Home Farm Produce

Home Farm Produce

We have a small home farm, well, that’s how we think of it. It is more of a teeny tiny carved out section of our suburban yard

Each year we plant tomatoes not only because we like them but also we know that they will grow for us. We planted potatoes because some of our store-bought ones started to sprout and we figured we might as well give them a chance. We planted the bottom of a red-leaf lettuce when I read somewhere that it would grow, and it has; we’ve been enjoying the crispy new leaves in our nightly salads. The zucchini plants have grown high and with the bright yellow flowers, we expect some yummy veggies soon.

Last year we bought a small, thornless blackberry bush. It produced a few berries but most of them went to the birds before they ripened. This year the bush spread out, sending shoots in a wide circle. I haphazardly tossed some netting around them to see if we would get any berries for ourselves this season. Boy, are we getting fruit!

We wrapped screening around the plantings to keep out the squirrels. We (mostly my husband) fertilize the plants with natural products and water them but otherwise we kind of leave them alone. Yes, I talk to them, telling each how much I appreciate its providing us with such beautiful, edible products.

We are delighted with it all, considering we really know not much about farming; we are more improvisers than farmers. But our home farm produce connects us with something larger than ourselves. Each time we bite into a tomato that has come from our own garden, we pay attention – to its flavor, its value. When we pick the berries, we know exactly where they have come from. We are all part of nature. What a joyful thing to experience.

Two sites to help you make your own vegetable garden:

http://www.vegetable-gardening-online.com/making-a-vegetable-garden.html

http://www.gardeners.com/how-to/vegetable-gardening/5069.html?SC=XNET9465

Blackberries and Raspberries – Delicious and Beneficial

Blackberries and Raspberries – Delicious and Beneficial

We planted two new bushes this season. One is a raspberry bush. It is leafing out nicely with flowers and thorns. The other is a blackberry bush, thornless and self-pollinating and also leafy and green. They both are growing nicely despite not being planted in ideal soil. They like sand and we have marl. We modified the soil as much as we could and hope they can adapt. They are in a sunny spot, which is favorable for their growth, and so far they seem to be doing well.

Berries are full of antioxidants, fiber, and Vitamin C, among other beneficial properties. While these particular berries are not on The Dirty Dozen list (those foods that are the most contaminated by pesticides), organic berries have been shown to have more of the health benefits than non-organic berries.

Dr. Andrew Weil partners with Environmental Working Group (EWG). He advocates eating organic produce but acknowledges that it is not always available and frequently is too expensive. He suggests that we choose as much as we can from the safer foods, or at least choose a mixture of the two.

Our berry bushes are organic because we planted them that way. We also shop at local organic farmstands when possible. I am glad to see that some of the larger supermarkets are including organic fruits and vegetables now as the demand increases. How we shop determines what we can buy. Let’s make our preferences for healthy food known. 

Nutrition facts for blackberries:

http://wiki-fitness.com/health-benefits-of-blackberries-nutrition/

Nutrition facts for raspberries:

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/raspberry.html

The Dirty Dozen:

http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214

Dr, Weil chats about EWG’s guide:

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/VDR00022/Dr-Weil-EWG-Shoppers-Guide-to-Pesticides.html