Alternative Community Farmer/WPB.FL

If you subscribe in one of those magazines that tackle agricultural and horticultural news...take note!

Here in Florida we have a shortage in magazines that really tend to farmers or gardeners who choose to go the ORGANIC way.There are few magazines that are full of pictures and narrations about ornamentals and flowers .No news about Organic farmers or Organic CSA or gardeners.Why?As an Organic Master Gardener I was approached once upon a time to sign a paper by a certain agency that takes care (at least assumes to ) of agricultural services to the local community.I was asked to put my agreement in writing that I mention fertilizers and pesticides in my volunteer work .I refused to do so and altogether withdrew from the program.

Recently,I met a volunteer who supervises a community garden locally-  he was telling the gardeners and media -that it is best to  use pesticides to scare away the bugs in a community garden that he calssifies as ORGANIC. I went to that community garden that is classified as ORGANIC and asked the same person to remove the plastic and other toxic PCB and other debris that are apparent in the soil of the community garden and he answered that we are not totally organic.He pressed so hard on my hand as he was leaving that almost I felt my fingers cracking.He was angry at me being honest.

This will take me to another venue where we gardeners like to stroll the pages of the media that carry our passion.I was so excited to find that there was a full page dedicated in the HORTICULTURE magazine edition of December 2009/January 2010 to ORGANIC APPROACH /Community Supported Agriculture.I was so happy to read the article that also referred the readers to localharvest web site.Thank you!

We need more visibility and more pages to reach out to the community and teach our ORGANIC WAY of working the land.We need more help and more land dedicated to the  sustainability way of LIFE.I sent the magazine a thank you note and attached couple of articles.Would they get me published? I really must wait to next year to find out.Meanwhile check them ourt at:

hortmag.com

One of their editors :Peter Garnham contributed and wrote the article on CSA.May be we need to let them know that we appreciate that they refer their readers to our web site here at local harvest, and may be we can contribute and help out too by making them more visible to our MORE than 2500 CSA farmers here at localharvest.org.

My point is :Let us reach out not just by our hands that plant and harvest but also by our minds and hearts in writing and teaching about what we do to the the EARTH and to our LOCAL community .I personally fight GLOBAL warming LOCALLY by just spreading more GREEN SHEETS that bear organic fruits and vegetables and beautify my neighbourhood.What about you?

There are many GREEN WAYS to help out if there is  a genuine WILL to do so.Doing is the PROOF .Lot of people SAY they support the EARTH and the COMMUNITY by just moving their LIPS.It is time to move  the HANDS folks.