Rethinking the Front Yard: Cities Make Room For Urban Farms

OPB features the Portland Fruit Tree Project, Sellwood Garden Club and Steve Cohen, food policy coordinator at the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability - listen or read here.

SUGAR BEET SEED RULING

Victory! Court Finds USDA Violated Federal Law by Allowing Genetically Engineered Sugar Beets on the Market  (two excerpts below!)

"In a case brought by Center for Food Safety and Earthjustice representing a coalition of farmers and consumers, a Federal Court ruled yesterday that the Bush USDA’s approval of genetically engineered (GE) “RoundUp Ready” sugar beets was unlawful."

"Sugar beet seed is grown primarily in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, which is also an important seed growing area for crops closely related to sugar beets, such as organic chard and table beets. GE sugar beets are wind pollinated and will inevitably cross-pollinate the related crops being grown in the same area. Such biological contamination would be devastating to organic farmers, who face debilitating market losses if their crops are contaminated by a GE variety."

Just one example is that this helps preserve the production of the delicious organic Golden Chard above, grown for seed by Frank Morton's family and workers at Wild Garden Seed in Philomath.

Another exciting note I read in the Capital Press, Monsanto plans deeper staff cuts: Weak sales of Roundup, other herbicides lead to falling profits !  And also in the CP on the ruling, Judge overturns approval of Roundup Ready beets.   Oh yeah...!!!

updates

Layer feed milled by two local farms! Buxton's Layer Pellets landed today.  And Q Bar's Local Layer Mash is on the way.  Both non-gmo, no soy and sourcing as locally as possible.  Small Farmers Journal - new issues for sale here.  Edible Portland and In Good Tilth also in.  White House Farmer's Market in the works.  Teaching Soils & Fertilizer section and helping Sarah Rose Brown with the Cover Crop class for OSU and Oregon Tilth's Organic Gardening Certification Program this Saturday.  75 students and a waiting list - contact them now to sign up for next year.  Improving Soils and Cover Crops - many links!  OSU Small Farms Function & Selection of Cover Crops by Melissa Fery. They are also working on a Cover Crop Calculator.  Two new farm composts: MarWest Compost from Scio, certified organic and Valley Gold Compost: Sheep & Steer from Wahl Family Livestock in Lebanon - in stock.  Events and workshops added to the Calendar link above!  Over 80 lbs of dead batteries have been brought in, please keep 'em comin'...

Cover Crop Seed Prices

Please call or email to confirm stock & reserve your seeds or to place a larger order. See the Cover Crop Seeds link above for more information.

Organic Winter Peas: 1 lb - $1.75 / 5lb - $5.45 / 10 lb $10.20 / 25 lb - $22.10 / 50lb - $38.50
Organic Crimson Clover: 1/4 lb - $2.40 / 1 lb - $6.90 / 5 lb - 28.80 / 10 - 52.80 / 50 lb - $240
Organic Yamhill Wheat: 1 lb - $1.90 / 5 lb - $6.50 / 10 lb - 12.25 / 50 lb - $46.20
Organic Forerunner Triticale: 1 lb - $2.00 / 5 lb - $6.80 / 10 lb - 12.75 / 50 lb - $48
Favas: 1 lb - $1.90 / 5 lb - $5.90 / 10 lb - $9.90 / 50 lb - $35

Seeds we'll have soon:
Organic Vetch/Rye Mix: 1 lb - $2.05 / 5 lb - $6.30 / 10 lb - $11.85 / 50 lb - $45
Organic Favas: 1 lb - $2.40 / 5lb - $7.20 / 10 lb $13.50 / 50lb - $51
Organic - Hard Red Wheat, Soft White Wheat, Hulless Oats.  Regular - Crimson and Buckwheat.  Prices and descriptions will be in Cover Crop Seeds section as they become available.  Prices subject to change due to availability.

Gresham may reconsider rule against backyard chickens

"Bev Stout shares a glass of wine with her chicken, Baby Girl, in front of her Gresham home. The city is reconsidering its restrictions on owning chickens."

Read the Oregonian article, by James Mayer, which also talks about Rules for Milwaukie and the new allowance in Forest Grove. Hillsboro sounds like it's in the works. Beaverton allows as "household pets" - I spoke about chicken keeping at their farmer's market this summer and it sounds like there are a good amount of hens in unincoporated areas and a lot of interest in Beaverton proper.

Another recent chicken article describes our home coop and garden during Tour de Coops and the author, Ryan Kost, interviewed one of our customers that day, who is also named Naomi... her friend Barb did get chicks and was just in for feed a couple weeks ago! In Portland, Urban Chickens Are Old Hat: Urban chicken keeping has found its place and a passionate following
(Neil showing eggs in the nest boxes during the Tour)

ORGANIC WINTER PEAS

Organic Frostmaster Winter Peas, grown in Oregon, are here! We just picked up this morning and will post prices and more info in a bit... Woo hooo! Seed cleaning for Organic Favas, Oats, Forerunner Triticale and Yamhill Wheat takes place next week and we'll be bringing it in. Hairy Vetch, Winter Rye, more Clover and other mixes should be ready next week, may not be organic, but grown in OR and WA.

Benefit Feast for SE Portland Urban Farmer Seedbank Project

"What if you could come on out to support a wonderful cause, listen to live music, feast on the freshest produce you've ever tasted, drink special preview beer from Portland's newest brewery and celebrate the harvest with the Urban Farmers of Southeast Portland, all for less than you'd normally pay for a couple of cocktails? This weekend, you can have it all."
This Saturday, September 12th from 2 - 10pm at Riverhouse CSA in Sellwood!

Beetle Banks, Beneficial Insects and Native Pollinators

A Xerces and Farmscaping for Beneficials Field Class for Small Farmers!
Friday September 11, 2009 10 AM – 4 PM Dancing Roots Farm, Troutdale, OR

A free on-farm field class for small farmers interested in learning about insect predators, parasitoids and native pollinators and the on-farm habitat that support them. We will cover in-depth the life cycles, ecology and identification of these organisms, the characteristics of the habitat that help keep them on the farm. During the class we will be creating an on-farm beetle bank, perennial habitat for generalist predators such as predacious ground beetles and spiders. The expert organic vegetable growers at Dancing Roots Farm will guide us through the bank raising and their operation and there will be plenty of opportunity to interact with beneficial insects up close and personally. Matthew Shepherd of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation will lead our exploration of native pollinators. Gwendolyn Ellen and Paul Jepson of the Farmscaping for Beneficials (FSB) Program at OSU's IPPC will cover the beneficial insects. A free, organic lunch will be provided. This field class is sponsored by the USDA Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. It is also a BYOB (bring-your-own-bug) event so if there is an insect that has been bugging you this summer but you don't know who it is just plop it in a jar and we'll help you figure it out!

Registration is required. Please contact Gwendolyn Ellen at 541-737-6272 or Gwendolyn@science.oregonstate.edu

InFARMation (and Beer!)

Tonight at Roots Organic Brewery - 1530 SE 7th Ave. in Portland!

Friends of Family Farmers presents:

September 8th: Author and food activist Jill Richardson will be in town to discuss her new book Recipe for America. The book demonstrates how sustainable agriculture—where local farms raise food that is healthy for consumers and animals and does not damage the environment—offers the only solution to America’s food crisis. In addition to highlighting the harmful conditions at factory farms, this timely and necessary book details the rising grassroots food movement, which is creating an agricultural system that allows people to eat sustainably, locally, and seasonally. Jill Richardson blogs about food issues at Daily Kos and at her own blog, La Vida Locavore. She is also a member of the advisory board of the Organic Consumers Association.


5:30-6:30 - Arrive, networking, beer drinking
6:30-8:00 - Speakers(s), Q & A
8:00-8:30 - Additional discussion, networking & beer drinking