Monday, March 22nd

On my last count on Facebook we have about 10 families interested!!!

Declan and I really enjoyed growing lettuce last year, mainly because it did so well, so I think we will try that again. We grew arugula, butter lettuce, and romaine and those were more than enough to provide us with plenty for the summer. They ended up going to seed because we couldn't pick it quick enough. I will go ahead a put this out there that we will grow lettuce, lots of lettuce, or at least try to. We also have a wicked field of mint growing in our back yard which we used last year in tabbouleh, mojitos, and iced tea.

While I said that no one needs to commit to anyone thing, I want to put it out there that we will grow lots of lettuce and lots of mint, that way I know we can contribute that and maybe some more things depending oh how our garden goes. If you feel like doing something along those lines then do so, but again you don't have to make a commitment in anyway. Also if someone does say, "I will bring (insert something here)," don't let that deter you from planting it as well.

How we grew things last year
The first year we bought our house our garden didn't do too well, it just wasn't in the right spot, so when planning it for last year we wanted to try and make something a little more mobile if possible. My Dad gave us some large plastic feed containers and we potted things in them. We were able to move them around if we needed to find a spot with better sun, and the best part was no weeds. We also used a raised bed, and this large wooden box system that again was somewhat mobile and prevented weeds. Since last year our neighbor had some trees cut down and now our South fence will have lots of sunlight on it and I think that some kind of berry would grow nicely there.

What we will probably grow this year
Our daffodils just began blooming and the irises are popping up every where too. Most of our irises and lilies come from Declan's family, the daffodils from my Mom, and I have a small growth of buttercups in the front that has come from my Great Great Grandma Mildred's flower garden, and no telling how long she grew those. With that said I like the idea of growing things that come from someone else. We will take some more heirloom tomato plants from my Dad (Brandywine and Cherokee Purple to name a couple) along with some of the tomato seeds we collected from our own plants last year (beautiful yellow tomatoes and cherry ones too). I imagine we will try cilantro again with no success, and other herbs will most likely include a couple of types of basil, mint, and dill. I also want to try out lavender, but will need to find a good spot for that to grow. We tried brussel sprouts last year, but I think we were off on the time of year and we made an attempt at green onions, which Marley pulled out because she thought they were weeds. We will grow bell peppers again, more squash, more blackberries (and now that our chickens are gone we might be able to eat some of them), cucumbers, zucchini, and probably some beans. Oh and I want to try carrots.

Some links...
My Step Dad gave us a really great book called How to Grow More Vegetables and we will most likely use that in planning our garden. It went over how many plants and of what kinds to sustain families of different sizes along with many, many more useful things.

My go to book on how to freeze fruits and veggies for later on is The Super Baby Food Book. I used it for making baby food, but there are also ideas on meal plans for families, activities, lots of info. Even though no one eats baby food anymore I still use it, especially for making fruit leather and for eventually making yogurt.

We have a subscription to Mother Earth News, but their website is nearly as full of info as the magazine.

It was through Mother Earth News that we found out about the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. We don't own the book (my Mom does and raves about it), but I do use the basic bread recipe that is on the Mother Earth New's website. I do not enjoy kneading bread so it is perfect for me.

Okay it's back to the knitting, Cheers!

Welcome and Info

First of all thank you for your interest!

I have compiled a list of questions regarding the Urban Family Coop and hopefully that will provide you with a little more insight into what we are trying to do.

The idea is that we will meet bring our goods, chit chat, and be able to bring some stuff home to use throughout the week.

-When will we begin exchanging products?
Late spring, early summer, or whenever our gardens begin producing.

-What kinds of items are we supposed to bring?
If you have a garden and would like to contribute from that, please do. Everyone loves fruits and veggies. If you are bringing from your garden, maybe whatever you have an excess of. Everyone loves growing tomatoes, so we may end up with a lot of those, but instead of us all growing tomatoes someone might want to bring some canned ones, or another person make fresh salsa to share.

You are not just limited to garden goods. If you like making soap, laundry detergents, jam, bread, cheese, paper, deserts, picking fresh eggs, etc. Bring something that you think the group would enjoy.

-Do I have to come and contribute every week?
I know every week seems like a lot, but you don not have to come every week. I want the availability of every week, but everyone does not have to come. Come when you can. If you do come and want to bring things home, you must bring things to share.

-Where and when will we meet?
Once the growing and producing season is in full swing I figure every Sunday afternoon/early evening and the location can change. Who ever is up for hosting that week will work well.

-Do I have to commit to one item to bring every time?
Nope! It may work out that one person always brings dill and carrots because that's what grows best, or one person doesn't have a garden so they make soap. But you do not have to commit to anything in particular.

-Will we just trade goods when we meet?
Possibly. Maybe we can all bring a dish and enjoy each other's company. Maybe you can discuss recipe ideas for the 5lbs of zuchinni you just sent everyone home with. Maybe we could can tomatoes together, etc.

-Are there any rules?
Not really rules, more guidelines...
-Please grow things organically.
-If you can't contribute as much as another that is fine, but let's make sure we don't take advantage of anyone.
-Please nothing store bought. It's great if Sam's had a sale on paper towels, but let's not make that a contribution.
-No soliciting! This means no Juice Plus, Mary Kay, Tupperware, Party Lite, etc....

-Why should I jump on board?
Why not!? Join to meet some new folks. Join because you want better food for your family. Join to try something new. Join for the environmental impact of using local goods and consuming less.

-I have some ideas on how this could work better....
Great! This is a new idea for us, so to make it work we all need to contribute ideas and opinions.

-How will we communicate with one another?
There is a facebook group to talk through, and also this blog. Once people join I can set people up to post on here if they would like (share recipes, local events, etc.) Once we get more involved I will put together a contact list for everyone to have at home.

-Who will be part of this group?
So far the only people asked to be a part of this group are ones that Declan and I know. That doesn't mean we are limited to only that though. If you want to invite folks that's fine, but I would encourage the invite of like minded folk. To make this work we all need to be on the same page as far as what we want for our families.


So I hope I have answered some questions. You can contact me via facebook or through here if you would like. I will try and keep everyone up to date on where this is all going.
Thanks!
-Ariel