I won’t take the “which food is good for you test”, as I am happy to get food and to add any special requirements to the shopping that I ask Scott to do, might be the final straw.
He hates shopping and once the basket is full, he is done, forget the rest of the list.
I used honey on the goats udders, if they got it cut, it heals in a hurry and does not leave chemicals in their milk.
I will try the honey and cinnamon on toast, as I have always like cinnamon toast.
Thanks for the info.
I might try that combo myself :)
I took the test only to find out I’m not eating properly. LOL
As someone who has personal chef/caterer on her resume I hate cooking at home.
[My favorite kind, I read the Ruth Stout books many years ago.
granny]
http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/
No Dig Gardens
Clean, green and chemical free
No dig gardens are the quickest, easiest way to get home grown vegetables on your dinner table.
No dig gardening or a raised garden bed, consists of layering organic materials on top of the soil to create a nutrient rich environment for your plants, in this case, vegetables.
Sun smiling
No matter what your location, no dig vegetable gardens are an option for you.
The garden literally composts the materials while feeding the plants.
Monthly tips and gardening advice
February’s Diggers Rest now online!
Join the Diggers Rest online newsletter and get the latest information on how
to grow (almost) anything you want to eat under the sun. There’s also a great recipe on how to use your garden produce in each issue.
A raised garden bed means that it doesn’t matter what sort of soil you currently have. Simply layer materials over the top of your surface and start growing!
Benefits of a no dig garden or raised garden bed:
# They’re easy to build (a morning’s work!)
# They’re virtually maintenance free.
# They mirror nature to create a rich, organic environment for your plants.
# They can be built anywhere, any time to any design.
Gardening is sublime. It’s where you can enjoy the wonder of nature close up and personally... no matter where you are. Don’t let the current
quality of your soil hold you back.
You will need a sunny space and a flat surface. Beyond that, just add a few ingredients and you’re on your way.
So let’s get growing!
Web no-dig-vegetablegarden.com
Plan a Vegetable Garden
Take the time to properly plan a vegetable garden for maximum success. Climate, growing season and aspect will all have an impact.
Building a vegetable garden
Simple instructions on building a vegetable garden for success no matter where you live or the condition of your soil. Fresh veggies from garden to table in as little as 8 weeks.
Vegetable seedlings
A guide to preparing vegetable seedlings for the no dig vegetable garden. Seeds need air and water to germinate.
Sowing guides
Calendar sowing guides for the most popular vegetables in both the northern and southern hemispheres!
List of Vegetables
This list of vegetables to grow shows you how to plant vegetables and all the tips needed for growing vegetable plants and seed varieties.
Container Vegetable Gardens
Guidelines for how to create container vegetable gardens for those with no yard.
Raised Vegetable Garden
Simply a fabulous, natural short cut; that’s what a raised vegetable garden is, and it includes: no-dig, no-till, lasagna, straw bale, and square foot gardening.
Crop Rotation
A quick guide on the benefits of crop rotation in the vegetable garden and a sample outline plan.
Growing Herbs
Use no dig gardening methods for growing herbs. Get an instant herb garden with great results
Other Gardens
How to use no dig gardening methods for other gardens such as flowers and fruit.
Gardening for Kids
Some quick and easy gardening for kids projects to inspire the gardeners of tomorrow!
Composting
Close the nature loop by composting your vegetable waste into new garden material.
Companion Planting
Companion planting is all about which plants help each other in the garden. Find out which combinations work to control pests and increase yields.
Organic Garden Pest Control
Organic garden pest control is safe and easy when you use these natural, biological and non-toxic solutions.
Beneficial Garden Insects
Here’s how beneficial garden insects can really help your garden. Encouraging good garden bugs brings great rewards
Vertical Gardens
If you have a space problem in your garden, vertical gardens could be the answer.
Garden Tools
Some tips on purchasing and maintaining the best garden tools to suit you.
Preserves
You can make preserves from your home grown vegetables by canning, freezing or dehydrating them allowing you to use them in a whole range of ways.
Vegetable Recipes
Quick and easy vegetable recipes for your fresh garden produce in a range of styles.
Vegetable Gardening Tips
A growing resource of vegetable gardening tips and tricks contributed by other gardeners.
Reflections on Nature
There are things that happen in the garden and our world that are not always able to be explained. Reflections on Nature looks at some of them and offers... some reflections.
Best Gardening Books
The best gardening books I’ve found for growing vegetables, herbs and everything to do with organics.
Diggers Rest
Opt-in ezine subscription page for no dig vegetable gardening.
http://permaculture.org.au/2009/02/05/colony-collapse-disorder-a-moment-for-reflection/#more-1072
Colony Collapse Disorder - a Moment for Reflection
Biodiversity, Food Shortages, GMOs, Health & Disease, Insects — by Craig Mackintosh
Preamble: The issue of massive bee die-offs was hot in the mainstream media news last year, but now it seems they’ve moved on to more ‘interesting’ things…. Despite the lack of recent coverage, this extremely serious issue is not going away. About a year and a half ago I wrote the article below, and since the content of the post is still very relevant, and as it attracted a lot of attention at the time (before the administrators lost them all through website adjustments, it had attracted more than 200 comments - from beekeepers, scientists, gardeners and other interested people), I thought I’d post it again here to bring some attention back to this subject. The beautiful thing about Permaculture is it is completely holistic in nature. Industry and reductionist science tend to look at things in isolation, thus never seeing the bigger picture. The article below is an attempt to join the dots. Unless we take a broad view of the impacts of our industrial systems, we will never find solutions to such potentially cataclysmic problems as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
Our previous posts on the mysterious bee disappearances have been a very interesting exercise. We’ve had great feedback from farmers, amateur and professional beekeepers, scientists, and dozens of other interested/concerned observers. In the meantime, accumulating reports tell us that the problem is not constrained to the U.S. alone - but that, to one degree or another, empty hives are becoming common in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Poland, and now the UK.
Personally, I believe situations like this are an opportune moment for reflection - a time to humbly consider a few realities, and perhaps learn a few lessons. Of significance to me is the fact that scientists haven’t got this figured out as yet. It begs the question - which is easier, when dealing with the infinitely complex interactions of nature: 1) predicting specific consequences to our ‘tinkering’ before they occur, or 2) understanding how something happened after-the-fact? I would have thought the latter was the easiest - you know the old saying, “hindsight is a wonderful thing”. Looking back at the results, following the trail of clues, is a lot less challenging than postulating over what could happen. Or, to put it into a framework that might be better understood - if Sherlock Holmes, expert in crime scene deductions, were to turn his attention to predicting crimes rather than solving them, how would he have fared? Short of the kind of psychic predictive skills seen in Minority Report-type science fiction movies, I don’t expect he’d fare so well.
What am I on about, you ask? Simply this - too many people hand scientists the keys to the car, as it were, and bid them take it wherever their employer wishes. Our governments do this, and too many either encourage it, or stand by and let it happen. When the PR departments that front these scientists portray a glorious new world where man manages to, with perfect and meticulous coordination, juggle all the intricacies of the natural world in one hand, whilst cashing in on it and providing world peace and equality with the other - we believe it. Yet, how can we have so much confidence in their ability to read the future, when they are unable to decipher the past and present - a task that should be a damned sight simpler, no?
As Australians are benefiting from an export boom in bees to the U.S., and while the best recommendations from the groups that have been tasked with finding solutions to these problems are to advise which chemicals to use and which not to (PDF), I will list some of the possible causes for the present pollination crisis below (I call it a pollination crisis here, rather than a honeybee crisis, because there are other pollinators that would be lending us a hand - if we hadn’t already driven them into exile):
* Lack of diversity: This point, above all others, is a critical cause of natural imbalance. Diversity is stability. Mono-crop farming creates vulnerability. In fact, the dependence of our agricultural systems on just one species of bee for pollination is a perfect example of this vulnerability in action. In complete contrast to the natural order, where diversity is the rule, we plant gigantic fields of just one crop, leaving minimal borders, or ‘bio-corridors’ (woodlands, shrubs, wildflowers, hedges, etc.), for beneficial insects to take up residence, or none at all. Integrated bio-diversity is the future of farming.
* Pesticides & Herbicides: Crops (and even hedges, verges, and woodlands, where they remain), are often sprayed with pesticides or herbicides. These chemicals are the practical extension of an exasperating belief that nature is our enemy. Pouring poison on our food is a very simplistic way of dealing with our problems, and ignores the root causes. New genetically modified crops, designed to be immune to certain pesticides and herbicides, have resulted in the increased usage of these chemicals. Pesticides, particularly Bayer’s imidacloprid, a nicotine-based product marketed under the names Admire, Provado, Merit, Marathon and Gaucho, have been concretely implicated in the destruction of bee populations before. That other bees and insects are not raiding deserted hives to feed on the honey, as they normally would, lends some credence to the theory of toxic overload.
* GM Crops: GM Crops are widespread in the U.S., in particular, as is unintended contamination through horizontal gene transfer. Creating plants with built-in pesticides will kill insects. Bees, by the way, are insects. Additionally, it is known that inserted genes can combine in host DNA molecules to create unexpected proteins - that can be toxic or allergenic. It is impossible to know all the implications of how pollen from such plants will interact with the organisms they are in contact with.
* Direct Stress: Transportation, lack of natural food, and natural food diversity, pesticides sprayed directly into hives, antibiotics and GMOs in feed. Bees today are ‘factory farmed’ much in the way hens are. We take too much of their honey, replacing it with sugary water instead, and, like hens, stifle their instinctive habits - like swarming. These things, and other environmental factors, can cause a general weakening of pollinators’ immune systems. The few dead bees that have been located are often found to contain multiple pathogens and diseases - indicative of an AIDS-like syndrome.
* Varroa mites: Although some like to pin the blame on these mites, I’m dubious, and I’m not alone: “Many bee experts assumed varroa mites were a major cause of the severe die-off in the winter of 2005. Yet when researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, traveled to Oakdale, California, where Anderson and a number of his fellow beekeepers spend winter and spring, they could find no correlation between the level of varroa mite infestation and the health of bee colonies. “We couldn’t pin the blame for the die-off on any single cause,” says Jeff Pettis, a research entomologist at the lab.- The Vanishing. However, treatments against mites may be leaving hives open to the onslaught of powerful pathogens, much in the same way the overuse of antibiotics lead to super bugs in our hospitals.
* Artificial Insemination: “Rudolf Steiner gave lectures to the workers at the Goetheanum in 1923 in Dornach, Switzerland. Among the workers was a professional beekeeper, Mr Müller, who contributed to these lectures in the form of insights and questions. However, Mr Müller rebelled vehemently and showed no understanding when Steiner explained the intricacies of the queen bee, mentioning that the modern method of breeding queens (using the larvae of worker bees, a practice that had already been in use for about fifteen years) would have long-term detrimental effects, so grave that: “A century later all breeding of bees will cease if only artificially produced bees are used (November 10). . . . It is quite correct that we can’t determine this today; it will have to be delayed until a later time. Let’s talk to each other again in one hundred years, Mr Müller, then we’ll see what kind of opinion you’ll have at that point”. Seventy-five years have passed and the kind of queen breeding Steiner spoke of has not only continued, but has become the standard, and is now supplemented with instrumental insemination.” - Gibson, commenting on Celsias
* Weather: The hotter, dryer summers and wetter winters brought about by global warming.
* Mechanistic Mindsets: Last, but by no means the least, is the problem of our mechanistic mindset - reducing an infinitely complicated world of interactions to an overly simplistic viewpoint. This is the root cause of several of the issues outlined above. Where, in mathematics (adding numbers or inanimate objects) 1 + 1 = 2, in biology (i.e. the combination of two life forms), 1 + 1 may equal 3, or a billion and three. The term bio-engineering itself is a contradiction in terms - they are entirely juxtaposed. ‘Bio’ equates to ‘life’. ‘Engineering’ refers to design and manufacture, a blueprint of exactness. Biological forms (i.e. life-forms) can never be ‘engineered’ - i.e. predictably controlled or manipulated. Unlike a sheet of metal that can be machined with consistent results, organisms in natural systems are ever changing and adjusting. This makes ‘bio-engineering’, in the best-case scenario, a futile exercise and an enormous misallocation of human and environmental resources, and, in the worse case scenario, an ecological catastrophe with no chance for a product recall.
* Navigational Hindrances: There was also a miscontrued study on cellphone radiation and its effects on the bees ability to navigate - which turned out to be an over-zealous knee-jerk reaction by The Independent. CCD is occuring even in locations with no cell phone coverage. Some have also mentioned other navigational hindrances such as UV radiation, shifting magnetic fields and even quantum physics.
Researchers are desperately seeking the ’cause’ of colony collapse disorder. The reductionist mindset would be tempted to pull a single root cause out from amongst those above, but, I would propose that the items listed above, in combination, constitute a great load on the camel’s back - with one or two of the above being the final straw that broke it.
And, again, when considering the plight of the bee - let’s remove our blinders, and look around a little more. How are other creatures (some of them also pollinators, like butterflies and birds) being affected by our pesticides, our mechanisation, and our specialist systems? We focus on the honeybee only because of its direct and immediate threat to our livelihoods, and indeed our food supply - but, there’s a whole other world out there that’s suffering under our (mis)management. We’re just not paying attention.
Speaking before the U.S. House of Representatives, the head of the Illinois Department of Entomology had this to say:
It is an unfortunate consequence of benign indifference to the precarious nature of an overwhelming reliance on a single species that few alternative actively managed species are currently available for use. And despite evidence of their efficacy as crop pollinators, wild species are not being exploited to any significant extent. While efforts to monitor honey bees are inadequate, efforts to monitor the status of wild pollinators in North America are essentially non existent…. There is reliable evidence that some North American pollinator species have gone extinct, become locally extirpated, or have declined in number. At least two bumble bee species, one of which is a crop pollinator, could face imminent extinction, and several other pollinators have declined significantly. For some species, there is no evidence of population decline because their populations have never been monitored over time; there is seldom a historical baseline with which contemporary data can be compared.
The committee noted that, while systematic, thorough monitoring programs in Europe have revealed dramatic declines in native pollinator abundance and diversity, there are no comparable North American programs….
… Beyond agriculture, pollinators are crucial to maintaining the quality of American life. They serve as keystone species in most terrestrial ecosystems in that the services they provide allow most plants to reproduce and maintain genetic diversity. These plants in turn provide food and shelter for animals; fruits and seeds produced by insect pollination are a major part of the diet of approximately 25 percent of birds and of mammals ranging from red-backed voles to grizzly bears. In some areas, pollinator-supported plant communities prevent erosion by binding the soil—thereby conserving an important resource and keeping creeks clean for aquatic life.
Phalanxes of economists devote many hours to estimating and calculating our energy reserves but there has been no comparable effort to calculate our pollination reserves. Human technological innovation has not, in most cases, replaced or even improved upon animal pollinators and is unlikely to do so in the immediate future. “The birds and the bees” remain an essential fact of life; as long as plants depend on pollinators, so will people and it behooves us to shepherd them wisely. - Colony Collapse Disorder and Pollinator Decline, Statement of May R. Berenbaum, Professor and Head, Department of Entomology University of Illinois before the Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture Committee on Agriculture, U.S. House of Representatives, March 29, 2007
If enough spokes in a wheel get bent or broken, the wheel will eventually collapse (there’s that word again). From appearances, at the moment, the livelihoods of beekeepers, farmers and agricultural industries are the immediate concern (estimates of 15 billion dollars worth of agricultural produce is at risk in the U.S. alone), but even this will become inconsequential if the problem progresses into a biological meltdown. Insects, plants and animals, are all interdependent, and we rely on them (despite popular belief, and contrary to the PR broadcasts of the chemical companies). If pollinators are indicators of the health of our environment - our current canary-in-the-cage, so to speak - then isn’t it time we moved to safety?
http://permaculture.org.au/2009/02/14/our-seeds-seeds-blong-yumi/#more-1097
Our Seeds: Seeds Blong Yumi
Biodiversity, Seeds — by Michel Fanton
3 Minute Trailer [on site]
“Our Seeds: Seeds Blong Yumi” is a fifty-seven minute film shot in eleven countries and made for Pacific audiences that celebrates traditional foods and the plants they grow from. The film introduces to the people of the Pacific the varied people who save seeds and stand at the source of humanity¹s diverse food heritage.
This is a David and Goliath story where resilience and persuasive logic triumph over seemingly invincible giant corporations.
Pacific islanders face great challenges to their way of life, their culture and their traditional cultivation methodologies. They fall into the trap of replacing resilient food crop varieties with modern hybrids that require pesticides and chemical fertilisers. They replace innumerable varieties of root staples with imported low quality starch such as white rice, biscuits and noodles.
This film seeks to reverse this trend.
Seed Savers directors, Michel and Jude Fanton shot 195 hours in eleven countries: Spain, France, Italy, India, Sri Lanka, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The documentary includes instructive motion graphics and a rich sound track, mostly indigenous music recorded in the making of the film.
Audio options are original English soundtrack and Pacific Pigin. Subtitle options are English and French.
The documentary can be purchased here
http://permaculture.org.au/2009/01/31/bamboo-in-permaculture-design/#more-1048
Bamboo in Permaculture Design
Food Plants - Perennial, Plant Systems, Trees — by Rick Valley
PIJ # 55, 1995 page 24 - 26
Author’s Note: I am a firmly rooted (if transplanted) north-westerner (USA) and this article reflects my years of experience with mostly hardy running bamboos and a few genera of hardy clumping bamboos. My experience with bamboos in other climates is limited, but I feel this information is still useful to readers form different regions.
People tell me bamboo “takes over” and can pierce and destroy pavement, foundations, and ultimately, Western civilization. We call these people bambusaphobes.
Nonetheless, despite its reputation, bamboo is not conquering the world. At the other extreme are people who plant any bamboo they can get anywhere.
Looking carefully at the nature of the plant helps us find a middle ground. Bamboo does like to occupy unused space – edges and clearings. Bamboo is a monocot, and monocots (grasses, lilies, palms, etc) do not have cambium, that is, unlike trees, they do not increase in girth. When a runner finds its way through a crack, unlike a tree root, it will not spread the crack wider over time. Similarly, pipe clogging is not much problem; I have seen cases where a bamboo benefited from a septic tank for years and caused no problem.
On my first major planting, my friend was putting P. Nigra Henon along the edge of his yard for privacy, next to his neighbour’s garden. He went to his neighbour to reassure him that he would keep the bamboo contained. The neighbour (Korean) misunderstood my friend’s purpose, and repeatedly said “Do not worry, we will not eat your bamboo!” Who would plant a rose bush without realizing that pruning is in store?
Culture and placement is very important. Bambuseros, those, who are working with bamboo for people, don’t introduce bamboo if there won’t be a receptive human culture to use it.
Site
Almost any soil will do, though many varieties do not enjoy salty irrigation water, such as is the case in southern California.
The most difficult site is the one that is exposed, windy, and dry. Bamboos are water-loving plants and may require some help in an exposed site or an area of low summer rainfall. Bamboos do well on floodplain, on streambanks and next to ponds. Floods will not kill bamboo and bamboo can slow erosion and cause deposition of rich silt.
But remember, it’s all relative to local climate and conditions.
Soil
Bamboo generally prefers dirt, though I have seen it do well in bark or on black plastic or asphalt.
To prepare the soil, put mulch in the surface and let the worms do the digging, unless you’ve got an extreme case of abuse or disturbance. You only need to loosen the soil in the immediate vicinity of the plant to ensure that you’ve got the complete root mass in contact with soil, with no gaps or voids.
Planting
Plant the potted bamboo just slightly deeper in the ground than it is in its pot. As the bamboo spreads it will find its own best level. Tall bamboos should be staked or tied until established. A new plant will also appreciate a bit of shade and shelter from the wind. You might use some pruned tree branches to do this.
Irrigation
Water is critical the first year, and 1”/week (25mm) is a good rough minimum. Bamboo will follow water in a dry area, and will tend to grow into an area watered by a soaker hose or drip system.
Containment
In considering building containment for running bamboos, it’s important to remember the example of the Maginot Line. Ultimately no method may be really foolproof. Bamboo runners are very pointed, and actually moisten the ground ahead of themselves for better penetration. Runners can slim through narrow cracks or pierce through plastic pots and weed barriers. Concrete slab-patio, sidewalk or what have you, is just a convenient covered highway to spots where the shoots can pop up unannounced. There are some situations where bamboo will not be a problem. It won’t cross permanent or semi-permanent water, nor will it manage to invade a pasture where animals are kept. A well-used, compacted road will also stop bamboo. Allow the bamboo a reasonable space, and don’t try to grow a zillion different kinds!
I consider barriers a last resort but will give some clues to their use. The first rule is to slope the barrier away from the bamboo so that the runners will not be deflected downward and under, but up where you can see them. These barriers must be inspected regularly. The necessary barrier depth is a tricky question, depending on soil type and whether or not the soil has been disturbed. In a heavy clay soil, 18 inches (45cm) may be adequate while in a deep, soft, river bottom loam, 3-4 feet (90-120 cm) may be necessary. Barrier materials include concrete, conveyor belt rubber, aluminium and plastics (heavy gauge is very good).
I recommend consulting with a local bamboo lover before you decide on whether you can use bamboo on your land and which species are best.
Rick’s Rules of Bamboo order
1. Don’t crowd your plant too close to a house, valuable plants, rock garden, etc. Keep a space around it that can be dug in, wide enough for you to walk through.
2. Thin your bamboo regularly – take out all canes three to four years old, and any that don’t look good. Give new growth space to grow.
3. You may only need a partial barrier – along the driveway, or along your neighbour’s property line.
4. If shoots come up where you don’t want them, cut them down deep in the ground with a narrow hoe-type tool (and eat ‘em!) because that will minimize regrowth and the sharp stubs that result from, say, using your lawn mower on shoots.
5. Don’t plant bamboo into a rock garden, next to a low deck, or next to a patio without realizing it will infiltrate throughout, under and around, coming up where it can.
6. In humid climates, bamboos planted next to rivers can be spread downstream by floods tearing off clumps. If you are introducing a species, choose wisely.
The Endless Uses of Bamboo
Many bamboo enthusiasts groan when you ask about the uses of bamboo. The reason being the list is so long. Far preferable, they say to ask “What cannot you do with bamboo?”
It is difficult though to resist mentioning some of its uses, as many people, especially in the West, are ignorant of its great role in many civilizations present and past. So, to say it can be used as food, material for buildings, musical instruments and fences, as a hedge, erosion controller, to make household utensils, or as a creator of soothing white noise, is a small beginning.
The following quote gives further life to the question of bamboo uses:
“Tao Chich (plum blossom bamboo) is useful, as well as beautiful. It adorns the landscape, offers shade on a warm day; supplies materials for mats; so that we may sleep in comfort; and provides a staff of support for old age.” - Kuo Fu
Tips on Selecting Bamboos
by Hans Erken
* Carefully chosen bamboo species can make the greatest contribution as a resource at the household or local level.
* Bamboo plants, both clumping and running forms, use ever-more space over time.
* Uses and maintenance: Bamboo is incredibly useful as food, as a construction material, and to reduce nutrient, erosion and noise problems. However, a bamboo clump or grove will become increasingly dense if not harvested regularly, creating the risk of fire and rodent infestation.
* Design and species selection guides for warm temperate to tropical climates:
- Choose bamboo species that have a proven track record somewhere in the world. There are about 1200 bamboo species worldwide. Of these possibly less than 100 are commercially important. China has about 500 species, most of which are endemic. However, 80 percent of the total area occupied by bamboo is a single cultivated species - Phyllostachys heterocycle var. pubescens. In Japan this species is known as ‘Moso’ and is widely cultivated for its shoots and timber as well as its placement in ornamental gardens.
- Basically, the larger species with bigger culms or poles and shoots which are easier to prepare are more useful.
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I am a certified Bamboo lover! To date I have resisted the temptation to plant my beautiful Bamboo in the ground and have lovingly maintained them in pots. I feel my resolve to continue to do this slipping daily and will do some more ‘digging’ to discover how best to manage the varieties I have if I do put them out. Thank you so much for a wonderfully informative and inspirational article.
Comment by Cate Ferguson — January 31, 2009 @ 5:23 pm
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Great stuff! Inspired to go and raid some local bamboo clumps that grow wild along the river Minho in Northern Portugal where I live now, and plant them near a wee river we have. Interesting they don’t like dry spaces though. Because up near the house can be dry in summer. Maybe use some grey water to keep them happy… hmmm
Comment by Magnus — February 10, 2009 @ 10:46 am
http://permaculture.org.au/2008/08/11/a-refrigerator-that-runs-without-electricity/#more-540
[see photos]
A Refrigerator that Runs Without Electricity
Community Projects, Processing & Food Preservation — by Craig Mackintosh
Sometimes there are simple solutions to universal needs that don’t require coal fired electricity, fossil fuels, or even solar panels or wind turbines.
Around a third of the world’s population have no access to electricity. If you’re like me, you’ve spent your entire life being able to plug in. Do we ever give a thought to what life would be like if the various appliances we’ve come to rely on were to suddenly stop working? One of the most energy guzzling appliances in our carbon footprint portfolio is the refrigerator. But, unplug it, and the quality of your life will suddenly deteriorate. Take that thought, and imagine living in a hot dry country in Africa, without electricity, where food quickly wilts and rots in the sun, aided by onslaughts of flies.
One modern day genius, mindful of this basic need to preserve food, has solved the problem for many. Mohammed Bah Abba, a Nigerian teacher, invented the ‘device’ — a refrigerator that doesn’t require electricity!
From a family of pot-makers, Mohammed has made ingeniously simple use of the laws of thermodynamics to create the pot-in-pot refrigerator, called a Zeer in Arabic.
Here’s how it works.
You take two earthen pots, both being the same shape but different sizes, and put one within the other. Then, fill the space between the two pots with sand before pouring water into the same cavity to make the sand wet. Then, place food items into the inner pot, and cover with a lid or damp cloth. You only need to ensure the pot-in-pot refrigerator is kept in a dry, well-ventilated space; the laws of thermodynamics does the rest. As the moisture in the sand evaporates, it draws heat away from the inner pot, cooling its contents. The only maintenance required is the addition of more water, around twice a day.
To give an idea of its performance, spinach that would normally wilt within hours in the African heat will last around twelve days in the pot, and items like tomatoes and peppers that normally struggle to survive a few days, now last three weeks. Aubergines (eggplants) get a life extension from just a few days to almost a month.
Inventing the refrigerator in 1995, Mohammed distributed thousands around Nigerian communities during the late 1990s (initially for free to get the word out, then later at just production-cost price), and subsequently won the Rolex Award for Enterprise in the year 2000. It has improved the lives and health of thousands. Less work can translate into more education for children, and small farmers who were before losing large proportions of their harvest are now able to earn a better income. Another knock-on benefit is improved health due to better preservation of vitamins, as well as a reduction in health problems like dysentery due to the separation of food and flies.
It seems that not all the answers to life’s needs have to come with a plug and instruction book.
Originally published on Celsias
http://permaculture.org.au/2008/09/05/strange-fruit/#more-600
Strange Fruit
Consumerism, Food Plants - Perennial, Health & Disease, Processing & Food Preservation, Trees — by George Monbiot
A hard commercial logic dictates that the only way to get good fruit today is to grow your own.
by George Monbiot - journalist, author, academic and environmental and political activist
I feel almost shy about writing this column. It contains no revelations, no call to arms. No one gets savaged: well, only mildly. The subject is almost inconsequential. Yet it has become an obsession which, at this time of year, forbids me to concentrate for long on anything else.
Though we still subsist largely on junk, even bilious old gits like me are forced to admit that the quality and variety of most types of food sold in Britain has improved. But one kind has deteriorated. You can buy mangoes, papayas, custard apples, persimmons, pomegranates, mangosteens, lychees, rambutans and god knows what else. But almost all the fruit sold here now seems to taste the same: either rock hard and dry or wet and bland. A mango may be ambrosia in India; it tastes like soggy toilet paper in the UK. And the variety of native fruits on sale is smaller than it has been for 200 years.
Why? Most people believe it’s because the supermarkets select for appearance not taste. This might be true for vegetables, but for fruit it’s evidently wrong. Green mangoes, Conference pears, unripe Bramley, Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples look about as appealing as a shrink-wrapped stool. Appearance has nothing to do with it. What counts to the retailer is how well the variety travels.
Take the Egremont Russet, for example. It’s a small apple that looks like a conker wrapped in sandpaper. But it has one inestimable quality. It can be dropped from the top of Canary Wharf, smash a kerbstone and come to no harm. This means it can be trucked from an orchard at Land’s End to a packing plant in John O’Groats, via Sydney, Washington and Vladivostock, then back to a superstore in Penzance (this is the preferred route for most of the fruit sold in the UK) and remain fit for sale. The supermarkets must have had some trouble shifting it because of its strange appearance, so they promoted it as a connoisseur’s apple. Such is our suggestibility that almost everyone believes this, though a dispassionate tasting would show you that it’s as sweet and juicy as a box of Kleenex.
For the same reason, we are assaulted with Conference pears, most of which resemble some kind of heavy ordnance, rather than any one of a hundred exquisite varieties such as the Durondeau, Belle Julie, Urbaniste, Glou Morceau, Ambrosia, Professeur du Breuil or Althorp Crasanne. It is because these pears are so delicious that they cannot be marketed. They melt in the mouth, which means they would also melt in the truck before it left the farm gate. As the best pears, plums, peaches and cherries are those which go soft and juicy when ripe, the grocers ensure that we never eat them.
To compound the problem, the supermarkets demand that fruit is picked long before it ripens: it doesn’t soften until it rots. This makes great commercial sense. It also ensures that no one in his right mind would want to eat it. But, happily for the retailers, we have forgotten what fruit should taste like. The only way to find out is either to travel abroad or (the low-carbon option) to grow your own. I find myself becoming a fruit evangelist, a fructivist, whose mission is to show people what they are missing.
When I lived in Oxford, at a time when allotments were underused, I spent a week in the Bodleian library reading Hogg and Bull’s Herefordshire Pomona, a massive book of apples and pears, written in the 1870s (you can now buy it on CD from the Marcher Apple Network). Then I cleared two and a half plots and planted the best varieties I could find. I left just as the trees were ready to fruit. But land here in mid-Wales is cheap. I bought half an acre and have started planting a second orchard.
When I first tried to place an order, I caused great excitement among the nurseries I phoned. Where had I seen these apples? Who recommended them? Two of them, I discovered, had been extinct for at least 50 years. So I have had to settle for second best, by which I mean breeds which still exist. I began by planting a Ribston Pippin and an Ashmead’s Kernel. These apples, both exquisite when fully ripe, can be stored from October till May. To spread the fruit as far through the year as possible, I have ordered an apple called the Irish Peach, which ripens in early August; a St Edmund’s Pippin (September) and a Wyken Pippin (December to April). After a long search I think I have pinned down the apple I once tasted and loved in a friend’s garden. I’m pretty confident that it was a Forfar, also know as the Dutch Mignonne, so I’ve bought one of those too. If I’d had more space, I would also have planted a Catshead, a Boston Russet, a Sturmer Pippin and a Reinette Grise.
I have bought two pears - a Seckle and a Beurre Rance - a green plum (the Cambridge Gage), a fig, a medlar, a peach, currants, gooseberries, raspberries, loganberries and blueberries. But what excites me most are the suggestions made by a man called Ken Fern. Once a London bus driver, Fern has spent most of his life cataloguing and growing the edible species of fruit and vegetable which can survive in this country. His list now extends to 7000, some of which are featured in his book Plants for a Future. I’ve decided to buy an Arnold Thorn (Crataegus arnoldiana), which belongs to the same genus as the hawthorn, but grows sweet juicy fruits the size of cherries, and to replace my hedge with Eleagnus x ebbingei, which produces sweet red berries with edible seeds, in (uniquely) April and May. This means, if it works out, that I can eat fresh fruit all the year round. I can store apples and Beurre Rance pears until the Eleagnus fruits, then my strawberries should be ready more or less when it stops. One day when I can afford it I will buy more land and plant a few dozen of the weird species Fern has found.
Most people have less space than I do, but even a tiny garden can support half a dozen apple trees, if you grow them as cordons (single stems with short spurs) 80cm apart against a wall. If you have room for only a couple of pots, you could grow blueberries, strawberries, cranberries or some of the little shrubs Ken Fern recommends, such as Vaccinium praestans and Gaultheria shallon. Or you could become a guerilla planter or guerilla grafter, growing fruit on roadsides, on commons and in parks and wasteland. Apple twigs of any kind can be grafted onto crab trees. Medlars and one breed of pear (a delicious variety called Josephine des Malines) can be grafted onto hawthorn. Kiwi fruit, passion fruit and a vine called Schisandra grandiflora will climb into trees of any kind.
It’s not just the produce I love. When you start growing fruit, you enter a world of recondite knowledge, accumulated over centuries of amateur experiments. You must choose the right rootstocks and pollinators and learn about bees, birds and caterpillars. But above all you must learn patience. Growing fruit forces you to think ahead, to imagine a sweeter future and then to wait. Perhaps it is this, as much as the forgotten flavours, that I have been missing.
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Right on!
We got suckered into letting the corporations feed us and ended up eating waste products and factory farmed produce to maximize their profits and keep food affordable for the masses. I grew up with hobby-hippy parents on 5 acres but since left I that garden of eden 15 years ago I’ve been a city living turd consumer. I’ve finally got my priorities straight and a great job in the country and I’m off in a few days. The fresh food there is awesome, the land is affordable and the traffic is non existent. O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
Comment by Jo — September 5, 2008 @ 8:52 am
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Hello,
Sadly the rural lifestyle with its common ally the car is less environmentally sustainable than a city apartment dwellers. As to taste you can be a city bushman and collect from the trees overhanging fences or edible weeds such as chickweed for salads. In fact my ultra urban lifestyle is much healthier and sustainable than the one I had as a founding director of the Permaculture Institute in the late ’70’s.
Fond regards,
Cymon Fjell
http://permaculture.org.au/2008/12/30/jerusalem-artichokes-like-diamonds-are-forever/#more-956
Jerusalem Artichokes - like Diamonds, are Forever
Food Plants - Perennial, Processing & Food Preservation — by Margaret Lynch
PIJ #54; March - May 1995; page 47
Margaret Lynch explains how to grow, store and prepare the edible section of what is a truly prolific plant.
Helianthus tuberosus is an annual which will tolerate most conditions. Commonly called Jerusalem artichoke, it is known in its native America as Sunroot. Other names include Sunchoke and Suntuber. It is not to be confused with the globe artichoke, Cynara scolymus, which is a thistle with edible flower-buds.
Suntuber foliage is said to be good fodder. Rapid growth makes it an excellent summer shade, screen, or windbreak. It may also have potential in paper-making. The plant produces a substance which inhibits growth in nearby plants, so don’t use the green foliage for mulch.
Plant tubers in early spring, choosing the spot carefully – you plant Suntubers for life! When you harvest them – last year I took four and a half large buckets from a patch one metre square – small ones will be overlooked and grow next year. Don’t put whole tubers in mulch or compost, and remove unwanted plants as they appear. In warm weather, plants will reach one to three metres in a few weeks. Water and feed in moderation. They will produce a crop even if totally neglected. The first cold snap kills the tops. Dig tubers as required. If you have to harvest them all at once, store them in moist sand in a cold place.
For Food: You can feed fresh tubers to pigs and goats, or finely chopped to poultry. As a human food, like many other food plants, they need careful preparation. Some people have no problem digesting them but they are a minority. Over 50 percent of their carbohydrate is in forms we don’t have enzymes to break down. Beans contain 10 to 15 percent of the same substances. These substances need to be leached or converted to make a digestible product.
Refrigerate or cold-store tubers for at least a month, then slice and boil in lots of water for 15 minutes, adding one tablespoon of lemon juice per 1200 mls after 10 minutes, or right at the start if you want crisp tubers. Drain, slip off peel, and pat dry. The slices can then be marinated, pickled, dehydrated, barbecued, roasted, deep-fried, made into soup, pureed and used in pies, cakes, or scones – use your favourite pumpkin recipes, but add less sugar.
If you have a solar cooker, slow combustion stove, crock pot, or are planning a hungi, cook whole tuber for 24 hours in a tightly closed container at 93’C (200’F). Season and serve, or slice and dry for a snack.
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margaret,
great article! very helpful as i’ve never grown sunchokes before. i plan to plant a patch this year. it’s really good to know how prone they are to break out. i’ll treat them like bamboo!
=)
thanks!
Comment by miller — December 31, 2008 @ 9:08 am
http://www.herbsarespecial.com.au/free-herb-information/curry-leaf-tree.html
CURRY LEAF TREE
Daun Kari, Bai Karee, Karapincha, Kari Patta, Sweet Neem, Kitha Neem, Kari Phulia, Nim
Murraya koenigii syn. Chalcas koenigii F. Rutaceae
Description
Curry leaf is one of my favourite spices, with its fern-like leaves that only need to be brushed against or gently touched to share their spicy aroma, with overtones of citrus and anise. The scent is so refreshing, that it instantly tantalises the taste buds. An attractive, upright, branching tree growing 2-5 metres (although I have seen one much taller that seemed to be heading for heaven, as it was planted beside a two storey house). Clusters of small, white fragrant flowers form in summer, followed by 1cm edible, shiny black berries. The curry leaf tree requires rich, well-drained soil in a warm, sheltered position, as it is a tropical to sub-tropical tree. With regular watering during dry times, the tree will flourish. The tree will adapt to warm temperate areas, and if wishing to grow it in colder climates, keep it in a large pot and move it to a warm verandah in winter. In cold areas the tree may go dormant in winter.
... ... see How can I use HERBS in my daily life? for full text.
Curry Leaf Tree
Curry Leaf Tree
Culinary Uses
In the kitchen, use the leaves for a warm, appetising aroma and a subtle, spicy flavour with meat, seafood or vegetable curries, chutneys, pickles, coconut sauces, relishes, omelettes, marinades and vegetarian cuisine. The method of using the leaves (preferably fresh ones) in stir-fries and curries, is to heat some oil, butter or ghee in a pan, add the curry leaves along with a little ginger and garlic and sauté until brown. The flavour of the curry leaf is enhanced when fried. Fresh curry leaves will keep for a week if kept in a dry plastic bag in the fridge.
Curry powder does not come from the curry tree, as some people often think. Curry powder is usually a combination of many ingredients including ginger, chilli, black pepper, cumin, coriander, garlic, fenugreek, and turmeric to give the yellow colour. The proportion of each ingredient in the curry powder will depend on the tradition and origin of each particular recipe. However, crushed leaves from the curry tree are used as an ingredient in some Madras curry powders. The dried leaves add a spicy note to pot-pourri. Do not confuse the curry tree with the Curry Plant (Helichrysum italicum syn. H. angustifolium) (p 88) which belongs to the Asteraceae family. The curry plant is a perennial bush to 50cm with fine, silvery grey stems and leaves. A grey down covers the 4cm long narrow leaves and when rubbed they smell strongly of curry. Yellow button-like flowers form as terminal clusters. Propagation of the curry plant is by seeds, cuttings and root division. Grow in a well-drained area. Trim bushes regularly to keep them in good shape. Use the trimmings in pot-pourri. The dried flowers keep their colour for a long time. Add chopped young tender leaves to salads, cooked meat and savoury dishes.
http://www.herbsarespecial.com.au/free-herb-information/kudzu.html
KUDZU
Kuzu, Japanese Arrowroot, Aka, Yaka
Pueraria lobata syn. P. thunbergiana, P. montana, Pachyrhizus trilobus F. Fabaceae
Description
An extremely hardy legume, ground sprawler or climber, with thick, hairy, trailing stems, dark-green ovate leaves in trifoliate compounds, fragrant, purple, pea flowers, 10-15cm long, flat pods. Deciduous in winter, drought resistant and frost tolerant. Native to Japan and China, it adapts to any soil, in cold to tropical climates.
Kudzu
Kudzu
It has been found to thrive without fertiliser, pesticide or irrigation. Propagation is by seed, cuttings and root division. A thick ground-covering vine to 60cm high, known for its plentiful nitrogen fixing bacteria, its very rapid growth, and for this reason it has been called ‘a mile a minute’ or a ‘foot a night’ vine. If not used for its many advantages, it will just keep spreading and become invasive, as it has in various places, particularly in the south of USA, where it is known as ‘the weed that ate Georgia’. But for those who see its resources and potential, it has been used to great advantage; to improve soil, strengthen dams, restore worn out land; for erosion control, animal forage, mulching and green manure, human food and medicine. Kudzu has been used to reclaim desert or land overgrown with weeds. It is said, that if kudzu is trellised, there is no problem of it spreading by vine nodes, which otherwise would lie on the ground and take root. Roots can go down over two metres into the earth and bring up a wide range of minerals and improve the surface soil. On our heavy clay soils in Nambour, Queensland, we find, the roots generally only penetrate to 50cm. Although it flowers here, no seeds appear to set. The fact that the vine dies down to the ground each winter, and shoots from the ground in spring, also seems to keep the plant from spreading rampantly. It is said, pigs will very happily dig for the roots, if anyone has need to eradicate a patch of kudzu. If kudzu is planted for a purpose, plan to use it. The plant certainly has some remarkable properties. Once dug and washed, the root should be cut finely into slivers with a strong snips and dried. If the root is required for the flour, soaking would be necessary, preparing in a similar way to arrowroot (see p 38).
... ... see How can I use HERBS in my daily life? for full text.
Medicinal Uses
Kudzu is one of the earliest medicinal plants, used in traditional Chinese medicine, with many profound pharmacological actions, including antidipsotropic (antialcohol abuse) activity. Research and pilot studies at various Universities, found that two isoflavones in kudzu, daidzin and daidzein, taken orally, may reduce the craving for alcohol, and be of assistance in suppressing the appetite of patients with chronic alcoholism. Kudzu influences areas of the central nervous system that control the desire for alcohol. Research at Jiwaji University, India, found that kudzu extract helps stimulate regeneration to areas damaged by toxins. Kudzu has many healing properties. These are well documented in ‘The Book of Kudzu, a Culinary and Healing Guide’ by W Shurtleff and A. Aoyagi. Uses have included: cough and colds, tonsillitis, measles, fevers, diarrhea and dysentery, intestinal ailments, enteritis, constipation, to remove excess fluid from the body, digestive disorders, bad breath, headaches and hangovers, sinus, anemia, internal bleeding, thirst, to relieve hunger, for lack of energy, sexual apathy, impotence, infertility, asthma, diabetes, bronchitis, pneumonia, hypoglycemia, muscles shrinking, dizziness, induce perspiration and as a strengthening and invigorating effect on the spleen, stomach and intestines, in fact the whole immune system.
... ... see How can I use HERBS in my daily life? for full text.
Culinary Uses
... ... see How can I use HERBS in my daily life? for full text.
Thickening with kudzu makes a clear mixture. Always mix the kudzu flour with cold water to a smooth runny consistency before heating. When heating or adding to a hot mixture, stir constantly to prevent the flour from going lumpy. Thickening with kudzu is usually done near the end of cooking. For a brown sauce, add a little tamari or miso. Kudzu can be used like gelatine for setting desserts and sweets recipes. During my research into the many uses of kudzu, I came across the book ‘Alkalise or Die’ by Dr. Theadore Baroody, which helped me see another valuable attribute of kudzu, that it is extremely alkalising to the body. It is for this reason too that it is important in macrobiotic cooking, as the roots are considered very yang (alkaline) in nature, and are found to be particularly effective in treating toxic/acid disorders.
Many natural health researchers say that our daily diet needs to be of approximately 80% alkaline foods, and 20% acid foods, to maintain health. If the body is too acid (from consuming mainly acid foods, or processed foods) the potassium/sodium balance in and around the cells will be out of balance, and there will be acid toxic wastes around the cells, which causes pain and disease. Dr, Baroody states, ‘All ingested substances and all situations (physical, emotional or mental) that effect the body, leave either an alkaline or acid ash residue in the urine. What are acids and alkalines doing in the body? They are either providing energy to, or taking energy away from the body. An alkaline forming reaction refers to any chemical alteration in the body that produces an increased ability to energise the system, to leave an alkaline residue in the urine. An acid-forming reaction refers to any chemical alteration in the body that produces a decreased ability to energise the system and leave an acid urine residue.
Whether a substance is alkaline or acid is determined by its pH (potential Hydrogen) which measures the number of hydroxl (OH-) ions which are negative and alkaline-forming opposed to the amount of hydrogen (H+) ions that are positive and acid-forming. From the stand point of pure energy, pH is the measurement of electrical resistance between negative and positive ions in the body. In other words, pH measures how much the negative ions (alkaline-forming) and positive ions (acid-forming) push against one another. So from this view point, alkaline and acid forming reactions are purely electro-chemical.
We are not just a conglomeration of chemical, but are also an entire system of highly organised electrical reactions. We are vibrating beings. The stronger the inner vibration, the healthier we are. The amplitude of body electricity alters in exact proportion to the amount of alkaline and acid forming chemicals internally that are present at any one time. Acid wastes, literally attract to joints, tissues, muscles, organs and glands, causing minor to major dysfunction. If they affect the joints, you might develop arthritis, and if they attack the organs and glands a myriad of illnesses could occur. Alkaline forming substances and situations create powerful and sustaining electrochemical results which lead to superior health’.
Dr. Baroody goes on to say, alkaline levels can even be stored as reserves, ‘The great alkaline reserve is the body’s bank account. The body can call upon it at any time to release alkaline elements for the neutralisation of acid. Biochemically, the alkaline reserve acts as a buffer to maintain proper balance in the blood. The blood works on very narrow parameters and sickness quickly results if these are imbalanced. When we ingest more alkaline-forming minerals than are needed at one time, the remainder is stored in the body tissues for future use … money in the bank. To replenish and sustain your alkaline reserves, follow the rule of 80/20 which means, to eat 80% of your foods from the alkaline forming list and 20% from the acid forming list’.
For this reason, kudzu is a valuable addition to our daily food. Kudzu has a very high alkaline rating along with kelp, parsley, watercress, watermelon and rock melon. Kudzu is made into a very soothing broth, called kudzu cream, which, it is said, helps to develop an alkaline bloodstream and constitution, and will also work on digestive and intestinal disorders, and a host of other health problems. The traditional way to drink kudzu, to strengthen digestion, relieve fatigue and increase vitality, was to dilute 1 teasp. of kudzu in a little cold water, and then add enough cold water to make a cupful. Bring mixture to the boil, stirring continually, simmer until the liquid turns transparent. The flavour is bland, and gives a cooling energy to the body. This drink can also be drunk, adding 1/8 teasp. of grated fresh ginger and 1 umeboshi plum, to give a stronger action.
... ... see How can I use HERBS in my daily life? for full text.
Other Uses
The fine fiber from the vines have many uses: paper making, fishing lines, basket weaving, stuffing cushions, building materials, and when burnt, acts as a mosquito repellent. A very traditional use for the resilient silk-like fiber, is for the Japanese kimono, which is highly prized and priced. Kudzu as a mulch, is said to be equal to that of lucerne. The leafy stems can be cut constantly, used as mulch, fertiliser, or added to the compost heap. Many years ago, I read a Mother Earth organic gardening magazine from the U.S. that told the amazing story of a home gardener in 1985, who had used kudzu in his garden with amazing results. His vegetables were large and healthy: 66kg cucumbers, 20kg squash, and 9m tall tomato bushes. The magazine received letters from skeptical readers implying that it was a ‘tall’ story! Mr. Wilber from Alabama then sent a photo, which the magazine printed, that showed him, on the very top of a ladder, which was balanced on a very high scaffolding. I took a photostat copy for records. Mr. Wilber used kudzu to make compost, which created a light fluffy soil and encouraged fruits and vegetables to grow to record proportions. He had only praise for kudzu. In his eyes, the ‘mile a minute’ vine was nothing short of a miracle worker.
Kudzu has been found to be a valuable farm nitrogen fixer. In USA experiments showed that yields of following crops for 10 years after kudzu were double the yield of crops grown without kudzu. Some crops were 700% higher in yield following kudzu. Kudzu is a high protein (18%), low cost source of stock feed, liked by all stock including poultry. It can be cut for hay, which is considered equal in nutrient value to lucerne and clover and found to improve health of livestock. Fed to cows, milk production is increased. The flowers provide excellent bee forage and good honey.
Isabell Shipard’s passion is herbs and sprouts, and she loves to inspire and share the joys and wonders of plants. Her books will truly inspire and help you to see that for health and well-being... Herbs are Special.
http://www.herbsarespecial.com.au/free-herb-information/asparagus.html
ASPARAGUS
Sparrow Grass, Sperage
Asparagus officinalis F. Liliaceae
Description
Although asparagus is native to Europe, it will also grow very well in the sub-tropics. It can also do well in the tropics according to Bruce French in his compendium ‘Food plants of Papua New Guinea’. The new emerging shoots are eaten as a vegetable, harvested when 2-3cm thick and about15-20cm long. These shoots called spears, if left to keep growing, will develop into soft, ferny fronds a metre or more high. Cream/ green, bell-shaped flowers, form in stem axils of male plants. Female plants produce smaller, quite inconspicuous flowers, that develop into small, round, red 1cm berries, which are seed capsules, containing several round, black seeds. When grown from seed, plants usually require 2-3 years to develop a strong enough underground root system to cope with regular picking.
Division of established plants, by digging the rhizome crowns, is the quickest way to get plants to picking stage. Divided rhizomes look like large, white, leggy spiders. The best time to divide roots is early spring, when plants are coming out of winter dormancy. When dividing, take care not to damage the tips of new shoots. If the division has put on a good growth in the first year, by the second year spears can be selectively cut. In the third year, cutting can start when the first spears appear in spring and kept up to the end of December (or even longer in sub-tropical climates). It is important to then allow the spears to develop into ferny tops. This allows the plant to regain strength and vigour underground, necessary for the following year’s crop. Plant asparagus in a well-drained, permanent position in the garden as it may grow for ten or more years.
Loose, deep soil with compost and old manure added, is important, as asparagus is a heavy feeder. The more decomposing mulchmaterial supplied during the formative period, the better. This will help develop the strong root system. Some growers plant the rhizome divisions in 20cm deep trenches, filling the trench with soil or humus as crowns develop. Stems that go dormant in winter are cut near the ground and the plants thickly mulched, even with seaweed straight from the beach as plants thrive on this mineral-rich, salty mulch. Feed plants regularly.
Organic growers have observed that asparagus is a useful companion around tomatoes, pawpaws, parsley, rhubarb, raspberries, basil and comfrey. Planting comfrey nearby can provide a close source of leaves to pick for mulch, and I have observed that asparagus loves liquid manure made with comfrey.
As asparagus produces the substance asparagin, which is found to repel nematodes, growing asparagus near plants that are prone to attack by these root pests will help with control.
To produce white (blanched), mild-flavoured spears, the plants need to be thickly mulched; the spears cut when the tips just appear through the mulch. Cut by inserting a long knife deep into the mulch, cutting at an angle just above the roots of the plant. The blanching can also be achieved by standing earthenware pipes, wooden tubes or bamboo joints, upright over the emerging spears. Personally, I like green asparagus - full of chlorophyll - so I let them get to 15cm above the ground, when they are crisp, crunchy and sweet with the flavour of fresh, green peas.
In France, where folk are great connoisseurs of fine foods, the green asparagus is always preferred - they say it has the taste of the sun in it. If you wish to save seed for future planting, it is necessary to grow male and female plants nearby for pollination, to set seed. Male plants are usually taller than female plants, with the foliage beginning higher on the stems; while female plants have fronds starting closer to the ground. Only when plants flower, will it be definite what sex plants are. Both male and female plants have culinary and medicinal use. Some growers believe male plants produce more spears than their female counterparts and that the male plant will always grow bigger and thicker spears.
This belief possibly has come from the doctrine of signatures theory: that the spear looks like an erect, male penis. Folklore also connected asparagus with increasing libido.
Constituents:
volatile oil, rutin and other flavonoids, saponins, tannins, asparagin, resin, gum, steroidal and bitter glycosides, albumen, coniferin, vanillin, tyrosin, sugar, arginin, asparagose, chelindonic acid, protein, fibre, protein
Vitamins:
A, B, folic acid, C, E
Minerals:
calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, selenium, iodine, magnesium, manganese, sulphur, silicon, florine
Actions:
aperient, diuretic, diaphoretic, antispasmodic, antiinflammatory, tonic, laxative, sedative, demulcent, aphrodisiac, nutritive
Medicinal Uses
The use of asparagus was recorded before the time of Christ. In the first Century, Pliny wrote that, ‘asparagus, of all the plants of the garden, receives the most praiseworthy care’. Its botanical species name, ‘officinalis’, indicates its recognition as an official therapeutic herb. The herb has been highly valued and prescribed to stimulate and strengthen kidney function. Eating fresh spears, or spears juiced, provides a strong diuretic action. This helps to clean and revitalize kidneys, bladder and relieve edema, especially arising from congestion around the heart. The effectiveness of this action may be experienced in strong odour and colour of urine, which is the body’s metabolism, speeding up the excretion of wastes. This action is also found helpful for people with painful, swollen joints and gout as the herb helps to dissolve uric acid deposits, and cholesterol build-up in blood vessels. Asparagus has long been considered an aphrodisiac in many different cultures, and there is some scientific truth behind this belief, as asparagus contains a compound, known to stimulate the production of sex hormones.
Asparagus is very alkalising to the body. Dr. Theodore Baroody, in his most informative book, ‘Alkalise or die’ says, “Asparagus is a very powerful acid reducer, and a known therapy for cancer. Its high ammonia content literally plummets one into alkalinity in a short period of time”.
Other uses have included:
sleeplessness, female hormone balance and to assist the reproductive system, to promote fertility, relieve menstrual discomfort and to increase breast milk for nursing mothers. It is used for respiratory diseases and for strengthening the lungs. Also for tuberculosis, AIDS, chronic fatigue, back pain, sports burnout, arthritis, rheumatism, gout, sciatica, coughs, to strengthen bones and marrow, hemorrhaging, stomach pains, kidney stones, cramps, convulsions, gall and liver ailments, to assist with weight loss, stress and nervous tension, intestinal worms, jaundice, skin diseases and to brighten vision. An old herbal recipe suggests macerating asparagus in white wine, then use as a massage liniment to rub into thighs and back for sciatica. Scientific research has found that asparagus contains a substance that can break up oxalate crystals. Asparagus, being a good source of fibre, is a useful bowel brush with a laxative action that stimulates lazy bowels.
Several years ago, I had a man seeking asparagus for a friend who had cancer. He gave me a photocopied copy of an article, entitled, ‘Asparagus for cancer’ printed in Cancer News Journal, December 1979. I will share it here, just as it was shared with me:
“I am a biochemist, and have specialised in the relation of diet to health for over 50 years. Several years ago, I learned of the discovery of Richard R. Vensal, D.D.S. that asparagus might cure cancer. Since then, I have worked with him on his project, and we have accumulated a number of favourable case histories.
Here are a few examples. Case No. 1, man with an almost hopeless case of Hodgkin’s disease (cancer of the lymph glands) who was completely incapacitated. Within 1 year of starting the asparagus therapy, his doctors were unable to detect any signs of cancer, and he was back on a schedule of strenuous exercise.
Case No. 2, a successful businessman 68 years old who suffered from cancer of the bladder for 16 years. After years of medical treatments, including radiation without improvement, he went on asparagus. Within 3 months, examinations revealed that his bladder tumour had disappeared and that his kidneys were normal.
Case No. 3, a man who had lung cancer. On March 5th 1971 he was put on the operating table where they found lung cancer so widely spread that it was inoperable. The surgeon sewed him up and declared his case hopeless. On April 5th he heard about the asparagus therapy and immediately started taking it. By August, x-ray pictures revealed that all signs of the cancer had disappeared. He is back at his regular business routine. Case
No. 4, a woman who was troubled for a number of years with skin cancer. She finally developed different skin cancers which were diagnosed by a skin specialist as advanced. Within 3 months after starting on asparagus, her skin specialist said that her skin looked fine and no more skin lesions. This woman reported that the asparagus therapy also cured her kidney disease, which started in 1949. She had over 10 operations for kidney stones, and was receiving government disability payments for an inoperable, terminal, kidney condition. She attributes the cure of this kidney trouble entirely to the asparagus. I was not surprised at this result, as ‘The elements of materia medica’, edited in 1854 by a Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, stated that asparagus was used as a popular remedy for kidney stones. He even referred to experiments, in 1739, on the power of asparagus in dissolving stones. We would have other case histories but the medical establishment has interfered with our obtaining some of the records. I am therefore appealing to readers to spread this good news and help us to gather a large number of case histories that will overwhelm the medical skeptics about this unbelievably simple and natural remedy.
For the treatment, asparagus should be cooked before using, and therefore canned asparagus is just as good as fresh. I have corresponded with the two leading canners of asparagus, Giant Giant and Stokely, and I am satisfied that these brands contain no pesticides or preservatives. Place the cooked asparagus in a blender and liquefy to make a puree, and store in the refrigerator. Give the patient 4 full tablesp. twice daily, morning and evening. Patients usually show some improvement in from 2-4 weeks. It can be diluted with water and used as a cold or hot drink. This suggested dosage is based on present experience, but certainly larger amounts can do no harm and may be needed in some cases.
As a biochemist I am convinced of the old saying that ‘what cures can prevent’. Based on this theory, my wife and I have been using asparagus puree as a beverage with our meals. We take 2 tablesp. diluted in water to suit our taste with breakfast and with dinner. I take mine hot and my wife prefers hers cold. For years we have made it a practice to have blood surveys taken as part of our regular checkups. The last blood survey, taken by a medical doctor who specialises in the nutritional approach to health, showed substantial improvements in all categories over the last one, and we can attribute these improvements to nothing but the asparagus drink. As a biochemist, I have made an extensive study of all aspects of cancer, and all of the proposed cures. As a result, I am convinced that asparagus fits in better with the latest theories about cancer. Asparagus contains a good supply of protein called histones, which are believed to be active in controlling cell growth. For that reason, I believe asparagus can be said to contain a substance that I call cell growth normaliser. That accounts for its action on cancer and in acting as a general body tonic. In any event, regardless of theory, asparagus used as we suggest, is a harmless substance. The FDA cannot prevent you from using it and it may do you much good.” It has been reported by the US National Cancer Institute, that asparagus is the highest tested food containing glutathione, which is considered one of the body’s most potent anticarcinogens and antioxidants.
... ... see How can I use HERBS in my daily life? for full text.
http://www.herbsarespecial.com.au/free-herb-information/fennel.html
FENNEL
Sweet Fennel, Wild Fennel, Carosella, Marathon, Meeting Seeds, Funcho, Fenkel
Foeniculum vulgare syn. F.officinale F. Apiaceae
... ... see How can I use HERBS in my daily life? for full text.
Medicinal Uses
... ... see How can I use HERBS in my daily life? for full text.
Hildegard of Bingen, a herbal writer of the 12th Century, said fennel was a herb for strengthening the eyes, brain, hearing and heart, and that eating fennel made one happy. Fennel’s power of restoring sight was well known to the poet Longfellow, and he wrote, ‘above the lower plants it towers, the fennel with it’s yellow flowers, and in an earlier age than ours, was gifted with the wondrous powers, lost vision to restore’. Dr Edward Shook highly honoured fennel, and in his ‘Advanced treatise on herbology’ wrote how fennel was taken ‘to correct squinting, applied fairly hot to the eye that is affected or turned, more so than the other eye’. Another herbal writer went on to say the virtues of fennel ‘enabled the eye to see with clarity the beauty of nature’. For tired or inflamed eyes, boil a handful of leaves in 2 cups of water for 15 minutes. The decoction was soaked in lint and the lint placed over the eyelids for 5 minutes, or the decoction used as an eye bath.
Fennel Flowers
Fennel
Fennel has been called the pearl of aphrodisiacs, and more recently, a popular British concoction of fennel seeds, licorice root and water was named the tonic for happy lovers. Fennel has featured for benefits to the lungs, liver, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, and to help dissolve stones. The herb increases gastric secretions, which has a beneficial action on digestion, and helps to regulate intestinal flora. It was traditionally used for: indigestion, gas, hiccups, colic, cramps, nausea, vomiting, excessive stomach acidity, sweetening the breath, gum disorders, diarrhea, increase peristalsis of the stomach and intestines, constipation, colon disorders, blood disorders and anemia, fatigue, lethargy and depression, giddiness of the head, frenzy, epilepsy, earache and toothache, kidney and bladder infections, bedwetting, difficult or burning urination, gout, rheumatism, aching joints, hoarseness, sinus, congestion, expel mucus, coughs, sore throats, bronchitis, shortness of breath, emphysema, recovery from strokes, convulsion, nervous disorders, headaches and migraines, sciatica, relieve period pain and morning sickness, hernia, pain in testes, intestinal worms, and to make the taste of yucky medicines more palatable.
For a herbal blood cleanser, mix equal quantities of crushed fennel seeds, ginger powder, dried catnip and peppermint. Drink as a tea made with 1/2 teasp. of the mixed herbs taken half an hour before meals, or taken encapsulated in two 00 size geletin capsules. This old recipe was valued as a herbal detox and for aiding the liver and gall bladder. Apply bruised leaves of fennel as a poultice to glandular swellings. An Arabian tradition used fennel as a poultice to break down old and hard tumours. Fennel has been used by cancer patients to counteract the unpleasant side effects of radiation and chemotherapy.
A formula for cleaning the liver was a tea combining 1 heaped teasp. dandelion root and fennel seed, and 5-6 slivers of green ginger or a pinch of ginger powder and 3 cups of boiling water, steeping for 5 minutes and strained, with 3 cups drunk a day. Use fennel for jaundice, hepatitis and other liver disorders. Fennel is said to restore damaged liver cells. For clammy skin, drink freely, a tea made with 1 teasp. of fennel seed or 2 teasp. of finely chopped fresh leaves to 1 cup of water. Fennel tea is used for inflammation of the uterus and vagina. Fennel seeds and oil are used as an oestrogen source to regulate menstruation, and relieve discomforts of menopause.
Fennel was traditionally known as the slimming herb as it has a stimulating effect on the metabolism. Chew seeds as a snack for hunger pangs, to depress the appetite and desire for sweets, chocolates and rich cakes. Eat the leaves, stems and seeds, or make a leaf or seed tea for weight loss. Fennel helps the liver and pancreas in the metabolism of fats and sugars. Also, it has been said, fennel helps to dissolve fat deposits of the body. One problem with the accumulation of fat in the body is that it must be mobilised into the blood steam before it can be burnt as energy. Anything which assists this process (which fennel is credited for) will help with weight loss, provided attention is also paid to factors of overall diet and exercise. Fennel as a diuretic herb, increases the expulsion of urine or a build up of fluid retention in the body. Fat cells store a lot of water and as the fat is broken down, this water is released and can pass from the body. Fennel can help with this process, particularly in the early stages of a weight loss program. Eat fennel regularly, preparing it like a vegetable, as it is low in calories. In the Middle Ages fennel seed was chewed during fasting days, as it was said to dull the appetite. A friend told me how she eats fennel seed whenever she has a craving for something sweet. Diabetes had affected many members of her family, and snacking on fennel was her practical way of cutting back on sugar-laden foods, and staying healthy.
... ... see How can I use HERBS in my daily life? for full text.
http://www.herbsarespecial.com.au/free-sprout-information/wheat.html
WHEAT
All species of wheat are annuals; these grasses grow to 1 metre, and are members of the genus Triticum, which belongs to the Poaceae family.
Durum or hard wheat, Triticum durum, is a hardy species that produces well, even in low rainfall and high temperatures. The long, pointed grains form in compact seed heads. Because of the high gluten content and the hardness of the seed, it is used principally for spaghetti and pasta.
wheat
wheat
Bread wheat T. aestivum, is a soft grain with a floury texture, mainly used in bread-making or other baked goods.
Spelt also called Dinkel wheat, T. spelta, is considered one of the very original grains used by man. The ears, or seed heads are long, slender, pointed and flinty. The grain grows well in harsh conditions, particularly in extremes of cold and high altitudes. Spelt has become popular as a health food, for the bioavailability of its high levels of nutrients. The protein content, of spelt, is slightly higher than other species, although this may differ with soil and climatic conditions. Spelt is considerably higher than other wheat in essential amino acids, and is a higher source of many vitamins and minerals.
Spelt contains carbohydrates as mucopolysaccharides, which have been found to play a decisive role in blood clotting and strengthening the immune system. The grain contains over 18 fatty acids, including 1.9% linoleic acid. Hildegard of Bingen, the famous 12th century German abbess, composer and herbal writer, esteemed spelt as… an easily digested, highly nutritious grain, creating happiness and contentment in the body. Recent European research has found that spelt wheat is effective for over 30 ailments, including angina and diabetes; also for constipation, diarrhoea, irritable bowel syndrome and celiac (noteworthy, as people with such ailments, generally cannot tolerate the high gluten content of wheat flours). Gluten is the protein content that gives the elastic and tenacious consistency to dough, also resiliency and cohesion to baked bread. Spelt wheat is different: it contains a substance that aids gluten’s digestibility. Spelt seeds, flour and breads are now available in many health food shops.
Botanists have identified almost 30,000 species and developed varieties of wheat, which are assigned to one of several classifications, as having hard or soft kernels. This strength is a function of the protein-to-starch ratio in the endosperm, the starchy, middle part of the seed.
Occasionally Triticale may be available in health food shops. It is a grain, produced by crossbreeding wheat and rye for the intended purpose of the protein and bread-making merits of wheat and the durability and high lysine content of rye. Pronounced ‘trit-i-kay-lee’ the name is a combination of the Latin names of the plants: ‘triti’ referring to triticum for wheat, and ‘cale’ referring to secale for rye. The grain is found to contain more protein than wheat, has less gluten than wheat, and also the high level of lysine that is common in rye. Wheat is, undoubtedly, one of the most important grains cultivated, worldwide. Whatever would we do without bread on our tables?
To sprout wheat, purchase the grain from a health food shop; use spelt, if available. Bread wheat (soft grain) is also good for sprouts, as it is easy to digest, while durum hard wheat, is considered best for growing wheatgrass. Some shops may just stock wheat, with no indication, of kind. Don’t worry, all species, will sprout. If what you buy is hard wheat, it will germinate, however the sprouts will be harder to chew, if eaten as fresh sprouts. Soak the seed in a jar or bag 6-12 hours, rinse 2-3 times a day for 2-4 days and grow 1/2 -1cm long.
Constituents:
linolenic and linoleic acid, abscisic acid, gluten, over 80 enzymes including super oxide dismutase (SOD); co-enzyme Q10, sugars, lignans, squalene, bioflavonoids, fibre, chlorophyll - high in wheatgrass, protein 9-14% in wheat sprouts with 17 amino acids, including 8 essentials (amino acid score 64; only moderate lycine content)
Vitamins:
A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, B17, C, D, E, F, H, K, P, choline, folic acid, inositol, PABA
Minerals:
boron, calcium, chlorine, chromium, cobalt, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, silicon, sodium, sulphur, zinc
Actions:
alterative, antibacterial, antibiotic, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, cancerolytic, choleretic, deodorant, depurative, digestive, diuretic, hepatoprotective, hypoglycaemic, immune-enhancer, laxative, nutritive, sedative, tonic
Medicinal Uses
Germinated wheat sprouts are an effective and economical tonic to improve general health. Buy some whole grains, and sprout a handful of seeds every couple of days. The seeds become living food as soon as germination takes place and valuable enzymes are activated. Once eaten, these enzymes act as catalysts that perform important functions in the body, such as: to aid metabolism, neutralise toxins, cleanse the blood, and provide energy for innumerable bodily functions.
The enzyme diastase, activated by germinating the wheat, transforms starch into absorbable nutrients. The sweet taste of germinated wheat, tells us the enzymes are activated. Chewing the sprouts well makes their full potential available for cleansing and regenerating body cells, and as a powerful tonic. These enzymes, also aid the digestion of other foods, and can benefit anyone who suffers with digestive and assimilation problems. By eating wheat sprouts, we also get the benefit of the wheat germ, a rich source of vitamin E (usually removed in flour milling). Vitamin E is an essential nutrient for fertility, healthy skin, hair, glands, kidneys, muscles (especially the heart), circulation and the nervous system; also for building red blood cells and improving absorption of fats, protein, vitamins A, C and iron. Wheat germ (the seed embryo), in the early stages of plant growth, is considered one of the best remedies to help overcome a tendency toward miscarriage and birthing prematurely.
The sprouting process starts a beneficial modification of various nutritional elements. Research undertaken at the University of Minnesota, USA, showed that sprouting increases the nutrient density of food. At 3 days of sprouting, much of the original carbohydrate is converted to natural sugars, making it less mucus forming. During the 3 days of sprouting, the vitamin E content can increase 300%, vitamin C increase 600%, and the B vitamins have been found to increase from 20% to 1200%, with B17, the ‘anti-cancer vitamin’ 100% more than in unsprouted seed.
The protein content increases by 300% in the third day of sprouting, compared to the unsprouted wheat seed. Sprouted wheat, being a raw grain, should be eaten in moderate amounts, as in the early stages of germination (1-4 days) there is insufficient time to convert all raw starch into sugars, for ease of digestion.
However, if the sprouts are made into bread and baked at a low temperature, it becomes easier to digest and eat in a larger quantity. But, keep in mind, sprout bread is dense as it is usually made without yeast; therefore a slice of well-chewed sprout bread may still be harder to digest, because of the density of the loaf, than a slice of regular yeast bread. Refer to page 46 for sprout bread, and Essene bread (p 47).
Growing wheatgrass is another way to use the grain for its nutritive and healing properties, which can help build vitality for anyone desiring optimum health.
Human consumption of wheatgrass was popularised in the 1930’s by Charles Schnabal, known as the father of wheatgrass. He said: “Fifteen pounds of wheatgrass is equivalent to 350lb (157kg) of the choicest vegetable. We have not even scratched the surface of what grass can mean to man in the future”.
Wheatgrass juice has been used to detoxify the body by loosening and eliminating hard, encrusted, bowel build-up. Victoras Kulvinskas, a USA advocate of wheat grass, taught that the juice is the fastest way to eliminate internal wastes and provide an optimum nutritional environment: the enzymes of the grass helping to dissolve tumours. Ann Wigmore’s research, using wheatgrass in her personal life, then teaching and working with thousands of sick people (many with inoperable cancer), at the Hippocrates Health Institute, Boston, USA, inspires us to see how valuable wheatgrass could be, in our daily lives. The living-food program she advocated, gave countless people a new lease of life, many regaining health from near death from incurable cancers. Ann said, “Wheatgrass is perhaps the most powerful and safest healing aid there is.” She taught that wheatgrass, living sprouts, fresh fruit and vegetables and fermented foods were vital to health and prevention of degenerative diseases.
Wheatgrass is rich in chlorophyll.
Chlorophyll comprises 70% of wheatgrass; it is often referred to as ‘the life blood of plant life’ as chlorophyll closely resembles the molecules of human red blood cells. With so many similarities in structure, it is absorbed quickly through our digestive system and begins rebuilding our blood cells. Chlorophyll helps to regenerate the liver, detoxify and invigorate the body and energise the immune system, which is our natural means of prevention and healing from illnesses. Steve Meyerowitz, who has been called Sproutman in USA, says, wheatgrass is a powerful colon and liver detoxifier, blood alkaliser and oxygenator of blood and cells, and it is like ‘rocket fuel’ for the dynamic and energising benefits to the body. Steve has motivated many people to grow and eat sprouted foods, through his enthusiasm and numerous books, sharing his story of 20 years of disappointment with conventional medicine and his journey to better health and a new vibrant life. He calls the juice, ‘liquid sunshine,’ transformed into nutritive energy…water, oxygen, enzymes, protein, phytochemicals, chlorophyll, carotenoids, fatty acids, trace minerals, all rushing to revitalise you.”
Many health centres, include wheatgrass as juice and enemas, as an essential part of their therapy program of rejuvenation, operating on the principle that the body heals itself, if given the proper tools. As wheatgrass has a remarkable cleansing effect on the liver, this daily juicing regime can play a major role in recovery from degenerative diseases.
Chlorophyll has been found beneficial for strengthening the heart, intestines, vascular and lymphatic systems, lungs, glands and reproductive organs; also for treating anaemia, indigestion, diarrhoea, candida, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, peptic ulcers, colitis, sleeplessness, sinusitis, injuries to bones, tendons and skin, for reducing varicose veins, and for neutralising toxins, carcinogens, removing heavy metals and drug deposits; dealing with allergies and helping clear infections and mucus of the colon and to stimulate peristaltic action. Chlorophyll has the unique ability to be able to be absorbed directly, through the mucus membranes, in particular: the nose, throat and digestive tract.Ann Wigmore showed people at the Hippocrates Institute, how to use wheatgrass to help remove pesticides and other toxins from chemically grown fruit and vegetables. For supermarket produce to look as good as it does, we can assume that it has been heavily sprayed. Lettuce, for example, may be sprayed 10-14 times in its short growing season, of only 4-6 weeks. Ann explained how to help eliminate insecticides and other toxins from produce, by chopping a handful of wheatgrass and soaking it in a bucket of water for a few hours or overnight; the grass is strained off and the produce submerged in the water for 30 minutes. Drain and wipe the food dry and refrigerate.
Research done in the 1950’s, found chlorophyll to be an efficient deodoriser, which could effectively neutralise bad breath, body odours, foul smelling urine and stools. Numerous manufacturers now include chlorophyll in products like chewing gums, breath fresheners, deodorants and vaginal douches. Research has found that chlorophyll increases tissue cell activity and is effective for healing bleeding gums, pyorrhoea, gingivitis, and infected and ulcerated wounds.
Studies have identified a number of substances in wheatgrass juice that are powerful anti-cancer agents: the blood-building chlorophyll with oxygen producing benefits; the alkalising action; the enzyme action of living food, which promotes detoxification and elimination of mucus and decaying faecal matter on colon walls; strong antioxidants, like the mineral selenium and vitamins A, C, E and B17 (which has shown the ability to selectively destroy cancer cells, but leave healthy cells alone); and abscisic acid, a plant hormone that can reverse the growth of cancer (in high enough concentration to have a marked effect on cancer cells). Note: wheatgrass has been found to have up to a 100 times more vitamin B17, than the seed from which it came. Note too, that gluten is not present in wheatgrass because, after germination, gluten is broken down into smaller building blocks, needed for growing the grass. These smaller molecules are much easier for us to assimilate. Dr. Yasua Holta, a biologist at the University of California, isolated a compound from young wheatgrass, P4D1, which has the ability to stimulate the natural repair of DNA and the production of human sperm cells. Research scientists have never found any indication of toxicity in wheatgrass. It is easy to digest and assimilate.
Wheatgrass is often referred to as a complete food, with protein containing the 8 essential amino acids (although the lysine content is only of moderate amount); it contains a broad spectrum of vitamins, minerals and over 80 identified enzymes. The enzymes include: protease, which assists in food assimilation, particularly proteins; amylase, that facilitates starch digestion; lipase, a fat splitting enzyme; transhydrogenase, for toning heart muscles; cytochrome oxidase, a powerful antioxidant; and superoxide dismutase (SOD), often called the antiageing enzyme, to protect us from damaged cells, due to infections, inflammation, irritants, poisons, radiation and free radicals.
To grow wheatgrass purchase wheat seed by the kilogram, ideally organically grown seed, and store it in a well-sealed container, so that weevils do not spoil it. If the hard wheat varieties are procurable, use these for growing wheatgrass, since they are sturdier and more nutritious than soft wheat varieties. However, soft wheat varieties are useful for wheat sprouts and sprout recipes like pastries, bread, other baked recipes and rejuvelac. Although the soft wheat varieties may be utilised for wheatgrass, growth may not be as vigorous and plants may not give 3 harvest cuts.
Soak 1 cup of seeds in 4 cups of water, for 12 hours.
Prepare a shallow tray or styrofoam fruit box (with the sides cut down to 5-6cm), add a layer of soil, peat, compost, or organic potting mix, 2-5cm deep. Seedling trays, available from garden centres, are also suitable for growing wheatgrass. Water the tray until moist (but not soggy) and spread the soaked wheat evenly over the surface, it is best to use a single layer of seed. Cover the seed with a thin layer of soil or several layers of wet newspaper. Wheat grass could be grown inside, in a light airy spot, or outside. When grown inside, it is said that wheatgrass is an excellent air freshener and helps neutralise toxins, which may be present in the air. Wheatgrass can be grown directly in the garden, if preferred.
After 2-3 days, the seeds will sprout and the
newspaper can be removed; keep the seeds moist. After 5-14 days, the grass will be 10-15cm high (depending on season and climatic conditions). Harvest with scissors or a sharp knife, cutting as close to the soil as possible. The plants will continue to grow and may be cut again as many as 1-3 times, before they have depleted their energy. Remove the soil/root mass from the tray/box and recycle in the compost heap or garden. For a continuous, daily supply of wheatgrass, new trays or boxes will need to be prepared and planted regularly.
... ... see How can I grow and use Sprouts as living food? for full text.
As wheatgrass is rich in enzymes, iron and chlorophyll, we can prize it highly, as a blood builder. The chlorophyll molecule very closely resembles that of our blood: the haemoglobin molecule. The primary difference is that the chlorophyll molecule contains magnesium, as its central atom, while the haemoglobin molecule contains iron; our bodies are able to utilise the chlorophyll and rebuild blood. Use wheatgrass, as Nature’s breath freshener, by chewing a small amount of cut wheat grass during the day, to eliminate the problem. Chewing wheatgrass helps to control abnormal appetite, to lessen hunger and prevent the desire to snack between meals.
... ... see How can I grow and use Sprouts as living food? for full text.
A. Essene bread made with rye B. loaf with flax seed and wheat C. round sprout loaf with wheat, barley sprouts and olives D. wheat that has soaked 12 hours and now drained to start sprouting E. rye sprouts 2 days old, ready to be ground for bread making F. rye seed soaking.
A. Essene bread made with rye B. loaf with flax seed and wheat C. round sprout loaf with wheat, barley sprouts and olives D. wheat that has soaked 12 hours and now drained to start sprouting E. rye sprouts 2 days old, ready to be ground for bread making F. rye seed soaking.
Culinary Uses
... ... see How can I grow and use Sprouts as living food? for full text.
To make Sprout bread soak 11/2 cups of wheat seeds
... ... see How can I grow and use Sprouts as living food? for full text.
To make Essene bread soak wheat for 12 hours and
... ... see How can I grow and use Sprouts as living food? for full text.
To make Sourdough bread prepare in the same way
... ... see How can I grow and use Sprouts as living food? for full text.
To make Wheat sprout flour, grow the sprouts to 1-11/2
... ... see How can I grow and use Sprouts as living food? for full text.
Sprouted wheat milk is made by blending in a food
... ... see How can I grow and use Sprouts as living food? for full text.
Spiced sweet bread Soak 2 cups of wheat 12 hours and
... ... see How can I grow and use Sprouts as living food? for full text.
Grain cracker biscuits Soak and sprout, for 12 hours,
... ... see How can I grow and use Sprouts as living food? for full text.
Wheat sprouts smoothie Blend in a food processor,
... ... see How can I grow and use Sprouts as living food? for full text.
Isabell Shipard’s passion is herbs and sprouts, and she loves to inspire and share the joys and wonders of plants. Her books will truly inspire and help you to see that for health and well-being... Herbs are Special.
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Launch Date March 2nd 2009
PLEASE READ Although this site won’t launch officially until March 2nd, you’re welcome to sign up now and get a head start .
This network is part of the National Terror Alert Response Center’s “Prepared Communities” initiative.
The network promotes homeland security preparedness through awareness, education, community involvement and partnerships between individuals, groups and organizations.
We encourage everyone who is interested, to participate in building a rich, vibrant network.
Please keep in mind, the focus of this site is on homeland/national security, and community preparedness. Blog posts, videos, forum discussions, etc should reflect that.
A detailed overview and Press Release will become available on March 2nd. If you have questions feel free to comment here on the site. All features are active.
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http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-02/uotm-sus021609.php
Public release date: 16-Feb-2009
Contact: Jim Kelly
jpkelly@utmb.edu
409-772-8791
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Scientists uncover secrets of potential bioterror virus
Major virulence factor for Rift Valley fever virus found to have dual mechanism
GALVESTON, Texas —Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered a key tactic that the Rift Valley fever virus uses to disarm the defenses of infected cells.
The mosquito-borne African virus causes fever in humans, inflicting liver damage, blindness and even death on a small percentage of the people it infects. Rift Valley fever also afflicts cattle, goats and sheep, resulting in a nearly 100 percent abortion rate in these animals. Its outbreaks periodically cause economic devastation in parts of Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe, and bioterrorism experts warn that its introduction to the United States would cripple the North American beef industry.
“It’s really important to know how this virus causes disease, and that’s what we’re doing here, working to understand its pathogenicity at the molecular level,” said assistant professor Tetsuro Ikegami, lead author of a paper on the discovery now appearing in PLoS Pathogens.
Ikegami and his collaborators focused on a viral protein called NSs. The protein was already known to be a major factor in making Rift Valley fever more virulent; earlier research had shown that it penetrated cell nuclei and disrupted the coding of RNA messages, including those ordering the production of the antiviral protein interferon beta.
“We didn’t know what the mechanism was, but we suspected NSs had some additional function that would promote viral replication,” Ikegami said. So — starting with an already weakened strain of Rift Valley fever virus produced as part of a vaccine development project — he created a genetically engineered form of the virus that lacked the genes for NSs.
Safety precautions make working with natural, “wild-type” Rift Valley fever virus difficult; at UTMB, investigations are restricted to a tightly secured biosafety level 4 lab, where researchers work in protective, full-body “spacesuits.” By contrast, the vaccine strain of the virus that Ikegami modified, known as MP-12, can safely be handled inside a standard biosafety cabinet.
Using the NSs-free mutant virus to perform a series of cell-culture experiments, the researchers found that NSs does in fact have a second function. It attacks a protein called PKR, the beginning of a chain of biochemical reactions leading to the accumulation of a molecular complex known as phosphorylated eIF2-alpha. Phosphorylated eIF2-alpha suppresses overall protein production. Unblocked, it would prevent Rift Valley fever virus from using cellular protein synthesis machinery to make the proteins it needs to replicate itself. But since NSs prevents the phosphorylation of eIF2-alpha by taking out PKR, the virus is free to copy itself within host cells without interference.
“It’s amazing that the virus evolved to use one protein to do two jobs, to use its very limited genetic information to perform these very different functions,” said microbiology and immunology professor Shinji Makino, senior author of the paper. “It’s really interesting, and it’s also important, because these types of experiments are critical to learning how to control this virus.”
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The paper’s other authors include senior research scientist Krishna Narayanan, graduate student Sungyong Won, postdoctoral fellow Wataru Kamitani and pathology and microbiology and immunology professor C.J. Peters. This research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the James W. McLaughlin Foundation and UTMB’s Sealy Center for Vaccine Development.
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
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[Vickie, you may want to check the main ppages of the WMD post above this and the other related, that I am posting, re: health...]
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Feb09/apples.breastcancer.sl.html
Feb. 12, 2009
In flurry of studies, researcher details role of apples in inhibiting breast cancer
By Susan Lang
Six studies published in the past year by a Cornell researcher add to growing evidence that an apple a day — as well as daily helpings of other fruits and vegetables — can help keep the breast-cancer doctor away.
Rui Hai Liu
Rui Hai Liu
In one of his recent papers, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (57:1), Rui Hai Liu, Cornell associate professor of food science and a member of Cornell’s Institute for Comparative and Environmental Toxicology, reports that fresh apple extracts significantly inhibited the size of mammary tumors in rats — and the more extracts they were given, the greater the inhibition.
“We not only observed that the treated animals had fewer tumors, but the tumors were smaller, less malignant and grew more slowly compared with the tumors in the untreated rats,” said Liu, pointing out that the study confirmed the findings of his preliminary study in rats published in 2007.
In his latest study, for example, he found that a type of adenocarcinoma — a highly malignant tumor and the main cause of death of breast-cancer patients, as well as of animals with mammary cancer — was evident in 81 percent of tumors in the control animals. However, it developed in only 57 percent, 50 percent and 23 percent of the rats fed low, middle and high doses of apple extracts (the equivalent of one, three and six apples a day in humans), respectively, during the 24-week study.
“That reflects potent anti-proliferative [rapid decrease] activity,” said Liu.
The studies highlight the important role of phytochemicals, known as phenolics or flavonoids, found in apples and other fruits and vegetables. Of the top 25 fruits consumed in the United States, Liu reported in the same journal (56:18) that apples provide 33 percent of the phenolics that Americans consume annually.
Chart shows Americans get about 33 percent of phenolics from apples
Provided
This chart from one of Liu’s recent papers shows the percentage of phenolics (phytochemicals) that Americans get from various fruits.
In a study of apple peel published in the same journal (56:21), Liu reported on a variety of new phenolic compounds that he discovered that also have “potent antioxidant and anti-proliferative activities” on tumors. And in yet another study in the same journal (56:24), he reported on his discovery of the specific modulation effects that apple extracts have on cell cycle machinery. Recently, Liu’s group also reported the finding that apple phytochemicals inhibit an important inflammation pathway (NFkB) in human breast cancer cells.
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed invasive cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women in the United States, said Liu.
“These studies add to the growing evidence that increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, including apples, would provide consumers with more phenolics, which are proving to have important health benefits. I would encourage consumers to eat more and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables daily.”
The studies were supported, in part, by the American Institute for Cancer Research, the Ngan Foundation and the U.S. Apple Association.
##Big pie chart on page, shows dif. fruits %.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-02/nu-tys021709.php
Public release date: 17-Feb-2009
Contact: Marla Paul
Marla-Paul@northwestern.edu
312-503-8928
Northwestern University
Troubled youths struggle after time in detention center
CHICAGO -— The kids who pass through juvenile detention facilities are among the most troubled youths in the community. How do they fare a few years after this significant brush with the legal system?
Researchers from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine interviewed youths ages 13 to 22 who had been detained in Cook County Temporary Juvenile Detention Center to see how they were doing three years later. They found that more than 90 percent were struggling in their lives and more than 20 percent were severely impaired in their ability to function. The severely impaired group had been expelled from school, broken the law and were addicted to drugs.
“This study highlights that we have failed to provide effective rehabilitation for these kids. We need to intervene early,” said Karen M. Abram, lead author and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Feinberg School. “There is a dearth of services for these kids. They need help in multiple areas over a sustained period of time.”
Abram suggests that interventions should include “wraparound” services in which an interdisciplinary team of professionals develop a treatment plan and service agencies work together to provide appropriate care. She said these youths need treatment for psychiatric disorders – especially addictions— as well educational and vocational training and social skills.
“These kids need alternatives to their criminal lifestyle,” said Abram, who also is associate director of the Psycho-Legal Studies Program at Feinberg. “We need to provide effective services. If we don’t, there are ongoing costs, both to these kids and to society.”
The study was published on-line in the Journal of Adolescent Health and will appear in the print edition in the spring.
The study, which sampled 1,653 males and females, is part of the Northwestern Juvenile Project, an ongoing longitudinal study of health needs and outcomes of youth in the juvenile justice system.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-02/uof-vsm021709.php
[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 17-Feb-2009
Contact: Jill Pease
jpease@phhp.ufl.edu
352-273-5816
University of Florida
Vitamin supplements may protect against noise-induced hearing loss
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Vitamin supplements can prevent hearing loss in laboratory animals, according to two new studies, bringing investigators one step closer to the development of a pill that could stave off noise-induced and perhaps even age-related hearing loss in humans.
The findings will be reported Wednesday at the Association for Research in Otolaryngology’s annual conference in Baltimore by senior author Colleen Le Prell, Ph.D., a researcher at the University of Florida.
The supplements used in the research studies are composed of antioxidants — beta carotene and vitamins C and E — and the mineral magnesium. When administered prior to exposure to loud noise, the supplements prevented both temporary and permanent hearing loss in test animals.
“What is appealing about this vitamin ‘cocktail’ is that previous studies in humans, including those demonstrating successful use of these supplements in protecting eye health, have shown that supplements of these particular vitamins are safe for long-term use,” said Le Prell, an associate professor in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions’ department of communicative disorders.
About 26 million Americans have noise-induced hearing loss, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, the agency that funded the studies.
In the first study, UF, University of Michigan and OtoMedicine scientists gave guinea pigs the vitamin supplements prior to a four-hour exposure to noise at 110 decibels, similar to levels reached at a loud concert. Researchers assessed the animals’ hearing by measuring sound-evoked neural activity and found that the treatment successfully prevented temporary hearing loss in the animals.
In humans, temporary noise-induced hearing loss, often accompanied by ringing in the ears, typically goes away after a few hours or days as the cells in the inner ear heal. Because repeated temporary hearing loss can lead to permanent hearing loss, the scientists speculate that prevention of temporary changes may ultimately prevent permanent changes.
In the second, related study in mice, UF, Washington University in St. Louis and OtoMedicine researchers showed that the supplements prevented permanent noise-induced hearing loss that occurs after a single loud sound exposure. The researchers found that the supplements prevented cell loss in an inner ear structure called the lateral wall, which is linked to age-related hearing loss, leading the scientists to believe these micronutrients may protect the ear against age-related changes in hearing.
“I am very encouraged by these results that we may be able to find a way to diminish permanent threshold shift with noise exposure,” said Debara Tucci, M.D., an associate professor of surgery in the otolaryngology division at Duke University Medical Center. “I look forward to hearing Dr. Le Prell’s work and reviewing her data.”
The research builds on previous studies that demonstrated hearing loss is not just caused by intense vibrations produced by loud noises that tear the delicate structures of the inner ear, as once thought, said Josef Miller, Ph.D., who has studied the mechanisms of hearing impairment for more than 20 years and is a frequent collaborator of Le Prell’s. Researchers now know noise-induced hearing loss is largely caused by the production of free radicals, which destroy healthy inner ear cells.
“The free radicals literally punch holes in the membrane of the cells,” said Miller, the Townsend professor of communicative disorders at the University of Michigan.
Miller is the co-founder of OtoMedicine, a University of Michigan spinoff company that has patented AuraQuell, the vitamin supplement formula used in the studies.
The antioxidant vitamins prevent hearing damage by “scavenging” the free radicals. Magnesium, which is not a traditional antioxidant, is added to the supplement mix to preserve blood flow to the inner ear and aid in healing.
Antioxidant supplements can also provide “post-noise rescue,” Le Prell said. A previous study by Le Prell and Miller showed that antioxidants can protect hearing days after exposure to loud noise.
“We found that the antioxidant combination of vitamin E and salicylate — the active agent in aspirin —effectively prevented cell death and permanent noise-induced hearing loss even when treatments were delayed up to three days after noise insult,” she said.
The researchers are collaborating on National Institutes of Health-funded clinical trials of the vitamin supplements in college students at UF who wear MP3 music players, and noise-exposed military troops and factory workers in Sweden and Spain.
If the trials show that the vitamins are as effective in preventing noise-induced hearing loss in humans as they have been in animals, Le Prell and Miller envision an easy-to-use supplement that could come in the form of a pill for people headed to a rock concert, a daily supplement for factory workers or a nutritional bar included in soldiers’ rations.
“Ear protection, such as ear plugs, is always the best practice for the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss, but in those populations who don’t or can’t wear hearing protection, for people in which mechanical devices just aren’t enough, and for people who may experience unexpected noise insult, these supplements could provide an opportunity for additional protection,” Le Prell said.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-02/asfh-nbi021709.php
Public release date: 17-Feb-2009
Contact: Michael W. Neff
mwneff@ashs.org
703-836-4606
American Society for Horticultural Science
New blackberry introduced
‘Natchez’ thornless blackberry shows good potential for commercial shipping and home gardens
IMAGE: Fruit of ‘Natchez’ are elongated and very attractive with an exceptional glossy, black finish.
Click here for more information.
FAYETTEVILLE, AR—Introducing ‘Natchez’, the twelfth release in a series of erect-growing, high-quality, productive, floricane-fruiting blackberry (Rubus L. subgenus Rubus Watson) cultivars developed by the University of Arkansas.
John R. Clark and James N. Moore of the Department of Horticulture at the University of Arkansas introduced ‘Natchez’ in the October 2008 issue of the American Society of Horticultural Science’s journal HortScience. According to Clark, the new blackberry is a result of a cross of Ark. 2005 and Ark. 1857 made in 1998. The original plant was selected in 2001 from a seedling field at the University of Arkansas Fruit Research Station in Clarksville, and tested as selection Ark. 2241.
‘Natchez’ produces large fruit, near 9 grams on average in research trials. Fruit of ‘Natchez’ are elongated, somewhat blocky, and very attractive with an exceptional glossy, black finish.
‘Natchez’ exceeded postharvest performance of ‘Arapaho’ in most years. This is noteworthy, explain the researchers, because the comparison cultivars are considered to have exceptional shelf life. ‘Natchez’ is recommended for commercial shipping production, and is targeted as a replacement for the early season ‘Arapaho’.
Outstanding characteristics of ‘Natchez’ include early fruit-ripening date, high fruit quality, consistent high yields, large fruit size, and excellent postharvest fruit-handling potential. Superior plant characteristics include thornless, erect to semierect canes and good vigor and health. ‘Natchez’ also shows good potential for home garden use.
‘Natchez’ is expected to perform well in areas where ‘Apache’, ‘Arapaho’, ‘Ouachita’, or ‘Navaho’ are adapted, including all areas of the South and into the Midwest, in addition to the West and Pacific Northwest.
An application for a U.S. plant patent has been filed for ‘Natchez’.
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The complete study and abstract are available on the ASHS HortScience electronic journal web site: http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/cgi/content/full/43/6/1897
Founded in 1903, the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) is the largest organization dedicated to advancing all facets of horticultural research, education, and application. More information at ashs.org
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-02/cshl-cri021709.php
Public release date: 17-Feb-2009
Contact: Hema Bashyam
bashyam@cshl.edu
516-367-6822
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
CSHL researchers identify gene that helps plant cells keep communication channels open
GAT1 encodes an enzyme that maintains flow of information through transport channels
Plant cells communicate via microscopic channels called plasmodesmata that are embedded in their cell walls. For the stem cells in the plants’ growing tips, called “meristems,” the plasmodesmata are lifelines, allowing nutrients and genetic instructions for growth to flow in.
Developmental and environmental cues trigger changes in the structure of the tiny channels, thereby altering the flow of traffic through them. The genes and molecular pathways of the plant cell that respond to these cues, and the mechanisms that control channel structure and cell-to-cell traffic are, however, mostly unknown.
To identify these genes, a team of researchers led by Professor David Jackson, Ph.D., at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), devised a method to find mutant cells whose channels were blocked to traffic. The experiments have revealed a gene called GAT1 (pronounced gate-one), which instructs cells to produce an enzyme found only in meristems, the stem-cell rich tip of the plant where new growth takes place. The enzyme improves the flow of traffic through plasmodesmata by acting as an antioxidant, a type of molecule that relieves cellular stress.
“This discovery is one of the first examples of using genetics to understand how plant cells communicate through plasmodesmata,” says Jackson, whose lab at CSHL is devoted to the study of plant genetics. “Our study suggests a mechanism through which plant cells can adjust trafficking in these channels through the various stages of development.” The team’s findings will be published in the Feb 17th issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
GAT1 keeps callose at bay
As plants develop, growth signals and environmental cues such as damage or stress trigger overproduction of a substance called callose. Although callose is a normal structural component of cell walls in plants, excess callose accumulates and forms obstructive clumps that plug the plasmodesmata and impede the flow of traffic through the channels.
Restricting flow can be beneficial in some instances, such as when damaged parts need to be closed off or virus-infected cells need to be quarantined. But flow blockage can be fatal too, especially when it happens in meristems.
“Meristems that are blocked and thereby starved of nutrients won’t give rise to daughter cells and spawn new organs, thus stunting the plant’s growth,” explains Jackson. “What we’ve found now is probably the mechanism that normally prevents blockages from occurring in these stem cells.”
Jackson’s team has found that plants stave off callose accumulation and keep the channels open by turning on the GAT1 gene in their stem cells. Seeds in which this gene failed to work were observed by the CSHL team to give rise to seedlings that barely survived more than two weeks, despite forming intact roots and an intact phloem – the main transport artery that carries nutrients and other supplies to the meristems.
The mutants even had intact meristems that had developed the required numbers of transport channels. These channels, however, were functionally defective, as the pile-up of callose narrowed them, making the passage of nutrient molecules impossible. The CSHL scientists were able to reverse this defect by re-introducing a functional GAT1 gene into mutant plants. When the GAT1 gene was turned on, the production and accumulation of callose decreased.
GAT1 counters oxidative stress
One of the distress signals that spur cells to synthesize callose are oxygen free radicals – the same cell-damaging molecules that have gained notoriety as a major cause of cell death and aging. In mutant plant seeds that lack a functional GAT1 gene, stem cells brim with high levels of these free radicals and other toxic ions, collectively known as reactive oxygen species (ROS).
This ROS threat, according to Jackson’s team, is normally counter-balanced by GAT1. The CSHL scientists found that this gene encodes an enzyme called thioredoxin-m3, which they found only in the meristems, as well as in the tissues dedicated to transport. There, it acts as an antioxidant – a molecule that slows or prevents the formation of ROS.
Thioredoxin-m3 is a member of a large family of small proteins that are ubiquitous in plant and animal cells, and are biochemical workhorses that meddle in multiple metabolic processes. They consequently have an impact on numerous cellular events, including stress responses, cell death, and gene expression.
In addition to protecting plants against oxidative damage, as the CSHL scientists have shown, thioredoxin-m3 and its cousins might have other specific functions in different stages of plant development in different tissues and under different physiological conditions. Knowing the diverse functions of these proteins may help in engineering plants that are drought- and heat-tolerant.
Discovering the role of thioredozin-m3 in cell-cell traffic within meristems has already provided one such pay-off. Jackson’s group found that increasing the expression of GAT1 in plants caused them to take longer to produce flowers and enter senescence – the period of old age. “People are generally interested in controlling senescence for commercial purposes such as growing plants that last longer or flowers that stay fresh longer,” explains Jackson. “Our results suggest that manipulating GAT1 expression in plants can be one way of achieving this,” he says.
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“Control of Arabidopsis meristem development by thioredoxin-dependent regulation of intercellular transport” appears in the Feb 17th issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The full citation is: Yoselin Benitez-Alfonso, Michelle Cilia, Adrianna San Roman, Carole Thomas, Andy Maule, Stephen Hearn, and David Jackson. This article is available online at http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/02/12/0808717106.full.pdf+html (doi: 10.1073/pnas.0808717106)
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) is a private, not-for-profit research and education institution at the forefront of efforts in molecular biology and genetics to generate knowledge that will yield better diagnostics and treatments for cancer, neurological diseases and other major causes of human suffering.
For more information, visit www.cshl.edu.