You wouldn't think there would be anything to write about for a local food and gardening update in the middle of December, would you?  I thought so too - apparently we were both wrong!

As we put the Montgomery Victory Gardens Weekly Update to bed for a few weeks over the holidays, there are two important events in early 2010 we want to pass on to you before taking off:

* Future Harvest, the 2010 conference of The Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, will be taking place January 15 & 16 in Shepherdstown, WV. This conference is absolutely jam-packed with panels, participants, and information for anyone wanting to become more involved in sustainable agriculture and local food issues in the Chesapeake Bay region.  For more information and to register for Future Harvest 2010, click here. (And don't delay - registration deadlines are coming up fast!)

* Community Gardens Networking Day, Thursday, February 4, 2010 from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton. Organized by our friends at the Montgomery County Department of Parks and open to community garden organizers from MD, DC and VA, this networking day will give participants the opportunity to share insights, experiences, notes, tips and resources with others doing the work, and to see some top-notch presentations. For more information, contact Community Gardens Coordinator Ursula Sabia Sukinik at 301-650-2635, or to register online, click here.

As for that holiday treat...

We could all use a laugh these days, and the following short take off of the Star Wars movie is a delightful repast for those of us working on local food issues; although a few years old (it was made before the word "sustainable" had come fully into vogue), it still makes all the right points while putting a smile on your face.

Click here to watch Cuke Skywalker battle Darth Tater in "Store Wars!"

That's it! Please accept my best wishes for a wonderful holiday season - and for a new year in which all your carrots grow straight, your tomatoes remain blight free (grrrrrr....), and we all experience an increase in delicious, nutritious, earth and soul-healing local food!

(Yes, I harvested this spinach, Buttercrunch lettuce and Red Velvet lettuce after our first snowfall, on Saturday December 5 - and it was grown without cold frames or hoops!)





See you in 2010!

Gordon Clark,
Project Director
Montgomery Victory Gardens
www.montgomeryvictorygardens.org