This was the weekend of Eat Real. Dipak and I had a great time visiting friends and fellow urban farmers and learning tips to improve our homesteading methods.

Fellow farmers had insight into my bunny problems so that was great too (the bottle fed kits are doing really well thus far).

Eat Real featured many homesteader/farmer folks and small to huge food vendors. The learning experience was nice, the cost of food was not. We saw a loaf of bread for $12. I have limited patience with preciousness of food. I am into accessibility and affordability. Practical food as rare art pieces…not so much. That said, there was plenty of free free free lessons at Eat Real and it is a super start to getting the word out there! One vendor that did not make it into the festival this year was wheeling his wares in San Francisco. Chiraag Bhakta, proprietor of the graphic design company Pardon My Hindi, has launched an authentic Chai Cart!! Hand constructed and insanely cool.

The chai was homemade with a fresh mint leaf. A cup of chai and spicy fried lentil snacks and Parle-G biscuits fended off the blustery wind at Dolores Park in SF. There were also yummy mint chutney tea sandwiches!

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This past weekend I toured a very cool urban farm in Vallejo, Dog Island Farm owner by Tom, Rachel and Paul. They call is Dog Island as all their neighbors have dogs, as do they which has deterred raccoons from coming into the space. The Dog Island folks moved from land in Napa and found a sweet spot in Vallejo which offered an ample backyard. Their original intention was to only cultivate a small portion but as is often the case, once they got started the garden took on a life of its own and transformed into a farm. You can learn more about Dog Island Farm from Rachel’s blog, Dog Island Farm.  I also just discovered that she and her family are eating from the garden for the next year! She is writing about it here. These are obviously my kind o’ folks.

At Dog Island, Rachel and Tom converted their double lot into verdant rows of squash, corn  with pole beans wrapped on the stalks, at least four varieties of chilis, onions and a lovely orchard of fruit trees.

The bunny hutch houses four breed stock rabbits, two Californians and two New Zealanders. The middle compartment is for the babies to grow. The impressive hutch was home constructed. The chicken and goats are kept in a large coop and run. I continue to be impressed with the home carpentry skills of many of these urban farmer I have met.

The goat pen houses two female African Pygmies. We discussed the benefits of African Pygmies, Nigerian and Oberhasli. They chose African Pygmies for their size, the fact that they can breed and produce milk year round and for meat. Dipak has taken a greater interest in urban farming recently and went to check out the goats. He looks like a natural if you ask me.

Though the goats are well fed, the younger of the two, Daisy, likes to munch.

There were several patches of very large pumpkins which were apparently volunteers (seeds that grew on their own). As I have mentioned before, I have a farm dream of growing one very large pumpkin, sticking wheels on it and give pumpkin rides the kids in my neighborhood. Which is why I am coveting the below pictured pumpkin. The trick to huge pumpkins, I was told,  is to plant from seeds of a plant that had huge fruit to begin with. I have experimented with Botanical Interests Big Max and Wyatt’s Wonder pumpkins but have ended up with misshapen blobby medium pumpkins that aren’t good to eat.

The farm is complete with a defiant farm cat, named Jack, that collects warmth where he pleases.

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Egg Recall Expands to More Than Half a Billion Nationwide

by Mary Claire Jalonick. Article obtained from Huffington Post

WASHINGTON — More than a half-billion eggs have been recalled in the nationwide investigation of a salmonella outbreak that Friday expanded to include a second Iowa farm. The outbreak has already sickened more than 1,000 people and the toll of illnesses is expected to increase.

Iowa’s Hillandale Farms said Friday it was recalling more than 170 million eggs after laboratory tests confirmed salmonella. The company did not say if its action was connected to the recall by Wright County Egg, another Iowa farm that recalled 380 million eggs earlier this week. The latest recall puts the total number of potentially tainted eggs at about 550 million.

FDA spokeswoman Pat El-Hinnawy said the two recalls are related. The strain of salmonella bacteria causing the poisoning is the same in both cases, salmonella enteritidis.

Federal officials say it’s one of the largest egg recalls in recent history. Americans consume about 220 million eggs a day, based on industry estimates. Iowa is the leading egg producing state.

The eggs recalled Friday were distributed under the brand names Hillandale Farms, Sunny Farms, Sunny Meadow, Wholesome Farms and West Creek. The new recall applies to eggs sold between April and August.

Hillandale said the eggs were distributed to grocery distribution centers, retail groceries and food service companies which service or are located in fourteen states, including Arkansas, California, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Thoroughly cooking eggs can kill the bacteria. But health officials are recommending people throw away or return the recalled eggs.

A food safety expert at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., said the source of the outbreak could be rodents, shipments of contaminated hens, or tainted feed. Microbiology professor Patrick McDonough said he was not surprised to hear about two recalls involving different egg companies, because in other outbreaks there have also been multiple sources.

Both plants could have a rodent problem, or both plants could have gotten hens that were already infected, or feed that was contaminated.

“You need biosecurity of the hen house, you want a rodent control program and you want to have hens put into that environment that are salmonella free,” McDonough said.

The salmonella bacteria is not passed from hen to hen, but usually from rodent droppings to chickens, he added. This strain of bacteria is found inside a chicken’s ovaries, and gets inside an egg.

CDC officials said Thursday that the number of illnesses related to the outbreak is expected to grow. That’s because illnesses occurring after mid-July may not be reported yet, said Dr. Christopher Braden, an epidemiologist with the federal Centers for Disease Control.

Almost 2,000 illnesses from the strain of salmonella linked to both recalls were reported between May and July, almost 1,300 more than usual, Braden said. No deaths have been reported. The CDC is continuing to receive information from state health departments as people report their illnesses.

The most common symptoms of salmonella are diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within eight hours to 72 hours of eating a contaminated product. It can be life-threatening, especially to those with weakened immune systems.

The form of salmonella tied to the outbreak can be passed from chickens that appear healthy. And it grows inside eggs, not just on the shell, Braden noted.

___

Associated Press writer Melanie S. Welte in Des Moines contributed to this report.

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I recently had an Ayurvedic consultation. Ayurvedic medicine is a traditional system of medicine from India grounded in the basic elements of earth, water, fire, air and ether. The thinking is that these elements compose the universe, including the human body. In the body, these elements, vata (air & space ), pitta (fire & water) and kapha (water & earth) form constitutions called doshas. Each human possesses a unique combination of doshas. Maintaining balance with your doshas is crucial for health. According to Ayruvedic medicine, one of the most accessible and daily practices for balancing our unique dosha makeup is through food. This fits nicely with my own philosophy as I believe fresh grown, home cooked food is healing, and I love to eat!

With that said it was exciting for me to hear of chefs and herbalists that are approaching food preparation from this angle. A friend in Texas shared an article (thanks Suzanne!) about classes teaching people how to use food to regulate the body, the classes are”Central Texas Foods as Medicine” at the American Botanical Council headquarters in East Austin (of course in Austin). While some information is specific to Austin climate, its totally worth a read (click here).

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It is not big surprise that as alternative models of food production become successful, the old models representatives will come out in force to squash the competition. This the game we play, apparently no matter how ridiculous it looks. I just read an article (below) about a Southern California worm farmer that is int he midst of a court case to defend his product- worm poop.  It appears that the California Department of Pesticide Regulation worm poop would need to be regulated as a pesticide because of the use it was being sold for- to boost a plants ability to repel disease and pests. Read on…

Worm poop versus the bureaucracy

(original article: Coast News Group – COMMUNITY COMMENTARY Worm poop versus the bureaucracy )

What happens when green technology comes up hard against a state regulatory bureaucracy?

George Hahn, a local Cardiff-by-the-Sea resident, is the creator and owner of California Vermiculture LLC, or CV, which produces and sells Wormgold products and tree and plant rescue soil amendments (also known as worm castings or worm poop, i.e. dirt).

The bureaucracy is the state of California Department of Pesticide Regulation, or (DPR) the agency charged with the regulation, sale and use of pesticides in California. So I guess its worm poop vs. DPR.

The California DPR asserts that “you advertise that your product suppresses pathogens which eliminates disease, repels harmful insects but no beneficial insects, and allows plants and trees to survive in adverse conditions and causes bark beetles to avoid and not attack trees.” This language equals a pesticide according to DPR.

Attorney Gayle Mayfield-Venieris of Mayfield and Associates of Solana Beach, in response, stated in part: “What is most disheartening however, is that not only is this a naturally occurring product and not a chemical pesticide, but there is considerable evidence that it has an extremely positive impact on plant growth and repels some insects that have been very problematic throughout the state of California. Rather than try to fine and punish CV for selling this product, I suggest that DPR would be doing the residents of California immeasurable service by expressly exempting worm castings from regulation as a pesticide.”

Jeff Lassle is a former Environmental Protection Agency inspector and helped to write the federal and state regulations for pesticides. “The intent in establishing the EPA and regulations was to help people and the environment and eliminate toxic compounds and find alternative ways to combat destructive pests,” Lassle told me in an interview. “The rules were never meant to cover natural nontoxic products.”

“Twenty years ago the DPR would have treated Mr. Hahn as a hero, but today DPR has changed from supporting answers to the pesticides problem to extracting fines for income,” Lassle said. “This is nothing more than a mafia-style shakedown.”

Mr. Hahn though a corporation is being personally hit with a $110,000 fine that DPR has threatened to increase to $355,000 or $500,000 if he attempts to fight them in court. Is this an abuse of power of a state agency more interested in exacting money through fines than supporting alternative ways to reduce toxic compounds?

The prestigious Pacific Law Foundation, or PLF, has taken up this case of worm poop versus the bureaucracy on behalf of Mr. Hahn. At a hearing before the DPR, the attorney for PLF asked, “Can you drown a bug in water?”

Both Dr. Kohler, the DPR head of research and George Farnsworth, head of enforcement, said under oath that claims made that bugs could be drowned in water would make water a pesticide. If water was not registered with both the FED EPA and CA DPR as a pesticide, then anyone selling water for the purpose of drowning bugs would be in violation and would be fined.

Water and worm poop equal pesticide? So the “words” cause nontoxic items to become pesticides, not the content of the product?

What’s next in this saga of poop vs. bureaucracy? The PLF takes cases when government agencies have gotten out of control. The only way to bring them back under control and responsible to the people is to seek legal remedy through the courts.

PLF has asked for a summary judgment in this case based on the fact that the state DPR has no jurisdiction over nontoxic natural products. A summary judgment in Mr. Hahn’s favor would dismiss the DPR case. If not, the case is on appeal to the California Superior Court.

This is a small column, in a small paper, on a subject with huge consequences. Government, bureaucracies, and those employed by them hold a public trust. They are charged with serving and protecting people, the environment and our health and safety in our daily lives. I do not think bureaucracies should exist for themselves or forget why they were created. Just a thought. We the people …

Sheila S. Cameron is the former mayor of Encinitas.

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I just saw the below Craigslist ad for a chicken. Unless this bird can dance and sing, that’s a whole lotta money for a chicken (Mountain View is close to Stanford. Maybe its a really smart chicken…I doubt it). Buff Orpington’s are not hard to find. For a nearly four month old bird I might pay $10. Other ways to find chickens- split an order direct from a hatchery. Pet and Feed stores have chicks for about $3-$5 a couple times a year. Also check the listings just outside of the urban areas. For myself I look to Elk Grove, Modesto, Hanford…places where I have family so I can squeeze a visit it too.  The more country the location, the cheaper the livestock is what I have found.

Hen Buff Orpington chick 15 weeks old – $40 (mountain view)

I am selling a 15 week old buff orpington hen chicken. She has been feed organic feed and organic vegies from my garden.

Thanks

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I also don’t believe I am at risk of contracting Tuberculosis if I gulp down some fresh goats milk. The irony about food safety, overseen by the Food and Drug Administration, is that the quality of most commercial food is a public hazard.

I want to understand the issue so I started I’ve been seeking resources. One such is a radio show that discuss food issues- Food Sleuth (click here), hosted by Melinda Hemmelgarn. One episode is with Ferd Hoefner, Policy Director, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, where he talks about food safety legislation Senate Bill, S510. There was a virulent email circulating in food groups about how this new bill would stop all home food growing and canning. Mr. Hoefner’s take on things is that the bill would not do this. He also and suggested a couple of helpful resources: National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and a site called Fresh and Easy Facts.

I cannot vouch for these resources as I just learned about them. If you know of other resources, please share!

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Wow. This is was the first year my husband Dipak got in the garden and put plant to soil! I have been babying those plants as I want great success for his first harvest. After clearing months of overgrowth in the beds and path, I prepped the beds and invited Dipak, and friend Marcel, to plant.

As Dipak put some jalapenos in the ground, he commented that he came from a family of farmers. It was a real thrill to hear him identify with his family’s agricultural heritage.

Having grown up in Louisiana, Marcel also reminisced about his Cajun roots. I hope to see some of this bounty go into some Cajun home cooking!

I sowed carrots and beets in the middle bed I call the ombligo (bellybutton) of the garden. After broadcasting the seeds, I followed Stefani’s sounds advice of covering the soil with burlap to keep the top layers of soil moist. Apparently cardboard works as well. After only a few days, the seeds have begun to sprout! I expect quite a few carrots this year. I planted a pretty mix by Botanical Interests called Carnival Blend. I am such a sucker for pretty vegetables. But look at all the colors…

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Not sure how I missed this but back in March 2010,  Pluck and Feather was selected as Editors Choice on the site Best Green Blogs.  That was nice of them!

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I had the great fortune of touring the Oakland based Indigoat Farm. Owner Nicolas Sheon showed me the amazing set up he and his wife Susannah Levy,  and two children have in the Dimond Park neighborhood. You’d never know when you round the corner of this quiet street that you are about to encounter the most creative and functional goat farm this side of the Mississippi.

Just past the native grasses you find a gorgeous oak tree and stacks of hay at the entrance. Your eyes quickly spot a platform wrapped around the tree and to the side, a long narrow ramp. Your eyes follow this quick line down smack dab into a goat barn.

I entered the farm and was greeted first by a flock of curious ducks. Amidst colorful plants were chickens roaming around. Apparently Indigoat Farm is home to a flock of eight laying hens. The goat barn runs along side the front yard for about twenty feet and contains two adult females and one female kid. The Levy-Sheons chose to build there since large trees shade that area to much for planting a garden. Though the barn area is about 20′x8′, the ramp, bridge and tree platform (a former treehouse) extend the running/climbing space. The secure platform, ramp, barn and various work stations were all designed and built by the Levy-Sheons themselves. Though not carpenters by trade, it is something they like to do. Clearly.

Once on the platform, the goats also have access to the sturdy tree limbs. The goats enjoy a lovely view from that vantage point. I hope they can appreciate it.

I asked Nicolas the question that I’ve gotten quite often myself, “What made you want to and believe you could keep goats?”

Nicolas explained that he and his wife, Susannah, had been curious about goats for a while though they had not thought they’d be able to keep them while living in an urban area. Yet, once they visited their friend’s visited their friends’ Jim Montgomery and Mateo Rutherford, (who keep the urban farm, Green Faerie Farm, in Berkeley, CA) they were inspired to move forward with it. They started with their goats Eve and Kiah in October 2009. They immediately bred Kiah in October, which led to the birth of Indigoat this past March. Being the totally cool people that they are, they recorded the 4:30AM birth and posted it for all to learn from (click here)!

The Levy-Sheons’ goats are full sized Oberhasli. Most people I know in Oakland keep Nigerian Dwarf goats as they are half the size and good dairy goats. Nicolas pointed out that dwarf goats tend to be much noisier than the Oberhasli which doesn’t work for his proximity to neighbors. He also pointed out that with this quieter gentle giant, he gets a gallon of milk every few days. This is from one goat alone! They milk twice a day at 7AM and 7PM. Neighbors, Emma Pollin, Scott Yundt, and Kenda Burke have regular milking shifts to share the work, and the milk.

The farm has no fence separating front from back so it is one continuous space. There is a gorgeous duck pond toward the back.

The tour’s grand finale was learning to milk Kiah. Nicolas walked me through the steps of setting the goat up in the stanchion with distracting snacks. In Kiah’s case, he strapped one of her back legs to a post to prevent her fidgeting which keeps her from placing her hoof in the milk bucket.

Her udders got wiped with a mild bleach and dishsoap solution. Her teats got dipped in a shotglass of hydrogen peroxide. Finally, after thoroughly washing my hands and using a lotion called Udder Butter, I was able to do the massage, constrict and squeeze-but-don’t-pull motion required and a frothy stream of fresh goat milk was collected!

I am greatly inspired by the creativity in constructing an urban goat barn. I too have been in a quandary about how exactly that would work out. Building up rather than out makes brilliant sense as goats also love to climb. Perhaps if the cards fall right, the Pluck and Feather Farm will include goats one day.

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