Green Pioneer

Recently my friend, Sherry, alerted us to the Monsanto buy-out of Seminis Seed Co. and how this was affecting one of our local seed companies here in Maine that we use...Fedco.

Fedco Seeds gave the run-down in this article about Monsanto's 1.4 billion dollar CASH payment for Seminis as well as assuming all of their unpaid debt. They do an excellent job of explaining the ramifications of what this means for seed companies and why this is such an ominous problem as they begin to explain the question:

Why Drop Monsanto?

The current industrial seed system rests upon the unholy trinity of biotechnology, corporate concentration and intellectual property rights. Each is mutually reinforcing and none of the three stands without the support of the other two.
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To me just the fact that Monsanto can slap down that amount of cash in the first place tells us something right there. Then the fact that they would slap down that kind of cash for a SEED COMPANY tells us even more. Please don't even begin to imply that Monsanto has no agenda here.

What I was so heartened to see, though, was that when Fedco polled their customers, they received an overwhelming response...and the major response was not to compromise...which means continuing to provide honest to goodness untainted-by-Monsanto seeds. Which also boils down to telling  Monsanto to take a hike!

Here are some the  responses Fedco provided in the article:

Fedco Drops Monsanto/Seminis

We responded to the news by polling our customers. Should we drop the Seminis/Monsanto line, phase it out, keep it but give it its own customer code, or maintain it without change? We received an unprecedented 1,157 responses. 54.8% voted for us to drop the Seminis/Monsanto line immediately, and an additional 17% to phase it out over time. Many included thought-provoking comments such as these:
• Drop the Seminis varieties unless this puts the entire coop in jeopardy. • Every dollar that goes to Monsanto does not go to a producer who is protective of agriculture, our world, our health. • You don’t need to sell your soul for a Sunsugar. • Let the customers decide! • Phase out as you find quality replacements. • Call upon my sense of adventure to try the new varieties you find! • Unbury the supplier codes and make them more prominent. • Give your customers a choice on their purchases for a transitional period…tax the b…ds for the public good…and spread the money like manure for our new crop of seed providers—breeders, growers and distributors. • It’s a hard thing to fight a Monsanto when we’re so deeply embedded in a system that produces Monsantos. Sort of like Jefferson hating slavery while owning slaves. • Buyers’ choice is real democracy. We, the buyers either keep them in business or put them out of business. • Double the retail price for Monsanto seed and send the additional receipts to those who suffer from Monsanto like Percy Schmeiser. • Monsanto should be Rounded Up and composted. • We’ll survive on the sweet tastiness of the moral high ground.
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I'm sure this decision's  going to cause Fedco some major readjustments, no small amount of disappointments, a bit of confusion, a likely hit to the bottom line...but at the end of the day, that's OK! Let's not compormise" was the resounding sentiment...and for that sentiment alone among so many is a triumph in and of itself.

The other thing that's really great is that so many more people out there are truly gettin' it...including myself! I haven't understood the whole corporate food dilemma entirely..it's taken me some time to connect all the dots. And I've learned so much about what's at stake not only for us here in America, but for all of us around the world... in really only the past couple of months or so. But now our children are gettin' it too...so much in fact that they call Wal-Mart 'slavery food' and want to pray for small farmers around the world when we say our bedtime prayers. That totally warms my heart and gives me some real hope for the next generation!

So "You GO Fedco" ... we're here to support you! And I hope this can encourage and strengthen all of us to bravely stand firm with our local food, farm, garden, and seed producers and providers as well!

The wonderful late summer, early fall harvest is rapidly coming in! But what to do with all this great fresh, organic food?

I've found some good sites and books that I'd like to share with you...and keep on tabs for ourselves! The root cellar is obviously an economical way to store the harvest, but what are the particulars and also maybe some other options?  And while we're talking harvest, how about extending the growing season itself...perhaps even into winter?

The Modern Homestead offers ideas for growing foods that don't require any processing at all...and ways to prepare those types of foods. They also give lots of ideas and practical hands-on experience on growing organic gardens and greenhouses, forest gardens, and soil management on small homesteads.

Hobby Farms offers a ton of valuable information on gardening and storage beginning to end. They focus on helping lovers of the rural life get the most from the farm experience - whether as a hobby or full-time operation. I've also happened onto these books with a wealth of information that I can't wait to absorb and begin trying a few of their tips next summer.

Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits and Vegetables by Mike and Nancy Bubel goes into extensive detail on all variations of root cellars and storage, as well as upgrading the harvest production.

How to Store Your Garden Produce: The Key to Self-Sufficiency by Piers Warren. I first noticed this book in my current issue of Hobby Farm Home, but I found these reviews especially helpful.

And Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from your Home Garden all Year Long by Eliot Coleman. In his book he

"introduces the surprising fact that most of the United States has more winter sunshine than the south of France. Coleman expands upon his own experiences with new ideas learned on a winter-vegetable pilgrimage across the ocean to the acknowledged kingdom of vegetable cuisine, the southern part of France, which lies on the 44th parallel, the same latitude as his farm in Maine."

This all sounds very intriguing and very promising for those of us wishing to venture on toward the realms of our own year-round, organic foods and produce...perhaps even in the long winter months ahead!

Thank you so much for dropping by! We're very excited about what we're learning and the people we're meeting who are also on a journey toward more self-sufficiency and a truly more independent, quality lifestyle!

As you can see, we're still very much under construction here, but we've got some interesting, intriguing information coming up very soon. So please put on the hard hat and keep popping in as we continue to construct what we hope to provide as plenty of encouragement, ideas, and inspiration for green pioneers pursuing the green frontier!

Also feel free to leave your e-mail address on our contact

In the meantime, you're welcome to catch up on our recent blogs on homesteading, life in Maine, Root Cellars, and the progress on our Log Home.

Also scroll on down and peruse the site links in the side bar below. Although we certainly don't subscribe to all the various sentiments and viewpoints expressed by the green community at large (as well as what gets interlaced into some of these web sites), we continue to glean good information where we can find it.

For more on our adventures into the homestead, homespun, home school, home life, check out Debbie's web site, The Romantic Mom.com page for updates and new information. We look forward to meeting you and learning about your adventures or interests in this exciting new frontier!