Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Ken Hargesheimer <minifarms2@yahoo.com>]

Please email to me the postal address of the Botanical Garden
.

Ken Hargesheimer

--- On Mon, 7/5/10, pbunch@cox.net <pbunch@cox.net> wrote:

From: pbunch@cox.net <pbunch@cox.net>
Subject: [Livingontheland] Mercado Verde
To: "livingontheland" <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Monday, July 5, 2010, 7:17 AM

We went to the Mercado Verde (Green Market) at the Botanical Gardens here in Medellin yesterday. This is a very good, if new and growing, farmers market. Lots of organic growers and folks producing alternative crops like quinoa, kawichi (Amaranth) yacon and others. Also a lot of educational outreach. Things like growing sprouts, gardening, using herbs for cooking and other purposes.

I was able to make contact with people who are growing some of the indigenous crops that are adapted to the higher elevations. Our finca is at 2400 meters and not all of the regular crops do well there. Also found some secondary contacts in the southern part of the country where some of these crops are still important pats of the diet.

The event is held monthly and was well attended. One of the vendors is developing an organic produce nucleus at one of the big urban market places (La America). This is a step forward as finding  high quality produce grown with sustainable methods is not easy here.

I should mention that the Botanical Garden is strongly promoting organic growing, composting, vermiculture, home gardening and other sustainable practices as well as more traditional conservation efforts.

Phil
Medellin/Piedras Blancas
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