The Garden Apartment

Know What You Eat Series {at the Arlington Public Library}

With spring in full swing, this is the perfect time of year to begin thinking about sustainable food choices, and locally grown foods.

Beginning this month, the Arlington Public Library is focusing their Arlington Reads program on food and sustainability. An impressive series of films and special events will be available to the public free of charge, including conversations with authors Wendell Berry and Novella Carpenter.

The events kick off this evening at 6:30 PM with a viewing of the film Food, Inc. at the Shirlington Branch Library.

Event Dates:

• Sunday, April 11th, 3 PM  Eat Local Panel Discussion {Shirlington Branch Library}
• Monday, April 19th, 7PM  Book Discussion: "The Memory of Old Jack," by Wendell Berry {Arlington Central Library}
• Thursday, April 29th, 7PM  Author Talk with Novella Carpenter, "Farm City" {Arlington Central Library}
• Tuesday, May 4th, 7M  A Conversation with Wendell Berry {Arlington Central Library}

Film Dates:

• Wednesday, April 7th, 6:30 PM  Food, Inc. {Shirlington Branch Library}
• Wednesday, April 14th, 6:30 PM  Fast Food Nation {Shirlington Branch Library}
• Saturday, April 17th, 2 PM  Community of Gardeners {Arlington Central Library}    
• Wednesday, April 28th, 6:30 PM  How to Cook Your Life {Shirlington Branch Library}

Library Locations:

Arlington Central Library; 1015 N. Quincy St.; Arlington, VA

Shirlington Branch Library; 4200 Campbell Ave; Arlington, VA

Alexandria West End Farmers Market Opens Sunday, May 3rd

Susan Birchler and Julie Bryant, founders of the Alexandria West End Farmer's Market

In 2006, Julie Bryant decided that that the West End neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia needed a farmers market. At the time, Julie owned and operated a small coffee shop adjacent to the Cameron Station neighborhood (in the West End, of course). She began talking to her customers about the idea, and one of them- Susan Birchler- volunteered to help out. 

Three years later, the idea has grown from a small farmers market in the Ben Brenman Park to a robust marketplace and community meeting place. Together Julie and Susan act as the market managers, contacting farmers and vendors, publicizing the market, and working tirelessly for the continued success of the West End Alexandria market. 

An impressive array of twenty-five food vendors are participating this summer. The list includes many returning from past summers: Papa's Orchard, On the Gourmet, J&W Farm, chicken and eggs from Hilldale Farms, home baked dog treats from Lisa, and Tom's Dairy (known to fans as "Tom The Cheese Guy").  To name a few more, West End will also have local honey, flowers, bread and baked goods from Bonaparte Breads, Virginia wine from North Gate Vineyard, and fresh roasted fair-trade coffee from Beanetics Coffee Roasters. 

Photos from the West End Market, summer of 2008 

The West End Market opening hopes to bring the community together through more than great food, however. Several local artists and craftspeople will be at market exhibiting and selling their goods. The artists will return for the second week of the market, and will continue to sell their goods on the first Sunday of every month throughout the market season. 

There will also be an acoustic musician, and a storyteller from the Alexandria Library.

Bring the entire family and support our local farmers and the grand opening of the third season of the Alexandria West End Farmer's Market.

And if my words haven't convinced you yet, maybe my sidewalk artworks will:

I may not be much of an artist, but hopefully the message is perfectly clear:

The Alexandria West End Farmers Market opens this Sunday, May 3rd!

Alexandria West End Farmers Market

Sundays: May 3rd- November, 2009

9 AM- 1 PM

Ben Brenman Park; 4800 Brenman Park Drive 

* located off of Duke Street Across from the Beatley Library; South parking lot

* Bike parking available with the market manager

For more information from Susan Birchler herself, check out the West End Farmer's Market Blog here. 

Local food at your doorstep {from On the Gourmet}

Goodies from the On the Gourmet van

During the summertime, one of my favorite vendors to visit at the Alexandria West End farmers market was the On the Gourmet van.

On the Gourmet is a mobile food van offering quality products from local purveyors- like eggs, butter, and ice cream from Trickling Springs Creamery- and gourmet imports like Iberico Jamon and Hawaiian red salt.

Now that many farmers markets are closed for the winter, the On the Gourmet van is offering home delivery for folks in the northern Virginia and DC area.

This week’s specialties include a local meat sampler of all-natural and locally raised meat products (1 lb ground beef, lamb blade chops, 1 London broil, and 1 lb pork sausage), and new flavors of hand-packed ice cream.

They are also offering many local goat cheeses, and gourmet imports. For a list of this week’s offerings visit On the Gourmet online.

If you live within five miles of Vienna, Virginia, delivery is free. Otherwise, the delivery fee is $10. Minimum order is $35.

If you want an order for this weekend (March 7^th), act quickly and send an email with your order, contact info, and home address to [email protected] with “order OTG” in the subject line by 8 PM tonight (Monday, March 2^nd).

Deliveries occur every two weeks throughout the winter, so if you miss this one you can always try for later in March. And of course, don't forget to visit them when farmers markets open back up again this spring and summer. 

Get ready to plant your garden {or share someone else's}

View of the vegetable gardens at Bigg Rigg's Farm (Loom, WV), July 2008; not the view from The Garden Apartment's "garden"

When I named this blog The Garden Apartment, it was in part to describe the irony of living in one. Certainly, we have a view of our "garden" from our living room. In the summer we grow shade loving flowers and a few herbs in the windows, but right now we look out to concrete window wells with empty flower pots. 

Thus, gardening is not a real option in The Garden Apartment. At least, not anything that requires full sun. This is why The Garden Apartment is all about seeking out fresh foods from the local area through DC area farmer's markets.

But, isn't this garden-less state the reality of many of us living in urban areas? We live in apartments, condos, and other small spaces which make endeavors like gardening (and cooking) challenging.

This is why I was so excited to get an email from a reader describing a new DC resource called Sharing Backyards. Basically, this resource is a large google map of the greater DC area with flags where people are either looking for a yard to garden in (for apartment dwellers like me) or have a yard they wish to share (like all you lucky folks with yards). In short: garden networking.

I think it's a fantastic resource for our people in our area looking to improve their green thumb and I hope it will be successful.

Be sure to check it out Sharing Backyards, and of course, post your space or desire for garden space.