Author Archives: Natural Views by Jackie

Grow Your Own

I love to grow my own Organic Gardens:

Do You?

There is no act more gratifying, more basic, more liberating, than to coax food from the Earth. Time and the rhythms of nature become the ultimate template by which to live.

Do it just to know that you can do it,

or do it just to live or,

do it to save money.

Here it is the middle of July and we have been eating peas, radishes, swiss chard, rhubarb,  lettuce, onion tops, sunberries and using dill.

Peas

Sunberries

Rhubarb 2nd Crop

Swiss Chard after the 3rd cutting

Fennel

The tomato plants are doing great, the potatoes are coming into flower, the carrots and beets are looking good as well.

Carrots and a Red Onion just came along as well.

Potatoes

Potatoes grown in a black cloth bag from Back 40 Ranch here in Quesnel.

Rick says its so ugly that it is Beautiful. Tree Tomato

Spazz the Inspector

For the past 2 years in front of our front deck there have been what I call Mini Wild Carnations, I have never planted anything like that and out of the blue they have grown in that spot.

Thomas he is the inside cat! He was so happy to get out on his leash and harness 🙂

Thyme
I love to be able to just go out and get fresh things in our own yard be it at 4 in the morning or 10 at night, I can go in my jammies, and not have to worry about even brushing my hair 🙂
Spazz always joins me and helps to weed, and tie up the tomatoes that are getting so big.
I still have the dill, fennel, 3 Cherry Tomato plants and 1 Sunberry plant still in the green house. I had to move the other 14 tomato plants out they were getting way to big and I ran out of room on the ground for them. 
This is my quite time, when I water and weed the gardens.
 Just like when I cut the grass it is 4 hours of no phone, no one bugging me but the bugs.
Oh yeah Spazz usually brings a mouse or two to show me that she is a great hunter.
Until next time happy Organic Gardening!! 🙂

In the Works

I am in the process of putting together places all across Canada that you can buy Organic, Heirloom Seeds, Organic plants, trees, Places you can buy Local Honey, Organic Chicken, Beef, Pork, Lamb and so on. So if you know of anywhere that in your area that sells this kind of stuff.

Please let me know as it is a huge project. I have found a lot of places so far but I know that there is a lot more out there as well.

 So together we can come up with the most comprehensive list of all time.

Have a wonderful day and I look forward to hearing from all of you very soon.

Health & Happiness:

Jackie ♥

Organic Gardening

I can’t wait to get at our gardens but there is still at least a foot of snow on them 😦

One of our Gardens is under there

The greenhouse needs some cosmetic work done to it as the high winds we have been having has blown the plastic off the sides of it. Maybe I will be able to scrounge up some old windows this year and make it pretty 😉

But hey I have time to fix it up as it really is not safe to plant anything in the ground here in the Cariboo until at least the long weekend in May 🙂

My goal is to have the tomatoes at least in the green house by the 2nd week in May, and they will stay there until it warms up enough to put them outside, I had great luck last year with the patio tomatoes, when it was warm enough I moved all 20 of them out side, which was mid June. Then when it started to get to cool at nights I moved them back into the green house, We also had a couple of hangers of cherry tomatoes. Which I brought into the house and still had some small ones up to the middle of December. So I will try my luck with that set up again this year. Hey I might even take some out to the Gold Mine and the guys can have fresh tomatoes every day. I will put that on my to do list. I will also plant some more herbs in the green house this year as well like thyme, basil, oregano, parsley. I am sure the list will continue to grow.

Seed Potatoes:

Rick suggested that we keep some of our potatoes from last year and use them for our seeds this year what a wonderful and smart man he is. I hope to get them into the big tubs by the end of May. I dumped all of the soil out of them last fall and mixed in all of the compost and once the snow is gone off of the pile and it starts to thaw some I will mix in the ashes out of the wood stove, as well as put some of the ashes on the other gardens.

Potatoes from last year

What to grow this year?

Well I have always had luck with swiss chard, romaine lettuce, yellow and red onion, green onions, carrots & celery, beets are so so as well as cucumbers and squash as our growing season is so short. Again I still have time to think about it.

Rick wants to dig a surface well this year to make it a bit easier on me for watering, but that involves driving the new 1976 John Deere Excavator across the lawn before it goes out to our Gold Mine, humm well I am still thinking about it as we all know what heavy things do to the lawn when you drive on them when the frost is coming out. Big ruts equals hard to cut the grass 🙂 But I will still get the 6 big 55 gallon barrels out from behind the wood shed this weekend as the rains will start soon and then they will be filling up as I make up my mind always good to have a back up! (Right) I don’t mind carrying all of the water to water the gardens. It is my quiet time and only takes 1/2 hour to an hour to water everything.

Last year in the summer

Last Summer

Summer 2011

As I sit here and dream of our Organic Gardens I look out the window and guess what?

It’s snowing!

I know some of you may be thinking why bother just go to the store and buy your vegetables. Wow if you have never tasted organically grown vegis from your own garden then you are certainly missing out on one of the wonders of the world!

Okay back to work now: Until next time Health & Happiness: Jackie

Seasonal Allergies

Eat Local, Raw & Unpasteurized Honey: Avoid Seasonal Allergies?

As we start to get excited about spring, it’s easy to forget that springs friend and partner-in-crime, spring allergies, are on their way as well. Over-the-counter medications can make you groggier than the allergies themselves, but leaving the hay fever and sneezing alone is just not an option for most. However, there is an all-natural remedy that can make your sneezy, teary spring days an unfortunate memory.

Bee Keeper

What Can I Do?

The remedy is simple, so simple, in fact, that many naysayers believe it to be untrue: Eat local raw, and unpasteurized honey; and avoid all those nasty seasonal allergies!

How Does It Work?

Eating local, raw and unpasteurized honey means that the flower pollens used by local bees to make it is ingested in smaller doses than it would be in the air. By ingesting these pollens regularly, your body becomes accustomed to them, and when the same pollens are present in the air, your body does not react as though they were foreign bodies.

Honey and Lemons

Honeycomb

Be aware: Some people who suffered from seasonal allergies and tried the honey remedy actually had an allergic reaction to the honey. If you’re considering starting a local honey regimen and you’ve never eaten local, raw and unpasteurized honey before, consult with a medical professional first.

Is Organic Healthier?

Organic foods, especially raw or non-processed, contain higher levels of beta carotene, vitamins C, D and E, which are all  health-promoting polyphenols, cancer-fighting antioxidants, flavonoids that help ward off heart disease, essential fatty acids, and essential minerals.

  • On average, organic is 25% more nutritious in terms of vitamins and minerals than products derived from industrial agriculture. Since on the average, organic food’s shelf price is only 20% higher than chemical food, this makes it actually cheaper, gram for gram, than chemical food, even ignoring the astronomical hidden costs (damage to health, climate, environment, and government subsidies) of industrial food production.
  • Levels of antioxidants in milk from organic cattle are between 50% and 80% higher than normal milk. Organic wheat, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, onions and lettuce have between 20% and 40% more nutrients than non-organic foods.
  • Organic food contains qualitatively higher levels of essential minerals (such as calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium), that are severely depleted in chemical foods grown on pesticide and nitrate fertilizer-abused soil.

Is Organic Food  Pure Food and Free of Chemical Additives?

  • Organic food doesn’t contain food additives, flavor enhancers (like MSG), artificial sweeteners (like aspartame and high-fructose corn syrup), contaminants (like mercury) or preservatives (like sodium nitrate), that can cause health problems.
  • Eating organic has the potential to lower the incidence of autism, learning disorders, diabetes, cancer, coronary heart disease, allergies, osteoporosis, migraines, dementia, and hyperactivity.

Is Organic Food Safer?

  • Organic food doesn’t contain pesticides. More than 400 chemical pesticides are routinely used in conventional farming and residues remain on non-organic food even after washing. Children are especially vulnerable to pesticide exposure. One class of pesticides, endocrine disruptors, may be responsible for early puberty and breast cancer. Pesticides are also linked to asthma and cancer.
  • Organic food isn’t genetically modified. Under organic standards, genetically modified (GM) crops and ingredients are prohibited.
  • Organic animals aren’t given drugs. Organic farming standards prohibit the use of antibiotics, growth hormones and genetically modified vaccines in farm animals. Hormone-laced beef and dairy consumption is correlated with increased rates of breast, testis and prostate cancers.
  • Organic animals aren’t fed slaughterhouse waste, blood, or manure. Eating organic reduces the risks of CJD, the human version of mad cow disease, as well as Alzheimer’s.
  • Organic animals aren’t fed arsenic.
  • Organic animals aren’t fed byproducts of corn ethanol production (which increases the rate of E. coli contamination).
  • Organic crops aren’t fertilized with toxic sewage sludge or coal waste, or irrigated with E. coli contaminated sewage water.
  • Organic food isn’t irradiated. Cats fed a diet of irradiated food got multiple sclerosis within 3-4 months.
  • Organic food contains less illness-inducing bacteria. Organic chicken is free of salmonella and has a reduced incidence of campylobacter.

Is Organic Healthier?

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

 Certified Organic Products in Canada:

Products that make an organic claim must be certified by a Certification Body that has been accredited, based upon the recommendation of a CFIA designated Conformity Verification Body. The Certification Body must certify the product to the Canadian Organic Standards. The CFIA is working with Conformity Verification Bodies to accredit Certification Bodies under the Canada Organic Regime.

How do I recognize an organic product?

As of June 30, 2009, any product with an organic claim must comply with the requirements of the Organic Products Regulations.

  • Only products with organic content that is greater than or equal to 95% may be labeled as: “Organic” or bear the organic logo.
  • Multi-ingredient products with 70-95% organic content may have the declaration: “contains x% organic ingredients.” These products may not use the organic logo and/or the claim “Organic”.
  • Multi-ingredient products with less than 70% organic content may only contain organic claims in the product’s ingredient list. These products may not use the organic logo.

Certified organic products must also bear the name of the certification body that has certified the product as organic.

Organic products sold within the province of origin are subject to provincial organic regulations, the Consumer Packaging and Labeling Regulations and the Food and Drug Regulations. The provinces of Quebec and British Columbia have organic certification systems in place, while other provinces are considering developing their own system. Owners of products bearing organic claims are expected to demonstrate that the product is organic. All organic products bearing the organic logo or represented as organic in inter-provincial and international trade must comply with the Organic Products Regulations.

Look for this Logo when buying Organic in Canada

The logo is only permitted on products that have an organic content that is greater than 95% and has been certified according to Canadian requirements for organic products.

Imported products must meet the requirements of the Canada Organic Regime. Should imported products bear the logo, the statement “Product of”, immediately preceding the name of the country of origin, or the statement “Imported from”, must appear in close proximity to the logo or the designations.

Below are links to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency:

             Canadian Food Inspection Agency

What is an organic product?

An organic product is an agricultural product that has been certified as organic. A product can be certified if it is produced using the methods outlined by the Canadian Organic Standards.