ORGANIC GARDENING

By CORALIE DARSEY-MALLOY

The fairest thing in nature, a flower…
still has its roots in earth and manure.

--D.H. LAURANCE


I have been "thinking green" for most of my adult life.

I started gardening as a school project around the age of ten and have always grown my fruit, vegetables, annual and perennial plants without using harmful pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers.

Organic gardening focuses on the health and feeding of the soil and companion planting. This way, the organic gardener can create a mini "eco-system" that will maintain a healthy balance. I have managed to do that in small and large ways – from growing plants within the limited space of an apartment balcony, to expansive gardens when my husband and I lived on an acreage.

Getting Started

When starting any garden it is important to think of the growing medium first. Always begin with the cleanest ground possible, meaning the least weeds. The cleaner it is from the beginning, the easier it will be to control future weeds. The only weed killer we've used is a recipe we found on the Internet: 4 cups vinegar, 1/4 cup salt and 2 tablespoons liquid detergent. This is good sprayed on pathways or on individual weeds. The most natural way to control weeds is by physically removing them and using preventative measures.

These tips will help you to eradicate most weeds:

Dig the entire plot, removing as many weeds and roots as possible.

Avoid putting the removed weeds (including perennials that you don't want growing unchecked) in the compost bin. They should be discarded because they will "multiply like weeds."

Another possibility is to put a tarp over an area early in the spring so that any emerging weeds become light deprived and die. Remove the tarp when you're ready to dig.

Remove any new weeds as soon as you see them.

Never let weeds flower.

Arrange plants in close enough proximity to allow room for growth, but not so far apart that weeds can take hold.

Mulching is an effective way to prevent weed growth. By blocking light, you kill them off before they have a chance to take hold.

Black plastic is by far the most effective method for preventing weeds. You can cover the entire area with plastic and cut slits where you will be planting, or place strips between established rows. The plastic will need to be anchored to prevent it blowing away. You can also place it under pathways before adding shale, gravel, stepping stones etc.

Paper can be used in the same way as plastic but it can be dug into the soil after harvesting.

Bark and crushed rock is well suited for use in ornamental gardens where plastic or paper would be unattractive.

Raked leaves and grass clippings are good mulch or they can be put in the compost pile.

When planting a new shrub or perennial in the spring or fall, it's good to add mulch around the root ball.

In the fall, you can add mulch around the base of overwintering plants for extra protection.

For those with smaller plots or who wish to try their hand at organic gardening in container pots, the importance of starting with proper soil cannot be overstated. Keep in mind that soils must contain sufficient plant nutrients but also retain air and moisture when packed into a pot. Read labels before purchasing if organic gardening is your goal. Worm compost, manure, peat, straw and shredded bark are all organic additions. For those who are adventurous and would like to make home-made potting soil I have included a couple of recipes. Ingredients are available at most major gardening outlets.

Recipe 1
1 part loam (roughly equal parts sand, silt and clay)
2 parts compost
1 part fine grade bark, leaves or peat moss

Recipe 2
4 parts topsoil
2 parts fine grade bark, leaves or peat moss
Plus for every 12 gallons of mixture, add 1 cup seaweed meal, 1/2 cup bone meal and 1/4 cup limestone.

Compost

By now most gardeners understand the importance of composting. This decayed vegetable matter is like "black gold" for nourishing the soil. It can be made in a compost heap, wood bin or commercially purchased container in a variety of sizes. Well-matured compost is dark brown, crumbly and pleasant to handle but even rougher compost is still useful. Grass clippings, comfrey, nettles and seaweed are great au naturel activators to get your compost "cooking." Also check garden outlets for compost worms to help with aeration.

Green Approach to Pest Problems

One of the most gentle approaches to keeping pests from your plants is to create barriers. Ordinary garden netting can keep birds, cats and dogs away from your prized plants. Barriers made from 1/2 inch mesh obstruct pests such as flea beetles, aphids, carrot and cabbage root flies. Cabbage root fly barriers can be made by fitting squares of carpet underlay closely around stems at ground level. Homemade bottle cloches can protect young plants from slugs or you can use sharp barriers such as rings of crushed egg shells. It is important to put any of these barriers up before the pests arrive. Otherwise you may actually make the problem worse by trapping them inside.

Or you can do as we do: plant fruit trees and provide water sources for birds which are natural predators even though some view them as pests in the garden. However, we have found that a healthy population of birds can help control insect pests including slugs and snails.

Although birds such as robins, starlings and blackbirds also feed on beneficial earthworms, when the soil is rich and aerated, there are enough worms for everybody! Our approach has been to provide fresh water where birds can drink and bathe either in birdbaths or from our water ponds that have circulating pumps. Birds are drawn to the sound of trickling water.

To encourage birds in our garden, we also have a variety of plants and shrubs with seed heads, berries, dense foliage cover and nest boxes under our eaves. Make sure those boxes are not in direct sunlight and are protected from wind, excessive heat and cold. Because we are bird lovers, we usually feed them in the winter as well.

It is important to bear in mind that birds do eat seeds and some fruit and flowers. To protect vulnerable plants use some sort of barrier or bird "scarer." Bush and cane fruit (blackberries) can be particular favorites and are best planted in a fruit cage.

Creating a safe habitat for bats is another wonderful way to attract them into your garden. They are a harmless mammal that eats many flying insect pests. If you build bat boxes, they will come, even though it may take a couple of years.

Pollinating butterflies are another important addition to the organic garden. However, the larvae of a few species, notably the large and small white butterflies (which become cabbage worms) are considered pests of the brassica family: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, mustard and canola. However, we have found that even with this troublesome minority, we do all we can to encourage butterflies by choosing plants that are rich in nectar, such as the butterfly bush, woodruff, candytuft, scabious, marjoram and lavender. It is important to provide food plants for their caterpillar young. Both the red admiral and peacock larvae feed on nettles and milkweed.

To keep the mosquito population down, we change the bird bath water daily and remove all standing water. We have three rain barrels and the collected water is either used or stirred frequently to prevent the larvae turning into the biting little pests that they are. We also plant citronella in container pots close to where we sit and burn citronella candles in the evening.

Companion Planting

This concept of combining plants that either assist each other to grow well, repel insects and even repel other plants is not a new idea. It has fascinated people for centuries and is gaining new popularity as concerns for the environment continue to grow.

It is both the root secretions and the odours of individual and massed plantings that repel and attract. Be sure to consider how much time is needed for the process to be effective. For example, marigolds should be grown for at least one full season to help control nematodes (microscopic nuisances in the soil).

Speaking of nematodes, they are discouraged by soils rich in organic matter. Also take note that asparagus is a natural nematicide. It protects tomatoes grown nearby while the tomatoes, in turn, protect the asparagus from the asparagus beetle.

For further information, browse the Internet with key words like "organic gardening," "companion gardening" and "composting." The book Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening by Louise Riotte is another excellent source of inspiration.

Earth laughs in flowers.

--RALPH WALDO EMERSON


This article was originally published in my column Perspectives on Healthy Living in the spring 2008 (Volume 15—Issue 1) of The Aquarian, (http://www.aquarianonline.com/). Permission has been received by publisher Jan Whitley to post articles from The Aquarian on my blog.

The Aquarian is a forum for shedding light on the path to personal fulfillment and the common good. It is published quarterly the first week of March, June, September and December. Annual subscriptions to anywhere in Canada or the U.S. can be had by sending a cheque or money order for $12.00 to the Aquarian office. For subscriptions outside North America contact The Aquarian for prices.

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Publisher – Janet Whitley
Editors – Anna Olson and Syd Baumel

A DIFFERENT VIEW OF SOY

The main part of intellectual education is not the acquisition of facts…

But learning how…

To make facts live.

OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, JR.

While researching information for an article on the health promoting benefits of bison meat I discovered some disturbing information about soy products. When friend, Anna Olson, founder and editor of The Aquarian did a book review on The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food by Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN

NewTrends Publishing, Inc., 2005
Hardcover, 440 pages, $41.95

I suggested that she post on my Blog. I have a column in the Aquarian and write articles under the Perspectives on Healthy Living there as well as here. I have received permission to include previously published articles from the Aquarian on blog-spot. As my editor I have great respect for Anna’s commitment to providing a wide variety of healthy, balanced living concepts. In our shared views health conscious individuals need to be aware of the “The Whole Soy Story” so they will be able to make informed choices. I appreciate Anna Olson’s contribution to my site.

A Book Review

The soy industry says soy is a health food; critics say soy has many anti-nutrients and phytoestrogens that hurt our health. Who's right?

Kaayla Daniel, author of The Whole Soy Story, is definitely on the side of the critics. She took five years to detail the history, myths and what she sees as the truth about the West's ill-advised mega appetite for tofu, miso, soy milk, fake meats and the "invisible" soy oil and modified soy products in processed foods.

It was the increased use of soy oil in processed food after World War II that pushed food scientists to develop ways to use the mountains of soymeal left after the oil was extracted. Using heat, pressure and chemicals, they learned to create soy protein isolate, textured vegetable protein and hydrolysed vegetable protein from the de-fatted mass. They also isolated isoflavones and other micronutrients to use as drugs.

Daniel starts with the myth that soy has been eaten in large amounts for a long time in Asia so it must be safe for us to eat lots too. False, she says: soy was grown mainly as a green manure and eaten in small amounts more as a condiment than a staple – especially in China. Japan became a larger consumer of soy products after World War II due to the influence of Western processing methods.

Another myth is that soy is great as a protein substitute for meat, chicken and fish. Vegans and vegetarians have fuelled the growth of "Tofurky," "Chicken Nuggets," fake salami, soyburger, tofu and soymilk – thinking they were helping their health, the environment and saving animal lives. They may be saving animals and the environment, but Daniel cites reams of data to argue there are many ways that immoderate soy consumption could be hurting the veggie idealist's health.

While soy is called a complete protein because it has all eight amino acids, methionine is in short supply. (All beans and grains have at least one amino acid in short supply. This is why traditionally, grains and beans have been eaten together to provide a complete protein.) Animals being fed soy-based diets usually have them spiked with methionine to create a more balanced feed.

Another problem with soy, according to Daniel, is that it contains "allergens, protease inhibitors, phytates and goitrogens, as well as the hormonally active isoflavones." She deals with each one in detail, showing how these antinutrients may be contributing to symptoms of "dry skin, lustreless hair, balding, poor muscle-tone, weight gain, fatigue, brain fog, digestive distress, allergies, immune breakdown, thyroid disfunction, and reproductive disorders."

In an effort to de-activate these antinutrients; improve flavour, texture; and to create concentrated protein products – food processors treat soy with “heat, oxidizing agents (such as hydrogen peroxide), organic solvents (such as hexane), alkalis and acids...” Daniel says these treatments result in lower amino acid bioavailability and protein quality.

In a section called "No rest for the weary pancreas," Daniel describes how the trypsin inhibitors in soy force the pancreas to make more trypsin (an enzyme required to digest protein in the small intestine). "When this occurs only occasionally," Daniel writes, "the pancreas responds to the crisis, rests and recovers." However when soy is eaten daily, the number and size of pancreatic cells increase in response. In animal studies, rapidly growing pancreatic cells are seen to be more vulnerable to becoming cancerous, she says.

Although Daniel is cautious about blaming soy for the rising pancreatic cancer rate, she says, "...the concurrent increase in pancreatic cancer cases alongside pertinent animal studies is suggestive – and sobering."

Plant-based estrogens abundant in soy (called phytoestrogens) are both criticized and praised for their impact on humans, depending on which side of the soy fence you're sitting.

An example of opposite interpretations of the same data is a 1994 study in which six women of childbearing age were given 60 grams of textured vegetable protein (containing 45 mg total isoflavones) per day for 30 days. The women's menstrual cycles lengthened by an average of two and a half days. As well, says Daniel, there were changes to the levels of various hormones which "...are not necessary for life, but are essential for reproduction."

Daniel's conclusion: "These findings clearly show that soyfood consumption can disrupt a woman's cycle and jeopardize her fertility."

The authors of the study, headed by Aedin Cassidy and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, concluded that "...the longer menstrual cycles experienced by the soy-fed women could result in lower lifetime levels of estrogen." They suggested that "...reduction in lifetime estrogen levels is the key to reducing breast cancer risk" – even though, as Daniel points out, this concept is unproven. The media reported that this study showed that soy might prevent breast cancer.

The Whole Soy Story opened my eyes to the extent of the soy controversy. I recommend this book to anyone concerned about the possible negative effects of soy on themselves or their children. Daniel deals extensively with the problems she maintains are caused by infant soy formula and the impact of soy on growing children.

Kaayla Daniel says that if you want some soy in your diet – stick with the less processed forms like tofu, miso, tempeh and edamame. The latter are young soybeans harvested while still green and soft. They contain "lower levels of antinutrients and plant estrogens than adult beans."

If you have health problems and are consuming soy products regularly, consider the possibility that soy may be part of the problem. Read The Whole Soy Story or try abstaining from soy for a couple of weeks to see if that makes a difference.

On a side note, critics of Daniel’s book point out that she is on the board of the Weston A. Price Foundation which promotes a return to the traditional North American diet of meat, chicken, fish, and dairy along with fruit and vegetables.

Anna Olson is editor of The Aquarian, a holistic health quarterly newsmagazine published in Winnipeg, Manitoba.