Back yard composting is now a hot thing to do.With the economy crunch reaching out to our homes and jobs and cars, people are starting to think more greenwisely!

Saving on the bill of electric or water by switching the plug into Solar pannels now can be stretched into the backyard by COMPOSTING and saving on the garden center bill and the grocery bill by GROWING YOUR OWN food using home made compost and organic soil.I have been advoc ating this practice even long time before the economic crunch.But people usually hear better when it hurts their pocket$!

Lake Worth deserves an applaud for taking this step forward .Here I enclose an article that is self explanatory about how a small town -city is making big strides to become a leader in a GREEN DRIVEN ENERGY.Thanks to our commissioners Cara Jennings and Susan Mulvehill for helping in  pioneering this initiative  and also thanks to the Palm Beach Post for publishing positive articles that need to be shared to be appreciated more and spread the green awareness nation wide.

I qoute thePalm Beach  Post for a quick refernce to share the article:

Qoute:"By Willie Howard

Updated: 10:04 p.m. Sunday, May 2, 2010

Posted: 11:15 a.m. Sunday, May 2, 2010

I am going to celebrate Arbor Day today by planting a NEEM tree.Arbor is a spanish word that means simply:Tree!

Have you ever used NEEM oil to spray the pests in your garden?Have you used NEEM oil to clean your A/C ducts from mold?There are so many benefits from the NEEM tree.

Here is a heads up tip.

Go to the internet and print those two words:Benefits Neem.

Also go and learn more about Arbor Day.We started celebrating it here in USA back in 1792 and so many countries now followed suit.Plant a tree today in celbrating the occasion.Prevent destroying a healthy tree in your garden and follow the tradition of Native Americans by hugging a tree.

Your eyes will pop up.Amazing how much beneffits the Neem Tree has.It is so reverred in India the country of origin.In Europe as well .Here we barely hear about it.

Tommorrow Saturday May 1st ,I will be introducing  the Neem Tree for those who come to attend my Organic Gardening workshop here in S.Florida.I grow it from seeds.It grows well in our sub-tropical climate .I will also show a movie about the Power of Community.

We need to respect all forms of life and understand more about our relationship to each others,the plants,the environment and all the forms of life that share this planet with us,

Unfortunately , I have seen and witnessed so many forms of segregation and separations in my life,You name stereotyping,racial profiling,discremenation and you hit the tip of the ICEBERG.Look to what we are doing tothe different  others here in Arizona,there in Afghanistan and you'll  get a hint of the situation about our aggression.

Community starts with the word commune.To receive communion to nourish the spirit,It transcends with the word communicate with another form of life like a human being or plants,trees,animals and even the earth by collectivelly planting and harvesting together.The four elements of creation  Earth,Air,Fire and Water all weave a web of body,mind,soul and spirit to shape our world both material and spiritual.Community is both a spiritual and material experience that engulfs our being and gives it a meaning if we follow the natural law and NOT if we do not follow it,

When was the last time you shook hands with your neighbor or even remebered to ask him or her about their names?.We live engulfed with our own ego and self image and self interests.Now we suffer the economic crunch alone.Back in the 1930 depression ,there was a refuge in the family to retreat to after losing a job or home.Now barelr we call to say hello -or  to see- our parents!There was the Victory gardenthen  that brought the community together to create food.Now we destroy the community garden for development.We insult and despise those who work with their hands in the farm or garden by many ways.

Look at the wages for farmers or the price for produce that is imposed on the farmer by the merchants!Time is running out on our arrogance and pride and negligence towards the environment and the community.Look what is happening now in the Gulf of Mexico.With our own hands we lay waste to the environment in the name of what?K\Have you ever heard of the word Karma?

Last week we celebrated Earth Day.Next week we will celebrate Mother Day.Today we celebrate the Tree Day...when will we stop rushing and pushing ourselves and pretend that all is fine?Today stop by the garden to smell the roses and plant a tree.Perhaps you will find some time for slowing down and getting grounded withthe energy of Mother Earth.

Love is the gift you give and receive for mother day and every day to celebrate LIFE.

Have a Happy Life,,

Come and attend one of my workshops if you live in S.Florida and I will introduce you to my tree friend named:NEEM!

http:www.localharvset.org/farms/M20618

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! 

Every year I start my summer garden early by preparing seedlings during the spring growing season.Most folks who are new to the tropical climate of S.Florida take it for granted and groal that nothing grows in the summer here in Florida.Wrong!

Here are a quick pick list of my favorite fruits,vegetable and herbs ,that I usually grow in my summer CONTAINER garden.(Please note that we have the HURRICANE season during the summer, so my best chance is to grow in containers to keep my plants from harms way once the hurricane hits ,by just moving them to a safe indoor shelter1):

Fruits of the summer:Water melon,papaya,pineapple,mango, coconut,pumpkin and Cherry Tomato..there are more  offcourse but always start small!

Vegetables:Kalaloo,laloo,okra,beans,cucumber,sweat potatoand radishes.

Herbs and flowers:Italian basil,parsley.mint,melissa or lemon balm,aloe vera,la ruda,rose mary,chives,onion ,sunflower,margols and more..

Organic summer garden in S.Florida is a possible mission.Eat fresh this summer from your own back yard FRESH food not from a can.Yes, we can!

Happy summer gardening a"La Tropics!"

Alternative Community farmer

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

This was our first  Earth Day event at the Lake Worth Resource Center.It weas packed up!More than fourty people filled in  the lobby ..There were people from different ethnic backgrounds who flocked to attend the workshop on sustainability and the organic urban farmer ,  listen to Chiropractor Dr.Tim Kehrig  presentation and watch the movie:The power of community .We have a high unemployment and forclosure rates in our area especially among minorities and ethnic groups.The LWRC provides the local community with lots of services to help out the unemployed find jobs,attend different kinds of mentoring classes and workshops,obtain Buss passes and other services.It is amazing how much resources we have hidden and untapped.Coming together opens up so many opportunities .Helping one another through community events that take a solutions oriented approach to alleviate the daily struggles of those who have lost a job,a home orhave  health issues but no medical insurance.Dr.Tim has areaching  program that fits all to maintain a vibrant health based on the science of Chiropractic and nutrition.He is a master of Both.He tops that with a compassionate heart and healing hands .He enriched our event  with a  presentation on nutrition and sustainabilty.He talked about the foods that fit and those that do not into into maintaining a healthy body mind and spirit.He brought hand outs in both Spanish and English to reach out for the multicultural  of our community.I invite all farmers to reach out to the community through educational workshops or donating from their harvests to soup kitchens and community pantries that help the underpriviliged.We learned .We prayed and we played together watching a movie on the power of community.This Earth Day make a difference by reaching out to others.Ask yourself:What have I done to others?Words and toasts and songs sure make us jolly..but the PRACTICAL works of our hands and hearts is what really matters especially when we try to touch human lives that are struggling.The road of a thousand mile starts with a mile..and a smile for the road!Thanks to all and especially to the LWRC CEO Mr.Don Wilson for making this event happen!Unity tthrough community.Yes, we can do it !

Happy Earth Day

Tony

Alternative Community Farmer

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

Why it is ESSENTIAL to eat tropical fruits and grow Fruit Trees in S.FLORIDA  ?Check out why they are sooo goood for you!

By ORGANIC Master Gardener: Tony Dagher

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

Most of us get confused when asked why S.Florida is called TROPICAL.

No more.It falls between the laterals of the Cancer and Capricorn tropics. Just like a sandwich or sub that squeezes all those juicy tomato fruits and tropical veggies like halloo…S.Florida is squeezed in a SUB-TROPICAL zone 10-11.Voila !GO NATIVE ..TRO...TRO... TRO-PICAL

Now what the heaven do we have for fruit cocktail other than the usual RUM? Here are some healthy fruits to order when you are enjoying a S.Florida visit:

Avocado uses: Culinary-salads fresh example: Gucomole! Medicinal: Helps you lose weight and lower the cholesterol level as per the native folk’s recipes!

Banana: Rich in Potassium and good for body building. A complete food!

Carambola: Or star fruit. Good source of vitamin C…

Guava: Ask a Latino what is the best SWEATS …pastel to eat and the answer will be GUAVA!

Coconut: The water is a good source of trace minerals. Women swear by its effects on the kidneys and other female challenges (hot flashes for example as per the native grandmother’s tales!)Men: Drink as much as you want and you will never get drunk but your immune system will soar and score high. I call it the fountain of youth still to be discovered by a future expedition to the TROPICS~! :)

Elderberry: They prepare medicine from it in EUROPE and we just ignore it here!

Grapefruit: In France they start the Entree with a half grape fruit before they start their dinner to cleanse the system first before we nourish it. Great source of Vitamin C and helps to lose weight when eaten regularly before the meal!

Loquat: Now in season. Grows wild in Florida. The leaves are used for tea to clear the soar throat .When eaten ripe it helps in digestion.

Lemon: Helps to fight the common cold and flu...and boosts the immune system and offcourse assists in losing weight when eaten with salds...olive oil and garlic. Bon appetite Italiano!

Lychee: Ask the Chinese .Good for you…sure!

Mango: Rich in vitamins A and C…Tastes soooooo good!

Orange: Ask a local! Good for the flu and good for you!

Papaya: Mama mia…Papa what?The Japanese and Chinese make tea from the leaves.We here in S.Florida eat ripe and fresh…Helps in digestion and has a great enzyme:Papayin that helps out in digesting meat…Another name:Meat tenderizer as the Island people call it!

Want to know more….Stay tuned to the Topics from Tropics!

FOODS INC...is the name of the movie that is showing this EARTH DAY at PBS.Check it out This wednesday ...more details at :

http://www.pbs.com/foodsinc

or go directly to:

http://www.foodsincmovie.com

I met today a thirteen years old girl who was volunteering at a local christian food pantry and she told me she decided to stop eating meat after she watched the movie.Imagine that a teen ager was able to get the message after watching the suffering of the animals when being savagely and inhumanly butchered!How about you? May be you eat organic meat>that is good for you.But, I like to spread the awareness this Earth Day about the way we treat our friends the animals...If you own a farm that give names and treeat the animals like humans, good for you..If not..then may be you need to watch the movie!

happy earth Day for HUMANS-ANUIMALS-PLANTS and offcourse:SOIL(Earth!)!

It is Earth Day this 21st of APRIL

Time to till  the  truth and lay the TABLE

With organic crops and healthy food STAPLE

To feed a homeless  instead of a  horse in STABLE

Yes, its  time for  DOING  IT instead of TALKING

The EARTH   we  toil  with sweat  and  hands on  RAKING!

Is'nt the same EARTH we kill with war  instead of peace MAKING

The lands we till with bombs yield:Corp not crop for BAKING

Our EARTH is no more a safe place to grow or simply to abide

Its the land of the: Homeless, jobless , penniless commiting suicide

GROW GREENS .In deeds not words :Be simple,  shed away your pride

For TIMEs and CLIMATEs are truly changing .Go garden:At least ,I tried!

HAPPY EARTH DAY !

Tony Dagher

Alternative Community Farmer @:

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

I have felt the fire of human abuse to another human through out most of my work in urban farming here in S.Florida.I never witnessed the form of modern slavery as applied to migrant farmers in the fields of this proud agriculural state but I heard a lot of stories and recently a read an article which I am enclosing in this blog for quick reference.Farmers and gardeners I beleive are treated like the dirt.I once tilled a land for a lady who wanted to plant Noni trees here in the Acreage area and she never paid me a penny for my whole day toil.That was a long time ago.This week I helped a lady who claimed that she has not enough money to do a garden but needed my help to do so.She was an alchoholic and ciggarette smoking addict with DUI issued device that controls her driving if she fails the breath intoxicating  test.She called me later after I finished planting her garden to accuse me of stealing money from her purse.Another lady who wanted help in her garden treated me like a slave in instructing me about what to do(I am a master gardener and she is ignorant about anything related to gardening )  while her boyfriend tried to protect me from her tyranny by keeping her indoors away from me!You want more?Listen to this:I was told by a city employee that I - as far as the city is concerned -DO NOT EXIST in the community garden which I tended for eight years.My work was documented by a local newspaper and I gave that employee a copy of the newspaper to prove otherwise.In return the city destroyed and  demolished the community garden with truck loads of land fills!It is worth  to note that the community garden was located in a neglected African American crime infested neighborhood and was founded by DADS AGAINST DRUGS.Also a funny note to add , the retired city parks manager preferred to dump the city free mulch at the cemmetry and ignored my pleas for mulch to be brought to the community garden..I lost my tools,my rare neem trees and all the organic top soil which I composted and hauled to the garden for eight years..without e=ven a notice being given to me!Corruption and abuse is so bountiful here that there are three commissioners sentenced to jail for fraud and corruption charges.This is the first time-as far as I know- someone in a reputable newspaper like THE NATION tries to EXPOSE Modern Slavery..but it is the tip of the iceberg as they say..more will come out when abused farmers speak out...so to speak farmers...SPEAK OUT!Down below I qoute the article of THE NATION:"posted by Katrina vanden Heuvel on 03/28/2010 @ 7:04pm In textbooks across the country, students are still taught that slavery in the US ended with the adoption of the 13th Amendment in 1865. But the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) knows better, and its Modern-Day Slavery Museum is traveling throughout Florida to drive that point home--that slavery persists in the agriculture fields of the state right up through this very day. The Village Voice recently described the significance of the museum this way: "Though it's unlikely to compete for crowds with Disneyworld, the Modern-Day Slavery Museum may be Florida's most important new attraction." The bulk of the museum is housed inside of a 24-foot box truck--a replica of the one used by the Navarrete family in Immokalee to hold twelve farm workers captive from 2005 to 2007. The workers were beaten, chained and imprisoned inside of the truck, and forced to urinate and defecate in the corners. US Attorney Doug Molloy called the operation "slavery, plain and simple." Inside of the truck visitors learn about seven cases of farm labor servitude in Florida successfully prosecuted by the US Department of Justice over the past 15 years. Workers were held against their will through threats, drugs, beatings, shootings, and pistol-whippings. These cases meet the high standard of proof and definition of slavery under federal laws and resulted in the liberation of over 1000 farm workers--CIW worked with federal and local authorities during the investigation and prosecution of six of the seven cases. Barry Eastabrook described his experience in the truck for The Atlantic: "Inside, the vehicle was stacked high with cardboard tomato cartons. The floor was chipped and scuffed. There was a plywood sorting table--which doubled as a 'bed' for the workers. But what stays with me was the heat. Outside, the day was chilly and overcast, but inside the truck, even with the cargo door all the way open, the temperature became borderline unbearable. The stale air was uncomfortable to breathe. Sweat soaked the back of my shirt. And I was in there for less than five minutes, not two and a half years."

But it's not just the contemporary slavery examples one finds inside the box truck that educates the visitors. The museum is designed to look at the history of slavery and forced labor--the evolution of it--and the fact that there has never been a period in Florida agriculture when there wasn't some form of forced labor. The exhibit was vetted by historians, slavery experts, economists and other academics, including Nation editorial board member Eric Foner who said, "A century and a half after the Civil War, forms of slavery continue to exist in the world, including in the United States. This Mobile Museum brings to light this modern tragedy and should inspire us to take action against it."

Before entering the truck, the museumgoer is given a booklet and sees two large exhibits which provide historical context--examining slavery from Spanish settlement through Edward R. Murrow's acclaimed CBS documentary Harvest of Shame in 1960. Forms of slavery include chattel slavery, the convict-lease system through 1923, and debt peonage.

Another display plays a 1993 60 Minutes piece on Wardell Williams, a former crew leader in Florida who kept workers in debt while also supplying some with drugs and alcohol.

Inside of the truck the seven cases are described powerfully through the use of primary sources--court documents, indictments, criminal complaints, testimony. Miguel Flores and Sebastian Gomez held 400 workers under the watch of armed guards and assaulted--even shot--those who tried to escape. Abel Cuello held more than 30 tomato workers in two trailers in the isolated swampland west of Immokalee. Once out of prison, Cuello was able to resume supplying labor to Ag-Mart Farms in Florida and North Carolina. Michael Lee recruited homeless US citizens to harvest oranges, creating debt through loans for rent, food, cigarettes, and cocaine. Ramiro and Juan Ramos had a workforce of over 700 farm workers and threatened with death those who tried to leave. They also pistol-whipped and assaulted at gunpoint van service drivers who gave rides to farm workers leaving the area. Ronald Evans also recruited homeless citizens throughout the southeast with promises of good jobs and housing, and then kept them in a labor camp surrounded by a chain link fence topped with barbed wire. He also made sure they were perpetually indebted to him, deducting money from their pay for food, rent, crack cocaine, and alcohol.

When the visitor steps out of the truck he sees a panel which gets to the heart of CIW's analysis around modern slavery--that it's not something that takes place in a vacuum, but it's tied to the broader conditions in the agriculture industry--sub-poverty wages and substandard working conditions; from the earliest days of slavery through today, farm workers in Florida are among the least paid and least protected workers in the nation.

On the panel are two artifacts to drive home that message: the bloody shirt of a 17-year old boy who was beaten in 1996 for stopping to take a drink of water while working in Immokalee. In response, there was a nighttime march by 400 workers to the crew leader's house. This was a significant moment in CIW's history because that kind of violence was routine and never received a widespread organized response.

There is also testimony blown up from a 1970 Senate hearing convened by Minnesota Senator Walter Mondale illustrating that these same issues were being discussed 40 years ago. Next to it is a video by Iowa public TV of a similar hearing held just two years ago by Senators Bernie Sanders, Edward Kennedy, and Richard Durbin.

At the foot of the panel is a 32-pound bucket of tomatoes. Harvesters fill it up 100 to 150 times per day, on average. For that bucket the worker receives 45 cents--a nickel more than the wage earned in 1980 (and that nickel is the result of general strikes organized by CIW in the mid- and late-90s.) The museumgoer can pick it up, getting a sense of how hard the work is for stagnant wages.

All of these exhibits allow CIW to make the arguments that they have been pushing for over 15 years very tangible. It's one thing to tell people about the conditions that persist in the fields. It's an entirely different thing to show it inside of a rolling replica of the most recently discovered slavery truck where people were held captive.

"The museum has made it possible to lay out our argument about slavery from A to Z, in a sort of irrefutable package of completely documented and totally unimpeachable facts," says CIW staff member Greg Asbed. "And when you can see the whole history and evolution of four hundred years of forced labor in Florida's fields assembled in one place, then all the false assumptions about what drives modern-day slavery just fall away. It's not workers' immigration status today, or a few rogue bosses, but the fact that farm workers have always been Florida's poorest, most powerless workers. Poverty and powerlessness is the one constant that runs like a thread through all the history. In short, you see, it's not about who's on the job today. It's about the job itself."

But the last thing CIW wants is for people to simply leave, shaking their heads, saying, "Isn't that terrible. I can't believe slavery exists." The goal isn't just to educate people about what's going on, but also to show them what they can do about it.

The final panel outside of the truck lets people know there is a solution underway with the Campaign for Fair Food. Since 2001, farm workers have been focusing on the retail level of the food industry--forcing companies to take responsibility for the conditions of their supply chain in order to alleviate the poverty and powerlessness at the root of the industry.

"The key to making change happen--the absolute fundamental key to making change happen--is for the major buyers to move their purchases from the farms where bad stuff is happening, to the farms where good stuff is happening," says Asbed. "Of course, there are no farms that you can say are good across the board yet, that could be certified as 'fair food.' The industry has a ways to go before it gets there. But you can encourage better behavior by moving your purchases to follow the best behavior, and you can eliminate the worst abuses by making sure growers will lose business, and maybe even lose the ability to do business, if abuses like slavery happen in their fields."

CIW has signed code of conduct agreements and penny-per-pound pay raises with the four largest fast food companies in the world; the largest food service company in the world, Compass Group; and the largest organic grocer, Whole Foods. In fact, the latest slavery case--in which the farms that used slave labor were identified--led to growers losing business for the first time thanks to the code of conduct agreements.

CIW has now turned its attention to supermarkets, asking them to end their tradition of buying tomatoes with no questions asked.

In the southeast, that means Publix. When asked whether the supermarket continues to purchase from farms that were recently found to use slave labor a Publix spokesperson "said the chain does purchase tomatoes from the two farms but pays a fair market price." That's the kind of mentality CIW is up against in trying to get them to change their ways and pay attention to working conditions and wages. In the northeast, the focus is on Ahold, a Dutch company which owns Giant Food and Stop and Shop. Ahold continues to purchase tomatoes from Six L's, one of the growers that used enslaved workers to pick tomatoes in the Navarrete case. Ahold will take up this issue on April 13 at its shareholder meeting. You can e-mail CIW for postcards to send to any of these supermarkets, and also Kroger.

The final panel of the museum allows people opportunities for action. They can get on the CIW email list, take a postcard to send to Publix, or get information on the upcoming farmworker Freedom March on April 16-18--25 miles from Tampa to Publix Corporate Headquarters in Lakeland. Visitors can also sign a guest book to share some reflections. Some of those comments over the last 3 weeks of exhibits include: "Such a national shame--it must stay on the front burner until it is no longer." "I will be making choices that will help stop this horrible situation." "Seeing injustice should move us to action!"

Indeed, people across the state have been moved to action. At churches, universities, high schools and other venues, the responses from what one CIW member described as "scores and scores of focus groups" have been amazing.

"They range from I had no idea this is going on, to what can I do to help, to wanting to get involved," said CIW staff member Leonel Perez. "And part of it's the presentation--once you're inside the truck, and the use of primary sources--I think there's a very visceral component. It really has been a pretty easy pivot to 'and here's what you can do about it'."

This week in St. Augustine, two older African-American workers who used to work for Ron Evans (U.S. vs. Evans, 2007) visited the museum. They described their experience in servitude and vouched for the museum's accuracy in portraying the Evans' operations. One of the men had escaped by slipping away in the middle of the night after working for Evans for 11 years. They talked about the beatings they received if they tried to leave the labor camp and how Evans used to gather up the workers' shoes at the end of each workday so that even if they escaped, they wouldn't be able to get far running barefoot through the fields and forest.

The Modern-Day Slavery Museum stops us from running in a very different way. It forces us to confront the horrible truth that slavery still exists in America, and that too many consumers and leaders in the food industry simply turn a blind eye.

When the museum has finished traveling Florida, I hope legislators will take an interest in bringing it to the National Mall. It's time to make the fight against modern slavery part of our national consciousness.” Unqoute

The temperature outside the air conditioned room is now climbing into the sizzling zone.It is getting hot out there and boy , still do you want to garden?

Well, I consider gardening  a THERAPY, so it is OK to sweat out the toxins and get extra vitamin D from some sunny outdoors productive active gardening .

This time of the year we will be harvesting the spring and winter crops of cucumber , lettuce and cabbage .Also I have a special harvest of seeds from a local community garden plot down town   .Most folks I know  buy their own seeds , I do not.Harvesting seeds in S.Florida is essential for keeping local farming LOCAL.The DNA of the local seeds confirm and adapt better  to the tropical climate here  and tends to provide a crop that is more immune to plant disease ,if other things were kept constant like using your own grown organic soil for example.

I will be planting my cherry tomatoes that were raised in containers and start okra ,kalaloo seeds for the summer crop.Also I will be planting summer herbs like basil,rose mary,lemon grass and more of the heat loving herbs..Threre are a few more herbs and you need to come to my workshops to learn more about the summer garden here in S.Florida.

Happy summer gardening!

Alternative community farmer

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

I have lived and worked for the last twenty years in the Tropics .I have met a lot of indigenous people whose families lived for generations in Florida .Among those I met and learned from are Native Floridians, Native Americans from the Seminole and Mikosoki Nations in addition to many people from the Caribbean region. To the new comers who like to explore the taste of indigenous edible plants of the Tropics, a word of wisdom is: Start growing your own and excavating your neighborhood and backyard vegetations.

One of my favorite indigenous herbs is: CERRASSE.

 It is a native vine mostly known to the indigenous peoples of the Carribean.It grows usually during the hot and warm seasons of the summer, fall and spring. Up to the start of the first cold waves of the winter here in S.Florida.

 The ancient Chinese TCM herbalists knew about this precious herb thousands of years ago and used it in TCM to treat the LIVER, GALLBLADER and KIDNEY. It is a bitter herb, usually the the leaf is dried and used as a tea. Also the vine produces a fruit that the peoples of SOUTH ASIA, especially INDIA, used it extensively in AYEURVEDIC MEDICINE .They called it KERALA.

 Fortunately this herb grows through out our tropical S.Florida region and only few people take notice of its amazing benefits. We have a lot of visitors from other parts of the USA who when in Florida keep their habits of eating and drinking as they used to UO NORTH. So they miss on the therapeutic benefits of the THERMAL and COOLANT properties of the TROPICAL REGION by omitting the locally grown indigenous food plants like the above.

Another different indigenous vegetable that grows in the wild in the Tropics is: KALALOO.It is a different form of SPINACH. Very rich in minerals especially IRON. The Jamaicans and the peoples of the Caribbean islands include it more frequently in their cuisine. The green leaf of Kalaloo is sweater than the ordinary spinach we usually know. It also has an edible stem that can be cooked, juiced and used in salads raw. Women of the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean region eat a lot of Kalaloo as it is a good source for minerals especially IRONS! It purifies and fortifies the blood humors as it is known in the folklore medicine here. It is mostly cultivated in the wild and some natives domesticate its growing in their backyard. It needs a rich soil that is not prone to flooding.

 Cuban Oregano:

This herb was voted the HERB OF THE YEAR 2005.It can be propagated by cutting the leaf and planting it in the local soil that is sandy and well drained.It is a hardy plant that survives hurricanes and draughts. It is usually taken as in tea or salad for middle ear infections, flu, head aches, backackes and much more…

There are more tropical indigenous herbs to mention...Best thing come and join our local members as we meet each Saturday to discuss and learn more aboyt ORGANIC GARDENING TOPICS OF THE TROPICS.

Join us at our Saturday Ongoing ORGANIC GARDENING CLASSES EVERY SATURDAY -AT- 3:30PM

More details at our calender of events listings @:

localharvest.org/farms/M20618

The French were the pioneers in intensive gardening during the WW-I and WW-II.To be honest to history we might summon the Chinese ,Greek,Babylonian and Mayans ancient biointensive farming methods 4000 years ago.Whether you want to call it French fries or freedom fries it  is up to you, but we are interested in results.If you live in S.Florida you must know that sand is the rule of the land.So , when the growing season pops up and the hurricane season goes down..You better be prepared to work your front/backyard no matter how small the space to grow your own organic fruits and veggies in an ecconomy that is stripping us all of our jobs,homes,cars and not to say more

What you need to start with is a class from a local urban  farmer who lives near by.Check out the localharvest.org to find one by you your zip area.

Next, you need to understand that organic gardening does not compromise .So get educated by reading a book or ask questions.Urban farming in S.Florida is a challenge.Start with a plan for the location of your future garden that is exposed to ample sun light.Then start to dig and double dig not to look out for weapons of mass destruction but in case to extract any debris that are toxic like pcb,plastic,petroleum products etc..The land here was filled to raise the level of the home structures for avoiding flooding.You have heard about the land fills in the Acreage lately and you might have an idea what did they contain !

Here are some suggestions to follow:

1-Prepare your own organic soil and compost.

2-Mimmick the natural flow of growing that is let the plants grow close to each others without the extra empty spaces allocated to a path for example.

3-Plant heirloum locally obtained organic seeds and avoid Genetically engineered ones.

4_Use raised bed in flood prone area and trench dug beds in high grounds.Dig and double dig always .

5-Make use of vertical gardening and introduce trellis wherever needed.

7-Be sustainable.Avoid loss of nutrients and humus and keep adding nutrients every growing season through organic composted manure and organic fertilisers and ammendments like blood and bone meal.

8-Follow the phases of the moon in your planting and harvesting.Educate yourself by reading the Farmers Almanac which has a lot of tips to guide you.

9-Be conservative in using water for irrigation.I find that growing intensive wise in containers saves you a lot .Plus you do not have to worry about being fined for watering and breaking the current draught watering rules.Use mulch to keep the texture of the soil moist and avoid burning the roots during the zesty summer .

10-Use Xeroscaping as a rule of thumb.Meaning , plant the right plant in the right place.Do not plant a water loving plant next to a draught tolerant plant.

It is good to always join a network of local urban farmers to exchange ideas and seeds.Urban and community farming is becoming more popular in Florida as more big agri business exit the farms .The future is for the ones who can live off the land and keep the land a living place for the living.

Happy urban farming.

We can help you get started .Join our  on going classes on organic gardening.Visit our web link at:

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

Some  big agri business apply for chapter eleven and claim bankruptcy .The main stream media courts news about big farmers when they go out of business but never bother to let us know the state of small urban farmers.Take this fictitious scenario:"Big F1" has been farming in sincethat long and lately went bankrupt.They went through a similar move back in  so and so year and went out of business  to come back later in a different name as "Big F2 " Now it  is claiming bankruptcy with millions owed to creditors that will disappear after chapter 11 filing.Some say chapter eleven is good business to shut down for now and come back later after getting rid of all debts!

XYZ county is known for being an Agricultural County and a  home for  three commissioners  imprisoned and indicted in fraud charges mainly in connection with developers land  frauds..Who is going to replace those big farmers who are exiting the farms one by one and selling their lands for developers?Are we protecting farm lands for the next generations?Are we heading towards an imported agriculture that depends heavily on  produce from  Mexico?.We have lost so many manufacturing business to China and Mexico thanks to NAFTA and because we ignored the small business  enterpreneurs .The stimulus money went to bail out the banks who are now stripping home owners of thier homes in a tsunami of foreclosures and no one is bothering to stop this fiasco.I envision an exodus of migrant farmers back to Mexico to work in the booming organic agriculure that is fuelled by migrating American Agriculture  big business to reap the benefits of the growing demand for organic produce in US .On the other hand,there are a continuous decline in farms and farmers here in US.We need a wake up call not in the wilderness but in our educational system to start teaching farming and gardening in  :elementary,middle and high schools the least to say!There are blockages in the educational system and a monopoly that favors special interest  educational system which caters to the Fertilizers and Pesticides  chemical industries.There is a bias  period in doing business as usual.Our health care system needs to switch towards prevention and naturupathic  natural nutrition from  the organic "farms", away from the allopathic  pills and manufactured medicine from the synthetic "farm-aceutical "industry that gives one a pill to supress a disease while at the same time causing  fatal side effects to the human body and sometimes followed by death .It makes sense to follow the common sense of prevention and stop the carziness of pain killers and pills that have a chilling effect on our economy and a killing effect on our health!Small organic farmers and CSA are the next growing business  of the future.

Welcome to Florida .Now if you live in the Acreage, start testing your well water before you drink it or use it to irrigate  your vegetable garden!The story of cancer cluster now is going to a tv near you  after a national  coverage that was hosted lately by  Oprah concerning the Cancer Clusters here in the Acreage ,Florida.More info  at the  Palm Beach Post article by John Antigua . I qoute excerpts from The Palm Beach Post article of John Antigua on Sunday March 7, 2010 for quick reference.To read the whole Front page article please go to link:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/anxiety-in-the-acreage-aver-demolition-fill-with-325946.html

Qoute :"Anxiety in The Acreage over demolition fill with little public safety monitoring

May be you have been told that SLUDGE is Safe and Organic.May be you have beleived that no toxic heavy metals and company are there to contaminate your garden after applying sludge...may be ...may be yes or may be no.Here are the latest news in case you skipped it while tending to youer farm or garden chores.Share it with a friend and be AWARE:I qoute OCA (organic consumer association) down below article copied for easy reference:

"Outrage in San Francisco: City Gives Residents 'Organic' Compost Containing Toxic Sewage Sludge

Action Alert

Tell San Francisco's Mayor and City Officials to Stop Spreading Sewage Sludge Under the Guise of Organic Fertilizer

Toxic sludge is good for you?

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, along with municipal governments across the US, want farmers, school, and backyard gardeners to grow their veggies using toxic sludge, spreading the outrageous lie that municipal wastewater sewage plants can somehow magically transform hazardous materials into "organic fertilizer."

Toxic sludge is poison.

Scientific evidence has confirmed that municipal sewage sludge contains hundreds of dangerous pathogens, toxic heavy metals, flame-retardants, endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, pharmaceutical drugs and other hazardous chemicals coming from residential drains, storm water runoff, hospitals, and industrial plants.

Sewage sludge contains everything the sewage treatment plant was able to remove from the sewage - plus every new chemical and pathogen formed in the mad synergy of this chemical soup, including virulent, antibiotic-resistant bacteria created through horizontal gene transfer.

San Francisco public officials have helped the toxic sludge industry score a major victory in the Bay Area, where they've been able to convince hundreds of regional (non-organic) farmers to spread the hazardous material on farm land and pasture, and have actually been able to get city residents to take hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic sludge and spread it over their backyard and community gardens.

San Francisco is a strategic battleground to stop the sludge industry from poisoning more farms and communities. In 1998 the organic community rose up and banned the use of sewage sludge in organic farming. Now it's time to ban its use on farms, gardens, lawns, and land in general.

Sewage sludge is a form of hazardous waste and needs to be contained and isolated as such.

California proposition 65 (P65) requires the listing of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. Chemicals known to the SFPUC that are in San Francisco sewage sludge that are also found on the California P65 list include:

Mercury - Molybdenum - Cobalt - Antimony Chromium - Dibenzofurans - Naphthalene - 1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane (Dbcp) - Di (2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate (Dehp) - Tcdd Equivalents (Dioxins) Such As Octachlorodibenzo-P-Dioxins (Ocdd)

Stop Sludge!

Click Here to Sign Our Petition

Click here to download OCA's Sludge Leaflet (PDF)

Organizations that have signed onto the letter asking Mayor Newsom to stop spreading toxic sludge on the city include:

Organic Consumers Association - Consumers Union - Arc Ecology - California Communities Against Toxics - California Food & Justice Coalition - Center for Environmental Health - Center for Food Safety - Center for Health, Environment & Justice - Earth Share California - East Bay Green Tours - Ecology Center - Food First (Institute for Food and Development Policy) - GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives) - Green Cafe Network - Help for Sewage Victims - Lessing/Sears Community Garden - Local Harvest - MOMAS (Mothers of Marin Against the Spray) - North Berkeley Harvest - People's Grocery -  Planting Justice - Safe Food and Fertilizer - San Francisco Green Party - Teamsters Union - United Sludge -Free Alliance

SLUDGE Info

• Sludge News
• Sewage Sludge Action Network
• Sewage Sludge Victims
• Sludge Facts
• United Sludge Free Alliance
• Reading a Fertilizer Label

Sustainable Solutions

Outrage in San Francisco: City Gives Residents 'Organic' Compost Containing Toxic Sewage Sludge

Action Alert

Tell San Francisco's Mayor and City Officials to Stop Spreading Sewage Sludge Under the Guise of Organic Fertilizer

Toxic sludge is good for you?

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, along with municipal governments across the US, want farmers, school, and backyard gardeners to grow their veggies using toxic sludge, spreading the outrageous lie that municipal wastewater sewage plants can somehow magically transform hazardous materials into "organic fertilizer."

Toxic sludge is poison.

Scientific evidence has confirmed that municipal sewage sludge contains hundreds of dangerous pathogens, toxic heavy metals, flame-retardants, endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, pharmaceutical drugs and other hazardous chemicals coming from residential drains, storm water runoff, hospitals, and industrial plants.

Sewage sludge contains everything the sewage treatment plant was able to remove from the sewage - plus every new chemical and pathogen formed in the mad synergy of this chemical soup, including virulent, antibiotic-resistant bacteria created through horizontal gene transfer.

San Francisco public officials have helped the toxic sludge industry score a major victory in the Bay Area, where they've been able to convince hundreds of regional (non-organic) farmers to spread the hazardous material on farm land and pasture, and have actually been able to get city residents to take hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic sludge and spread it over their backyard and community gardens.

San Francisco is a strategic battleground to stop the sludge industry from poisoning more farms and communities. In 1998 the organic community rose up and banned the use of sewage sludge in organic farming. Now it's time to ban its use on farms, gardens, lawns, and land in general.

Sewage sludge is a form of hazardous waste and needs to be contained and isolated as such.

California proposition 65 (P65) requires the listing of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. Chemicals known to the SFPUC that are in San Francisco sewage sludge that are also found on the California P65 list include:

Mercury - Molybdenum - Cobalt - Antimony Chromium - Dibenzofurans - Naphthalene - 1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane (Dbcp) - Di (2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate (Dehp) - Tcdd Equivalents (Dioxins) Such As Octachlorodibenzo-P-Dioxins (Ocdd)

Stop Sludge!

Click Here to Sign Our Petition

Click here to download OCA's Sludge Leaflet (PDF)

Organizations that have signed onto the letter asking Mayor Newsom to stop spreading toxic sludge on the city include:

Organic Consumers Association - Consumers Union - Arc Ecology - California Communities Against Toxics - California Food & Justice Coalition - Center for Environmental Health - Center for Food Safety - Center for Health, Environment & Justice - Earth Share California - East Bay Green Tours - Ecology Center - Food First (Institute for Food and Development Policy) - GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives) - Green Cafe Network - Help for Sewage Victims - Lessing/Sears Community Garden - Local Harvest - MOMAS (Mothers of Marin Against the Spray) - North Berkeley Harvest - People’s Grocery - Pesticide Watch - Planting Justice - Safe Food and Fertilizer - San Francisco Green Party - Teamsters Union - United Sludge -Free Alliance

SLUDGE Info

• Sludge News
• Sewage Sludge Action Network
• Sewage Sludge Victims
• Sludge Facts
• United Sludge Free Alliance
• Reading a Fertilizer Label

Sustainable Solutions ".Qoute!

Unqoute, knowledge is power and it may save lives if you head it by  acting on it ,and  verify and prove it as  true.I did.You may check out the  EU regulations on sludge just in case you are not convinced yet.

Bon appetite!