Second-phase food production is under way as from this week.
Midsummer has passed and many harvests are home or under-way.
This week has seen me clear the tunnel, spread lots of compost afresh on the beds and begin planting for the next phase of crops.
As I cleared the tunnel and collected masses of seeds and seed-heads, I was thinking about the crops I would plant.
Number one on my list is Kale; one of the great foods, especially in juicing.
Regular intake of Kale juice keeps health at a peak.
Soil is the most important aspect of good food.
The food takes up the essential minerals and goodness in the soil and turns these into health-giving good food.
This was a good time to prune the Peach Tree and remove about half of the Nectarines and feed the tree.
I left some of the herbs in place and moved the rest into pots and outside beds.
“The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life. Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life.”
― Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture
“The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.”
― Masanobu Fukuoka, The One-Straw Revolution
“Organic is something we can all partake of and benefit from. When we demand organic, we are demanding poison-free food. We are demanding clean air. We are demanding pure, fresh water. We are demanding soil that is free to do its job and seeds that are free of toxins. We are demanding that our children be protected from harm. We all need to bite the bullet and do what needs to be done—buy organic whenever we can, insist on organic, fight for organic and work to make it the norm. We must make organic the conventional choice and not the exception available only to the rich and educated.”
― Maria Rodale, Organic Manifesto: How Organic Farming Can Heal Our Planet, Feed the World, and Keep Us Safe
All the Poppy heads are now harvested, providing a massive amount of Poppy Seed…great in cooking and baking!
“Someday we shall look back on this dark era of agriculture and shake our heads. How could we have ever believed that it was a good idea to grow our food with poisons?”
― Jane Goodall, Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating
“All the human and animal manure which the world wastes, if returned to the land, instead of being thrown into the sea, would suffice to nourish the world.”
― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
I have a question. I want to become vegan but all research says it is MANDATORY to take vitamin B12 supplements if vegan. I do not want to have a diet, that no matter how well balanced I eat, I must take some kind of pill to be healthy. Are you a vegan or lacto-ovo? If vegan, what is your opinion on B12 supplements?
I have always taken supplements, even before going vegetarian, then vegan.
The following may help you in your quest for supplement-free B12.
Many of the breakfast cereals are also fortified with B12.
Light Plain Soymilk contains (50% DV) of Vitamin B12 per cup.
Yeast Extract Spreads (Marmite)
Yeast extract spreads are popular in Britain and Europe, and have started to gain popularity in the U.S. A good vegan source of protein, the spread also packs a lot of vitamin B12. One hundred grams provides 0.5μg (8% DV) of vitamin B12, that is 0.03μg (1% DV) per teaspoon.
I love the poster that says, “Try organic food, or as your grandparents called it, food”.
It says it all!
Another inspiring day with your post… It really gives me the impetus to work on my garden.
Thank you very much for your efforts.
I so look forward to seeing your posts in my email box. They are like a breath of fresh air to me. Thank you.
thanks Colette, another thought provoking post.
I love your polytunnel. Do you grow all season long in there? I wouldn’t be able to do that here, I don’t think, because it would get too hot. But it would be perfect to keep things that might not survive our winters, like figs.
Yes, Madison, I manage to grow all the year around in the tunnel. It’s good to be able tp pick vegetables in the deep of midwinter.
The first thing that struck me was the beautifully laid floor of your cottage then I simply enjoyed the lovely photos on gardening & was amazed at your knowledge hence my next question…
I planted leek in a pot as I live in an apartment & it has grown seeds, when do I cut the stem to keep the seeds for next year & do I have to wait till the stem has completely dried up… & last but not least, when do I know it’s ready to be picked?
Sorry, it’s not question but questions 😉
The seed of the Leek will form a very elegant and beautiful seed-head. I always leave the heads in place until the plant willingly begins to shed the seed. So, in answer, leave it as long as possible, keeping it reasonably dry.
Thanks! Much appreciation 🙂