Why most food we eat today is lacking in nutrients.
(What the result is and what to do about it).
There are five major reasons:
Earth and the human body are made up from 92 elements. These are however not spread evenly around the world. Gold does not occur everywhere. Selenium which has been shown to combat cancer and AIDS is almost non-existent in Australia’s soils. Water, which consists of hydrogen and oxygen, is on 70% of the earth’s surface and the body is 70% water, but water is relatively scarce in Australia when there are floods in other parts of the world. Thus the elements needed to grow nutritious fruit and vegetables are not always present in the soil. Plants cannot create them. The result is that while broccoli is considered generally a highly nutritious vegetable, in practice its nutrient content depends on the particular soil it was grown on. If an element is not in the soil it won’t be in the fruit or vegetable. Either this fact is not commonly understood or people are choosing to ignore it.
Conventional or “industrialised” farming methods produce over 90% of our food using large quantities of pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and man-made chemical fertilisers that are both toxic and generally contain only a few of the 92 natural elements. Since World War Two the so-called “green revolution” has advocated N-P-K fertilisers, which as the name suggests primarily contain nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Calcium, magnesium and all the multitude of trace elements which have been proven to be necessary for a healthy balanced soil and nutritious food have been ignored.
For this reason the quality of the world’s farmlands has been declining steadily since the 1950s and organic matter has been destroyed by all the ever increasing quantities of toxic chemicals used in conventional farming. Organic matter 50 to 60 years ago used to average 5% of our soils. Today they average 1 to 1.5 %. What was once live soil full of billions of microbes, bacteria, worms and fungi is becoming dead soil. Industrial farming methods lead to soil erosion, salinization, desertification and loss of soil fertility. Chemical farming does however produce large quantities of food. Unfortunately quality has been forgotten. Conventional farming practices produce fruit, vegetables, grains and meats which contain only 20% of the nutrients compared to food produced over 60 years ago.
2. Did you know that tomatoes are our most popular food and they are typically sprayed with six chemicals every three days of their life? Another reason that our food is being ruined is in its processing, storage, transport and preparation. All four of these steps remove most of the nutrients left. Nutrient content generally declines over time, so buying food transported round the world and imported defeats the purpose if you are looking for food as a source of nutrition. Why buy food transported thousands of miles from California or even WA, Tasmania or Victoria to Queensland? It makes sense to buy food grown locally and best of all in your own garden where you know what goes into it. Remember good food tastes better.
3.Tinned and processed foods generally have preservatives in them to extend the shelf-life and kill microbes and bacteria. Many processes remove enzymes and nutrients. Preservatives’ job continues in the human body when you eat these foods i.e. the preservatives kill microbes and bacteria in your body. These “bad guys” that are being killed are really “good guys” in terms of digestion. Your intestines are supposed to have billions of them to properly digest the food you eat so that you can absorb any nutrients in the food. When we kill them, we get sick. We get stomach pains, indigestion, cancer, inflammation, flatulence and constipation. Today one of the biggest growth areas in the medical industry is looking after digestion problems.
With bought foods you get hundreds of different additives, flavourings and colourings. There are over 74,000 man-made chemicals used in commerce with about 2000 new ones being added each year. There are only 92 elements that make up the earth and the human body. So how is our body going to recognize over 74,000 new ones and how can we expect it to deal with them? Whether we are aware of it or not, we are being constantly bombarded by a host of chemical toxins which are affecting our health. The most insidious of these are the ones sold to us as “food”. In the book “The Chemical Maze” by Bill Statham it says “Researchers found that hundreds of individual chemicals, pollutants, and pesticides are pumped back and forth from the mother to the foetus through the umbilical cord blood. In total, the body’s blood had 287 chemicals including 209 never before detected in the blood of a foetus. Some of these chemicals can be harmful even at extremely low levels. For example only 5 parts per billion of PCBs in maternal blood during foetal development can cause adverse brain development and attention and IQ deficits, which appear to be permanent.”
Packaged foods have a series of codes on the labels that list the “non-food” content in what we are buying. How do you find out what the numbers refer to and which are harmful? This is the value of the book “The Chemical Maze”. It lists 296 additives (including the 25 that are allowed in Australian foods but are banned in countries overseas), rates them and details health problems that they may cause.
One would expect that a cereal bar, sold as a school lunch box food by a well known cereal manufacturer, would be beyond reproach. The reality is somewhat different from the image of wholesomeness, health and vitality which this company promotes in its advertising. This particular cereal bar contains seven chemicals described as numbers 492, 322, 171,102, 133, 124 and 472e. There is no indication as to what these numbers represent which makes the information worse than useless.
Both 124 and 133 originated as coal tar dyes. Additive no. 102 is “Tartrazine” and is thought to cause problems associated with asthma, headaches, concentration problems, depression, learning difficulties, behavioural problems, insomnia, confusion and on and on. These additives are banned in countries overseas and are thought to be carcinogenic.
It is not surprising that the company that manufactures this “food” lists the additives it uses in a type size that is so small that it takes a magnifying glass to read it.
4. Our cooking methods strip our foods of a large proportion of vitamins and minerals. Canned and highly processed foods are even more seriously depleted.
To digest our food we need enzymes. Most of these are manufactured by the pancreas. Food enzymes are also present in many raw foods. However all enzymes are deactivated at temperatures above 65 degrees Celsius. A diet composed exclusively of cooked foods puts a severe strain on the pancreas, resulting in a shorter lifespan, illness and lowered resistance to stress of all kinds. Dr Edward Howell, an enzyme expert, points out that humans on a diet made up largely of cooked food have enlarged pancreas organs while other glands and organs, especially the brain, actually shrink in size.
Most processed foods have few enzymes left. Pasteurised milk has had the enzymes killed. Raw milk has in it the enzymes necessary for the human body to be able to take up its calcium.
The type of cooking makes a big difference to the end result in terms of nutrient content. Steaming is much better than boiling. Frying, barbecuing and micowaving are all bad. Raw food is best of all, so eat a lot of fresh fruit and salads.
5.Microwaves are in most homes in the developed countries. Microwaves are used in most restaurants, cafes, milkbars and fast food outlets to warm food up. Did you know that microwaves were banned in the USSR back in 1976 when their economy had no companies and lobbyists to influence government—instead they listened to their scientists. In microwaves atoms, molecules and cells are subjected to massive doses of electromagnetic radiation to reverse polarity billions of times per second. Structures of molecules are torn apart and deformed generating new compounds previously unknown. A Swiss study in 1992 showed changes in the blood and a decrease in red blood cells consuming microwaved food. In particular there were significant decreases in nutritional value of all micowaved foods.
What is the result of this loss of nutrients?
The food we eat has lost much of its good taste, so we saturate it with sugar and salt.
This further contributes to the increasing rate of ill health and obesity.
One of the results of this loss of nutrients is the loss of taste and flavour.
It is often commented that while fruits and vegetables today are beautiful in appearance, they have lost the flavour they once had. Those who grow their own in soil that is rich soon appreciate the now rare superior flavour of produce that is grown with respect for the earth and its balance. As well as enjoying the delicious flavour of such fruits and vegetables, they also reap a harvest in health. There is a close connection between flavour and wealth in minerals: the fewer the minerals, the weaker the flavour.
Solution:
Dr. Linus Pauling, the only person to win two Nobel Prizes on his own, said all illnesses and diseases can be traced to mineral deficiencies. Dr. Willem Serfontein said: “Almost all diseases and afflictions, both mental and physical, can be traced back to nutritional deficiencies. The answer to optimal physical and mental health therefore lies in harnessing the power of nutrition.”
The world has an epidemic of health problems with increasing rates of cancer, obesity, diabetes and heart problems. Nutrient-rich food without herbicides and pesticides is the solution, but nearly all the world’s research is focussed on finding patentable drugs to sell to help alleviate the symptoms.
There is finally a reluctant acceptance that if you eat organic food you will live longer and in better health. A major study funded by the European Union concluded that organic food is more nutritious than ordinary produce and that it may help to lengthen people’s lives.
So the solution on a world-wide scale is to switch from conventional farming practices to organic or biodynamic farming methods. This would have several major benefits:
the food we eat would be more healthful, lowering the escalating cost of the world’s “health” system;
there would be a significant reduction in the release of CO2 into the atmosphere by farmers as organic matter levels in the soil increase instead of decreasing; as organic matter levels drop CO2 is released whereas if organic matter increases CO2 is absorbed back into the soil.
There would be less usage of oil in both farm equipment and fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides. This would extend the life of remaining oil or lower its price.
On a personal scale if you grow your own food you will be healthier and fitter. You may well also save money or make money if you sell surplus produce as food prices are very likely to continue to rise. You can also consider taking digestive food enzyme supplements prior to eating cooked food.
Written by Geoff Buckley. http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/
Welcome
Welcome to the blog website for Growing Healthy Organic Food. Our blog contains many resources on organic farming and healthy gardening, including stories, videos and other topics. Our blog is completely free.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
New emerging trends in health and food.
As oil reserves are depleted…
As the world population increases…
As climate changes worsen…
As food shortages become more common…
As our soils become less productive…
As the nutritional content of our food decreases…
As our health deteriorates….
Major change has to happen soon and
three emerging trends will become clearer, namely
We will need to grow more of our own food locally in our home gardens and in community gardens, because of increasing transport costs and the diminishing number of farmers and productive land to farm (the average age of farmers in the UK is already 60; the major trend to bigger and bigger cities uses more and more land; farming used to be a major employer; agriculture used to employ more than 40% of the workforce, now it is down to 3%; farming skills have been lost).
Farmers will have to reduce their dependency on oil, diesel, man-made chemicals, herbicides and pesticides. Conventional farming is the major contributor to CO2 emissions causing organic matter levels to plummet. There will be a greater emphasis on fruit and vegetables, nuts and berries rather than cereals, grains and meat; this will come about partly because small acreage is far more productive and profitable than big farms and diversity increases production; large farms have tended to specialise on one or two crops or animals and have become dependent on transport and export markets; gardens are more productive per square metre than farms. Unemployment will also encourage more people to start growing their own food. Meats and animal products are extremely resource intensive, requiring enormous amounts of water, food and fossil fuels to produce. The widespread consumption of meat is not ecologically sustainable. Plants become even more important.
Our existing health system (Doctors & Hospitals) will collapse, because
v The cost is rising too fast to be sustainable (worsened by the financial crisis),
v Cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity and other problems are escalating,
v The population is ageing.
This will eventually cause a major refocus on prevention rather than treating symptoms, and a recognition that the primary cause of health problems is a deficiency in minerals in our diets.
The major common trend in all three of the above is for all families and individuals to start growing their own food without using herbicides, pesticides and man-made chemicals i.e. growing organically increasing the organic matter in the soil with compost and focussing on growing food with high nutritional content. This will overcome the mineral deficiencies and reverse the health crisis, start reducing CO2 emissions, reduce the dependency on oil, increase food production solving food shortages and starvation. Even the White House has already started a vegetable garden in 2009!Written by Geoff Buckley. For more visit http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/
As oil reserves are depleted…
As the world population increases…
As climate changes worsen…
As food shortages become more common…
As our soils become less productive…
As the nutritional content of our food decreases…
As our health deteriorates….
Major change has to happen soon and
three emerging trends will become clearer, namely
We will need to grow more of our own food locally in our home gardens and in community gardens, because of increasing transport costs and the diminishing number of farmers and productive land to farm (the average age of farmers in the UK is already 60; the major trend to bigger and bigger cities uses more and more land; farming used to be a major employer; agriculture used to employ more than 40% of the workforce, now it is down to 3%; farming skills have been lost).
Farmers will have to reduce their dependency on oil, diesel, man-made chemicals, herbicides and pesticides. Conventional farming is the major contributor to CO2 emissions causing organic matter levels to plummet. There will be a greater emphasis on fruit and vegetables, nuts and berries rather than cereals, grains and meat; this will come about partly because small acreage is far more productive and profitable than big farms and diversity increases production; large farms have tended to specialise on one or two crops or animals and have become dependent on transport and export markets; gardens are more productive per square metre than farms. Unemployment will also encourage more people to start growing their own food. Meats and animal products are extremely resource intensive, requiring enormous amounts of water, food and fossil fuels to produce. The widespread consumption of meat is not ecologically sustainable. Plants become even more important.
Our existing health system (Doctors & Hospitals) will collapse, because
v The cost is rising too fast to be sustainable (worsened by the financial crisis),
v Cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity and other problems are escalating,
v The population is ageing.
This will eventually cause a major refocus on prevention rather than treating symptoms, and a recognition that the primary cause of health problems is a deficiency in minerals in our diets.
The major common trend in all three of the above is for all families and individuals to start growing their own food without using herbicides, pesticides and man-made chemicals i.e. growing organically increasing the organic matter in the soil with compost and focussing on growing food with high nutritional content. This will overcome the mineral deficiencies and reverse the health crisis, start reducing CO2 emissions, reduce the dependency on oil, increase food production solving food shortages and starvation. Even the White House has already started a vegetable garden in 2009!Written by Geoff Buckley. For more visit http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/
Weed Control
Weed Control.
Two organic weed control strategies are:
* the heavy use of mulch reduces weed growth significantly.
* remove weeds before they go to seed.
The key thing is that most of us realize is that herbicides are expensive and cause harm to people, plants,animals, birds, water & soil life. We used to think we had a real weed problem until we visited one of Australia's largest organic farms where we were told that their wages bill for people to weed was over $125,000 per year. They pull out weeds by hand with teams of "weeders". After learning that, our weed problems faded into insignificance.Weeding is a chore. There's absolutely no doubt about that. Weeds are probably the organic gardener's greatest enemy. They use up nutrients, and smother plants. If allowed to go to seed, they proliferate with amazing speed. But what you need to understand about weeds is that when they are a real problem it is a sign that vital nutrients are missing. The purpose of weeds is nutrient recycling. With long roots, they bring up nutrients from deep down in the soil. Pull them up and use them, as nutrient-rich mulch.Particular weeds definitely grow in response to the structure, texture and fertility of the soil. For example, where there is a calcium deficiency there are millions of dandelions and "farmers friends". Many weeds grow best in poor, infertile soil, since the basic cause of most weed problems is wrong soil conditions. So the best organic weed control system is to learn how to build healthy balanced soil and to maintain it. Part of this is developing the soil food web(bacteria,fungi,worms) to improve the soil structure and indirectly help fight weeds by helping crop plants grow better.
Some plants & trees have enough leaves to restrict weed growth. The best organic weed control strategy is to plant vegetables closely together so that they shade the ground. You can do this when you have very high levels of nutrients and organic matter in the soil.Some small-scale commercial farmers use plastic sheeting or old carpeting to control weeds but this is a problem in that they stop sunlight, water and fertilizer from penetrating and without these, the soil dies. Carpets have poisons that leach into the soil.One of our key organic weed control strategies is to use cardboard and newspapers covered in mulch between my rows of vegetables and fruit trees. Both these substances break down over time and add cellulose, a natural wood-based substance, to the soil so that mulching has a dual purpose: it stops weeds and it add organic matter to the soil.The good news is that as the mineral balance and organic matter levels in the soil improve, weeds become less of a problem and easier to pull out. Composting, mulching and worm trenching are the other main organic weed control strategies I use which, at the same time, build organic matter. To summarise the best strategies for organic weed control are:
Remove weeds before they go to seed
Build the soil organic matter
Build soil nutrient level and ensure all the elements are present and in the correct balance
Use cardboard, newspaper and mulch to shut out light
Pull out weeds when they are small and loosen soil around plants to disturb the roots of newly emerging weeds.
Make sure your compost is properly aerated, moistened and hot enough to kill all weed seeds and pathogens.
Don’t throw away weeds: use them as mulch; they contain the missing nutrients you need to improve your organic soil.
Learn to enjoy your weeds!! Weeding can actually be a very meditative and soothing process if you allow yourself to let go the judgement around weeds. In the Healthy Growing programme you will find some fascinating insights into the role of weeds in restoring soil fertility and balance. Weeds actually have a very important role in nature. For more information go to www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com
Two organic weed control strategies are:
* the heavy use of mulch reduces weed growth significantly.
* remove weeds before they go to seed.
The key thing is that most of us realize is that herbicides are expensive and cause harm to people, plants,animals, birds, water & soil life. We used to think we had a real weed problem until we visited one of Australia's largest organic farms where we were told that their wages bill for people to weed was over $125,000 per year. They pull out weeds by hand with teams of "weeders". After learning that, our weed problems faded into insignificance.Weeding is a chore. There's absolutely no doubt about that. Weeds are probably the organic gardener's greatest enemy. They use up nutrients, and smother plants. If allowed to go to seed, they proliferate with amazing speed. But what you need to understand about weeds is that when they are a real problem it is a sign that vital nutrients are missing. The purpose of weeds is nutrient recycling. With long roots, they bring up nutrients from deep down in the soil. Pull them up and use them, as nutrient-rich mulch.Particular weeds definitely grow in response to the structure, texture and fertility of the soil. For example, where there is a calcium deficiency there are millions of dandelions and "farmers friends". Many weeds grow best in poor, infertile soil, since the basic cause of most weed problems is wrong soil conditions. So the best organic weed control system is to learn how to build healthy balanced soil and to maintain it. Part of this is developing the soil food web(bacteria,fungi,worms) to improve the soil structure and indirectly help fight weeds by helping crop plants grow better.
Some plants & trees have enough leaves to restrict weed growth. The best organic weed control strategy is to plant vegetables closely together so that they shade the ground. You can do this when you have very high levels of nutrients and organic matter in the soil.Some small-scale commercial farmers use plastic sheeting or old carpeting to control weeds but this is a problem in that they stop sunlight, water and fertilizer from penetrating and without these, the soil dies. Carpets have poisons that leach into the soil.One of our key organic weed control strategies is to use cardboard and newspapers covered in mulch between my rows of vegetables and fruit trees. Both these substances break down over time and add cellulose, a natural wood-based substance, to the soil so that mulching has a dual purpose: it stops weeds and it add organic matter to the soil.The good news is that as the mineral balance and organic matter levels in the soil improve, weeds become less of a problem and easier to pull out. Composting, mulching and worm trenching are the other main organic weed control strategies I use which, at the same time, build organic matter. To summarise the best strategies for organic weed control are:
Remove weeds before they go to seed
Build the soil organic matter
Build soil nutrient level and ensure all the elements are present and in the correct balance
Use cardboard, newspaper and mulch to shut out light
Pull out weeds when they are small and loosen soil around plants to disturb the roots of newly emerging weeds.
Make sure your compost is properly aerated, moistened and hot enough to kill all weed seeds and pathogens.
Don’t throw away weeds: use them as mulch; they contain the missing nutrients you need to improve your organic soil.
Learn to enjoy your weeds!! Weeding can actually be a very meditative and soothing process if you allow yourself to let go the judgement around weeds. In the Healthy Growing programme you will find some fascinating insights into the role of weeds in restoring soil fertility and balance. Weeds actually have a very important role in nature. For more information go to www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com
Friday, January 14, 2011
Secrets of fertilising
Secrets of Fertilising.
Your role is to maintain the level of organic matter; mainly by supplying mulch and compost. You also feed the soil-life natural elements (eg calcium, magnesium, potassium, silicon and boron) and they convert these into plant food.
There are three ways to fertilise:
1.Granules on the ground—this is the most important and essential method. Granules have the best longterm impact in that they can affect a change in the soil balance and pH. However it may take up to a year for that impact to take effect, as the granules have to first be converted into plant food by the wild life living in the organic matter in the soil.
2.Liquid fertiliser on the ground--- this has a much quicker impact on the plant but has less longterm impact. It can be done quickly and efficiently with a fertigation system built into the irrigation system.
3.Foliar spray onto the leaves---this is the quickest way to affect the plant and the fruit or vegetable. It is almost immediate in its impact and is therefore an excellent way to improve the size and quality of the current crop. You do a leaf analysis to identify any deficiencies and can correct them straightaway.
It is therefore recommended that:
(i) a spray unit for foliar spraying of nutrients be used, and
(ii) a fertigation system be added to the irrigation system for effective and efficient fertilising with liquid fertilisers (obtainable from Nutri-Tech).
N.B. It is highly desirable to use all three of the above methods. Whilst many people only do number one, this does not take into account the fact that different crops take different elements out of the soil in varying quantities and heavy rain can leach many minerals during the year. Vegetables have a much shorter cycle than fruit trees and to save a crop or to ensure that it is good quality, size and quantity you need to keep feeding plants frequently. Like humans they benefit from regular feeding in small amounts, not large amounts infrequently.
What do you fertilise with:
What your soil test identifies as necessary
What your leaf tests identify as necessary.
Compost
Microbes and fungi.
Basic equipment needed: watering can and maybe a backpack
Desirable equipment: sprinklers and a fertigation unit.
For more information go to www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com
Your role is to maintain the level of organic matter; mainly by supplying mulch and compost. You also feed the soil-life natural elements (eg calcium, magnesium, potassium, silicon and boron) and they convert these into plant food.
There are three ways to fertilise:
1.Granules on the ground—this is the most important and essential method. Granules have the best longterm impact in that they can affect a change in the soil balance and pH. However it may take up to a year for that impact to take effect, as the granules have to first be converted into plant food by the wild life living in the organic matter in the soil.
2.Liquid fertiliser on the ground--- this has a much quicker impact on the plant but has less longterm impact. It can be done quickly and efficiently with a fertigation system built into the irrigation system.
3.Foliar spray onto the leaves---this is the quickest way to affect the plant and the fruit or vegetable. It is almost immediate in its impact and is therefore an excellent way to improve the size and quality of the current crop. You do a leaf analysis to identify any deficiencies and can correct them straightaway.
It is therefore recommended that:
(i) a spray unit for foliar spraying of nutrients be used, and
(ii) a fertigation system be added to the irrigation system for effective and efficient fertilising with liquid fertilisers (obtainable from Nutri-Tech).
N.B. It is highly desirable to use all three of the above methods. Whilst many people only do number one, this does not take into account the fact that different crops take different elements out of the soil in varying quantities and heavy rain can leach many minerals during the year. Vegetables have a much shorter cycle than fruit trees and to save a crop or to ensure that it is good quality, size and quantity you need to keep feeding plants frequently. Like humans they benefit from regular feeding in small amounts, not large amounts infrequently.
What do you fertilise with:
What your soil test identifies as necessary
What your leaf tests identify as necessary.
Compost
Microbes and fungi.
Basic equipment needed: watering can and maybe a backpack
Desirable equipment: sprinklers and a fertigation unit.
For more information go to www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Why you should grow your own food
Why you should grow your own food.
One of the reasons for growing vegetables and/or is that food prices are rising dramatically; in fact in 2010 we have already seen some significant price rises and food shortages. Here in S.E.Queensland I have seen the price of onions rise from $20 per 20 kilogram bag to $80. Partly this is the result of a very wet season, which can be explained by climate change extremes which aren’t going to settle down any time soon. Organically grown carrots were unobtainable in this region for nearly six months. We are now being paid wholesale prices of $9 per kilogram for organically grown beans. Last year we received just $5. This is an 80% increase in just 12 months. What other investments have risen that fast?
The world population is already 6.5 billion and is projected to reach 9 billion by 2050. There is a finite amount of land and water and already many people are dying of starvation and more have little water; the situation can only get worse.
All agriculture depends on oil but conventional agriculture depends to a massive extent on huge quantities of oil and gas for transport, harvesting, cultivation, fertilizers and herbicides and pesticides. As oil reserves decline, prices of oil will rise further and faster. If you need to be persuaded that Peak Oil is a reality, there is one set of statistics that is totally convincing. In the 1960’s the world consumed 4 billion barrels of oil per year and the average rate of discovery annually, was around 30 billion barrels. Now, we consume 30 billion barrels of oil per year and the discovery rate is approaching 4 billion barrels of crude per year. Oil reserves are diminishing but developing countries like China & India are using more and more oil and gas and most westernized countries are still addicted to oil. This guarantees that the oil price will rise and that there will soon be shortages of oil & gas. Food prices will rise even more steeply than they have already as this happens. As oil prices rise farmers have no choice but to start switching to organic farming methods that use less oil. Many do not know how to do this and the degradation of soil that has occurred with chemical farming practices will make it impossible to do within a short time frame.
I believe everyone should grow some of their own food: because
*this activity connects you to nature
*makes you healthier through working outdoors with fresh air, sunshine & exercise
*contributes greatly to making a life worth living
* you can make a living growing in a small space
For more information go to http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/ .
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
What you need to know to make big money planting vegetables.
What if climate change, peak oil and escalating world population cause increasing food shortages and escalating food prices? Growing your own food reduces the risks for you and your family & friends. Planting vegetables now is increasingly important. Selling surplus food is a reliable way to make money. We provide a step by step plan to maximize your income from growing.
The key factors that affect profitability when planting vegetables, fruit, herbs, nuts and berries are:
1.Your choice of crops is fundamental to your financial success.
2.The market demand for the crops you select and your ability to reach that market.
3. Marketing crops is just as important as in any business and choosing the right marketing strategy is crucial.
4. You need to be able to grow the crops.
5. Your climate and growing season make a big difference.
6. Costs e.g. mulch, fertilizers, watering, composting, transport, electricity, packing….. In most countries however the biggest cost is labour. Here the less developed countries like India, China and Africa have a big cost advantage.
Actual examples of planting vegetables to make money.
Some crops are hugely more profitable than others e.g. most fruit trees have only one crop every 12 months—but not all of them! Planting vegetables can be amazingly rewarding e.g. we pick rhubarb from the one plant every 5 or 6 weeks giving us 8 crops a year from each plant! There are other vegetables we pick even more times a year. Temperature has a major impact on growth—too hot or too cold stops growth dead in its tracks for most plants. So if you are in an area that gets extreme hot temperatures (over 30 degrees C) you can improve production by planting vegetables in a shadehouse in the summer. Depending on the size of the area you grow in this can be a small homemade device with cloth draped over wood or plastic poles or a large walk in shadehouse with sprinklers. If you live in cold climates that get frosts or snow, then you can improve productivity and lengthen your growing season by planting vegetables in a greenhouse in the winter. Another recommendation is to choose crops with the shortest time from planting to maturity because time and cashflow are major factors in profitability. So how about these:
Radish 6 to 7 weeks from planting to maturity
Buttonsquash 7 weeks
Zucchini 7 to 8 weeks
Silver beet 8 weeks
Broccoli 9 to 10 weeks
Carrots 10 to 11 weeks
The exact time will vary slightly with different varieties and the weather. Clearly with a short growing period like these crops above, you can be planting vegetables several times a year. This demonstrates vividly why good information in planting vegetables makes a huge difference to the results you achieve. Planting vegetables to make money needs to be addressed as a business; as we have seen there are many factors affecting your success. We can show you the way based on years of practical experience.
For more information go to http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/
What if climate change, peak oil and escalating world population cause increasing food shortages and escalating food prices? Growing your own food reduces the risks for you and your family & friends. Planting vegetables now is increasingly important. Selling surplus food is a reliable way to make money. We provide a step by step plan to maximize your income from growing.
The key factors that affect profitability when planting vegetables, fruit, herbs, nuts and berries are:
1.Your choice of crops is fundamental to your financial success.
2.The market demand for the crops you select and your ability to reach that market.
3. Marketing crops is just as important as in any business and choosing the right marketing strategy is crucial.
4. You need to be able to grow the crops.
5. Your climate and growing season make a big difference.
6. Costs e.g. mulch, fertilizers, watering, composting, transport, electricity, packing….. In most countries however the biggest cost is labour. Here the less developed countries like India, China and Africa have a big cost advantage.
Actual examples of planting vegetables to make money.
Some crops are hugely more profitable than others e.g. most fruit trees have only one crop every 12 months—but not all of them! Planting vegetables can be amazingly rewarding e.g. we pick rhubarb from the one plant every 5 or 6 weeks giving us 8 crops a year from each plant! There are other vegetables we pick even more times a year. Temperature has a major impact on growth—too hot or too cold stops growth dead in its tracks for most plants. So if you are in an area that gets extreme hot temperatures (over 30 degrees C) you can improve production by planting vegetables in a shadehouse in the summer. Depending on the size of the area you grow in this can be a small homemade device with cloth draped over wood or plastic poles or a large walk in shadehouse with sprinklers. If you live in cold climates that get frosts or snow, then you can improve productivity and lengthen your growing season by planting vegetables in a greenhouse in the winter. Another recommendation is to choose crops with the shortest time from planting to maturity because time and cashflow are major factors in profitability. So how about these:
Radish 6 to 7 weeks from planting to maturity
Buttonsquash 7 weeks
Zucchini 7 to 8 weeks
Silver beet 8 weeks
Broccoli 9 to 10 weeks
Carrots 10 to 11 weeks
The exact time will vary slightly with different varieties and the weather. Clearly with a short growing period like these crops above, you can be planting vegetables several times a year. This demonstrates vividly why good information in planting vegetables makes a huge difference to the results you achieve. Planting vegetables to make money needs to be addressed as a business; as we have seen there are many factors affecting your success. We can show you the way based on years of practical experience.
For more information go to http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/
How to measure the quality of your soil.
By Geoff Buckley
The most common measure of soil quality is the pH and this is a good general indicator but does not tell you what to do if the pH is too low or too high. Soil pH can also vary during the crop cycle by as much as a whole point. To find out what to do to correct the health and balance of your soil you really need a soil test that identifies the mineral deficiencies and excesses. There are 92 elements that make up the earth (and the human body) and plants cannot create them if they are not in the soil, so your fruit, vegetables and herbs will lack nutrients that are not in the soil they are grown in. Ideally you need to do a soil test once a year because different plants take out different amounts of each nutrient and the rain and watering can leach out some minerals.
There are two other measures of the quality of your soil that are worth knowing and a good soil test will provide you with these. The first is the level of organic matter in the soil. Historically this used to average 5% but with the advent of the so-called “green revolution” after world war 2, the soils in both the USA & Australia have been degraded and now are commonly only 1.5%. The reason for this degradation is the heavy use of herbicides, pesticides and man-made chemicals which has destroyed the soil’s organic matter. With commercial monoculture systems there is little use of mulch and compost which build the level of organic matter. With regular use of mulch and compost matter you can build up the organic matter in your soil; for example my soil measures over 10% organic matter.
One of our major banks decided they needed a good indicator of whether to make a safe loan to farmers. After much research they came up with the fact that the best measure was the level of organic matter in the farm’s soil !
The other less well known measure of the quality of soil is the CEC or Cation Exchange Capacity. This measure tells you the capacity of the soil to store nutrients. Sandy soil typically has a CEC of only 2 to 4. Heavy clay soils can be as high as 40 to 60. To improve your CEC there are two quick and easy ways. By adding humus or humates or humic acid you can raise the CEC level because humus has a CEC of 250 and humic acid has a CECof 450. The other way is to use fulvic acid which has a CEC of 1400!! I put fulvic acid in all my liquid fertilizers and in all my foliar sprays.
With all these numbers how do you know what a healthy balanced soil looks like? Professor Albrecht spent his life studying and analyzing soils from all round the world and he came up with the standard which shows that calcium, magnesium and potassium are the most significant elements in terms of quantity. Other elements such as silica, boron and phosphorus are critical but are needed in very small amounts. This is a surprise to many as NPK (nitrogen. phosphorus and potassium) is the most common fertilizer.
Under optimal conditions, soil organic levels are high and there is a large varied population of soil micro-organisms. Nitrogen is a very important element but under these conditions plants use the nitrogen that is freely available in large quantities from the air (which is 70% nitrogen) but which has to be converted to plant available form by soil organisms. There is no need to add nitrogen.
Conclusion: building and maintaining a healthy, balanced soil is an ongoing process, and you really need an annual soil test which should provide all three of the above measures i.e. pH, CEC and the level of organic matter.For more information visit Growing Healthy
By Geoff Buckley
The most common measure of soil quality is the pH and this is a good general indicator but does not tell you what to do if the pH is too low or too high. Soil pH can also vary during the crop cycle by as much as a whole point. To find out what to do to correct the health and balance of your soil you really need a soil test that identifies the mineral deficiencies and excesses. There are 92 elements that make up the earth (and the human body) and plants cannot create them if they are not in the soil, so your fruit, vegetables and herbs will lack nutrients that are not in the soil they are grown in. Ideally you need to do a soil test once a year because different plants take out different amounts of each nutrient and the rain and watering can leach out some minerals.
There are two other measures of the quality of your soil that are worth knowing and a good soil test will provide you with these. The first is the level of organic matter in the soil. Historically this used to average 5% but with the advent of the so-called “green revolution” after world war 2, the soils in both the USA & Australia have been degraded and now are commonly only 1.5%. The reason for this degradation is the heavy use of herbicides, pesticides and man-made chemicals which has destroyed the soil’s organic matter. With commercial monoculture systems there is little use of mulch and compost which build the level of organic matter. With regular use of mulch and compost matter you can build up the organic matter in your soil; for example my soil measures over 10% organic matter.
One of our major banks decided they needed a good indicator of whether to make a safe loan to farmers. After much research they came up with the fact that the best measure was the level of organic matter in the farm’s soil !
The other less well known measure of the quality of soil is the CEC or Cation Exchange Capacity. This measure tells you the capacity of the soil to store nutrients. Sandy soil typically has a CEC of only 2 to 4. Heavy clay soils can be as high as 40 to 60. To improve your CEC there are two quick and easy ways. By adding humus or humates or humic acid you can raise the CEC level because humus has a CEC of 250 and humic acid has a CECof 450. The other way is to use fulvic acid which has a CEC of 1400!! I put fulvic acid in all my liquid fertilizers and in all my foliar sprays.
With all these numbers how do you know what a healthy balanced soil looks like? Professor Albrecht spent his life studying and analyzing soils from all round the world and he came up with the standard which shows that calcium, magnesium and potassium are the most significant elements in terms of quantity. Other elements such as silica, boron and phosphorus are critical but are needed in very small amounts. This is a surprise to many as NPK (nitrogen. phosphorus and potassium) is the most common fertilizer.
Under optimal conditions, soil organic levels are high and there is a large varied population of soil micro-organisms. Nitrogen is a very important element but under these conditions plants use the nitrogen that is freely available in large quantities from the air (which is 70% nitrogen) but which has to be converted to plant available form by soil organisms. There is no need to add nitrogen.
Conclusion: building and maintaining a healthy, balanced soil is an ongoing process, and you really need an annual soil test which should provide all three of the above measures i.e. pH, CEC and the level of organic matter.For more information visit Growing Healthy
Hi,
My name is Geoff Buckley. I live in SE Queensland in Australia and have a partner in marriage and in business called Bev. We both love gardening and have been gardening here for the past 16 years. We now teach others how to grow their own food. We grow 60 different crops organically, 40 vegetables, 10 herbs and 10 fruit, berries and nuts. Our business name is Growing Healthy. We write books about gardening and farming and teach others how to grow their own organic food and how to run a business growing crops.
Our website is http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/ .
My name is Geoff Buckley. I live in SE Queensland in Australia and have a partner in marriage and in business called Bev. We both love gardening and have been gardening here for the past 16 years. We now teach others how to grow their own food. We grow 60 different crops organically, 40 vegetables, 10 herbs and 10 fruit, berries and nuts. Our business name is Growing Healthy. We write books about gardening and farming and teach others how to grow their own organic food and how to run a business growing crops.
Our website is http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/ .
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