Another great way to find affordable local food is through foraging or gleaning. There’s plenty of “wild” food out there just ripe for the picking (Excuse the pun, I couldn’t resist.) If you’re not sure what you’re looking for, start by finding a good guide to wild edibles with clear pictures or illustrations, and really study what it is you’re looking for. I like The Field Guide to Wild Edibles: by Bradford Angier.

It’s probably best to start with something everyone can identify, like dandelion greens. They’re everywhere, and your neighbors may thank you for “picking” their lawn (just be sure they weren’t sprayed with any herbicides.) There’s a great recipe for a Bacon and Dandelion Green Salad in Simply in Season.

Also, be sure to look around for neglected or forgotten fruit trees, asparagus patches, vines, or berry bushes. Today for example, the girls and I stopped on the side of a back road near a friends’ family land and filled two gallon buckets with ripe, beautiful sour cherries. For FREE! I plan to make cobbler, can cherry pie filling, and make cherry jelly. We left any that weren’t ripe so either we or someone else can go back later for more, and we left the ones not easily in reach for the birds and animals. I also plan to mark the calendar for when they were ripe, so I’ll remember to go back again next year.

My only other recommendation is to ask permission first, if you can find who a property belongs to. This will save you from any awkward moments later, and you’ll feel more comfortable while you’re picking. Happy Hunting!

I wanted to share a great resource on the web: The Eat Well Guide. This is a great resource for anyone trying to eat more locally.  On their site you can search for local food by keyword, zip code, or city and state.  The advanced search allows you to be even more specific, searching by category, food, or even production method (Heirloom or Organic for instance.)

Another neat feature is their Eat Well Everywhere map.  It allows you to plan a trip to include local eats, no matter how far you roam, and then you can print it to take it with you when you’re finished.

There are some great brochures available to download on their site as well.  I personally recommend Cultivating the Web (just be sure you have plenty of toner if you plan on printing it, it’s a bit graphics intense!)  While you’re there, be sure to check out what others are doing on the Green Fork Blog.  There’s always something interesting to read there, and links to what’s making food headlines these days.

So there’s 100 more things to read over there, but don’t take MY word for it, go check it out for yourself!

Photo Courtesy of Stock Exchange (www.sxc.hu)

I’ve has several people ask me when I’ll be adding their county to Eat Local TN.  For right now, my answer is:  I’m not.  I’m not trying to exclude anyone, it’s just that I started the site to serve a need in my own rural community, and It’s taking all my spare time (and them some) to build the site as a resource for my neighbors here.

Perhaps once I’ve built the site up more, (six months to a year  from now or so?)  I will begin to branch out into surrounding areas.  For right now, I want to keep the site relatively small, so that I can concentrate on providing accurate information.

If you live in a different county and are interested in eating locally, please check my resources page, or my Start Here Post, as many of the sites I list there are statewide resources that can help you get started.

Please do keep checking back in the future, as I will eventually add more, but for now, thanks for understanding that I’m a busy homeschooling mom, trying to make a difference for my family.  Thanks.

The longer I do this local eating thing, the more questions I’m getting. There seems to be a sense that if 100 % of my diet isn’t local than I’m cheating, a failure, or worse, just a nut for trying it at all. Well, we committed to the 100-mile challenge in January, not to make a political statement, or wage a battle against commercial agriculture, but for our own, personal benefit. I know, that cynical voice in your head is wondering, “then why blog about it, if it’s not for attention?” Well, I have that little voice too, and it tells me I’m crazy to let people see this far into my personal life all the time. After all, I’m a private person by nature. When we started, we were finding it so hard to find groceries from right here, that we figured others might benefit from all this work I’m doing for us, hence this blog.

As for the percentage of food we eat that is local? I’m not keeping track. All I can say is that we’re trying to eat as locally as possible, all the time. Do I still go out? We eat out far too much, actually. But the more we eat homegrown food, the less I want to eat out, because commercially prepared food agrees with my stomach less and less.

Our kids still want to “be normal,” and crave the junk food their friends eat.  Snacks full of corn syrup, salt, artificial colors and flavors, and way too many corn and soy by-products. And that’s ok for now. I just buy it as a once in awhile treat, not all the time staples. Dessert now is fruit or yogurt, and fewer sweets. When they do eat baked goods, I try to take the time to make them from scratch, so I at least know what’s in them.

I look at the whole process of buying groceries differently now. I picture it as a pattern of concentric circles, with our farm at the center and our local Kroger on the outside. I try to get as much of it as possible from the center, and smaller circles, and move outward as I go. Take this week for example: At home we have eggs, grass fed meats in the freezer, a few remaining frozen fruits and veggies from last year, local honey, jams and wheat, and dried beans & grains. To this I will add cheese made in Alabama, and veggies from the locally owned small market in town. I’ll use organic milk from Kroger for drinking, and making yogurt, and bake some bread. These are the other things I will buy, preferably organic: breakfast cereal, canned tomatoes, pasta sauce, dry pasta, spices, chocolate chips, and nuts. I try to purchase produce from surrounding Southern states, and at the very least things produced in the US. I confess, I’m back to buying bananas, which I had phased out for awhile, but I will pay extra for organic when available, since they aren’t sprayed with all those chemicals before shipping.

I’d say it’s all about moderation, but some of you would point out there was nothing moderate about my drive for Hatcher Family Dairy Milk. However, I wouldn’t do that every day. Consider it research. I don’t want to talk about things here without having at least tried them myself. So I made the trip. Once I check out the store in Lewisburg that sells it, I will probably see what else I can get there and make a trip once a month to get everything I can while I’m there.

Eating locally, for me, is more about changing that consumer mindset, back to something more sustainable. The more we shop local, the more demand for local products we create. The more demand there is, the more local producers will provide a local product, and the easier it will become to shop locally for a larger percentage of our food. We are just trying to do our part in making that happen.  For us, there is no all or nothing, just the effort of trying to do the best we can right now.

On our quest to add more local food to our diet, the ladies and I set out one Saturday afternoon after gymnastics to find milk from the Hatcher Family Dairy. Now, you would think, as the blogger writing about how to find local food in Southern Middle TN, I would have the common sense to be sure of where I was going (print a map?) and perhaps to check the hours of a business (conveniently, centrally located on THIS WEBSITE) before setting out on a trek to find them.  Alas and alack, not so.  Here’s where I confess that I’M JUST LIKE YOU.  Probably worse.

Anyway, my brave locavore crew and I set out from Lynchburg, stopped in Tullahoma for gymnastics, and then continued on our way.  Through Shelbyville, on to Eagleville (where I knew their milk was listed as being sold, but I couldn’t quite remember where) and on to Cottage Grove.  When I saw the big golf course construction eyesore in the middle of farmland, (I’m so sorry, Hatcher Family) I knew we must be close.  Sure enough, right across the road.  Closed.  Very cute, but closed.

Here you can see my oldest.  She’s checking the hours for her mom, who should have known better.  So here’s the big moral of this story…  When shopping for local food, double and triple check your hours BEFORE you go, because you will have to bribe your kids with brownies at the first opportunity if you drive them all the way out to a farm, luring them in with the thrill of the hunt, and you’ve gotten the hours wrong.  Check your directions (and write them on something better than the back of a napkin) so you can avoid unnecessary backtracking, while you’re at it!  And go earlier, rather than later, cause the kids (and mom, by the end of the trip) will be tired, cranky, and hungry.  And you’ll resort to some very non-local snacks to cheer everyone up.  Trust me.

So, now, I bet you’re wondering if we came home empty handed…  Actually, thankfully, no.  We didn’t.  Thanks to my decent sense of direction, and great deductive reasoning, I decided if I too a left instead of a right on Horton Highway I’d come into “downtown” College Grove.  And, at least for once that day, I was right.

There we found the College Grove Grocery, who sell what???  Hatcher Dairy Milk.  Amen, and thanks to them for that!  So, we grabbed our gallon of milk, and a half gallon of buttermilk, and headed home.  Too bad I forgot (because I didn’t check, or write it down) that they also are supposed to sell the Organic Grounds Coffee that I like.  Next time, I guess.  Since I knew I could get home to Lynchburg by heading south, we ended up coming back through Chapel Hill, Farmington, and Flat Creek, completing the circle at about 124 miles (and nearly 4 hours) round trip.

Now, I’m sure you’re wondering, was it worth it?  Absolutely.  I mean, I hope I don’t have to go to such extremes the next time, just for milk, but it was the best milk I’ve had in a LONG time.  Thick, creamy, and delicious!  I have since looked, and discovered there’s a store in Lewisburg that sells it, which is MUCH closer to home, so I think next time, I’ll double check their hours, print a map, maybe even call ahead (which is what I recommend) and try this all again.  No one ever said local was easier.  Just better.  Got milk?

View Larger Map

(click on “view larger map” to see the crazy route we took)

One of the best places you can start looking for local food resources is at your county Extension office.  If you look up at the top of your screen, you’ll see a tabbed list of counties currently covered by  EatLocalTN.com.  On each page, you’ll find the link to the current extension office information for that county. (and a bunch of other nifty stuff, too!)

Or, If you’re looking for a different county’s extension office, try this map.

Here’s just a sampling of subjects your county Extension Agent can help you with:

• 4-H
• Food & Nutrition
• Lawn, Garden & Landscaping
• Master Gardener Program

Something else I picked up the other day at the Moore County Office was a TN Farm Fresh 2009 Directory.  Very handy little brochure.  I’m going to keep it in my car for when I’m out and about with my “road crew.”

So.  You’re new to this whole idea of eating locally.  Maybe you’ve seen something on TV, read a book, or a newspaper article, or saw it somewhere online.  But you want to know HOW to do it HERE.  OK.

This is where you”ll find some good information and links to some of the big websites that can get you started.

The 100-mile Challenge : Home to the authors of the book that started it all, and the challenge that sprouted a TV show on PLGN.

Pick Tennessee Products : A state sponsored website that allows you to search for products and producers state-wide.

Pick Your Own : Where you can find a pick-your-own farm near you.

TN Farm Fresh : State sponsored site helping to connect consumers with farmers in their area.

Local Harvest: Searchable database for finding local food nationwide.

Food Security Partners: Working hard to create a sustainable food system in Middle TN.

Sustainable Table: Where to go to learn more about sustainable food.

Eat Well Guide: Searchable guide for finding local, sustainable, organic food.

Good luck, and good eating!

Last week, I was introduced to someone as a local farmer.  While I was flattered, it sounded strange to me, and I almost corrected the misnomer.  I’ve often called myself a gardener, but farmer sounds so much more official.  Then I realized, maybe I am a farmer, after a fashion.  So I looked it up:

The Perfect Peach

Main Entry: farm·er

Pronunciation: \ˈfär-mər\

Function: noun

Date: 14th century

1 : a person who pays a fixed sum for some privilege or source of income
2 : a person who cultivates land or crops or raises animals (as livestock or fish)
3 : yokel, bumpkin

“farmer.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010.

My garden May 2009

Hey, #2.  That’s me.  At least I hope that’s it, not a Yokel, or a Bumpkin!  But, cultivates land or crops?  Check! Check! Raises animals? Check!  HEY LOOK!  I AM A FARMER!  And if I can be, so can you.  Check out the pictures of my land and crops I cultivate, and the animals I raise.  My “farm” currently consists of four 4′ x 4′ raised beds, a 2′ x 4′ asparagus patch, a small herb garden, a 4′ x 6′ greenhouse, 40 chickens, 4 pet rabbits, 3 farm cats, 2 farm dogs, and a peach tree.  This small amount has enabled us to have something fresh on our table all year.  We do have five wooded acres, but no pasture, and it’s all very steep and hilly, so we will never have a traditional farm.  This year, we’re expanding the garden with the hope of growing most of our own vegetables, some of our fruit, and having a bit left over to sell at the farmers’ market.

How will we do that on bedrock with no topsoil?  With a kitchen garden built Square Foot Gardening style.  The only flat, sunny spot we have is the gravel/ muddy area right in front of the house where we park.  Yep.  I’m going to garden in the driveway.  If I can do that, surely you have somewhere you can garden this year, too.

Shakespeare and his ladies.

Here’s how.  You need to get your hands on a copy of the All New Square Foot Gardening.  I’d recommend you buy your own, as the library won’t like it if you return their copy all dirty, and it’s a definite take-it-out-with-you kind of book.  Not to mention you’ll want to use it as a reference over and over, so you might as well have one around.  Now, Mel recommends starting with a 4′ x 4′ raised bed, made out of 2 x 6 lumber.  I’m going to suggest you start with a 3′ x 6′ bed instead.  I have 4′ beds, and they are very hard for me to reach across (I have chronically short arms…)  You actually gain 2 sq. ft. of growing space this way, but the narrower box will be easier to reach across.  So.  Go to the lumber store, have them cut you some 2 x 6’s so you have 2 3′ lengths, and 2 6′ lengths.  Take these home, screw them together at the corners, and find a spot to put them.  (In your driveway, if needed.)  Once you have the box where you want it, put down a layer of newspaper as a weed barrier and fill you box with Mel’s Mix -1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 compost.  (It’s a SFG thing, read the book or check out the website, it will all make sense.)  At this point, to truly have a square foot garden, you’ll need to install some type of Grid over your box.  Please look at Mel’s website for more details on his grid system. Thanks, Mel!

I want to talk about planning and planting.  Now you have a box.  18 sq. ft. of gardening potential.  So, what should you plant in it?  One resource I ran across recently was this great Kitchen Garden Planner.  It has several already designed layouts to choose from, or you can create your own, and it will help you figure out your spacing, and number of plants required for each vegetable.  It essentially tells you what you will have just read in Square Foot Gardening, but, seeing tiny orange carrots will help you visualize what you’re going to end up with.  So, now you have a box, some “dirt” and a plan.  All you need now is a trowel, a bucket for water, something for a scoop, and some seeds.

Here’s a short list of seed catalogs/ websites to begin with:

Marianna’s Heirloom Seeds (Dickson, TN)

New Hope Seed Company (Bon Aqua, TN)

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (Mansfield, MO )

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (Mineral, VA)

Johnny’s Select Seeds (Winslow, ME)

This should get you started, anyway.  If you want to see what other kitchen gardeners are up to, check out kitchen gardeners TN.   Next time we talk gardening, we’ll talk compost!  Leave me a comment, and let me know how your kitchen (or driveway) garden is coming along.

So.  You read my last post on eating locally, and you took action!  You’ve called the county extension agent, and you know when your farmer’s market is.  You have some herbs growing in a little pot on your windowsill.  Maybe Basil or Parsley.  You’ve made bread with local honey and wheat, and you spread it with some homemade freezer jam. (You must work fast, it’s only been 2 days!)

Maybe you’ve even read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,  And now you want more.  Okay, let’s see what I can do to help.  Today, let’s focus on the web.  there is a TON of information out there to help you eat fresh, green, and local.  Here are five great websites you can check out to find food available to you here in the great state of Tennessee.

1. First, go to Local Harvest and type in your zip code.  See what comes up.  Find one farm near you and make plans to go check it out.  Let them know you’re interested. (I want to visit Sage Hill Farms, for instance.)
2. Now check out TN Farm Fresh for our region (region 4).  (5/6 of the counties I’m focusing on are listed.  Sorry Moore County.  Let’s work on that!!)
3. If you haven’t been there yet, check out Pick TN Products.  Search by food or area to see what’s available.  For example a search for “Oats” turned up The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge that grinds oats and will ship them to you.
4. My next resource for you would be the Eat Well Guide.  I have a searchable link to their site on my sidebar.  Just enter the food you’re looking for.
5. Finally, another great way to gain access to fresh local food is to join a CSA.  You can look on Local Harvest for one, or maybe check out the Pillars of Light food Co-Op in Tullahoma.  It works a little like a CSA, and a little like a farmer’s market.  You select the food online, place your order, and pick it up in Tullahoma.  It seems like a great idea.  I can’t wait to try it out.

That’s it for now.  Get some paper, and write yourself a list of farms in your area you want to visit, then form a plan of attack.  Be sure to post in the comments how your food adventures go, I’d love to hear about it.