Take your time....

....Chances are that you won't be one of the affected.
EPA Bans Use of A Pesticide That's Been in Use Since 1970

The EPA has changed its mind on the safety a widely-used pesticide, aldicarb, and its manufacturer, Bayer, has agreed stop using it. Eventually.
Registered in 1970 for use on cotton, according to the Wall Street Journal, the chemical has been used for years on potatoes, soybeans, peanuts, cotton, tobacco, citrus fruits, sugarcane and other crops, but the EPA now says aldicarb "no longer meets our rigorous food safety standards and may pose unacceptable dietary risks," especially to young children.
The agency's change of heart is based on a new study of the chemical, even though 25 years ago, as Scientific American points out, aldicarb sickened more than 2,000 people who ate California watermelons.
So now, the EPA says, Bayer has agreed to stop using aldicarb first on citrus fruits and potatoes, it will "voluntarily" phase out production by the end of 2014, and "all remaining aldicarb uses will end no later than August 2018."
The EPA will also revoke its rules on how much of the pesticide is allowed in foods, "to ensure we have the safest food supply possible." However, aldicarb "will continue to be registered for use on cotton, dry beans, peanuts, soybeans, sugar beets, and sweet potatoes."

 Wait a doggone minute there.  I always thought soybeans, peanuts and sweet potatoes  were food.  I guess the EPA doesn't really care about the safety of those items.  Anyways, it is only 4 to 8 years of use left - a few sick folks will be clearly outweighed by Bayer profit.

Gardening with nature in mind

Image by London Permaculture via FlickrMimicking Nature to Feed the Masses

The second method is permaculture gardening, which is an interdependent system where a large variety of complimentary plants are strategically located for the benefit of the entire garden. This design system is brilliant for urban micro-farms, kitchen gardens, self-sufficient homesteads, and even large scale family farming. The philosophy of permaculture gardening is to recreate nature in a profound way to produce chemical-free food.
Permaculture works something like this; you design an entire edible habitat based on the natural capital of your setting. Then, place plants to methodically balance the soil, water, and pests. For instance, a nitrogen fixing plant may be planted next to a nitrogen hungry plant, which may sit next to an ornamental that deters predators, and so on. Permaculture is also a closed circle philosophy where all resources are optimized though conservation and recycling. The immense food yields per acre are astonishing when using permaculture methods and the results are also drawing many newcomers.
Many homesteaders have utilized these techniques for years before Bill Mollison coined the term “permaculture”in the 80s. However since then, the definition of permaculture has grown to encompass sustainable design systems for all aspects of our existence – agriculture, water, housing, business, community, and wellness.
Now that conventional agriculture methods that depend on cheap infinite oil are proving to be unsustainable at best, permaculture’s popularity is exploding. Numerous businesses, institutes, courses, and internships are popping up to spread nature’s gospel.
Learning about these methods has given me new-found optimism about living in a sustainable way as humanity progresses. These techniques can truly provide a future of what has been previously called an oxymoron – Sustainable Abundance.

Sustainable Abundance - love that term.  No harm gardening.

One word - WOW!

A Michigan Teen Farms Her Backyard

Lawn mowing and baby-sitting are standard summer jobs for the enterprising teenager. Alexandra Reau, who is 14, combines a little bit of each: last year, she asked her dad to dig up a half acre of their lawn in rural Petersburg, Mich., so she could farm. Now in its second season, her Garden to Go C.S.A. (community-supported agriculture) grows for 14 members, who pay $100 to $175 for two months of just-picked vegetables and herbs. While her peers are hanging out at Molly’s Mystic Freeze and working out the moves to that Miley Cyrus video, she’s flicking potato-beetle larvae off of leaves in her V-neck T-shirt and denim capris, a barrette keeping her hair out of her demurely made-up eyes. Who says the face of American farming is a 57-year-old man with a John Deere cap?

“Let’s see,” says Reau, a quiet honor student who’s a little taken aback to find a New Yorker in giant sunglasses asking her questions in the plot next to her tidy white-brick ranch house on a June afternoon. “Those are carrots, spinach, beets, kale, watermelon, squash, zucchini, peppers, lots of tomatoes . . . um . . . corn, radishes, lettuce, beans, onions, garlic.”

“’Cause I used to be, like, really shy and quiet. And I’m just more talkative now.” Farming has also taught her patience. “It’s a continual process,” she says, sighing. “You have to keep working at it, and you can’t just stop.”

Quite impressive. While her friends are swooning to Justin Bieber's photo she is learning about life. A garden is a perfect classroom - should be one at every school - and every home.

Think small

Farmers to DOJ -- "Break up Big Ag"

While farmers were the star of the show at last Friday's antitrust hearing in Ankeny, Iowa, the debate over the monopolization of farming is one where all of our interests are squarely at stake.


Anyone who eats and has a brain should be downright terrified that just a few giant businesses control the vast majority of food available to us as consumers. Perhaps that explains why more than 15,000 people submitted comments in anticipation of the hearings - four more of which are scheduled this year as a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.


Patrick Woodall, a research director for Food and Water Watch, and a panelist at the hearings said, "At the end of the day, farmers and activists could speak truth to power and delivered a tough message to the regulators that action was long overdue, it was time to bust the agribusiness trusts and level the playing field for farmers and consumers. Many audience members, like Marcia Ishii-Eiteman from Pesticide Action Network North America, also challenged the reliance on agrochemical inputs and the false hope of genetically modified crops."


U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said, "This is not just about farmers and ranchers. It's really about the survival of rural America."


He's right, of course, but that's not just some romantic Rockwellesque notion; almost anyone who eats depends on a shrinking number of farmers struggling at the other end of our fork. If they disappear, our freedom to eat what we choose will vanish as well.

Support your local farmer....your local farmer's market...grow your own.

Garden Plans

Image via Wikipedia

The big question of what to add to the garden? Lentils, amaranth, barley, quinoa...? So many choices but at least some good guides from Heirloom Organics. So which crop to add?

Right now I think lentils. But of course that may change. Maybe grow a little of each this year to see which grow the best.

Say No to GMO

Image via Wikipedia

Speak Out on Genetically Engineered Alfalfa

In 2006, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) sued the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its illegal approval of Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa. USDA failed to conduct an environmental impact statement (EIS) before deregulating the crop. An EIS is a rigorous analysis of the potential significant impacts of a federal decision. The federal courts sided with CFS and banned GE alfalfa until the USDA fully analyzed the impacts of the GE plant on the environment, farmers, and the public in an EIS. They released a draft EIS on December 14, 2009. Draft EIS | Supplemental documents
It appears USDA again intends to deregulate GE alfalfa without any limitations or protections for farmers, consumers or the environment. In the new EIS, the USDA has completely dismissed the fact that GE contamination will threaten export and domestic markets and organic meat and dairy products. And, incredibly, USDA is claiming that there is no evidence that consumers care about GE contamination of organic. We know that's not true.
Your Participation is Critical! Take Action by February 16
A 60-day comment period is now open until February 16, 2010. This is the first time the USDA has done this analysis for any GE crop, so the final decision will have broad implications for all GE crops. The failure of the agency to address the impacts of GE alfalfa will have far-reaching consequences for farmers and organic consumers. Let's not be Monsanto's guinea pigs!

Whether you call it GMO or GE - not for me. It is amazing how GMO/GE are creeping their way into our food stream and even our own gardens through seed companies. A little scary? No, a big scary!