A little intro to Permaculture ~ Mariella

Permaculture is a big word. And I never quite understood what it meant. In all honesty I’m still in the process of understanding its meaning! But this is what I have gathered thus far:

It has to do with more than just gardening; Permaculture is a philosophy of working WITH rather than against nature, of thoughtful observation rather than thoughtless action, of looking at systems in all their functions rather than only one facet or possible outcome. In other words, it is the implementing of an entire system that works for you, considering everything so that in the end the thing you’ve created works for itself! 

This is a universal need. 

And this is where the concept of sustainability comes in, if the system that you have designed for your garden or your business or your lifestyle requires a disproportionate amount of input and resources, and creates a lot of waste, then it’s not sustainable over the long term. 

I’m going to be chatting about Permaculture a bit over the next few weeks as it’s something that I’d like to learn more about, but I promise that I’ll try not to bore you! I’d like to intro with Permaculture Ethics or principles:

Care for the Earth – All things, animate or inanimate, have an intrinsic worth and shouldn't be overlooked.

Care for people – Through self-reliance and community responsibility we care for ourselves and our fellow human beings.

Give away surplus – This fulfills the above. It’s plain to see in a garden situation, when food is ready to eat, it’s really ready! Everything ripens at once and this harvest needs to be shared. When we have too much of something in the garden for our family to eat, we give some to my husband’s parents and his brother's family. This perpetuates a habit where they also do the same, and we receive yummy gifts from time to time from a crop that we were not growing ourselves. 

This can apply to more than just gardening. If you’re building and there is material left over, swop it out or gift it, you’ll see the turn around when things come back to you. Trust the process.

In today’s current system, everything has one or two uses and then it ends up as landfill, this is called a linear system, as the resource makes a straight line for the dump! Sustainable systems are circular. The used item gains further use or ends up back at the source, where it can be naturally recycled and help make new things grow. Not a drop of energy is wasted and in such a system, where every little thing is cared for and considered, excess of resources is the natural result and the surplus can go toward care for the earth and people again!

It’s a system which focuses on humanity grounded in the same functions that make the planet a place which sustains life opposed to one slowly becoming inhospitable because of exploitation. Take some time today and think about the systems you have in place in your life and if they work for you as they are. Like, does it make sense to throw the compostable off cuts from cooking in the trash just to buy compost from the nursery when you want to work in the garden over the weekend? Have a good think, and I’ll be covering some ways to implement Permaculture in your home soon! 

How we chose our new cell phones ~ Mariella

How do you choose a cellphone? Contract, durability, service provider, design, colour? These reasons alone may be a strain on your brain!

There are as many studies showing that cellphones lead to brain tumours as there are studies which show that they are harmless, so this leaves us pretty much in the position of guinea pig! We are taking part in the largest (+5.981 billion subscriptions worldwide) bio-dynamic experiment in history, exposing ourselves, our children, our environment to a constantly buzzing web of electromagnetic signals. Are you excited yet?

There is much debate about the disruption and massive reduction in numbers of bee colonies and radiation from phones and other electronic devices.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/are-mobile-phones-wiping-out-our-bees-444768.html

In October last year an Italian court ruled that a businessman developed a benign brain tumour as a result of being on cell phone for hours on end and deserves worker’s compensation. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified mobile phone radiation on the IARC scale into ‘Group 2B - possibly carcinogenic. Deeming it necessary to conduct further tests.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57536355/italian-court-rules-mans-tumor-caused-by-mobile-phone/ 

The most obvious cause for concern is that, the longer you chat on your phone, the warmer your head feels. This is due to dielectric heating, an effect of microwave radiation. Dielectric material/living tissue is heated by rotations of polar molecules induced by an electromagnetic field. When on your phone, most of the heating effect will occur at the surface of the head by your ear, causing its temperature to increase. The body will increase blood flow to that area to reduce heat but the cornea of the eye can’t heat regulate. Even though no tests show increase in cataract due to microwave radiation exposure from cell phones, I don’t find this information too encouraging!

Baring all this in mind, our contracts expired recently and we embarked on an info seeking spree. The manufacturers of the phones I was interested in did not seem to have answers regarding the radiation levels of their products so we had to glean info from independent sites, comparing data to try to filter bogus information!

These are the sites that we found informative:  

http://sarshield.com/radiation-chart/

http://sarvalues.com/what-is-sar-and-what-is-all-the-fuss-about/

http://www.emfexplained.info/

http://reviews.cnet.com/2719-6602_7-291-2.html

 

Cell phone radiation levels have a SAR rating which stands for Specific Absorption Rate, which is the unit of measurement for the amount of RF energy absorbed by the body when using a mobile phone. The lower it is, the better off you are. Simple!

Tips for basic phone survival:

   - Distance makes the brain last longer. Many cell phone manuals actually recommend keeping your mobile phone at least 10 mm away from your ear at all times. Consider talking on speaker or a hands-free device. Experts cannot agree on whether a wireless or wired version is better, but as they all emit low level radiation, it’s best to take it off your ear when you’re not on a call.

  - No conclusive tests have been done on the lasting effects of radiation on kids, but most authorities recommend limited use. My kids speak on speaker for a minute or less, no exceptions. I’m not waiting around for the results! They also don't play games on phones without switching to flight mode.

- - SMSing is your friend. Phones emit less radiation when texting and it keeps the radiation away from your head!

- - Research shows that calling and receiving calls when the signal is strong dramatically  reduces exposure to radiation as the phone doesn’t have to try so hard to broadcast its signal to the nearest tower.

-          

 - Dial with your phone on speaker as this is when the radiation levels go up.

 - Remember to change hands during phone calls.

     

   It's a mine field of information out there, but after quite a long search we chose what we felt was right for us, even though we originally had something else in mind! This is important stuff, but just how important, only our children will be able to know for sure.

Keeping healthy with Sprouts! ~ Mariella

A while ago, the lady who helps me out once a week told me her son was ill and the doctor informed them that he had an unhealthy diet. Together we embarked on exploring ways to fix the situation on a low budget. 

She explained to me that they ate almost no raw food, with the exception of the occasional apple and I felt that this was a good place to start. We worked on it for a while and her son’s health quickly improved, and the secret ingredient was sprouts!

Sprouts are packed full of vitamins, minerals, proteins and enzymes which can be easily assimilated and digested. They also aid digestion. Think about it, this little green sprout has everything required to create a large plant, it’s just bursting with the energy to grow. It takes a few minutes a day to maintain and can produce much of your daily nutritional requirements.  

Sprouts allow for quick salads,  just throw them all in a bowl, add olive oil and lemon juice and serve! And as far as super foods go, you don’t get it cheaper.

There are many sprouting trays on the market, but I use a glass jar with netting held over the opening with an elastic band. 

Fill one quarter of the jar with your choice of sprout, soak overnight in a dark place, like the cupboard, and allow to drain in the drying rack before you leave for work. 

Rinse once a day until ready. 

Its best to leave them until the root is about 1 cm long at least, but a good way to know if they are ready is to taste one. 

If it still tastes a little starchy, leave for another day or so.

See your sprouts as a micro organic garden on your kitchen counter. It takes up no space and offers so much. I like to use alfalfa, fenugreek, lentils, Mung beans.

Each sprout offers something different:

Legumes – Protein and starch.

Mung beans - vitamins A, C, and B complex.

Most Seeds – phosphorous.

Sunflower seeds - vitamins B and D and all the essential amino acids.

Sesame seeds - calcium, iron, phosphorous, niacin, and protein.

Alfalfa (otherwise known as Lucerne!) - chlorophyll, vitamins A, B complex, C, D, E, G. K, iron, calcium, phosphorous, and sulphur.

Wheat grass (sprouted in trays, have as juice or sliced in salad) - Vitamins C, E, B complex, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, sodium, potassium, protein, enzymes, chlorophyll.

Buckwheat - lecithin and rutin.

They are also fantastic to take on long hikes as they weigh nothing and will ensure that you get your raw foods in long after all the usual fare has dried out or gone off. 

Sprouting makes my life easier and breathes freshness into my salads and believe me, including sprouts into your diet makes eating raw much easier to achieve! 

Practicing Gratitude ~ Mariella

My goodness, this was an eventful weekend. With two minor injuries in the family, both requiring urgent medical attention, and car damage, unrelated, it has been challenging to keep my sense of humour! 

Today I woke up like the weather; cloudy, heavy and grey. It took going out in the late afternoon drizzle to ‘go pick tomatoes’... 

(See http://freshearthorganicfood.blogspot.com/2012/05/ultimate-stress-management.html)

...to gain some objectivity on the matter. And I came to the conclusion that one area of my life is lacking attention and that is dedicated intent-full me time! 

I have found that one of the practices most effective in times of trouble is the practice of gratitude. As a means of delving into one another’s days, my family have cultivated the habit of performing a little ritual in the evenings during dinner. It goes like this:

Everyone gets a turn to say:  What they are grateful for today.  

                                         What they found challenging today. 

                                         What they are excited about today.  

That way it ends off on a high note and I, as a parent have the added opportunity to hear about issues at school that my children may not have thought to tell me about. The most important part is to highlight the positive events in the day and to feel real gratitude for them. 

After my trip around the garden with my little basket of tomatoes and herbs I have decided to crank the gratitude thing up a notch by getting myself a lightweight little Gratitude Diary, it will live in my bag and as I see things that reaffirm my faith in this magical life, I’ll whip out my diary and commit them to paper. That way, my arsenal against down days can build. I recall telling someone last week, ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’. Well here we go…..

What we fed the soil to get Today's Harvest ~ Mariella

This is our harvest for today! Granted we were away for a few days! But still! I’m quite excited! It serves as confirmation that hard work over time pays off, and reminded me to not feel discouraged when the birds total the tomatoes or the caterpillars consume the basil. 

When we started our garden on this hill of Fynbos exposed to harsh salty weather coming off the sea, the soil was tired and acid, and my husband worked hard to enrich the soil. 

Here’s a list of what we used and why:

-Dolomitic lime: Lime is produced from limestone, mined, crushed and processed into a granular form used to neutralize acidity in the soil, provides an inexpensive source of calcium and magnesium, improves microbial activity, improves nitrogen availability, promotes root growth, increases soil structure and increases rates of air and water infiltration.

-Manure: Organic Matter used to fertilize the soil and add nutrients such as nitrogen.

-Horse manure: We filled the bakkie with loads full of horse manure which was then allowed to compost for a couple of months before use. It’s an incredible fertilizer.

-Green Manure: Any garden clippings or crop leftovers like stalks and leaves. They help to nitrogen fix, and add nutrients and organic matter to the soil. The green manure principle started as a natural consequence of crop rotating, the bits left over in the fields after harvest are churned into the ground and allow the soil to recover.

-Compost: Anything organic from the garden and kitchen. Try to avoid throwing any cooked food it as it attracts pests like rats. If you have a compost heap in the back of your garden, you can throw any kitchen scraps in it but if you have a compost bin filled with worms, there is a list of foods that cannot be thrown in, like pineapple, onions and garlic.

- Bounce back pellets: An effective easy to use organic fertilizer based mostly on Chicken manure.

-Comfrey Tea: Comfrey is every gardener’s best friend, it’s prolific and a great source of nitrogen, phosphorous, calcium, potassium, fruiting vegetable love it! Fill a bucket with leaves and weight them down with something heavy like a brick, put a lid on the bucket to keep the flies out and allow to compost for about 3 weeks. It comes out foul smelling and dark and your plants will thank you. Dilute by at least 50% and spray on leaves to suppress foliar diseases, increase the amount of nutrients available to the plant, and speed up the breakdown of toxins. Using compost tea has even been shown to increase the nutritional quality and improve the flavour of vegetables.

- Bone meal: A mixture of finely and coarsely ground animal bones and slaughter-house waste products used as an organic fertilizer for plants It’s a slow-release fertilizer and very good as a source of phosphorus.

We have been working on the garden for about two years and the benefits are starting to show. There’s always lots to do but there’s always lots to harvest!