Edible Blue Ridge Summer 2022

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Editor’s Letter

PUBLISHER+EDITOR Lisa Archer lisa@edibleblueridge.com BLUE RIDGE edible ®

Pump kin I T’S SUMMER, friends. e season of abundance. Of grill outs and backyard hangs, bonfires and beach trips. To matoes and sweet corn and baskets full of farmers market products. is is the summer of my garden. As a first time home owner, I have long dreamed of having a garden all my own. One where, in the early hours of the day, I could wander out — still in my sweats or pj’s — and pluck some produce for breakfast or do a bit of weeding as I sip my coffee. Now, that sweet little dream has become a reality. I’ve planted kale, swiss chard and cabbage. e carrots are grow ing swiftly downward, and a few weeks ago I hilled the pota

DESIGNER Jeremy Cohen

COPY EDITOR Michelle Acker

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Jesse Feldberg ads@edibleblueridge.com CONTACT US: Have a story you’d like to see featured in Edible Blue Ridge? Send us your ideas! info@edibleblueridge.com Edible Blue Ridge P.O. Box 3089 Roanoke, VA 24015

toes. e beans are twining their way along a new fence, and we’ve got our fingers crossed for a bumper crop of pickling cucumbers. Our 12 tomato plants are trellised and, of course, there are the flowers: a whole bank of wildflowers intended to attract pollinators to our little oasis, and a bed of herbs out front to entice them further. I’m lucky. As a former New Yorker, I used to think owning a home, or any form of “real” (read: hands in the earth, turning over stone) gardening was beyond my reach. Home ownership in NYC is usually reserved for those a few income brackets above mine, and any parcel of land is quickly swallowed by development. But, by some miracle, I’ve got my little patch of land here in the abundant Blue Ridge Mountains, where I am trying my hardest to grow food to sustain myself and my partner in the coming seasons. And really, shouldn’t we all have access to a little space to call our own? Roots and Refuge is the theme that emerged for this issue. Inside these pages you will learn about organizations helping people to find their communities and put down roots. A sanctuary to the south is devoted to protecting pollinators, and a winery to the north is pas sionate about keeping young locals in the industry. And, because it is summer with local food galore, there is a wealth of recipes to cook for family, friends and new neighbors. We should not disengage from the crises happening throughout the world, humani tarian or environmental. Rather, we should educate ourselves and reflect on how they affect us and our communities — no matter the distance. It is up to all of us to do our part to meet these challenges, to help when and where we are able, and, if we cannot act, we can surely listen: with open hearts and minds.

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ank you for supporting local in all its many forms,

© 2022 Edible Blue Ridge LLC. All rights reserved.

Lisa

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