Alternative Community Farmer/WPB.FL

Florida has just experienced another threat of a tropical storm :Irene.It was projected to be a category 4 Hurricane and it  did not happen !

It ended up heading towards the Carolinas.

Fear and ignorance are the MAIN  negative emotions that keep us away from reaching out to fulfil our goals.Succumbing and giving in to the bad habits of: Stereotyping,hearsay,rumors,he said she said eyc type of "RATIONAL" leads us to same destination of NO WHERE!

So for those who have  phobias , fed by watching TV and reading main stream media news , it is time to break that indoor static oppsessive and OBESIVE habit and head outdoors! It is about time since procrastinating for so long about growing your own food in the tropics of S.Florida !

If I could do  it,so can you!

I say:Flush out your fears first!Then replace your ignorance with AWARENESS organic gardening classes!Here is one class for those who love FREE stuff:

Composting class offered on September 10th at Lake Worth.Where the TROPICS BEGIN!More details at my web link below!

Taking a class on growing your own food even if you have no backyard garden is an important step to come close to your goal of URBAN FARMING.

The Options:

If you live in an apartment or studio :Small space productive gardening in S.Florida might be an alternative to choose instead of buying your expensive organic produce .If you lose your job or home and get evicted , then you may salvage your container garden and take it with you!

Growing herbs and vegetables in containers suits the Home of the Hurricanes state.You can move your container garden to safety if a Hurricane hits!

There are so many ways and places   to garden even if you do not have access for a garden.Here are some options:Your patio,balcony,door entrance,kitchen ,roof top  or at a  community garden near by .I have done so  for the last twenty years and I had lots of food  without even owning a property!

For the small space :You can use trellis,hanging baskets,pots as a portable garden medium.

The challenges:

Lack of organic gardening awareness is the most common challenge especially for new comers to S,.Florida.Take a class on organic gardening and dispel the challenge.The tropical heat,humidity,mosquitos and pests etc  are another challenge from Mother Nature.I can teach you how to deal with them , and turn the Lemon into Lemonade!

The possibilities:

Growing your own food is a possibility if you choose to convert the challenges into a solution for your health and financial issues.Can not afford the expensive organic  produce anymore?Try to grow them,  even in your limited space area.I can teach you how this coming Saturday.Be open.Be patient.Be positive!

More details about my classes :Read Natural Awakening PBC Magazine or visit my  below web @:

http//:www.localharvest.org/farms/M20618

I have contributed in growing and teaching organic gardening at seven community gardens for the last twenty years .I remember growing organic crops at a community garden land owned by a S.Florida city for 9 years .More than forty families had plots and contributed in transforming the  neglected minority neighborhood and crime infested city plot into a flourishing /organic FERTILE soil enriched  community garden.It  was later on turned into a LAND FILL LOT by the city.In a TWEEK quick WIMP decision ,they cancelled the TOIL of a decade of farming /labor / fertile soil building /for   a dumping site  land fill!

Here is another similar situation to take lesson from and it is just happening right now.Another city is trying to destroy another fertile farm land to build on it a football field:

http://www.savenicksorganicfarm.org/

THIS IS HAPPENING WHILE WE ARE LOSING OUR JOBS,HOMES AND FERTILE FARMS LAND ..JUST FOR THE SAKE OF "BUSINESS AS USUAL"!

Woonder why most of your family ,friends ,work colleagues and acquaintances etc are hating and halting their love more than ever you could remember?

Here are some FINANCIAL reasons why we are stressed out best portrayed in the below :

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/stress

I personally found this solution way back before the deep financial meltdown and debt default debate.I went through the whole process of stress when I lost my job with a multi national multi billlion Hi-Tech corporation.

Now it is your turn to feel the heat of the multi faceted melt down , so you needed to understand why it is happening to you next?

The solution lies in the garden and the farm.Troubled  mind , mental distress ,incessant greed and other negative emotions cease as you switch off all the gadgets ,you stop running after numbers and papers and doing things.Stop , to smell the roses or the herbs if you can not afford roses!Just halt..take deep breath and go outdoors to experience garden therapy!

Gardening was the solution back in the previous depression not just to fill our stomach with much needed and scarce food, but to employ our unemployed hands and empty our heads of anxiety pranks , fears and stress related degenerations ..

Read the news papers and the STRESS level goes up skyrocketing ...So ,try something else other than the pills that just are  numbing your nerves for now..Try gardening..and see for yourself..Touch the soil and your spirit and soul will be  uplifted without the need for intoxicating "spirits" or the never ending verbal profanity barrages!!

Need more convincing scientific proof? Here we go:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Gardening-is-Good-Therapy&id=45003

Happy Gardening therapy!

"To make and learn from a mistake is HUMAN.To forgive those who err and make a mistake is Divine.Humans who are Earth Keepers and MEEK dwellers of the Garden of Eden are both:Human and Divine"...I think so!!

1-Thou shall : Do your own soil preparation: Florida soil is SANDY and infested with nematodes. Add organic ammendments,compost ,aged manure, peat moss to compacted poorly drained ground.Keep in mind feeding the EARTH to  to improve its structure and encourage root growth by adding ORGANIC MATTERand MINERALS.

2.Thou shall not be : Escaping Xero scaping: The word XERO is of GREEK origin which means:Understand/KNOW. Design with the size of mature plants in mind and the right plant for the right location. Try to avoid overcrowding and check out the soil PH before you plant.Here in S.Florida the soil is more ACIDIC..so choose acid loving plants like tomato for example and always look for native plants like calaloo.

3. Thou shall follow the natural law of Feng-shui and the law of natural attraction.

Take the environment as your partner /friend not your foe .Work in HARMONEY with nature not against it.

4.Thou shall not have:Lack of irrigation AWARENESS: Too much water can be just as damaging as too little. Do a finger-in-the-ground test to ensure that the soil around the roots is moist. Vegetables need about an inch and a half of water per week.Choose drip irrigation sysyem and rain barrel irrigation . Uphold and follow the water restriction laws in place as per your local government ordinances. We are in the DRAUGHT so be considerate in conserving water .

5. Thou shall start not in a:Wrong location/timing/season: Growing conditions follow the hardiness zoning of the USDA.S.Florida falls in the 9-10 zone .It is humid,hot,rainy .Keep that in mind when looking to plant. mature, creating different .Follow local growing table of plants that are draught tolerant,native and non-GMO origin.

6. Thou shall do :Proper Maintenance: Don’t kill the good bugs, like pollinators and lady bug , in an effort to eliminate the bad.. Prevention is best medicine for plants as well. Maintain your garden by being there to observe and prevent. Use mulch .Hand weed. Don’t set your cultivator (or hoe) too deep, damaging plant roots

7-Thou shall apply the correct  body postures of ERGONOMICS while gardening

8. Over-pruning: As a rule, don’t remove more than 30 percent of the foliage from shrubs in one cutting. And don’t “top” trees to control their height. “That reduces their life span rather than improves their health".:My friend/teacher  ,Ryan said so!

9. Thou shall avoid :Botched planting: Choose the right plant depth.Draw a brim around your fruit trees and fill it with water and aged manure.Feed the earth not the plants.

10.Thou shall keep on trying: Failing to start over is not allowed: Gardening is a PROCESS.Planting is a continuous work. Expect crop failiars but do not stop and be discouraged.Experiment and learn from your mistakes.They are common and they are lessons.Be positive and keep busy gardening!Start with a small plot so you can correct mistakes more easily, the experts say. And look to your county extension office for support if you run into trouble. Garden coaches also can diagnose problems and suggest remedies, as can master gardeners and landscape designers.

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/1015.html

I think this is not real what I saw _Click  ABOVE LINK to watch it_on YOU TUBE .What do you think? 

I think there is something not true about this thing.

 Sorry for the unintended  rhyme.I am skeptical unless someone calls WH , like they did with the last Georgia firing and rehiring of an African American  Agriculture Georgia state director for something she said but ,actually later on when investigated , itturned out  that she did not .

It was then  EDITED and fabricated by a blogger and later broadcast by a biased  news channel who just beleived his fabricated story for some reasons of its own..May be this TV coverage story  too is fabricated  ,since it is coming again from Georgia like the other story...

We , here in Florida  are SOUTHERNERS too like Georgia our next neighbor and we have our goofs to joke about!,Like ,we are known nationally and INTERNATIONALLY,for the HANGING CHAD or the BUTTERFLY BALLOT and jokes were made about us .LOL!

May be in Georgia they have something else to laugh or make a joke about? Is the "THE CRIMiNAL GARDENING " thing from Georgia one of tghose DIRT jokes?

I really do not know??.

Please , take me serious.I am an Urban Farmer myself and people usually think we farmers are good hearted and sometimes they joke how NAIVE we are..God Bless them .They make me laugh about those farmers jokes!LOL!!!!Keep them coming...May be this coverage story is another JOKE...LOL!

I am just posting the link as I received it .May be someone will prove that I am right : this clip about criminal charges for growing tomato is not true?

Do they have similar laws in Georgia like the ones in California about Medicinal Maijuana? May be they thought it was Marijuana ,like the recent raid of a school garden in California by police who mistook Tomato for Marijuana???Well, mistakes happen .

If that be the case,which I think IS AN INNOCENT  mistake. then we need to EDUCATE more people about gardening ,for example those who make a mistake like the one in California school garden ,should sign up and volunteer at a CSA or a community garden and do some community service to learn how the tomato look like and take  a course of PLANT IDENTIFICATION.

Gardening education should be obligatory at schools and colleges so that people will have a better awareness about where the food comes from and how to grow your own food in case you lost a job or a home etc..and save on the FOOD STAMP tax payers money!

They say it is better to teach how to fish rather than to give some one a fish...Try that at the garden.

 I am kind of confused what to beleive these days!

Come and Learn the Organic Gardening Process from  our four generation Urban Organic farmer ,certified Florida horticulturist and educator with 20 years of Hands On experience in S.Florida .

We are  now accepting new urban farming enthusiasts for the growing season November-May 2011 organic gardening classes(the tropical way) .It is different  but not difficult.Wonder why you have no green thumb? Its the S.Florida' sandy soil dump, not your thumb,at fault.

Our classes schedules feature a range of topics including:

1-Container/raised beds organic gardening .

2-Vermiculture

3-Composting.

4-Organic soil preparation .

5-Organic ammendments.

6-Backyard/patio/community organic gardening.

7-Tropical fruits,veggies and herbs that you can grow easy.

8-Organic pesticides and fertilizers .

9-Edible Tropical organic flowers and "legal" weeds (e.g dandelion.)

10-Garden ergonomics  and more...

Adults full pay.Teens half pay.Children 5-13 free.

Wear garden safety gear:No shorts/flip flops/tanker tops, please.Hand outs available for FREE..RSVP and register two days in advance of classes on Saturday and Sunday 4-6PM.Co-speakers welcome.We offer one time FREE CLASS for non-profit organizations like Schools,churches and wellness centers.We donate to soup kitchens since 2001.We are community  oriented.

Come and tour our container botanical garden/raised beds /mini farm/ pristine pine  forest settings.Take home FREE samples of seeds,seedlings,composted manure,garden starter kit and much more .More info and RSVP details at:

http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M20618.

Bring / tell a friend.Celebrate the coming Hollidays andstart the new year with a new Organic Vegetable garden right at your backyard.

Have  Happy Hollidays Gardening.

This coming Sunday I will be taking my gardening talk  to a different kind of a walk. .Comes a Hollistivc Fittness retreat at a four star hotel this week end, , I will be reaching out with my ORGANIC AWARENESS to a different level of organic gardening enthusiasts.

Physical Fittness or Exercising our muscles and doing functional movements is not a monopoly to the gym or the olymics neither to the rich or the poor,.I have  THE PROOF..

Great Britain has recognized Gardening as sports for all,  lately , proving to the world that Gardeners are among the olympic athlets without portfolio offcourse, , Unfortunately they  will NOT  be competing this coming Clympic games 2012 at the UK for gold medals.!!They will be growing the new found gold:Greens!

No kidding.our competition is not for  winning medals???.Sure, not.It is about winning our BIRTH RIGHT FOR HEALTH by going back to Basics:GROWING our own food through farming and gardening or shall we say Gathering ????.

Lately ,I helped coaching a home owner ,who happens to be living in a multi million property-setting and starting up   an Organic Vegetable Garden. I noticed that there is a pre-requisit to the gardening proces:We need  to open our mind,body and spirit ..first.

I explained :The gardening software  does not come naturally with the garden and she has to LEARN the process(Mind)  and train her muscles(Body) and get into the Spirit of growing food.Most of us get confused when it comes to the SPIRIT thing.They end up doing the most convenient:Hire a gardener and tell him/her to do the Donkey Work ,offcourse,having set a streaotype of farmers after the migrant farmers image .God forbid , no racial profiling / discremination /slavery practices   are intentionally committed!.Mistakes happen , offcourse!

Being spiritual is so hard to understand using our minds.One has to open up the HEART FACULTY/or Chakra to be able to comprehend /connect spiritually with other forms of life:Creator/Holly Spirit /Universe ..or whatever you prefer to name it.Even so ,with a human,plant, or na animal .What comes from the heart ?

Expectations ,intentions,passion, abilities,capabilities,integrity ,honesty , commitments ,prayers are justa few to mention.What makes us fail in making the spiritual connection is one word:LYING -with all our HEART.

We put much faith in  lip service and  words  that change as often as the winds blow or with every single breath or  heart beat.We lie to each others and because we get accustomed to negotiating and or lying  as far as it is good to make money and  business. Gone are our commitments for  ethical  or moral values.

There is a separation from our INNER BEING as soon as we separate ourselves from the TRUTH , especially when we want to commit into a relationship: Whether with a human,a plant, an animal or a HIGHER SPIRIT/GOD/UNIVERSE.The bibles mentions:TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.FROM WHAT? I guess from :DISEASE,LACK,STRIFE,SLAVERY ,to mention the least!

Ghandi once said: If you want to learn how to have a successful relationship with humans, you need to start to learn the process by getting in touch with plants first.I found out that our relationship with plants is similar to that with the animals and humans :Crush,control,contain.

Guess what happens when we are moody or in a state of hurry :We injur a muscle  ,break communication flow ,obliterate trust and jeoperdize a relationship and the whole process . By just flip flopping and changing our commitments , we withdraw  natural process of creation and meaningful and fruitful  fulfiliment  into a state of static FAILURE :decomposing/degeneration /degradinding to our Body/Mind/Spirit.

Stay tuned to Organic Gardening Awareness .Be TRUTHFULL in and to all our relations.Just like the Native American saying goes  :Aho -Meta-Quee-Yasin.

The Mentoring Center is the managing partner of the Lake Worth Resource Center, which provides job placement assistance ,skills training ,English classes and integration mentoring here in Lake Worth, Florida.

Today,I was invited by the English Class teacher at LWRC  to fascilitate an organic gardening class to her English language students.The class is a melting pot and  mix of Caribean and Hispanic cultures .

I did customize the class to meet the immediate needs of the students who either are unemployed / underemployed or looking for a better employment by improving on their English language communication skills..The economic deep-recession  let a lot of us DOWN  .But, not for the brave and faithful who still beleive in a way UP .When there is a will to turn the lemon into a lemonade then there is a way to DO IT!

I said to myself, it is better to give some one a fishing rod and teach how to fish rather than just give  a welfare fish or a food stamp  . In times as uncertain and defeating like ours, there is nothing more valuable than a POSITIVE ATTITUDE and COURAGE to FIGHT and OVERCOME hardships whatsoever..Education is the key.

Politicians reach out to immigrants and minorities during election times only..Those forgotton and struggling families  barely get help except from churches and organizations like the LWRC . I MARVELLED AT THE SUPPORT AND ENTHUSIASM  of those students who wanted to learn how to grow their own Organic Food and did not have the resources  .Kindness and community spirit and warm relationships can change the face of lack and bring in bounty once we join hands and resources TOGETHER.How many organizations and institutions are reaching out for the unemployed or the homeless to teach them how to fish or grow their own food? How much money would we save on food stamps and medical bills by  turning those neglected lands into organic vegetable gardens that feed the needy and the unemployed?You tell me!

Nothing comes easy.We need to start the learning process by  teaching the importance of   PRODUCING  FOOD rather than CONSUMING IT.

TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU FARMERS AND GARDENERS AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IS TO SHOW THAT : CREATING A JOB IS AS IMPORTANT AS FINDING A JOB...ESPESIALLY when this job is to grow your own food!

THANKS to the English language teacher  LISA GREENE AND LWRC DON WILSON, BOTH GOALS  can be  REACHED :Finding and creating a job!Remeber: When there is a will........there is a way...

Last year the British government added Gardening as sports activity to boost the reputation of the country which is hosting the coming Olymics in 2012.

The English and French are Organic Productive farming/gardening enthusiasts .Comparing ourselves here in USA with the Europeans  could be embarrassing!

Comes the inauguration of the Organic Garden at the White House.Change is in the air.There are growing interest among home owners and city dwellers here in US to start growing their own food and start changing the image which the world looks upon us as home for the American Diet which is the mother of all... you know what I mean...

Obesity is on its highest rates among the population and Americans are eating less of fruit and vegetables(Could it be the unemployment high rates or the lack of exercise or the unhealthy food diet as a reason?) .

The latest studies and surveys revealed.But..there is something positive going on.With the propaganda   war on illegal migrant farmers   and the new Arizona Law fallbacks people are taking the shovels into their own hands and transforming their inefficient lawn gardens into productive organic vegetable gardens to fight back the illegal migrant farmers "stealing our jobs"!

Good news .Lot of people now are looking for classes to learn how to grow their own food.More CSA are sprouting around the country.More farms and more lands are being used to grow food at the backyards of churches and home owners not to mention the community gardens that are changing the face of the crime infested and neglected neighborhoods.Good news that we are changing our attitude towards the land  and offcourse towards our bodies that have been for long fed junk food.No more..tHERE IS CHANGE GOING ON  THE GROUND AND SOON WE WILL HARVESTMORE  HEALTHY ORGANIC FOOD FROM OUR TRANSFORMED BACKYARDS.

The thing which we will reap also is less obesity and less health problems as we work out our bodies and minds in the garden and farm.Sweat the toxins out and get more fittness from the functional garden movements.

Soon we will be beating the Europeans on the garden grounds as well as on the Olympics grounds.Keep on HANDS on the Garden and KEEP HANDS OFF the small Urban Farmers that are now sprouting like crazy.

Stay fit ..  Garden!

There are tons of materials on line ,in book prints and in the air competing for creating aan organic garden near your kitchen.The economy is hurting both pocket and bellys.So people are now flooding classes to learn.There are not so many choices thougth...to IMPLEMENT WHAT YOU LEARN ON THE GROUND!

There are so many ways to make money out of Organics these days.I have seen people who are devotees of fertilizers and chemicals turn GREEN ORGANIC overnight because their thumb is so GREEN WITH COUNTING GREEN BUCKS!So many of us get caught in the jargon and the traps of making a dollar no matter how or what!

A student came to my class one time and recalled the huge amount of money she had to spend and end up learning not much because there was no HANDS ON attachment to the FINE WORDS printed and nicely arranged in the texts she had to buy !

"You know them by their fruits"...is not the same asYou know them buy their fruits.. 

Yesterday also  I met a student  "X" .She is a Doctor of Medicine who enjoys gardening and wants to learn ..

She even  took Horticultural college classes and spent time and money ..but she was still failing the actual garden CROPS.."experience is so necessary "SHE TOLD ME ...WHILE JOTTING DOWN MY down to earth tips THAT I HAVE EXPERIENCED WHILE DIGGING ,PLANTING,HARVESTING,STUDYING,APPLYING,EXPERIMENTING, MAKING MY HANDS AND CLOTHES DIRTY WORKING IN THE SIZZLING SUN OF FLORIDA!

I felt so good when someone like Mrs"X" comes to my classes -not  to try me .or spy on me..or copy me ..or even cheat me by sliding out the door without an appreciation tip or donation that supports buying seeds to my community garden .

Getting something for nothing  !!! How many of us try to TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OTHERS WORK BY BEING CHEAP and OPPORTUNISTIC? I really do not know how many?Do you?.

Thats why we have KARMA as a pay back for what we DO TO OTHERS!. 

She "Mrs.X" was there to learn and even wanted to come back with her husband for the next class..Applied Gardening makes a POINT .Doing is the way of Gardening.So my friends...you know them by their thumbs that are tough and dirty..from their costumes that are fashioned with the garden sweat and their skin that is colored by the blazing sun of Florida.

There are so many people rushing to the new GREEN GOLD ..but they are missing one thing:EXPERIENCE.

Happy Organic Gardening 

Look at most of the Agriculture magazines here in Florida and you will be overwhelmed with news about ornamentals and annuals and perenial to decorate your garden with flowers,shrubs and other ornamentals that have no EDIBLE advantage.I always advocate a productive approach in uerban farming especially during our economic crunch time .People are losing homes ,jobsand business right and left.So why not start a new way of making use of our land to produce food even from flowers and landscaping edible plants.Productive gardening applies methods to help out in enriching the environment and community with a landscape that beautifies and produces food to at the same time. Rather than just spending money on planting inefficient ornamentals and wasteful grass that consumes our water ,soil and financial  resources -without giving us any benefits in return other than images and mirages-why not switch to a more  EDIBLE approach that appeal both to our eye ,nose and mouth at the same .Talk edible scaping and mention the flowers that you can eat like nastaurtium and sunflower.Talk the incredible edible scaping and you mention the grass that you may juice or include in your salad like alfalfa and the story continues as you scroll on into the common sensible and edible botany .There are even plants that you may add to purify the air like the ecodundrums.dig more for edible scaping in the web and you will be amazed!

Bon apetite and happy edible scaping! 

Have you ever asked yourself this question: Why container gardening is easier to handle than the yard gardening?

Well, here are some benefits listings  to encourage you to start an organic garden in containers if you live in a studio,efficiency,apartment without any access to a front or back yard.

Here in South Florida we are in the 9-10 agricultural zone.Keep this in mind because what defines which plants to grow and which not to is relevant to the zone category which is governed by climatic temperature in general.

I have noticed that the following reasons from my own experience suffice to consider container gardening especially for a new comer to S.Florida or a new gardener  .Here are some observations to take note of Organic  Container Gardening:

1-It is cheaper and SAVES  you money,energy, water conservation,and time.

2-It is SIMPLE and requires no special  expensive big garden tools and accessories.Small inexpensive tools will be enough.

3-It is INSTANT and requires not much efforts or resources to start and maintain. 

4-It is more accessible to the elderly,children and  people  with disabilities.

5-It is more PRONE  to manage,move  during inclement weather or the hurricane season.

6-It is EASY to maintain ,with less weeding for example .

7-It is FUN.You may like to decorate the containers with drawings or painting etc..and place at locations that you find more convenient .

8-It is PRODUCTIVE if you choose to grow fruits,veggies and herbs.

9-It is easy to SALVAGE if you choose to relocate or  otherwisewas obliged get evicted.

10-It is more FLEXIBLE  to locate  either indoors or outdoors.

Children and the disabled share one thing in common:Difficulty to EFFICIENTLY  utilize body functional movement in gardening chores.Whether it was the tiny hands , weak and still developing muscles and bone structure of children or the physical disability of the adult .The outcome is the same .DIFFICULTY in pushing,lifting,pulling,bending movement.To adress this we need to adjust the garden to fit into the world of both of children and disabled adults.

A)-HAVE A SAFE GROUND LOCATION :

There are many ways to garden for  children and the disabled.Here are some samples of  tips to choose from:

1-Container Gardening or planting box

2-Raised beds , trellises and vertical gardening accessible with special routes for wheel chairs.

3-Hanging baskets sitting on tables and accessible for wheel chairs.

4-Small pots and containers for seeding and seedlings transplant.

5-planting in bags of top soil placed on elevated ground.

B)-APPLY Gardening ERGONOMICS:

ERGON-OMICS is a GREEK word.The prefix refers to" work injuries "and the suffix to the "study of"!

1-ERGONOMIC TOOLS.There are tools in the market that are labeled as ERGONOMIC , take advantage and buy some.

One must pay attention though and double check the tools by trying them first and feeling them!They must be light and bent at certain angles to fit the grab of the tiny wrists of kids and the vulnerability of the disabled.Some tools are labled ergonomic for the purpose of influencing the PURCHASE DECISION more or less.An experienced  certified horticulturist/gardener or farmer should be consulted prior to making the purchase.

2-Follow ERGONOMIC BODY functional movement:Being a certified massage therapist and a certified master gardener, I speak from my personal experience and education .I studied both the anatomy and physiology of the human BODY  in addition to  Plant botany and gardening as well.I beleive that the positioning of the human body is of the essence.Functional movement of the muscles and body postures are of utmost importance to study and apply what is SAFE while in the farm or the garden to avoid injuries .An ounce of prevention is worth more than a ton of medication .A wise advice can bring you a prize!

Most Horticultural educational proograms, I know of, do not include gardening ergonomics in their curriculum.So, it is best to do your own home work or hire someone who has the know how and the HANDS ON GROUND experience to teach you.I stray away from opportunists and self proclaimed organic gardeners who do not have the appropriate LOCAL EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE! Always consult with your health practitioner before engaging in any kind of gardening or physical work .A gardener must not be a substitute to your DOCTOR.A lot of  gardeners I know of suffer back pain from injuries in the garden or other accidents due to IGNORANCE and wrong body movements or tools utilization.

Your human body is the vehicle that moves you around ,take care of your body first.Be safe.Wear safety garden gear.Drink a lot of water.

Have a Happy and SAFE gardening.

There is a child care  close to where I live.Sherry who runs the small day care has a physical disability but loves to garden.I visited her yesterday with some seedlings donations and started a small vegetable garden at her backyard.NO CHARGE!A HAPPY NEW YEAR GIFT!I wanted to start the  year by doing something different to my NEIGHBORHOOD that makes a difference in peoples lives.Children and the disabled skip our attention in our daily marathon to make the buck.We are addicted to so many foods,beverages,malls,relationships,commodities,gadgets and you name it : THINGS .We are busy doing things or talking about ourselves and forget about who are our neighbours or at least :"WHAT ARE WE DOING TO OTHERS"? as Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. once wondered!

Children need our LOVING attention more than the China  TOXIC toys we buy for them to keep them busy and feed their ego with commodities and candies.How about starting a small veggie garden for your little ones in your backyard to teach him or her the basic CREATIVE art of COLORFUL and BOUNTIFUL PRODUCTIVE ORGANIC GARDENING?

There is an outcry of MUCHO illegal immigrants of MIGRANT FARMERS in our backyard and we need to fix this by sending them back home.Good.What about the replacements ?Who is going to pick up the tomatoes and do the DIRT JOB in the field?We are leaving to our children a huge inheritence of  DISORDERS(ADHD). TRILLIONS in DEFICIT and DEBT , MILLIONS of UNEMPLOYED,LACK of HEALTH INSURANCE to the poor and unemployed, to mention the least .How about reversing our  acts or the LACK of it.Starting a veggie garden at a KINDERGARDEN is not a bad idea.I worked once with the 4-H program and the 4-H co-ordinator once brought the little people to the community garden and guess what? They love to touch and play with the soil and plant tiny seeds with their tiny fingers.

ASTHMA,ADHD and other health disorders are now being traced to lack of outdoor FRESH AIR  activities to our children(THEIR BRAINS ARE STARVED FOR OXYGEN) .Wonder why children fail science and math tests and disdain them?Their hands are being tied into the INDOORS CLOSED WORLD of keyboards and TV /computer virtual video games.Instead ,we need to employ their hands in the garden and teach them the art of growing food.The time is ripe NOW with double digit unemployment to start creating ORGANIC  VEGGIE GARDENS and FARMING JOBS in our communities and SCHOOLS .

Hello,anybody home?Are you looking for help to start a veggie garden at your school?Home?Take note of the Organic VEGGIE garden at the White House..There is a positive message from the garden to you!Start Growing your own organic food at home!

Once upon a time I was approached by a director of a Day Care center to be hired to start a veggie garden.I was impressed by the LOOKS and IMAGES that the director portrayed to me about her school but in the end guess what? She hired a lady who arranged for a free donation from a UN program that is 100% fertilizer based soil in plastic containers .Imagine those tiny kids fingers being immersed in chemical fertilizer base soil?It was the BOTTOM LINE which mattered for that school and NOT the PRINCIPLE of SUSTAINABILITY  which they were preaching.LOOKS always FOOL YOU.IMAGE IS NOT EVERYTHING contrary to what the media tries to brain wash us with.There are a lot of OPPORTUNISTS out there who do not walk their talk.Be MORAL VALUE inclined when it comes to selecting what is GOOD for our CHILDREN rather than following the MONEY VALUE !The BOTTOM LINE in such situations could bring our children DOWN TO THE BOTTOM !

Welcome to the TROPICS.Now start TO LEARN SPANISH-CREOLE-CARIBEAN and HOW TO ADAPT to the TROPICAL HEAT!Are you kidding me?Most people who want to start a garden think about HIRING a MIGRANT FARMER to do the DONKEY DIRT work while they only want to eat the fruits and veggies, no sweat included!

We need to UNDERSTAND and be AWARE of the following BASIC CONCEPTS before we break grounds:

1-Organic Gardening in the TROPICS is not same as Organic Gardening UP-NORTH.The following variables and differentials must be accounted for before we embark on the endeavor:

a-We must accept the fact that there is going to be heat and sweat and dirt on our hands and clothes.Being a partner WITH OTHERS AND THE earth IS GREAT, BEING a spectator or supervisor is not enough!

b-We need to shift awareness gears from  COLD North to Hot South .Meaning , we must get out of the AIR-Condition comfort Zone first and get our body used to theOUTDOORS TROPICAL CLIMATE.

c-CONSIDER:Breathing exercises , ergonomics lessons on how to use the body in performing garden work without injuries.Also  procure ergonomical garden tools too!Reading a gardening book or taking a virtual class via THE INTERNET OR THE PHONE are not enough.One must have HANDS ON LEARNING  EXPERIENCE !Look for local small farmers who offer HANDS ON GARDENING  workshops not just THEORIES VIA CYBERSPACE or TELECONFERENCE!You must be in the GARDEN to learn about GARDENING!

d-In order to learn the way of COMMUNITY ORGANIC GARDENING  you must toss away your EGO.Instead you need to start thinking in the WE-GO way! We come in UNITY in the community concept.If you do take issues with people of color or tan or of those who speak another language which you do not understand,get over it!Learning means you need to have an open mind and a desire to learn even if it takes to listen .Diversity is the common grounds in the community garden!

e-All MEN AND WOMEN are created equal.So ,FORGET ABOUT BEING THE BOSS OR THE FIRST IN COMMAND !LEARN INSTAED TO EMPLOY your hands without working your mouth with profanity or your mind with prejuidice in case you are a chovanist or consider yourself of a better race.Accepting others is very important in the community garden for a simple reason: You are a member of the community garden with other human beings who share with you equally the rights and duties . 

F-HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA WE HAVE sand NOT soil .sO, START THINKING ABOUT MAKING YOUR OWN COMPOST AND LEARNING THE KNOW HOW OF MAKING YOUR OWN SOIL!THERE ARE OPTIONS OF BUYING OR USING OTHERS PREPARED SOIL .BE EDUCATED ABOUT THE SOIL YOU WANT BECAUSE WHAT 'S IN IT  MIGHT HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON  YOUR HEALTH !(EX:HEAVY METALS-CHEMICALS-PHARMACEUTICALS -UNSAFE OR UNCERTIFIED  HUMAN SLUDGE  ETC)!

2-Once a plan is drafted to start a community garden, the following must be established :

a-A DOING IT TEAM versus a TALK ABOUT IT TEAM!

b-A BUDGET-A NAME-A CO-ORDINATOR-A PLOT FOR EACH MEMBER.

c-A RULES AND REGULATIONS PROTOCOL with  pertinent CONTRACTS and AGREEMENTS .

3-Classes and workshops to educate the members are essential.An experienced LOCAL ORGANIC FARMER with certification from a local Horticultural institute is commendable to fascilitate the LEARNING PROCESS.

4-COMMUNITY GARDENING is a NEW  working arena and a learning process.It is afterall a collective endeavor that needs to focus on the group and not on the INDIVIDUAL only!Here in the South , we had slaves assigned to the plantations work in earlier  15th-19th centuries ,and now we hire migrant farmers while we ourselves disdain doing this kind of MENIAL work and have NO RESPECT in general for people who do it! This ATTITUDE needs to change if we want to have a successful PRODUCTIVE COMMUNITY GARDEN!

5-There ARE LOTS OF vacant plots THAT CAN BE TRANSFORMED INTO COMMUNITY GARDENS HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA.THERE ARE LOTS OF ATTEMPTS THAT ENDED UP IN FAILURE BECAUSE THERE WAS A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING AND AWARENES OF COMMUNITY CONCEPT AND OTHER  CULTURAL-FINANCIAL ISSUES ETC!!

The local  Palm Beach Post news paper reported today about another crime against workers who work out in the fields , in this instance make their living by trimming trees .

Two armed men approached three workers ,one African American foreman and two other latino workers and demanded money.When the workers ,who were engaged in trimming trees for FPL ,responded that they have nothing, they were showered with bullets from semi automatic guns.The forman died and one worker is critically injured .

This is another story about the way we look at people who work the land for a living.There is no respect for gardeners and farmers in general around here.Part of this stereotyping is lack of education to the public about the great value gardeners and farm workers provide through their services to keep the EARTH a living planet worthy for the living.

The stereotyping against certain minorities leaves no ample room to get equal opportunities or better jobs in the market place.There is work that is  looked at as menial and some people won't do it.The people who perform those "menial jobs"usually become victims to sweat shops,robberies,humilitians and discremination.No health insurance ,no benefits and sometimes dire living conditions follow this trend of employment.

The solutions are through altering the way we look at such work.Spreading the awareness through the media and schooling system could be like a starting point .

Jobs are plentiful in the field and we need to start educating our kids that farm and garden work are good choices and opportunities to take as jobs.We need to overhaul the way we think first .We need support from local and federal government to provide educational programs in addition to incentives and job opportunities.Health insurance and benefits will attract many applicants.Good or FAIR pay will do the same .It is not a SOLUTION to complain about illegal immigrants or migrant farmers who perform jobs that are menial and do not attract citizens.The solution requires action to elevate the status of those jobs so that citizens will find it attractive to apply for.

Crimes against field workers should be dealt with more punitively to eradicate them from our society.

The perpetrators who commited the crime were youth who found in their preys an easy target for quick money.Usually farm workers are known to carry cash in their pockets as they have no legal papers to open bank accounts .Doing something about this can  help reduce the crimes that target migrant farmers or other legal citizens who prefer to do such kind of jobs.

Change starts from within and raising the awareness towards a solution is just a baby step to restore respect and justice to farmers and gardeners who are the silent  keepers of our living planet EARTH.

I am now searching for a job in this field and I feel unsecure and at risk.I have lost my van to the junk yard as I could not have money to fix it.I lost couple of borrowed lands to locally grow organic vegetables .There are so many lands that sit idle and could be used to grow fruits and vegetables to support enough people who lost their jobs and are seeking food stamps and other financial help to sustain their living.This kind of using tax payer money is a non-productive approach .A better approach is" to teach a man how to fish instead of giving him or her a fish"!

There are churches and schools that have backyards that could be a potential place to create vegetable gardens.I have approached some of those churches and experienced creating a container garden at one of them.

We need to change our attitude from critical negative thinking -using our heads to calculate monetery gains and judging behaviours.We need to shift to a more PRODUCTIVE approach by using our HEARTS and compassion .I went by accident to a local agency that uses COMPASSION in their mission and vision.I found hope and help.When there is a WILL ,there is a WAY -as they say.Sometimes we need to change the WAY we think and feel in order to help bring in change to other peoples life!

Thanksgiving holliday is on the way.Make it an occasion to bring food to the needy through providing opportunities for CREATING MORE  PRODUCTIVE GARDENS that yield ORGANIC food that help feed the needy.Instead of a food stamp voucher , why not offer a voucher of a plot at a community garden to those who are employed.The burden will diminish on our tax payers and we will create opportunities that yield HARVESTS instead.We will educate people of the great value of working the land to produce food.By then may be the attitude towards gardeners and farmers will change towards more appreciation.May be, but it is worth a try!