Last week was National Organic Week (Økouka), a busy week for me as I had two garden tours in my Edible Garden in Malvik (the rain stopped both days just before we started), a walk and talk in the community garden at Væres Venner and a talk at Stammen Cafe & Bar in Trondheim on “Perennial Climate-friendly Food Plants for Urban Areas” talking about 15 advantages of growing perennials! Below you can see pictures from each of the events which were all well attended. I’ve credited the various photographers below. Thanks to all that came along!
1. Garden tour on Wednesday 27th September
Making the Ø letter for Økouka (picture: Margaret Anderson)
2. Talk at Stammen
Picture by Margaret Anderson
2. Garden tour on Sunday 1st October
Picture by Margaret Anderson
Pictures by Markus Tacker (click on the album pictures for more information):
Talking about Aster yomena and other oriental Asters
Talking Hosta
My largest vegetable, udo (Aralia cordata); the steepest slope is the most productive part of the garden!
Broad bean (bondebønner) re-flowering. Let’s demand large scale growing of vegan food in Trøndelag. The tastiest and original felafel and hummus is made with this hady bean!
Pictures by Marit By (click on the album pictures for more information)::
Japanese grape (Vitis coignetiae) clambering over a yew (barlind) laden with berries ready for the birds
Talking about one of my favourite perennial vegetables, Hosta
Talking about why there should be fields of broad beans (favabønner / bondebønner) than just grain fields!
My largest vegetable, udo (Aralia cordata) starting to collapse under its own weight
Talking about how to germinated udo seeds
4. Walk and talk in the Væres Venner Community Garden Pictures by Marit By (the World Garden looking good in its autumn colours with the backdrop of the old ash trees):
Økologisk seminar at Bjerkem, near Steinkjer has become a tradition and it was a great day together with kindred spirits with a wide range of interests and skills. Thanks so much to the hosts Jakob Bjerkem and Berit for taking a chance in inviting me to give a talk!
Organic breakfast with live music
…and the choir with Jakon Bjerkem and friends
Organic farmer Knut Haga, a real original gave a great start to the day with “How to produce both milk and neat in an optimal way” / “Korleis produsere både mjølk og kjøtt på ein optimal måte?”
Cooked einkorn and naked barley “rice” for lunch
Dried blackcurrant and Aronia berries
Jakob Bjerkem introduces Professor Ove Jacobsen from Nord Universititet in Bodø who gave a fascinating talk about Ecological Economics! See more with linked to Norwegian videos http://www.ovejakobsen.com/
Ove Jakobsen: Our common home is falling into serious disrepair… this is most evident in large scale natural disasters as well as social and even financial crises, for the worlds problems cannot be analyzed or explained in isolation… it cannot be emphasized enough how everything is interconnected (Pope Francis 2015)
Thomas More (1477 – 1535) wrote the first formal utopia. He imagined a complex, self-contained world set on an island, in which communities shared a common culture and way of life. LIFE IN UTOPIA: Local production of food, wine, herbs and flowers 6 hour work day More time for individual and cultural development Phsical spaces for conversation and social activities Many religions should be represented in each town¨ Virtue is living in accordance with nature Always fruit after meat
This was followed by two very interesting talks about food and health. First up was expert on gastroenterology Prof Arnold Berstad who talked about how Glyfosat (Roundup) and antibiotics could be implicated in a series of realated illnesses from ME to fatigue and food intolerance all starting in the gut…
The last talk was Eva Fjeldstad who also gave a great talk about how conventional food impacts negatively on the intestines. She has a new book Takk for maten: hvorfor maten du får kjøpt i norske butikker gjør deg syk!
Thanks to my hosts Jakob Bjerkem and Berit Bjerkem, great to meet you both at long last! (http://www.bjerkem.com/?Mode=Meny&HovedMenyId=184&InnholdMenyId=184)
Beautiful cultural llandscape at Bjerkem farm
Bjerkem farm!
Viking remains have been found here – gravhaug (tumulus)
…under the aspen tree
Cultural landscape on the return to the train
Cultural landscape on the return to the train
Steinkjer railway station
It’s a beautiful train journey south back home along the Trondheimfjord
…and it was a wonderful sunset!
A wonderful sunset!
A wonderful sunset!
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden
Making the Ø letter for Økouka (picture: Margaret Anderson)
