At Farm To Crag, we know it’s hard to grow things! We believe that if everyone just tried to grow a few things in their backyard, windowsill, or balcony, the world would be a better place. We are incredibly inspired by Michaela Kiersch as a climber AND gardener, so we asked her to tell us a bit about her garden :)

The third annual Farm To Crag Yosemite Gathering was full of joy, delicious food, hard work, thoughtful conversations, learning, and some perfect Yosemite granite.

The many varieties of fresh spring nettles can be found near waterways - be careful not to sting yourself - wearing gloves helps or “in a pinch” the top of the nettle leaf is sting-free and can be gently folded upon itself and plucked without being stung. Cooking the nettle removes the sting and makes the vitamins K, A, B, and C, flavonoids, amino acids, protein, and strengthening minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, and zinc, all readily available.

A few years ago, while running at Chautauqua Park in Boulder, I crossed paths with a woman who offered me a homemade chocolate chip cookie. She had baked dozens of cookies and was sharing them with people she encountered on the trail. It was a small gesture, sure, but the act of making something from scratch to share with strangers has stuck with me.

Our Farm To Crag Chattanooga Gathering took 50 climbers farming and took our Sequatchie Cove Farm hosts climbing. The joy was thick as climbers dug up sweet potatoes and ground beautiful, freshly harvested, dark red corn into grits, both of which we ate for breakfast the next morning.

Recently, while attending the annual Farm-To-Crag gathering outside of Yosemite, an important question was posed to us: what does climbing have to do with sustainable agriculture? How does a sport, which often exists in the purview of the privileged, get mentioned in the same breath as restoring soil and feeding people nutrient-rich food? What do clipping bolts and slamming hand jams have to do with combating industrial agriculture and storing carbon in the soil?

Farmers markets are a unique place where the climbing and farming communities overlap. There are always familiar faces from the local gym (The Pad) that stroll through the farmers market and it is a joy to use conversation to blend the activities, farming, and climbing. To be at the center of this intersection is a special place to be and cultivates a strong community that bridges the local climbing and farming communities.

This winter I spent a day ice climbing in Hyalite Canyon with my dear friends Kate Rutherford and Anne Gilbert Chase, Farm to Crag founder and board member, respectively. Between laps on the Scepter, we talked about food, snacked on dried fruit and jerky, and reveled in the wintry beauty. And while we all tend veggie gardens in summer and buy local, there’s more needed to support healthy food systems.

Bone broth is an incredibly nutritious and flavorful base for a myriad of easy dishes. Full of protein, gelatin, amino acids and minerals, bone broth turns boiled vegetables, cooked beans and grains, and soups and stews each into a complete, nutritious meal. If you have access to a kitchen, try making your own.

Out the kitchen window, 40 mile-an-hour gusts rip dry, brown leaves from the cottonwood branches. Beyond them, snow covers my garden. The oven has warmed the house, and steam rises as I rake a fork across golden strands of spaghetti squash.

I’ve only recently discovered climbing, but I’ve been eating my entire life. My story is similar to so many other climbers who see the inherent connection between our love of climbing and the outdoors, and our love for the food that fuels our bodies. We understand the responsibility we have to care for both our bodies and our planet. As an inherently outdoor sport, climbers are integrally connected with nature.

Chris Petry, owner of Oh Yeah! Farms, is quickly gaining fame in the Farm To Crag community for coining the phrase “GET RAD FOR FOOD,” and for good reason.

There’s no doubt about it: it’s summer. It’s the season of eating luscious, sun-ripened tomatoes with nothing but a pinch of salt and a napkin for the sweet juice that inevitably drips down your chin. We devour raspberries by the handful, and eat our food raw or cooked outside on a fire, preferring casual picnics and simple meals that complement summer schedules and hot days.

I have been daydreaming about homesteading since I was a kid. Three years ago it happened; I was a couple years into my thirties, mid-career at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, and about to lose my apartment. I bought a 4-acre piece of land in Marblemount, Washington. On the property was one shoddy old cabin and a woodshed. Along the swift, green Skagit River, I put down roots for the first time in my adult life.

Spice blends are an easy way to turn simple, whole food ingredients into a delicious meal without having to add prefabbed sauces that are expensive, perishable, and often filled with ingredients that don’t support our bodies. Spices typically come from the roots, leaves or seeds of plants, making them so much more nutritious than artificial, sugar-packed factory-made seasoning.