Heirloom Gardening, Food and Other Thoughts
Since I don’t live in the US, I don’t know if something like this is already generally known, but this looks like a great resource for people who don’t want to eat GMO foods.
I think we really need something like that in Europe, because there are so many loopholes by now that let in GMO foods.
Kokopelli Seeds of France, who last year was fined more than €17.000 for selling ‘illegal’ seeds, is involved in a new legal conflict. Baumaux, the same company that instigated the previous legal action against Kokopelli Seeds has now registered the ownership of the name Kokopelli and is selling a new variety of tomato with it.
Baumaux is not stopping there however, they are also demanding Kokopelli Seed cease and desist in their use of the name Kokopelli and all business activities associated with it. They are also demanding a payment of €100.000 in compensation for use of the name to date.
The original French language story is here, and a Google translated version here.
Soilmix
If you save your own seeds, make your own compost and recycle and reuse in your garden, many people don’t need to buy anything except some lime if they have acid soil and starting mix in order to start plants indoors.
A lot of people ask me about making your own seed starting mix, so they can avoid buying anything for their garden. What’s particularly troubling for many is nearly all seed starting mixes are based on either peat, which is often harvested in unsustainable ways, or coir, which is a waste product of the less than ethical coconut industry, and gets transported long distances. Starting mixes not based on peat or coir need to be sterilized, usually requiring fossil fuels or chemicals such as household bleach.
I don’t know if this is truly a recipe for everyone. Perhaps not everyone raises bats for guano? Anyway, Alan just posted a great recipe for starting mix, he makes nearly completely with waste or other products from his farm. I think this is a great starting point for many people to think about making something similar with sustainable things you may have available locally.
Yakraut
And Owen on Radix4Roots posted this great looking recipe for fermented yacón root! Something guaranteed to keep your digestive system in motion.
Island Blog
From a working 400 acre farm on Manitoulin Island in northern Ontario, this is a blog of someone I know from elsewhere on the Internet. DirtSunRain
Here’s a video I found on the GRAIN website, a translated French documentary on La Gloria and the associated Smithfield Farms factory pig farm where the latest outbreak of Swine Flu occured.
It’s about 45 minutes long, and contains some disturbing images.
On my way back from the Oxford meeting this year, after taking Tom to London Heathrow airport, and then arriving in Dover a little early for our ferry connection, we ended up in a nearby park in order to have a picnic before getting on our boat.
Besides the ruins of a WWII bunker, the main feature of this park were an unusual breed of cows, uniquely suited for the white cliffs of Dover.
Waist high, and only a little larger than a very large dog, they were really kind of interesting cows.
