Fresh edition of Small Farm News

…now online and featuring a variety of stories of interest to farmers market vendors. local growers, kitchen and community gardeners. Read more food related posts at Everybody Eats. Most future gardening, local food and food sovereignty posts will appear there. 

Fresh edition of Small Farm News

Welcome to the newest edition of Small Farm News, the newsletter of the UC Small Farm Program. We no longer publish a traditional print newsletter, but have transitioned to this online-only format. We hope you find this new edition interesting, useful - and easy to share. You can read it all now or bookmark Vol. 1 2013 for later.

In this issue:

Bountiful Gardens e-newsletter

…gets you ready for winter gardening. HT Yvonne Savio, Common Ground Garden Program, University of California Cooperative Extension, 

A special short newsletter on winter crops

Timing is one of the garden skills that takes a lot of experience. Customers tell us that they like hearing when it is planting time for each gardening season.  So--we saved the tips on winter crops until now, when planting time is coming around.  

Everything we mention in this newsletter can be planted from now for at least a month. In mild-winter areas, you can plant much longer. 

Some of these crops grow food for you, like garlic and wheat, others grow fertilizer for your soil, and (best of all), both kinds of winter crops help keep weeds out of your garden!  

News from NM #FarmersMarkets

Learn more about other markets across NM and NM Farmers' Marketing Association programs. In this issue: update on the 2012 NMFMA Conference, Growing Local Workshop Series, Denise Miller's cooking column and food/market links (sidebar).

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REAL FOOD News from New Mexico's farmers' markets New Mexico Farmers' Marketing Association March 2012 Getting Connected at the NMFMA Conference On March 9-10, market managers, vendors, volunteers and others from 43 markets across the state gathered together in Santa Fe for the NMFMA's 15th annual conference.   The theme of this year's conference was "Getting Connected," and focused primarily on connecting within the organization through the Board of Directors' adoption of policy governance, connecting with customers through social media, and connecting farmers' markets with the health of their communities.   Additional sessions included the annual training with the Department of Health for the WIC and Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Programs, food safety, a new manager meeting, and small table discussions on a number of topics. Because New Mexico is such a large state, the conference also provides a rare opportunity for market staff from across the state to network and find out best practices from one another. As one attendee commented, "The conference provided very relevant topics interspersed with great opportunities to meet each other in between!"

Updates, news & a call to action

Catch the quick iCreate update just published on Mountainair Arts (for being of broad community interest): recital (a hit), exciting news about our future and a call to action.

Monday, Lenora and Kay return to Santa Fe to bundle the iCreate Capital Outlay request with one on behalf of the Town of Mountainair for the community park and safe playground equipment.

All Mountainair ~ town, arts council, other local service organizations, schools, the entire community ~ has a part to play too. Call, email, fax state legislators urging their support. Tell your friends and family to do the same.

Here are legislator names and basic contact information:

• Speaker of the House, Ben Lujan. Capitol phone, (505) 986-4782; home phone,(505) 455-3354; e-mail, ben.lujan@nmlegis.gov
• Senator Pete Campos. Capitol phone, (505) 986-4311, office phone, (505) 454-2501; home phone, (505) 425-0508; e-mail: petecampos@newmexico.com
• Representative Rhonda King. Capitol phone, (505) 986-4438; Office Phone, (505) 832-5050; home phone, (505) 832-4603
• Senator Phil Griego. Capitol Phone, (505) 986-4861, office phone, (505) 469-9470; home phone, (575) 421-2863; e-mail: senatorgriego@yahoo.com
• Representative Larry Larrañaga. Capitol phone, (505) 986-4215; home phone,(505) 821-4948; e-mail, larry@larranaga.com

Ask them to welcome Lenora and Kay and support the Capital Outlay requests they will be delivering on behalf of iCreate and all Mountainair 

We've been busy. In addition to our new iCreate Facebook page ~ please visit, like and leave a message ~ we just started publishing a weekly newsletter, iCreate Weekly, on Paper.li that will cover various aspects of the iCreate mission: creativity. music, arts, education, sustainability, environment, community service and more. 

KGI News: a global community cultivating change

High school teacher Adam Guerrero of Memphis, TN has been cited for his front yard kitchen garden. Please help send a message to local officials there that Adam and his garden are not the problem, but part of the solution.

Act Now  Follow On Twitter Join Us On Facebook

Earthworms, bees, eggplants, oh my! If it seems like just last month that a kitchen gardener was facing legal woes for planting a subversive plot in a front yard, it wasn't: it was two months ago!  Last time around, it was a mother of four from Michigan who was facing a possible 93 day jail sentence for her tidy raised bed garden. This time it's Adam Guerrero, a high school math teacher from Memphis, Tennessee, who's feeding himself from his front yard, keeping bees and worm composting bins in his back yard and using it all to teach teenagers in his community about healthy eating and living.  Read his story and show your solidarity here»

KGI News: Growing & Sharing the Good Life

Assorted Community Garden, Music Outreach Program, back to poetry (that one will take some explaining) and other updates coming soon. Promise. Today, for that green mood and to remind us that Gardening is Global, here are excerpts from the March KGI newsletter: read the rest here

Planting Asparagus from Crowns Planting an asparagus bed may well be the smartest thing you do this year, right up there regular flossing and wearing sunscreen. Think about it: how many things can you plant in your vegetable garden that will allow for harvests over 20 years or more? To be smart, however, you must be smart in how you start your bed. This photo tutorial will help you reap bountiful harvests for many years to come. Continue reading here. back to top

Understanding Lettuce Types These days, lettuce can be one of the most beautiful crops in your garden, and it's much easier and more intriguing to grow than in the days when iceberg lettuce was the salad-bowl staple. Here's a guide to the full range of lettuce choices. Continue reading here. back to top