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26273 Detroit Road
Westlake, Ohio
440-899-2740
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Winter Hours!
Sunday -- Noon to 6 PM
Monday -- Noon to 6 PM
Tuesday -- Closed
Wednesday -- Closed
Thursday -- Noon to 6 PM
Friday -- Noon to 6 PM
Saturday -- Noon to 6 PM
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Our organically grown houseplants, grown in our living soil, are safer, and remove more airborne toxins than other houseplants.
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A resolution that can really make a difference
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There was a meeting last June in a wood-beamed barn in Newburg, Md., an hour due south of Washington. It had all the makings of a secret conference. The guest list was confidential. No media members were allowed. The topic was how to pivot American agriculture to help combat climate change -- an issue so politically toxic that it is hardly ever discussed in public.
But this meeting represented something of a change. It was hosted by the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, a group made up of the heavyweights in American agriculture. It brought together three secretaries of agriculture, including the current one, Sonny Perdue. It included an A-list of about 100 agribusiness leaders including the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation — a longtime, powerful foe of federal action on climate — and CEOs of major food companies, green groups and anti-hunger advocates.
“It was a pretty serious meeting,” said Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Maine Democrat who serves on the House Agriculture Committee, and attended the gathering. “It was led by commodity groups and farm groups that didn’t waste a minute debating whether there’s a problem.”
It is hard to believe that these agribusiness leaders were at this
closed door
meeting for the greater good of our society since these are the same people who have for decades put profit over our environment and our health. More likely, they were trying to get out ahead of a great deal of information pointing to industrial agriculture as a major factor in climate change – and head off an increasing amount of public condemnation for cultural practices that damage the environment, and produce nutrient sparse food.
We have serious problems that won't be solved by a few elite industry heads making decisions behind closed doors. Solutions have to include educating consumers so they can make better choices and support soil stewardship practices like using quality, soil-building organic fertilizers, cover cropping, and no-till farming. Consider these facts.
- Organic farmers (if they use these soil building practices) can pull the CO2 emissions from 1 to 2 cars per acre out of the air. Farmers using chemical fertilizers and conventional practices like tilling are responsible for hundreds of billions of tons of CO2 going into the air.
- Do your food dollars bolster an unsustainable system -- or work to change it? Do they help to keep our farm soils fertile, and our water clean -- or degrade our soils and pollute our drinking water? These are important choices we make every day.
- West Coast farmers aren't polluting our local drinking water, Organic West Coast farmers may not be polluting at all -- but many local farmers are. Yet we somehow believe that supporting them, just because they are local, is a solution to our environmental problems.
Like climate change, denying farm problems for so long has made real solutions more difficult. Today, there are fewer small, quality growers and food retailers than just one year ago.
Our food system has to change dramatically -- even agricultural leaders now understand this.
Continuing to support the present system means supporting a continuing decline in food quality, fewer choices, and increasing environmental problems. It means lower quality and less food for our children and grandchildren. It is also quickly using up water supplies that future generations will need.
These are not good times for quality oriented farmers trying to change and be more responsible. They are caught between consumers who focus primarily on prices, changing weather patterns, chain retailers who only buy from larger farms, agribusiness dictating how they farm, and policies that preserve an unsustainable system. Many of them know what they need to do -- but do not have the financial means to do it. On a local and personal level, our business would like to do more, but our growth is also limited by financial resources that more frequently go to buy industrialized chain store food.
We need to reward the growers that grow better food so they can produce more of it. Our epidemic of degenerative diseases tells us how desperately we need it.
Currently, there are no financial benefits for implementing practices that everyone knows produce better food quality and great environmental benefits like absorbing CO2. It now takes farmers 3 years before they can be certified organic and begin getting some compensation for their efforts.
Consumers are trying to help, but many of them (along with many politicians) presently concern themselves more about the bags they carry their food home in than the incredibly bad practices that produce their chain store food and cause much greater environmental and health problems. This isn't accidental, this is a redirection of focus by food companies away from environmental and health impact of their low food quality. They are telling us we don't have to worry about how our food was grown -- as long as it is local and we carry it home in a reusable bag, despite the use of practices like spraying Roundup on it.
We are not against actions to reduce the use of plastic bags. But when it comes to more important issues like lawn care practices or food choices, there is deafening silence. Use a reusable bag -- but be more careful about what you put in it.
At Canterbury Creek Gardens, our CSA programs, our products, our emails, and our seminars are designed to really help understand and alleviate these problems.
The sad fact is that humans will not be reducing carbon emissions as needed, and to think an affordable machine will be developed to reduce atmospheric CO2 is like believing in the wonderful land of OZ. There is however, a viable option -- turn 900 million acres of American farmland into CO2 collectors. We already have data on this -- we know this method works -- it will also improve food quality -- and it is the cheapest and quickest option by far. This is also nature's way of removing CO2 from the air so we wouldn't need to worry about new problems created by running giant machines to remove CO2.
This would quickly start to absorb the CO2 emissions of between 1 and 2 billion cars. You can also add almost 70 million acres of turf grasses that could be used for the same purpose and compensate for another 100 million cars. (The number of cars on the road in the US today is about 270 million.)
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Changing agricultural practices would not only greatly reduce CO2 emissions from agriculture, it would remove the CO2 from several times more cars than are on the road in this country.
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The mount of carbon stored in topsoil is greater than all of the atmospheric CO2 and the carbon found in all of the plants and animals on earth combined. Since the beginning of modern agriculture, an estimated 133 gigatons (billion tons) have moved from the soil into the air. This accounts for almost 20% of atmospheric CO2 -- and agricultural emissions are accelerating. This is just one reason they call our food system unsustainable.
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On a personal level, it takes about 1.5 acres to feed each of us today.
More responsible food choices by a 2 person household can compensate for the emissions from 3 cars.
This is doable and it dwarfs the potential benefits of any other option. This option only takes our will to participate and reward farmers for making our families, and the planet, healthier -- a small price to pay.
Quality farmers are facing serious difficulties and need consumers to help them repair the damage that decades of modern agricultural practices have caused. We all played a part in creating this industrialized food system. Now, we all need to play our part in creating and supporting a sustainable food system based on food quality. To paraphrase best selling food author Michael Pollan, "not corporate organics but better organics -- not simply local food but better, more responsibly grown food."
You can make a new year’s resolution now to support the efforts of more responsible growers this year. Look for local food that is grown in biologically rich soil using no till methods --
and
-- fed with a fertilizer rich in essential nutrients.
You can join our CSA programs and make a commitment to more responsible food. You can attend our seminars. You can learn how to make better choices. You will be joining millions of Americans already doing their part. You will also be rewarded with better health for you and your families.
You can be a part of making this a decade to remember. Between our current epidemic of food related illnesses, and a looming environmental disaster, it appears we have little choice.
You can start with your next meal.
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These pictures are the same view (see arrow for reference) -- the one on the right was taken after regenerative soil practices were enacted. This farm is located in Mexico but these plants are removing CO2 from the same air we breathe. Better farming practices anywhere in the world (including your yard) make a difference to us all.
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Our focus on quality doesn't make us more expensive.
A customer came in Saturday afternoon and said she made a mistake by shopping at a nearby chain store first. She said she paid more for several items at this supposed discount store. She also said she appreciated not having to buy a whole bag of mandarins or potatoes when she only needed a few.
Last year, another customer was at the register with a bag of salad and said she would buy more from us, but our prices were high. A customer right behind her with a box full of produce asked her what specific items were high. She said everything was a little higher. He pressed her more and asked again, what specific items were higher and she couldn't name one. He said he shops at many places and we were not more expensive. She admitted she might have been comparing organic prices vs. chemically grown prices. This is the fate of small business today. People just assume small businesses are more expensive without really checking.
We don't usually emphasize prices but here are some examples of our prices this week. Compare these to your local chain store.
Organic Romaine lettuce 79 cents for a 3-pack
Organic cauliflower - $2.99
Organic apples, all varieties including Honeycrisp and Pink Lady - $1.99 lb
Organic Romanesco Broccoli - $2.99
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What other business in Greater Cleveland does this?
The world will face irreversible heating unless firms shift their priorities soon, the outgoing head of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has told the BBC. “A question for every company, every financial institution, every asset manager, pension fund or insurer: what’s your plan?
We use and sell living soils, and fertilizers that feed the soil life. This is important because when soil biology is stimulated by the presence of a growing plant it begins to absorb atmospheric CO2 and fix it into the soil. Areas along the Amazon river that were cultivated more naturally still have carbon that was fixed into farm soils 2,000 years ago. Our Midwest prairies have been storing carbon for tens of thousands of years while also supporting as estimated population of between 30 and 60 million bison, and countless elk, deer and pronghorn. Healthy soils can not only fix more carbon, they produce healthier plants and healthier crops and more of them.
Our transplants are healthier and produce more productive plants because they are well fed and growing in living soil. We use passive solar energy for heat to grow them. We compost and recycle all of our organic waste. We don't sell or use dangerous chemical pesticides or chemical fertilizers. The food products we sell reflect our commitment to our health and the environment.
We also educate people about how they can do this in their own homes and gardens.
We have been doing this for more than a decade now.
I will be conducting a series of classes on organic gardening for the continuing education program at Baldwin Wallace this winter.
The same curriculum will be covered at our seminars here this winter. (see below)
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Winter CSA -- Organic Produce Buying Club
Making organics affordable
How many of us have made New Year's resolutions we don't stick to? Picking up a box of specially selected healthy produce already paid for every week can help -- and save you money.
There are still a couple of spots left in our winter CSA program.
Our winter CSA program is designed to bring you the best winter produce possible, from growers using responsible growing practices -- and at reduced prices.
This year's winter CSA program will run for 12 weeks starting Jan. 19, 2020 through April 5, 2020. This will get you back on a healthier diet quickly after the holiday season ends.
After talking to suppliers and sampling food every week, we decide what will go into our CSA packages. We include the best, most cost effective produce items available each week and then we then find recipes to showcase these items. The number of people we supply gives us some leverage on discounts -- but only because what we are selecting each week is flexible.
We pass these savings along to our members.
2020 Winter Program
You Pay
$300.00 -- cash or check only
Guaranteed Value
$330.00
The winter 2019 CSA members received $423.11 worth of produce for their $300 spent -- almost a 30% overall savings.
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Canterbury Creek Gardens -- 2020 Summer CSA Program
Our Summer CSA program is designed to provide members with the best food possible -- make shopping and meal planning easier -- and save members money.
In 2020, we will be starting our CSA program 2 weeks later to allow for the availability of more of our produce and local produce. Total benefits will remain the same, just dispersed differently -- a little more each week.
2019 was another bountiful year for us and our CSA members shared the bounty. Some even asked how we could afford to have such big weekly packages for the cost. This is what a CSA program is supposed to be all about. By sharing in the costs of production, members get to share in the harvest. Some weeks, after we have our package set, we end up harvesting more than we think we can sell or more than we thought we would harvest. The extra is split up between CSA members.
2020 Summer Program
You Pay
$475.00 -- cash or check only
Guaranteed Value
$522.50
Healthy recipes using the weekly ingredients will be included every week
If you were in our Summer 2019 CSA Program, for your $475 invested, you received $662.64 worth of clean, healthy and nutritious produce with a savings of $187.64. The 2019 CSA program also had the highest percentage of produce produced here at Canterbury Creek Gardens.
But the best part was getting clean, nutrient-rich foods -- supporting quality farmers -- and trying a few new foods and a few new recipes.
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Organic Gardening Seminars
Our seminars are the quickest, easiest, most cost effective way to learn about organic gardening here in Northern Ohio.
At a time where people try to make every minute count -- it is surprising that anyone would waste years toiling in under-productive gardens without getting some solid, credible advice.
Learning from years of mistakes (like many gardeners do, including myself) means years of wasted time, wasted money, frustration, and eating inferior food.
These seminars are not web advice or information from a book written by someone living 3 climatic zones away. The information comes from over 40 years' experience in local organic gardening -- 30 years of local nursery industry experience -- over 30 years of local community gardening experience -- and the most recent worldwide research about growing vegetables using the latest organic growing techniques.
Our proof is our results.
- We have grown tomato plants that have grown to 28 feet wide, 7 feet tall and 7 feet thick. That is 1372 cubic feet for one plant -- about the interior space of 5 of the largest cargo vans on the market -- and near world record size!
- Our peppers have grown to 8 feet tall.
- We have harvested over 140 sweet peppers from a single plant.
- From about 20 full size tomato plants last year, we sold hundreds of lbs. of fresh tomatoes, supplied our CSA program, and still canned 600 jars of tomato sauces.
If you find anyone growing bigger, healthier, more productive vegetable plants,
you should attend their seminars.
Bigger, healthier plants not only produce more food, they produce more nutritious, better tasting food.
1/11/2020
Planning a successful organic vegetable garden, Why, How, When, and Where to begin every year.
Learning and planning is a critical component to a successful garden, but something very few gardeners actually do. This seminar gives you organic gardening basics and helps you plan a productive, low maintenance garden -- including timing and crop selection.
1/18/2020
The relationship between living soil, fertilizer, your plants, and your health "Healthy Soil, Healthy Plants, Healthy People".
Every week now, results of another study reveal more of the importance of our human microbiome to our health. The life of the soil is just as important to plants. It is the key to productive, nourishing food and therefore, our health.
1/25/2020
Compost and Composting
High quality compost is a precious thing. It can transform barren soils into productive soils because it breathes life into soil. This seminar is about making compost, and how to use compost to improve the health and productivity of your garden.
2/1/2020
Predicting, understanding, preventing, and solving plant pest problems
If you don't want to use sprays in your garden, you need to understand how to be proactive about plant problems. This seminar teaches major potential problems for each crop and the safest ways to prevent or deal with them.
2/8/2020
Proven techniques for growing healthier, more productive plants -- with less work
Low maintenance and successful techniques for producing more and better food.
2/15/2020
Organic container gardening
How to effectively use above ground containers and structures to grow organic flowers and vegetables.
2/22/2020
Flowers that make your garden beautiful and help your veggies
Learn how and which flowering plants are important to attracting beneficial insects for healthy and productive plants.
The seminars are $20 each
They are on Saturdays from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Save $40 on all 7 seminars by paying only $100 for all 7 seminars in advance.
Seating is limited and will be on a first pay, first come basis.
Cal 440-899-2740 for more info
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Canterbury Creek Gardens
26273 Detroit Road
Westlake, Ohio
440-899-2740
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