Classes, Classes and More Classes!

As interest in food gardening continues to grow, the classes to help people learn how to do it keep popping up.  Here are three good looking ones in the coming few days that you might want to check out:

"Container Gardening," Saturday May 7 in Takoma Park - Are you ready to try your hand at growing vegetables but don't know how? Tired of buying herbs only to throw out most of it later? Then join this group on Saturday, May 7 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon to learn from Master Gardener Donald Snyder on how to grow vegetables, herbs, and flowers in outdoor containers. For more information or to RSVP contact Carman Lam at 301-891-7219, or click here.

"How Square Foot Gardening Can Help You Live Like a Locavore," also Saturday, May 7, in College Park.  Taught by Lynn "the Locavore" Ferguson, this class from 1-3 pm will teach us how to increase our local food consumption by using the world famous method of "square food gardening."  Click here for more information.

"Introduction to Food Gardening by the Seasons: Summer," Monday, May 9 from 6 - 7:30pm at the brand new Whole Foods in Rockville. This class will cover the basics of maintaining a successful food garden during that most bountiful but also problematic season of the growing calendar, including varietal selection, transplanting, seed starting, watering, mulching and insect control.  Presented by Gordon Clark, Project Director of Montgomery Victory Gardens.  Click here for directions.

MVG and GW-IPL Join Forces

One of MVG's most popular programs has been the Congregational Community Garden Network.  

Started just last year, the network brings together faith-minded food gardeners from more than a dozen congregations in Montgomery County, MD, to share community, information and inspiration.  Hundreds of pounds of food were contributed last year to area food shelters from CCGN gardens, and we aim to grow even larger this year.  

And big step forward in that direction is our new partnership with Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light.

GW-IPL is part of a network of Interfaith Power & Light groups across the country. committed to helping congregations of all faiths across the DC area to go green, save energy, and respond to climate change.  And a significant way to do all of those things, as well as produce healthy, nutritious food, and reclaim our relationship to the earth, is to grow one's own food.  We look forward to working with GW-IPL to build our Congregational Community Garden Network and do just that.  Also look for a joint conference later this summer! 

Wanna be part?  If you are already growing food at your congregation, let us know!  We would also be happy to help your congregation plan and create a community garden.  Just get in touch with Montgomery Victory Garden Outreach and Education Coordinator Vincenza Kamwendo at vincenzakamwendo@gmail.com.

Howard County Votes for Bees!

In case you hadn't heard (like we hadn't), there was a a great sustainable food system victory in neighboring Howard County earlier this year.

In the process of defending themselves from a complaint, the 85 beekeepers of Howard County managed to not only defeat the complaint, but to open up the existing regulations to allow much greater freedom to place and operate honeybee hives.  Or in the words of the disgruntled complainant, Sam Pererone, "it allows beekeepers to do anything they want."  

Well maybe not quite anything they want... but it sure allows a lot!

Congratulations to the beekeepers of Howard County!  We need more bees!!   

Speaking of bees, I am delighted to report that the hives installed in one of the community gardens I work in are doing fine, according to Jeff Miller of DC Honeybees, our benefactor and beekeeper.  They are doing great, in fact, and "at only 3 weeks in they have built out most of the comb in the hive and have excellent brood, I expect that they will explode with bees shortly."

More bees!

Save Nicks Organic Farm - Volunteers Needed

You've read about the controversy, the County Executive's plan to turn a 31 year old organic, seed producing farm, Nick's Organic Farm, into soccer fields.  Some of you joined as at the rousing public meeting with county officials on April 4, and many of you have made phone calls or written emails.  Now it is time for the next step.

We need volunteers to help us do two things:

1) community listserves - we need to get the word out as events and actions come up, and we'd like to do it in communities around the county.  If you are part of a community listserve and are willing to post messages to help spread the word on this campaign, let us know at info@montgomeryvictorygardens.org with the word "Listserves" in the subject line.

2) leafletting - yes, the classic standby of organizing a successful campaign still exists, and we've got some special opportunities coming up (!) in the next couple of weeks.  If you want to help for an hour or two (or more!) on a leafletting team, contact info@montgomeryvictorygardens.org with the word "Leafletting" in the subject line.  

This struggle is just beginning - and we need your help to win it, and to preserve one of the most important organic farms in our county.  Let us know what you can do!

How About a Farming Vacation?

Well, a vacation that you have to work for - literally, from 8 to 5, and often hard, physical labor at that.  But in exchange you would get time on a beautiful organic farm, eating amazing fresh food, visiting local wineries, going to the beach - and all absolutely free.   

That's the deal at the farm in this AP Report, "A free farm holiday if you're willing to work."

The idea of having to work during a vacation does seem a little... um... odd, but the reporter ended up believing it was one of the best vacations he's ever had, aches and all.

Sound like it might be your type of vacation?  You can check out more such opportunities at Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms - WWOOF!  (Thanks to MVGer and Advisory Board member Tim Willard for passing this on!)

Why Is Healthy Food for All "Elitist?"

Isn't it remarkable that those who are demanding sustainable, organic food production in our nation are sometimes called elitists?

Or maybe not so remarkable, when you consider who is doing the name-calling, according to this powerful  Washington Post Op-Ed From Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation and co-producer of the Oscar-nominated documentary "Food, Inc." The name calling is a misdirection, an attempt to hide the fact that "America's current system of food production - overly centralized and industrialized, overly controlled by a handful of companies, overly reliant on monocultures, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, chemical additives, genetically modified organisms, factory farms, government subsidies and fossil fuels - is profoundly undemocratic. It is one more sign of how the few now rule the many. And it's inflicting tremendous harm on American farmers, workers and consumers."

And most of all, the commentary concludes, it is inflicting tremendous harm on poor and working people - "who live in the most polluted neighborhoods... are exposed to the worst toxic chemicals on the job... are sold the unhealthiest foods and can least afford the medical problems that result."  It is the poor and working people who need a new, sustainable food system far more than any wealthy "elitists."

Brilliant stuff from Eric Schlosser, check it out.