Seasonal produce at the Portland, Maine Farmer's Market - photo courtesy of www.facebook.com/PortlandMaineFarmersMarket

“Local” has become a new buzz word in America but what does it really mean, and why should we get on board? The reality is that within our own lifetimes we will witness the end of cheap oil and will have to learn to get by with less, whether we want to or not. In an attempt to practice just that, I planted a 600 sq. foot vegetable garden on some family property last year and found it to be very rewarding.

My family and I tilling the ground that will eventually become the garden. I am the farthest on the left holding the rake. Moving right across the photo: my sister, my husband, my brother, my dad, and my brother-in-law (operating the Gravely).

Our family garden about 7 weeks after planting.

Like many people though, I enjoy eating fresh produce all year round and when growing season is over, I find myself perusing the grocery aisles for tomatoes from Mexico and bell peppers from Holland. How can I justify this when I think about how much oil it takes to manufacture, fuel and maintain the truck or cargo ship that transported that produce to my supermarket?

The obvious answer to this dilemma is to only buy produce during its growing season and to do so at your local farmer’s market, which for me is the South Portland Farmer’s Market. Here in Maine, there are many farmers’ markets, several of which operate during the winter months! In fact, the Portland Farmer’s Market holds the accolade of being the oldest continually operating market in the country, something Mainers can be proud of!

While I would love to support my local farmer’s market year round, my current budget does not permit me to do so. To help compensate for this, I plan to enroll in a food preservation class next year at my local university (University of Southern Maine). The course teaches not only canning techniques, but drying, freezing, pickling and much more. That way I can begin to build skills on how to preserve my own harvest, which will ultimately help my budget.

No matter what measures you decide are right for you – growing or buying local, eating in season or preserving your own harvest – the outcome will be the same: you will reduce greenhouse gases and gain valuable experience in how to use less oil, a skill that will help save your wallet in the long run as the price of oil rises.

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I’m new to Maine but one thing I’ve found very refreshing is how many of my new neighbors are dedicated to recycling and ‘go-green’ efforts.  Recycling bins are often as full, if not fuller than regular waste bins on trash day in my small neighborhood in South Portland. I am still pleasantly surprised when I receive cash back from dropping off bottles and aluminum cans through the CLYNK program when I grocery shop at my local Hannaford. And while helping my Grandmother move out of her home in Cape Elizabeth, I was practically in awe when we went to the Cape Elizabeth Recycling Center to drop off trash and recyclable materials. For many Southern Mainers, these resources are the cultural norm, but having lived in Washington, DC for 9 years prior to living in South Portland, I couldn’t help feeling like I’d reached some kind of oasis of environmentally-conscious individuals!

Therefore, I was not surprised when I read a press release from the Maine Dept of Agriculture urging individuals to take advantage of a free pesticide-disposal day scheduled for October 2011. This free service is offered once a year by the Old Unusable Pesticide Collection Program in order to provide citizens a way to dispose of obsolete pesticides that are illegal to continue to store on their property, which can otherwise be a tedious and expensive process. Program-eligible pesticides include those that contain DDT, dioxin-laced 2,4, and 5-T and compounds of arsenic, mercury or lead, to name a few. You can also dispose of older chemicals that may have become congealed, solidified or otherwise rendered unusable, such as captan, carbaryl, malathion, methoxychlor, parathion, nicotine, copper, or sulfate. There are a few steps, however, that the conscientious citizen must take in order to get rid of their unwanted materials: 

1. Register your materials – You must first fill out a form indicating what materials you would like to dispose of and return it to the Maine Board of Pesticides Control (BPC) by September 30, 2011.
2. Wait for your disposal date – After the BPC processes your registration form, they will send you a date (during the month of October 2011) and a location (one of four sites) for you to bring your materials. BPC notification documents should arrive to you at least 10 days prior to your drop-off date. 
3. Bring your notification papers – Don’t forget to bring your BPC paperwork with you when you drop off your materials on your designated disposal date.
4. For those of you who want to do the right thing with your old pesticides but just need a little help in finding the right way to go about it, you can find this and other information at: http://www.maine.gov/agriculture/pesticides/public/obsolete.htm

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