Whilst we are spending time trying to distill the good and the bad of the swine flu situation so that we can put together our own little briefing - for all those interested in getting their heads around the realities of this pandemic and the possible risks associated with vaccination, here is a great interview with the founder of the National Vaccine Information Centre in the U.S.
We hope this doesn’t just further muddy the already admittedly murky waters of the H1N1 world…
There’s something magical about searching for the plumpest, reddest raspberry in your garden, or boiling new potatoes you have dug from the soil and eating them slathered with butter. Yum! Even if you don’t have a garden, you can grow fruits, veggies and herbs beside a nice bright window, or on a balcony high above the urban rush.
Growing your own organic food is the ultimate in thinking globally and acting locally. Not only do you get to bite into the freshest, tastiest produce you can find, with nutrient loss equating to the time it takes to travel from your plant pot to your plate; you are also helping our ailing planet by replenishing your patch of ground with nutritionally enriched soil. And growing your own is cheaper than paying a premium at the shops for organic produce.
Given the variety of things you can grow, there isn’t enough room here to offer growing tips. Instead, I can direct you to resources you may find useful. But first, where are you going to sink your trowel?
Gardens, allotments and indoor gardening
If you have a garden, wonderful. You can get going immediately. If you don’t, but would like to garden outdoors, consider applying for an allotment.
My friend has been nurturing her allotment for two years (and producing lots of delicious salads!). But she also has lettuce living on her windowsill. Another friend grows tomato plants in pots by her kitchen door. I think indoor gardening is the wave of the future. A few plant pots, recycled containers or hanging baskets and some light, water, seeds, knowledge and imagination can produce lots of food in very little space.
Growing fruit, veg and herbs is a true source of twenty-first century wealth. You will save money; improve your health by eating fresher produce; acquire knowledge of how to grow your own food; and create a source of food security in a world where financial and ecological concerns are locked in a downward dive. It is parallel to owning your own solar panel, reducing an interdependence that can become fragile when things go wrong on a global scale.
David McWilliams suggests that farming should be part of the ’smart economy’. He notes that farming skills, once lost, are hard to revive. In this vein, I think it would benefit us all to learn some measure of food production skill. But I believe organic growing is the way to go because it is more in tune with our ecosystem and works against the growing ecological crisis.
Organic Centres and Courses
The following centres offer introductory courses in organic gardening and myriad other resources, such as information on natural pest control and where to find good seeds, soil, plant nutrients and organic compost.
Note: Cultivate is in the process of moving from Temple Bar to the old ENFO offices at Greenhouse, 17 St Andrew Street, Dublin 2. The new shop is expected to open in five weeks’ time.
If you are interested in Demeter, or biodynamic, farming, check out the following:
Useful book
Years ago, I discovered a gem of a book by Branton Kenton (son of famous health writer Leslie), entitled Quantum Carrot (London, 1987). It marries James Lovelock’s Gaia theory with small space organic gardening and is packed with information on how to grow organic produce anywhere, from the lushest garden to the tiniest studio apartment.
Sadly, it is out of print. Amazon sellers still have a few copies in stock but, in case they run out, I have decided to give one to The Hopsack (that’s the health food store beside the photocopy shop!). The Lovely Girls and Boys will let you peek at it for a few minutes. And Branton, if you’re reading this, is there any chance you might reprint it, or bring out an edition for the Noughties? 
Its time has come!
Your very own compost heap…
Is there a small green bin lurking under your sink and a big brown bruiser in your garden? If not, you might consider contacting your waste collector and ordering compost bins. Or creating a compost heap down the end of your garden…
Composting is a great way to recycle organic matter that might otherwise blot the landscape. Gaia (aka Mother Earth) adores compost but - if you put the wrong things on your heap - so does the local rattage. Be sure to give Mama what she needs and withhold what she doesn’t, or the rodents will be donning their shades and telling their friends to meet up round at yours.
For an extensive list of what you can and can’t compost, Quantum Carrot (pp 109-10) is a good place to start. In essence, you will please Gaia by giving her raw plant waste (kitchen and garden); coffee grounds and tea leaves (cos she’s a caffeine addict!); seaweed; eggshells; ash from wood fires (but not soot); animal manure (a compost activator); up to 10% shredded newspaper (but forget Vogue and other glossies); straw (up to 50% of volume); ferns (good for potash); and small amounts of sawdust and wood chippings (not too much, as they can rob your heap of nitrogen). But check out the book for a more detailed list.
You will invite the Rat Pack by adding the following to your compost heap: cooked food, flesh foods and large bones (which take an age to decompose and provide some nice gnawing material in the meantime). So be warned…
For ready-made compost (suitable for outdoor use only), Plant Life on Cork Street in Dublin (tel: (01) 4536201) offers 25 litre bags of organic compost created from recycled Dublin waste matter. The formula even includes a contri-pooh-tion from the elephants at Dublin Zoo. How sweet are they?
In sum…
Even if you are less than skilled at first, you’ll soon be swapping tips with your gardening friends and banishing pests like a pro. Just remember to grow what you love and give us a nibble if you happen to be passing by.
Did you know?
Eating 75% of your food fresh and raw can increase your energy levels and healing ability exponentially. Check out Leslie Kenton’s book The Raw Energy Bible for an excellent introduction to the power of uncooked living food. Available from Amazon and all good bookshops.
To all those pointed in our direction by Newstalk’s Tom Dunne, have you seen the rambling range of rooibos stocked by us yet?!
From Dawson’s Organic Cape Rooibos to Dragonfly Rooibos Vanilla blend to the delectable (and award winning!) Solaris Rooibos Chocolate Chai, we have all sorts of solutions to the particular craving of that sweet, hot, floral redbush tea!
Living on the other side of Dublin/Ireland/the world? Give us a call on +353 (0)1 4960399 and we’ll ship your requirements via carrier pigeon, or if he’s asleep we’ll have to call the courier.
Last week I attended a magical herbal workshop – magical in the sense of wonderful and inspiring. Our teacher for the day was Gina McGarry who runs St. Brighid’s Academy in Westmeath. Gina makes all her own house cleaners, cosmetics and medicines from plant material. She began the day by demonstrating how to make our own incense, pounding frankincense resin with a range of dried herbs in a gigantic pestel and mortar and then burning it over charcoal. She showed us how to use essential oils as air fresheners and how to incorporate essential oils into delicious smelling and all-natural anti-bacterial sprays. She took us on a herb walk and we picked dandelion leaves, which we then prepared as a tincture (Dandelion leaves are excellent for pepping up the digestive system, as well as helping to keep the kidneys working well).
Our homes have become chemical laboratories, supported by corporate advertising. There is a chemical spray for every smell and every sort of grime, visible and invisible. We are told that we must constantly deodorise our toilets, but the hang-over-the-bowl chemical bombs that are sold for this purpose give off toxic fumes every time the toilet is flushed, which we then inhale. The plug-in room deodorisers work on the same principle, constantly drip-feeding toxic chemicals into the atmosphere, which then contaminate our bodies.
We are told that, because we are worth it, we should apply all sorts of chemical cocktails in the form of moisturisers to our bodies. But all these chemicals enter the body through the skin, adding to the bank of toxins in our bodies and contributing to health problems down the road. A scientist friend of mine believes that personal bodycare products are rapidly becoming one of the top cancer-causing agents, as people slather themselves in all sorts of creams and lotions on a daily basis.
There are alternatives to all these poisonous commercial products. All it takes is a little time and effort. It is so rewarding to make up your own cleaning agents, deodorisers, cosmetics etc. A few drops of your favourite essential oil (make sure it’s the real thing, so buy from a reputable source) mixed with water and put in an atomiser bottle or a plant sprayer will deodorise a room, as well as provide natural anti-microbial protection. Choose from citrus oils to floral oils through to musky oils and many in between. Bergamot and Neroli are two of my own favourites.
It can be great fun making body care products using natural ingredients, from shampoos to moisturisers. I heartily recommend Rosemary Gladstar’s book ‘Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health’ to start you on the road of self-sufficiency in this area. In this book Rosemary also gives recipes for making up teas, tonics, oils and tinctures.
Pronounced Ah-Sa-E, Acai is a fruit we are hearing more about in the media these days. So what’s the big deal?
Well acai comes from a palm tree grown in Central and South America, with commercial sources mostly found in Brazil. It contains a very high concentration of polyphenol anti-oxidants such as anthocyanins (OPC’s) which are the things that make red wine a ‘healthfood’ (that is not an endorsement for a bottle a night), and which colour foods the deep red/purple that we see in pomegranate, beetroot, grapes, bludeberries, etc.
The importance of these anti-oxidants is in their ability to prevent damage to our circulatory systems - something we all should be concerned with as stressful modern lifestyles, environmental toxins, poor dietary habits, et al have been shown to cause just this sort of damage.
Acai, being an exotic fruit travelling half way around the world to reach our mouths, ain’t cheap. So The Hopsack recommends supplementing for a month or two at a time (with juice or capsules) to accelerate the mending process that acai affords, and making sure to include more local blue/purple/deep red coloured fruits and vegetables in the meantime to bolster the diet. If you’ve never heard of ‘Eating the Rainbow’ this is one of the best and simplest dietary principles to implement. Simply make sure your plate contains some of each of the folowing colours throughout your day (yellow, red, green, purple) and you can rest assured your body will thank you for the variety of anti-oxidants your food provides. More on ‘Eating the Rainbow’ soon…
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