June 30, 2008

A Summer of Local
by Cori Stanek

Excerpt from The Seeley-Swan Pathfinder

Springtime in the mountains. Snow recedes slowly along the peaks, rivers rush with renewed vigor, and the world beings to turn green again. Somewhere in the sunny, singing moments between the days of balmy drizzle, valley residents rush into their gardens to wake up winter soil and sow seeds in anticipation of warmer days to come... In a region characterized by a short growing season, growing your own food presents its own unique challenges—time is of the essence. As days lengthen seedlings begin to emerge, and with them the hopes of saturating the kitchen with food grown with care, close to home.

“Growing your own” is a motto for many, but has grown in popularity in recent years. The cost of food production and transportation in the United States, and elsewhere, is increasing steadily as oil prices continue to rise… Montanans, like many other citizens, are seeking out new ways of thinking about their food systems. As energy costs rise globally, buying or producing locally has become a valuable alternative that supports local economies, producers, and community vitality.

With a national food culture rooted in large-scale production, processing, and transportation, eating locally brings the cycle of food a little closer to home. Buying locally drastically reduces the distance food travels, using less fuel in transportation and limiting the travel time of each vegetable before it reaches the consumer. Reduced travel time means those wonderful summer tomatoes, cucumbers, and watermelon can ripen in the field—retaining their highest nutritional quality… and taste.

What’s more, the environmental benefits of locally produced food extend beyond reduced resource consumption, retaining soil integrity, reducing water use, preserving biodiversity, and reducing the number of pollutants entering a landscape. Just to name a few.
Small-scale growers typically use smaller machinery which helps to reduce the disturbance, compaction, and erosion of top-soil. Small, multi-crop gardens also tend to use less fertilizer and have fewer pest problems, allowing them to limit the influx of chemicals and supplemental nutrients entering soil and water systems. Local producers typically use less water per unit in irrigation as well by preventing water loss that is characteristic of large, inefficient irrigators. In short, maintaining small-scale production and locality of food has almost innumerable and immeasurable environmental benefits that help keep local landscapes working and enrich the communities that are a part of them… Buying from local farmer’s markets strengthens local economies by supporting community growers and tightening the relationship between producer and consumer…

Important connections are made at farmer’s markets; communities are supported and good food is put on the table. Perhaps above all else, farmers markets are an opportunity to connect with friends and neighbors among spreads of rich greens and fragrant garlic. Spending warm summer days in a convergence of food, land, and community.

In a valley as rich and diverse as the Seeley-Swan, farmer’s markets are an opportunity to bolster a sense of community, support valley growers, and bring the relationship of food and land a little bit closer to home…

Garden Update

Continued sunny days have made our garden grow in leaps and bounds! Every seed that was so lovingly, or chaotically, planted has begun to sprout. We’ve done some thinning of Kale, Beets, and Lettuce already and with warming nights our threat of frost is steadily waning. Summer’s here! (knock on wood).

The garden also received a few finishing touches this week with the addition of a gate—yes, an actual gate, with hinges and everything! Tim Blessing, a Landscape & Livelihood student in 2007, crafted the gate from recovered character-wood as a part of his independent study project. After extended brainstorming over how to hang the gate effectively, Steve Lamar came to our rescue with hinges and the know-how to get the job done! Two hinges, a frame extension, latch, and a few yards of chicken wire later we now have an amiable fortress against hungry ungulates and NwC staff…

Planted this week:  We’ve lent some garden space to a butterfly flower mix—hoping to attract some of those wonderful little pollinators!

Sprouted this week:  Our beans had an admirable growth spurt—one moment they were seeds and the next they’re 3-inch sprouts!  The carrots are finally up and our cherry tomato plant is testing the sunny weather with a handful of green fruit, forging right ahead into the growing season!

The Passed Week at Connections

A visitor! A striking, male Cecropia moth (Hyalophora cecropia) was warming itself on the front of the barn Wednesday morning! Hairy, colorful, and prehistoric in movement, the moth looked like it had escaped from a Jim Henson workshop.
Cecropia moths are in the giant silkmoth family (Saturniidae), along with famed species like the Luna moth. Cecropias are one of the largest moths found in North America, the Rocky Mountain front marks the western edge of their range.
Interesting fact: Adult Cecropia caterpillars overwinter inside their silk cocoons and emerge in the spring like many moths. However! Cecropia moths do not retain their mouths through metamorphosis. In fact, adult Cecropias actually lack mouth parts and are unable to eat! Because of this their lifespan as an adult is between 7 and 10 days depending of the individual moth’s level of activity, or how quickly it uses up its energy stores. That’s seven days to emerge, mate, and lay eggs…
He was a rare and fleeting sight!

Another visitor! Leora Stein, L&L alum from 2007, came to visit this week! She returned for a short visit to the homestead after spending nearly a month touring Montana with the Wild Rockies Field Institute’s Cycle the Rockies program. Leora and her classmates/fellow bicycle enthusiasts traveled a total of 725 miles, pedaling hard and studying alternative energy systems. It was great to have her back!