The Food Martyr

Have you heard the news? We are exploring a new growing method called aeroponics, using a system that my husband John built. This system will allow us to grow vegetables indoor, year round.

I can’t wait to show you everything you need to build your own aeroponic system at home. But before I get into the guts of it, I wanted to take a brief moment to go over the basics of aeroponics.

If you’ve been gardening for a while, you’ve probably heard of hydroponics, where plants grow in water rather than soil. In hydroponics, plants depend on the water for the source of nutrients.

The difference in aeroponics, however, is that in aeroponics, the roots of the plant are exposed. The roots “hang” down and are misted or sprayed with nutrient-rich water at regular intervals.

Aeroponics is farming of the future. As the population grows and resources such as water and land become scarcer, our farmers have to come up with new and innovative ways to grow crops. And aeroponic growing offers a solution for that.

What are the benefits of aeroponics?

Grow Anywhere, Year Round

Aeroponics takes The Farmer’s Almanac out of growing. Now, you can grow vegetables in a compact space, indoors. Aeroponic gardening is even used in space! Like a population dense big city, aeroponic gardening spreads up rather than out to deal with lack of space. You’ll see commercial aeroponic farmers doing vertical farming to grow in a compact space.

Less Chance of Disease

Because the plants aren’t growing within soil, there are no soil-borne diseases. Additionally, you will experience less chances of water-borne diseases than a hydroponic system. In an aeroponic system, an infected plant can be easily removed and separated from the others.

Less Chance of Pests

Because the plants are growing in the air rather than in soil, you eliminate any pests transmitted via soil. This dramatically cuts pesticide costs.

Water and Nutrient Usage

Aeroponic plants spend over 99% of their time in air and less than 1% in direct contact with the nutrient solution. This means that the roots capture oxygen more efficiently and use up less nutrients.

Accelerated Growth

Without resistance from soil, the hanging roots in an aeroponics system can more efficiently absorb nutrients, resulting in a 40% faster growth rate than traditional soil plants. This results in faster, higher yields.

Cost Effective

Because the plants spend less time in direct contact with the nutrient solution, you use less nutrients and thus spend less money on them.

Predictability

Growing almost becomes automated in the aeroponics system. Because your remove a lot of the external conditions from Mother Nature, you can grow in a controlled environment. This gives you a great degree of predictability. You know exactly how much light the plants are getting, how much nutrients, how much water, etc. and this allows you to make fine tuned adjustments as needed and the system pretty much runs itself. The consistency allows you to get the best grow every time.

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Currently, we are only growing lettuce in our system. You can grow a variety of vegetables, with the exception of root crops (carrots, beets, radishes, etc.). We chose lettuce because it is great for beginners, does not require much physical support, and did not seem very intimidating. If all goes well with the lettuce, we would like to try other plants. Stick around for our next post, where I’ll go into detail on how we set up our at-home aeroponic system.

Hi, my name is Abby, and I’m a self-proclaimed food martyr.

For as long as I can remember, food was front and center in my life. I grew up in New Orleans, a city that Anthony Bourdain described as, “there’s no explaining it, no describing it.” And there really isn’t. Food is at the heart and soul of everything we do there. Showing up to a social event without a dish is unheard of. At every meal, the topic of conversation is none other than what we’ll eat at the next.

My earliest memories in the kitchen were learning how to make scrambled eggs with my Maw Maw (my mom’s mother) as soon as I could reach the stove with the help of a step stool. Cooking food from scratch and using fresh ingredients were always priorities in my family. Heart disease runs in both sides, so we always had to keep an eye on things such as cholesterol, saturated fat content, sodium content, etc. I learned the importance of staying away from processed and packaged ingredients. Most of our meals were a production, as nearly everything had to be made from scratch. My grandfather and my dad kept up a garden in the yard to increase their access to fresh food and to supplement our family’s food budget.

Unsurprisingly, family gatherings always revolved around food. Everyone brought their signature dish, homemade with love, whether it was my aunt’s macaroni and cheese, or my uncle’s oyster dressing, to everything in between. I spent many afternoons after school at my Mimi’s (my dad’s mother), the Food Network on in the background. She’d be in the kitchen whipping up something delicious, whether it was chicken stew or gumbo for dinner, or special shrimp-stuffed mirlitons for a holiday.

Cooking has long been a hobby of mine, but gardening is still relatively new. In 2015, my husband and I moved to New York State, where I worked for a fresh food access nonprofit. One of the cornerstones of their work consists of over 55 community gardens. Anyone with an interest in growing their own food can sign up for one of their 900 plots, so I decided to give it a shot during the 2016 season.

It was then that I realized what a joy and a privilege it is to grow your own food. Growing a garden really is a labor of love. Although it can be an inexpensive hobby, gardening takes time, and the rewards you reap are proportional to the effort you put into the garden. Mother Nature is also often unpredictable and frequently throws challenges our way. These challenges can test even the most experienced gardeners.

That being said, gardening is one of the most rewarding hobbies I’ve ever had. My husband and I are now on our fourth season, and we love it. Each year, we learn new lessons that help us improve and modify our techniques the following season. Our work doesn’t end at the plot. We don’t believe in letting our harvests go to waste, so we learn new ways of preserving our fresh food, whether it’s canning, fermenting, freezing, or drying, allowing us to enjoy our vegetables all year long.

There’s never been a better time to grow your own food! Thank you for joining us here.

What’s your experience with growing your own food? How important is fresh food to you?

If you’ve ever looked into an alternative to your traditional “big box” grocery store – whether you’re shopping for bulk items or natural foods, you’ve probably heard of a “co-op.” What makes these grocery stores different than your traditional stores? Let’s take a look.

A food cooperative or food co-op is a food distribution outlet organized as a cooperative, rather than a public or private company. In this structure, decisions regarding the production and distribution of its food are chosen by its members.

The cooperative movement traces its roots to the 19th century in Rochdale, England. The United States saw a big wave of cooperative initiatives between 1969-79, when over 10,000 cooperatives were established in America. Currently, there are about 485,000+ members in the United States, with 290 total stores.

How does this translate in operations of the store? Why is this any different?

A co-op is owned and democratically governed by its members, the people who shop there, or are employed by the business. Profits generated by a co-op are reinvested in the business or returned to the members based on their use of its services.  Membership in the co-op is obtained through the purchase of a member share in the business, which does not change in value and entitles the member to one vote in matters that come before the members. The table below illustrates this relationship.

Members decide what foods and products are stocked on the shelves and where those items are purchased. Members also vote on standards for negotiating prices, and they choose how co-op employees are compensated. Membership is typically open to anyone interested in the community, however, some stores will limit membership to a geographic area or state.

Advantages

Aside from membership benefits, shopping at a co-op has a variety of other benefits.

Food co-ops spend 6% more on local wages and benefits than conventional grocery stores, and do 2 ½ times more business with local farms and producers.

Co-ops often have a focus on local, organic, or otherwise more sustainably sourced products, and thus, you are more likely to find these types of products at a co-op than at a traditional grocery store.

Co-ops often provide food with less packaging, including bulk items, which reduces the waste generated by shopping at a conventional store.

Disadvantages

In order to become a member at a co-op, most stores require individuals to contribute a nominal fee, or volunteer hours. If someone is already facing a meager food budget and cannot work volunteer hours, they cannot take advantage of membership privileges. Even a membership fee of $35 could be someone’s food budget for a week, so it’s a tough choice. Additionally, items at a co-op may not necessarily be cheaper than at a conventional grocery store.

Co-ops used to be seen as one of the number one outlets for organic and bulk food within communities. However, conventional stores have kept up with trends and have expanded their organic and bulk options. This competition allows folks to shop for these niche items without paying the membership fee.

If joining a food co-op is doable for you and your family, please check out the locator below to find one near you:

https://www.welcometothetable.coop/all-coops

Did you know making your own vanilla extract only takes two ingredients and a little bit of time?

Vanilla extract gives incredible flavor to baked goods and is an essential ingredient to so many desserts, so I thought, “why not try and make our own?” This Christmas, John and I had the idea to make a big batch of homemade vanilla extract and give it as gifts. I’m going to show you how you can do the same using time and just two ingredients: vanilla beans and vodka.

Keep reading to learn all of the supplies you’ll need with links to what we used, as well free printable labels for gift giving.

Supplies:

Vanilla Beans: You can find these in the spice aisle at the grocery store, or perhaps in the bulk aisle at your local co-op. It’s also really easy to find them online. For our batch we used Tahitian vanilla beans linked below:

https://amzn.to/3aGKuFr

Vodka: There is no need to splurge on expensive vodka here; really, any brand will do. Just do not use a flavored vodka.

Glass Bottles or Jars with Tight Seal: I recommend an eight ounce bottle. The bottle linked below is very similar to the one we used for storage and features a convenient swing top with a tight seal.

https://amzn.to/3mG58aR

Funnel: A funnel makes pouring much easier. Trust me.

*If you’re giving vanilla extract as a gift

Small Glass Bottles: we used these 2 ounce bottles, linked below

https://amzn.to/3hh1LGw

Instructions

Free Printable Labels

For an added touch, feel free to download the labels we used and add them to your very own homemade vanilla extract. These labels fit Avery 22877 Print to Edge 2” diameter round labels, linked below.

Extract-Labels-PDF-Front-2Download

https://amzn.to/3pkmVGf

It’s really that easy! We hope you enjoy this recipe. Have a safe and happy holiday.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Make your very own vanilla extract at home with just two ingredients

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Servings 1 cup

Ingredients

  

• 6 vanilla beans
• 8 ounces vodka
• 8 ounce botle with lid, tightly sealed

Instructions

 

• Slit the beans lengthwise down the middle. If needed, cut beans in half to fit into the bottle.
• Place beans in bottle. Using a funnel, pour the vodka on top of the beans until fully submerged. Close the bottle and feel free to give it a couple of good shakes.
• Store the mixture in a dark place out of sunlight for a minimum of eight weeks.
• Note: You can make a bigger batch. Remember to use 6 vanilla beans per every 8 ounces of vodka.

Notes

As you use the vanilla extract, you can refill with more vodka each time. Shake it before and after each use.

Keyword baking, vanilla, vanilla extract