Gardening and Food Growing

[ELIAKIM]

Government policy is too heavily weighted in delivering for the environment almost at the cost of food production, NFU president Minette Batters has told a House of Lords horticultural sector committee.
Giving evidence on Thursday 16 March, Mrs Batters said the UK was at a pivotal moment for the future of horticulture.
See also: Vertical farms offer solution to fruit and veg shortages
There was huge untapped potential, so it was extremely sad to see the sector contracting at the rate it is, she added.
Access to labour, greater policy certainty, and managing very high input costs were outlined by Mrs Batters as the three key areas of focus.

https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/horticulture-...ells-lords

[ELIAKIM]

In this week’s vlog, NFU President Minette Batters provides insight into the discussions and challenges around the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

You can also hear about Minette giving evidence to the House of Lords horticultural sector committee on the horticulture sector and its opportunity for growth, and her discussions with Secretary of State Thérèse Coffey when they met this week.


4mins 

[FlyoverCountry]

It's 38 degrees and the sun is shining. It's snowing so hard occasionally that visibility is a half mile.



My new tulips were all about 3 inches tall. I hope they survive. Digging 50 or 60 holes was a little work.

[ELIAKIM]

It's 38 degrees and the sun is shining.  It's snowing so hard occasionally that visibility is a half mile.



My new tulips were all about 3 inches tall.  I hope they survive.  Digging 50 or 60 holes was a little work.

The contract gardeners came yesterday to cut our hedge in the car park, much better. I did say I will get out into the garden and have a clear up when the weather improves. 

It rained for most of the day today at 11c. 

Although the pink blossom is on the trees and the hyacinth bulbs have flourished again. 

I've got my eye on some more lovely camellias they look so lovely in the springtime and Lidl have also got some Rhododendron's too. 

My bay tree in the container is getting quite big now. I'm going to have to prune it. 

One of the hydrangea's survived the winter, the other one didn't. 

The old Thyme bush looks like its a gonna, time for a new one. Thyme gets so woody after 4 years and the older it gets the less flavour and nutrients it has. So it's good to buy a new one. 

Some of the chives have survived and the parsley but most of the containers look drenched. 
 If I had my own garden I would be starting all over again.

[ELIAKIM]

'Superfoods' like blueberries, spinach and kale named among 'dirty dozen' produce aisle fruits and veggies with most pesticides

•  Blueberries and green beans joined the highest amount of pesticides list
  
  
•  They contain organophosphates which can damage the human nervous system
  Blueberries, spinach and kale — each usually recognized as among the healthiest foods one can eat — have been named among produce with the most pesticides. The Environmental Working Group (EWG), based in Washington DC, named its 'dirty dozen' produce foods this week, a dubious honor reserved only for fruits and vegetables in America laced with the most chemicals.Alongside the antioxidant-rich blueberries and leafy greens are other snacktime favorites such as strawberries, grapes, apples, nectarines, pears and cherries.Peppers and green beans — which often find themselves into health-conscious recipes — were named on the ignominious list too.The EWG studied 46 produce aisle staples for its study, and found that 75 percent of freshly grown produce in America contain residue of harmful pesticides. Human ingestion can damage the nervous system or even cause cancer.https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11869115/Superfoods-like-blueberries-spinach-kale-laced-dangerous-chemicals.html

[SlowLoris]

'Superfoods' like blueberries, spinach and kale named among 'dirty dozen' produce aisle fruits and veggies with most pesticides

•  Blueberries and green beans joined the highest amount of pesticides list
  
  
•  They contain organophosphates which can damage the human nervous system
  Blueberries, spinach and kale — each usually recognized as among the healthiest foods one can eat — have been named among produce with the most pesticides. The Environmental Working Group (EWG), based in Washington DC, named its 'dirty dozen' produce foods this week, a dubious honor reserved only for fruits and vegetables in America laced with the most chemicals.Alongside the antioxidant-rich blueberries and leafy greens are other snacktime favorites such as strawberries, grapes, apples, nectarines, pears and cherries.Peppers and green beans — which often find themselves into health-conscious recipes — were named on the ignominious list too.The EWG studied 46 produce aisle staples for its study, and found that 75 percent of freshly grown produce in America contain residue of harmful pesticides. Human ingestion can damage the nervous system or even cause cancer.https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11869115/Superfoods-like-blueberries-spinach-kale-laced-dangerous-chemicals.html
  

My daughter, her children and I go to a blueberry farm each spring to pick a year's worth of blueberries which I freeze. I have had the "conversation" with the farmer about pesticides. She said that blueberry farmers are forbidden by the FDA from spraying pesticides, and fertilizer can only be sprayed before the plant flowers and sets fruit. The reason is because blueberries can not be washed before being frozen. They turn to mush. Therefore all blueberries are safe to eat fresh from the bush.

I can only guess that other fruits are similarly regulated as to when pesticides can be used.

[ELIAKIM]

'Superfoods' like blueberries, spinach and kale named among 'dirty dozen' produce aisle fruits and veggies with most pesticides

•  Blueberries and green beans joined the highest amount of pesticides list
  
  
•  They contain organophosphates which can damage the human nervous system
  Blueberries, spinach and kale — each usually recognized as among the healthiest foods one can eat — have been named among produce with the most pesticides. The Environmental Working Group (EWG), based in Washington DC, named its 'dirty dozen' produce foods this week, a dubious honor reserved only for fruits and vegetables in America laced with the most chemicals.Alongside the antioxidant-rich blueberries and leafy greens are other snacktime favorites such as strawberries, grapes, apples, nectarines, pears and cherries.Peppers and green beans — which often find themselves into health-conscious recipes — were named on the ignominious list too.The EWG studied 46 produce aisle staples for its study, and found that 75 percent of freshly grown produce in America contain residue of harmful pesticides. Human ingestion can damage the nervous system or even cause cancer.https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11869115/Superfoods-like-blueberries-spinach-kale-laced-dangerous-chemicals.html
  

My daughter, her children and I go to a blueberry farm each spring to pick a year's worth of blueberries which I freeze. I have had the "conversation" with the farmer about pesticides. She said that blueberry farmers are forbidden by the FDA from spraying pesticides, and fertilizer can only be sprayed before the plant flowers and sets fruit. The reason is because blueberries can not be washed before being frozen. They turn to mush. Therefore all blueberries are safe to eat fresh from the bush.

I can only guess that other fruits are similarly regulated as to when pesticides can be used.

Thank you for sharing @SlowLoris I had a lovely blueberry bush until the neighbours got at it. I'd tended that bush since 2016, it didn't come back in 2022, so that was that. Although I don't think they're ideal for containers, they really have to go into the ground. 

[ELIAKIM]

Compost & Garden Soil Suppliers Don't Want You To Know About This Cheap Way To Fill Your Raised Beds

10mins 

[ELIAKIM]

5 Must-Grow Perennial Vegetables: Harvest Year After Year

[ELIAKIM]

They Threw 12,000 Tons Of Orange Peels In A Forest. 16 Years Later They Returned to See The Results

Costa Rica 

Awesome