[SustainableTompkins] Local fruits after the peak

[geoplan57 at aim.com]

Simon,

Thanks for the link on the concept of?local fruit production.? While there are certainly challenges to creating a local fruit growing capacity, it is more a matter of re-creating a self-sustaining system that once existing on just about?every farm in the eastern United States, which was the home canning of fruits and vegetables and making of jams and jellies, and still very prevalent amongst the Pennsylvania german farm communities.

I myself grew up on such a farm, where we enjoyed native apples, pears, peaches, cherries, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, grapes raspberries and blackberries year-round, thanks to home canning and freezing.? Most fruits came from the small on-farm orchard and domesticated berry plantings, but the the wild black cherries, wild strawberries and black raspberries that thrive in any hedgerow in the northeast, as well as the wild blueberries on the mountain above?Wheelerville (No, I won't give out directions...) were prized for jams and jellies.

In any given year by the end of September there was 700-1,000 jars of canned and jellied fruits and vegetables in our basement.? 

The catch of course is that such self-sufficiency requires a level of labor intensity that is very foreign to the average American family, and hence requires a major rearrangement of life priorities.? Forget the summer camps, sports camps, dance camps, mall dazes, net surfing and computer games, kids.? There's a garden to weed and berries to pick!? 

But anybody who has cracked a jar of local peaches, pears, apples or cherries in February, including the?kids,?will tell you it's worth the effort.

You'll never go back to bananas and oranges.


George Frantz






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Message: 5
Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:15:36 -0500
From: "Simon St.Laurent" <simonstl at simonstl.com>
Subject: [SustainableTompkins] TCLocal on fruit in Tompkins County
To: Sustainable Tompkins County listserv
    <sustainabletompkins at lists.mutualaid.org>
Message-ID: <47A280C8.70008 at simonstl.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

TCLocal is a group of citizens developing strategies for dealing with 
energy descent in Tompkins County.  To that end, we're publishing one 
article per month on a specific subject, examining that topic in the 
light of higher energy prices.  You can find them at:

http://www.tclocal.org/

Our first article examines producing fruits in Tompkins County after the 
peak.  These perishable but delicious and nutritious foods are a 
critical component of local diets, and higher costs for transportation 
and petroleum-based fertilizers will mean that we need to look closely 
at ways of providing them locally.

The article explores the challenges of expanding fruit production, on 
both large and small scales, and shows how different fruits can fill out 
a seasonal calendar that covers the whole year.  Action items recommend 
options for both individuals and governments.

Future articles will cover roads, water treatment, urban land use, 
household preparation, and health, with around one article per month.

The new TCLocal site is specifically designed to get your feedback on 
these plans as they are developed. These articles are a starting point 
for a conversation we hope will include a wide variety of readers coming 
at these issues from different perspectives.  We welcome comments, and 
hope to find more good ideas through public discussion.

Thanks,
Simon St.Laurent
Chair, TCLocal




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