You Are What You Eat~Reading Labels

Yes there are tons of additives you can add to poor soil. Most have chemicals in them or processed with chemicals. To my knowledge they are just not tasty except for salt (NaCl, a naturally occurring chemical compound). We, as a society, have gotten away from the natural, good taste of pure food. We are so used to chemicals in our food that we no longer read the labels because we know beyond a doubt that they are in there.

White Bread label-Calcium Peroxide, the word partially cut off is ammonia???

One bread I used to buy had formaldehyde as a preservative in it. I am very allergic to formaldehyde. It causes severe respiratory problems. Of course being an overachiever, I'm allergic to a lot of things food and nonfood related. My incidence of various levels of allergic reactions almost disappeared with my antihistamines and switching to an organic lifestyle. What's in my bread? Whole wheat flour  (I grind it myself), yeast, honey, spring water, sea salt, and butter. That's it. As far as shelf life, my bread will keep for a week without molding if it lasts that long. I usually make bread twice a week.

Have you ever thought about the numbers on the stickers placed on produce in the grocery stores? Did you think these PLU codes were just to make it easier for the cashiers because each product has a different one? Yes and no.  It does make it easier for reorders and cashiers but you should know that there is a more important reason for you to look at this code.

If it only has four digits, the produce was grown in "traditional" methods...dirt and pesticides. Depending on the country of origin, the pesticides could contain elements harmful to humans and animals possibly even deadly. It will have to be washed really well before eaten and all the while praying the pesticides have not entered beyond the skin of the produce.

Okay, you immediately put down all the four digit PLU coded produce, and go for the five or six digit coded produce and think it's safer. Wrong!  There are two numbers you need to be aware of. They are easy to spot being the first number on the left.

The first one I'm covering is "8." If you read"8" you should know immediately that this is a genetically modified organism (GMO). It is grown unnaturally. The seed used to grow it is tampered with in a laboratory. It's gene splicing. This is different than a hybrid which is changed by natural ways over time, or by grafting, or cross pollination. There have been no long term studies that determine the effects to the human or animal body. GMO seeds are also patented as unique products protected by law. In my mind, if you are trying to eat healthier, why fool with Mother Nature? I've heard some horror stories about GMO products so do the intelligent thing and research it on your own. Eddie at Food for Thought said in one video, "Think eight as the one we hate." It sort of stuck in my mind.

Since there are no long term studies yet (it's too new), it's like playing Russian Roulette with your body and health. I'm reminded of Thaldomide given to pregnant women to combat morning sickness in the 1950s. It had some very long term effects on their babies before it was deemed dangerous and not given to pregnant women anymore. GMOs may produce the same or worse effects. I'm protecting me and mine by avoiding them.

This is the code you want. Notice it usually says "certified organic" on the label. The produce is grown naturally without chemicals. There are stringent inspections, documentation, and history to back up up what is grown (including seed used), and how it's grown and handled. I went through this process with my old homestead and plan to do it with this one too. It is job one to produce the healthiest and most  nutritious foods to feed ourselves with.

That brings up a point that you all may have noticed in the markets for organic products. It's expensive. As stated above the length one goes through to get the "certified organic" label. It's a long, involved process. It takes time (a minimum of 3 years documentation). If you used animal waste in your compost, what the animals are fed must be organic also. If you are adding kitchen scraps to your compost, it must be organic. The inspections aren't free and there are many of them. Plus the added cost of reinspection and recertification. This is why a larger number of farmers label their produce as "chemical free," but you won't find this distinction in the grocery stores. It's the medium standing between certified organic label but hasn't been official labeled or recognized. The best they can do is label "No GMO,""No pesticides," or "no antibiotics,"or "no artificial additives." But there is no oversight to prove it.

So keep in mind next time you are shopping for groceries, you are what you eat and read the labels.

Be blessed and have a wonderful day.

Compost the Easy Hard Way

Everyone who researches organic gardening knows the importance of compost.  Compost is simply the broken down  organic waste products (vegetable peelings, paper, manure, leaves, etc). Ask any gardener and they will call it "black gold." It's more than a fertilizer for plants. It enriches your soil, and even in the heaviest clay soil, like we have here, will help the soil hold moisture. It all makes the soil lighter and easier for roots to grow through. The root system of plants have been known to widen cracks in concrete in their search for food. That in itself is pretty impressive, but we are talking about food product here. A healthy root system will feed the plants we want to grow big and strong. Why have wimpy vegetables that have had to fight their way through hard packed soil when you can have robust plants?

Chicken waste and straw make excellent compost after time. It has to compost for at least a year because chickens eat meat. But, rabbit waste can be used immediately because they only eat plant material. This is a key to how soon you can use your composting efforts.  It's an important point. That's why we have both rabbits and chickens. Plants such as vegetables need a booster when they start to flower and set fruit. We will use either composted chicken manure from the previous year, rabbit manure straight from the cages, or purchased composted vegetable/animal waste to side dress the plants. We will continue side dressing every couple of weeks until the harvest is finished.

Now, Mel will toss the contents of the kitchen compost bin out into our composting area. We  grow our compost close to the garden bed. I've seen several articles and videos on using chickens to help your composting efforts. Our chickens are totally free ranging birds. They have no penned in area and are free to roam on our acreage. Here's the rub. They eat all the green manure (scraps-nitrogen source) except for the paper towels so we are left with only the carbon source in the pile. Yes, they do leave their droppings in the pile as they scratch it and turn the pile, but I noticed a marked reduction in the amount of nitrogen in the pile. The combination of the nitrogen and carbon decomposes (heats) the pile to promote decomposition into the rich, dark fertilizer we want.

Compost needs several things to work effectively. Namely air, water, heat, and balanced nitrogen and carbon. When an inbalance occurs like a skewed ratio of carbon and nitrogen the compost pile will stagnate instead of decompose. You get the nonbeneficial type of molds that just stink up the place. Granted it will decompose over time, but it will take longer. Compost is a living breathing entity.

So what's the answer in our case? We have two options as I see it. We can add the rabbit waste or we can fence off the pile from the chickens. Each one of these options have cons. Using the rabbit waste in the compost pile reduces the amount of nitrogen rich fertilizer we can use as a side dressing to boost plant growth and vegetables. Fencing the pile off means we will have to manually turn the pile periodically. Right now, we have a great abundance in rabbit manure so we may do both.

We keep a 5-gallon bucket half filled with rabbit manure and rain water to use as a liquid fertilizer. If a plant requires an instant booster to keep producing, like strawberries, we'll grab a half pint full of the rain water- rabbit poo mix for each plant. It's similar to compost tea or worm tea in properties. Within 24 hours, we see a difference in the plant we are growing. The plant will green up, and stand a little bit taller. With our strawberries, we water them in with this rain-rabbit poo mix every two weeks. It between we notice a boom of flowers for our bumble bees to pollinate, and set fruit.

We don't expect much from our garden this year. Growing an organic garden takes a few years. Our goal for this year is fresh eating. Although we may dry a few ears of corn for the chickens to enjoy this winter. Seems strange to most people that I'm talking about next winter when it's only Spring, but this is the road towards self-sufficiency. Next year's production is geared for six months of sustainability. The following year is a full year to meet our needs until the next growing season. The year after that, two years worth. Yes, I've got a 1-year, 2-year and up to 5-year plan for this homestead already. Planning is key. I'll probably post it here one day for you to see when there is not so much going on.

While Mel has been attempting this for the last two years, her lack of knowledge was holding her back. As for me, I grew 100-300 lbs of each of vegetables each year in my 30x40 organic plot. It did take years to produce that much on such small amount of garden, but it is doable.I should mention here that I started with a 10x10 plot and expanded it each year. It meant looking at what I had, what I wanted, patience, and planning. 

But in the beginning of all of it, there was compost. Compost can make the sandiest or hard clay packed soil into a rich growing medium for tasty veges and fruit. It can also make rich soil much more richer and a powerhouse for plants. Manufactured, chemical fertilizers...who needs them? Not us!