Capitol City Public Market

I hope all of you are loving the early jump on the beautiful weather that we are having here in the treasure valley, and those of you readers elsewhere may your weather be as wonderful as ours. With spring in full swing, it is that time again where the Capitol City Public Market has begun. Saturday April 21st kicked off the spring 2012 season with a major turnout. It reminds me of the PSU market in Portland, Oregon with produce, baked goods and crafts. The only thing missing was Pine State Biscuits.

The opening day of the market brought out approximately 130 vendors selling their goods. There really couldn't have been a better Saturday for the opening of the market. My sister, Baby E and I all headed downtown for a wonderful market stroll. We arrived a little later in the morning as the bambino must be feed before you head out on your adventures. If you want to pick up local fresh produce you really must be there before 11:30 am, nearly all of the vendors had been completely cleaned out. On a positive note that is a good sign that our community is exceeding the supply and can only create a higher demand for local fresh produce.

I figured I would highlight one of the vendors this week because his artistic water floats were really eye-catching. Patrick Nichols is a ceramics artist that makes a variety or custom pieces. I was taken back by the simplistic beauty of the globe water floats he created (pictured below). To be completely honest I wanted to climb right in the pool of water with them to cool off. If you are interested in these beautiful jewels and are unable to make it down to the market, you should contact Patrick at adobedrops@gmail.com. They would make a beautiful addition to anyone yard or water feature.

Urban Farming

On Tuesday Night at the Boise City Council meeting there was much talk about the Urban Agriculture Ordinance. No one spoke in opposition of the ordinance which passed amendments with a 6-0 majority. The new amendments allow the following (taken from the Idaho Statesman Website).

• Urban farmers living inside city limits may now keep six chickens instead of three. Four ducks are allowed instead of just a pair. Within Boise’s boundaries, residents may now keep four rabbits. The previous ordinance allowed just two.

• Beekeepers had been limited to a maximum of 12 colonies. The new rules remove that cap for beekeepers with larger lots. Council members also eliminated a $50 fee for beekeepers.

• Urban farms are now allowed in all zoning districts, along with community supported agriculture (CSAs), where customers buy shares of produce for pick up during growing season. The new rules also allow such operations to sell small amounts of produce.

• Urban farming retail spaces are limited to 500 square feet. New parking and overhead lighting is prohibited. Business hours are restricted to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

• Produce stands have been operating with six month permits. Now, they'll be able to apply for yearlong permits.

All of the changes will be reviewed in a year to see how they are succeeding and if other amendments need to me made.

(Photo From: ajfarmsdomaniranch.com)

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Sustainable Agriculture

Recently I have done some research on sustainable agriculture and maintaining a viable food system. I figured for my first post on Natures Wonderland I would share some of what I have discovered.

 I am not sure about you, but one of my favorite things about the summer is having food fresh from the garden. There are few things as great as being able to pick a tomato off the vine, with the sweet aroma of the plant right there in front of you as you take a big bite, all while you attempt to keep the juice and seeds from dripping on your shirt. 

Anyway, back to what I learned. 

Sustainable agriculture defines a system as "capable of maintaining their productivity and usefulness to society indefinitely. Such systems... must be resource-conserving, socially supportive, commercially competitive, and environmentally sound (Duesterhaus, 1990)”.

Historically the agriculture industry has moved from being a small family farm business in the early 1900’s to its current operations of mega-farming. Over the past one hundred years agriculture has become a technology driven business. The idea of raising productivity to provide food for the world was a worldwide driven movement to ward off starvation in developing portion of the globe. The effort really began to excel in the 1960’s with many international efforts introduced (Welch & Graham, 1999).  Recent research has show that the current system has major pitfalls at the cost of people, the environment and the farmer (Ikerd, 1993).  Many grassroots organizations have been created to make a shift toward a more sustainable agriculture industry.

For a family of four to survive off of their land it would require them to maintain a two acre farm. The following infographic provided by Daily Infographic show how those 2 acres would be cultivated in order to maintain a family. 

I understand this is not reasonable for every person. There are many other options for people who want to support sustainable agriculture. One way is buying local foods and goods. Currently the average distance your food needs to travel to get from the farm to your table is approximately 1500 miles. This can impact many aspects of conservation, health and environmental issues. The consumption of nonrenewable fossil fuels to travel that distance is extremely high, many pieces of produce must be picked prior to vine ripening to ensure the products don’t spoil in transit. This reduces the amount of nutrients found in food that has to travel great distance, overall creating a reduction in health benefits for the consumer. Finally the transportation emission of greenhouse gases alone has impact on the environment (Norberg-Hodge, unknown). 

             One quarter of the overall land with in the greater Boise area (Ada county) is designated as farmland with 91% being family operated farms (US Census Bureau, 2012). Available to the citizens of the greater metro area are many local farms, Boise Consumer Co-op and the Capitol city market where local sustainable produce, meats, and dairy products can be purchased. Some of the major contributors to the available sustainable products are Peaceful Belly Organic Farms, Morning Owl Farms, Snake River Farms and Earthly Delights Farm. Many of the local farms have community supported agriculture (CSA) shares available to purchase. The bounty of the crop is divided amongst its shareholders in exchange for monetary support of the farm and its production. The average cost for a produce CSA from one of these farms is based on the cost of production to maintain the farm and the livelihood of the families involved (Peaceful Belly, 2009). However on average a CSA runs around $450 dollar for 18 weeks worth or produce, with the grown season kicking of in mid may and running through October. This season is specific to the climate of Boise, Idaho and could vary from location to location.

Just something to think about as the summer season is upon us and you are wondering what other options you have for produce. 


Citations:

Duesterhaus, Richard. "Sustainability's Promise." Journal of Science and Water Conservation 45.1 (1990): 4. Print.

Ikerd, John E., "The need for a systems approach to sustainable agriculture," Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 46, 1993, pp. 147-160.

Welch, R. M., & Graham, R. D. (1999). A new paradigm for world agriculture: meeting human needs Productive, sustainable, nutritious. Field Crops Research, 60(1-2), 1-10.

"Ada County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau." US Census Bureau. 31 Jan. 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/16/16001.html>.

Norberg-Hodge, Helena. "The Case for Local Food." International Society for Ecology and Culture: Promoting Locally Based Alternatives to the Global Consumer Culture. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <http://www.localfutures.org/publications/online-articles/the-case-for-local-food>.

"Peaceful Belly » What Is a CSA?" Peaceful Belly » What Is a CSA? 2009. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <http://www.peacefulbelly.com/csa-education/>.

What To Expect

Welcome to Natures Wonderland, this blog is a new adventure for me. This space is a place for me to share all of the things related to nature that I am passionate about. I will share with you information about conservation, gardening, eating and buying local, and great little day trips for people around Boise to get out in nature, appreciate all it glory and hopefully increase your feeling of connectedness. 

I am currently a masters student at Miami University pursuing a Masters in Zoology. During my work toward this degree there has been a lot of emphasis on conservation efforts worldwide. I hope to inspire people to take advantage of the knowledge I share on this blog and become a part of reducing our negative impact on earth. 

I am eager to interact with you, my readers and will be checking for comments and suggestions or things you would like to know more about. Some upcoming topics I will focus on are:

• Highlights from the Boise City Public Market
• Local restaurants focused on local foods
• Spring day trips (Bruneau Sand Dunes and Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh)

Camas Prairie

Thanks for stopping by, Kristi