Labels mean nothing

        The national news do repeated stories tonight about how fish is mislabeled and sold falsely.  It is not simply the pricing that is an issue, it is the source, the manner in how the fish was raised and the pesticides that were used in the process that is the most frightening for me.  There is a break down in all aspects of our food supply system.

         The Victory Garden Program was one of the most popular programs in the war period, and extension agents developed programs to provide seed, fertilizer, and simple gardening tools for victory gardeners. An estimated 15 million families planted victory gardens in 1942, and in 1943 some 20 million victory gardens produced more than 40 percent of the vegetables grown for that year's fresh consumption. 

            I found that bit of information mind blowing.  40 percent of the food was fresh and local.

Soil, minerals and health

          My monthly reading includes Arces USA magazine.  This current issue features many articles about the health of our soils across the nation.  The direct effect of this subject is the all over health of our food and the minerals we are lacking because of the current practices of soil management.

          For centuries the fertilizer used to grow crop were tightly related to farming animals.  The soil was feed by the roaming of these animals or the distribution of their manure is they were housed or penned up for part of the year.  Now that principle is ignored by corporate farming industry.  The results are being linked to the increase of diseases humans are now experiencing and the lower nutrient values of field crops and the health of our meat that is consumed.  Tied to this thought is research that suggests that prepared feed, even high quality feeds, do not match the diverse minerals animals get from eating grass and weeds in open fields.

         Our food supply needs to be reorganized in a way that honors the traditions that protect the soil, raise healthy animals and plant foods.  All of this research shows me that the more I can eat out of my garden, the better my health will be.

Busy Fall Gardening

         A couple weeks ago I had some branches and leaves from ornamental bushes in the yard mulched up. I put them under the apple trees along with oyster shells and steer manure.  Then I cover the base each espalier tree along my back fence with a burlap bag anchored with rocks.  That is an extra step I take because I am gardening with chickens.  Yes, I let my chickens roam the yard a few hours each day and it makes me joyful to watch them but it is also added work for me.  So far, this method has work very well and I hope it holds though the winter months.  I have checked with Micheal Phillips's book THE APPLE GROWER  and I have a few other will chores to do this fall besides picking my apples.  Interestingly this Sunday's NYT has an article about different ways to transform an apple by treating it more like a potato.  All of them quite unexpected and will quickly be explored by me.
         The apples are beginning to fall of the limbs so it is time for me to check and see what needs to be harvested. I have large flat boxes saved for winter storage that I carting from my visited to Costco.