It's time for a break!
We're going on hiatus! Let's use the next month or so to focus on the workshops and our gardens. We'll meet again sometime in March. Look for an announcement in the newsletter and the blog. In the mean time..... try to think of some good books!
Our next book is a light read to take us through the holidays. The book is "Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden". If you google the title, you will find a free digital version of the book. Also, Jaye emailed "The Regulars" the book in word format. If you would like that version, then send me a quick email at michele@ elizabethanna.net.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, January 14th 8:00 at Spiral Diner.
Apparently, I'm not the only one who didn't finish the book! So we'll give ourselves another month (plus a little more to account for holiday craziness).
---Michele
Companion planting is a technique that is used to put plants which are beneficial to one another near each other in the soil. Some plants make good neighbors! Companion planting helps create biodiversity, which is important for organic gardening! Below is some information that I have used when planting in my veggie/herb gardens. The book I got this info from is awesome, full of good information. It contains a full A-Z list of foods, with a detailed profile on each listed food including recommendations for spacing, harvesting, companion planting and much more. The Gardeners A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food; by Tanya L.K. Denckla This information was posted by 2Hands member, Erin Mapes * Brassica family includes: broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, radish, swedes, turnips, mustard
|
Vegetable |
Companion Plants |
Incompatible Plants |
|
Cucumber |
Beans, cabbage, eggplant, kale, melon, peas, sunflower, tomato |
anise, basil, marjoram, potato, quack grass, rosemary, sage, strong herbs, summer savory |
|
Eggplant |
Peppers, all beans |
None |
|
Lettuce |
Beets, Brassica family*(accept broccoli), carrot, cucumber, onion family(leeks, garlic, chives), pole lima bean, strawberry |
|
|
Onion |
Lettuce, pepper, spinach, strawberry, tomato |
Beans, asparagus, peas, sage |
|
Peas |
Beans, coriander(cilantro), corn, radish, spinach, |
Garlic, onion, potato |
|
Pepper |
Basil, carrots, eggplant, onion, parsley, tomato |
Fennel, kohlrabi |
|
Radish |
Cucumber, lettuce, squash, sweet potato, Brassica family* |
|
|
Snap Beans (bush and pole varieties) Bush variety Pole variety |
Carrot, swiss chard, corn, cucumber, eggplant, peas, radish, strawberry Beet, Brassica family* |
Basil, fennel, garlic, gladiolus, onion family(garlic, leeks, chives) Beet, Brassica family* |
|
Squash |
Celeriac, celery, corn, melon |
Potato, pumpkin(only due to crosspollination possibilities) |
|
Tomato |
Brassicas*, carrot, celery, chive, cucumber, marigold, nasturtium, onion, pea, pepper |
Corn, dill, fennel, kohlrabi, potato, walnut |
|
Herbs |
Compatible Plants |
Incompatible Plants |
|
Basil |
Pepper, tomato |
Cucumber, rue, snap beans |
|
Cilantro |
Caraway, eggplant, fruit trees, potato, tomato |
|
|
Dill |
Brassicas*, fruit trees |
Carrot, fennel, tomato |
|
Marjoram |
|
Cucumber |
|
Thyme |
Brassicas*, eggplant, strawberry, tomato |
Cucumber |
PESTICIDES
In PRODUCE
Environmental Working Group’s
DIRTY DOZEN
Buy These Organic (Dirty Dozen) Peaches Apples Sweet Bell Peppers Celery Nectarines Strawberries Cherries Lettuce Grapes (Imported) Pears Spinach Potatoes |
Lowest in Pesticides Onions Avocado Sweet Corn (Frozen) Pineapples Mango Sweet Peas (Frozen) Asparagus Kiwi Bananas Cabbage Broccoli Eggplant |
BEST
Don’t see your favorites? Get the full results at www.foodnews.org
& support EWG research with an online gift.
Why Should You Care About Pesticides?
There is growing consensus in the scientific community that small
doses of pesticides and other chemicals can adversely affect people,
especially during vulnerable periods of fetal development and childhood
when exposures can have long lasting effects. Because the toxic
effects of pesticides are worrisome, not well understood, or in some
cases completely unstudied, shoppers are wise to minimize exposure to
pesticides whenever possible.
What’s the Difference?
An EWG simulation of thousands of consumers eating high and low
pesticide diets shows that people can lower their pesticide exposure
by almost 90 percent by avoiding the top twelve most contaminated
fruits and vegetables and eating the least contaminated instead. Eating
the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables will expose a person to
about 14 pesticides per day, on average. Eating the 12 least contaminated
will expose a person to less than 2 pesticides per day. Less dramatic
comparisons will produce less dramatic reductions, but without doubt
using the Guide provides people with a way to make choices that lower
pesticide exposure in the diet.
Will Washing and Peeling Help?
Nearly all of the data used to create these lists already considers how
people typically wash and prepare produce (for example, apples are
washed before testing, bananas are peeled). While washing and rinsing
fresh produce may reduce levels of some pesticides, it does not eliminate
them. Peeling also reduces exposures, but valuable nutrients often
go down the drain with the peel. The best option is to eat a varied diet,
wash all produce, and choose organic when possible to reduce exposure
to potentially harmful chemicals.
How Was This Guide Developed?
The produce ranking was developed by analysts at the not-for-profit
Environmental Working Group (EWG) based on the results of nearly
51,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture and the U.S.
2000 and 2005. A detailed description of the criteria used in developing
the rankings as well as a full list of fresh fruits and vegetables that have
been tested is available at www.foodnews.org.
GET YOUR OWN GUIDE
Download a copy or get more information:
http://www.foodnews.org
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative
Works 3.0 United States
org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300,
San Francisco , California 94105 USA
Everyone should have their own copy of these lists! I have used the dozen as a purchasing guide myself for the past few years! Prioritize your purchased produce and even better grow your own!
I copied this info from www.foodnews.org. Check out this site for more details on research methods, ratings of pesticide residue found in the 45 tested foods and to get yourself a printable pdf copy!
This information was provided by:
Two Hands Member, Erin Mapes
The next book is an easy ready and I've been contacted by several members who have suggested that we try to complete the book by the next date. So let's try! If you don't finish, come anyway!
---Michele
It was a lovely night. Thanks, Jaye for your amazing bread.
Our next book is "The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved" by Sandor Katz. This book is NOT available at most bookstores or the FW Library, and must be ordered. I contacted Connections, a woman-owned local bookstore. She has ordered five copies and is offering them to us at a discount $18.00 (The regular price is $20. Most online stores are less, but when you add shipping, it's cheaper at Connections. Also, we should practice what we preach!). The books are now in-stock, please call ahead to verify she still has copies available. (We only ordered 5 and 3 are spoken for!). Connections Bookstore is located in a small stripmall in the Forest Park area (across the 7-11).
Connections Bookstore
2428 Forest Park Boulevard Blvd, FW 76110
Tuesday - Saturday 10:00-5:30
817-923-2320
"The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved" is a fairly long book (378 pages), but let's try to finish it by the next meeting.
Our next meeting will be Tuesday, October 28th 8:00 pm at the shoppe.
--Michele
Many of our members have asked for guidance on planting dates/information. So we have created another blog series titled "What/When to Plant". We will occasionally post valuable gardening information for the North Texas Area.
So here is our 1st Post!
Its hot! Frankly too hot for gardening, but believe it or not it's time to start planting/planning your Fall vegetable garden. First, if you would like to know all of the dates for the Fall planting season, go to the bottom of the 2 Hands web page and click the resources link. There you will find a document titled "North Central Texas Vegetable Planting Dates" in three different formats. Look at all of the vegetables that work well here in the Fall, select which ones your interested in growing noting the planting dates for them, and then figure out where your going to plant them. Don't be afraid to start small or concentrate only on a few vegetables, especially if this is your 1 st time.
Also, please remember you don't have to have a traditional bed for growing crops. You live in an urban area. This is not little house on the prairie. You do not have overalls. So feel free to start with a small bed (even one the size traditionally used for flowers) or even pots (make sure you research the growth habit of your vegetable. I.E. squash in pots = crazy). The most important thing is having at least 6 hours of sun (preferably more) and good loamy (loose) soil. We could spend a whole day discussing soil and maybe we'll designate a blog for it, but here are the basics.
Our soil here is mostly clay, the ideal soil for most vegetables is a loam (equal parts clay, sand, and silt). (Soil particles are classified by size, Sand>Silt>Clay. Don't get tripped up on the semantics, we can discuss this later.) Therefore, you will likely have to add things to your soil. Most locals suggest adding greensand, lavasand, expanded shale, and organic compost. Yes, this can be overwhelming. For most of us on a modest budget, I suggest initially tilling your soil and adding as much as you can afford of the above product. Most experience gardeners state that it takes about 3 years to really "build" your soil. So do not hesitate to add these amendments to your soil gradually over time. If you had to choose only one thing to add, add compost. In fact, make your own compost. Its probably better and cheaper (another blog topic by itself). For the record, lots of people just till the soil they have and go at it... Just do whatever meets your physical and fiscal limits. This is also another reason why its great to start small (small bed = less amendments).
These are the vegetables that can be planted right now from seed:
JUNE 15 JULY 1
JUNE 15 JULY 15
JULY 1 JULY 25
JULY 1 AUGUST 1
JULY 1 AUGUST 10 –
JULY 15 -AUGUST 15
JULY 25 -AUGUST 10
AUGUST 1-AUGUST 15
There are a few more that can be planted now but their planting date range extends into September, and for most people this is enough to get started. Of course check the resources section, if your interested in more. Don't get overwhelmed. Choose your favorites (keeping in mind your space limits & the fact that there are more vegetables to come), and start from there.
We have a few starts at the shoppe and will be growing more as the season develops. Please note, we can not grow every type of vegetable and we can not grow the veggie if it's not the appropriate time. You have to be patient and work with the seasons!
Finally, we are beginning to create a handout that will act as a guide/resource for beginning gardeners. It will be available for a small fee in the shoppe. We hope to have it ready by Fall. In the meantime, use this blog as a jumping off point!
--Michele
It's our last weekly "Your Gardens" Post, where 2Hands members or those inspired by 2Hands share their gardens with us. We will continue to add more "Your Gardens" pictures as we receive them. Please feel free to send us pictures of your garden at info@elizabethanna.net.
This week it's another employee, Michele whose garden is located in southwest FW.
Here is a little information about Michele's Garden in her own words:
I started my garden a little late in the season and therefore have low productivity, except for cucumbers which I enjoy immensely. I have several tomato plants, but so far only one tomato. I also have a small herb area in my garden bed and I have flowers inter-planted with my crops. I've recently guerrilla planted several varieties of pumpkin in small areas around the main backyard. Here is an interesting story: I wanted to plant a few sunflowers in my garden, but thought it was too late. Mysteriously, two sunflowers grew near my garden sign, and I did not plant them! In general, I love my garden and look forward to the fall planting season, where I hope to have an amazing crop.
Thanks for sharing your garden with us Michele!
--Michele
Our 2nd meeting was fun. Thanks for sharing the melon from your garden, Meredith. Our next meeting is Tuesday, September 30th at 8:00. We will discuss "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan.
--Michele
