Something has been eating my peas and basil!! Since I'm committed to organic gardening, my options for controlling insects are limited. The organic movement is growing, though, and insecticide producers are meeting the demand. There are several eco-friendly products on the market today, but you do need to read labels carefully. I ran across several that sounded like they were organic, but the fine print warned that they were not. Earth Options by Raid is one line of products made for organic production. I am using the insecticidal soap.
Using soap suds is an old method of controlling insects, but most of today's soap contains chemicals that you don't want on your food. The insecticidal soap I am using does seem to be working, but you need to be diligent and apply it after every rain. If you know of any other organic methods of pest control, please share!!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Food for Thought
I just finished reading an article in the February/March 2007 issue of Mother Earth News, entitled "Why Grow Your Own Food?" The article was written by Harvey Ussery, a 21st century homesteader. I just wanted to share this passage from the article:
Surely there has been no society in human history more estranged from the natural world than ours, and we experience that broken relationship in what we eat and the way we eat it: artificial foods bearing little relation to their origin in soil or in living plants and animals; eaten thoughtlessly, on the run.
Modern eating is above all about forgetting - about what it is we are eating, about its origins in living systems. The alternative is to learn to know our food intimately, to care intensely about its quality and its role in our lives, to share it with gratitude and respect.
Whenever we grow our own food, or seek it from local sources, we reconnect with the natural year, the passing of the seasons, the interdependence of all forms of life in the great web. By participating in the creation of our food, from soil to table, we find our way back to food as a sacred gift.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Composting
"Buy worms, fight global warming!" At the Athens Farmers' Market this past Saturday, I heard this being shouted into the crowd. One of the vendors was selling worms for compost bins - and having a lot of fun doing it. "Grow worms, not war!" Though this man was presenting the subject with humor, composting is, seriously, a great way to help the environment. Instead of sending much of your waste to the landfill, you can turn it into rich compost for your garden.
Composting is a simple biological process. Microorganisms, fungi, bacteria, and worms digest organic matter, such as leaves, grass and vegetable scraps. The result is compost or humus, a nutrient-rich soil.
There are two types of compost bins - open-sided and enclosed. You can buy them or make your own. My compost bins were wooden boxes that my husband brought home from work. The enclosed bins break down matter more quickly, because they hold in heat and moisture better, but open-sided bins work great, too.
To create a compost pile that generates a lot of heat, you should mix one part "green" materials with three parts "brown" materials. Green materials include grass clippings, garden prunings, green weeds and leaves, eggshells, and fruit and vegetable scraps. Brown materials include straw, sawdust, shredded paper and dry leaves. Do not use meat or sugary foods in your compost. You want to layer the materials, alternating green and brown. Gently water the pile as it grows, keeping it moist, but not soggy. Regularly turn the compost to aerate the materials. Heat, moisture and air will speed up the composting process.
Worms help speed up the decomposition process, too. You can do what I do, which is look for worms after a rainy day, or you can buy them at bait stores or places like the Athens Farmers' Market. If you have a garden or flower beds, consider starting a compost pile. It will create fantastic soil for your plants, and reduce the amount of materials you are sending to the landfill. Go worms!!
Composting is a simple biological process. Microorganisms, fungi, bacteria, and worms digest organic matter, such as leaves, grass and vegetable scraps. The result is compost or humus, a nutrient-rich soil.
There are two types of compost bins - open-sided and enclosed. You can buy them or make your own. My compost bins were wooden boxes that my husband brought home from work. The enclosed bins break down matter more quickly, because they hold in heat and moisture better, but open-sided bins work great, too.
To create a compost pile that generates a lot of heat, you should mix one part "green" materials with three parts "brown" materials. Green materials include grass clippings, garden prunings, green weeds and leaves, eggshells, and fruit and vegetable scraps. Brown materials include straw, sawdust, shredded paper and dry leaves. Do not use meat or sugary foods in your compost. You want to layer the materials, alternating green and brown. Gently water the pile as it grows, keeping it moist, but not soggy. Regularly turn the compost to aerate the materials. Heat, moisture and air will speed up the composting process.
Worms help speed up the decomposition process, too. You can do what I do, which is look for worms after a rainy day, or you can buy them at bait stores or places like the Athens Farmers' Market. If you have a garden or flower beds, consider starting a compost pile. It will create fantastic soil for your plants, and reduce the amount of materials you are sending to the landfill. Go worms!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
A Perfect Day for Planting
This morning I transplanted my tomato and pepper seedlings. It's a nice, damp day - perfect for planting. My mom gave me some tomato plants - mine were starting to look a little sad. I did plant one of them, a Roma tomato, just to see how it will do. My bell pepper seedlings didn't look too bad. After nuturing my little plants, I felt a little like a mother bird, pushing her chicks out of the nest. I hope they do well.
It's nice to see all the squares in my garden holding veggies now. The pea and lettuce seeds I planted are doing great. The sugar snap peas are getting big enough that I'll need to find some sort of small trellis for them to climb. The Romaine lettuce looks like miniature heads of lettuce. I just hope the rabbits don't find them!
Last year, I started a small herb garden by my back step. The thyme I planted is still doing well, and today I planted rosemary, cilantro, and basil. Fresh herbs are a great way to add some zing to your cooking. You can save a lot of money by planting your own.
Well, spring has sprung. The hummingbirds are back from their travels south, and are busy emptying our feeder. My rhododendren is blooming, adding some beautiful color to the yard. My crops are planted, and now all I can do is to continue to nurture them and cross my fingers! :)Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Jamaican Jerk Marinade
One of my favorite ways to serve pork is in the Jamaican jerk style. It's the perfect blend of savory and sweet, spicy and citrusy. There are many Jamaican jerk marinades on the market, but they almost all contain high fructose corn syrup and other additives. For a more authentic taste without all the chemicals, I use the recipe below. I like to marinate thick cut pork chops from the farmers' market for several hours, and then grill them on charcoal. You could also use this marinade on poultry and even fish. It can marinate up to 1 1/2 pounds of meat.
Jamaican Jerk Marinade
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper, diced (more if you like it extra hot!)
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. allspice
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 green onions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
Mix all ingredients. Reserve a small amount to use as a sauce if you like (before you place the meat in.) Place meat and marinade in a gallon size plastic bag. Massage the marinade into the meat and let sit in the refrigerator for a few hours. (The longer the meat marinades, the more flavorful it will be.) Remove the meat and cook with your preferred method.
Jamaican Jerk Marinade
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper, diced (more if you like it extra hot!)
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. allspice
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 green onions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
Mix all ingredients. Reserve a small amount to use as a sauce if you like (before you place the meat in.) Place meat and marinade in a gallon size plastic bag. Massage the marinade into the meat and let sit in the refrigerator for a few hours. (The longer the meat marinades, the more flavorful it will be.) Remove the meat and cook with your preferred method.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Organic Fertilizer
Fertilizing a garden is a must to produce strong, healthy plants. There are many commercial organic fertilizers on the market, but you can also mix your own fertilizer for less money. My mom and one of her good friends get together every year to mix a potent organic fertilizer for their gardens. My mom swears by it! And she has given me a bag of it to try on my new organic garden. (Thanks, Mom!!!) The recipe for this fertilizer was published in Mother Earth News in 2006. Below is a link to the article and recipe. It's very potent, and you have to be careful not to use too much, or it can burn up your plants. I'll be sprinkling a small amount into the soil, once a month. You may want to try it, too.
A Better Way to Fertilize Your Garden - Mother Earth News article
A Better Way to Fertilize Your Garden - Mother Earth News article
Friday, April 23, 2010
The Real Cost of Food
When I talk to people about the different food choices I am making now, they almost always ask me about the cost of natural and organic foods. In these tough economic times, it's a legitimate question. We all need to cut costs where we can. However, the answer to this question isn't as simple as you might think.
The prices at the farmers' market are a little higher than at the supermarket. A dozen eggs will run $3 a dozen at the farmers' market and $1.24 at the supermarket. But the farmers' market eggs are natural and organic. A pound of ground beef will cost $3.75 a pound at the farmers' market, and $2.68 a pound at the supermarket. But the farmers' market beef is Angus, grass-fed beef, and given no hormones. When you look for the same quality products at the supermarket, you won't see much of a price difference. The organic cheese I've been buying at the farmers' market is actually less expensive than quality cheese at the grocery store. But the price tag doesn't tell the whole story.
We've been hearing a lot about the health care crisis in the news lately. I believe America is really experiencing a health crisis. Health care is such an issue because we are so unhealthy as a nation. And most of the diseases and disorders that are rapidly appearing are directly related to the food that we eat. There is an old saying that "you can pay the grocer now, or pay the doctor later." Americans seem to be opting to pay the doctor. In 1960, Americans spent 18% of their income on food and 5% on health care. Today we spend 9% of our income on food and 17% on health care. How many E. coli and salmonella outbreaks have we had in recent years? Those outbreaks are directly linked to our food supply and are caused by industrial food production practices.
And then there are the government subsidies that support the way food is produced in this country. Our government heavily subsidizes the production of corn. Corn is fed to the livestock on the factory farms (whether or not the animals are actually designed to eat corn.) Corn is the source of many additives to our food, including high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin and xanthan gum. Take a the look at the ingredients label of most junk food and you will see corn, in one form or another. And where does the money come from for these subsidies? We, the people, of course. The taxpayers. So, when you look at your supermarket receipt, it doesn't tell you the entire out-of-pocket cost for your food. You need to add the percentage of your taxes that paid for that food.
The environmental costs of industrial food production are high. Toxic runoff from factory farms poison water supplies and the earth. Pesticides are killing and mutating wildlife. The cost of shipping food to the factory farms for the livestock, and shipping food across the country and, in some cases, across the world, are astronomical. It leaves a huge carbon footprint. We can't forget that our health is directly related to the planet's health.
Joel Salatin is the owner and operator of Polyface Farms in Virginia. He is an author, lecturer and advocate for natural and sustainable farming practices. He is also working for transparency and accountability in our nation's food production system. In the documentary Food, Inc., Salatin put it best when he said:
The prices at the farmers' market are a little higher than at the supermarket. A dozen eggs will run $3 a dozen at the farmers' market and $1.24 at the supermarket. But the farmers' market eggs are natural and organic. A pound of ground beef will cost $3.75 a pound at the farmers' market, and $2.68 a pound at the supermarket. But the farmers' market beef is Angus, grass-fed beef, and given no hormones. When you look for the same quality products at the supermarket, you won't see much of a price difference. The organic cheese I've been buying at the farmers' market is actually less expensive than quality cheese at the grocery store. But the price tag doesn't tell the whole story.
We've been hearing a lot about the health care crisis in the news lately. I believe America is really experiencing a health crisis. Health care is such an issue because we are so unhealthy as a nation. And most of the diseases and disorders that are rapidly appearing are directly related to the food that we eat. There is an old saying that "you can pay the grocer now, or pay the doctor later." Americans seem to be opting to pay the doctor. In 1960, Americans spent 18% of their income on food and 5% on health care. Today we spend 9% of our income on food and 17% on health care. How many E. coli and salmonella outbreaks have we had in recent years? Those outbreaks are directly linked to our food supply and are caused by industrial food production practices.
And then there are the government subsidies that support the way food is produced in this country. Our government heavily subsidizes the production of corn. Corn is fed to the livestock on the factory farms (whether or not the animals are actually designed to eat corn.) Corn is the source of many additives to our food, including high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin and xanthan gum. Take a the look at the ingredients label of most junk food and you will see corn, in one form or another. And where does the money come from for these subsidies? We, the people, of course. The taxpayers. So, when you look at your supermarket receipt, it doesn't tell you the entire out-of-pocket cost for your food. You need to add the percentage of your taxes that paid for that food.
The environmental costs of industrial food production are high. Toxic runoff from factory farms poison water supplies and the earth. Pesticides are killing and mutating wildlife. The cost of shipping food to the factory farms for the livestock, and shipping food across the country and, in some cases, across the world, are astronomical. It leaves a huge carbon footprint. We can't forget that our health is directly related to the planet's health.
Joel Salatin is the owner and operator of Polyface Farms in Virginia. He is an author, lecturer and advocate for natural and sustainable farming practices. He is also working for transparency and accountability in our nation's food production system. In the documentary Food, Inc., Salatin put it best when he said:
Is cheapness everything that there is? Who wants to buy the cheapest car? We're willing to subsidize the food system to create the 'mystique' of cheap food, when actually it's very expensive food, when you add up the environmental costs, societal costs, health costs. The industrial food is not honest food. It's not priced honestly. It's not produced honestly. It's not processed honestly. There's nothing honest about that food.In the end, I've come to the conclusion that eating natural, locally-produced food, costs less than commercially-produced food. My family is healthier for it, my environment is healthier, and I'm supporting my local economy.
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