If you’ve arrive here from Google hoping for a method to never water your garden, you’ll be disappointed to hear the answer is Mother Nature.

Here in Chicago, we’ve had a miserable spring for being outdoors but wonderful weather for the outdoors. In the last 10 days, we had an inch of rain (as reported at O’Hare Airport) spread perflectly across multiple days. Since Memorial Day, I haven’t had to pull out the hose at all.

Most plants would like a half inch to inch of water per week at this time of year (around 75 degrees). The weather has been a little cooler — the peppers are anxious for some heat — and the rain has been plenty to keep everything growing. Too much rain at any one time and the water runs off instead of soaks into the ground. Except for May 26th (almost 2 inches of rain), we haven’t had any heavy rains.

Mother Nature: Please keep up the regular half inch per week rain schedule. But maybe move it to the very early mornings.

Related articles:

1. Rain, Rain
2. Monitoring the Weather
3. Spring Status

Michael Pollan and Bill Kurtis

The event was held in the auditorium along with three overfilled overflow rooms — I was lucky enough to get into the main room (although in the last row).  My apologies on the quality of the picture.  While I brought my real camera, I thought I might get kicked out for taking too high quality of a picture.  The camera phone will have to suffice.

Michael and Bill covered all of the hot topics in food and organics including HCFS, local food, school lunches, and Whole Foods.  Michael gave a shout out to local urban farming great Will Allen of Growing Power, last years MacArther winner, for growing food in a sustainable greenhouse in the cold.  Here is a quick link to the super hot compost that heats the greenhouse.

Michael also gave the audience a chuckle with his comment, “Salads are overrated.”  Working off of his Will Allen comment, a number of audience members wanted to know how do we eat local in the winter. Michael raises a good point.  We’re so trained to get whatever kind of vegetable whenever we want it, we assume we should be eating salads in January.  As much as Will can get lettuces and spinach growing in March, we should be eating winter, storage vegetables like potatoes and squash.

Finally, Michael talked about school lunches after a great question from a Chicago Public School teacher.  How are Chicago Public Schools suppose to teach kids about food and how are they suppose to afford organics.  While giving many examples, it is important to note that the School Lunch Reauthorization is this year.  Slow Food USA will be starting a campaign to bring better meals to schools.

Michael also plugged David Kessler’s new book The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite.

Monticello Veggie Garden (photo by Moofpocket)

This is not my garden, but I wish it was.  It’s another great Friday in Chicago — too good to be inside.

Look for more great pictures and descriptions of farm activities throughout the weekend.  Until then, enjoy the outdoors.  The internet will wait for you.

Related articles:

1. Happy Friday on the Farm
2. Friday Weeds – April 10, 2009
3. Hard at Work

• Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame will be at the Green City Market at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (2430 N. Cannon Dr.) on April 25th from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., signing her book, The Edible Schoolyard. [amazon-product]0811862801[/amazon-product]

• Save the Date – Michael Pollan writer of Omnivore’s Dilemma will be at the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium, Harold Washington Library Center on Monday. May 18 at 6:00 p.m.
  [amazon-product]1594200823[/amazon-product]

Related articles:

1. Friday Weeds – April 17, 2009
2. Friday Weeds – April 10, 2009
3. An Evening with Michael Pollan

Green City Market
Saturday from 8:00 am – 1:00 pm
The last of the Green City Indoor Markets (we’re moving back outside!). The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, 2430 N. Cannon, will host The Market inside the Museum from 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

I will be getting my eggs there as well as whatever else looks good.

North Shore Distillery
Introduces Mole Poblano
Our new limited release spirit is coming out this week.

Taking inspiration from traditional Mexican mole sauces, and specifically Mole Poblano, we infused and distilled seven types of chili peppers, cacao beans and a wide range of herbs and spices into this wonderful, complex spirit. The color and flavor of Mole Poblano comes solely from the peppers, chocolate and spices.

I own their traditional gin and it tastes (and smells) homemade.

Slow Food Chicago Event
Morel Hunt
Saturday May 2nd 9:00 AM
Join Leon Shernoff hunt for morels.  Leon is a mycologist and the editor of  ‘Mushroom The Journal of Wild Mushrooming’, the only North American consumer magazine for people who hunt morels, porcini, and other interesting fungi.

Related articles:

1. Friday Weeds – April 24, 2009
2. Friday Weeds – April 10, 2009
3. Green City Market, April 18, 2009

April showers are suppose to bring May flowers.  It is also a bit too early to get the hose out for watering.  Come May, I have an irrigation systems (a soaker hose lining the planting beds to get water directly to the roots) running to compensate for dry days.  In April, I rely upon mother nature and the 4 inches of rain that would adequately start off my lettuces, spinach, and radishes.

This week looks better (except if you’re going to the Cubs home opener today).  According to Weather.com’s Agricultural forecast, Chicago should get a half inch of rain over the next 36 hours and then maybe some more on Saturday.  I’ll have to keep a close eye and maybe this will be an April I need to water.

Related articles:

1. Monitoring the Weather
2. Spring Status
3. It’s a tough day for a Tomato