The Gardener Guy Blog

The Triscuit "Home Farming Movement"

Late last year I teamed up with the folks at Triscuit to help launch the Home Farming Movement, which officially kicked off earlier this month. The goal of the Movement is straightforward enough -- to help individuals, families, and entire communities discover the simple joys of growing their own food.

That's a message I've been delivering for a couple of decades, so I jumped at the chance to get involved. I've also been eating Triscuits since I was a kid, a fact that made my decision even easier. (And in the interest of full disclosure, I'm getting paid for my participation.)

A key element of the Triscuit Home Farming Movement, and the one that spurred my interest most, is a plan to create 50 community-based home farms in cities across the country during 2010. To accomplish this task, Triscuit recruited Taja Sevelle, founder of Urban Farming. Taja and her organization have considerable experience in creating and maintaining community farms, and her expertise, enthusiasm, and commitment will, I'm convinced, insure the success of the the Movement. I met Taja for the first time earlier this month at the groundbreaking of a community farm in Los Angeles, and I was blown away by the scope of her knowledge and the intensity of her passion.

Another important element of the Triscuit Home Farming Movement is its website, www.Triscuit.com/homefarming. There you'll discover an interactive community of home farmers across the country, as well and all sorts of tips and advice from me, including video tutorials that were shot at my home farm. Check it out. And consider adding your home farm to the map.

And for all you Triscuit lovers out there, you might want to head to your favorite grocer to score one of about four million boxes of Triscuit crackers that contain plantable seed cards of basil or dill. Instructions on how to plant them properly are available at www.Triscuit.com/homefarming, featuring yours truly.

Finally, let me say a word about the term home farming. When I first heard it, I thought it was a tad awkward. After all, I'd always described the process of growing vegetables and herbs as a form of gardening. But the more I thought about it, the more it grew on me. Growing edible crops, whether in your backyard or on your balcony, is a form of farming really. And calling it that distinguishes it from growing flowers and shrubs and trees and so on.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some home farming of my own to get done. Today I'll be planting onions, seven different types of lettuce, mesclun, carrots, mustard greens, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kohlrabi, and as much Italian parsley as I can find room for. Man, how I love home farming!

Peace,

Paul

  

Celebrating Spring?

To those of you who were able to celebrate the first day of spring by tackling a few garden chores, well, lucky you. Here in my neck of the woods, spring arrived with a big surprise in the form of eight inches of snow and 30 mph winds. Here's what my Koi pond looked like Saturday afternoon.

Incredibly, the day before the storm temperatures were in the lower 70s, and I'd spent the day prepping my raised beds for planting. I spread about 500 pounds of compost over the beds, worked it in ever so gently, and contemplated sowing seeds of a dozen or so cool-season crops. But having seen the forecast I decided to wait until after the storm blew through. The seeds would have been fine covered with snow, but the forecast called for heavy rains in advance of the snow and I didn't want them to get washed away. The good news is that temps will be back in the 70s this week, and I hope to get all my planting done before I leave for the Baltimore area this weekend.

Why Baltimore? I'm making an appearance at a Home and Garden Show at the Pavillion in Ft. Meade. I'll be giving two talks on Saturday (3/27) at noon and 3pm, and one on Sunday (3/28) at noon.

My kids were on spring break this week. My oldest, Spencer, spent the week here in Tulsa with his fiance preparing for their upcoming wedding. We managed to spend some quality time together, but it wasn't enough. Dalton was in North Carolina visiting his girlfriend, doing a little rock climbing and hanging out on the beach. And Hannah was hanging out on the beach as well -- in Costa Rica.

I'd hoped to say a little more in this post, but the program I'm using is acting up. So that's it for now. I'll be back with more later this week -- after I get those seeds planted.

Peace,

Paul

 

Of Road Trips, The Book, Triscuits, and More

In case you were beginning to think I'd dropped off the planet, I thought I'd share with you what I've been up to lately, beginning with several road trips.

On the Road Again

Since January, I've been in the following cities making appearances: Roanoke, VA; Montgomery, AL; Milwaukee, WI; Allen, TX; and Augusta, GA. Today I'll be in Wichita, KS, Friday I leave for Abilene, TX, next week I'll be in Los Angeles, and at the end of the month I'll travel to the Baltimore area, then to Dallas. Whew! I sometimes wake up in a hotel room and have to check the area code on the phone to remember what city I'm in. Feeling sorry for me yet? I didn't think so.

The trip to Roanoke was great. I'd never been there before, but I was impressed with the city and its people.

In Montgomery, where due to weather I was stuck for two days more than planned, I visited the Hank Williams Sr. museum, which was a treat. I'm not a big fan of modern country music, but I love the old stuff, and the old Hank stuff is incredible. I also saw a concert featuring Tommy Emmanuel, one of the most amazing guitarist in the world. He sat next to me later that night at the bar and we had a chance to visit. Tommy was actually the warmup act, and I'm not sure that many people in the audience were familiar with his music, but he blew them all away. The headliner was Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, and they were great too. I enjoy the sheer musicianship of bluegrass pickers, and Ricky and the boys played their asses off.

In Milwaukee, I met Tre Wilcox, who was a contestant on season three of Top Chef. My son, Dalton, and I really liked Tre's style of cooking, and although he didn't win (primarily because he wasn't willing to throw everyone else under the bus) he definitely showed his stuff. Tre and I had two dinners together, and we discovered that we had a lot in common. I mentioned that I was going to be in the Dallas area the following week, and he invited me to visit his restaurant in Plano (north of Dallas) called Loft 610. He cooked me an amazing multi-course meal. If you're ever in that area, go by his place and tell him I sent you.

Augusta was great, although it irks me that the officials at Augusta International won't let me in to tour the golf course. I did have a memorable dish of gnocchi with braised short ribs at a place called Bistro 491 -- yummy!

The crowds at these gatherings -- Home and Garden shows -- have been incredible, and naturally the key topic of discussion has to do with HGTV dropping my show altogether. However, the official word from the network is that the show is on hiatus, but will likely return soon as part of a new block of landscaping programs. We'll see.

The Book

I've been talking lately to another publisher, and so far so good. The editor totally gets what I have in mind in terms of the book's content and style, and that's encouraging. I expect an offer within the next few weeks, so I'll keep you posted.

Triscuit and Me

I recently agreed to participate in a program with Kraft Foods and their Triscuit brand that I'm really excited about. I'm still not at liberty to divulge the details, but within a couple of weeks I'll make a formal announcement. For now, all I can say is that Triscuit and I are about to take home farming to a whole new level.

In My Garden

I'm beginning to see a few faint signs of spring here at my place. The snow has finally melted, and the ground is no longer frozen. Yesterday I planted potatoes and onions, and soon I'll be sowing seeds of cool-season crops. It's always great to get back in the garden, and I look forward to keeping you updated on what I'm up to.

Take care,

Paul

P.S. The website has been updated for March. Check it out.