If you enjoyed Food Inc: Watch FRESH, the Movie, for Free!

[daisymommy]

The video FRESH is a spin off of "Food Inc", and I've wanted to watch it for years. But it was previously only available for viewing to groups, at $30 per DVD. Now it's getting ready to be released on Amazon. But you can watch it for free online for a little while! I'm hoping DS takes a long nap and I can watch it soon :)
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/02/26/fresh-video-documentary.aspx

[maestramommy]

Interesting that the same farmer is on both documentaries. I loved listening to him :) Hope I can watch it this week!

[essnce629]

I love food documentaries! I'll put this on my list!

[daisymommy]

Interesting that the same farmer is on both documentaries.

Joel Salatin is one of the most famous farmers in the US due to his the way he has revolutionized organic farming ideas. He's also an author, speaker, educator, mentor (he hosts new farmers to stay on his farm and teach them how to farm using organic methods), all sorts of cool stuff. If you've ever read any of Micheal Pollan's books (The Omnivore's Dilemma) Joel's farm was discussed several times.

And I have been lucky to be able to buy my side of beef, pork, chicken, and eggs from him :) He hosts Family Field Days each Summer where you can walk all around, see the farm in action, & they cook a huge BBQ lunch with everything straight off the farm.

[maestramommy]

Joel Salatin is one of the most famous farmers in the US due to his the way he has revolutionized organic farming ideas. He's also an author, speaker, educator, mentor (he hosts new farmers to stay on his farm and teach them how to farm using organic methods), all sorts of cool stuff. If you've ever read any of Micheal Pollan's books (The Omnivore's Dilemma) Joel's farm was discussed several times.

And I have been lucky to be able to buy my side of beef, pork, chicken, and eggs from him :) He hosts Family Field Days each Summer where you can walk all around, see the farm in action, & they cook a huge BBQ lunch with everything straight off the farm.


Jealous! I could listen to him for days :p he reminds Dh of his old boss, owner of a stereo installation and repair store. He reminds me of a staff etomologist from our local pest control. Roughly the same age, speak good naturedly but with authority, VERY well informed on their subject.

You are so lucky he's in your area. We have a smaller farm that I buy a share from in the summer, but we haven't gotten around to the meat shares yet.

[maestramommy]

Actually I have a question. If I already saw Food, inc, is this more of the same, or is the different info on this one? I saw the Polyface farm in Food, inc. Is there more info on his crop rotation?

What I would love is more encouragement on how to grow your own veggies, given whatever unique constraints in your region, and how to do crop rotation in your own garden. I'm determined to start this year, but I have to start from the beginning because I do NOT have a green thumb (I kill plants all the time, seriously), and I want to know how much I can realistically get the kids involved without making it even more work for me.

[daisymommy]

I haven't watched Fresh yet, but from what I have read its supposed to be more of a positive answer to the negative side of what we saw in Food Inc. More uplifting if you will, showing people that better choices and change is possible.
But it's not meant to be a "how to" educational video. Maybe if you posted some questions you have, we could point you in the direction of some books or websites?

Fwiw, I started a garden last year using the square foot gardening method and book. It turned out awesome! I'm so hooked that even though I'm 7 mo. pregnant I'm still working on planting again for this Spring. I'll just need DH's help with upkeep once the baby is born. And I have never had a green thumb either. No experience at all. But everything grew like. Crazy!

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[boltfam]

Fwiw, I started a garden last year using the square foot gardening method and book. It turned out awesome! I'm so hooked that even though I'm 7 mo. pregnant I'm still working on planting again for this Spring. I'll just need DH's help with upkeep once the baby is born. And I have never had a green thumb either. No experience at all. But everything grew like. Crazy!


:yeahthat: I did that method combined with the lasagna gardening method b/c DH refused to actually do the sq. foot boxes. It was so easy I would highly recommend it to anyone. Maestramommy, my kids were only 3 and 1 and they actually did help! They loved picking the beans and tomatoes. The ones they picked often only made it into their mouths, but I'm good with that. ;)

[octmom]

And I have been lucky to be able to buy my side of beef, pork, chicken, and eggs from him :) He hosts Family Field Days each Summer where you can walk all around, see the farm in action, & they cook a huge BBQ lunch with everything straight off the farm.

I didn't realize you live not far from me. :waving4: I haven't been to Polyface, but have had some of their food at local restaurants in Cville and purchased from Relay Foods here. :)

[octmom]

Thanks for posting this! I just watched it and found it really interesting.

[MommyAllison]

Thanks for posting this! I just watched it and found it really interesting.

:yeahthat: Just what I needed to motivate myself to get the garden planned! Thank you!

[JustMe]

Awesome! Its on my to-do-by-the-end-of-the-week list! Anyone know how long it is?

[maestramommy]

I haven't watched Fresh yet, but from what I have read its supposed to be more of a positive answer to the negative side of what we saw in Food Inc. More uplifting if you will, showing people that better choices and change is possible.
But it's not meant to be a "how to" educational video. Maybe if you posted some questions you have, we could point you in the direction of some books or websites?

Fwiw, I started a garden last year using the square foot gardening method and book. It turned out awesome! I'm so hooked that even though I'm 7 mo. pregnant I'm still working on planting again for this Spring. I'll just need DH's help with upkeep once the baby is born. And I have never had a green thumb either. No experience at all. But everything grew like. Crazy!

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Well, I wanted to grow tomatoes, cukes, and maybe summer squash. I also have 2 blueberry bushes I planted last year, but they are still small and so far have yielded one berry between the two of them. I'm thinking of transplanting to the back because I don't think they make good front-of-the-house bushes.

But my first problem is I have to clear away all the pachysandra and other crazy weedy grasses that have overrun the areas I want to garden in. Actually, that is my biggest obstacle, and the main reason I haven't started before. The thought of having to do that makes me tired. I still haven't decided whether I should rent some equipment to do it myself, or whether it would be worth it to hire a landscaper to just raze it down for me. We're talking 2-3 areas of 30 x 4 with entrenched growth.

[daisymommy]

Let me post some fun helpful beginning gardener links later :)

ETA: As far as your crrazy overgrown back yard goes ;) Not sure what to tell you. Sounds like alot of work to me. Something I would not tackle, but I my DH loves to do heavy work like that with equipment...total guy thing :)

Lets see, blueberry bushes take 2-3 years to produce fruit. They also need acidic soil to grow. Most people say to plant them in large planters with soil meant for azaelas, because they like the same type of soil. And that way you can concentrate the right nutrients into their soil. I think I read you can dump coffee grounds all around their base, and the acid from it really helps. Starbucks usually has a basket of bags of used coffee grounds sitting out in front, that you can take for free for your garden.

For your veggie gardens, hands down, you MUST get this book! (Square Foot Gardening)
http://www.amazon.com/All-New-Square-Foot-Gardening/dp/1591862027/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330440499&sr=1-1

Square Foot Gardening Message Board forum that is excellent. You can scroll down to the "Regional" area, and talk with people in your state/county about suggestions on where to buy supplies, when to plan things, helpful tips on working with your weather, etc.
http://squarefoot.creatingforum.com/

It's super easy and cheap to buy some boards and build your own garden boxes (it's just 4 boards screwed together!) but if you or your DH doesn't have time for that, Lowes and Home Depot both sell kits that just snap together.

LOVE the blog "Little House in the Suburbs" for all things gardening. If you click the "Garden" tab up top you'll find all sorts of things. Here are links to the one's I think you'll find most helpful starting out:

Spring Garden Pocket Planner http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2010/03/free-spring-planner.html
Beginner Garden in a Day Layout http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/05/free-garden-plan-beginner-garden-in-day.html (Note: I plant my cucumbers in place of the marigolds in those upper two corners).
Early Spring AND Fall Garden Layout http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/06/free-garden-plan-fall-garden.html
Year long garden planner http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2010/12/garden-planner-for-notebooks.html
Summer/Squash Garden Layout http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/05/free-garden-plan-gourd-garden.html (note: skip the corn that she uses as supports, and follow her tips for just using tomato stakes instead)

Companion Planting made easy. One thing you'll lean is that certain veggies can be planted next to each other, and some can't. You can't just plant them willy-nilly. Some things will produce too much of a certain nutrient (or suck up too much of another) and it will kill--or help grow!--whatever is next to it. Thankfully, you can look at her sample garden layouts (like I listed above) and she has done all that thinking and planning for you. OR you can read these posts and lay things out how you want:
Lesson 1 http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/05/companion-planting-made-easy-ish-part-1-of-3.html
Lesson 2 http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/05/companion-planting-made-easy-ish-part-2-of-3.html
Lesson 3 http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/05/companion-planting-made-easy-ish-part-3-of-3.html
PDF chart http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/1190960/companionplants-pdf-may-12-2009-12-29-pm-16k?dn=y

Free Drag and Drop Garden Planner Program
http://www.gardeners.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Gardeners-Site/default/Page-KGPJS

More great websites that will send you emails when you are supposed to plant things in your area!
http://mysquarefootgarden.net/
http://sproutrobot.com/

Happy Gardening!



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[boltfam]

Wow, Daisymommy! Thanks for all the gardening links! I just did my first garden last year and doubled the size, so I have room for way more veggies. I can't wait until I have more time to check out the blog you linked to! :cheerleader1:

[infomama]

Thanks for sharing this. I always find these documentaries equally horrifying and motivational/inspiring.

All hail the sustainable farmers!

[maestramommy]

Thanks Daisymommy! I was able to go to our local gardening store, and they told me it's just pull and dig. They do offer organic weed killer, but it takes 8 weeks to work, and anyway it's too cold to use it right now. But it's warm enough to dig and pull :p They did encourage me to start small this year so I don't get overwhelmed by my own ambitions. Not even started yet and they know me too well:rotflmao:

[maestramommy]

Just watched it last night. Great movie. One of the most interesting things I heard was from a food economist (was it him?) that said medium sized organic was going to be more productive than industrial farm. I'd love to see the studies on that, since he said that there ARE studies that have been done on that comparison. But I think it's stats like that, that will turn things around.

The best idea I came away with was that sustainably produced food can be affordable for everyone in our lifetime.

[curiousgeorge]

Daisymommy, Thanks so much for sharing. DH and I loved Food, Inc and got about 2/3 of the way through this last night. Makes us really want to start a garden (we've talked about it many times) so I'm going to check out your links. Thanks so much for those!

[daisymommy]

Melinda~

This one cites studies and reports: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/12/organic-can-feed-the-world/249348/

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/sustainable-farming/


And I recently read a book called "My Organic Manifesto" written by the daughter of the founder of the Rodale institute--which is the oldest organic farming institute around. They have had an organic farm running for something like 25 years? side by side of a conventional farm and do all kinds of scientific studies on soil health, crop yields, pests, environmental impacts, etc. and compare the two farms.
Anyway, the book was chock full of studies explaining why organic farming produced more food in the long run, because you aren't wearing out the soil and then needing to move on to a new patch of land (something in short supply), why it invigorates the soil which leads to better crop yield, and all sorts of fascinating stuff.

[Cuckoomamma]

Loved it! Thank you for posting :)

[daisymommy]

I finally had a chance to watch it, and WOW. It made me cry! Better than Food Inc. I think. I actually bought a copy to be able to share with friends and family.

[noodle]

Thank you for posting the movie link -- I finally had time to watch it. (It's not an official snow day, but we couldn't get to school safely....)
Wow. I'm going to share it with my parents and 12-yo DS. As soon as it was over I filled out my csa paperwork. ;)

[MommyAllison]

Awesome! Its on my to-do-by-the-end-of-the-week list! Anyone know how long it is?

1hr10min

[infomama]

I hope they get the site back up (clicking through the link) soon. I want to buy a copy, too.

[boltfam]

Watched it this morning and really enjoyed it. I liked the positive vibe it gave. Thanks for posting.

[zoestargrove]

thank you! Just finished watching it. I liked it better than Food Inc. too. It had a very uplifting and inspiring tone. Really a good watch right now as I start pouring through the seed catalogs and planning what we will plant this year. I'm going to get me some worms.

[daisymommy]

I hope they get the site back up (clicking through the link) soon. I want to buy a copy, too.

FYI...by the time you add shipping it came out to only $1 less than Amazon. It will be released for sale on Amazon in a couple days, but you can preorder it now (just in case Mercola's website is still stuck).
ETA: Sorry, price is only equal if you have free Prime shipping.


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[AmyZ]

I just found a free hour to watch this... THANK YOU so much for posting!

Last free day today.

[DebbieJ]

Thanks for all the info, daisymommy!

[Tondi G]

This is so inspiring and yet depressing. Makes me want to buy some acreage and grow my own. Poor baby chickens getting dumped outta bins makes me sad!