Vineyards of Holly Hill

Pear Picking at Keene Acres in Seville, Fla

Mr Keene himself...

A six-year-old pear tree, full of Pineapple or Sand Pears (Pyrus communis). Hard, sweet, somewhat gritty. $5 per bucket of twelve or fifteen pears.

An Anna Apple (tropical). Miles also has Dorset Apples. Both are tropical apples, suitable for Central Florida. My Anna has grown well, but my Dorset had fungal issues and is recovering slowly. Miles reports that he had tons of apples this May on these small trees. (Annas in particular are know as heavy bearers.)

Miles has a lovely place--eleven acres. In addition to landscaping trees and plants, he raises peaches, nectarines, persimmons, pears and tons of citrus. Much of the fruit is available for you-pick.

Food security...

A thoughtful video from Japan. Their situation isn't terribly different from our own, with the important caveats that 1) they deal with far less arable land per person than in the USA; and 2) they have traditional food-ways to fall back upon.

I'm not an adamant vegetarian, but I am very careful to limit the animal flesh that I eat. One of the many reasons that I have chosen this diet is that eating meat is prodigiously wasteful.

Wildflowers: Safety, savings bloom on Florida's roadways -- OrlandoSentinel.com

It's a start...

Wildflowers: Safety, savings bloom on Florida's roadways -- OrlandoSentinel.com: "Contract manager Chris Grossenbacher, a consultant to the DOT, said that not mowing during spring and fall blooms and especially not during the seeding phase has resulted in an explosion of naturally occurring wildflowers."

I think sometimes that people believe that what looks normal is some sort of universal, eternal state. But what looks normal is culturally defined. We've gotten used to, say, St Augustine lawns as what looks "normal" and people are afraid to upset that norm. However, given time we can reset what counts as normal and, if we're careful, that new normal can be much more interesting...

Brother, can you spare a grapefruit?

An interesting idea in today's Times:

Neighbor, Can You Spare a Plum?

By KIM SEVERSON

OAKLAND, Calif.

THE loquats were ripe and just begging to be picked.

But there was a problem. Although the tree was planted on private property, the loaded branches hung over the street.

Did that make the fruit public property?

In the end, with no one around to ask, Asiya Wadud decided the answer was yes. So she added them to a bag already heavy with Meyer lemons picked (with permission) from a yard a few blocks away. Then she headed off to check on some plum trees.

The article identifies two websites devoted to fruit sharing: neighborhoodfruit.com and veggietrader.com. I checked them both out and neither had listings for Florida. But maybe someday?

Peach farm

My friend Christine visited at the end of May. I'll ask her how it was... Florida peaches are sweet and juicy! (I know, I grow some.)

Florida Peach Farms & Nurseries – Is the best kept secret in OCALA. A farm that produces the best peaches you have ever tasted. They are delicious, tree ripe, very sweet and juicy, and very colorful. It is seasoned April to June every year. We open to the public for UPICK around Mother’s Day.

Our Mission is to provides the best peach you have ever tested in a family environment with a taste of paradise.

Location: Florida Peach Farms & Nurseries is located in Citra Florida at 5109 East Highway 316, 3.0 miles East of Jacksonville Road (200A) on Highway 316. Signs are posted at the entrance of the farm.

Note: I just talked to the guy today (June 3) and he said that, because of the frosts, the season is short. He thinks that there will be peaches through the end of next week. I might try to find the time to run over there next week...

Local, grass-fed Beef and Chicken... and local fish

Promoted from comments...

Local, organic, grass-fed beef and chicken available in New Smyrna Beach. Only sold "on the hoof" right now, but maybe in another month or so it will be available by the cut as well(legality issues). (On the hoof means you buy a share in the cow prior to slaughter- turns out to be a great price for top cuts) Contact Steve at (386)427-4372 or stevethomasnsb(at)aol(dot)com.

A Fishermans's co-op recently opened in Oak Hill (southeast corner of Volusia county) that offers FRESH locally caught fish at great prices. On west side of US1. Watch for the big yellow fisherman statue.

Local Food: Holly Hill Farmer's Market

Just chatted with Jim--he's got a full bounty of summer vegetables at the market, and his muscadines are looking great. I'm headed out there later this week and will take pictures.

Website

Take a close look at the bounty this vineyard has to offer

Tucked away on Sixth Street in a residential area of Holly Hill lives an impossible dream. Four years ago, Jim Wilson planted muscadine grapes in the Vineyards of Holly Hill, preserving a bit of agricultural green amid modest homes right off of Nova Road.

Then the 2004 hurricanes came and, with them, the rains. And the "feet" of Jim's plants rotted in the standing water. Then everything came to a near standstill when Jim was injured and confined to bed.

Some might have taken these setbacks as a sign. Others may have been discouraged by the naysayers who pooh-poohed the idea of a winery in Holly Hill. But Jim's perserverance at rebuilding his dream has brought him to today.

Four years after that horrendous start, the Vineyards of Holly Hill is making its first batch of wines from the replanted muscadine grapes on the 14-acre property. And Jim's offered wine-making classes and pick-your-own opportunities. And he is enhancing the property to sell local produce in a daily farmers' market-type of operation, with the help of foreman Eugene Ferns Eugene's wife Connie who is the market co-manager, Charlotte Tzabari the market co-manager and assistant vintner Janet Del Valle.

Contact:

Vineyards of Holly Hill

WHERE: 649 Sixth Street, Holly Hill

WHEN: Farmers' Market is open to 9-5 p.m. every day, except Sunday. Call to find out what produce is available for picking.

CONTACT: (386) 503-1109.

ECHO: Networking Global Hunger Solutions

ECHO: Networking Global Hunger Solutions: "Farm Day 2009
March 14, 2009 - 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Come explore ECHO's Global Farm during this once-a-year event! Experience behind-the-scenes tours and demonstrations and sample some of the amazing varieties of tropical fruit on ECHO's Farm.

Learn first-hand how ECHO provides extraordinary solutions for those working with the poor overseas.

Admission for adults is $3 in advance and $5 at the door. Admission for children is FREE. Tickets can be purchased at ECHO's Global Bookstore from February 1 - March 13, 2009."

There's a first time for everything...

Who knew talk-radio could, you know, make sense?

Orlando Sentinel - Will mayor turn out the lights? by Mark Schlueb: "Buckethead, the WTKS 104.1 FM talker whose real name is Jason Bailey, wants the interior office lights and lighted exterior logos in downtown high-rises shut off after-hours as a way to save money and jobs. He says there's little reason for the Bank of America and Wachovia buildings to keep those lights on when the buildings are empty -- and even less reason for the Orlando Utilities Commission to remain lighted while paying lip-service to conservation.

Dyer agreed to come on the show after the host recently implored his listeners to call the mayor's office. The mayor pointed out that the city is replacing all its traffic signal lights with energy-sipping LEDs. Nice, but not enough, according to Bailey. He pitched the idea of shutting off the skyline lights once a week.

'C'mon,' Bailey said. 'Let's go green. There's no need to have these lights on on Sunday night at 1, 2, 3 o'clock in the morning.'

Dyer seemed receptive to the idea, and promised to ask his Downtown Development Board staff to look into the it. Those are the folks who market downtown. The mayor also sits on OUC's governing board, and said he'd bring it up with utility managers, too."

Why eat local?

A few arguments why it matters.

The whole program...

Summary

Moderated by Corby Kummer - Wendell Berry, Vandana Shiva, Michael Pollan, Alice Waters, Eric Schlosser and Carlo Petrini join together in conversation about the local, national and global impact of the philosophy and practice of Slow Food.

Wendell Berry on Local Food

It would be impossible, I think, to overstate the importance of Wendell Berry for my own intellectual history. It would also be difficult to overstate his prophetic status in the world of local economies, including local food.

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