The language of healthy eating and GMO

So why are genetically modified crops not such a hot idea?

You could say that the gene pairs that dictate how every living thing on this planet develops make up a whole language. It is quite literally that there is a code for every living thing and all of its characteristics. Genes, and their success or failure, are what form all of the complex interactions between adaptations and behaviours. The 'web of life' that is so much more than the sum of it's parts is a manifestation of this genetic language.

Now it is easy to imagine the effect of chopping and changing a language arbitrarily to suit the desired alteration of a specific iteration. Making a word better with a part of another word for example, might work for as long as we only consider the improved word. When we look at the sentence around that word, and the whole system of language around the new improved word, we would find that it does not fit in with the overall pattern and rhtythm of the whole code.

If that was a little confusing, what I am basically saying is, ' how can we tell what the long term effects of playing around with gene codes are going to be?

When you talk to people ebout the genetic modification issue they seem to be primarily concerned about possible direct effects. Getting sick from eating some slightly different fruit or veg doesn't seem very likely does it? Well thousands of scientists from around the world say it is. They say that genetic material is placed into the original plant species in a 'clumsy' manner that causes all manner of genetically based abnormalities to occur as a result of inadvertent damage to the genecode surrounding the new addition. You recall reading about the increased rates of allergic response to foods. It was never really a big issue, and then it became one. Well it's no coincidence that the release of genetically modified organisms onto the open market took place at around the time those reports of allergies started to become more common. There have been other issues causing increased allergic response, but a more refined understanding of genetics now makes it seem certain that genetically modified organisms have gone untested and the health implications could turn out to be quite severe.

So before we ever begin to consider the effect of genetic engineering on the natural environment we can see that 'danger is close' to borrow a military phrase. This is a war after all, or at least it should be if we know what's good for us.

Knowing what's good for us is what this blog is all about. Read this letter from the scientific community about GMO. 

Circadian Rhythms, anything to do with what you eat?

Perhaps you have heard of 'circadianrhythms'? The phrase describes your body (and therefore mind) interacting with the natural environment around you. To people who eat out of the shopping centre the idea seems alien, but when you eat fresh food from your garden on a regular basis, you inevitably have a closer connection to nature and will even notice that the food you are eating seems to be perfectly suited to your needs of the moment. The nutrients and food types that you require given the seasonal conditions around you.

Maybe the rhythms of your body work in synergy with the living world around you, WHEN YOU LET THEM. Rising and sleeping with the dawn and sunset, sleeping longer in winter, and possibly above all, eating the waxing and waning bounty of the living plants around you is how many people around the world have found new vitality and even beaten disease simply by becoming aware of the missing link between themselves and the natural environment: the food we eat.

Eat Seasonal food and reap the natural benefits you are supposed to.

Think of yourself as an integral part of the nature around you. If you are growing your own food then that is pretty easy. As the seasons advance, and the weather changes, so does the food that will grow during each season. So? Well, during the cold season, you will find that the produce you are able to grow is exactly that kind of food you need just then. Your body is operating in cycles just like your garden. If you are growing your own food, and therefore quite naturally eating seasonal food, the rhythm of your body's health will start to echo and be influenced for the better by the day to day and season to season condition of your garden.
The fruits, vegetables and herbs you will be able to take advantage of this spring include

• Globe artichoke, asparagus, beetroot, broad beans, beans, baby marrow, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, courgettes, cucumber, endive [limited], garlic, radishes, green beans, leeks, mushrooms, mielies, lettuce, new potato, onion, parsley, parsnips, peas, potato, pumpkin, rhubarb, spinach, Swiss Chard, carrots, squash, spring onion, sweet potatoes, turnips, waterblommetjies
• fruit:
  apricots, bananas, melons, grapefruit, guava, cherry, kumquats, kiwi, lemons, limes, mulberries, naartjies, oranges, paw paw, peaches, plums, rhubarb, spanspek, strawberries, tomatoes, watermelons, pineapple, avocados
• herbs:
  perrenial basil, bloody sorrel, fennel (bulb), cat mint, chives, dandelion, dill, fennel, French tarragon (limited), garden cress, garlic chives, lavender, lemongrass stems, marjoram, bay leaves, mint, mustard – green & red, nasturtiums,  origanum, parsley, rocket, rosemary, sage, sorrel, thyme, winter savoury, calendula

And reading through this list, doesn't it just seem exactly like what you might like to eat in Spring? Eating these in Spring gives you the nutrients suitable for the environmental conditions around you. Remember this idea through the year, and when you're making butternut and pumpkin soups, isn't it exactly the right thing?

Getting back into a natural rhythm with nature is health insurance that actually makes you healthy, rather than just paying you out. Oh, but wait, if your food comes out of the ground around you, then that pretty much means you are getting a financial pay out as well, doesn't it?

Controlling the surroundings in which you grow food plants with shade net tunnels, frost blankets, mni hoop houses and Greenhouses

A shade net tunnel, as above, can be effective in limiting the damage that can sometimes be the result of otherwise fairly harsh conditions. Sunny days can sometimes produce extremes of temperature that inhibit the growth of many species.n Shelter under even a blue twenty percent shade net can be ideal.

The particular shade net tunnel pictured above is a Positive Cycle brainwave, it can be purchased in kit form now. 

We also make mini hoop houses which are great for helping little seedlings to thrive before they are exposed to the harsher outside conditions. Just lift for watering and leave the unit propped partly open to allow air to flow once your plants have passed a certain size. 

Aquaponics and moving water provide an opportunity to control temperature in a more advanced way. Tanks of water can be used to hold temperature and distribute it to other areas. Water of course is also how we move nutrients to their targets, the roots. So feeding fish and moving water around in ponds full of fish suddenly start making much more sense.

Compost heaps create heat, and this fact can be taken advantage of when considering the idiosyncracies of your own particular microclimate. You could take advantage of the heat from your compost heaps to create the warmth needed for say bean seedlings to grow.

Mini Hoop House. Like a mobile germination chamber.

The height of plants used as borders cn also greatly assist the air temperature in your beds, and a good layer of mulch will definitely help to stabilise the microclimate and keep the soil warmer than if it were bare. 

It is perfectly possible to keep everything growing all year round. A simple greenhouse allows you to take control of the growth cycles of almost any plant.

What is a microclimate?

To elaborate on what a microclimate is, not everyone realises that we are talking about something as small as one garden. Micro climatic conditions vary from one garden to the next. Describing a micro climate is a way of describing the weather as it is effected by factors like rows of trees (which may break the wind) large tarred surfaces (which allow wind chill to build up speed) the planting of tall grasses that slow down air movement near the earth's surface and even the colour of the soil and plants, since more reflective colours reflect more heat. How much water there is nearby and whether that water is flowing or not are factors that influence not only local temperature of a particular micro climate, but also moisture levels. How much moisture is present in both air and soil has a profound impact on soil life and which types of plants will thrive in the microclimate in question. So when we realise that a microclimate is in fact something very local, impacted on by the local geomorphology, but also by man made and very changeable factors: It becomes obvious that we can exert a degree of control over our microclimate. A greenhouse for example is perhaps the ultimate example of a controlled microclimate, but you can take control of issues like frost in your garden by spreading hay around vulnerable plants. You can add light to your garden by using a reflective mulch like peanut shell mulch. Flowing water reduces the air temperature around it and windbreaks prevent unstable temperature and freezing soil. So get to work creating the best possible micro climate in which you can grow all of your own food. It's easy once you get started.

Planting times and how they vary across the country

A frequently asked question in Positive Cycle Training Company Workshops is 'when can we plant what'. Its a simple enough question, with a somewhat complex answer. While it is very true to say that during August we plant, for example, bush and climbing beans, beetroot, brinjal and carrot as well as strawberries, turnips, sweet peppers and of course tomatoes it is also true that some of these will struggle in certain parts of the country during August. Experienced growers develop a sense for what is going to work in their region and even within their own micro climate. An extreme example would be the difference between Sutherland (the coldest region in the country) and Northern Kwa Zulu Natal. Obviously we could expect tomatoes to thrive in the warm spring of the near tropical north of South Africa while they would almost certainly not survive the still freezing mountainous conditions of Sutherland.
A more subtle climatic variation though, would be the two degree difference in average temperature between the Johannesburg area and those farms found immediately north of Pretoria. The slightly warmer conditions north of the Witwatersrand watershed would allow for earlier planting of tomatoes than the micro climates found nearer to Johannesburg's peri urban areas.
So local experience, and of course planting on slopes that face the right direction, make a difference to all crop planting and harvest times.
Now here is where things get a little more interesting. Given the need to save seeds and sow them year upon year, we can reasonably conclude that seeds grown successfully within a particular micro climate will be 'hardened' or adapted to that particular set of climatic conditions. Meaning that if we were to harvest seed from the areas north of Pretoria after many successive generations and plant them South of the Rand, they may well fail since those seeds would not be adapted or ' naturally selected' to survive the slightly colder conditions.
So we see that planting seeds suitable to a particular area, as well as in the right time frame for the climatic conditions found in that area is necessary in order to facilitate successful organic crop performance.
Not only that, but we have to consider not just the timing, but the actual conditions being experienced in each particular micro climate. So it is not simply a matter of looking up what to plant on a calendar, but rather to be aware of what temperature, moisture and light ranges each particular crop or variety of crop needs in order to grow successfully.

We're selling the produce...At last!

This Spring is looking very exciting so far. Positive Cycle is now managing and training so many successful peri urban micro farms that even the administration is quite a bit of work. We're on top of it though and it looks like our long time goal/dream of actually stimulating micro economic growth is beginning to take hold. Paulis Foods have been purchasing high quality veg from our micro farms. This is such excellent news. The produce is of the very highest quality and their company gets bragging rights for being among the first to realise that bringing micro economic farmers into the supply chain is a vital step for the health of South Africa's economy. It's also wise because when Positive Cycle trained farmers grow produce, they do it properly. The food our projects produce is the healthiest and most nutritious on the market. No we haven't tested that in a laboratory, it just works out that way when you use the full complement of bio dynamic agricultural techniques. There are right and wrong ways to grow food and we do it the right way. Not braggin you understand, just passionate. The Positive Cycle training company and GRO4U edible landscaping service were a long time in the planning stages and now that they have both been fully functional for several years we are starting to see spectacular results like these Lesabe Primary School.

So in short, yay for Paulis Foods!!! (BTW, the food is the best in Johannesburg, so its not only responsible, it's also delicious.)