By Southern Foodways Alliance
Nothing defines “bounty” quite like a visit to my garden at this time of the year. Everywhere I look, miraculous things are going on.My two-year-old grandson accompanies me, as usual. We take a huge bowl with us and I have a kitchen knife to help us harvest. His route around our 12 by 24 foot garden is a history of the order of ripening crops.First he races to the strawberry plants. Those are done producing for the season, but “hope springs eternal” and he checks them anyway. Continue Reading
For years BelleWood Acres has had their farm store in the heart of their apple orchards. As the farm developed, the store began to feel cramped, and owners Dorie and John Belisle wanted to move their retail sales away from their wholesale operation, with its busy trucks, forklifts–you get the picture. on the other side of their farm at 6140 Guide Meridian near Lynden. 
Next Saturday, September 8, is one of my favorite events every year–the annual Whatcom Farm Tour! It’s a free self-guided tour of farms around the County who open their gates to visitors from 10am to 5pm. A lot of the farms offer special events, rides for the family, tastings, and more during the day. 
Pesky weed? Edible landscaping plant? Medicinal herb? Gourmet greens? Purslane is all of the above.Purslane (Portulaca olearacea–also called “pigweed”) is a determined and adaptive plant. According to a Whatcom County Noxious Weed Control Board* handout, a single plant can produce 240,000 seeds which can remain viable in the soil for up to 40 years. A small part of the plant can sprout into a whole new plant. If you pull it up, the plant can still go on to produce seeds, and if it’s anywhere near dirt it will root and grow again. It’s even a succulent (meaning it stores water), so can withstand a certain amount of drought conditions. (That means it’s also not an herb or vegetable.) Purslane takes hardiness to a whole new level. 
Let me ask you something…
Long and creamy white, daikon radishes are most often thought of as an ingredient in Japanese cuisine. However, they are easy to grow and exceptionally versatile to use. Daikon stores well, too, making them a superb locavore ingredient. (A locavore is a person who eats only locally grown food as much as possible.) 
Just received this message from Krista Rome of the Backyard Beans and Grains Project (BBGP). She’s offering some great opportunities for gardeners, farmers, and others to learn to harvest and thresh local grains and beans:
Creating a new recipe is rarely a solo process. Today’s recipe for an amazing pesto is a case in point. Here’s how it came about. 
Rising cost of living is sending many of us into our yards to plant vegetable gardens, fruit trees, and berry bushes and grow some of our own food. Oh, all right, I admit it. Some of us just like to be out there regardless of what’s happening with the economy. Nevertheless, there seems to be a rising interest in home grown food.
“Organic” is a term used to describe some food and farming techniques, but the meaning can be confusing. Let’s try to sort out some fact from fiction. 
America’s primary food production systems have serious problems, not the least of which is deep dependence on petroleum, a non-renewable resource. Pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers–most of these are petroleum based. Then there’s genetically modified food (GMOs), hormones, antibiotics, additives–the list goes on and on. 
Last fall at a farm event, a woman told me she always enjoys reading my recipes. I asked her if she had a favorite. “Oh, I’ve never tried one,” she said. “I don’t know how to cook, but your recipes always sound so good.”
