Noted Farmer, Author, Educator Speaks to Maui Audience

MICHAEL ABLEMAN OF  FOXGLOVE FARMS ON SALT SPRING ISLAND ADDRESSES INTERESTED LISTENERS AT THE MAUI COMMUNITY COLLEGE GARDENS

More than fifty people showed up to hear one of the pioneers of diversified local farming speak at Maui Community College last week, in a free presentation by the Sustainable Living Institute of Maui. Michael Ableman shared his experience of farming over the past three decades, first in Southern California near Santa Barbara, and now in British Columbia. He has also traveled the world, observing traditional agriculture methods on several continents, and on Cuba and Jamaica in the Caribbean. Maui Weekly's account of his visit details his call for urgency to meet Maui's very insecure imbalance of food imports, and offers some solutions as well. Treat yourself to a few minutes cruising his beautiful website, Fields of Plenty, titled after his latest book.

I would be remiss if I didn't remind everyone that Maui Aloha `Aina'a 8th annual Body & Soil Conference will be held this weekend at an organic farm in Olinda. There will be a free presentation Thursday evening October 8th at the Maui Electric Company auditorium. Please help support MA`A and their mission to spread information about the connections between healthy soil,  foods, and humans, in any way you can.

One of the ongoing messages in this blog, and in many other locales worldwide, is that new economies will be much more localized, due to the end of cheap oil and the ability to transport things great distances with the ease to which we've become accustomed. A good summary of the concept, and how it is playing out nationally and world wide, may be found in an article posted on the Organic Consumers Association website. Titled, "Solving the Food, Health, and Energy Crisis: Local & Organic Production on Smaller Farms", it links to a New York Times opinion piece for the entire article (which means you may have to register to read it, if not already a NY Times reader. It takes only a minute or two to do so).

What have YOU learned in your garden recently? What successes and failures have you witnessed? What questions, or tips do you have on improving production success? Please share some comments to keep this blog active and growing. We've all planted some great seeds, and now it's time to nurture them and watch them grow.

Happy growing, and healthy eating to all,

ROB