Organic farming

Organic farming takes a bit of a vision . . . and as it turns out you have to outsmart goats and chickens. You may laugh at that, and a few years ago I would too, but critters have an amazing ability to strategize their way through life. At the other place, I had a nice little herb garden and strawberry bed that the goats simply could not access. Now chickens on the other hand were a bit of a problem until I got one of those "bird nets" to put over them. It seems the bright red berries draw birds and turtles. Goats love any kind of fruit leaf, but they weren't the problem at EinGedi.

When the strawberries began to ripen, I just had to pick them and let them finish ripening in my kitchen window. I was amazed that they still surpassed store bought in flavor and fragrance. Then I moved to Goshen, and it's been a new experience in being outsmarted every year, regarding my attempt at a strawberry bed. This year, by the grace of our Creator, I have a special little tucked away spot that the chickens don't know about and goats can't reach, and I have two cats that love the orchard and their presence serves as a real deterent to birds and traveling turtles. I feel blessed!

I didn't realize this new strawberry bed would be productive at all this year, but so far I've picked a dozen strawberries. That's where the visionary part comes in. As I planted each of those little bedding starts, I pictured them spreading out and becoming a full fledged strawberry bed that would provide enough for preserves and a couple pies a year. A dozen might not seem like much, but it's 1200% more than I expected! And, so far, no buddy is beating me to them.

This is a homestead harvest berry, and I thought setting it next to the measuring cup would give a perspective. I'm excited! I couldn't believe the fragrance of a vine ripened organic strawberry.

Healthier Living

It's not too late to get a few groceries started in the garden. In many places it's just now time to set out tomatoes and peppers, both of which are very high in Vitamin C. With a cooler, later spring, I'm sure there are still many plants that would thrive in many of the growing zones.

Not only does gardening provide a healthier diet, but also a reduced food cost, as well as exercise. i want to specifically mention cabbage in this article because cabbage is one of the latest "frankenfoods" being offered. The DNA of scorpions is added to the cabbage to serve as a pesticide against caterpillars that like cabbage. The scorpion venom literally serves to eliminate the caterpillar. I have no idea what that does to humans who consume the cabbage and I doubt that that information will be released any time soon, if it's ever even researched.

What I do know is this. Cabbage is very easy to grow, year round. It requires no pollination and will literally come up from seed in fairly cool soil. Broccoli is also being tampered with, as is cauliflower. I have discovered kale to be a wonderful hearty leafy vegetable that some folks say is interchangeable with spinach. I, personally like it better for cooking than spinach, but it's not as good fresh for salad as spinach is, so there's my two cents worth on that. Kale grows rapidly and abundantly, and will keep producing if the roots are not pulled when the leaves are harvested. It is available in heirloom variety seeds.

If space is an issue, kale and spinach will grow quite nicely in a window box. There is still a little time to "Get Growing."
Just came across an interesting page about kale.

Calcium

Many dark green leafy vegetables contain a relatively high level of calcium. The calcium in spinach however, is somewhat poorly absorbed, probably because of the high concentration of oxalate. The study revealed that kale, a low-oxalate vegetable, is a good source of bio-available calcium. Kale is a member of the same family that includes broccoli, turnip greens, collard greens and mustard greens. These low-oxalate, calcium-rich vegetables are therefore also likely to be better sources of available calcium.

I want to include this link, specifically for this time, because kale and broccoli are quite easy to raise and will produce through most of the summer months. These dark green vegetables are delicious steamed which is the next best thing to raw, and they can be eaten raw as well. Both freeze beautifully, also.

They grow in a relatively small area, and can even be raised in pots and window boxes. If you are new to gardening, limited on space, or feel you have a "brown" thumb, I encourage you to give these two a try.



I am not promoting globalism, but this is a pretty nice link, loaded with valuable information
Global Healing Center

High Calcium Leafy Greens

Magnesium

We're going to try to focus on various vitamins and minerals in which a deficiency may actually be causing many to experience various syndromes and diagnoses in which a simple boost of these elements by diet or supplement may improve overal health and eliminate symptoms.

Included are three links addressing magnesium.

http://www.calmnatural.com/magnesium-deficiency

http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/foods-high-in-magnesium.php

http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/foods-high-in-magnesium.php#magnesium-rich-foods