MOTHER EARTH NEWS readers, contributors and sustainability advocates gathered together for the MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR in Puyallup, Wa., on June 2 and 3. One main topic of presentations and discussions? Gardening, of course.
Ira Wallace, of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, presented on gardening techniques and recommended varieties for starting and keeping a fall garden. She covered the various season extending methods that can help your Brussels sprouts, carrots and frost-tolerant greens last through several hard freezes and months of winter weather. Wallace also gave the rapt crowd lists of her favorite varieties of the most common crops in fall gardens, tailored for the Northwest gardener.
Contributing editor and garden writer Barbara Pleasant gave several presentations, including the one shown here on how to get started as a beginning gardener. Pleasant gave advice from her decades of gardening experience on which crops, and even which varieties of those crops, are best for folks who are just getting started with a garden. Disease-resistant squash, short season pear and cherry tomatoes, and cut-and-come-again greens were among the many crops recommended.
Urban gardeners and those passionate about the good, sustainable food movement got a real treat when Will Allen of Growing Power took the stage. His work with urban youth and small-scale, closed loop farming have motivated numerous others to take up their trowels and start work within the food movement within their own communities.
Did you miss the FAIR last weekend? There’s another chance: Our MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR in Seven Springs, Pa., will be held this September. Find out more information and set your calendar to learn more on gardening, homesteading, renewable energy and more.
Jennifer Kongsis the Managing Editor at MOTHER EARTH NEWS magazine. When she’s not working at the magazine, she’s likely working in her garden, on the local running trails or in her kitchen instead. You can find Jennifer on Twitteror Google+.
Photos by Jennifer Kongs
