Comments on Crunchy Chicken: The local sustainability movement

Anonymous 12:08: yeah. That stuff is a big pain; ...

2009-03-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

Anonymous 12:08: yeah. That stuff is a big pain; but it's stuff you DO need to think about.

We had a "cut your own" Christmas tree operation for about 10 years. One of the very few around here- other growers had quit doing cut your own for liability reasons, and another- which I'll mention below. (we quit doing it because we ran out of time, not customers)

I loved the idea so much that we skimped a bit on the legal side- we had customers sign in when they came, and that included a liability release; "We realize that snow is slippery, saws are sharp, and fires are hot..." The reality is, those kinds of releases will not hold up in court if someone really wants to fight them. I knew that- and we did it anyway.

Never got burned there. Where we DID get burned, and the real reason other growers quit doing it, was basically vandalism by our customers. The most common form was where they would cut a tree, start dragging it in- and then see a tree they liked better. Some subhumans would then just cut the new tree, and leave the old one- now basically non-salable for us.

And other stuff. Some people are jerks, ya know? I was able to just take that kind of crap in stride, but many others couldn't. In the case of fruit trees; sooner or later, unless carefully supervised, some moron is going to have kids climbing your trees to shake down more fruit- and they'll wind up breaking off scaffold limbs. And they won't tell you about it.

Anyway. In all these schemes- eventually, you get around to needing some formal supervision for harvesters. Which is doable; and the sooner that's set up, the better, really.

I have wanted in the past to open up our small orc...

2009-03-25T00:08:00.000-07:00

I have wanted in the past to open up our small orchard to gleaners, whether organized or just neighbors, but have worried about liability issues. It seems ridiculous, until you read the absurd things people have sued over, and won. Do the organizations that collect unwanted fruit have insurance? Are they operating under the property owners' insurance? I HATE that we have to worry about this sort of thing, but I would also hate to have to lose precious resources, both time and money, to a lawsuit if someone trips over a root in our hillside orchard or gets beaned by a falling apple.

It's great to see how the local community can come...

2009-03-24T19:21:00.000-07:00

It's great to see how the local community can come together. I was asked to join my town's hazardous waste and recycling committee tonight. I'm not sure if I'll have time... but I'm thinking about it :)

I'm glad you went. I've always meant to but have ...

2009-03-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

I'm glad you went. I've always meant to but have been too intimidated.

I forgot to tell you that i planted potatoes, garlic and lettuce, thanks to you! Came home today and the dang squirrels (?) had been digging in the garlic and lettuce.

Crunchy,
Re: unwanted fruit. I read an article...

2009-03-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

Crunchy,
Re: unwanted fruit. I read an article in the NYT about a year ago about a group in Berkeley, CA, that is doing exactly this. It must be working, because my scavanging daughter tells me that the trees are no longer hers to pick freely.

Isn't it great? I (try) to get to the Sustainable Burien meetings, the Scallops Sister group of sustainable Ballard. I always find interesting topics and ideas from those meetings

Wow, what will you kids on the West Coast think of...

2009-03-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

Wow, what will you kids on the West Coast think of next? These are really great ideas. Thanks for the inspiration; I'd love to see more of this in Texas.

i am so jealous. i wish costa rica had this kind o...

2009-03-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

i am so jealous. i wish costa rica had this kind of community awareness for going green. we all kind of live in enclosed residentials, i'm lucky cause i live in the mountains and can have land, but it's cold where i live so no veggie garden just a great compost hole:)
Saucy Salsita, AKA The Green, Sexy Expat - Greening it up in Costa Rica!

Very very cool! My only worry is about YOU, Crunc...

2009-03-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

Very very cool! My only worry is about YOU, Crunchella. I can just see you at a meeting with these great folks, and you speak up and say "you know, we could also be doing THIS..." - and next day you're in charge of some huge project! On top of your existing load.

Beware! :-)

Hmmm ... maybe I should add Seattle to my list of ...

2009-03-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

Hmmm ... maybe I should add Seattle to my list of contenders as I search for a city to live in post-graduation. ;)

Thanks for all of these links! I have been trying ...

2009-03-24T07:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all of these links! I have been trying to start a community garden in my area for a while (LA has very few gardens considering the number of residents living in apartments without any land!) Unfortunately the land is still an issue here as every square inch seems to be dedicated to commercial development or is along the freeways.

That CSA for plant starts IS too cool. I love it.

2009-03-24T06:28:00.000-07:00

That CSA for plant starts IS too cool. I love it.

No doubt! That's wonderful! I always love hearing ...

2009-03-24T05:26:00.000-07:00

No doubt! That's wonderful! I always love hearing about what the west coast is doing. Not only is it incredibly inspiring, but we're so much further behind you in our progress that we can just steal all your ideas - when we get around to actually accepting them in the general population, that is :)

There are a couple of different groups that have o...

2009-03-24T04:54:00.000-07:00

There are a couple of different groups that have organized foraging adventures. There is a group in Toronto you can list your trees with and they'll come harvest them- for the busy peeps who don't do it themselvs and so saves the harvest from being wasted.

is envious

That is so awesome. I wonder i...

2009-03-24T00:52:00.000-07:00

*is envious*

That is so awesome. I wonder if anyone is doing any similar projects in the SF Bay Area?

Thanks for a great post.

Comments on Crunchy Chicken: The local sustainability movement

Anonymous 12:08: yeah. That stuff is a big pain; ...

I have wanted in the past to open up our small orc...

It's great to see how the local community can come...

I'm glad you went. I've always meant to but have ...

Crunchy,Re: unwanted fruit. I read an article...

Isn't it great? I (try) to get to the Sustainable Burien meetings, the Scallops Sister group of sustainable Ballard. I always find interesting topics and ideas from those meetings

Wow, what will you kids on the West Coast think of...

i am so jealous. i wish costa rica had this kind o...

Very very cool! My only worry is about YOU, Crunc...

Hmmm ... maybe I should add Seattle to my list of ...

Thanks for all of these links! I have been trying ...

That CSA for plant starts IS too cool. I love it.

No doubt! That's wonderful! I always love hearing ...

There are a couple of different groups that have o...

*is envious*That is so awesome. I wonder i...

Crunchy,
Re: unwanted fruit. I read an article...

is envious

That is so awesome. I wonder i...