Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Kitchen Garden Day is August 28/10

Good morning everyone.

I've been surviving the heat - sort of - and not writing much here.

A bit of inspiration has come my way, through a visit to the Kitchen Gardens International website (www.kitchengardeners.org).

Apparently, several years ago, some KGI members realized that the US snack food industry celebrated itself for a whole month every year ... a mind-boggling thing to contemplate given the normal level of advertising there is for junk, er, snack food.

KGI decided to set the last Sunday in August as International Kitchen Gardens Day. It's not a day off work, or an official holiday ... but I figure that KGI has readers worldwide, so designating an international Kitchen Gardens Day is fine by me. :-) There's a lot to eat coming from our gardens around that time, that's for sure!

A lot to be grateful for! A lot to celebrate!

So! Let's celebrate the positive role of organic kitchen gardening in society, health, and cookery!

I've made my own list of ways to celebrate. Please do let me know your own celebration idea ... you could even let KGI know too via its website (http://kitchengardeners.org/world-kitchen-garden-day).

Best regards to all,

Why's Woman

Kitchen Gardens Day - Sunday, August 28, 2011

Celebrate your own kitchen garden ... or balcony garden ... or local farmers' market ... or the farmer you don't know whose fresh food comes to your neighbourhood grocery story.

* work outside in your own kitchen garden and take the time to smell and touch and observe all the good things you have

* eat something right there in your garden - hold the food in your mouth and savour the sweet or spicy or tart sensations

* at mealtime, mention to anyone eating with you just what food came out of your garden - even if it is just the chives in the salad dressing

* if you are dining along - say a little thank you to the food and the garden

* if you have gardening neighbours or friends, invite them over for an outdoor potluck - swap some recipes at your potluck

* take some photos of your garden and put them on your fridge door - or set them aside to put into Christmas cards, when we might need a reminder of our gardens

* ask an older person you know if s/he has a story about a family kitchen garden of her/his childhood ... maybe this could be story number one of a collection.

* if you don't have a garden or need more produce, visit a local farmers' market and buy something you love to eat, or try something completely new to you

* donate to your local food bank or to another local group - asking that the donation go towards its fresh produce funds

* send for a catalogue with good seeds for next year - see the resources page of Community Gardens London for a printable list (www.communitygardenslondon.ca)

* visit the USC website and find out about its Seeds of Survival program (http://usc-canada.org/what-we-do/sos/) and the importance of saving seeds to people's livelihood

* let Kitchen Gardens International know your celebration plan - it's a good reason to visit an interesting website

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