in your growroom GARDEN CULTURE USA - CANADA EDITION · ISSUE 5 · 2015 $5,95 US | $5.95 CAN Display until 06-30-2015 WWW.GARDENCULTURE.NET ‘It is remarkable how closely the history of the apple tree is connected with that of man’ - Henry David Thoreau
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in your growroom
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2015
GARDENCU LT U R E
USA - CANADA EDITION · ISSUE 5 · 2015
$5,95 US | $5.95 CANDisplay until 06-30-2015
WW
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NET‘It is remarkable how closely the history
of the apple tree is connected with that of man’- Henry David Thoreau
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT 10
CONTENTS I GARDEN CULTURE
IN THIS ISSUE OF GARDEN CULTURE:
WHO’S GROWING WHAT WHERE 49
70
SAGEGROW-YOUR-OWN
4256organic
VSSYNTHETICNUTRIENTS
60
HUNGER
34
GARDENCULTURE.NET 7
98PROS & CONS
BALLAST
lettucei grow
FOOD PATENTS
9 Foreword10 Product Spotlight17 Stay out18 GMO Controversy increases20 Making your own soil mix25 Fresh Food26 Freaky Tomatoes29 Five Cool Finds31 Organic music33 Dirt: good for what ails you34 Hunger – a growing need37 Grodan is going to Mars39 The Windows farm experiment42 Sage – Wisdom of the Ages
49 Who’s Growing What Where52 Teach ‘em young56 Organicvs.Syntheticnutrients60 The problem with Food Patents62 LEDspecifications64 What’s the best tomato?66 Seed Diversity70 IgrowLettuce76 The Govenment, farming food and you83 Four amazing plant facts85 Reusingyourpottingsoil90 SupplementalLighting98 Ballast – pros & cons103 StartingonaBudget
FOREWORD
If you are planning to star t your f irst indoor
garden, or are expanding/upgrading your current
one, chances are you will need to make some
purchases.
So you take a trip to your local hydroponics store. If you are new to this, being a bit overwhelmed by the selection is common, especially if you visit several stores. My advice is - do your homework, and question everything. Over the past 10 years this industry has exploded, and so has the number of products offered.
Beware of cheap imitations! Trying to save too much money will often cost you more in the end, especially when it comes to hardware like ballasts and bulbs. Unfortunately, anyone can go to China and buy whatever they want, dress it up pretty, and sell it as a premium product at a huge discount. You think you are getting a great deal, when all you are getting are problems.
Indoor gardening is an art. You are Mother Nature, and control everything. Like in so many systems the whole is as strong as its weakest link. Take time to learn what a plant needs, read books written by experts, and buy good equipment - then you will be better prepared to have a bountiful garden with few problems.
Parting with your hard-earned money can be painful, but the lowest price is rarely the best deal. As a wise man once told me, “ I am too poor to buy cheap.” 3
Eric
CREDITS
Garden Culture™ is a publication of 325 Media Inc.
Special thanks to:Tammy, Evan Folds, Theo Tekstra, Judd Stone, Stephen Brookes, Wendy Denney, Kyle L. Ladenburger, Amber Fields, Darryl Cotton, Brian Burk, Stephanie Whitley, Marisa Kay Richter, Greg Richter, Grubbycup, My beautiful wife and partner Celia, Maya and Kees, Job, Callie Coe, Agent Green and Monsanto for motivating me to fight back.
P U B L I S H E R325 Media44 Hyde Rd., Milles IslesQuébec, Canadat. +1-855-427-8254 w. www.gardenculture.net Email - [email protected]
A D V E R T I S I N GEric Coulombe Email - [email protected] t. 1-514-233-1539
D I S T R I B U T I O N PA R T N E R S• Sunlight Supply• Hydrofarm• Rambridge• Biofloral
ensures pH and EC levels are uniform throughout the
entire system.
www.cch2o.com
Current
CultureDWC
product spotlight
Established for over 15 years, AutoPot provide growers of all abilities with a watering system that will far exceed their expectations. From commercial glasshouses to domestic greenhouses; growers worldwide choose AutoPot Watering Systems to automatically irrigate their plants without the need for pumps timers or electricity. Thanks to the patented AQUAvalve technology; AutoPot is the only watering system in the world where each individual plant controls their own irrigation, and receives fresh nutrient enriched water exactly when they need it - with zero water loss www.autopot.co.uk
Autopot
In this edition we will feature the products in my garden. I have spent over 10 years experimenting with indoor gardening,
and these are some of my favorites. Although not included in the product spotlight, I would like to give a nod to Can Fans
(I have had the same fan for 10 years), HM Digitals new HydroMaster meter, Opticfoliar Greener Cleaner (‘cause for the
first time with a huge garden I have no bugs), and Fulvic acid in general (I use Organic Rescue Mist, and Pure Gold from
Nutri Plus 29% Fulvic content and is certified organic).
Eric
Garden Gadgets
10
Eric’s
DWC
product spotlight Garden Gadgets
Nutriculture Gro-Tanks NFT
freshManufactured by the same people
who made the Ecosystem, the
Ecogrowwall is a modular vertical
garden. Simply click the panels
together in whatever configuration
you like and snap to support. All
plumbing hardware is included, easy
compression-pop fittings make
setting up the watering system a
breeze. Each chamber is designed to
support one 48”X6” rockwool slab. Set comes with 5 channels.
When space is a concern, turn your walls into a garden.
www.ecogrowwall.com
Our NFT Gro-Tanks give roots virtually unrestricted access to
oxygen. Yields are typically much bigger than if growing in pots of dirt.
The depth of the recirculating stream is very shallow, little more than
a film of water, hence the name ‘nutrient film’. This ensures that the
thick root mat, which develops in the bottom of the channel has
constant access to nutrients and air.
Nutrient solution is constantly pumped to the roots, there’s no timer
to program.
Because virtually no growing medium is used there’s nothing to
transport or throw away at the end of the season. Very clean, very
easy, and very impressive results.
Perfect for beginners or experts.
www.nutriculture.com
Nutriculture Gro-Tanks NFT
Ecogrow
wall
Sunlight Supply is pleased to announce the arrival of the LEC 315 light fixture. The LEC 315 utilizes cutting edge Light Emitting Ceramic™ technology, along with a specially engineered 98% reflective optical cavity. This fixture includes a highly efficient, agriculturally engineered Philips CDM-T Elite Agro Lamp. This lamp offers a greatly improved full color light spectrum, 3100K color temperature, 92 CRI, 33,000 initial lumens (105Lm/W)! Higher amounts of beneficial UV and far red spectrums increase the lamps growth power to the plants. The LEC drive incorporates built-in thermal protection, and the open rated lamp construction reduces radiant heat from the arc tube, and is suitable for open fixture use. www.sunlightsupply.com
Sun System
LEC 315
GARDENCULTURE.NET 13
GARDEN PRODUCTS I GARDEN CULTURE
14
product spotlight
The Adjust-A-Wings Enforcer reflector range have the same essential features as Hygro International’s world-famous Avenger models, save for the Super reflective “glass coated” finish, and the high end price tag. The finish on the Enforcer Wings is 85% reflective, and guaranteed for 3 years. Made by skilled workers, using carefully selected high quality materials and fittings. These reflectors throw a huge light footprint, run nice and cool, produce killer yields, and have gained the respect and admiration of all who use them!www.adjustawings.com
Adjust-A-Wings
Growing in indoor conditions without sunlight not only
requires a good climate, but also a good quality light.
Though one can grow successful under HPS alone, or
a combination of HPS and MH, it is still not the full
spectrum our sun delivers. The Gavita light Plasma
fixtures produce light with a spectrum similar to that
of the sun, making it the ideal supplement
to HPS for serious growers.
Plasma lights alone are perfect for
vegetative periods, or green plants.
www.gavita-holland.com
Following three-years of research and testing The MINIMAX 150 with microprocessor
has finally arrived. We now have CE registration and are ready to impress UK growers.
Running at less than 0.7amp we feel that this little unit will revolutionize indoor grow
lighting. No longer do growers have to compromise with low wattage alternatives that
just don’t do a great job. The MINIMAX 150 operates with either Metal Halide or High
Pressure Sodium bulbs.
• High lumen output (Sunmaster 150W
Dual Spectrum Lamp -17200 Lumens)
• Low bulb temperature
• Full RF filtration
Gavita Plasma
• No need for costly contact/relay controllers
• Comes with full three year guarantee
• Operates with either Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium bulbs.
www.downtoearthkent.co.uk
The
Minimax 150
product spotlight
Gavita Plasma
I’m not sure what kind of
reception they thought they
would get, but it was nasty. I
went over myself to talk to the
30-something guy in the booth.
“So, is everyone blasting you for
being here?” I asked. He told me
he felt like a cat in a dog show.
I also told him that I despised
the company he worked for and if he had a soul he would
quit ASAP, then I left. I walked about 20 feet and watched,
a steady stream of people doing just what I did. It was a
reception that new surfers get when they are in the wrong
spot. I was polite, others were not, at least 10 people told
him to get the f**k out.
It was amazing to watch, a never-ending bombardment of
negative energy focused on this poor unsuspecting employee.
It took about 3 hours or so, and he packed up his stuff, called
his suit-wearing boss, and told him he was going home. I
didn’t give him a kick on the way out or anything, but
it did feel good. We all felt good. Somehow we just
kicked Monsanto out of a gardening trade show.
How did this happen? Who is this group of people
who are so against this company that they could
force the world’s biggest ag/chemical company to
flee with his proverbial tail between his legs. It
was you, and the companies you support. If you
own a small indoor garden shop, and are afraid
what will happen when, or if,
the big players like Wal-Mart,
Costco, and the like gets
involved... I think we just saw
the answer. Indoor gardeners
seem to have a general dislike
of companies like Monsanto
and Wal-Mart. It wasn’t
financial motivation that made
all those people turn on that sales guy at the Max Yield
show, it was an ethical action.
I found this event inspiring, and was very proud of the people
who stood up for their beliefs.
It still begs the question, why were they there, and how are
they going to weasel their way back in? I hope they got the
message, but if they didn’t I’m confident we will collectively
make them feel very unwelcome. Sorry Monsanto…wait, no
I’m not. 3
BY ERIC
How did this happen? Who is this group of people who are so against this company that they could force the world’s
biggest ag/chemical company to flee with his proverbial tail
between his legs.
Ira Bostic / Shutterstock.com
GARDENCULTURE.NET 17
MONSANTO I GARDEN CULTURE
STAYAnyone who knows me knows I despise Monsanto. As it turns out so does most of the indoor gardening
industry, and they let them know it.
Max Yield has been throwing the Indoor Garden Expos for over a decade. They have been an integral building
block for this industry’s development. These shows are an important part of any company’s marketing plan
when trying to enter this market. At least they used to be, until Monsanto showed up.
Monsanto at Max Yield!
18
Present... January 2015, Strassbourg
It appears that those consumer organizations have now
lost control of the legislative body. As of 20 January,
Europe officially ushered in a future favoring biotech giants
in passing a new controversial food law that transfers
the rights involved in allowing, or banning GMO crops to
individual countries. The argument on whether a nation’s
farmers can, or cannot grow Monsanto’s MON 810 maize
has shifted, and they’ve succeeded in getting 7 new GM
crops approved for further discretionary approval per
country.
It’s unlikely coincidental that this happened during the
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks for
securing multilateral growth through commerce between
the US and the EU. No doubt heavy lobbying has quietly
taken place in the months leading up to both this particular
European Parliament session and the TIFF convention - on
both sides of the Atlantic.
Baby StepsBiotech behemoths like Monsanto rose to their current
status in the US and other countries the same way - one
small measure at a time. Bypassing continental government
turns the tables to their favor, for now they can work on
each small entity individually.
No doubt GMO proponents were doing the happy dance
within moments of the highly criticized measure’s approval.
It’s two steps forward for GMO crops, a whole new
continent of possibilities and acquisitions.
Not that GMO crops have done anything to slow world
hunger. The third world still lacks the finances to buy said
food or seed, because that’s the real crux of the problem -
money. But GMOs do however, feed the hunger for wealth,
benefiting profit margins, and shareholders a great deal.
See, there’s that money thing again, but on the opposite
end of the ruler.
In a July fact-finding session on GMO food labeling, US Congressman Schrader asked the EU expert, “Why
does the EU still have their labeling if they’ve come to the same conclusions? Why have they not frankly
informed their consumers that there is no difference?”
The world renown, Dr. Calestous Juma responded, “The EU is not a homogenous body. You have the commission
with its scientific advice that conducted these studies. You have the legislative body that is influenced very much
by the consumer organizations that has not changed its position.”
BY CALLIE COE
“Europe officially ushered
in a future favoring
biotech giants”
Flashback... Summer 2014, Washington D.C.
GARDENCULTURE.NET 19
G.M.O. I GARDEN CULTURE
Divide & ConquerIf you suspect some déjà vu looms on the horizon, you
might very well be right. Turning the protected farmland of
a continent into a scattered patchwork of GMO producing
regions raises the odds of spreading pollen to traditional
and organic crops like we’ve already
seen happen in Canada, the US,
Mexico, Paraguay, and Brazil. The
breeze, and insects don’t stop at
lines drawn by man.
Groups like Greenpeace are well-
founded in their concerns over the possible environmental
damages this could cause. Roundup use will increase
phenomenally on every hectare planted with GM seed,
which does not disappear, but lingers in the soil, filters into
waterways, and clouds collect it with other agrichemicals
to release it elsewhere in a phenomenon known as acid
rain.
But It’s Safe to EatAt least, these 8 crops are in the eyes of the EFSA. The
new ruling allows individual EU countries to opt out of
growing approved GMOs deemed safe to consume by the
European Food Safety Authority. Feel like this is just the
beginning, that more will follow? That is how it has played
out elsewhere with this GMO thing.
Who are the current major EFSA players? Make a list.
Then make a list of all the top people at Monsanto’s UK
and European offices. Don’t overlook legal counsel. Going
forward, you will no doubt see movers and shakers from the
agri-giant’s team travel in and out of various positions within
the EFSA, and the appropriate legislative offices in each EU
member state. Better tally the same at Syngenta, Bayer, BASF,
Dow, and DuPont offices too, so you know who’s who as the
players begin moving around.
That’s how they’ve played the GMO/
pesticide approval game to date in the
US. It would be nice if this is not what
happens, but here’s that déjà vu stuff.
Grease a little palm, fund a study, train
the perfect expert for desirable governmental positions... buy
your way in. Like any trip, if you can pay the fare, you will get
where you want to go. Both science and political assignations
are for sale. The first group calls it funding, and the latter,
campaign or lobbying monies.
Damage Control UnderwayWith the ink barely dry on the new food law, the PR aimed
at unseating current consumer opinion and belief hit UK
mainstream media. On 22 January BBC published news
that ‘safer GMOs’ are being created by scientists in the US.
Synthetic biology aimed at controlling these crops from
spreading into the wild by adding synthetic food for it to live
on. The goal is that these alien bacteria will starve to death if
they leave the host plant, removing possible contamination.
Should we feel relieved, or see reason for heightened concern?
Firstly, there is no way they can remove all risk, and secondly
what will this stuff do to us and the Earth? More details on
this new development: bit.ly/safer-gmos. 3
“It’s two steps forward for GMO crops”
gmoGMO
GMOs feed wealth, not the hungry
Controversy Increases
20
THE FIRST THING TO THINK OF WHEN MAKING A SOIL MIX
IS MICROBES
S O I L C R E AT E S A N D S U S TA I N S A L L O F L I F E
Soil is like water. Both sustain life as we know it, yet
they are so omnipresent that we take them for granted.
And due to both their importance and complexity, the
limitations of language cannot do them justice.
The soil is under our feet at all times, and can also be
purchased in a bag at the hardware store. Soil is the
primary basis by which we grow food, and the same field
can also be subjected to the littering of our poisons. But
beyond it all, soil may very well be the most important
substance on Earth.
BY EVAN FOLDS
makingyour own
soilmix
GARDENCULTURE.NET 21
MAKING YOUR OWN SOIL MIX I GARDEN CULTURE
THE FIRST THING TO THINK OF WHEN MAKING A SOIL MIX
IS MICROBES
Soil creates and sustains all
of life. Soil allows farming,
the act of rebellion that
catalyzed human specialization
from hunting and gathering
to society at large, and that
started the human experiment
more than 10,000 years ago.
We’ve come a long way since
then, and with good reason, as
there are many more mouths to feed with human
population growing exponentially in modern times.
But we are using more topsoil than we are creating,
and we are collectively utilizing soil for all the
wrong reasons.
We must respect the soil, not use it as a sponge; even
certified organic practices can result in tremendous
damage, and pollution to the land. Modern farming
has become more a creature of synthetic profit,
than a source of nourishment for people. USDA
data shows food losing nutrient density, and we are
experiencing a global degenerative and autoimmune
epidemic. But the good news is that we can do
something about it.
The growing Food Movement is about creating
personal agriculture. This means eating with our
ideals, and growing at least one thing that we eat.
Modern property development obliterates the
landscape leaving very poor soil behind, so many
home gardeners turn to containers or raised beds.
Estimates say that it takes 1000 years to create
an inch of topsoil, but fortunately for modern
gardeners we don’t have to wait nearly that long.
The easy route is to buy potting soil. There is merit
to letting the experts do it for you, but it can get
expensive when your gardening habit gets serious.
Just a little under thirteen gallons of good organic
potting soil can cost $25.
Many who are looking to invest in serious quantities
of soil are making their own soil mixes. Not only
is it possible to calibrate a
custom soil mix to the crop
that you are growing, but given
sufficient scale buying the raw
ingredients, and formulating
the soil yourself costs much
less than buying the ready-
made version.
It’s actually not as hard as you
think, with some intention and
practice you can create, and
even reuse, your own soil capable of sustainably
supporting thriving gardens, and producing
increasingly substantial yields.
The first thing to think of when making a soil mix is
microbes. Microbes manufacture soil, no different
from construction workers on a job site. It is the
grower’s responsibility to bring the correct building
materials to the garden.
Any attempt at making or reusing soil without
prioritizing biological inoculation and diversity is
like trying to brew beer without adding the yeast,
or making kombucha or vinegar without a mother.
The microbes define the process.
So it is in the soil. Source a farm-based biological
inoculant, and consider brewing compost tea to
concentrate the process. Microbes from a natural
environment will always be stronger, and have
more life experience than lab-based, and you will
automatically get a greater diversity of microbes in
your mix. Any biological product that can name the
microbes in the product is a limitation, because we
are only aware of a small percentage of microbes
found in natural living systems.
In the end, diversity is king. Use compost from your
friend’s back yard, worm castings, scrape topsoil
from the forest, and buy some premium compost
from the garden store. Remember, microbes self-
organize, so you cannot mess it up.
Once you have your microbes lined up, it is time to
consider the soil mix itself. Popular base materials
soilmix
are peat moss and coir fiber, but it is often possible
to source local bulk mixes out of varying materials.
The popular bulk soil base in our area is pine bark
and turkey manure. Not the best, but it provides
cheap volume for the base of the mix that we are
going to value-add.
It’s not that making a soil mix is inherently difficult,
but that if you don’t do it right it simply may not
work the first time. Meaning, it is possible to
put together a soil mix that lacks total fertility,
like trying to use a budget Big Box fertilizer in
hydroponics, the plant cannot grow without at least
minimum essential nutrition.
This is generally accomplished through ensuring
the ingredients used are as diverse as possible.
This means don’t make a soil mix composed of peat
moss, rice hulls, and fish meal - and expect your
garden to produce.
Instead, make a soil mix of peat moss, rice hulls,
worm castings, bat guano, rock dust, farm-based
compost, fish meal, alfalfa meal, whey, yucca, kelp
meal, and as many other meals as you can muster
given the crop that you are cultivating. Use a little
bit of a lot of things, the more the merrier. There is
strength in diversity.
By providing diverse food sources for the microbes
you will inoculate into your mix will create a highly
fertile environment for roots to form and feed, but
take some time to consider the nutrient balance
of the ingredients you are using. For example, you
wouldn’t want to have a phosphorous-heavy mix
(bone meal, CalPhos, guano) for a crop of basil that
you are growing vegetatively, or use too much high
NPK ingredient (guano, fish) for light feeders like
lettuce. It will take some practice to calibrate your
fertility properly in your soil mix, but plants don’t
lie, they will give you constant feedback.
You will also want to investigate the relative
concentration of the mix you are creating. For
instance, if you evaluate the differing nutritional
requirements of lettuce versus tomatoes, you will
see that lettuce wants a fertilizer concentration
of around 600-800 ppm, while tomatoes desire
anywhere between 1700-3500 ppm. This is quite a
substantial difference.
SOIL MAY VERY WELL BE THE MOST IMPORTANT SUBSTANCE ON EARTH
MAKING YOUR OWN SOIL MIX I GARDEN CULTURE
A “ppm”, or “parts of ions per million of water”,
is the measurement for fertilizer concentration.
Imagine a granule of table salt being dissolved in
water into a Na+ and a Cl- ion. Each ion would be
a “part” in a ppm, and plants eat these ions created
either through solubility, or through biological
decomposition.
Osmosis is the phenomenon that sees water
travel from the lower concentration to the
higher concentration through a water permeable
membrane in order to equalize concentrations. The
root is an osmotic gradient, so this force is at play
in roots when it comes to fertilizer concentrations.
If a plant has more ions inside than it does outside
of its roots then healthy transpiration can occur.
But if there are too many ions outside relative to
inside the root water is then sucked out of the plant
resulting in the plant prioritizing, and the edges
“burning” and becoming necrotic.
Considering this, it becomes clear that all purchased
potting soils have to be calibrated to the lower
end of this fertilizer spectrum. In other words,
if a potting soil formulator created a recipe that
resulted in a fertilizer concentration of 2000 ppm
tomatoes would love it, but the lettuce would be
severely over fertilized resulting in dead plants if
not amended.
When taking this into account for your soil mix you
may want to keep the higher NPK items out of the
mix, and feed with them over time in the soil as
a fertilizer. Think of the organic fertilizers as the
building materials for your microbial construction
workers, and as a crutch for results and plant
nourishment until your soil food web is ready, and
can take over the fertilization responsibility.
The lack of focus on microbes is one of the major
problems with gardening techniques like square
foot gardening or lasagna gardening. They are
great templates for beginning gardeners, but they
do not focus on microbes, and people end up with
beautifully spaced gardens that cannot sustain
themselves over time, or immature soil where they
can read the copy on the front page of the newspaper
when they turn their soil over. Organic matter does
not just melt, it is biologically digested by a team
of micro-organisms that move micrometers in their
lifetime. If we don’t bring them to the party they
simply are not there!
In the forest, consider that microbes don’t eat the
leaves, they eat what the microbes make of them.
And trees grow to enormous size and strength
in the forest with zero fertilizer. The power of
microbes cannot be understated.
You will find that by focusing on biological strength
and diversity, the more the natural processes take
over, and the more mature your soil becomes, the
less responsible you will feel to feed the garden
with fertilizer.
This is particularly intriguing when it comes to
reusing soil. Next issue we will discuss the merits
and techniques of re-using your potting soil, so you
can take your personal agriculture to an entirely
new level. 3
GARDENCULTURE.NET 23
THE LACK OF FOCUS ON MICROBES IS ONE OF THE MAJOR PROBLEMS WITH
GARDENING TECHNIQUES
FORMULATING THE SOIL YOURSELF COSTS MUCH LESS THAN BUYING
THE READY-MADE VERSION
Biology research at Rice Uni-
versity uncovered this fact
while studying how the circa-
dian clock affects natural pest
fighting compounds to come
to a plant’s assistance. It start-
ed with cabbage leaves, and
investigating the plant’s ability to resist attack by cat-
erpillars that feed on its leaves in the field - the very
same enzymes believed to have cancer fighting benefits.
This crossover benefit thing isn’t unique to cabbage. A
lot of the different antioxidants and disease fighting ele-
ments in fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs are part of
their built-in pest, disease and stress resistance mecha-
nisms.
They tested average store produce that’s been picked,
shipped, and stored. The researchers discovered that
cabbage, lettuce, sweet potatoes, blueberries, and
more... all respond to light. Too many light or dark
hours reduces resistance production, as does constant
light, or constant dark. They found that late in the day
on a 12 hour light/12 hour dark schedule, resistance
was twice as strong.
You might want to stop shopping for fresh food at 24-
hour stores - there is no night cycle there. Maybe we
should add a light cycle to the produce drawer in the
refrigerator. The light is only on when you open the
door. 3
“YOU MIGHT WANT TO STOP SHOPPING
FOR FRESH FOOD AT 24-HOUR STORES”
An amazing new discovery reveals that fruits and
vegetables continue functioning after the harvest.
Fresh foods are still alive. They know what time
it is and perform certain behaviors, like increas-
ing beneficial compounds according to hours
of light received. Your food still follows day and
night cycles. It could be at its healthiest best right
before dusk in their current daylength cycle.
“Fresh foods are still alive”
your salad tracks time!
FRESH FOOD I GARDEN CULTURE
GARDENCULTURE.NET 25
Some say this micro tomato
forest thing is due to cold
storage. Others say it isn’t un-
common. Huh? Where did the
natural germina-
tion inhibitors go?
Stranger still, to-
matoes picked be-
fore perfect ripe-
ness don’t have
viable seeds. Mature tomato
seeds do not germinate with-
out fermenting. Most of these hyperactive tomato own-
ers state that the fruit wasn’t rotten. Some were freshly
purchased, and furthermore, store-bought tomatoes are
picked unripe.
Freaky Tomatoes
In almost every case, the tomatoes were store-bought.
One woman found the seeds inside a cherry tomato all
germinated. She planted one in a pot out of curiosity. The
thing grew 10 individual main stems!
I had this happen with homegrown tomatoes a couple of
years ago. There was no cold storage. The fresh picked
tomatoes got tossed within days. Others gardeners have
had this happen too, but not with heirloom varieties to my
knowledge.
Are they Frankenmatoes with fish or frog genes in them?
Nope. Sources report transgenic GE tomato varieties are
history. In fact, no new GE tomatoes have been released
since 2000 due to regulation difficulties, among other com-
plexities. It does have to do with genetics... and mutants.
A number of hybridized crops suffer from this precocious
What’s up with the fruit here? A tomato is not supposed to sprout plants. Totally abnormal, and not
some isolated oddity. The earliest report found of buying tomatoes filled with germinating seeds is 2003.
More and more people are talking about this, and sharing bizarre tomato images. Suspicions of genetically
basil and a strawberry. The new lids allow me to have 1, 2
or 4 plants per container. Most things are doing amazing,
but not the sweet pea and coriander. Not sure why, maybe
they don’t enjoy the constant supply of water. I trimmed
the roots above the waterline, they are starting to look
better. The sweet pea didn’t make it, my first casualty. I
don’t blame myself, peas don’t like DWC apparently,
neither do the cucumbers.
Autopots
My first experience with this type of water system was
about 8 years ago. I loved it then, and I think I can appreciate
it more now. For simplicity of use and set-up the Autopot
system is hard to beat. It is a perfect system for a new
gardener.
GARDENCULTURE.NET 73
ERIC’S GARDEN I GARDEN CULTURE
GARDENCULTURE.NET 75
PlantsNFT 6 Kale, 1 Basil, 1 Cucumber,
1 Tomato, 2 Lettuce
Vertical Garden 3 Kale, 1 Basil, 1 Rosemary,
2 Parsley, 1 Sweet Pepper
DWC 1 Kale, 1 Basil, 1 Cilantro,
1 Strawberry, 4 Lettuce,
1 Sweet Pepper, 1 Tomato
Autopots 2 Cucumber, 8 Carrots,
3 Sweet Pea, and lots
more Strawberries.
I am writing this in a plane on my way to Santa Rosa,
knowing that everything is growing and happy. My kids
will sneak in to eat my lettuce and basil when I’m gone,
and that gives me the biggest smile. I honestly love my
garden, and can’t imagine life without it. If you think
this is weird, it’s because you have never had a farm in
your spare room, or harvested supper in your basement
when it is -4ºF outside. Gardening is the best therapy,
and eating fresh food that I grew is priceless. The word
is spreading about food issues and our collective health,
be part of the growing revolution, and grow your own
too. 3
I honestly love my garden, and can’t imagine
life without it
76
BY MARISA KAY RICHTER
everyday, three times a day, you need a farmer
The Government,
I recently ran across this quote, and I found it very
thought-provoking.
“My grandfather used to say that once in your life you
need a doctor, a lawyer, a politician, and a preacher,
but everyday, three times a day, you need a farmer.”
-- Brenda Schoepp
Now I’ve certainly needed a doctor and a lawyer on
more than one occasion in my life, but true enough,
only once did I ever require assistance from a
preacher after vacationing in the darker parts of New
Orleans, where upon curiosity had gotten the better
of me, and I consequently required an exorcism. Hey,
it could happen to anybody right?
GARDENCULTURE.NET 77
When did we stop caring where our food comes from?
FOOD POLITICS I GARDEN CULTURE
small family farms sink
beneath the waves of new
legislation
It was that farmer that really got me thinking. When did we
have the paradigm shift from relying on small local farms and
ourselves to feed the community to depending upon brands
like Kellogg’s and Chef Boyardee to fulfill our nutritional
needs? When did we stop caring where our food comes from,
or what’s in it, and start trusting organizations like the FDA,
CFIA, and the HPFB implicitly with our health and safety?
The long-standing North American tradition of family farms is
rapidly disappearing. Food prices have sharply risen, but sadly
farmers’ salaries have only shrunk in recent years, and this is
partly because the government sometimes sets what price the
farmers fetch for their products. Taxes
and cost to produce are now so high
that small-scale farmers say they just
aren’t able to turn a reasonable profit
anymore. Most urge their children to
do something else with their lives in the
pursuit of a brighter future.
As these small family farms sink
beneath the waves of new legislation,
the government stands to take advantage of the newly created
investment opportunity in distressed farm real estate. Similar
scenarios are playing out in South Africa with some referring
to it all as an epic land grab.
The U.N.’s Agenda 21 policies signed by George H.W.
Bush in the 1970s became official in 1992 at the Earth
Summit conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ‘Sustainable
Development’ only sounds like a positive thing, until you start
looking at the companies pushing it, and actually take the time
to READ it. The major backers and contributors credits is a
Who’s Who list of international mega corporations; Deutsche
Bank, DuPont, Monsanto, Coca-Cola, Shell, Dow Chemical,
PepsiCo, and a host of other companies.
Agenda 21 outlines the control of all land, water, minerals,
construction, plants, animals, energy, information, and
production delivering it into the hands of an elite group of
people who have a far better understanding of how to manage
such projects than you, me, or the current owners of those
things. What could go wrong?
Bush later retracted his signature, relieving the US of the
obligations, but the bill was continued by Clinton, and it’s
referred to as “soft law” - meaning it wasn’t voted on by
Congress. More international law than domestic, the agenda’s
status is rapidly changing. ICLET, an agency that few have even
heard of, handled implementation of Agenda 21.
Some of these current soft-laws-gone-hard are making it very
difficult for small farms. New child labor laws proposed by
the Department Of Labor make it
harder for families to compete with
factory farms backed by the biotech
industry. Many farming communities
claim that this is intentional.
In the past, family farming was well, a
family affair from young to old. Now
children growing up on the farm
are greatly restricted on how many
hours they can work, as well as what jobs they can perform,
including driving a tractor or running equipment - all of which
farm kids have used for generations.
The DOT has also recently made a move to turn all farming
equipment into commercial motor vehicles, which require a
$124 commercial operator’s license equivalent to the driver of
a Mack truck. Additionally, they will need to invest thousands
of dollars in safety courses - just to drive a tractor on your own
land! Naturally, stricter regulations equal more limitations on
earning power, and adds new taxation. The barrier to entry
continues to grow.
Shortly after the arrival of Agenda 21, new bills surfaced
threatening the old ways of family farming, while solidifying
the new policies and ways of factory farming. Most of them
introduced under the guise of safety, because it’s hard to argue
that safety is not a good thing.
The Government,
Acronym IdentificationFDA: US Food & Drug AdministrationCFIA: Canadian Food Inspection AgencyHPFB: Canada Health Products & Food BranchICLET: International Council of Local Environmental InitiativesDOT: US Department of TransportationFSMA: US FDA Food Safety Modernization ActHFCS: High Fructose Corn Syrup
GARDENCULTURE.NET 79
FOOD POLITICS I GARDEN CULTURE
Stop helping them succeed
More overtly sinister is the Farmer Assurance Provision,
section 375, of the U.S. HR 933 Bill passed in 2013 (a.k.a.
The Monsanto Protection Act). It was controversial and
widely unpopular running for only a short 6 months against
strong opposition from numerous food activist groups. But
it provided some much-needed coverage to companies
like Monsanto that were getting pounded with lawsuits for
releasing GMOs without proper research of long-term effects
on the environment and human health, allowing them to
continue developing, selling, and planting their creations.
Next, Senate Bill S510 was so
controversial that despite it passing
unanimously, was rapidly dismantled
after the fact for various reasons.
Eventually it was re-written as the
Food Safety Modernization Act, and
passed into law by President Obama
in 2012. It will be the final piece
needed to complete the goals of
Agenda 21, and it’s already starting to
go into effect. It gives more power to
the FDA, Department of Homeland
Security, and factory farms - while it
buries small non-corporate farms in
new taxes, penalties, and regulations.
Some of the more scary bits included in S510, which have
transferred over to the FSMA , is the slaughter of livestock
without proof of disease. As in senseless herd destruction.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet much of the current
civil unrest revolves around rice in Thailand. In the past, the
Thais set the standard for high quality rice as the leading
exporters in the world. Thai Jasmine rice, once coveted as
the best one could buy for its aromatic flavor, has now been
downgraded to buyer beware status. So what happened?
The government came up with the strategy to buy all rice
from the farmers, keeping them out of the merchant end
of the business, thus allowing farmers to focus on growing
the worlds finest rice. Sound good? It always does, or they
wouldn’t get away with it, but it’s known as “The Rice Buying
Scheme” now. They stockpiled the rice in warehouses where
most of it still sits rotting today. Why? The price wasn’t high
enough. Farmers haven’t been paid, and the situation may yet
lead to open revolution.
Whenever the government gets involved in picking winners
and losers in the marketplace, the market collapses, time and
time again.
With so much government intervention and new safety rules,
shouldn’t our food be getting better, be healthier, and the jobs
of farmers easier, and more productive? It certainly seems like
we would see this result, but unfortunately things are quite
the opposite.
So how do we fight back? First and foremost, grow as much
of your own food as you can. Secondly,
change your buying habits.
Your money and buying patterns are
powerful, never forget that. You can
starve the beast. Whenever possible
support local farms and farmers
markets, but more importantly, stop
supporting the mega corporations
known for synthetic food pedaling.
Forget about fat, calories, and sugar.
Focus on eliminating GMOs, HFCS,
synthetic sweeteners, synthetic
hormones, and pesticides from your diet.
These possibly pose a far larger threat to
human health than just being overweight.
Stop counting calories, and start counting chemicals.
Don’t be fooled by food labeled “All Natural” - you still need
to inspect the ingredients. GMO’s can still be in there. The
FDA considers them as being all natural.
Remember that mega corporations like McDonald’s and
Monsanto use prison labor, and receive government subsidies
and bailouts. So no matter how big a hurry you are in, no
matter how hungry you are, don’t buy it! Learn which
companies donated millions to fight against your right to know
what’s in your food through new labeling laws in America.
Some seem to think that organic is a new concept, it’s not.
Everyone ate organic before the end of World War II.
Organic isn’t about getting something more, it’s about getting
something less. Less synthetics and chemicals. Less newfangled
farming technologies that the multinational biotech industry
has to offer you.
Stop helping them succeed. Help yourself to real food instead. 3
grow as much of your own food as you can
2 T h i n g s M o n e y C a n ’ t B u y1) True Love
2) Homegrown Tomatoes
Green SauceNot just for enchiladas! A variety of cuisines around the
world have a traditional Green Sauce, but only Mexico’s
Salsa Verde doesn’t contain parsley, and is based on a
fruit. Everywhere else the condiment focuses on herbs
with parsley playing a starring role.
In Italy green sauce is also called Salsa Verde, in France
they call it Sauce Verde, in Germany it’s Grube Soße or
Grie Soß, and in Argentina they refer to it as Chimicurri.
Brain FoodYour brain requires about 20% of the oxygen you take in,
and the calories you consume to function, yet it makes up
only 2% of your entire body.
Best foods to boost brain power like function and memory?
Blueberries, pomegranate, avocados,
freshly brewed tea, wild fish,
nuts and seeds, beans,
whole grains, and dark
chocolate.
SHORTIES I GARDEN CULTURE
The worst thing to do to fresh fruits and vegetables is
boiling them in water. You might as well eat the canned
version from the store, because you’ve lost all the
good stuff - including flavor.
They say that stir-frying preserves phytochemicals and
nutrients, but unless you’re using peanut oil you are
still destroying most of the important vitamins and
phytos. Steaming is the only way to cook fresh pro-
duce, and preserve as much of these vital healthy as-
pects as possible.
What about the microwave? That depends. Are you
boiling the food or steaming it? The same thing hap-
pens here as on the stove. The studies that report
that microwave cooking destroys all the phytonutri-
ents and vitamins are actually boiling the food in a
lot of water. This isn’t necessary. Anything that con-
tains moisture and covered tightly in the microwave
steams. Don’t use plastic wrap. Don’t use anything
vented as a ‘lid’. Cover the bowl with wax paper held
in place with a rubber band, or buy a glass or hard
plastic dome. Add a little butter or 1-2 teaspoons of
water to keep moisture levels good during cooking.
You could also invest in a microwave steamer. (web-
md.com/food-recipes/features/get-your-microwave-
cooking)
Naturally, sous vide cooking beats all of the above in
preserving phytos and all other water-soluble nutri-
ents. If you don’t have one, use the best options from
above.
PH-80 COM-80
B e s t F r e s h C o o k i n g M e t h o d ?
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2
Plants Are Math ExpertsNot simple stuff like addition
and subtraction. We’re talking complicated
equations - tricky formulas they can adjust at
a moment’s notice. Plants use stored starches
from daylight hours throughout the night to
grow. However, they never run short and until very re-
cently it was unknown how they made this happen.
Plants can measure the amount of stored food in their cells
and actually ration it out over the hours between sunset and
dawn. They figure out the rate of consuming the rations by
complex division. Every morning at dawn only about 5% of
stored starches remain unconsumed.
Researchers have studied this. They made nights longer and
shorter trying to trip them up. The plants still made sure they
didn’t run out. Lights were even turned on in the middle of the
night. Plants just adjust their rate of processing stored food
instantly to match the new situation.
Plants Are SocialThis isn’t some far out fringe idea. Plants have a secret
social life. Research not only shows that plants com-
municate with each other, but they have a high vocabulary of
various signals. They respond to
the messages and meet the situ-
ation by changing their behavior
to fit whatever is going on.
What are they telling each oth-
er? They send out alerts about
bad bugs or disease moving in,
changes in the environment, and
more. They report discomfort
and pain, communicate condi-
tions both above and below
ground, and combat competing neighbors in a unified effort.
How do they talk among themselves? Chemicals, physical
contact, and light emissions, or altered wavelength reflection.
Makes you wonder if there are concerns about the noise level