By Rady Ananda

May is heating up with special events for the food and farm freedom movement. For three days starting May 14th, people around the country will be taking specific actions in food, water, energy, and building community. Four special Guides on organic gardening have also just been published.

An important rally will be held in Washington, D.C. on Monday, May 16 at 10 AM at the Upper Senate Park. Though initially organized in support of Dan Allgyer, one of many victims of FDA raids on raw dairy operations, the Food & Farm Freedom event has gained national momentum. Speakers include Sally Fallon Morell of Weston A. Price Foundation, author David Gumpert, and Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy.

For this weekend, Transition US notes, "On a single weekend, May 14th & 15th, thousands of landscapes and homes will be transformed, retrofitted and revitalized as part of the 350 Home & Garden Challenge. Thousands of us will take to the streets, the garden, schoolyard, home, apartment and city hall to take actions big and small. We will grow food, conserve water, save energy and build community. Amidst a dizzying array of crises and mounting despair, together we will bring the hope of transition and show what we are capable of with our heads, hearts and hands aligned in action. It’s time for action, rooted in a shared vision and voice."

You can register your action and find more information here.

One of several organizations supporting the challenge, Chelsea Green will be publishing eight new guides by the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA). "These guides provide both a starting point for the beginner farmer and an opportunity for the established farmer who is looking to convert to organic methods. Running about 100 pages long, each book offers weighty information, including a strong whole-systems farming theory that stands behind the practical advice. The guides include profiles of various organic farms across the Northeast, historical information, further resources, and detailed appendices."

The first four NOFA Guides are now available for $12.95 each:

Whole-Farm Planning: Ecological Imperatives, Personal Values, and Economics by Elizabeth Henderson and Karl North

Crop Rotation and Cover Cropping: Soil Resiliency and Health on the Organic Farm by Seth Kroeck

Compost, Vermicompost, and Compost Tea: Feeding the Soil on the Organic Farm by Grace Gershuny

Humane and Healthy Poultry Production: A Manual for Organic Growers by Karma Glos

Shortly, I'll be posting a review of Sepp Holzer's Permaculture: A Practical Guide to Small-Scale Integrative Farming and Gardening, which is filled with color photos and step-by-step instructions on converting to this revolutionary system that restores balance to natural ecosystems while feeding us natural foods with which we evolved.

Organic gardening not only provides us with healthy, wholesome foods, but it's also becoming increasingly imperative, as Ellen LaConte discusses in Garden as if your life depended on it, because it will.
.