Yesterday I told you all about Farmer John’s struggle to save his family’s farm and preserve his unique identity (The Real Dirt on American Counterculture: How Farmer John made ideals come true).

From a family farm, the place has grown a lot. These days, Angelic Organics does a lot of education, from on-farm training to urban workshops to sustainable-building courses. See all they do here.

I visited an urban garden in Chicago’s South Side, just one of many teaching gardens founded with the help of Angelic Organics. It was a sunny day and the birds and bees were out. Here are some photos of the garden and the things living in it:

The next day, we drove out to Caledonia to visit the farm where Angelic Organics began. Unfortunately, it was a gray day and the Learning Center was mostly deserted. The farm itself is off-limits to tourists, with good reason; unfortunately, this meant there wasn’t much for us to see. We wandered around the grounds a bit, pet the goats, and went on our way.

Related posts:

1. The Real Dirt on America’s Counterculture
2. Zephyros Farm and Garden
3. How To Start an Organic Farm – a visit to Fire Mountain

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Post tags: agriculture, agritourism, alternative, animal, biodynamics, Chicago, chickens, community, counterculture, ecotourism, ecotravel, education, environment, farm, farming, flowers, gardening, Illinois, insect, locavore, organic, outsider art, photography, radical, sustainable, teaching, travel, voluntourism

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This is Evelina. Evelina’s a friend of mine from the Burning Man Dept. of Public Works, and she’s also one o’them Chicago bike punks. When Earp and I needed a place to crash, she gave us space on the floor of the spare room, next to the lizard and the python.

But that’s all beside the point, which is: sprouts!

Alfalfa sprouts are those little wiggly green things you get on fancy sandwiches and salads. They’re chock-full of nutrients and kinda fun to eat—but they’re expensive. Evelina’s got a way around that: sprout your own at home. It’s easy and cheap too, and your friends will be so impressed. Here’s how it’s done.

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Read the rest of Try This at Home: Sprout Your Own (457 words)

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: buy nothing, Chicago, featured posts, freegan, gardening, how-to, Illinois, locavore, organic, starving artists, sustainable

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Dorothee & me (Mark was holding the camera)

While in Chicago, one of the things I was looking forward to was meeting the brilliant minds behind OrganicNation.tv. Dorothee Royal-Hedinger and Mark Boyer have put together a great site, dedicated to furthering the cause of organics in America. My friend TRUE (aka Jennifer Palmer) had put us in touch, and I was excited to talk to them about their project.

We’re exploring such fundamental questions as: What does “organic” mean and how are products certified? What do scientists say about the risks of chemical pesticides and fertilizers on human health? What are the costs of switching to organic production and is it affordable for farmers and consumers? Is organic better than local or vice-versa? Can organic food production feed the nation and is it truly sustainable?

- About OrganicNation

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Read the rest of Meeting Dorothee & Mark from OrganicNation.tv (295 words)

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: agriculture, agritourism, blogging, Chicago, community, education, environment, farming, gardening, organic, sustainable

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Most places I visit, I stay a while; Chicago, however, was an exception. I would’ve liked to stay longer: the July sun was high and the neighborhood gardens were flourishing, and it seemed like the perfect time to run around a town I’d heard tons about. Plus, I wanted to hang out with some of my friends from the Rat Patrol. But we had places to go and people to see, and unfortunately they were all to our east.

Still, on my dash through the Windy City, I managed to get a glimpse of some of the things that make it unique. For example: did you know that Chicago’s City Hall has a green roof? I’d heard about it on e2, and been very impressed that a government office would be among the first to adopt such a forward-thinking technology.

Going to downtown Chicago made me realize something more: this is a city packed with incredible architecture. Here, the form of a building can be a cultural statement. City Hall’s roof, then, has a more-than-ecological impact: it’s Chicago’s way of showing support to the cause of sustainability, setting an example for other cities.

I couldn’t see the green roof in person, because there are no visitors allowed (a good idea to protect its ecosystem). So I concentrated more on what normal-folks are doing. I met Dorothee and Mark, from OrganicNation, to talk about our respective projects and future plans. I asked my host Evelina to show off her homegrown sprouts. I visited a couple of urban gardens, and drove out to see the Angelic Organics farm.

Since it was my first time in Chicago, I took a little time out for tourism too. Namely, a cheesy behemoth of a deep-dish pizza that took days to eat and wrecked my stomach and was completely delicious in every way.

All this happened in a couple of short, sunny days, and it’ll be the material for this week’s entries (well, maybe not the pizza). Come back soon to hear about how Chicago does Green.

Related posts:

1. Angelic Organics, in photos
2. 5 (and a half!) free things to do in Asheville
3. The Waterpod: life on a New York boat

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: agritourism, biotecture, Chicago, design, ecotourism, energy-efficient, environment, green building, green roof, Illinois, photography, sustainable, tourism, travel

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