"We support agriculture that we agree with in our hearts." —From our interview with Karen Todd of The Dragonfly Café, Taos, NM

Dear Organic Gardeners,

I'm thinking about water a lot these days. It's flowing everywhere around here and more rain and high winds are in the forecast. On top of the rain, the temperature is unseasonably warm—beyond memory for this time of year in Maine. So, of course, talk of global climate change is once again on everyone's lips. This autumn brought torrential rains to the other coast as well, triggering flooding, hampering the harvest, and eroding soils. I'm sure they're talking about climate change there as well.

Wherever we live, it seems fairly certain that we are in for more challenging weather events in the near future, whether they be drought, deluge, or high winds. And as every gardener and farmer knows, extreme weather can wreak havoc on the most carefully tended beds and fields. Once I dig the last of my potatoes, carrots, and yacon out of the soupy mud and mulch what beds have not been cover cropped, I'm planning to spend some time this "off season" designing more resilient systems for our gardens. Inspired by a recent permaculture class here, and re-reading Bill Mollison's work (as well as endless hours of watching the voluminous runoff move across the land), I'm finally ready to try to mitigate the flood/drought cycle that has challenged our gardening since we've been here.

	A Green Winter Tips on keeping a taste of spring growing on the windowsill in the form of winter greens... Read More >
	Carrots Steve Peters explores the history and cultivation of this delicious and nutritious vegetable... Read More >
	Chef Interview Dan Sandweiss talks with Karen Todd of The Drangonfly Café in Taos, New Mexico about fresh, local, and organic... Read More >

It seems that "extreme" events are becoming a regular occurrence and a little proactivity is in order. After contour mapping the garden area, we are working out a system of swales and ponds to divert water away from our gardens and store it for later use. Hopefully this will get us into the garden a little earlier in the spring and allow us to harvest fall crops without a snorkel. I'll keep you posted.

While winter is a great time to plan for the following year and develop more efficient cropping systems, there's really no reason to stop gardening all together and give up eating fresh, homegrown, organic food. To that end, I've contributed some ideas to help with indoor container gardening for the winter. In addition, Steve Peters shares with us his love of Daucus Sativa (carrots); he delves into the history and cultivation of this most popular and nutritious of crops, while Seeds of Change Marketing Analyst Dan Sandweiss, contributes an interesting interview with one of our favorite chefs, Karen Todd of Taos, New Mexico's Dragonfly Café. And, as always, we've included a report from the Research Farm where they are preparing for winter work, and some news from the organic world as well.

One final note, our 2007 organic seed catalog is nearly ready to send to the printer, and is due in homes at the end of the year. It's as beautiful as ever, and this year's cover is a surprise you won't want to miss. If you're not subscribed, or have some gardening friends that you think would enjoy the range of organic seeds, tools, and books, click here to sign up.

Enjoy the harvest and stay dry!
Scott Vlaun, Editor


Photo caption: Potatoes freshly dug from the soil.

Printable PDF Version:
eNewsletter #59
Text only, 133.7 kb, 10 pages.

Unable to open it?
You may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader.