October 12, 2010: Ed Bruske was a newly minted master gardener when he last spoke to the club at St. Monica's about composting. This time he appeared as an evangelist for the slow food movement.In a former life, Bruske parted ways with the Washington Post and is now a blogger, personal chief, school lunch watchdog and urban farmer on a sun-filled corner lot in Columbia Heights.
His presentation was as much about vegetable gardening as it was about slow food. He surprised members when he stated that the DC Forester was willing to negotiate the type of trees planted in tree boxes. Bruske said he was able to get columnar oaks to limit the amount of shade on his farming and yet this seemingly flies in the face of the city's effort to create symmetry in tree-lined streets from block to block and to avoid monocultures in order to prevent widespread deforestation in the event of pests or diseases.
It wasn't clear whether slow food was simply foodie trendiness, or a political movement waging battle against agri-business, an economic movement yearning for an Amish lifestyle, or simply affluent folk who are too many generations removed from the family farm. In the end, it seemed odd to preach farmers markets and seasonal eating to a club who has been selling at, and buying from, the farmers line at Eastern Market since 1972.
His presentation was as much about vegetable gardening as it was about slow food. He surprised members when he stated that the DC Forester was willing to negotiate the type of trees planted in tree boxes. Bruske said he was able to get columnar oaks to limit the amount of shade on his farming and yet this seemingly flies in the face of the city's effort to create symmetry in tree-lined streets from block to block and to avoid monocultures in order to prevent widespread deforestation in the event of pests or diseases.
It wasn't clear whether slow food was simply foodie trendiness, or a political movement waging battle against agri-business, an economic movement yearning for an Amish lifestyle, or simply affluent folk who are too many generations removed from the family farm. In the end, it seemed odd to preach farmers markets and seasonal eating to a club who has been selling at, and buying from, the farmers line at Eastern Market since 1972.
