Growing a memorable meal

Sustainable living › Natural gardening › How to garden naturally › Growing a memorable meal

Do you seek the freshest, most delicious, sustainable food for sharing meals with friends and family? Search no farther than your yard. Pack a few favorite gardening tools and seeds and embark on a journey of discovery, recreation and sustenance.

by Metro natural gardening and toxics reduction specialist Carl Grimm

Of sustenance and the senses

I have always believed that a beautiful, multicolored meal is a healthy meal. Turns out it’s true. Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention promotes eating a broader array of colors of fruits and vegetables for more valuable nutrients. Phytochemicals (compounds found in plants) linked to heart health, improved vision and the prevention of chronic diseases apparently work better in combination. Happily, a rich variety of colors, textures and flavors in food is strongly linked to their nutritional quality; sensory and substantial goodness are inextricably linked.

Conversation and community

Sharing homegrown food with friends and family creates a deeper feeling of connection than sharing store bought food. It also stimulates great conversations of gardening challenges and discoveries, and discussions around the dinner table are the seeds of community.

Your edible landscape can grow community in other ways too. Trading out pesticides for better plant choices and toxics for tools supports a community of diverse wildlife and plant life that helps your garden grow. Plant variety distributes pest and disease risk. Flower variety, especially of native plants, provides more nectar to beneficial bugs that pollinate your blossoms or help eliminate your garden’s pests. And a variety of tree and shrub shapes and heights better shelters beautiful birds that can help control pests by eating them.

Digging in

Most soils will support celebrated edible plants better with ample organic matter. Spread or mix in a half- to 2-inch layer of compost depending on how poor your soil is, and always cover with a layer of mulch.

If a soil test or early summer lackluster plant performance indicates you may need more nutrients, my top fertilizer recommendation would be simple alfalfa meal, available at any feed store. I like the pelleted form better than the powdered because it’s much easier to handle and less dusty – even though it looks a little like goose droppings on the soil.

Both forms provide an array of vital plant nutrients that won’t easily wash into storm drains or pollute our rivers and streams. Typical application rates are 2 to 4 quarts (or 2 to 4 pounds) per 10-foot-by-10-foot area.

Growing an organic edible garden is not just a path towards ideal meals but also an opportunity to create a place full of fun, learning and healthfulness. As surely as biological diversity can lead to sustainability in your garden – and on our planet – so, too, can a greater variety of colors, flavors and textures lead to deeper sustenance at the supper table. Now it’s time to plant!

My top pick summer-fall edibles

Arugula
Bolero carrot
Bright lights chard
Calendula, for the edible flower petals
Dino kale
Italian parsley
Radishes
Scarlet runner bean, for edible flowers and beans
Supersweet hybrid corn

Plant seedlings for best results

Cardoon
Ever-bearing raspberry
Tomatoes (sungold, early girl and marzano)

Favorite food gardening information and supply sources

Cooking from the Garden, Rosalind Creasy
How to Grow More Vegetables, John Jeavons
Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan
www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/benefits
www.livingscapenursery.com
www.onegreenworld.com
www.pesticide.org
www.pistilsnursery.com
www.slowfood.com
www.territorialseed.com

Need assistance?

Metro Recycling Information
503-234-3000
mri@oregonmetro.gov

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