Alternative Community Farmer/WPB.FL

There are some good news and some good news in the horizon for small family organic farmers.

To start with : The FDA has set new rules for farmers using ANTIBIOTICS in animal feed.Farmers now need a prerscription from a veterenerian to do so .Read more :

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/us/antibiotics-for-livestock-will-require-prescription-fda-says.html?_r=1

How about humans who want to know what is in their food like genetically engineered organism,pesticides,antibiots fed to plants etc?

Here are some good news beeing cooked and need your signiture:

http://justlabelit.org/fda-responds-to-1-1-million/

Do something to make the GMO label happen:

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/#!/petition/support-mandatory-labeling-genetically-engineered-foods-gmos/nkWHZ2Vm

This electuion year we need more walk your talk politics that answer to the needs of small family farmers .Farmers are also people who have rights for living their life and having access for health insurance,schooling, financial stimulus and the whole nine yards of GREEN LIVING or living in THE GREEN if you wish ...I mean not living in THE RED and always lacking or are left behind after the elections votes are cast!SEE you at  the ballots boxes in greater numers to support those who support the small FARMERS!

Make it happen.Speak up small family farmers!!

Here is another small farmer story and the dilemma of trying to make a buck milking a cow and selling locally grown food.

In this election year small farmers must come together to gather not just crops but also their votes and voices to adress the challenges and hardships of the trade  and their solutions  .

Not so many stories of farmers struggling surface at the " Main" Stream media.Local harvest farmers may find this interesting to learn a lesson from ..a " Maine " farmer.

Sharing  UNUSUAL farmers stories other than the usual anecdotal literature of "he said she said and what is going on with the chicken and cows"  is  significant to farmers trying hard to make a living off the land but hardly  succeeding and always struggling  .

Read more below and pass it on :

http://localfoodlocalrules.org/2012/04/04/wheres-the-real-beef/

http://www.change.org/petitions/governor-lepage-drop-the-lawsuit-against-farmer-dan-brown

Weather conditions change from region to region.As for the climate change we are now on a new map/scale as a new standard classifying the agricultural regions in the US into a different scale of Zones than as previously recognized, due to a change in climate.To learn more about new USDA  map hardinus zones please check out:

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2012/120125.htm

To understand what a hardiness zone is , Wikepedia describes it as follows:"A hardiness zone (a subcategory of Vertical Zonation) is a geographically defined area in which a specific category of plant life is capable of growing, as defined by climatic conditions, including its ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone (see the scale on the right or the table below). For example, a plant that is described as "hardy to zone 10" means that the plant can withstand a minimum temperature of -1°C. A more resilient plant that is "hardy to zone 9" can tolerate a minimum temperature of -7°C"

Gardners and farmers should pay more attention to the changes in climate as to protect their crops and be flexible in setting up their planting and harvesting plans.

According to the Weather Meteorologist:"Weather is the state of the air at a certain time and place".

Weather includes temperature ,air pressure,humidity.wind,clouds,rain,snow,storms.In order tp be able to predict the weather changes in the absence of a weather channel screen for example , one simply can observe the AIR layers closestr to the earth surface.Native Americans can tell when it is raining by simplu smelling the the air!How many of us are now able to predict weather changes ? Not so many thanks to the weather predictions offerd on TV,internet etc..

Another way of predicting the weather is to observe migration of certain birds..There are now climate changes in Florida where recently the rain has paid random visits .The grass is yellow at most of the front yards that observe the water restrictions issued by local governments.RAIN Water is now becoming a scarce source with the climate change in S.Florida.The Temperature is also changing extremely hot or cold..Plants are becoming confused and crop failure due to climate change is now a norm here.

Is there a solution one could ask oneself to combat climate change?

Earth Day is the time to stop and ask ourselves for ways to fight global warming and the simple answer to do so is to plant more trees,gardens and stop deforesting ,polluting our water and reducing the carbon foot print.  

As the Earth Day series of topics goes by , I ponder on the EXPECTATIONS of gardening or farming.Expect the UNEXPECTED to happen!

Usually we treat our garden project with some high profile expectations.Here is an example of a NEW gardener- comer's expectations :

1-I want my plants growing  high yields right now.

2-I want to work smart :Meaning that I want to harvest while others will do the DONKEY WORK!

3-I want the weather to be perfect all the time with least frost,storms,heat,draught flooding and so forth.

4-I want to bother not with crop failures or any pest or bugs destroying my crop.

5-I want to make a lot of money selling my crop to the rich.

6-I want my dreams of gardening be fulfilled even though I spend less time ,money,effort working the land.

7-I want to hire cheap migrant farmers to do the donkey work while I watch gardening programs on TV or spend more  time at  my lap top researching and acquiring more farming knowledge.

8-I want to use anykind of fertilizer ,pesticide or miracle  garden panache no matter what sludge or whatever to make my crops look  smarter or bigger .

9-I want to learn the gardening/farming process in one shot class or trial with no errors or delay.

10-I want all of the above right now.

Expect the unexpected and accept the unaccepted, but for sure you need to expect the unaccepted and accept it:Gardening or urban farming is a process to learn,apply and harvest.It takes time,resources and most of the time you have to partner with nature not against it!

The time and the ay is now .The vision is to create  jobs where there aint any!

My friend has an Herb Farm and she has been nervous about the early heat waves that are killing her plants and her business.The climate change is here .

Gas prices will hit $% by the summer and the food prices will follow suit.

We are at a turning point.Our values about what is worthy work and unworthy work are about to go upside down.The impact of the consumerism mentality is having a toll on us as we lose more jobs,homes,cars and you name it.Ownership and property values are going through a change not of HANDS but also of HEART! 

Soon the New Earth will be home for new wave of workers whose jobs are not defined as worthy because of the scientific  or hi-tech glitter.Soon there will be a rush for the new gold that we have shunned as unworthy:FERTILE SOIL!

The New Earth will place more value on ENTROPIC WORK!

Entropic work such as farming or productive gardening is the key to a SPIRITUAL life.

According to Fritijof Capra, author of "The Turning Point" A ZEN approach for meaningful working and living.Is it more of worth to work to live or live to work? 

I qoute:"Doing work that has to be done over abd over again help us recognize the natural cycles of growth and decay,of birth and death, and thus become aware of the dynamic order of the universe."The point is to reach for ORDINARY work that is in synchronicity and harmoney with NATURE!

What is more ordinary than FARMING? Only in America farmers and I mean Urban or small family farmers starve and lack health insurance and all the aminities and benefits that we- as humans- all need!This is not to mention the support  from financial stimulus to other social acceptance and status appreciation .The highest salaries in Europe are paid to CHEFS and Farmers are a valued resource and they have a better financial support from governments , unlike the status of small family farmers in the US who lack the essential help needed .The reason why is :Big Agri-Business dominates the industry!

Not for long , as we come closer to a NEW EARTH AWARENESS .Change is in the AIR!

The Earth Day search and destroy version of PESTICIDES alternatives seems more palatable with this ecconomy that left no money in our pockets to buy fertilizers or pesiticdes.So the smart way(meaning to save and or MAKE MONEY) is to check out what the Native Americans and other World INDEGENOUS people used to combut crop busters like pests and ants..etc!

Let us start with a US-UNIVERSITY study recently  concerning the use of pesiticides and its other effects on Humans and animals:

http://www.news.pitt.edu/Pesticides_MOrphv

Alternatives to pesticides from your home-kitchen and grocery store shelves:

1-Ants Busters: Try to use corn gritts.A South Dakotta Lacota Chief miraculasly hinted on using the corn grits to combat the ANTS that were harrasing the sweat lodgers.Now gardeners and farmers are flocking to use the recipe to combat ANTS: Simply sprinkle the corn grits at the ants nests.Wait   and ye shall behold ..nothing else could round up those pests better than CORN GRITTS!

2-Serpents  busters:Once my neighbor tried a home made recipe to scare the serpents from his garden and when it was working he started to contemplate a patent and day dream of millions of $ in his bank account but offcourse it never happened:The recipe will scare the snakes away but not kill them.Sprinke the cat poop where you suspect snakes camp and watch out the exodus!Ancient Rome Farmers  -prior to the pistol and canon invention   -used gun powder (sulfur powder) to combat snakes)!

3-Racoons and other night garden critters :Spray with a mix of castile soap and oil od Palma Crist or commonly known as Castor Oil.If you have the leaf of the castor oil plant then use its tea mixed with castor oil to spray to discourage the nite raides of the Racoon family to harvest your crop!

4-Natural Kitchen ROUND UP alternative:To win the war on garden pests one need not to have an arsenel of biological weapons .Just use VINEGAR to combar WEEDS .I personally will add Epsom Salt to a HOT water solution of white vinegar and spray in the midst of the day at weeds !Aint so weird to use vinegar to combat weeds and save money on top!

http://www.pesticide.org/solutions/home-and-garden-toolbox/weed-solutions/vinegar-in-herbicidesv

Offcourse there are other SAFE and EDIBLE alternatives to CHEMICAL POISONOUS PESTICIDES like :NEEM OIL,Garlic oil,Cayenne pepper oil and so on so forth...For now start small and save by using your kitchen rather than the biological weapons of PESTS mass destruction.

On Earth Day Celebrations let us salute the farmers and gardeners who keep our children,animals and precious soiland CROPS  SAFE from POISONOUS PESTICIDES!

Today was a great day in my life.I was handed an honorary placque from the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service commemorating my ten years of service .

I was at the Monthly MG Educational meeting and we were attending to another Master Gardener presentation on the role of Education and  reading FLORIDA  horticultural  books in particular.

Barbara is a master gardener and I listened as she reviewed with us precious information  and distributed a list  from the Florida Classic Library.I want to share the web site with fellow gardeners and farmers and take this opportunity to thank University of Florida MG program for such educational opportunities that keep us gardeners in a continuous path of a non-stop horticultural ENLIGHTENMENT:

 www.floridaclassicslibrary.com

Also , I was moved by the many books that were brought by fellow MG and I want to mention couple of books that I qouted from Harry , a fellow MG:

1-Book Title:50 plants that changed the course of History. By Bill Laws .

ISBN:13:978-1-55407-798-4

2-Book Title:100 vegetables and where they come from.By William Weaver. ISBN: 1-56512-238-0

Kudos for those silent farmers,gardeners and horticultural authors and writers who choose to light a candle rather than cursing darkness.Education is an alternative to ignorance.One belongs to the LIGHT the other belongs to DARKNESS.The choice is ours to make..

Back in history when man and woman  farmed the ancient natural way and observed the laws of nature life had a more meaningful presence on EARTH.As we come closer to celebrate Earth Day it is time to stop and smell the roses or just pose for a moment to reflect on the "essence" of Life on Earth.

Speculating food for our future generations..well we may stop and entertain ourselves watching a movie now and anticipating that the future is not ouras to worry about or is that so?

Watch this movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNezTsrCY0Q&noredirect=1

Why we are here?Why our fathers and grandfathers lived more in harmoney with nature than us?

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind as the Cat Stevens song goes..but still the wind could be harvested just like the rain and the..... EARTH!

I have a neighbor who grows some fruit trees like Malbury and Sapodilla ..mangoes and more of the tropical kind.How many you might think know what are these trees for? I met only a couple of local women who stopped occasionally to pick and look.They mentioned to me that they have learned from their grand parents about fruit trees and their values..

As we struggle to make ends meet in an ecconomy that is non-stop crumbling..we might consider for a moment to stop grumbling and start growing instead  fruit trees for our children and teach them how to connect with EARTH and live by its natural laws.To mention a few:The law of the CIRCLE or Whatever goes around comes around-The law of Attraction-The law of LOVE!

Few thoughts and reflections :why  have we gone so far from each others and neglected the soil .Separation is double edged and its consequences are in multiple degeneration and fall.Less farms and more developments!Less LOCAL farmers and more "migrant farmers" .Higher gas prices and higher food prices.. ..Are we in the "Hunger Games" yet?

A student pointed to me the vast neglected lots and asked why they are not farmed ?As farmers struggle financially and wither with the wind..more lands stand untended and growing just grass especially in the suburbs towns and cities ..Banks are stripping home owners and fatrm owners of delinquent property.They let the grass and weeds be their new owners instead.More plight in the land and less light in our hearts and mind to enable us comprehend or see what is really happening to us?

Another day.Another dollar.Another day another no more dollars!

The weeds like Dandelion andPursulane once were at the diner table .Now they are rounded up!We need to step up and encourage children to grow and learn the farming skills.This Earth Day let us commit to more Awareness and classes on organic farming in our  schools and beyond.Each one of us can make the difference if we just sponsored or supported one local farmer a day.Happy Earth Day!

Transforming our backyards into bountiful productive gardens is just a class away.

Organic Gardening Awareness classes can now unite friends and families together to learn how to transform their backyards from an inefficient lawn grass to an efficient fruit and vegetable garden.

Children and adults alike now can learn the process without even going to school.Simply bringing the classes to a potluck gathering with a local urban farmer could be the alternative.Here are some samples and examples in pictures:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=Share-_-Personal-_-Email-_-Sharee-_-Images&token=170649356311%3A204916869&_requestid=59324

It was said back in old times:"It takes a village to raise a child."We can add into this :It takes a productive fruit and vegetable garden to nourish and nurture a child as well!

In the wake of the never ending economic crunch and as an alternative to spending hard earned dollars on imported food that travels the 1500 miles before it reaches our tables, we now can grow our own food and save money just by turning the backyard into a mini farm that creates FOOD PRODUCING jobs and teaches our children the skills of sustainable living,

It is better to teach one how to fish rather than give a fish.Voila:Imagine how nuch we can save on taxpayers money given away as food stamps!?

The new generation of farmers can be found at a nearby productive backyard garden near you.

Farming one backyard and one family a day keep the doctor away as it is a proven THERAPY as practiced in Japan and Scandinavian countries!Also, it can transform our inefficient neglected lands into bountiful productive gardens and beautify our cities and towns .Not to mention protecting our environment  our families and preserving the EARTH as a safe place to live and make a LIVING for our  future generations .

Beleive it or not :Here in S.Florida the old news is always the "new" news.

Big Sugar Agri Business polluting the water with chemical fertilizers as phosphoros and nitrogen  while  refusing  to pay their share  to clean up  as the Palm Beach Post reports.As a result Taxpayers pick up MOST of the Clean UP  bill!Read more :

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/study-agriculture-industry-pays-fraction-of-clean-up-2262986.html?cxtype=rss_state

Here is what the Everglades Foundatrion Study says:

http://www.evergladesfoundation.org/news/entry/study-agriculture-industry-pays-fraction-of-clean-up-cost-of-fertilizer-pol/

As Earth Day comes closer we stop to reflect on ways and means to clean up and preserve the Natural Resources for our children .The least is to protect our Water and Earth resources.

Talking about resources makes us wonder what happened to the fertile soil and the clean water act? Who are the polluters and what did they do to repair the damages done to the environment?

There are consequences for damaging our natural resources that resonate and culminate to affect futrure generations ..Now is the time to do something about keeping our LIVING planet Earth a safe place for the LIVING?

Check this out .Hot news from the front....yard ...farming or shall we say framing?

A WOMAN SUED BY HER " Home Owners ASSOCIATION BOARD FOR PLANTING FLOWERS IN HER FRONT YARD!!!!

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/03/19/nh-woman-sued-for-planting-flowers-in-her-front-yard/

 Now let us ask ourselves some simple questions:

Do home owners who live in HOA controlled space have rights to plant  in their yards ?

Can  they chose to grow organic vegetables instead of lawn grass or flowers or just  whatever the HOA dictates?

If not ,then it is time to introduce a Home Owners (HOA )Bill of Rights!

Welcome to The Florida Tropical SizzlingEnvironment.Now learn how to eat to ward off the heat ,using “COOLANT “locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Talking about locally grown lends us to mention growing your own Tropical food at your back-front yard or even in containers if you do not have access to land.

Why to eat and grow locally grown food?Simply speaking:Your body –mind and spirit are partners with the UNIVERSE and Mother Earth .In other words ,your outside environment channells both food for thought(MIND) and food for stomach(BODY)to help you maintain INNER HARMONEY or HOMEOSTASIS!

To start with some cooling tropical food , OKRA is the QUEEN.

OKRA is a SOUTHERN TRADITIONAL DISH.It grows in the sizzling hot tropical climates of the deep south and the Caribean .Most people who are not native to Florida are unaware of this Mother Earth favorite Colon cleanser –peristalises agent -and colon Coolant!Says who? Ancient Egyptian/Ayuervedic / and Traditional Chinese Chefs.Okra: Try it once and you will love it forever!

Okra has a draw back as it drives away people who do not like its slimy nature.To overcome this slimy feature here is a solution:Steam it up!

My Moms Traditional favorite Okra Recipe for TWO:

1)Steam one pound of Organic or LOCALLY /Home GROWN Okra at medium heattemp using half a cup of spring water for 10 minutes. Set aside.Cost 4$.Set aside.

2)Using THREE TABLE SPOONS of EXTRA VIRGIN COCONUT OIL :Saute one sliced red onion/three minced garlic gloves /pinch of Cayenne peppers-sea salt-tumeric .5 minutes.Cost 2$.

3)Add 3 locally grown organic fresh tomato :diced or sauce.C ook for another five minutes at medium heat.Set aside.Cost 2$.

4)Mix above 1+2+3 with two more table spoons of extra virgin robust Coconut oil. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.Cost 1$.

5-Steam one cup of basmati or brown rice using three cups of spring water and two tea spoons of organic fresh butter or Organic Coconut extra virgin coconut oil. .Garnish with half cup of dried or fresh locally grown mint leaves,( I use Kamasutra mentha leaves from my backyard Mint Tree).15 minutes .S et aside.Cost 2$.Voila:Serve food for TWO at room temperature.Bon appetite.

A Home made and GROWN MEAL for two at total cost of $ 11 only..not so bad Tony Dagher. More to come @ localharvest.org/farms/M20618

Starting an organic vegetable garden in your own backyard is not a bad idea .

Here in S.Florida the GROWING season has laready started .You are not late to join the early bird gardeners.What you need is to learn the basics .Remember that the soil in S.Florida is SANDY.So your best bet is to prepare your own soil.

Learning the tropical backyard farming is important to start with.

I have classes available at your own backyard as well as mine.You pick the place and time.

We can help .You can learn and do it! One step and one day at a time!

More info, visit: localharvest.org/farms/M20618

Find us at:Natural Awakening PBC edition -S.Florida Leading Hollistic Magz.

I remember the first email INVITATION I received from local harvest about joining their BLOG family.

They suggested I start a blog and may be talk about THANKS GIVING.Now after Three years of blogging I want to  Give Thanks to Local Harvest Family for the BLOGGING door of opportunity they have opened for  small farmers through out US to let their voice be heard .

Communication is one of the most essential ingredient for the FOOD FOR THOUGHT recipe.

This Thanks giving let us remember to communicate with our loved and unloved ones!

Let us remember to give THANKS in KIND:

A food basket for the  NEEDY!

A Thank you card for a special one who gave us FREELY!

Happy THANKS GIVING LOCAL HARVEST FAMILY and  SMALL FARMERS!