Getting On My Soapbox

I apologize to those readers who might be offended by a preachy moment….but I feel I must post this.

Why is it that what I hear most often when I talk about our potager is that people would LOVE to be able to grow their own food, be organic and be more green, but they just don’t have the time? I hear that a lot when it comes to trying to live more organically. From the co-worker who says that she can’t use cloth reusable bags “because I have children” Really? To those that say I have a lot of time on my hands if we have time to collect rain water, compost and plant a garden and they are too busy to consider it. (I work full time and attend school half time and have a home to manage…just like everyone else.)…it is about choices

Some of those folks I don’t feel comfortable asking these questions, but those who I know well; I ask gently, how much time would you spend if it meant your child would avoid being diagnosed as Autistic or developing serious food allergies? How much time would you spend if it meant you may avoid Alzheimer’s? Obesity? Intestinal Cancer or to rid yourself of the dependency on pharmaceutical vitamins and nutrients.

We should all know that organic food (vegetarian or not) is a healthier alternative.

HIGHER NUTRIENT LEVELS

Official food composition tables, including data compiled by the US Department of Agriculture, reveal that since the 1940s the mineral levels in fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy have declined substantially in conventional foods. Combine this with earlier (pre-ripened) picking, longer storage, and more processing of crops, and it's not surprising that we may be getting fewer nutrients in our food than we were 60 years ago.

Artificial fertilization also causes lush swelling of produce. This indicates the presence of more water and less actual food. The difference in nutrient levels between organic and conventional foods can be enough to achieve the recommended daily allowance for certain nutrients without the aid of supplements. In addition, without the chemical pesticides, plants produce more (10-15% more) phytonutrients (antioxidants).

LOWER PESTICIDE RESIDUES

Most pesticide-residue safety levels are set for individual pesticides, but many samples of fresh produce carry multiple pesticide residues. Rules often do not take into account the "cocktail effect" of combinations of pesticides in and on foods. Research is emerging confirming the potential for such synergistic increases in toxicity of up to 100-fold, resulting in reproductive, immune and nervous system effects not expected from the individual compounds acting alone.
Researchers have linked symptoms such as headaches, tremor, lack of energy, depression, anxiety, poor memory, dermatitis, convulsions, nausea, indigestion and diarrhoea with dietary intakes of pesticides.

Belgian research has found that women diagnosed with breast cancer are six to nine times more likely to have the pesticides DDT or hexachlorobenzene in their bloodstreams compared to women who did not have breast cancer.

START NOW FOR YOURSELF AND FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR CHILDREN

While switching to an organic diet will assist you with better nutrition, and health, children's immature and developing organs, brains, and immune systems, plus their larger intake of food per pound of body weight, combine to make them even more susceptible to toxins than adults. American toddlers eating mostly organic food have been found to have less than one sixth the pesticide residues in their urine compared to children eating conventional foods, lowering their exposure from above to below recognized safety levels.

Pesticides in foods can affect motor skills, cognition, mental acuity and can be a contributing factor to other childhood diagnosed conditions such as autism. In addition, it can increase aggressive behaviour in children...wonder why so many children are ADHD?

ANTIBIOTICS

Considering the growing problem of increasing antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria, animal farming may be a much larger contributor to the problem than over-prescription of human antibiotics by doctors.

While the use of antibiotics is severely restricted in organic farming, they're used extensively in non-organic farming to promote growth and to prevent disease from decimating intensively reared, overcrowded, stressed farm animals. As much as 60% of all the antibiotics used in America are given to farm animals, not people.

Clearly, if we are ingesting the flesh and products of sick animals that are pumped full of antibiotics and ingesting plants that are hosed down with herbicides, pesticides, etc. That all goes into our bodies….and we wonder why we are obese, sick and angry…hmmm

So is organic food better for you? In my opinion, yes. Decreasing one's toxin burden and increasing one's intake of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants can have a significant impact on health, especially when trying to improve or restore health.

Can people afford it? I'm certain of it. Official household spending statistics show that the average family spends five times more on junk food, carry-out food, alcohol, and tobacco than on fruits and vegetables, and five times more on recreation than on fruits and vegetables. Most parents want to make the best choices for their children and most adults want to make good choices for themselves. To make healthier choices they need encouragement and education.

Organic food isn't a luxury. It's how food's supposed to be, and a valuable part of any lifestyle intended to maintain, improve, or restore health.

Stepping down off the soap box now

Happy Gardening!

Codependency...Friend or Foe?

Psychologists and other may tell you that co-dependency is a bad thing (and I would too, except I am not a licensed mental health professional). But in gardening, co-dependency can mean better plants, better yields and fewer pests in the garden.

As I read more on it and talk to more organic gardeners, the m.ore I learn. The newest tidbit of knowledge is about companion planting.

Companion planting is the planting of different crops in close physical proximity because they assist each other in nutrient uptake, pest control, pollination, and other factors necessary to increasing crop productivity.

Companion planting is used for many reasons;

Flavor enhancement — some plants, especially herbs, seem to subtly change the flavor of other plants around them.

Increased level interaction — plants that grow on different levels in the same space, perhaps providing ground cover or working as a trellis for another plant

Nitrogen fixation — plants that fix nitrogen in the ground, making it available to other plants

Pest suppression — repelling pest insects, weeds, nematodes, or pathogenic fungi, through chemical means.

Pollinator and predator recruitment — The use of plants that produce copious nectar and protein-rich pollen in a vegetable garden (insectary plants) is a good way to recruit higher populations of beneficial insects that control pests. Some insects in the adult form are nectar or pollen feeders, while in the larval form they are voracious predators of pest insects.

Positive hosting — attracts or is inhabited by beneficial insects or other organisms which benefit plants, as with ladybugs or some "good nematodes".

Protective shelter — one type of plant may serve as a wind break or shade for another.

Trap cropping — plants that attract pests away from others

Many of the modern principles of companion planting were present many centuries ago in the cottage garden.

For gardeners, the combinations of plants also make for a more varied, attractive vegetable garden. It can also be used to mitigate the decline of biodiversity.

Companion planting was widely touted in the 1970s as part of the organic gardening movement. It was encouraged for pragmatic reasons, such as natural trellising, but mainly with the idea that different species of plant may thrive more when close together. It is also a technique frequently used in permaculture, together with mulching, polyculture, and crop rotation.

One traditional practice of Native Americans was planting of corn (maize) and pole beans together. The cornstalk would serve as a trellis for the beans to climb while the beans would fix nitrogen for the corn. The inclusion of squash with these two plants completes the Three Sisters technique, pioneered by Native American peoples.

While I am still a new companion planter, I have started my garden and enhanced it with the principles in mind.

I planted carrots together with my tomatos as the carrots fix nitrogen into the soil and the tomatoes are heavy nitrogen consumers.

I also planted my brocoli, califlower, cabbage, etc. to sheild peppers and egg plant from the direct heat of the sun.

I have also added marigolds to the garden. Marigolds (Asteraceae Calendula officinalis) are a wonder-drug of the companion plant world, invoking the saying "plant them everywhere in your garden". French marigolds produce a pesticidal chemical from their roots, so strong it lasts years after they are gone. Mexican marigolds do the same, but are so strong they will inhibit the growth of some more tender herbs. Certain Varieties of marigolds (Tagetes) can help manage eelworms (Root-knot nematode) when planted the year before.

Marigolds help most plants, especially tomatoes and peppers, cucurbits (cucumbers, gourds, squash), brassicas (broccoli, kale, cabbage). Marigolds protect from pests such as nematodes, beet leaf hoppers, and a host of other pests

Here is a link to a list of companion plants. I encourage everyone to read up on this process and introduce companion planting into your garden!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companion_plants

Happy Gardening!

Get the Buzz Darling!

Bees are said to come from Paradise, divine messengers, foretellers of the future and wise guardians of the secrets of nature. That is quite a big role for such a little precious garden creature. I think they were given such an auspicious place in the garden because without them, there would be so little beauty or bounty in the world.

Every garden needs pollinators and bees are among the best. Without them there would be limited flowers and even fewer fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately for many cities, it is illegal to keep bees within the city limits. So what is an urban gardener to do? Create a garden that attracts bees from other locations!

Bees travel miles and miles in search of yummy nectar to feast on. They of course, take that nectar back to the hive to feed the other bees, the queen and to make honey. What you get in return is for each plant they visit; they take a little pollen and deposit it on the next bloom whether that be flower or vegetable.

Bees are basically looking for 2 things when they visit your plants:

1. Nectar - nectar is loaded with sugars and it’s a bee’s main source of energy.
2. Pollen - pollen provides the balanced diet of proteins and fats.

Many popular flower varieties are hybridized for features that are valued by the gardener, like disease resistance, flower size or color and bigger, longer blooms. Unfortunately much hybridization has reduced the production of nectar and pollen and sometimes leaves the resulting plant completely sterile and useless to bees and other pollinators.

Choosing the Right Flowers

To help bees and other pollinator insects—like butterflies—you should provide a range of plants that will offer a succession of flowers, and thus pollen and nectar, through the whole growing season. Patches of foraging habitat can be created in many different locations, from backyards and school grounds to golf courses and city parks. Even a small area planted with good flowers will be beneficial for local bees, because each patch will add to the mosaic of habitat available to bees and other pollinators.

Here are some tips for attracting and “keeping” your little pollinators happy!

· Native plants are usually best for native bees, and can be used in both wild areas and gardens. There are also many garden plants—particularly older, heirloom varieties of perennials and herbs—that are good sources of nectar or pollen. Together with native plants, these will make a garden attractive to both pollinators and people.

· Don’t use pesticides. Most pesticides are not selective. You are killing off the beneficial bugs along with the pests. If you must use a pesticide, start with the least toxic one and follow the label instructions to the letter.

· Chose several colors of flowers. Bees have good color vision to help them find flowers and the nectar and pollen they offer. Flower colors that particularly attract bees are blue, purple, violet, white, and yellow.

· Plant flowers in clumps. Flowers clustered into clumps of one species will attract more pollinators than individual plants scattered through the habitat patch. Where space allows, make the clumps four feet or more in diameter.

· Include flowers of different shapes. There are four thousand different species of bees in North America, and they are all different sizes, have different tongue lengths, and will feed on different shaped flowers. Consequently, providing a range of flower shapes means more bees can benefit.

· Have a diversity of plants flowering all season. Most bee species are generalists, feeding on a range of plants through their life cycle. By having several plant species flowering at once, and a sequence of plants flowering through spring, summer, and fall, you can support a range of bee species that fly at different times of the season.

· Plant where bees will visit. Bees favor sunny spots over shade and need some shelter from strong winds.

Here is a selected list of flowers that attract bees and butterflies

· Aster
· Basil
· Black-eyed Susan
· Echinacea
· English lavender
· Goldenrod
· Hyssop
· Lilac
· Marjoram
· Rhododendron
· Rosemary
· Sage
· Salvia
· Sunflower
· Zinnia

Happy Gardening!

Haricot verts anyone?

When we were planning the garden, one spot of the plot gave us a little trouble, what to do along the fence row in the back of the garden. The fencing back there is not the most attractive (yet) and it gets sun throughout the day (particularly in the afternoon and evening).

What we decided on what green beans. They would trellis well, reach for the sun and provide a little camouflage for the unattractive fence.

The question then became what kind of beans would we grow? There are a lot of varieties out there. The staple of a bushel bean, yellow wax beans, etc. Then on a recent visit to the Franklin Park Conservatory, we came across small seedling plants for Maxibel Green Beans.

Maxibel Green Beans were the first French Filet green bean to hit the commercial market for home growing. They are also the first full-size filet bean that is completely stringless. Dark green 7 to 7-1/2 inch pencil-slim pods are very firm textured and full of flavor. Unbelievably productive with the pods produced in a concentrated set for easy picking.

Beans are easy to grow as long as you remember a few things; abundant sun, warm soil and ample moisture. The warm soil thing I figured out by trial and error, early this year, I planted bean seeds only to have them rot in the ground because the soil was too cold. Mid to late May is the best time to start seeds or plant seedlings. The ample moisture and sun are no issue as well in the garden so I am excited to see how the plants produce.

Gardening is not only rewarding on a nutritional level, it is also nourishment for the “soul”; however you figure it. Reconnecting with the earth, helping wholesome things grow and providing your body with high quality food is basic and innate for people. A little more connection with that in our modern lives would help a great deal to abate our stress, thin our waists and heal our planet.

Happy Gardening!