Frosty mornings and a Long Todo List

Last nights temp dipped to 35F! Arrgh, this is coming on all too quickly. I still have so much to do.

Perennials need to be trimmed, seeds collected.

I just read a very timely and informative blog called Choosing Voluntary Simplicity about growing Hollyhocks. In the article Shirley informs us that she collects seeds from her Hollyhocks and I thought, duh, why didn’t I think of that. I am still such a newbie at this stuff that I didn’t even get this idea on my list of things to do.

I don’t have nearly the collection of Hollyhocks Shirley has (and it is a beautiful collection), but I hope to correct that oversight.

My one lonely Hollyhock needs company. So, I’m going to see to it that next year it will be surrounded by more beautiful Hollyhocks.

Since I have never collected seeds before I’m a little stressed over getting to them before freezing weather kills them off. Her instructions on how to handle the seeds and store them has given me confidence to go for it.

My compost pile needs to be spread out into the beds where it will do the most good. This clay soil desperately needs this stuff every year to improve its poor drainage. After that, I’ll be able to empty about half my freezer of all the compost material I’ve been collecting over the past few weeks. It really is amazing how much compostable stuff my wife and I can create. For instance, I drink several cups of coffee a day which creates quite a bit of coffee grounds along with the paper filters. We eat a lot of vegetables so the trimmings from all of that adds up. Egg shells, extra pancakes (because I can’t seem to make just enough for two of us).

Yesterday, I made Butternut Squash soup from a recipe our daughter gave us which created even more leftovers for the compost pile. By the way, I saved the seeds from the squash. Just remove all the pulp, lay them out in a cookie sheet for 3-4 days, turning them once a day. Then put them in a paper bag, inside a plastic bag and keep them in the fridge or freezer until next spring. From what I have read these should keep for a couple of years. Tip: place a few seeds in a wet paper towel inside a plastic bag and see if they sprout after a few days. This way you know the seeds you are keeping are viable.

This morning I cut up a cantaloupe my sister-in-law gave me and I will save these seeds as well. Plus, more for the compost pile.

The tomatoes need to be covered, still a bunch of green ones after our huge harvest two days ago. Whatever is left will go to the, you guessed it, compost pile.

This year I think I may plant some cover crop in my vegetable beds. This will be another ‘first’ for me. I used to think my space is too small for such things but I figure size really shouldn’t matter. I’m sure the benefits will be worth it, even if it is not on a grand scale. A couple of suggestions are Hairy Vetch, Winter Rye.

From Organic Gardener: ‘You must kill your cover crops before they set seed and the top growth gets out of control. That's right, kill them.’ Now this just scares me. I can picture myself not getting to the crops in time and having Hairy Vetch all over my backyard. Mowing is not an option because these will be planted in raised beds. Maybe I can use a weed whacker or pruning shears.

Oh, a very important point I just stumbled upon, some cover crops such as rye are allelopathic, which means they inhibit seed germination. Great to know BEFORE buying a bag of rye. Now I need to research which cover crops don’t inhibit seed germination.

Well, I’ve procrastinated enough. So, with my coffee mug held tightly in my fist, it’s time to face the chilly morning and plan my day.

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ALERT!! HR1105….Another Bill to Force NAIS

Every Thursday for the past 6 Months, Government Officials have raided homes and businesses. Sometimes at gunpoint, sometimes with a warrant, and sometimes with nothing more then the burly bodies that intimidate those about to be oppressed.

The intent of these raids is to gain control of the distribution of such seemingly innocuous ‘weapons’ as raw milk, vegetable seed, cattle and other farm animals. It is nothing more than collusion between the FDA, Department of Agriculture and Monsanto to force small farmers out and to stifle organic farming. The result so far is to terrorize small farm owners and their families. It has also alerted those of us who are sensitive to any attempt by our federal government to control our actions and to force compliance with laws attempting to give up control of time-honored family-owned farming traditions. Once the family-run farm is ‘under control’ they will next cone after backyard gardeners.

Here in the US, Monsanto goon squads routinely trespass onto privately owned land, take samples of privately owned crops and then claim Monsanto’s frankenseed crops are being grown illegally, their patents have been violated. According to Monsanto, these are “unauthorized seeds”. Those two words are a harbinger of things to come and should give you an idea where all of this is headed.

Courts have ruled that if Monsanto’s seeds sprout in a ditch near the uncontaminated natural crops of a farmer who refuses to grow gmo, the crop belongs to Monsanto along with fines and penalties.

The following is a list of those at the vanguard of this very under-reported war:
John Stowers Farm LaGrange, Ohio. Crime: They run a private, members-only food co-op.

Greg Niewendorp, Michigan. Crime: refusing to participate in the NAIS

Steve Hixon, Illinois. Crime: cleaning seeds

Paul-Martin Griepentrog, Wisconsin. Crime: refusing to participate in the NAIS

Democrats are submitting one bill after another in the House and Senate in response to the massive backlash against the National Animal Identification System, making sure that as one bill is exposed and opposed, another quickly takes its place. As farm and ranch groups respond angrily to the overt attempts to end family farming and ranching in favor of industrialized frankenfood factory farms, as Monsanto and other GMO developers gain ever greater ownership of food production and supply, USDA and FDA acting in concert with local law enforcement are raiding farms and ranches.

It was discovered that funding for these bills which have not even been passed, is already underway.

Today, Thursday of course, H.R. 1105 is awaiting assignment to Committee in the Senate. It stands poised to allocate $289 million to APHIS for the implementation of the National Animal Identification System. It also outlines the time frame to implement in 2009 the tracking of 33 species.

We as voters do not go to the polls to elect officials to represent Multi-National Corporations or Lobbyists paid by groups attempting to get their piece of the pie. We elect officials to protect us, the consumer.

If a dozen or more terrorists held two women, 10 children, toddlers and a baby hostage for six hours, the event would be televised nationwide and on the front pages of newspapers the next day. Unless, of course, the perpetrators are members of our federal government.

I find it very disturbing that our main-stream-media has chosen not to report these raids. The only way to learn of them is through blogs, websites, and word of mouth.

I write about this topic from time to time in an attempt to do my part in keeping as many people as possible aware of the progress that Monsanto and other GMO advocates are making toward owning all seed companies. In 2005 Monsanto’s seed/genetic trait holdings were primarily in corn, cotton, soybean, and canola. That year they purchased Seminis, the world’s largest vegetable seed company (see And We Have the Seed) specializing in seed for vegetable field crops.

Now their takeover of the vegetable seed sector continues, as they have announced the intent to purchase the Dutch breeding and seed company, De Ruiter Seeds. This purchase diversifies Monsanto’s seed holdings in vegetable field crops (Seminis) to “protected culture” fruits and vegetables (primarily tomatoes and cucurbits produced greenhouse, hothouse, etc). Analysts from Bank of America say that this gives Monsanto 25% of the world vegetable seed market, but I believe that this is a low estimate.

Meanwhile, Monsanto is taking many other steps to keep farmers and everyone else from having any access at all to buying, collecting, and saving of normal seeds:

1. They’ve bought up the seed companies across the Midwest.
2. They’ve written Monsanto seed laws and gotten legislators to put them through, that make cleaning, collecting and storing of seeds so onerous in terms of fees and paperwork that having normal seed becomes almost impossible.
3. Monsanto is pushing laws that ensure farmers and citizens can’t block the planting of GMO crops even if they can contaminate other crops.
4. There are Monsanto regulations buried in the FDA rules that make a farmer’s seed cleaning equipment illegal because it’s now considered a “source of seed contamination.”

Monsanto has sued more than 1,500 farmers whose fields had simply been contaminated by GM crops.

Still think they don’t have a plan to own every seed in the world?




Further Reading:
Everything you need to know about NAIS

No NAIS

Monsanto’s Position on Seed Patent Infringement

Who Own’s Your Tomato?

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Vegetables are less nutritious than in past

How many of you home gardeners think fruits and vegetables we find at the supermarket have fewer nutrients than what we grow at home? Without even peeking, I’m pretty sure all of you raised your hands.

Those vegetables and fruits at the supermarket are grown by big agriculture and those of us who grow our own avoid supermarket produce as much as possible.

A report in the February issue of the Journal of HortScience, says produce in the U.S. not only tastes worse than it did in your grandparents' day, it also contains fewer nutrients - at least according to Donald R. Davis, a former research associate with the Biochemical Institute at the University of Texas, Austin. Davis claims the average vegetable found in today's supermarket is anywhere from 5% to 40% lower in minerals (including magnesium, iron, calcium and zinc) than those harvested just 50 years ago.

Davis does admit the science of testing has improved over the years, and earlier results may not have been as accurate as they are today, and many of these vegetables travel quite a bit further today before they are put on display at our local supermarket, meaning they are older before they reach the consumer.

Just like the general population of humans, today’s vegetables are getting larger. But this doesn’t mean we are getting more nutrients. Most of this increase in produce size is in “dry matter” (90% of which is carbohydrates) spurred along by soil chemistry. Perhaps some of this “soil chemistry” is getting into out bodies and this is what is helping us to all ‘super-size’ our bodies. Scary thought. Also, selective breeding is favoring larger vegetables but for some reason they just are not getting a proportionate increase in nutrients. My feeling is that it is because of all the chemical fertilizers used to increase the farmers productivity.

In the good ole days, everything had to be fed with organic matter because the ‘miracle’ of chemical fertilizers didn’t appear until just after WWII.

Another factor concerning the use of chemically increasing the size is that vegetables are grown faster today, allowing farmers to get their produce to the consumer quicker. The downside to this is the vegetables are not given enough time to absorb nutrients. These are the vegetables whose seeds are being selected to grow the following years. Before long, the nutrients have been selected out.

These arguments backup the necessity to grow organically and to select and save heirloom seeds.

Monoculture farming practices - another hallmark of the Big Ag industry - have also led to soil-mineral depletion, which, in turn, affects the nutrient content of crops.

More than three billion people around the world suffer from malnourishment and yet, ironically, efforts to increase food production have actually produced food that is less nourishing.

Fruits seem to be less affected by genetic and environmental dilution, but one can't help but wonder how nutritionally bankrupt veggies can be avoided. Supplementing them is problematic, too: don't look to vitamin pills, as recent research indicates that those aren't very helpful either.


Further reading:
The Incredible, Edible Front Lawn
Saving Seed
Saving Seeds
Why should we save seed
Heirloom Seeds
Seed Savers Exchange

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Saving seed can get you sued

I don't mean to get too political here in the garden blog world but Monsanto is getting too invasive and the more we all know about it the better, in my humble opinion.

Here is an article, written by Tom Philpott of Grist.org, about Monsanto's latest tightening of their iron grip on our nation's food supply.

This is scary stuff and the implications of Monsanto's future influence on the home gardener should not be overlooked.

Please read, if for no other reason than to cast light on how a multi-million dollar biotech firm is suppressing our farmers right to save seed.

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