Posted on 03/23/2008 11:36:40 PM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick
Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.
At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."
Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.
A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."
[snipped]
She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.
"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
This is an article about melamine as it has been used in American products, including fertilizer for the garden:
http://www.thenatureinus.com/2008/12/american-food-fertilized-with-melamine.html
The Melamine Page
[collection of links to melamine articles in U.S..]
http://www.treehugger.com/topics/query.php?topic=Melamine
A few google searches related to melamine:
Vermicomposting and Vermiculture: Worms, Bins and How To Get Started
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 08. 2.07
Food & Health
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/08/green-basics-vermicompost.php
Compost: How to Make It, Bins, Piles and More
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 07.19.07
Food & Health
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/green-basics-compost.php
[I didn’t read all the articles, could be informative, on this type of site, LOL, I ignore the reports that do not interest me, as one might learn something......on any type site...granny]
http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/english/at_home/columns/holiday_spending_103108.php
Cut your holiday gift costs
By Jason Alderman
One interesting – albeit non-scientific – way to gauge someone’s comfort level with the state of the economy is to ask how much they plan to spend on holiday gifts. In good times, people tend to spend more generously; during rough periods, they scale back.
Those trends were borne out in a recent consumer survey conducted by Visa Inc., which found that shoppers plan to spend an average of $934 on gifts this holiday season, down about 11 percent from last year’s $1,051 average. That jibes with bleak industry forecasts for the upcoming shopping season.
If you’re among those looking for ways to manage your holiday spending while still finding meaningful gifts for your loved ones, read on:
First, consider your overall finances. Before spending a dime on gifts, step back and calculate how much you can afford as a portion of your overall budget. Consider questions such as:
* Are your savings sufficient to cover expenses for a few months if you or your spouse should get laid off or have unexpected medical expenses?
* Would you be able to pay off all gifts within a couple of months?
* Are you already struggling to pay your monthly bills?
* Would you need to suspend retirement savings contributions in order to buy gifts?
If you answered “no” to either of the first two questions or “yes” to the others, this probably isn’t a good year for extravagant spending.
Make a list. Once you decide how much you can comfortably afford to spend on gifts overall, list all the people you need to shop for, including a few gift alternatives – and their costs – for each person. I call these ‘micro budgets.’ Remember, if you overspend on one present you’ll need to make up for it somewhere else to balance out.
Comparison shop. Retailers are likely to offer deep discounts to lure wary shoppers, so check newspaper ads and store websites frequently for sales and coupons. Comparison shopping websites like www.shopping.com, www.shopping.yahoo.com and www.pricegrabber.com are also good resources – plus, they may provide good gift ideas for hard-to-shop-for individuals.
Online coupons. When shopping online, look for the “coupon code” box at checkout. Numerous shopping websites post coupon codes (as well as printable hard-copy coupons) for hundreds of online and in-store retailers. By quickly searching a few such sites (including www.mybargainbuddy.com, www.dealcoupon.com, www.currentcodes.com and www.couponhut.com), you might find significant discounts on items you’re about to buy.
Cash in frequent flyer miles. One good way to use up your airline miles before they expire is to redeem them for cash or merchandise. Check out your airline’s miles program website for details – you might just find an appropriate gift for someone on your list.
Credit card rewards. Similarly, if you’re amassing reward points through your credit card, check out its online merchandise catalog or consider cashing out the points for cash or gift certificates.
If you need help creating a holiday budget, visit Visa’s free personal financial management site, Practical Money Skills for Life, (www.practicalmoneyskills.com/holiday) where you’ll find easy-to-follow budgeting, holiday entertaining and travel planning tips as well as interactive calculators to track your spending.
And finally, have heart-to-heart discussions with family and friends. They’re probably just as concerned about overspending. In fact, maybe this is a good year to exchange charitable contributions in each others’ behalf to show how thankful you are for what you’ve got.
Jason Alderman directs Visa’s financial education programs. Sign up for his free monthly e-Newsletter at www.practicalmoneyskills.com/newsletter.
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http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/english/at_home/columns/taxtips_112808.php
These year-end actions can cut taxes
By Jason Alderman
December is the year’s busiest month for many people, with holiday-related shopping, socializing and travel cutting into already hectic schedules. It will be tough, but try to set aside some time before year’s end to consider taking a few actions that could seriously lower your 2008 tax bill.
Maximize tax-deferred retirement savings. December 31 is the 2008 contribution deadline for employer-sponsored 401(k), 403(b) or 457 plans. Remember, pretax contributions can lower your taxable income and thereby lower your federal and state income tax bills.
And, if your employer matches a portion of your contributions (a common match is 50 percent on the first 6 percent of income saved) and you don’t contribute at least that amount, you could be forfeiting hundreds – or thousands – of dollars in free money. Ask your Benefits department if you can increase your December paycheck deduction to boost your 2008 contribution.
The same strategy for reducing taxable income also works for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), although you have until April 15, 2009, to open or contribute to an IRA for 2008 tax advantages.
Use up Flexible Spending Account (FSA) balances. If you participate in employer-sponsored health care or dependent care FSAs that use pretax dollars to pay for expenses, timing is important: You must spend your account balances before your employer’s deadline (sometimes up to 75 days into the following year) or you’ll forfeit the balances. Double-check the deadline with your Benefits department.
If there’s money left in your Health Care FSA, consider qualified purchases you could make before the deadline, such as eye glasses, contact lenses, braces, or over-the-counter medicines. IRS Publication 502 provides a complete list of allowable expenses (www.irs.gov). If you’ve already exhausted your 2008 FSA account balances, think about which elective expenses you could postpone until early 2009.
To learn more about 401(k) plans and FSAs, visit Practical Money Skills for Life, Visa’s free personal financial management site (www.practicalmoneyskills.com/benefits).
Charitable contributions. If you itemize deductions on your federal income tax, most charitable contributions made to IRS-qualified, tax-exempt organizations by December 31 are tax-deductible. (See Publication 78 at www.irs.gov for a complete list.) Remember, you need to obtain receipts for all contributions, including small cash donations, and only donated items in good condition are deductible.
Financial gift strategy. By law, you may make financial gifts up to $12,000 ($24,000 if married and making joint gifts) per person, per year, without impacting any estate taxes in effect when you die. So if you’re planning to leave money to your children, family members or anyone else and can spare the cash right now, this is a good way to avoid estate taxes later on. Check with your financial advisor for details.
Prepay property taxes. Homeowners who itemize deductions can increase their 2008 deductions by prepaying 2009 property taxes before December 31, 2008. If property taxes are included in your monthly mortgage payment, ask your lender to determine if this is feasible.
Prepay your mortgage. Another way to increase 2008 deductions is to pay your January 2009 mortgage amount this month. This is especially effective for relatively new mortgages where the bulk of the monthly payment is tax-deductible interest. Again, ask your lender how this might work for you.
By taking a few minutes out of your busy schedule now, you can potentially save a bundle on your 2008 taxes. You’ll thank yourself come April 15.
Jason Alderman directs Visa’s financial education programs. Sign up for his free monthly e-Newsletter at www.practicalmoneyskills.com/newsletter.
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FDA Scientists Revolt Against Corrupt Food and Drug Administration ...
Nov 24, 2008 ... is extensive documentary evidence that managers at CDRH have corrupted and interfered with the scientific review of medical devices.” ...
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FDA Scientists Are Revolting!
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Nov 18, 2008 ... that CDRH managers have ‘corrupted and interfered with the scientific review of medical devices’’ (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 11/17). The.
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http://www.thenatureinus.com/2008/12/fda-scientists-report-corruption.html
NEWS RELEASE
Committee on Energy and Commerce
Rep. John D. Dingell, Chairman
For Immediate Release: November 17, 2008
Contact: Jodi Seth or Alex Haurek, 202-225-5735
Dingell, Stupak to Investigate FDA’s Medical Device Approval Process
Lawmakers Question Whether FDA Knowingly Allowed Unsafe & Ineffective Medical Devices into U.S. Market
Washington, D.C. – Reps. John D. Dingell (D-MI), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Bart Stupak (D-MI), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, today launched an investigation into whether managers within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) knowingly corrupted the scientific review process and approved or cleared medical device applications in gross violation of laws and regulations designed to assure the safety and effectiveness of medical devices. Such activity could allow potentially unsafe and ineffective medical devices into the U.S. market.
The investigation was prompted by receipt of an October 14, 2008, letter written on behalf of a large group of CDRH scientists and physicians who state that CDRH managers have “corrupted and interfered with the scientific review of medical devices.”
“These allegations are deeply concerning, and we intend to uncover whether any FDA activity has compromised the health and safety of America consumers,” said Dingell. “I commend the FDA scientists for courageously sounding the alarm on what appears to be a serious problem. I look forward to pursuing the steps necessary to ensure that the medical devices Americans depend on are safe and effective.”
“Our investigations have found that the FDA has allowed contaminated food and unsafe drugs to enter the market, and now serious allegations have been raised about the scientific integrity of the FDA medical device approval process,” Stupak said. “Although the FDA has launched its own investigation into this matter, no corrective action has been taken. The committee intends to learn what action the FDA plans to take to ensure the integrity of the medical device approval process and prevent retaliation against the scientists who blew the whistle on these activities.”
This Committee has been provided with compelling evidence to support the charges that senior managers within CDRH “ordered, intimidated and coerced FDA experts to modify their scientific reviews, conclusions and recommendations in violation of the law.” The CDRH scientists also claim that CDRH managers ordered them “to make safety and effectiveness determinations that are not in accordance with scientific regulatory requirements, to use unsound evaluation methods, and accept clinical and technical data that is not scientifically valid or obtained in accordance with legal requirements, such as obtaining proper informed consent from human subjects.”
Additionally, documentary evidence reviewed by this Committee indicates that CDRH scientists who raised concerns up their chain of command have experienced reprisals for their insistence on adherence to a scientific and regulatory basis for medical device review. To protect these CDRH scientists who have risked their careers to bring their concerns to the attention of this Committee, we will not disclose their identities at this time.
Since January 2007, the Committee on Energy and Commerce and its Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations have been investigating the ability and commitment of the Food and Drug Administration to protect Americans from unsafe food, drugs, and medical devices. For more information about the Committee’s ongoing drug safety investigation visit: http://energycommerce.house.gov/Investigations/FDADrugSafety.shtml
During this Congressional session, Committee leaders released draft legislation aimed at improving the safety of food, drugs, devices, and cosmetics. Work in this draft bill, the “Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act,” continues. Committee leaders plan to introduce comprehensive legislation early next session. For more information visit: http://energycommerce.house.gov/FDAGlobalAct-08/index.shtml
In a letter sent today to FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach, Dingell and Stupak requested a briefing on what actions the Commissioner has taken to date and how the Commissioner intends to resolve all issues raised by the CDRH scientists and physicians.
Click here to read the letter
Prepared by the Committee on Energy and Commerce
2125 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
http://www.thenatureinus.com/2008/10/make-your-own-building-bricks.html
Make Your Own Building Bricks
GreenMachine producing tongue & groove TerraBricks on construction site at a rate of 4-5/minute, ready for immediate use in the wall system of houses and other structures. TerraBricks are structural, made from subsoil, or 92% subsoil and 8% cement, with a compressive strength of 2,240 psi.
A properly engineered TerraBuilt wall significantly out performs an equivalent wood frame wall system. This is due to the inherent thermal mass benefit of a soil block wall and varies by geographic region.
Features:
• Superior energy efficiency due to thermal mass benefits.
• Fireproof, non-combustible and waterproof.
• Bullet proof to small arms fire such as AK-47.
• Excellent resistance to hurricane winds and seismic tremors.
TerraBuilt housing in El Salvador has resisted seismic tremors of 5 on the Richter scale of 1-10 without structural failure.
The construction industry is faced with depleting resources, heightened environmental concerns, high costs, and deteriorating product quality. The United Nations estimates that worldwide housing shortfall exceeds one billion units and is growing.
This system enables construction of high quality, low cost structures made of long lasting materials that save life cycle energy costs, are durable, fire and disaster resistant as well as environmentally sustainable. In 20-24 hours you can make enough bricks for 1,000 sq. ft. house shell.
Get more info. at:
http://www.terrabuilt.com/index.asp
http://www.naturalnews.com/z024268.html
How a Stressful State Leads to Chronic Fatigue (Part 1)
by Teya Skae, citizen journalist
See all articles by this author
Email this author
(NaturalNews) Chronic Fatigue with its debilitating constant tiredness, is a condition of our times, affecting teenagers, as well as men and women of all ages. But have you ever wondered what its real cause might be? Part 1 of this article series examines the hidden causes of Chronic Fatigue.
It might surprise you to learn stress is the culprit.
There are various kinds of stresses, but the one thing they all have in common is that it is always about survival. Stress is classified as a stress when it impacts our survival capacity in some way.
Let’s define 5 major stress categories
continues.
There is also a second part to this report.
http://www.naturalnews.com/024378.html
How a Stressful State Leads to Chronic Fatigue (Part 2)
Wednesday, October 01, 2008 by: Teya Skae, citizen journalist
See all articles by this author
Email this author
Key concepts: Sugar, Blood sugar and Nutrition
I’m glad I use fertilizer from our local farmers.
[Snipped from an article]
http://www.naturalnews.com/022876.html
How Are Colds Actually Contracted?
The most common source of infection is not from coughing or sneezing, or walking barefoot in the rain, but from hand-to-hand contact. That is why, when you have a cold, washing your hands frequently is very important. The likelihood of contracting the cold virus increases, however, if one is overtired and physically exhausted.
Most uncomplicated colds last eight to nine days; about 25% last two weeks; and 5-10% last three weeks.
As long as one’s temperature remains below 38.8 degrees Celsius, there is no need to lower it. Cold viruses do not reproduce at higher body temperatures. In fact, a slight fever should help us get rid of the virus quicker and feel better much sooner. It is our body’s own way of ridding itself of toxins.
Why are Aspirin and Tylenol counterproductive?
A study (J Infect Dis, Dec 1990; 162(6):1277-82) showed that people who take aspirin and Tylenol (acetaminophen) suppress their body’s ability to produce antibodies that destroy the cold virus. This actually causes the body to take longer to fight the cold and it accounts for any secondary infections and post-nasal drip.
What Can Be Done to Prevent Getting the Common Cold?
While orthodox medicine does not have the answer for colds and ‘flu’, nature does - it comes in the form of pure organic unadulterated Therapeutic Essential Oils. Why? Because they are made up of very high frequency molecules (ranging from 52MHz to 320MHz) and contain nature’s wisdom and power to raise the body’s frequency and to assist our immune system in fighting viral invasions.
For greater clarity, organic Therapeutic Essential Oils are not the same as everyday aromatherapy oils, which are produced for fragrance and other purposes.
We now know that, in order to prevent colds, we need our immune system to be working in top gear and our overall body frequency to be in its optimal range. Our optimal range of body frequency can be lowered by negative thoughts/emotions, stress, blood chemistry imbalance, and ingested chemicals, which allow us to contract colds and viruses in the first place. Research has found that the high frequency of essential oils creates an environment where bacteria, fungi and viruses cannot survive. Essential oils provide a high frequency environment for the body.
Researchers have found that some essential oils - oregano, thyme and rosewood oils, in particular - create an autolytic (destruction of cells and tissues by enzymes produced by the cells, themselves) reaction in organisms, including streptococcus pneumonia. Dr. Diane Horne of Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, told the 98th general assembly of the American Society of Microbiology about the serendipitous discovery of the impact of essential oils on cells such as streptococcus pneumonia (bacteria that causes a very serious type of pneumonia in children with sickle cell disease).
When Dr. Horne’s co-researcher was spraying aromatic oils in the laboratory, Dr. Horne looked at the streptococcus pneumonia bacteria that she was preparing for another experiment and noticed that its cells were literally falling apart. Dr. Horne and co-worker Sue Chao, of the Young Living Essential Oils Company of Payton, Utah, tested the autolyzing properties of 74 essential oils and discovered that the best results occurred with oregano, thyme and rosewood and that intermediate inhibition of the pathogens was achieved with cinnamon oil and clove oil. Dr. Horne pointed out that the oils also proved to be a powerful remedy against E. coli (a bacterium and virus in one) and several species of fungi.
What these tests revealed is that essential oils, such as oregano, clove, cinnamon, rosewood and rosemary, are so powerful that viruses and bacteria cannot survive in their presence. That is, the viruses and bacteria are destroyed when they come into contact with these therapeutic essential oils.
Dr. Horne and the Young Living Essential Oils company are not the only ones who now use therapeutic essential oils for destroying viruses and bacteria. Up until a decade ago, France was the forerunner of medical aromatherapy, where essential oils are encapsulated and prescribed to be taken orally or as suppositories by the patient.
French aromatherapy doctors employ the aromatogram, where a sample is taken from the infected area of the patient, cultivated in a laboratory, and then subjected to various essential oils to find the most effective oil to treat the infection for the specific patient.
They have found that different oil combinations work better when the oil combination is specifically blended for a patient. Even if various patients suffer from the same strain of bacteria, some oils seem to work better on certain people than on others.
While this is an over-simplification of the serious medicinal aspects of aromatherapy, it is helpful, nevertheless, in demonstrating the effectiveness of therapeutic essential oils in the medical arena.
In this particular field of essential oil therapy, there are some prominent medical doctors, such as Dr. Lapraz and Dr. Duraffourd of Paris, who have undertaken thousands of clinical trials to determine the effectiveness of essential oils in medical applications.
How Do Essential Oils Exert Such Powerful Effects In Our Bodies?
Chemically, essential oils’ cell structure is very similar to the human cell structure. The essential oil of a plant and the human blood share several common properties.
The 4 primary elements in both human beings and essential oils:
* Plant Cells - carbon hydrogen nitrogen oxygen
* Human Cells - carbon hydrogen nitrogen oxygen
This shared chemistry makes essential oils one of the most compatible of all plant substances with human biochemistry. In addition, essential oils have a protein-like structure that is similar to that found in human cells and tissues, which allows the human protein cell structure to readily identify and accept the chemical constituents (powerful healing properties) of essential oils.
Essential oils have been proven to fight infection, improve the immune system and, because they contain hormone-like compounds, are very effective in initiating cellular/tissue regeneration. Why do they do this? Simply, because it is their job; because Mother Nature intended them to do so in order to protect the plants, themselves. Let’s examine how...
Working as the chemical defence mechanism of the plant, essential oils possess potent antibacterial, anti-fungal, and antiviral properties. Essential oils are the plant liquid containing the Life Force of a plant. Analogous with the human body, essential oils are the blood plasma of a plant. They are volatile liquids distilled from various parts of plants, including seeds, bark, leaves, stems, roots, flowers and fruit (essential oils are sensitive to heat and should not be burned, as that destroys their therapeutic properties).
If a leaf or any part of a plant has been cut or damaged for some reason, the plant releases a liquid substance that protects it from further damage from microbes, bacteria, and viruses, and helps the plant to regenerate itself. This liquid is the essential oil that helps the plant to survive, which is why essential oils are called essential. Put simply, without it, the plant can’t survive. This same principle works in a very similar way in the human body, due to the fact that essential oils can permeate our tissues by being so highly compatible with our cell structure. How can this be possible?
It is possible because essential oils are complex substances, each containing 80 – 300 compounds of different chemical constituents, and all these compounds work synergistically. Hence, nature’s wisdom is encoded in the life force of a plant. Because essential oils are the life force of a plant, they need to be treated with the utmost professional respect and understating in order to retain their powerful healing properties.
So, how therapeutic are they?
Just follow your nose! The smell of the oil reveals how pure and potent it is. For example, when inhaling any oil - particularly peppermint, lavender or rosemary - the smell should linger on in the brain and have a very fresh smell. If it has a very sharp tinge to it or causes a sudden sharp sensation in the any part of the head, it contains chemicals which are ‘playing’ with the neurotransmitters and receptor sites in your brain. It also helps if you ask the company where and how they distill the oils and what chemicals are used. Many essential oil companies still use solvents in the process of distillation. You can tell by the smell. Why do they do it? Because distillation is a very expensive process, which requires time, care and integrity.
A brief look at some essential oils and the results of research so far:
Oregano is very aggressive against all microbes and it helps with digestive problems and is anti-inflammatory. Oregano and cinnamon tested at 95% efficiency against candida, E. coli and streptococcus strains.
Thyme oil is very powerful oil on viruses and has demonstrated protective properties for liver, kidneys and the heart due to its very high antioxidant properties.
Fennel oil, strengthens digestion, expels parasites and supports and raises overall metabolism.
Fennel and Juniper together exert a warming effect on the kidneys; very helpful during winter.
Cinnamon is 99.9% effective against all viruses. Ebola virus cannot survive in the presence of pure unadulterated cinnamon.
Rosemary is effective for parasites, fungi and, therefore, candida.
Clove is highly protective, and is the most powerful antioxidant in nature.
In summary, orthodox medicine has no cure for the common cold and the latest mainstream advice for preventing colds comes from studies on stress, stating to just avoid stress. This is neither possible nor realistic for the majority of the population as stress is always there in some way, emotional or just the demands of the 21st century. Extensive scientific research has proven that essential oils are quite capable of fighting the common cold because they are anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-parasitic and anti-inflammatory.
Using Grade-A organic therapeutic essential oils may help your immune system to ward off the attacks of the common cold as well as destroy other microbial invasions, such as candida infections, viruses and parasites. As essential oils are very high frequency molecules, ranging from 52MHz - 320MHz, they are able to raise our overall body frequency (which is 62-78 Hz when in its healthy range) every time we use them. This way, essential oils are the best ammunition against the common cold as well as destroying unwelcome microbial invasions, along with the daily dose of genuine positive thinking.
References”
(http://sfpa.club.fr/statutsus.html) Zheng GQ, et al. Sesquiterpenese from clove as potential anticarcinogenic agents. J.Nat Prod. 1992 July;55(7):999-1003.
Chao, et al. Screening for Inhibitory Activity of Essential Oils on Selected Bacteria, Fungi, and Viruses. Journal of essential Oil Research, 1997.
Chao, et al., Antimicrobial Effects of Essential Oils on Streptococcus pneumonia. Journal of essential Oil Research 2001.
Essential Oil Desk Reference, Essential Science Publishing, USA. 3rd ed. 2004
(http://www.health.uab.edu/show.asp?durk...)
(http://educate-yourself.org/cn/rifetime...)
Robert O. Becker. The Body Electric New York, Marrow 1985.
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About the author
Teya Skae M.A., B.A.,Dip Health Sciences, Dip Clinical Nutrition
Kinesiologist/Nutritionist/Writer
Health/Life Coach and Educator
Teya is the founder of Empowered Living
www.empowered-living.com.au
specialising in Neurologically Balancing busy people for chronic fatigue, corporate burnout, physical/emotional stress, Emotional Freedom Technique to resolve energy blocks, Metabolic Typing Nutrition and Results Fat Loss. Teya writes article for various publications and runs empowering educational courses in the area of balancing your health, physical body,emotions, and how to have more energy to enjoy your Life!
http://www.naturalnews.com/022715.html
(NaturalNews) Did you know that good health starts with proper digestion and good digestion relies on the right enzymes in the right amounts being at the right place and time? Sounds complex? It is, and is just another example of how intelligent our bodies really are.
As we age we become more challenged by various forms of stress, environmental pollution, chemicals, and our emotional issues. All of these deplete our body’s natural ability to make enough enzymes to meet the demands of daily life.
Our body needs enzymes to function properly. Not only do we need them for healthy digestion, but we also need them to live as without them we wouldn’t be able to breathe, swallow, drink, eat and digest our food.
So what are enzymes and how important are they to us?
Enzymes are complex protein molecules that are manufactured by all plant and animal cells. Enzymes are very important because they break up large food molecules into smaller units that are absorbed into the cells.
They help the body digest food and assimilate nutrients from proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and plant fibers. In addition, enzymes assist in all chemical reactions taking place in our body; including the regeneration of cells/tissues and the elimination of waste products/toxins as well as supporting our immune system. In short, enzymes make things happen!
According to Dr. Edward Howell, pioneer of Enzyme Therapy:
“Enzymes are substances that make life possible. They are needed for every chemical reaction that takes place in the human body. Without enzymes, no activity at all would take place. Neither vitamins, minerals, nor hormones can do any work without enzymes”.
In support of this view, Drs. D.A. Lopez, R.M. Williams, M.D., PhD and M. Miehlke, M.D. state that
“Enzymes are the body’s labor force to perform every single function required for our daily activities and are required to keep us alive. They are responsible for all of the functions of every organ system in our bodies. In addition to our immune and defense systems, we require enzymes not only to eat, digest and absorb nutrients, but also to see, hear, smell, taste, breathe and move”.
Do we have an infinite supply of enzymes?
No, we do not. Until recently, the scientific community believed that the digestive enzymes in our body are constant and last forever. Researchers now know that we lose digestive enzymes through sweat, body waste and the natural ageing process of the organs that produce our digestive enzymes.
Our current fast-paced society with its preoccupation with convenience has resulted in more chemical pollution, overly processed foods and microwave cooking, all of which create a lot of free-radical damage in our body, also known as a process of accelerated ageing. This process of free-radicals lowers the body’s natural ability to produce enzymes and meet its demands to function well.
Are there practical solutions we can implement to offset this phenomena?
Yes, but first let’s get familiar with the different types of enzymes and what they do.
The three main categories of Enzymes are:
Digestive Enzymes
Food or Plant Enzymes
Metabolic Enzymes
1. Digestive Enzymes, secreted by the salivary glands, stomach, pancreas, and the small intestine help break down food into simple components.
2. Food Enzymes exist naturally in raw food. If the food is cooked above 47 degrees Celsius, the high temperature involved in the cooking process destroys the enzymes. Digestive enzymes and food enzymes serve the same function; they digest the food so it can be absorbed into the blood stream. The difference between the two is that food enzymes are derived from fresh, raw, uncooked foods such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, raw unpasteurised dairy, meat and fish (sashimi), whilst digestive enzymes are made inside our body.
3. Metabolic Enzymes are produced in the cells and are found throughout the body in the organs, in the bones, the blood, and inside the cells themselves. Metabolic enzymes help run the heart, brain, lungs, and kidneys. Hundreds of metabolic enzymes are necessary for the working of our body.
Enzyme supplementation in our diet:
* Improves overall digestion so we have more energy for life
* reduces the effects of aging, wrinkles, sun spots.
* aids in disease prevention
* aids in the prevention of cancer and debilitating diseases
* minimizes the negative effects of cancer therapies
* boosts the immune system
* reduces inflammation/soreness of muscle and joint pain
* retards periodontal disease
* prevention of heart disease
* speeds healing after surgery
* reduces the negative effects of anesthetics
* aids in reproduction problems, regulating cycles, infertility and sterility
* cleanses our system from allergic reactions
Let’s look at some of the enzymes and what they do.
Lipase: An enzyme that digests fats, helping to maintain correct gall bladder function. When added to a meal as a supplement, it digests dietary fat, relieving the gallbladder, liver, and the pancreas which would otherwise need to produce the required enzymes. Protein absorption from fatty foods such as fish or seeds can be improved by incorporating supplemental lipase enzymes in the diet.
Protease: This enzyme breaks down protein found in meats, poultry, fish, nuts, eggs and cheese and may be helpful for people with food allergies or who have difficulty digesting protein.
Amylase: A natural plant extract which helps your body break down and assimilate starches and carbohydrates. Works great for digesting starches and carbohydrates and may be useful for people with gluten sensitivities.
Cellulase: An enzyme tht breaks down food fiber (cellulose) found in fruits and vegetables. Cellulase, which is not found in the human system, breaks the fiber bonds and increases the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables.
Lactase: Digests milk sugar. Lactase deficiency is the most common and well-known form of carbohydrate intolerance. It is estimated that approximately 70% of the world’s population is deficient in intestinal lactase. Supplemental lactase enzymes have been found to decrease the symptoms of lactose intolerance associated with the consumption of dairy foods.
Phytase: This enzyme breaks down phytic acids in grains, seeds, and simple sugars into fructose and glucose.
Maltase: Digests complex and simple sugars. Maltase breaks down unused glycogen in muscle. Glycogen is a thick, sticky substance that is converted from sugars and starches and is stored in your muscle cells for future use. If stored glycogen continues to build up in the muscle tissues, it leads to progressive muscle weakness and degeneration.
Papain from papaya and Bromelain from pineapple, both help digest protein. Bromelain is also a natural anti-inflammatory.
Why are enzymes so important for digestion?
In its raw state, food contains enough natural enzymes for it to be digested. However, when the food is heated above 47 degrees Celsius, the natural enzymes present are also heated and denatured, that is they become inactive. This makes the enzymes totally ineffective in the digestive (breaking down) process.
What can we do about it? Eating raw food as much as possible is ideal but is obviously not acceptable in some cases. For example, eating raw meat, raw fish (apart from sushi), or uncooked rice is not only difficult but even unpalatable and certainly not enjoyable to most palates. So, eating raw vegetables such as spinach, green salad, and shredded carrots with our meats is helpful. If we eat our meats medium rare to medium at the most, that also preserves some enzymes in the meat. But if we eat cured or well cooked meats than it is helpful to take some digestive enzymes so our bodies are not as taxed trying to process meat devoid of enzymes.
Another very important fact to consider is if we totally depend on our internally made digestive enzymes, we are placing more stress on our body’s systems/organs. In turn, these systems and organs have less time to make more enzymes for rebuilding and replacing worn out, damaged cells and tissue and keeping our immune system strong.
Your body’s top priority is making sure it has enough nutrients to run its systems. This means digesting food and converting it into nutrients. There is no activity more important to the body than this. This takes a lot of energy and enzymes, particularly if the body must make most or all of these enzymes. Remember that no food can be digested without digestive enzymes, and they are destroyed above 47 degrees Celsius. It sheds light on why so many people suffer from digestive complaints and lethargy.
Dr. DicQie Fuller PhD, in her book The Healing Power of Enzymes, emphasizes the importance of enzymes for digestion:
“Eighty percent of our body’s energy is expended by the digestive process. If you are run down, under stress, living in a very hot or very cold climate, pregnant, or are a frequent air traveler, then enormous quantities of extra enzymes are required by your body. Because our entire system functions through enzymatic action, we must supplement our enzymes. Aging deprives us of our ability to produce necessary enzymes. The medical profession tells us that all disease is due to a lack or imbalance of enzymes. Our very lives are dependent upon them!”
What enzymes should we take and how?
Approximately 80 per cent of digestive enzyme supplements are plant-based. Look for combinations that have high Protease, Lipase, Amylase units with added lactase and bromelain. This would be a very good combination to take with each meal. This combination may also be taken in between meals to clean the blood of impurities.
If taking straight pancreatic enzymes, make sure they are of good quality and reputable sources. This is a delicate area in Australia and it pays to investigate the companies’ sources of where their enzymes come from.
For vegans and vegetarians, plant based and fungi derived enzymes would be ideal and the good thing is that plant based enzymes do the job well. In some cases, plant based enzymes might even be more effective as they survive the acidity of the stomach whereas pancreatic enzymes may not and might not get to the small intestine where they do their job. This highly complex area of biochemistry of digestive enzymes is beyond the scope of this article, and for the purpose of more understanding it is helpful to have as much fundamental science as we can when selecting the right supplements.
In the long run, it is better to get professional nutritional advice in relation to taking digestive enzymes as we are all biochemically unique. No two people have the same fingerprints, not even identical twins; therefore no two people will have the same digestion and biochemistry.
In essence, when we improve our digestion we are improving our health. Eating our food as close to its raw state as possible is a good place to start. If eating well cooked/cured/smoked meats, then adding digestive enzymes would be necessary to ensure they are digested. When cooking eggs, soft boiled or poached is best, instead of omelettes and frying. Eggs have some of the best enzymes and nutrients particularly for our thyroid gland and our liver, so it pays to preserve these delicate enzymes in eggs as well as other proteins.
This is because proteins are the building blocks of life, and we constantly need these building blocks in rebuilding and maintaining lean muscle tissue, regenerating organs/glands, synthesising hormones, regulating our brain chemistry, and supporting our immune system. If we are not digesting our protein well, we don’t have the necessary building blocks for life and that of course would diminish our health. The key to good digestion is enzymes, and ensuring we have enough supply in our system for optimal digestion, energy and overall well-being.
References:
Anthony J. Cichike, D.C., Ph.D. The Complete Book of Enzyme Therapy; Avery Publishing, 1999
Dr. Edward Howell, Food Enzymes for Health & Longevity by Lotus Press, 1994, D.A. Lopez, M.D., R.M.
Williams, M.D., Ph.D, M. Miehlke, M.D., ENZYMES - The Fountain of Life. The Neville Press, 1994, Dr
DicQie Fuller-Looney PH.D. D.Sc. N.D The Healing Power of Enzymes. Forbes Custom Publishing. 1998
http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000583_phthalates_toxic_chemicals_childrens_toys.html
Consumer Product Safety Commission Sued Over Allowing Toxic Chemicals in Children’s Toys
Product Reviews for
Friday, December 05, 2008
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by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, December 4, 2008
Key concepts: Phthalates, Toxic chemicals and Children’s toys
The CPSC is being sued by Public Citizen and the National Resources Defense Council for allowing toys containing toxic phthalate chemicals to be sold to children. The CPSC has been under fire much of the year for protecting the interests of corporations while betraying the safety of babies.
See NaturalNews reporting on the CPSC here: http://www.naturalnews.com/022991.html
and here: http://www.naturalnews.com/022250.html (Children’s toys laced with liquid ecstasy... wow!)
The CPSC has chosen to selectively interpret the anti-phthalate law passed this year, deciding to only implement a ban on chemically-laced children’s toys after February 10, 2009. Until then, the CPSC will allow all such toys to be openly sold on store shelves even though they contain toxic levels of chemicals linked to abnormal reproductive development and other endocrine problems
continued.
http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000576_blueberries_memory_loss_Alzheimers.html
Blueberries Reverse Memory Loss; Contain Natural Medicines to Prevent Alzheimer’s
Product Reviews for
Friday, December 05, 2008
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, December 3, 2008
Key concepts: Blueberries, Memory loss and Alzheimer’s
If you’re looking for yet another reason to eat blueberries, scientists at the University of Reading have just found one for you: Blueberry flavonoids have now been found to activate the parts of the human brain that control memory and learning.
The research was published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine. It has opened new avenues of research into the ability of blueberries to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.
But don’t think you can just go out and buy “blueberry” food products at the grocery store. Most blueberry cereals, breads and snack bars are actually made with propylene glycol (antifreeze fluid), high-fructose corn syrup and artificial coloring chemicals. If you want REAL blueberries, you have to look for it on the label.
The Organic Food Bar company (www.OrganicFoodBar.com) sells a really nice food bar containing an impressive amount of real blueberries. You can also just buy frozen blueberries and blend them into fresh vegetable juices (it’s delicious!).
Scientists will no doubt be studying blueberries in an effort to replicate the medicinal molecules so they can synthesize expensive pharmaceuticals. But you don’t need Big Pharma to enjoy the benefits of Mother Nature. Just eat blueberries and let your body heal itself!
And remember, if you forget to eat your blueberries, you can always take your ginkgo.
Click to read:
Blueberries Reverse Memory Loss; Contain Natural Medicines to Prevent Alzheimer’s
From News.bbc.co.: Eating blueberries can reverse memory loss and may have implications in the treatment of diseases like Alzheimer’s, University of Reading scientists claim.... more
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http://beingfrugal.net/2008/09/15/edible-landscaping-for-beginners/
Edible Landscaping for Beginners: Part One
Posted by Lynnae on September 15, 2008
If you’re new here, you may want to find out more about me. Also, please consider subscribing via RSS or email. Thanks for visiting!
Edible Landscaping.jpg
Lynnae can’t wait to plan her own edible landscaping project!
The following is a guest post by Marci, a regular reader and commentator at Being Frugal.net. Marci has been a wealth of information on various frugal topics, as she’s commented on posts. A while back I asked her to write a post on Edible Landscaping, since it’s a topic I’m very interested in, but know virtually nothing about. The result is a fabulous two part series. Today’s post covers getting started, planning, and research. Next Monday I will post the second part, which covers ways to save money on edible landscaping. Enjoy! And thank you, Marci!
Why plant just any plant in your landscaping when you can plant something edible and accomplish the same goal, whether it be shade, privacy, color, focus, erosion control, or design. There is an edible plant that will fit every situation! The trick is in learning which plants will work for you, and in your area. This really isn’t as hard as it sounds.
Why did I decide to do this? I’ve been living in a construction zone for the past year and a half – an addition to my little house, I needed to replace an entire lawn (eventually) due to the addition, the damages to the lawn, rocks strewn in piles, and a huge pile of excavated black dirt – beautiful soil! I decided that I should take my time, do some research, and put in edible landscaping; plants that could feed me for the rest of my life hopefully, as well as providing a nice looking yard, some privacy, and some color spots. This is not a one year program in my life due to finances, but will be stretched out over probably 4 years. That also gives me time to see what things are working, design the rest of the areas, gather my free necessities, and pull it all together.
I had other reasons also. My reasons for the earth were more plants, more oxygen, water filters, air filters, etc. My personal reasons were that I am getting ready for retirement – I want to eat well then and eat well now. I also want my grandchildren to have a chance to develop a love of growing plants and be able to grow their own food. By showing them this now, and having them help, it will be second nature to them when they later need to be able to provide for themselves. I want to do the bulk of the work while I am physically able to, and while I can afford to do it a little at a time. I also want to have a place to utilize my compost bin, rather than just put veggies in the garbage.
Planning Your Edible Garden
My first question was, “Well, what do I like to eat?” And the 2nd question was, “What do I like to eat that is a perennial?” I needed plants that would be permanent and not needing re-planted each year. And the third question was, “What will actually grow here?” (My fourth question was probably not one you should ask yourself, as in, “What am I Thinking!” ) I live in a climate that is called “Maritime”, meaning cool and coastal, plus we get 70-100 inches of rain here a year, and we freeze sometimes. For me this meant that sub-tropical plants, such as many citrus, and desert loving plants, such as cactus, might not grow that easily here. Then I started researching.
To do the research, I went to my local library, did a search, and checked out every book that came up on a search for ‘perennial’ and ‘garden’… and there were a lot of them!
The books I found most helpful were:
* The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping by Rosalind Creasy;
* Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally by Robert Kourik;
* Perennial Vegetables: From Artichoke to Zuiki Taro – A Gardener’s Guide to Over 100 Delicious Easy-to-Grow Edibles by Eric Toensmeier;
* Self-Sufficiency Gardening; Financial, Physical, and Emotional Security from Your Own Backyard by Martin P. Waterman;
* Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest by Binda Colebrook; and
* The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It by John Seymour.
Other sources of good information can be found through internet searches, friends’ recommendations, library, seed catalogs, and your local nursery. I am fortunate to have Don’s Waterfall Nursery in my town of Tillamook, Oregon and they specialize in Edible Landscaping. They were not only a good source for plants, but I obtained lots of information there, suggestions, and asked hundreds of questions of them. Check your area for an Edible Landscape Nursery.
Skimming through those books gave me an idea of what was possible as far as the variety of plants available and some ideas for their use in landscaping. Next I needed to research my growing area. Many garden books have a section that will show you the USDA (US Dept. Agriculture) growing zones. If not, an internet search for USDA Grow Zones will bring up the information. Find your area on the map, take note of its Zone #, and pay attention to that number when you are looking for your plants. My area is a Zone 8, although last winter I would have said it was a Zone 7 (colder). Southern Florida and Hawaii are Zone 10. The smaller the number, the colder the area. A plant that is listed as only growing in Zone 10 will not grow in my area unless extreme measures are used to keep it from freezing, therefore I avoid plants that are only Zone 9 and 10 hardy. I also check out the maintenance requirements. There is no since planting something that will take enormous amounts of time to keep growing, when an easy-keeper will provide just as much food. You’ll need to know how much space a shrub, bush, or plant takes up also, so you’ll know how many you can plant in the available space.
Before buying the first plant, I recommend drawing everything out on graph paper and doing a layout. This need not be to scale, but just enough to give you an idea of how much area you have to work with and where you’d like to put in some edible landscaping. It is easier to erase on paper or redraw something than it is to dig it up and have to replant it later. Make sure you make note of where the sun is at different times of the year, where the shady spots are, and where the sun will shine on something all day long. Also look for those places that may be protected from the wind, for tender plants. Check out overhead power lines because those trees may look small when you buy them but they grow faster than you think. Figure it out - look from your back door, side door, from the driveway, from across the street, close your eyes and envision a cool, welcoming, shady and edible landscape! If you want fruit trees, think about all the fruit that may drop to the ground in a heavy wind – Do you want that over your driveway or walkway? Dropping fruit is a consideration for placement also.
Where can you use edible landscaping in your yard? Anywhere you want to! Some suggestions might be: the front entry way – arbors or privacy screens; for borders; along fence lines; for growing a green fence; to provide a cool inviting oasis; around a deck or patio; around the walkways, etc. Edible landscaping can also be a part of a permanent garden spot, or permanent bedding areas. You don’t need a large plot of land for this either. My edible landscaping is all on a small city lot, 50’ by 105 ‘ with the house, woodshed, driveway, and patio taking up about half of the lot. Because it is a small area I have to work with, I want to maximize the food growing space possible. My fruit trees will be space saving dwarf or semi-dwarf trees. They are easier to prune, to pick, not as many problems (I hope), and can be spaced closer together. Think about multi- purpose plants – those with edible flowers, leaves, fruit, or roots.
For your focus or color spots, think edible flowers, vegetables, and flowering fruit trees.
For your hedges, think edible flowers and fruits.
Some helpful book searches or internet searches on plant placement are: Food Not Lawns, Square Foot Gardening, Vertical Gardening, Urban Homesteading, Edible Landscaping, and Perennial Vegetable Gardens.
Time to Plant – Almost!
You’ve done your research, decided on your plants, and can almost taste your edible landscaping! Before you buy plants or seeds though, make a welcoming home for your new plants. Make sure your soil is good and inviting. Fertilize, spread compost, and enrich the soil - do whatever needs to be done well before planting day. Check with your local extension office if you need help in testing the soil PH or finding out what the soil in your area is lacking in, or has an abundance of.
Have your watering system figured out – hoses, buckets, rain barrels, sprinklers, or whatever you think you will need. My watering system has changed several times already, as I find out what works for me and what doesn’t. With a new landscape put in, you’ll be watering heavily the first year so the roots can settle in. Make sure this is easy for you to do. You don’t want to spend the energy and/or money on new plants/seeds, and then not take the time to water them as needed because the hoses are too short or it’s too much of a problem. If you are on a pay-as-you-use water system, you’ll need to consider the cost of water. Mine was $7 extra last month, a dry July, but that was mostly for my vegetable garden and I consider that well worth the price. Some folks may want to set up a rain barrel collection system from their rain gutters. Whatever will work for you!
Once your soil is ready, obtain your plants, handle tenderly, and plant. Remember to water faithfully, according to the plant’s needs – you did your research, remember?
Depending on the plants you selected, you may be eating out of your yard shortly, or in a year, or a few years in the case of some trees.
And remember, gardening is forgivable! You can always change what isn’t working in your yard, or what isn’t growing.
Enjoy the fruits of your labor – literally!
Have you ever considered edible landscaping? What would you plant?
[The comments on this page are interesting]
http://beingfrugal.net/2008/09/22/frugal-edible-landscaping/
Edible Landscaping Part 2: Landscaping the Frugal Way
Posted by Lynnae on September 22, 2008
If you’re new here, you may want to find out more about me. Also, please consider subscribing via RSS or email. Thanks for visiting!
The following is the second in a two-part guest post by Marci, a frequent reader and commenter here at Being Frugal. If you missed last week’s post on Edible Landscaping for Beginners, make sure you go back and read it. It’s very informative! Thanks again, Marci, for sharing your knowledge with us!
I’m in the middle of a 4 year plan to put in edible landscaping around my house after the yard was torn up for a small addition to the tiny house. I’m stretching the time frame out to accommodate my limited finances, my limited time, my physical limits, and giving myself time to search for those freebies needed to make the yard a success.
The first spring I told friends and family that I was looking for starts, cuttings, seeds, etc. I scored strawberry runners, chives, a rhubarb root, walking onions, some iris, and some columbine flower seeds. All are perennial, or self-seeding in the case of the flowers, which is what I was looking for. I quickly threw together a flower bed along one side of the house with some leftover 2×6’s from construction, tossed some excavated dirt on it, and called it good. This was to be just a temporary keeping spot for the plants until construction was over. Luckily, all survived the winter and in their 2nd fall the rhubarb, strawberries and walking onions will all be moved to their permanent homes in my new fence line border perennial garden. .
I was always on the lookout for freebies and frugal finds that I knew would be needed later on for the garden and landscaping.
Finding Good, Inexpensive Soil
Luckily, I had great rich black top soil from the excavation for the addition. If you don’t have that available, look for neighbors or friends who are building. I met a lot of my new neighbors when they asked if they could have some of that dirt pile for their gardens. Look for ads in the paper for free delivery of excavated soil from construction areas.
Finding Cheap, Yet Good, Fertilizers
Free cow manure is overly available in Moo-Town where I live. Look for horse, goat, cow, chicken, rabbit, etc. in your area. Check the paper for free you-haul-it-away situations. Start your own compost piles – check books or the internet for great easy ways to do this. If you’ve got leaves and grass clippings, and kitchen scraps, you have a great start.
Finding Low Cost Landscaping Timbers, Boards, Blocks, Rocks, Pots, and/or Containers
With permission, check construction sites for used lumber, timbers, broken cement blocks, and excavated rocks. Check your recycling center or transfer station. I pulled all my used landscaping timbers and boards out of a wood debris pile at the transfer station/recycling center. All free. Garage sales are also great free or low cost places to find lumber, timbers, cement blocks, decorative rocks, pots, buckets, containers. Most anything that will hold in dirt will grow plants as long as you add drainage.
Finding Free and Low Cost Plants
Garage sales, plant recycling centers, and friends were my best bets. Also become friendly with your local nurseries as sometimes they have greatly discounted plants at the end of the season, or even free plants. That’s how I got 6 asparagus plants, 4 squash, 4 tomatoes, 3 beans plants, and several kale plants this year – all free from the nursery. The asparagus and kale will go in the fence line perennial landscaping.
Check end of season sales. Right now several of the seed catalogs are having 50% off sales, as are some garden centers, and nurseries. If you are buying perennial plants, this is a good time to buy them.
Finding Inexpensive Garden Tools
Again, most of these have come from free boxes, garage sales, and the recycling center. New wooden handles (free 2×4’s) were put on my broken but free wheelbarrow, and I hand painted the wheelbarrow bucket, and now I have a very unique, but working large capacity wheelbarrow.
Make Your Own Cold Frames
For those tender new plants, or trying to keep plants going thru their first winter, try 2 liter soda bottles, cut, but with the cap off. Used windows work. Or my favorite mini greenhouses – clear refrigerator bins, like the veggie and meat keepers.
Frugal edible landscaping is very possible – you just need to be always on the lookout for items that may be put to some future use. And be adaptable and flexible, and ingenious in the way you use the found items and you will soon have an edible landscaped yard that is uniquely you! Good luck and great eating!
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http://www.thenatureinus.com/2008/11/local-food-trends.html
Local Food Trends
Eating locally raised food is a growing trend. But who has time to get to the farmer’s market, let alone plant a garden?
That is where Trevor Paque comes in. For a fee, Mr. Paque, who lives in San Francisco, will build an organic garden in your backyard, weed it weekly and even harvest the bounty, gently placing a box of vegetables on the back porch when he leaves.
Call them the lazy locavores — city dwellers who insist on eating food grown close to home but have no inclination to get their hands dirty. Mr. Paque is typical of a new breed of business owner serving their needs.
The highest form of luxury is now growing it yourself or paying other people to grow it for you,” said Corby Kummer, the food columnist and book author. “This has become fashion.” As a result of interest in local food and rising grocery bills, backyard gardens have been enjoying a renaissance across the country.
For a growing number of diners, a food’s provenance is more important than its brand name, said Michelle Barry, who studies American eating patterns for the Hartman Group, a research firm in Bellevue, Wash. As a result, grocery stores are looking to repackage products like milk and cheese to play up any local angle.
“It’s a very savvy crowd that understands how all the pieces of sustainable farming and nutrition fit together,” said Larry Wisch, one of five worker-owners at Three Stone Hearth. “But they don’t want the headaches of getting here.”
The author Barbara Kingsolver, whose book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” was a best seller last year, did not have the lazy locavore in mind when she wrote about the implications of making her family spend a year eating local. But she celebrates the trend.
Finding Local Food.
http://www.localharvest.org/
How I built an electricity producing Solar Panel
It was easy. You can do it too
Several years ago I bought some remote property in Arizona. I am an astronomer and wanted a place to practice my hobby far away from the sky-wrecking light pollution found near cities of any real size. I found a great piece of property. The problem is, it’s so remote that there is no electric service available. That’s not really a problem. No electricity equals no light pollution. However, it would be nice to have at least a little electricity, since so much of life in the 21st century is dependant on it.
I built a wind turbine to provide some power on the remote property. It works great, when the wind blows. However, I wanted more power, and more dependable power. The wind seems to blow all the time on my property, except when I really need it too. I do get well over 300 sunny days a year on the property though, so solar power seems like the obvious choice to supplement the wind turbine. Solar panels are very expensive though. So I decided to try my hand at building my own. I used common tools and inexpensive and easy to acquire materials to produce a solar panel that rivals commercial panels in power production, but completely blows them away in price. Read on for step by step instructions on how I did it.
Continued, links, photos, how to.....
http://www.mdpub.com/SolarPanel/index.html
http://www.c-ville.com/index.php?cat=11431001081377254&ShowArticle_ID=11800611083380842
November 08: Your Garden
Getting started on compost, from the ground up.
by : C-VILLE Abode
Death in the garden
If life draws us into the garden, death—not to be too dramatic about it—waits there too. That’s part of the gardener’s education. Take leaves, for instance.
As the great Brit Graham Stewart Thomas wrote, with admirable English restraint, “If you garden hand in hand with leaves—either green and growing or brown and decaying—you will find gardening much easier.”
November in the garden
Shred or mow leaves.
Recycle plants.
Bye-bye, Bambi.
Blazing autumn colors reflect exposed sugars and carbs that leaves were producing all summer under their cloak of chlorophyll. When they fall, bacteria and fungi break it all back down into basic nutrients of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (the iconic N-P-K you see on fertilizer bags) that complete the cycle by replenishing the plants that produced them.
Decaying organic matter, whether “hot” compost cooking in layers with bacteria and nitrogen from manures, grass clippings and a sprinkling of top soil, or a “cold” leaf pile moldering along with only fungi, is a genuine magic elixir for the garden: life into death into life. It nourishes soils and roots, breaks up heavy clay for better drainage and tilth and has nothing to do with petroleum. What’s not to like?
It’s all about compost. As the great Brit Graham Stewart Thomas wrote, “If you garden hand in hand with leaves—either green and growing or brown and decaying—you will find gardening much easier.”
You can buy compost or just make it yourself. Panorama Farms in Earlysville has used City of Charlottesville leaves for quite a few years, mixing them with turkey litter as the basis of their legendary Panorama Paydirt compost, but as long as you have a bit of ground and some growing things, you can recycle spent plants back into the ground. Make a bin from straw bales or wooden packing palettes. In smaller spaces, use stacks of plastic trays or barrels with a crank turner to suck up kitchen waste like eggshells and coffee grounds. Chop up larger stalks before you add them to speed up decomposition and turn it all frequently for good air circulation. Contact the Extension Agency (vtpp.ext.vt.edu or 872-4580) for their handy how-to compost handouts.
Some people tuck away free-standing cylinders of chicken wire in the back of beds to fill with fall clean-up litter: leaves, weeds not gone to seed, small twigs, etc. It begins to decay over winter and you can spread it out as nourishing mulch when you wake the beds in the spring.
If you’re overwhelmed with heavy oak leaves, consider mowing them into bits or shredding with a rented leaf shredder to reduce their bulk. If they don’t smother the grass, leave them on the lawn to feed the soil.
Keep as much as you can from the garden and import as little as you must. If you do purchase fertilizer, look for organic products instead of petroleum-based chemicals.
After a couple of decades here in the hollow, I’m getting serious about growing vegetables, and that means dealing with the deer. The pressure of the herd has steadily increased over the years to the point where a few strands of wire at knee length and an energetic Jack Russell (they make their peace eventually) just don’t cut it. A friend in Crozet has a special permit to shoot deer that threaten crops, but that’s a bit more death in the garden than I care to deal with.
Ten-foot-tall plastic netting is affordable and works well in woodland gardens where it blends in with trees, but out in the open it’s not particularly attractive and our two small vegetable beds are very prominent, flanking the main path into the larger ornamental garden. So with aesthetics and practicality firmly in mind, the search for the perfect deer fence begins. The winner announced next month.—Cathy Clary
Reptile rex
Called by turns “mother-in-laws’ tongue” or “snake plant” for its slim, sharp-pointed, vertically-growing leaves, this herbaceous perennial is a lot nicer than either of its names suggest. For one thing, it reduces indoor air pollution by absorbing poisonous air-borne substances.
Snake plants don’t want too much agua.
The sansevieria (official name) needs only infrequent watering (fortnightly) because it holds a lot of water in its leaves, adding to their toughness in the face of neglect. If overwatered, it has a tendency to rot and attract bugs.
Choose from ‘Hahnii’ or ‘Golden Hahnii’ varieties for small settings like 6” pots, or the larger ‘Laurentii’ as a stand-alone specimen. Favorite soil: three parts loam, one part sand.—Lily Robertson
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Planning on the jump right at Spring thaw! That can mean April, or even as late as May...
Can't even rototill until then! Geeesh! You can't even bury the dead before the thaw! (True!)
Going to be making a couple smaller hauls before that of course... Judy ran into a a small legality problem on the transfer papers, but that should resolve by the first of the year. Issues like that never fail to appear in these matters!
http://www.c-ville.com/index.php?cat=11431001081377254&ShowArticle_ID=11800611083380842
NEW! December 08: Your Kitchen
With lamb, flavor says a lot
by : C-VILLE Abode
Lie down with lamb
While the term “lamb” usually connotes spring, in this hemisphere we’re much more likely to have fresh, local lamb in the late fall and winter. Technically speaking, baby lamb would
The Shebeen serves Sosatie with green lentils and yellow rice; choose pastured lamb for a stronger characteristic flavor.
be born in late winter so as to be ready in six to eight weeks (or right around Easter). Spring lamb ranges from 3 to 5 months old when eaten; regular lamb is slaughtered under a year of age (after which it becomes a yearling and then mutton at 2 years). Unless your neighbor raises sheep, it is difficult to find spring lamb because commercial producers continue feeding or grazing the animal so that it grows larger—and then set the price by pound.
“Gamey” is a term often used to describe lamb, although it has long been a very domestic creature. While taste is subjective, it seems gamier flavor is associated with pasture (as opposed to confinement), physical activity, and a diet as varied as the animal is able to forage. In contrast, any animal raised commercially is typically fed grains, soy and corn and its movement is severely restricted, resulting in a blander, fattier meat lacking most flavor characteristics associated with the species.—Lisa Reeder
Cooktop grill
When snowflakes are flying outside, the ole barbecue becomes an extreme cooking challenge; sure, you could still use it, but how long would a lamb chop take to grill when the air temperature is 25 degrees, and would you still be able to pick it up?
The stovetop grill brings it all inside.
This one is from The Happy Cook.
The alternative is a cast-iron grill pan that straddles two burners of the stove. The ridges on the grill provide some lift to the food so that air circulates around it, crisping rather than stewing. If you have a heat-resistant pot lid, the grill doubles as a panini press, and can always be used for bacon or sausages or toast or heating tortillas. Typically, the reverse side of the grill is a flat griddle with a dugout around it; this side is perfect for French toast and pancakes. You may never have to leave the house again!—L.R.
Sosatie
This long but not-too-difficult recipe for South African-style lamb kebobs comes your way from (where else?) The Shebeen.
Kebobs
Choose either 3 lbs. of boneless leg of lamb or 3 lbs. of boneless ham, or a combination of the two
2 bunches of long-stemmed fresh rosemary (if you can’t find rosemary with long stems, use skewer sticks)
Marinade
5 cups red wine vinegar
2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 bay leaves
4 Tbs. apricot preserves
4 Tbs. mango chutney (they suggest Ms. Balls if you don’t make your own)
1 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 onions, finely diced
Trim meat of sinew and cut into 1”x1” cubes. Combine marinade ingredients. Toss meat and marinade, cover and let mixture marinate in refrigerator for a minimum of two days. Remove leaves from bottom 2/3 of rosemary stems and wrap remaining leaves in foil. Thread cubed meat onto “rosemary skewers.” Skewers can be seared in hot sauté pan and then removed to 350-degree oven for finishing, or grilled on gas or, preferably, charcoal grill. Remove foil before serving.
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