How To Grow A Bumper Crop Of Organic Strawberries

For many years now, I have been growing my own strawberries.  The first year that I attempted to grow strawberries, I was so overwhelmed and very disappointed.  I didn’t know which varieties to buy, how to grow them, why my strawberries weren’t producing a lot of strawberries, and what a “runner” was and how it dramatically could effect my harvest!  Today we are going to learn about strawberries and how to get the best yield out of your strawberry plants.

So lets talk about the different varieties of strawberries and strawberry types.  There are hundreds of different varieties but there are only three strawberry types.  The three types of strawberries are June-bearing strawberry varieties, ever-bearing strawberry varieties and day neutral strawberry varieties.  Here are descriptions of the 3 strawberry types provided by strawberry plants .org

June-bearing strawberry varieties:

Any list of strawberry varieties will probably contain more June-bearing strawberry varieties than any other. June bearers are tremendously popular and common. They typically produce the largest strawberries, and do so over a period of two to three weeks, on average. Most June bearing strawberry varieties produce a harvest around the month of June, hence the name. However, strawberry varieties are further classified into Early Season, Midseason, and Late Season. By selecting strawberry plant varieties that produce during different parts of the season, you can prolong your harvest and enjoy fresh strawberries for an extended period of time. June bearing strawberries are most often of the Garden Strawberry variety (Fragaria x ananassa). June bearing strawberry varieties are often planted using the matted row system.

Everbearing strawberry varieties:

Everbearing strawberry varieties aren’t really “everbearing.” They generally produce two harvests per year: one in the spring and another in the late summer or fall. Under ideal conditions, it is possible for some everbearing strawberry varieties to produce three berry harvests. Most everbearing strawberry types are of the species Fragaria vesca. In general, everbearing strawberry varieties put out less runners (or no runners at all) than the June bearing varieties, as most of the plants productive energy is directed toward producing multiple strawberry harvests. Everbearing strawberry varieties are often planted using the hill system or in locations where space is limited.

Day-neutral strawberry varieties:

Day neutral strawberry varieties are unique. Unlike June bearing varieties, day neutral strawberries will produce a good yield in the first year they are planted. They flower and set strawberries whenever the temperature is between 35 and 85 degrees. They will still be producing fruit in October during milder years. The drawback to day neutral strawberry plants is that they produce smaller strawberries than do the June bearing and everbearing strawberry varieties. Their fruit is usually small to medium in size, rarely exceeding one inch. Day neutral strawberry varieties are often planted using the hill system or in locations where space is limited.

Here is a great chart that will help you find the right strawberry type and variety for your region as well as the desired flavor you are looking for. Keep in mind, oftentimes strawberries are much sweeter the smaller they are.  If they are larger, they often times have a lot of water in them making them not as sweet.

WholeLifestyleNutrition

Why Gardening Makes You Happy And Cures Depression

While mental health experts warn about depression as a global epidemic, other researchers are discovering ways we trigger our natural production of happy chemicals that keep depression at bay, with surprising results. All you need to do is get your fingers dirty and harvest your own food.  

In recent years I’ve come across two completely independent bits of research that identified key environmental triggers for two important chemicals that boost our immune system and keep us happy - serotonin and dopamine. What fascinated me as a permaculturist and gardener were that the environmental triggers happen in the garden when you handle the soil and harvest your crops.

Getting down and dirty is the best ‘upper’ – 

Serotonin  Getting your hands dirty in the garden can increase your serotonin levels – contact with soil and a specific soil bacteria, Mycobacterium vaccae, triggers the release of serotonin in our brain according to research. Serotonin is a happy chemical, a natural anti-depressant and strengthens the immune system. Lack of serotonin in the brain causes depression.

Ironically, in the face of our hyper-hygienic, germicidal, protective clothing, obsessive health-and-safety society, there's been a lot of interesting research emerging in recent years regarding how good dirt is for us, and dirt-deficiency in childhood is implicated in contributing to quite a spectrum of illnesses including allergies, asthma and mental disorders.  

At least now I have a new insight into why I compulsively garden without gloves and have always loved the feeling of getting my bare hands into the dirt and compost heap.

Read more here

Stevia: A Healthy Substitute For Sugar

Stevia is a genus of about 240 species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), native to subtropical and tropical regions from western North America to South America. The species Stevia rebaudiana, commonly known as sweetleaf, sweet leaf, sugarleaf, or simply stevia, is widely grown for its sweet leaves. As a sweetener and sugar substitute, stevia's taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar, although some of its extracts may have a bitter or licorice-like aftertaste at high concentrations.

With its steviol glycoside extracts having up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar, stevia has garnered attention with the rise in demand for low-carbohydrate, low-sugar food alternatives. Because stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets.

The availability of stevia varies from country to country. In a few countries, it has been available as a sweetener for decades or centuries; for example, stevia is widely used as a sweetener in Japan, where it has been available for decades. In some countries, health concerns and political controversies have limited its availability; for example, the United States banned stevia in the early 1990s unless labeled as a dietary supplement, but in 2008 it approved rebaudioside A extract as a food additive. Over the years, the number of countries in which stevia is available as a sweetener has been increasing. In 2011, stevia was approved for use in the EU starting in early December, 2011.

Wikipedia

51 Amazing Uses For Baking Soda

I don’t mean to sound seditious here, but I have a rebellious plan to combat the ills that many corporations are perpetrating in the name of fighting grime and germs. 

My main gripe is about the environmental pollutants from cleaning and personal care products that we wash down our drains and into our water systems, resulting in situations like the chemical triclosan (a pesticide added to many products as an antibacterial agent) being found in dolphins.

So the simple plan is to encourage everyone to use baking soda in any of these 51 applications. Besides showing kindness to aquatic life, we can also protect ourselves from the array of toxins in household cleaning products. Conventional cleansers can expose us to multiple chemicals linked to asthma, cancer, and other documented health problems.

Baking soda also makes a perfect stand-in for many personal care products, which are adding their own twist to the toxic tangle of pollutants and personal health (mainly in the form of synthetic fragrance (and it’s almost all synthetic), sodium laurel sulfate, and parabens).

So exactly how does baking soda fit into my scheme to make the world a better place? Baking soda, aka sodium bicarbonate,  helps regulate pH—keeping a substance neither too acidic nor too alkaline. When baking soda comes in contact with either an acidic or an alkaline substance, it’s natural effect is to neutralize that pH. 

Beyond that, baking soda has the ability to retard further changes in the pH balance, known as buffering. This dual capability of neutralizing and buffering allows baking soda to do things such as neutralize acidic odors (like in the refrigerator) as well as maintain neutral pH (like in your laundry water, which helps boost your detergent’s power). 

It’s a simple reaction, but one that has far-reaching effects for a number of cleaning and deodorizing tasks. And so without further ado, I’ll remove my scientist cap, put on my rebellious housekeeper’s cap, and get this folk-wisdom revolution rolling…

Wakeup-World

Natural All Purpose Cleaner Made From Orange Peel And Vinegar

Orange peels and vinegar in a quart jar.

Let sit for 10 days or so ...

Strain out the liquid and use as an all-purpose cleaner. 

Easy, cheap, natural, smells good!

Ancient Garlic Power

This recipe, written in ancient symbols was found in a Buddhist convent in the mountains of Tibet in 1972. It has been said that people who have tried it, have not been sick since and that it tastes bad, but not of garlic.

USE: 

350 gram crushed garlic 

1/4 liter 60% spirit/liquor

HOW TO MAKE IT: 

Crush the garlic, blend it with the spirit/liquor and put it in an air tight jar. Put it in the fridge for ten days. After the ten days, filter it through a cloth. Then put it back in the fridge for another two days. Now it is ready for use. We are counting drops here, so you need to pour it into bottles you can fit droppers on. They need to be of glass, not plastic!

HOW TO USE IT: 

Always take the drops in a glass of water before the meal. Day one, 1 drop before breakfast, 2 before lunch and 3 before dinner. The rest of the days goes like this:

Day 2, 4 drops, 5 drops 6 drops. 

Day 3, 7 drops, 8 drops, 9 drops. 

Day 4, 10 drops, 11 drops, 12 drops 

Day 5, 13 drops, 14 drops, 15 drops 

Day 6, 16 drops, 17 drops, 18 drops 

Day 7, 12 drops, 11 drops, 10 drops 

Day 8, 9 drops, 8 drops, 7 drops 

Day 9, 6 drops, 5 drops, 4 drops,

Day 10, 3 drops, 2 drops, 1 drop 

Day 11 15 drops, 25 drops, 25 drops 

It is important to follow this exactly how it says. After day 11, take 25 drops before every meal until you have used it all.

The old scriptures says that this will: 

Clean out the organism of fat and calcification.

Better metabolism and make the veins more elastic.

It regulates the body weight. 

Varicose veins disappears. 

It cures inflammation in the throat and heart disease. 

Arthritis, eczema, sinusitis, high blood pressure, head aches, lung disease and bronchitis and pneumonia all disappears. 

It cures Rheumatoid Arthritis and Rheumatism. 

It cures gastritis, ulcers and hemorrhoids. 

It cures vision and hearing problems.

The whole organism renews itself.

It said not to repeat this cure until after 6 months!

I have not tried this recipe myself and can't make any claims of it's health benefits, as of yet, nor can i take responsibility for the choice some one else makes, but it sure sounds like a potent brew and i am most certainly curious to try it out.

Remember to use organic garlic!

I originally found this recipe here

5 Step Guide To Growing Gorgeous Garlic

Do you know where your garlic comes from? One of the most important reasons to grow your own is to avoid toxic chemicals and irradiation (that inhibit sprouting and extend shelf life).*

A few years back I didn’t even think about the garlic I ate … but then I became interested in the story behind the food I was eating.  

The majority of the world’s garlic is grown in China and is sprayed with chemicals and bleached white with chlorine during importation quarantine processes, not to mention the thousands of food miles clocked up. 

But if you really want to gag on your garlic, according to the CEO of the Australian Garlic Industry Association, “some garlic growers over there (China) use raw human sewage to fertilise their crops, and I don’t believe the Australian quarantine regulations are strict enough in terms of bacteria testing on imported produce” … so you might want to think again before you reach for that perfect white bulb in your supermarket! [Learn more & download an 'Irradiation-free Food Guide' at the end of this post]

In Australia, 90% of the garlic we eat is imported yet we have around 15 different garlic varieties available to grow that don’t need to be bio-fumigated with chemicals like methyl bromide that have been banned here for domestic use.

4 Reasons to Grow Garlic:

1. For health, amazing flavour + pest management in your garden.
2. Safe food = avoid imported garlic – it’s cheap for a reason.
3. Save money – organic garlic costs around A$45/kg.
4. It’s SO easy to grow so there’s no excuse!

“Where you find garlic, you find good health.” – Old Spanish proverb

Garlic is a bulbous perennial herb but grown as an annual. OK – it IS slow growing (avg 6-8 months), but it’s NOT a bed hog like pumpkins and doesn’t take up much ‘personal space’, so I’m happy to dedicate about 1m2 to growing gorgeous garlic to feed my family for an entire year.

TheMicroGardener
The greatness of garlic

Let Food Be Your Medicine and Medicine Be Your Food

Isn’t it absurd that we call the modalities of natural healing "alternative medicine"? Obviously, "alternative" refers to something other than the accepted or the standard. The opposite to "alternative medicine" is what we now call orthodox or allopathic medicine, which then makes it the standard.

This really irks me. For 2,200 years until 1805, medicine was practised exclusively according to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (460-377 BC), the founding father of natural medicine. He taught that the first and foremost principle of medicine must be to respect nature’s healing forces, which inhabit each living organism. 

Hippocrates considered illness a natural phenomenon that forced people to discover the imbalances in their health. He strongly believed in good food and related the course of any ailment to poor nutrition and bad eating habits. He stressed, "Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food"–advice that, to this day, has not lost its validity.

I mention the year 1805 because in that year in the small town of Einbeck, where I went to school and enrolled in my apprenticeship, German pharmacist Friedrich Wilhelm Adam Sertürner (1783-1841) discovered morphine, named after Morpheus, the god of dreams. Morphine is the bitter, white crystalline found in opium, the milky sap of the unripe poppy. This was the first time, and a significant moment in pharmaceutical history, that a single potent ingredient, an alkaloid, was isolated.

Sertürner was celebrated "freeman of the city," and to this day his pharmacy and discovery are subjects of school projects for students of Einbeck. Hence, the awakening of my desire to become a pharmacist, which, however, never materialized due to unfavorable circumstances during the war and thereafter. Instead, I chose natural health as my profession and my passion.

Alive

How Sniffing Rosemary Could Boost Your Brain Power

Sniffing rosemary could boost your brain power, scientists have suggested.

Tests show that cognitive performance improves when a compound in the herb’s oil – 1, 8-cineole – is absorbed into blood. Biochemists at the University of Northumbria now want to see how the ingredient might affect our brains.

Rosemary has a long history as a traditional remedy with such widespread uses as a hair rinse and a cat repellent.

It has long been thought to boost brain power, so scientists were not totally surprised that respondents performed better in tests. However, they were shocked when they realized the rosemary oil has an effect on the blood, it was reported in the Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology journal.

Dr Mark Moss said: ‘We were not surprised by the improvement in cognitive performance following exposure to rosemary aroma as this has been demonstrated previously. ‘What excited us was the demonstration that performance was linked to plasma levels of 1,8-cineole following exposure.'

Tests on 20 people showed the natural compound was absorbed through the nose and into the blood plasma. For Dr Moss, this means there is a more traditional biochemical explanation for the increased cognitive performances previously demonstrated.

DailyMail

So Many Herbs, So Little Thyme

Thyme is a culinary and medicinal herb of the genus Thymus.

Ancient Egyptians used thyme for embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, believing that thyme was a source of courage. It was thought that the spread of thyme throughout Europe was thanks to the Romans, as they used it to purify their rooms and to "give an aromatic flavour to cheese and liqueurs". In the European Middle Ages, the herb was placed beneath pillows to aid sleep and ward off nightmares. In this period, women would also often give knights and warriors gifts that included thyme leaves as it was believed to bring courage to the bearer. Thyme was also used as incense and placed on coffins during funerals as it was supposed to assure passage into the next life.

Thyme is widely cultivated for its strong flavor, which is due to its content of thymol. It is best cultivated in a hot sunny location with well drained soil. It is generally planted in the spring and thereafter grows as a perennial. It can be propagated by seed, cuttings, or by dividing rooted sections of the plant. It tolerates drought well. The plants can take deep freezes and are found growing wild on mountain highlands.

Wikipedia

Food Cures You Can Grow At Home

Why burn a quarter-tank of gas running out to the drugstore for Pepto when you can pluck some relief from your windowsill herb garden? Besides adding another dimension to your cooking, freshly harvested herbs can soothe dozens of common health problems, and it’s possible to grow a selection of home remedies in a couple of pots placed in a sunny spot. Look for seedlings of these plants and herbs at any garden store, or if you’re really ambitious, buy a packet of seeds and try sprouting your own.

Parsely 

Grow it: Thrives in a pot in the sun as long as the soil is kept moist. Feed with organic fertilizer. 

Use it: Immune-system booster. Eat one tablespoon of chopped flatleaf or curly parsley daily. Chewing parsley neutralizes mouth odors.

Aloe Vera  

Grow it: Plant in pots placed in full sunshine. Water well.  

Use it: Break open the thick leaves and apply the gel that seeps out to your skin to soothe sunburn. “It’s 96 percent water and 4 percent active ingredients, including amino acids and enzymes that nourish damaged skin,” says pharmacist Margo Marrone, founder of The Organic Pharmacy in the United Kingdom.

Basil   

Grow it: This sweet, fragrant annual is ideal for growing in pots. Pull off the white flowers as soon as they appear to keep it from going to seed and your herbs from tasting bitter.

Use it: Rub crushed leaves on your temples to relieve headaches. Pour boiling water over basil leaves for a pain-relieving foot bath.

Lavender

Grow it: This sun-loving plant needs good drainage. Use a small pot filled with gravel and a light soil.

Use it: It has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. Crush a handful of the heads and add to a bowl of boiling water to use as a steam bath for your face. You can also dab the oil from the flowers on blemishes, says Marrone.

Lemon Balm  

Grow it: Pot it, or it will colonize your garden.

Use it: Use for healing and preventing cold sores. Also, rub leaves directly onto skin as a natural insect repellent or to soothe bites.

OrganicGardening

Anti Inflammatory Foods – List Of 63 Foods To Choose From For Natural Healing

If you are looking for a real long and healthy life, natural anti inflammatory foods are the key. In this article you will find a list of anti inflammatory foods to choose from to achieve that and help you fight against autoimmune and chronic inflammatory disorders.

The word inflammation is derived from a Latin word ‘inflammare’ that means ‘on fire’. It is a set of biological processes involving the natural reaction of our body to harmful stimuli, i.e. injuries, infections etc. Some degree of exposure to these stimuli is inevitable in our daily lives, and our body’s natural defense can fight those harmful elements to some extent on its own.  

Inflammation can be acute (short term) or chronic (long term). Acute inflammation is the body’s first aggressive reaction to extrinsic damage from which the body recovers in hours to days, for example insect bite, abrasions, hives etc.  But chronic inflammation happens when the body’s defenses are continuously exposed to harmful stimuli, which renders the body and its defenses weak. Examples of chronic inflammation include tuberculosis, cancer, arthritis, dermatitis, inflammatory bowel diseases.

Sometimes the body’s defense starts working against its own tissues, which leads to a number of diseases widely known as ‘auto immune diseases’. Also it is postulated that inflammation is involved in the ultimate process of aging as well. One wonders if somehow you could conquer aging, what a miracle would that be.

Nature has given us some wonderful anti inflammatory foods and can be used to defy age and also to help fight against autoimmune and chronic inflammatory disorders.

NaturalAntiInflammatory
Natural Crohn's Treatments
Health Benefits of Turmeric
Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis)
Peppermint (Mentha Piperita)
Health Benefits of Peppermint Oil
Health Benefits of Manuka Honey
Healing Properties of Raw Manuka Honey and Cinnamon
Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Heal with Herbs and Supplements
The Beneficial Effects of Green Tea Towards Your IBS Symptoms
Crohn's Disease Natural Treatments and Possibly Even Cure

Bread & Circuses: The Dangers Of Wheat - William Davis On RedIce Radio

Dr. William Davis, cardiologist and seeker-of-truth in health exposes "healthy whole grains" for the incredibly destructive genetic monsters they've become. Over 80% of the people he meets today are pre-diabetic or diabetic. In an effort to reduce blood sugar, he asked patients to remove all wheat products from their diet based on the simple fact that foods made of wheat flour raise blood sugar higher than nearly all other foods, regardless if the wheat is organic, multi-grain, whole grain or sprouted. The results were positively drastic. Dr. Davis will discuss the benefits of going wheat free. We'll cover genetic changes of wheat verses ancient grains. He explains how modern wheat is an opiate and appetite stimulant. William also breaks down the internal components of wheat and how they interact with the body in negative ways linked to a slew of health problems. He also explains the great lie of gluten free bread. Why aren't doctors giving this important research any attention?

The Dangers Of Wheat - William Davis On RedIce Radio

Blamed for Bee Collapse, Monsanto Buys Leading Bee Research Firm

Monsanto, the massive biotechnology company being blamed for contributing to the dwindling bee population, has bought up one of the leading bee collapse research organizations. Recently banned from Poland with one of the primary reasons being that the company’s genetically modified corn may be devastating the dying bee population, it is evident that Monsanto is under serious fire for their role in the downfall of the vital insects. It is therefore quite apparent why Monsanto bought one of the largest bee research firms on the planet.

It can be found in public company reports hosted on mainstream media that Monsanto scooped up the Beeologics firm back in September 2011. During this time the correlation between Monsanto’s GM crops and the bee decline was not explored in the mainstream, and in fact it was hardly touched upon until Polish officials addressed the serious concern amid the monumental ban. Owning a major organization that focuses heavily on the bee collapse and is recognized by the USDA for their mission statement of “restoring bee health and protecting the future of insect pollination” could be very advantageous for Monsanto.  In fact, Beelogics’ company information states that the primary goal of the firm is to study the very collapse disorder that is thought to be a result — at least in part — of Monsanto’s own creations. Their website states: ” While its primary goal is to control the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) infection crises, Beeologics’ mission is to become the guardian of bee health worldwide.”

NaturalSociety

Feds Criminalizing Small Family Farms Under Ridiculous 'Labor Laws' That Target Children

For civilization to persist, each subsequent generation must be equipped by the previous one with the knowledge and skills to grow food, which traditionally occurs on family-scale farms from parent to child, or from seasoned expert to young amateur. But new labor laws being proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) would prohibit children from performing many of the routine farm chores they have been involved with for centuries, which some see as a direct attack on small-scale agriculture.

The Daily Caller reports that the DoL, under the guidance of the Obama Administration, is proposing that child labor laws be modified to prohibit children under the age of 16 from working with animals, for instance, or from being allowed to work with food storage bins. The proposal also seeks to prohibit children from "being employed in the storing, marketing and transporting of farm product raw materials," which essentially makes it a crime for farmhands to touch produce once it has been picked.

Originally put forward by Labor Secretary Hilda Solis last fall as a way to further protect children from unsafe working conditions, the proposal threatens unprecedented government overreach into the normal operating procedures of private farms. And while the new provisions would reportedly contain an exemption for children working on farms owned by their parents, they would still drastically limit the freedom of children to learn about agriculture from a young age.

You can view the DoL's proposal announcement here:

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/whd/WHD20111250.htm

NaturalNews

The Food Revolution Is Still On!

Welcome back! As all of you who have 'followed' and subscribed to this blog, may have noticed, i 'took a leave of absence' from August last year. I am now back with a new and better looking blog and new blog name; 'The Gardening Apprentice'.

My absence was mainly due to being busy making a living in these austere times. I am now in the process of moving from the city to the countryside, which i can hardly wait for.

It will be a dream come true for me to live closer to nature. somewhere peaceful and quiet, where  i can grow my own organic food, go foraging in the forest and fish in the ocean.

Last year was the first time i attempted to grow my own food and although it didn't turn out any bumper crop to boast about, i took great delight in clearing space, tilling soil, sowing, growing, getting my hands dirty and working in the outdoors (come rain, or shine), developing muscles and getting fit (no need for a gym-membership for me, thank you very much!).

I grew salad leaves, spring onions, asparagus (sadly, only one saw the light of day), red peppers (not successful), peppermint, coriander, strawberries, Eucalyptus, Echinacea, Foxglove and three different types of lavender and am now looking forward to start growing more substantial food, like potatoes, carrots, onions, tomatoes and cucumber and more this year.

My uprooting has a bit of a sad aspect to it - i will have to say farewell to all my new friends; a nutty family of squirrels, a couple of black birds, a few pigeons, a family of blue tits, and two robins (which is not normal occurrence, apparently, normally there would only be one robin per garden, which i can believe - they are fiercely territorial).

The two robins are my closest friends (amongst my 'garden friends') and i have named one of them Redshield (Rothschild), due to his red chest. He has even got a masonic ladder where he perches on top of, while tweeting away the goings-on of the day ...

Sometimes he follows me and it has happened the curiosity has gotten the better of him and he has flown into my house through an open window, all excited, flying around, until he hits a wall and poops on impact ... and i have to clean up his mess.

Nevertheless, i will miss him and will continue to feed the birds and animals in his honor in my new garden. It is great to reconnect with nature!

Until then, keep sowing those non GMO seeds and making those 'seed bombs'! The food revolution is still on!

New posts coming soon!

The Gardening Apprentice

The Gates Foundation Invests Millions In Monsanto

from care2: Advocates of sustainable agriculture are shocked by the recent discovery of significant financial connection between the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and agribusiness titan Monsanto.

In August, a financial website published the Gates Foundation’s investment portfolio, which included recent purchases of 500,000 shares of Monsanto stock estimated to be worth over $23 million.

(See the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission).

The most troubling part about this discovery is that it marks a substantial increase from the Foundation’s previous Monsanto holdings, which were valued at just over $360,000 (see the Foundation’s 2008 990 Form).

Petition Against The Gates Foundation Monsanto Investment!

“The Foundation’s direct investment in Monsanto is problematic on two primary levels,” said Dr. Phil Bereano, University of Washington Professor Emeritus and recognized expert on genetic engineering in a press release. “First, Monsanto has a history of blatant disregard for the interests and well-being of small farmers around the world, as well as an appalling environmental track record. The strong connections to Monsanto cast serious doubt on the Foundation’s heavy funding of agricultural development in Africa and purported goal of alleviating poverty and hunger among small-scale farmers. Second, this investment represents an enormous conflict of interests.”

Monsanto-DuPont Biotech Cartel: How Global Seed Market Is Controlled

from consciousape: According to an article in The Ecologist, just five biotech giants have increased their control of the global seed market, promoting monoculture farming and making it harder for farmers to find alternative sources of seeds.

Since the mid-1990s just five biotech giants – Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, Dow and DuPont – have bought up more than 200 other companies between them to dominate our access to seeds.

Philip Howard from Michigan State university, who has produced a unique visual to illustrate this growing concentration of power in the hands of a few companies, says the takeover of the seed market has been ‘dramatic’ and that it is getting harder for farmers to find alternatives.

In the US for example, where 90 per cent of the soybeans grown are genetically-modified varieties, many conventional farmers have had difficulty obtaining non-genetically modified seeds to plant.

Howard says the increasing power of these seed companies is ‘incompatible’ with renewable agricultural practices such as saving and replanting seeds. He says one solution to restricting their control would be through banning the practice of granting patents on seeds, plants and genes.

Court Rules Organic Farmers Can Sue Conventional, GMO Farmers Whose Pesticides 'Trespass' And Contaminate Their Fields

from naturalnews: Purveyors of conventional and genetically-modified (GM) crops -- and the pesticides and herbicides that accompany them -- are finally getting a taste of their own legal medicine. Minnesota's Star Tribune has reported that the Minnesota Court of Appeals recently ruled that a large organic farm surrounded by chemical-laden conventional farms can seek damages for lost crops, as well as lost profits, caused by the illegal trespassing of pesticides and herbicides on its property.

Oluf and Debra Johnson's 1,500-acre organic farm in Stearns County, Minn., has repeatedly been contaminated by nearby conventional and GMO farms since the couple started it in the 1990s. A local pesticide cooperative known as Paynesville Farmers Union (PFU), which is near the farm, has been cited at least four times for violating pesticide laws, and inadvertently causing damage to the Johnson's farm.

Farmer's Markets Spur Job Growth, New Report Finds

from commondreams: As the economy limps along, farmer's markets are showing record growth, and that growth could bring thousands of jobs with it.

A dismal week for the U.S. economy featuring debt-ceiling drama in Washington and the threat of a double-dip recession on Wall Street, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) delivered some powerhouse statistics demonstrating the public's demand for healthy, organic food:

The number of farmers markets in the country increased 17 percent in the last year. "There's a yearning for the 99 percent of Americans who are no longer connected to the farm to reconnect," Kathleen Merrigan, deputy secretary of the USDA, said.

The timing is perfect — this week marks National Farmers Market Week — and comes on the heels of a new report finding that farmers markets could generate thousands of jobs in the U.S.

Nutrition's Top Seed

from smh: This time next year a jar of hemp seed could be a respectable kitchen staple, nudging the rolled oats in your pantry cupboard - and giving chia and flax seeds some stiff competition in the health food stakes.

Although hemp seed in muesli bars, breakfast cereal - or even ice cream - wouldn’t raise eyebrows in the US, Canada or Europe, its use as a food is currently banned in Australia.

But this could change in the next few months if a new proposal to overturn the ban is approved by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) – a move that’s backed by the Dietitians’ Association of Australia.

“As good foods go hemp seed is a rock star. It has a lot to offer and it would be a shame not to have it here,” says Accredited Practising Dietitian Camey Demmitt who was surprised to find no hemp seed on the menu when she moved to Australia from the US four years ago.

A major benefit of hemp is that it’s a way of getting extra omega-3 fatty acids back into diets dominated by omega-6 fats, says Demmitt, a member of the DAA.

Guide To Wild Foods

from celtnet: Welcome to the Celtnet guide to wild foods. As this recipe site has grown it has become obvious that to allow people to replicate some of the more ancient recipes on this site (especially from the Ancient, Roman and Medieval periods it is necessary to list modern alternatives but also to produce a guide so that the curious can find the original (often wild) ingredients for themselves. These pages are an attempt at bringing all these potentially useful and often forgotten wild foods together into one place. The pages linked to from here provide a pictorial guide to wild foods, including a brief description of the plant in question and which areas of it are edible. For obvious reasons this is not a complete guide and is intended as a companion for the wild foods used in the varoius recipe sections of this guide. Also, as wild foods have started to become more popular (samphire is now used in restaurants) and there are a cornucopia of wild plants to be collected for free in every season; this is an attempt to allow people to re-gain much of the herb-lore lost in the twentieth century and to allow the curious to directly connect back to their ancient roots. Those are the worthy reasons. But the truth is that foraging for wild foods is fun! Even more so when you discover a taste sensation in the wild that you can then make a delicious dish from. The more you understand the ingredients you use, the better your food will be in the end. Using this guide is simplicity itself: just click on the first letter of the wild food you're intrested in. Alternativey why not just browse throgh the list of wild foods. You may well find something that surprises and intrigues you and which gets you foraging for yourself!

Plants For A Future

from makewealthhistory: There are over 20,000 known edible plants in the world, a quarter of which can be grown in the UK. So why does 90% of our food come from just 20 plant species?

Ken Fern has dedicated his life’s work to rectifying this situation, trying out and promoting alternative foods, and now runs the charity Plants for a Future.

On their website you will find thousands of plants that can be eaten or used in other ways, and the book offers just a sample.

Fern has a few criteria for inclusion. They have to be useful, they should grow outdoors in a temperate climate, and they should preferably be perennial.

In a very honest introduction, he shares his experiences of trying to live a self-sufficient lifestyle, growing vegetables and fruit organically. This, he discovered, was just too much work. “I don’t want to spend all my time growing plants, I want to be able to walk around and look at them, to sit back and enjoy them” say this self-confessed ‘lazy gardener’.

The traditional foods of the vegetable patch are annuals, and they need to be grown and planted out every year. Trees and shrubs are far better value – you just plant them once, and they’ll crop year after year with very little effort.

Across The Bay Area, Urban Farming Is In Season

from latimes: Cities are changing ordinances to permit sales of home-grown produce as residents demand access to high-quality food and greater connection to the source.

Reporting from San Francisco — In a dense pocket of the Mission Terrace neighborhood, a quiet grid of streets near the city's southern edge, the afternoon fog rolls in over a rare sight: nearly an acre of land sandwiched between homes and planted with kale, exotic salad greens, bursts of flowers and fragrant herbs.

The women who work this plot are pioneers. Their Little City Gardens recently became the first legal commercial farm within city borders. Thanks to them, San Francisco leaders revised zoning laws to allow the cultivation and sale of produce in all neighborhoods.

Other Bay Area cities are following suit.

Berkeley soon will take up a measure to allow residents to sell raw agricultural products from home without a costly permit. And Oakland has pledged to one-up its neighbors by tackling the raising of backyard animals as a personal food source.

Turn A 30-Year-Old Organic Farm In Maryland Into A Food Education Hub, Not Soccer Fields

from change: Nick's Organic Farm has leased County land held for an eventual middle school in Montgomery County Maryland for the past 30 years. Farmers from all over the region rely on Nick's certified organic feed and seed for their organic operations.

On March 7, 2011, Nick and the community at large were given 2-weeks notice that the land would become Soccer Fields. There have still been no public hearings on this decision.

Many environmental, agriculture and local food organizations have banded together to ask Montgomery County's Executive, Ike Leggett, to form a Food Policy Council that will use Nick's Organic Farm as an anchor for agricultural and food education.

A Food Policy Council would fit perfectly with the County's current efforts to strengthen the local food system; including the Food Innovation Hub, and of course the nationally renowned Agricultural Reserve.

We have to act quickly, the County is moving ahead on soccer field construction on this site. Please join the organizations calling for a Food Education center at Brickyard Farm by signing the petition to Executive Leggett. The public should have a voice in the future of the Brickyard property...and the health of their local food system.

Useful Tips For Avoiding Jail Time While Vegetable Gardening In Your Front Yard

from ecolocalizer: One of our sister blogs, Eat Drink Better, just wrote about a Michigan family who is being threatened with financial penalties and jail time for simply growing vegetables in their own front yard. Persecuting people for growing food is difficult to fathom, but similar oppressive restrictions and bizarre city ordinances seem to be an issue nationwide.

So before you get caught picking cucumbers in your front yard, are slapped with a fine, and charged with a misdemeanor, here are some sneaky strategies you can try to disguise your subversive gardening acts.

You can always resort to planting edible flowers and herbs among the veggies in your front yard, and Big Brother will be none the wiser.

This method of stealth edible gardening is worth a try if you are unfortunate enough to live in a city with an ordinance dictating what types of plants are “suitable” for your front yard. I am very much in favor of working to change such local laws that are misguided and often outdated; but in the meantime, the following tips may help keep you out of handcuffs.

British Columbia Man Faces Six Months In Jail for Growing Food

from treehugger: Last week Colleen brought us the story of a woman in Michigan who is facing jail time for planting a garden. Sadly, this type of heavy-handed by-the-letter enforcement of bylaws exists at the same time as people embrace urban agriculture as a viable source of high quality nutrition. A man in Lanztville, British Columbia is facing a similar battle with the local government after converting his 2.5 acre "residential" lot from a gravel pit into a thriving organic farm. His refusal to "cease all agricultural activity" could land him six months in jail.

Acting on a single complaint from a disgruntled neighbor the regional district sent a letter to Dirk Becker giving him 14 days to "remove the piles of soil and manure from the property." The quoted bylaw states that property owners will ensure their property doesn't become or remain "unsightly". Specifically this refers to "the accumulation of filth, discarded materials or rubbish, which includes unused or stripped automobiles, trucks, trailers, boats, vessels, machinery, mechanical or metal parts." Admittedly, it can be argued that, to some a manure pile could be considered "filth". But, considering how Becker regenerated his 2.5 acres (see photo above) this characterization is an insult.

Becker explains the character of his neighbourhood and the evolution of his piece of property in an article he wrote for Synergy Magazine.

Health Benefits Of Oregano

from hubpages: Oregano is an aromatic herb that belongs to the mint family, it can grow to about two feet in height.

It is native to the Mediterranean region but is cultivated worldwide. The leaves as well as the volatile oil of oregano are used medicinally, but must be carefully distinguished as they are quite different.

There is a common oregano that is use for cooking and the oregano that is use to make oil. Origanum Marjoram is the common oregano used for cooking. Origanum Vulgare is the wild oregano used for making oil.

Oil of Oregano is a highly potent purifier that provides many benefits for human health. The two important compounds that are responsible for the many health benefits of oregano are carvacrol and thymol.

Studies have shown that both of these compounds can inhibit the growth of bacteria, virus and fungi which is the main causes of many illnesses in humans.

Bees Helps You Setup Your Own Beehive

from laughingsquid: So I’ve always consumed a lot of honey (I drink it. No really. Literally) and have always been interested in getting my own hive.

But actually maintaining a hive is kind of a pain. And it’s not really easy. And there are mites. And diseases (for the bees, not for you). And smokers. And bunny suits. So it’s always been more of a pain than it seemed like it was worth.

But you might have recently heard about hive “Colony Collapse Disorder.” As many as 36% of hives in the US have been lost to collapse.

Not to sound snarky and state the obvious, but if all our bees go away, most of our agriculture goes away.

No more fruit. No more flowers. No more honey. No Mustard, cabbage, vanilla, peppers, canola, cantaloupe, strawberries, alfalfa (horse munchies), almonds, grapes (as in those things used to make wine) or eggplants. (OK, I can personally live without eggplants, but the world should probably keep them.)

Practical Permaculture in Britain

from permacultureideas: Practical Permaculture in Britain documentary by Malcolm Baldwin. All 6 parts are featured here.

Permaculture Ideas is a place to find a range of articles, videos and latest news related to Permaculture.

A vast resource for those looking for an introduction, inspiration or to further their understanding on the matter.

Whether you skim the top or dig deep into the archives you'll no doubt be inspired by the wonderful ideas Permaculture brings!

The above link is not working! Try this one instead for more information on practical Permaculture:

A beginner's guide to Permaculture gardening

Woman Faces 93 Day Jail Sentence For Growing Veggies in Front Yard

from cherylkicksass: In case you haven't yet heard, the crime syndicate U.S. government, having recently admitted to arming Mexican drug gangs with 30,000 weapons, has stated growing a vegetable garden in one's yard a criminal act.

Now the City of Oak Park, Mich. is carrying through with its insidious plan to

put a woman in jail 93 days for growing in her front yard.

It can be presumed the primary intent of these outlandish laws is for the government to ultimately have full control of the U.S. food supply under bill HR 875. (See American Family Farms and Gardens: Outlawed by Obama's New Bill?)

Consequently, cities are enacting codes based on the Federal mandate barring people from growing food on their own property.

You May Be Arrested Soon For Growing A Tomato

from friendseat: As our government hands over billions to Wall Street bankers, jobless Americans live in tent cities and collect food stamps in record numbers.

Now when we need it the most, growing our own food may be against the law and punishable by a fine of up to $1,000,000. Think I’m joking? Meet Bill HR 875, The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, introduced by Rosa DeLauro whose husband Stanley Greenburg works for Monsanto.

The insanity doesn’t stop there—fishing boats, hotdog stands, neighborhood vegetable booths and farmers’ markets will be federally regulated under the same draconian law. As always, the spin is designed to make you (the public) believe these new provisions are for your own good.

Under the deceitful guise of protection, the goal of this bill is crystal clear: to prevent us from locally growing our own food so multinational agribusiness can completely control the production and distribution of our food supply.

I refer you to the usual suspects—Monsanto, ADM, Sodexo, Tyson, and Smithfield.

Can It, Bottle It, Smoke It: Kitchen Projects Help You Break Away From Factory Food

from takepart: There's been a huge surge of interest in home canning and preservation as more and more people embrace the local food movement and try to break away from the packaged and processed items on offer at the local grocery store.

But for those who grew up with the convenience of factory-made food, jumping headfirst into DIY kitchen wizardry can seem a bit daunting.

Enter Karen Solomon, with her refreshingly easy new book, Can It, Bottle It, Smoke It, and Other Kitchen Projects.

It's the follow-up to her 2009 book, Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It. Karen's bright and attractive new publication offers a slew of easy-to-follow and helpful tips that can help even the most inexperienced cook stock their home pantry with homemade kitchen staples.

SMOKING MACKEREL IN THE MOUNTAINS OF NORWAY

Farmageddon: New Food Freedom Documentary Debut

from healthfreedoms: Kristin Canty started out like any mom, who educated herself on the best diet and healing path of her children. She knew she would have to do something about the alarming amount of small farm raids and restricted rights to the foods of her family’s choice: thus, Farmageddon was born.

Because, it’s not just about food freedom; all of our freedoms are at stake. Farmageddon highlights the urgency of food freedom, encouraging farmers and consumers alike to take action to preserve individuals’ rights to access food of their choice and farmers’ rights to produce these foods safely and free from unreasonably burdensome regulations – and raids.

Nutrition educators and activists belonging to the Weston Price Foundation are a significant influence in the Great American Diet Debate. Volunteer leaders have established over 300 chapters in the U.S. These chapter leaders do some heavy lifting, providing a free list of healthy food sources, grassroots organizing, holding conferences, and manning booths at health expos.

Volunteer leaders like Kristin Canty of Massachusetts are promoting some pretty contrarian ideas; animal fat and cholesterol are good for you, raw milk is healthier than processed milk, whole milk is better than skim, whole grains (unless soaked or sprouted) are unhealthy to consume, and modern soy-laden foods are hazardous to your health.

Perhaps the most controversial, Foundation members eschew processed foods in favor of home cooking, canning and preserving. And, they prefer food from traditional, mixed use farms rather than industrial scale factory farms. These activists equate ‘going green’ with your food choices with superior health and vitality–a compelling message for an increasingly sick and weak nation.

Edible flowers Are The New Rage In Haute Cuisine

from whatscookingamerica: After falling out of favor for many years, cooking and garnishing with flowers is back in vogue once again.

Flower cookery has been traced back to Roman times, and to the Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Indian cultures. Edible flowers were especially popular in the Victorian era during Queen Victoria's reign.

Today, many restaurant chefs and innovative home cooks garnish their

entrees with flower blossoms for a touch of elegance.

The secret to success when using edible flowers is to keep the dish simple, do not add to many other flavors that will over power the delicate taste of the flower. Today this nearly lost art is enjoying a revival.