Aquaponics and Earth

This past weekend we had friends stay with us. Instead of watching TV or other things we went out to the Auaqaponics and Earth Farm and worked together, picking over 500 peppers and other crops that needed to be harvested.  At first I was doing it alone, but then I invited everyone to come out back. It encouraged me to hear them talking about how good the vegetables looked, and as we picked we talked about many other ideas. We spent several hours doing this, though it seemed like only one hour. Today I was thinking that this was what America was like 40 to 60+ years ago. People breathed in the fresh air and work was fun because they had the right attitude. They knew they were growing food that was extremely healthy for their families to eat, plus they grew enough for loved ones or the farmers market. 

Edible landscaping offers an alternative to conventional residential landscapes that are designed solely for ornamental purposes. Edible landscapes can be just as attractive, yet produce fruits and vegetables for home use. One can install an entirely edible landscape, or incorporate simple elements into existing yards and gardens. It’s all about rethinking some things.

What is edible landscaping?

Edible landscaping is the use of food-producing plants in the constructed landscape, principally the residential landscape. Edible landscapes combine fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, vegetables, herbs, edible flowers and ornamental plants into aesthetically pleasing designs. These designs can incorporate any garden style and can include anywhere from 1-100% edible species 

Why landscape with edibles?

There are many reasons to incorporate edible plants into the residential landscape. These include:

• To enjoy the freshness and flavor of home-grown, fully ripened fruits and vegetables
• To control the quantity and kind of pesticides and herbicides used on the foods you consume
• To increase the food security of your household
• To save on grocery bills
• To grow unusual varieties not available in stores
• To get outside, interact with the natural world, and have fun.  

History of edible landscaping

Edible landscaping is as old as gardening itself and has undergone a recent revival.

• Ancient Persian gardens combined both edible and ornamental plants.
• Medieval monastic gardens included fruits, vegetables, flowers, and medicinal herbs.
• Plans for 19th century English suburban yards, which modeled themselves after country estates, often included edible fruits and berries.

The edible components of residential landscapes were largely lost in this country to the now familiar shade trees, lawns, and foundation plantings. In the past two decades, however, there has been a revival of interest in edible landscaping, thanks to the work of early pioneers who have a passion to bring this back.

How to landscape with edibles

Like all plants used in the landscape, edible plants grow best in certain conditions. Many (but not all!) fruits and vegetables do best where they receive at least 6 hours of full sunlight a day. Most also like well-drained soil. Parts of your yard that satisfy these conditions are good places to start an edible landscape.

To perform a complete makeover on these areas, consult the books recommended below for a full design process. To start simply, consider a one-for-one substitution. Where you might have planted a shade tree, plant a fruit tree. Where you need a deciduous shrub, plant a currant or hazelnut. Where you have always had chrysanthemums, plant bachelor’s buttons—you can eat them. Edible plants come in nearly all shapes and sizes and can perform the same landscape functions as ornamental plants. A small area, about 25 by 25 feet, can be planted almost entirely with edibles that have ornamental value and appear to be a decorative garden. The list can be changed to suit individual taste or local garden conditions. 

Here are some more ideas for edible landscapes:

• Put pots of herbs on the patio
• Include cherry tomatoes in a window box or hanging basket
• Build a grape arbor
• Grow nasturtium, violas, borage, or calendula and include flowers in salads
• Eat your daylilies
• Plant a fruit tree in the corner of your yard
• Grow Red-jewel Cabbage
• Plant colorful pepper varieties (e.g., Lipstick, Habanero) alongside flowers
• Tuck lettuce, radishes, or other short-lived greens into a flower bed
• Replace a barberry hedge with gooseberries
• Put basil together with coleus in a planter
• Try yellow or “rainbow” chard
• Grow chives around the mailbox
• Train raspberries up your fence

Won’t it take a lot of work?

Many common ornamental plants can survive with minimal care. Most edible plants, however, require a certain amount of attention to produce well. They may require a little extra watering, pruning, fertilizing, or pest management. The time required, however, need not be exorbitant. To care for a fruit tree, for instance, may take only a few hours a year, while the yield could be enormous. It is best to treat edible landscaping as a hobby and not a chore. You may find yourself checking on your plants more than they strictly require, just because you want to see how they’re doing. If you are concerned about being overwhelmed, just start small.

Conclusion

The possibilities for edible landscaping are endless. By incorporating just one—or many—edible plants into a home landscape, you can develop a new relationship with your family and come to understand the food you eat.

The book we have posted on square foot gardening is the best book written on this subject anywhere in the world.  It is an all-time best seller, and this last year its sales broke records, even during the recession.

Large portions of this document is from Ohio State University Extension Horticulture and Crop Science.

Burn Serious Calories and Prevent Cancer

– By The American Institute of Cancer Research

Bend, twist, reach, and pull.

While this may sound like an intensive aerobics class, these are actually movements you do while working in the garden. Researchers estimate that gardening burns an average of 300 calories per hour, while heavy yard work can burn more than 600 calories per hour! Engaging in regular physical activity like gardening is also an excellent way to lower your risk of some cancers.

Here’s the Dirt
Gardening is an ideal form of exercise because it combines three important types of physical activity: strength, endurance and flexibility.

Spending time in a garden is also believed by many to have physical and emotional healing effects. According to the American Horticultural Therapy Association, gardening can benefit people who are recovering from physical illness by retraining their muscles and improving coordination, balance, and strength. In addition, simply spending time in nature reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and relieves muscle tension.

But the cancer-protective benefits of gardening don’t end there. Studies show that gardeners eat a wider variety of vegetables (rich in disease-fighting antioxidants and phytochemicals), and have a higher overall intake of vegetables than non-gardeners.

The Old-Fashioned Way Is Better
To reap the maximum health benefit from your gardening, labor intensively. Turn off your leaf blower and pick up a rake. Use manual clippers, trimmers and lawnmowers if possible.

Try to stick to a regular “garden exercise” routine. Rather than saving up your outdoor work for one marathon weekend session, schedule at least 30-60 minutes of gardening two or three times per week. If you’re away from home during the day, early mornings and evenings are ideal
gardening times.

Work at a steady, constant speed, but be sure to change positions every 10 minutes or so to avoid overusing a particular muscle group. If you start by bending down to pull weeds, stand to prune the hedges next. Also alternate which side of the body you use. Pull with your right hand, then with your left.

Find a Row to Hoe
Even if you don’t own an acre, a small yard can provide ample opportunity to dig, plant, and weed. You can also look for a local garden on the American Community Garden Association’s website. Although your workout will be more limited if you garden on a balcony or patio, you can harvest a good crop of nutritious vegetables in a space as small as 16 square feet.

After your physician gives you the “green thumbs up,” keep these tips in mind:

• To prevent muscle soreness, back pain, and repetitive strain injuries, warm up before starting and cool down after you are finished by walking and stretching.
• Use steady, smooth motions to avoid injury.
• Protect yourself from the sun by wearing sunscreen, long-sleeved shirts and pants, and a wide-brimmed hat.
• Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, especially if the temperature and humidity are high.
• When picking up tools or lifting bags of soil, bend your knees and keep your back straight.

Note: Aquaponics and Earth does special training on how to start a garden in your back yard that has very little space that is very easy to start and maintain both young and old.

You would be surprised at how little space you need. Or if you want more space we can show you how to properly lay out your garden. We will come on a offering basis and the proceeds will go to our current Orphanage projects. Just e-mail us  fall planting  is starting now in Texas.

Happy Gardening!

Organic versus Non-Organic Fruits and Vegetables

The National Organic Program, which is the governing body of organic products, is rigorous about what foods constitute as organic. Organic foods can not be processed and can not contain or come in contact with any additives which have been strongly debated over in recent years. Certain organic foods such as fruits and vegetables are considered to be healthier because they contain nutrients that are generally lost during most food manufacturing processes. Many times, food corporation marketing strategies tend to promote products as being “natural” and “organic” but they are sometimes misleading to the consumers. Natural foods, another common food nomenclature, are also defined by the way the food is produced. These products may not contain additives, including color, man-made substances, or any additional preservatives. Natural foods are not the same as organic foods despite their similarities.

Increased Popularity in Organic Foods

Organic fruits and vegetables are becoming more popular around the world. As people become more health conscious, they are aware of what is going on in the environment and the potential unknown risks involved with consuming processed foods over time. Research shows that in the last 60 years, there are more toxins found in our environment than ever before. These toxins are often ingested and absorbed into the bloodstream and attach themselves to human skin and tissue. For example, products, such as milk, could ultimately be harmful to the human body if the cows producing the milk are injected with growth hormones, used to increase milk production. Fruits and vegetables that have been sprayed for pest management and fertilization may contain, and sometimes absorb, the dangerous chemicals used in the sprays which could possibly lead to potential health risks.

Healthier Eating and Healthier Living

Eating certified organic foods can reduce the amount of toxins ingested into the body and allow people to receive more nutrients from the fruit and vegetables compared to their processed counterparts. Organic produce also contains more vitamins, minerals, and enzymes the human body needs to stay healthy. It is a common misconception that organic foods cost more than non-organic foods; however, the reality is that purchasing non-organic foods from farmers will cost consumers triple the amount due to the taxation from the grocery stores, and the money collected to maintain and repair the environment that is being harmed by the pollution from non-organic farming practices. Organic farming uses preventative measures to avoid the need to use pesticides and chemicals and helps create a more sustainable environment.

Long-Term Benefits of Organic Produce

While the effects of chemical pollution may not be readily evident to human health, the chemicals can build up inside the body and cause problems down the line. There could be long-term physiological and neurological damage to the body. It is also suspected that the antibiotics and growth hormones injected into animals can lead to human obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and autism.

As organic produce becomes more common, it is easier to find such produce in mainstream grocery stores. To be ensured that produce is certifiably organic, visiting farmer’s markets and health food stores may provide the most reliable, organic produce and foods.

I had a real good friend stay with us this weekend.  Andrew told me this story about how we have made a large dump in the sea. I could not get it out of my mind. Many times I have told our interns at the Aquaponics and Earth  farm that in the last few years millions of hectors of land have been purchased by governments of the world because of the poisoning of the seas and rivers. Leaders know that we must develop aquaculture farms on our planet because of the days ahead. 

In t­he broad expanse of the northern Pacific Ocean, there exists the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, a slowly moving, clockwise spiral of currents created by a high-pressure system of air currents.

The area is an oceanic desert, filled with tiny phytoplankton but few big fish or mammals. Due to its lack of large fish and gentle breezes, fishermen and­ s­ailors rarely travel through the gyre. But the area is filled with something besides plankton: trash, millions of pounds of it, most of it plastic. It’s the largest landfill in the world, and it floats in the middle of the ocean. 

The gyre has actually given birth to two large masses of ever-accumulating trash, known as the Western and Eastern Pacific Garbage Patches, sometimes collectively called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The Eastern Garbage Patch floats between Hawaii and California; scientists estimate its size as two times bigger than Texas [source: LA Times]. The Western Garbage Patch forms east of Japan and west of Hawaii. Each swirling mass of refuse is massive and collects trash from all over the world. The patches are connected by a thin 6,000-mile long current called the Subtropical Convergence Zone. Research flights showed that significant amounts of trash also accumulate in the Convergence Zone. 

The garbage patches present numerous hazards to marine life, fishing and tourism. 

Plastic constitutes 90 percent of all trash floating in the world’s oceans [source: LA Times]. The United Nations Environment Program estimated in 2006 that every square mile of ocean hosts 46,000 pieces of floating plastic [source: UN Environment Program]. In some areas, the amount of plastic outweighs the amount of plankton by a ratio of six to one. Of the more than 200 billion pounds of plastic the world produces each year, about 10 percent ends up in the ocean [source: Greenpeace]. Seventy percent of that eventually sinks, damaging life on the ocean floor [source: Greenpeace]. The rest floats; much of it ends up in gyres and the massive garbage patches that form there, with some plastic eventually washing up on a distant shore.

Find out how you can recycle your plastic items. We will discuss this in the future. Call your local city office and they will lead you to ways you can help one by one we can make a difference!

There are many health benefits of eating tomatoes

Tomatoes contain compounds that have been proven to help prevent cancer, heart disease cataracts and many others. Tomatoes are a member of the deadly nightshade family, and as such were considered toxic, causing many conditions like appendicitis, “brain fever” and cancer.

In fact, they may have just the opposite effect. Tomatoes were not even eaten in the US until the early 1800s, when an eccentric New Jersey gentleman Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson brought them back from a trip overseas. Always one to take advantage of a dramatic opportunity, he announced an amazing display of courage would take place on September 26, 1820. He shocked his hometown of Salem by consuming and entire basket of tomatoes in front of a crowd of spectators, expecting him to keel over any second.

Obviously, he didn’t and since then tomatoes have been a staple of the American diet and with good reason.

Starting with the basics, tomatoes contain large amounts of vitamin C, providing 40 percent of the daily value (DV).

They also contain 15 percent DV of vitamin A, 8 percent DV of potassium, and 7 percent of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of iron for women and 10 percent RDA for men.

The red pigment contained in tomatoes is called lycopene. This compound appears to act as an antioxidant, neutralizing free radicals that can damage cells in the body. Only recently, studies have revealed that lycopene may have twice the punch of another well-known antioxidant betacarotene.

Studies conducted by Harvard researchers have discovered that men who consumed 10 servings of tomatoes a week, or the equivalent to 10 slices of pizza, can cut the risk of developing prostate cancer by a formidable 45 percent.

However, its benefits are not limited to the prostate. Italian researchers have found that those who consume more that 7 servings of raw tomatoes lower the risk of developing rectal colon or stomach cancers by 60 percent. Israeli researchers have found that lycopene is a powerful inhibitor of lung, breast, and endometrial cancer cells. Research has also indicated that the lycopene in tomatoes can help older people stay active longer.

New research is beginning to indicate that tomatoes may be used to help prevent lung cancer. Two powerful compounds found in tomatoes-coumaric acid and chlorogenic acid-are thought to block the effects of nitrosamines. These are compounds that not only are formed naturally in the body, but also are the strongest carcinogen in tobacco smoke. By blocking the effects of these nitrosamines, the chances of lung cancer are reduced significantly.

When choosing your tomatoes, be sure to pick those with the most brilliant shades of red. These indicate the highest amounts of betacarotene and lycopene. Though raw tomatoes are great for you, cooking them releases even more of the benefits. Lycopene is located in the cell wall of the tomato, so by cooking in a bit of oil, this healing compound is more fully released. In addition cooking the tomato in olive oil allows your body to absorb the lycopene better.

Don’t worry about the availability of fresh tomatoes. Tomatoes don’t lose any of their nutritional value in the high heat processing , making canned tomatoes and tomato sauce are both just as viable and beneficial as fresh tomatoes.