Your Personal Location for Food

[FarmerChick]

On a whole, do you know what your personal region is known for the best----what your true local food options are in your area----what you should be truly eating in season and NOT importing from China or CA to the east coast.

Do you seasonal eat or truly rely on the grocery store to fill your kitchen?

The more I think of this the more I am realizing that I DO NOT know what North Carolina is best known for in its food culture. What is the true food I can grow here. What is the seasonal foods I should be eating.....and I mean them all.....not just veggies in summer and greens in winter type situation.


So I am going to learn all about my state. YUP, I live here, I should know. I should know my edible NC plants. I should know my common edible mushrooms. I should know what nut trees I can grow in this zone. I should know what fruit tree options I have to grow. I should know what animals/livestock adjust best to my climate and breed them and not force animals out of their element to perform to their best with the least amt. of intervention.

OK a small ramble.....but it seems important I need to know North Carolina. And stop buying food flown over the oceans to my state, food transported by rail and riped by gas on the highway before they hit my store.


SO----I will learn about North Carolina.

And I truly hope ya'll out there want to know your state. Know what is available to you at the least prices, like growing your own, or buying local what is in season.

Why am I buying farm raised fish like talapia and such from other states, when I have wonderful fishing lakes right here stocked with delish fishes...and many varities. And best of all I can fish and relax to get them....and stock my freezer with fresh fish? It is dawning on me that we are so out of touch with our food seriously. For me, I want the personal touch back in my food. Time to go get it..LOL----and Tony will love the---"hey babe, go fishing for the day and get us some good eats!"---he might fall over when I say that..HA HA


WOW---Tony doesn't know it yet, but my way of stocking the kitchen is going to change. I hope he can handle it..LOL


Hope my rambling made sense to ya'll.

When I learn something very interesting about my state and food and SS ways to obtain that food etc...I will post back and update.

I hope ya'll post what you can learn about your state. And what local foods can help you to eat fresh and local.

 

[PamsPride]

I know we have a LOT of apple orchards and grape vines around here. Blueberries do really well too. We can not grow watermelon or citrus here at all. Some of our lakes around here are not safe to get any type of fish out of!!

 

[enjoy the ride]

"NOT importing from China or CA " - Well China maybe- but I live in California.
But my area is radically different that what most non-Cally people think California is like.
The ocean with a good fishery is here- our county raises the best dairy products. We can grow outstanding peas, potatos, lettuce etc due to not getting to hot down on the coast. A rich place for food as the coast is cool and inland hot. Clamming, crabbing and fishing are hot local occupations.

Mushrooms are rampant as are bramble berries of any kind and huckle berries- good for any berry.

But no flat lands for easier growing and harvesting of wheat, oats and corn. Too hilly for that and too wet to get good curing.

 

[keljonma]

http://cvcountryside.org/

This is our local site that I use daily. I have it hanging in my pantry. Here is our NE OHIO LOCAL INFO

http://cvcountryside.org/Website/Local FoodWorks/countryside_harvest guide.htm


Hmmmm. Somewhere on that site USED to be the "WHAT'S LOCAL & WHEN" Spreadsheet. I will post that as soon as I find it. I FOUND IT!!!

This is the NE Ohio Harvest Guide -
by item, by month; avail fresh, from cold storage, greenhouse or hydroponically grown

http://www.cvcountryside.org/Website/Local FoodWorks/pdfs/Harvest Guide.pdf

 

[PamsPride]

http://cvcountryside.org/

This is our local site that I use daily. Here is our NE OHIO LOCAL INFO

http://cvcountryside.org/Website/Local FoodWorks/countryside_harvest guide.htm

I live close enough to KJM that I can just claim whatever she said!!! Or is that cheating????

 

[PamsPride]

Here is an excellent guide!!
http://cvcountryside.org/Website/Local FoodWorks/pdfs/Harvest Guide.pdf
Thanks KJM! I think I am going to have to print this off!

 

[keljonma]

PamsPride wrote:
keljonma wrote:
http://cvcountryside.org/

This is our local site that I use daily. Here is our NE OHIO LOCAL INFO

http://cvcountryside.org/Website/Local% 0guide.htm

I live close enough to KJM that I can just claim whatever she said!!! Or is that cheating????

 

[dacjohns]

Sounds like someone has read Animal, Vegetable Miracle.

Southern Illinois. Corn and soybeans for the big food industry. Not much for the grocery store. Our local farmers market is a joke.

There are some people that raise cattle, chickens, goats, rabbits, fish, etc. I haven't seriously looked at them as a source for my food.

We have wineries but I don't drink and they really don't raise table grapes.

We have "shrimp", really freshwater prawns. I think most of those are shipped out because you don't see them in the stores. We have a yearly "Shrimpfest" and you can buy some then.

I am close to tobacco country but I don't use tobacco and I don't think it is a food product although some of the people that I know chew. Some of it has to make it to their stomach.

We have wild nuts, blackberries, mushrooms, onions, and other edible wild plants.

I am in the Mississippi Flyway so if I were so inclined I could waterfowl hunt.

Lots of deer. There are also rabbits, squirrel, turkey, woodcock, doves, and other wild fauna that you could eat.

Where I live to have a good garden means a lot of work to get the soil changed from heavy clay to a nice garden soil.


Maybe I'll think of some other things later.


Peach orchards. There used to be apple orchards but I think they are all gone now.

 

[inchworm]

Hey Karen,

I'll give you a hint -- pork BBQ!

Inchy

 

[FarmerChick]

oh inchy I knew that one...HA HA HA.....pork in NC is a religion in its own right..HA HA HA

I eat so much pork I am growing a squiggly tail!!!!
LOL

thanks for the hint! you wise gal you!