic?
I liked the last idea.
A few seasons later, when there was enough to share, I made my first meal of it. It was worth waiting for, as good as any asparagus I'd had, only different - sweet with familiarity, satisfying as a blessing of good fortune, and fresh as it could get.
What a delicious metaphor for eating locally.
Earth Day arrives Tuesday, and in this world of industrial food, so has our runaway appetite for the kind of work, heart and little miracles that produce local food. They can't be commanded into existence, but they can be nurtured.
Here are some ways we can help make them grow:
Eat organic:
Easy to say, when it often costs more. But if you have the money, do it. We all pay a higher price from the pollution caused by nonorganic farming. The taste will convince you to stay. Put organic carrots or celery side by side with conventional veggies and try each of them. You'll be amazed at the difference. Get bushels of information from the Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association in Columbus at 614-421-2022 or on their helpful Web site, www.oeffa.org.
Shop at community-based farmers markets:
You can look farmers in the eye at these markets and ask them what they put in their soil, how they treat their animals and how to cook their products.
The season goes into full swing in late May, although early sprouts are up:
Coit Road Market in East Cleveland (at Woodward Road, 216-249-5455; www.coitmarket.org) has gone back to warmer weather hours, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday, and will host a Spring Fling at the market on May 17.
North Union Farmers Market at Shaker Square (216-751-7656; www.northunionfarmersmarket.org) is already back outdoors, 8 a.m.-noon on Saturdays. Its annual spring benefit happens Monday, April 28, at Eton Chagrin Boulevard with another sparkling crop of great chefs.
Blue Pike Market's spring open house runs 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, May 17, at the farm, 900 East 72nd St. in Cleveland (216-373-9461).
Sign a contract with a farmer: Consider joining a Community Supported Agriculture program, a kind of subscription deal where you pay up front and get the latest crops on a regular basis during the growing season. This is the time to start joining, since slots are limited. Check out the CSA lists on the Cuyahoga Valley Countryside Conservancy's Web site, www.cvcountryside.org, click the Countryside Harvest Guide and scroll down to the CSA list.
Consider joining City Fresh, a partnership between the New Agrarian Center in Oberlin and the Ohio State University Extension. The urban gardening program has its own CSA, which you can join for yourself and, if you like, for someone who can't afford to join. Find out more and attend their monthly meeting 6 p.m. Monday at Great Lakes Brewing Co. or find City Fresh at www.cityfresh.org and 440-774-2906.
Grow your own: No place to grow? Learn about container gardening from Ohio State University Extension of Cuyahoga County (www.extension.osu.e du/lawn_and_garden). Join a community garden (www.cuyahoga.osu.edu, search for "community gardening"). Get info on asphalt gardening programs by contacting City Fresh director Maurice Small at 216-849-8224.
Teach your kids: One of the easiest ways is a trip to Lake Metroparks Farmpark (8800 Chardon Road, 1-800-366-3276, www.lakemetroparks.com), a county park set on a working farm with worthwhile admission fees ($6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $4 for kids 2-11). They will have their own Earth Day festivities noon-4 p.m. on Sunday.
Or sign up your 6- to 10-year-olds for a week of "The Summer Farm and Science School at Crown Point." Contact the working farm and environmental education center in Bath at 330-668-8992, Ext. 101, or go to www.crownpt.org.
Imagine the surprises children can bring to your garden. And to your table.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
dsnook@plaind.com, 216-999-4357
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