There are three types of Westerns

Read More..

Yacon Pineapple slaw

I love yacon, it is sweet and crunchy.  I mostly eat yacon raw, I just peel it, slice it thinly and eat it.  We have tried eating it a few other ways and most were good.  It tends to take on the taste of whatever it is in with so is reasonably versatile.  I have even used some of our yacon roots and water kefir grains to make yacon water kefir which was nice enough even though I prefer regular water kefir.

I normally leave the yacon in the soil until I want to eat it, if I happen to leave it for too long the plant simply gets larger and stronger and returns a larger crop next time.  Recently we have moved from our property into a rented house in town, as such I dug up a small number of yacon plants to grow as well as a heap of the tubers to eat.  Being so hot and dry out here the tubers do not last overly long.  I wanted to find a few new ways to eat yacon as I can not stand the thought of wasting it.  I looked on the internet and stumbled across yacon pineapple slaw.

Yacon growing in a pot - it belongs in the soil

I found a nice sounding recipe, then changed it a fair bit, and made it with a group of school children.  It was delicious and super easy to make.  I am putting the modified recipe here partly to share it and partly so that I have it saved somewhere so I can make it again.

Ingredients:
Yacon tubers, 1 large tuber or a few small ones
1 can of pineapple (or a real pineapple peeled and cut into small pieces)
The juice of 1 lime or a lemon (lemons are the poor cousin of the lime, but they are cheaper)
1 chilli (this can be left out)

Method:
1) Juice the lime (or its poor cousin the lemon)
2) Peel the yacon tuber
3) Grate the peeled yacon
4) Add lime juice to the grated yacon.  Mix together.  You have to do this as soon as possible otherwise the yacon will turn black
5) Cut pineapple into tiny pieces, add pineapple and any juice to the yacon
6) Remove the seeds from the chilli.  Cut up the chilli into tiny pieces
7) Mix it all together and serve

It really doesnt get any easier than this, and it tastes great.  It would be easy enough to add other things to this too as long as they are cut up tiny.  I think something crunchy and relatively tasteless such as shredded cabbage would bulk this out nicely.

Some of the more tropical and fruity tasting chillies could also work well in this as they would add taste but would still be crunchy.  There are a heap of tropical tasting chilli varieties, some have no heat while others are super hot, but few are available unless you import the seeds and grow them yourself.  One great place I have found for chilli seeds is pepper lover, they seem to love what they do and tend to include extra seed packets with orders.  Only some species can be posted to Australia so please do check the AQIS BICON database first.

Read More..

Growing notes for Perennial Vegetables - Plant Once Harvest Forever!

This is my growing notes page, for my "For Sale" page please click here.

I used to grow some amazing vegetables when I was a teenager, when I left home I lost most of them.  Slowly I am tracking them down again and now have a rather eclectic range of vegetables which I sometimes sell for other people to grow and enjoy.  Some of these vegetables are on the brink of extinction in Australia, others are far more common, regardless I have found them all to be valuable, productive and worth saving and distributing.

I offer to provide growing notes to people for the plants they buy from me, but after cut and pasting emails I think that making a list of growing notes here and linking to them is probably a better way of doing this.  I plan to put in some more growing notes when I have time, if there is anything that I have sold you that is not covered please let me know and I will email growing notes through to you.




How to Grow Water Chestnuts (Eleocharis dulcis)

Water chestnuts need frost free warm weather to grow properly.  While technically they are a tropical plant (just like the tomato) they can and do successfully grow in cool climates such as Canberra.  If you buy corms in the cooler months store them in damp soil somewhere dark and safe until Spring.  Please check on them from time to time to ensure they are not rotting, they should be firm to the touch.

When planting water chestnuts the biggest mistake people make is rotting them.  If you put the corms under water and they do not have any leaves above water they will drown and rot.  They need leaves to be out of the water as they use them like a snorkel.  I start them in a punnet of moist but not wet soil, just like any seedling.  I normally do this towards the end of the frosty months and keep it under cover somewhere as they do not like frost.  

When they have sprouted I put the punnet so the bottom half is under water and the top half is in the air.  This way they have a lot of water but the corm is still above the water level.  When they are about 10cm tall I pull them out of the punnet, separate them and plant them in their proper home which can be anything from a 10L bucket to a swimming pool.  I fill that with water so that only just the tips of the leaves are poking out of the water.  From there the plants get a lot taller and I keep that water level as constant as I can until they die down in Autumn.  After the water chestnuts have died down I let them dry off for a few weeks prior to harvest.


You will get a huge yield of corms from each one you plant, the further you space them apart the larger the corms they will produce.  I am told 1 to 2 square meters per corm is adequate, but I dont have that kind of space.  If you crowd them they will produce masses of tiny corms that are too fiddly to bother eating.  These tiny corms can be planted the next year and will produce huge yields of large corms if given the room to grow.  The better the soil the better they will grow.  I have put more comprehensive notes on how I grow them in buckets on my water chestnut page here.





How To Grow Perennial Leeks  (Allium ampeloprasum)

When posting these I trim the leaves, wrap in damp newspaper and put into a zip lock bag, I have found that by doing this the plants undergo less stress and grow faster.  They do sulk a little after being replanted, but if you give them a lot of water they pick up pretty fast. 

You will need to plant them deep to help them produce long white shanks and water them a lot to get them established.  Once established they will survive with minimal watering but will produce best with regular watering.  We normally plant about 10cm apart, if you plant them closer they will still grow but will not get as large, if you plant them further apart they will grow larger.  Frost is not a problem for these and if it gets too hot and dry they may die down to odd little bulbs and reshoot when it is cooler.

Harvest them when they are the right size for you, some people eat them when they are tiny others when they are large.  When you harvest they should have multiple babies growing that you can replace them with.  In the early years to help build up numbers you can cut off the roots with a few mm of shank attached, if you put this in a jar with a little water it will reshoot and can be replanted.  Sometimes they will send up a dozen shoots, other times only 3 or 4.

They do not often produce viable seed so I normally try to cut off the flower stalks so they can put energy into growing.  If they flower the pollen may cross with other leeks so be careful if seed saving other varieties (apparently the offspring will not be as good as either parent).  I have had viable seed produced once after floods and odd weather.  Those flower heads also produced tiny leeks on the flower stalk as well as seed.  I have planted both but have not had them long enough to see if anything useful results from them.  If either are exceptional I will keep them separate from the regular perennial leeks and offer them.


 
How To Grow Babingtons Leek (Allium ampeloprasum var babingtonii)

I have gone into a bit of detail on how to grow Babingtons leek in a different post.  They will grow much like any other leek.  The closer together they are planted the more competition they have and the smaller and slower they will grow.  As I have wanted them to grow as fast as possible I give them up to 20cm between each plant.  Planting them as close as 5cm between each plant will still give you a crop, but they may take a few extra years to flower and they may never develop thick shanks.



How To Grow Giant Russian Garlic (Botanically this is a type of leek and not a true garlic Allium ampeloprasum)

This plant is botanically a leek, but used in the same way as garlic, it will grow and produce well in areas where garlic normally will not survive.  Heavy frost is not a problem, nor is dry heat, or humid heat, this plant survives a lot of neglect but produces best when taken care of, weeded and well watered.  Frost is not an issue for these and it makes the taste stronger, and they tend to die down around Christmas so are not too water hungry.

Generally planted around the shortest day (June 21) and harvested around the longest day (December 21) but does fine if planted a few months either side of these dates.  I have planted cloves that are over 18 months old and they have performed just as well as the fresh cloves. 

I normally plant them about 3cm deep with the pointy end up (if planted upside down they may die), and about 15cm apart.  If you plant too shallow they will work it out, if they are too deep they may not have enough energy to grow to the light.  In the future if you cannot remember which way up to plant, plant them on their side and they will sort themselves out.

Russian garlic has a slightly different life cycle than regular garlic.  If you plant a single large clove, in a growing season it will generally grow into a large bulb made of 5 or 6 cloves with a heap of hard bulbils growing underneath the bulb as well as a large purple flower head made of hundreds of flowers.  The bulbils may or may not grow if planted; if they do grow they mostly grow into a large single clove about the size of a ping pong ball called a "round".  Small cloves also generally produce a single round instead of a large bulb.  If you plant the round it will usually grow into a normal clove of 5 or 6 large cloves.  I try to plant a mix of small cloves, large cloves and rounds each year.  With that said: some years we get mostly rounds, some years we do not get any.

Harvest plants after they die down around Christmas time.  The flowers are said to be sterile, but they are not.  I normally cut the flower head off after the plant dies down and leave it on the soil somewhere.  Out of the thousands of seeds each flower head produces I normally have 2 or 3 plants sprout up.  As far as seed saving goes they are not meant to cross with any other alliums so should not give you any problems.


 
How To Grow Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius formerly Polymnia sonchifolia)

Yacon is by far my favourite vegetable, I have never met anyone who dislikes the taste of yacon, all kids love yacon!  It is easily grown in full sun or part shade, they grow from waist height to well over 2m tall depending on the year.  The more fertile the soil the better harvest you will get.  They can survive on low water but do best when given a lot of water.

We normally plant them 5cm deep and about 30cm apart, if you space them further you will get a larger crop.  They tend to shade things out that are growing under them, but you can easily grow a fast crop of something like beetroot under them while they are little and something like a climbing bean growing up them when they are taller if you would like.  They exude inulin and other sugars from their roots which feeds earthworms and helps nearby plants grow better.  We had very few earthworms when we moved here, but I could always find them under the yacon.

Here growing is dictated by frost, frost kills down the tops of the plants and I harvest the tubers a week or two later.  If you leave the tubers a week or so after digging they sweeten a lot, if you eat them too early they taste like a spicy carrot.  To harvest I carefully dig them up, they will have small purple crowns and large brown tubers that look similar to sweet potatoes.  The brown tubers are the part that is normally eaten, the purple crown is the part you replant to grow more yacon.  Most years you can divide each plant pretty easily.  I keep the purple crowns in a bucket of soil in the garage until spring, but they can survive in the ground if you mulch them and they are not frozen.

We normally peel the tubers and eat them raw, but they can be cooked in a variety of ways and go well in a fruit salad, a stir fry, or any dish that a water chestnut is used.  The tubers store well for a few months but can be frozen and kept for ever.  Frozen tubers are then peeled, chopped and eaten frozen to taste similar to a frozen banana custard!  If you let them thaw they turn black, slimy and look bad so we eat them still frozen.  All parts are edible, but we only eat the tubers, we skin the tubers as the skin has a resinous taste to it.  I suggest trying a little of the skin to see if you like it.  The leaves can be made into a tea that is meant to be good for diabetics and has a lot of other medicinal properties.


 
How To Grow Everlasting Onions (Allium cepa perutile)

These do not really grow a large bulb, they are more of a spring onion type of plant.  That being said if they are divided each year they can form a small bulb that is very similar to the French Shallots that are found in supermarkets.  Plant 10 to 15cm apart and plant reasonably deep, if they are not deep enough they will work it out for you.  Water a lot to settle them in, then water as you would any spring onion.  Over summer they may die down to a small bulb or they may keep growing, it depends on the climate.  The more fertile the soil the faster they grow, but once established they will survive dry and poor soil.  Frost is not an issue with these plants but it may slow their growth a little.

They do not often produce viable seed so I cut off the flower stalk when it appears so they can put more energy into growing and dividing.  If you dig them up and separate them each time they divide it does not take long before you have a large patch of them.  If you do decide to eat the small bulb you can replant the roots with a few mm of bulb attached and it should sprout and continue growing for you.  As with any of the perennial vegetables I sell, unless you want to kill them you will always have them growing and producing food for you.


 
How To Grow Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus)

We plant the tubers about 20cm to 30cm apart and 5 to 10cm deep.  Each tuber can produce well over 1kg of tubers in a regular season so they are very productive and valuable to have in the garden.  They grow 2 or 3m tall in a season and grow small sunflower like flowers that do not seem to produce viable seed.  A rich soil and plenty of moisture returns the greatest crop.  If you do not dig them up and eat them or divide them they tend to produce a crop of smaller tubers which are difficult to clean.

It is said that they will stay where you planted them forever as you always miss some tiny tubers when you dig them.  Even though we always miss some tubers I have found that I can easily get rid of them by pulling out any plants early in spring.  Guinea pigs and sheep love the stems and leaves and the high inulin content is meant to be good for ruminants.

I plant in winter or spring (or transplant in early summer) and let them grow until the tops are killed by frost.  Sometimes it takes a few frosts to knock them down fully.  They are sweeter after being hit by frost, but you can dig them up earlier if you want (or if you live in a frost free area).  You do not have to peel these to eat them, just scrub the soil off and either cook any way that you would cook a potato or eat the raw.

They do not store very well out of soil, they store in the crisper of the fridge OK but we find that digging them as needed is easiest and saves space in the fridge.


 
How To Grow QLD Arrowroot (Canna edulis)

Plant 30cm apart with the tip of the growing point at soil level, easy to divide to obtain more plants.  These things love water but do OK out here where it is very dry as long as I mulch or water them.  They grow 2 to 3m tall with large lush tropical looking leaves.  For such a tropical looking plant they survive on very little water.

Very easy to grow, extremely productive, mine do not flower here but I am told that they flower and produce viable seed in other places.  I grow them on the Western side of the vegetable garden to screen the hot summer afternoon sun, I have heard of people growing them in a semi circle under fruit trees to cut as mulch.

Frost kills the tops and leaves but the tubers survive and grow again in spring.  This will form a clump, to create new plants divide it with a spade as long as each part has a growing tip it should do fine.  I tend to separate them in winter and spring before they start to grow but they can be divided at any time of the year if you give them enough water.

Best to eat small tubers as the larger ones get a bit fibrous, leaves can be used in place of banana leaves in cooking or fed to animals.  Tubers can be made into arrowroot flour and is said to have the largest starch particles of any plant, you can even see the starch particles with the naked eye.  Very few people have eaten these in Australia or even recognise them as a valuable food plant, but they are cooked regularly in South America. 




How To Grow Comfrey   Read More..

Babingtons Leek another rare perennial allium in Australia

Babingtons Leek (Allium ampeloprasum var. babingtonii) is an extremely rare perennial leek that is unlike any other leek I have ever seen or heard of.  When this leek flowers it generally does not produce seed, instead it grows tiny leek bulbs on the flower head, kind of like the leek version of tree onions.  This topsetting habit makes it unique among leeks and makes it interesting to grow and draws attention to itself from everyone who sees it.

Babingtons leek is rare in the world, so rare that it is almost extinct.  It is one of the rarest edible leeks that are in Australia.  Very few people grow them and almost no one has heard of them.  

There is little information on the internet about Babingtons leek and much of what I did read seems to contradict each other.  Most of what I have read was either written in the old days, or (like most gardening books) was written by someone who has never grown or even seen a Babingtons leek.  I find that kind of frustrating and would prefer to get information that has been obtained by personal experience or just go and work it out myself.  The person who I got these leeks from had not grown them for long so did not know much about them either.

Babingtons leek flowering - note the bulbils starting to enlarge

It grows wild in Ireland, England and a few other little countries over there and is only semi-domestcated.  Like so many other alliums the origins of this plant have been lost in history.  Perhaps it was deliberately bred by some dedicated people, perhaps it happened on a roadside from spilled seed with just the right combination of genetics, perhaps it happened in the wild away from people completely and was discovered by chance.  Many people theorise that the Babingtons leek is a relic from some ancient monastery, unfortunately we will never know for sure.  What we do know is that it has been around for a long time and there is not much of it anymore.

Babingtons leek, much like any other allium, benefits from moisture and nutrients early in the season, the more the better.  That being said it can perform remarkably well in rocky or sandy soil and with minimal soil moisture, this productivity under harsh conditions is one of the benefits of being a semi-domesticated perennial vegetable.  From what I am told it does not cope with poorly drained soils, my garden does not suffer from this so I do not know about this from observation. 

Just like any other perennial leek, the Babingtons leek tends to be dormant over summer and will die down to odd little bulbs.  I assume that in more mild climates and with more soil moisture that the Babingtons leek could be convinced to grow through summer, but I am yet to try this myself.  I know that the perennial leeks I grow can be kept growing all year if provided with adequate soil moisture.

Babingtons leek, another exceptional perennial vegetable

People in countries where Babingtons leek are more common often eat the bulbils, they say that the bulbils taste like garlic.  They also eat the young flower scape in a similar way to garlic scapes and say that they taste similar.  I have never tried either of them and doubt I will get a chance any time soon as I am trying to increase the numbers of this rare plant.


What does Babingtons leek taste like
I love the taste of leek, it is a very underrated vegetable in my opinion.  Babingtons leek tastes much like every other leek.  I have eaten a few varieties of leek over the past few years and to be honest can not tell the difference between them.  I have read that Babingtons leek may be more fibrous but from my limited experience this is not the case.  Over summer it will die down to bulbs, I am told that these bulbs taste much like garlic.  I have not tried them yet as I am trying to increase my stock but it does stand to reason as Giant Russian Garlic is another variety of perennial leek.

Babingtons leek is extremely rare, in Australia it is almost unheard of.  For this reason, if you grow them, please do not kill the plants when you harvest the leeks.  Like every other variety of leek, you can harvest by cutting them off and leaving the roots in the soil to regrow.  Another method is to pull up the plant, cut off the roots with a few mm of shank attacked and put this in a jar with a tiny amount of water to sprout.  They only need a tiny amount of water, just touching the roots is enough, too much water will cause the whole thing to rot.  After this has sprouted it can be replanted into the garden to grow.  In this way you can have your leek and eat it too.

Babingtons leek starting to flower, the bulbils will grow and the flowers will fall off as it grows

 How to reproduce Babingtons leek

Your stock of Babingtons leek can be increased in a few ways.  By not killing the plants when you harvest them stops you from losing plants but does not stop you from eating them.  This does not increase the number of plants you have and usually prevents the plant from flowering that year, but it does stop you from having any less which is a good first step with something as rare as these.

The plant will die down to a bulb each summer, many times this bulb will divide in a similar way to garlic (but into less cloves) and can be dug up, split apart and replanted.  This is a slow and steady way to increase your stock.  Quite often this will result in a few extra large plants, most of which will flower the following season.

The larger plants will send up a flower stalk each year.  This flower stalk will produce some flowers as well as some bulbils.  Please do not remove the flower stalk, it is kind of the whole point behind growing Babingtons leek.  While removing the flower head may result in larger underground bulb or a larger leek plant you could simply grow regular perennial leeks if this is what you are after.  When it is ready the bulbils may fall off the plant and start to grow all by themselves, but a better way is to remove them and plant them somewhere safe.  Every bulbil should sprout and grow for you, if left to their own devices anything could happen and the bulbils may be lost. 

It may take 2 or 3 years for these bulbils to send up flower stalks of their own, or if you treat them well they may flower in their first year, but once you have a flowering sized Babingtons leek plant it will provide you with many bulbils each year.  I am lead to believe that each year the number of bulbils increases significantly.  It would not be difficult to have a small patch of Babingtons leek where one plant is left to produce bulbils each year and the rest are harvested and eaten.

It may be possible to obtain some seed from Babingtons leek, in order to do this you would probably have to remove most/all of the bulbils so that the plant can put energy into the seeds rather than the bulbils.  I have not yet done this as I wanted the bulbils, but when I do I will grow the seeds and if anything remarkable comes of them I will try to distribute them.  I assume that seed grown plants will display a lot of variation, some will invariably be less exciting than the parent stock, but there is a chance that something remarkable may come out as well.  We need people to breed these things and enrich our country with them.


Where to buy Babingtons leek in Australia

I sell Babingtons leek bulbils and small plants on my for sale page as soon as they are ready.  Before you buy them please read about how to grow Babingtons leek.  I have a range of other perennial vegetables, some herbs, some heirloom vegetable seeds, and a few other things listed on that page too.  Unfortunately I can not rush the Babingtons leek, when they are ready they are ready and when I sell out then I have to wait until the following summer for more to grow.  Bulbils should be ready in Summer but they will not start to grow until Autumn/Winter.

Read More..

Aquaponics Hydroponics Catatonics is the future

The recent [or not so much] economical crisis that forced Portugal to its knees and launched the country into a spiral of discredit has also forced the Portuguese into extra innovation and entrepreneurship. When getting some deserved sun this last June, on the beaches of Monte Gordo, Algarve, in the company of a great friend of mine, also a researcher, the subjects Aquaponics Hydroponics suddenly surfaced. Aquaponics??? I asked my friend, the marine biologist. I could have waited til later on and then ask my wife who has also graduated in Marine Biology, but I was way to curious to let it go just like that - a blur cloud in a sky of vague conversational topics.

He immediately told me that hes trying to start his own business, but still needs to optimize the whole system.

- What system?, I asked.

- What do you know about Aquaponics and Hydroponics?

- Aquaponics, Hydroponics, Catatonics! Not much, just that there is probably a system in it, if it is not the system itself... this ponics thing! I retorted comically.

And appreciating not only my interest on the subject, but also my remarkable humor, my friend started spitting stuff to my hears that I now very briefly reconstruct for you with this post. The answers to the questions I had were provided by five nice scientific articles I found on the web and are hereby listed on the bottom of the post, as usual. Id highlight article five for anyone really wanting to go damn technical on this matter and engineer it in an optimized fashion; and Id also like to emphasize the Aquaponics systems web page for a grandiose collection of amazing information!!!

What is Aquaponics and whats for?

Aquaponics is a bio-integrated system that links recirculating aquaculture with hydroponic vegetable, flower, and/or herb production... Recent advances by researchers and growers alike have turned aquaponics into a working model of sustainable food production. [1]

How does it work?

Aquaponics serves as a model of sustainable food production by following certain principles:

1) The waste products of one biological system serve as nutrients for a second biological system.

2) The integration of fish and plants results in a polyculture that increases diversity and yields multiple products. Water is reused through biological filtration and recirculation.

3) Local food production provides access to healthy foods and enhances the local economy. [1]

What are the typical organisms involved?

Tilapia is a warm-water species that grows well in a recirculating tank culture. [1] Plants grow rapidly with dissolved nutrients that are excreted directly by fish or generated from the microbial breakdown of fish wastes... some aquaponic systems have used channel catfish, largemouth bass, crappies, rainbow trout, pacu, common carp, koi carp, goldfish, Asian sea bass (barramundi) and Murray cod, most commercial systems are used to raise tilapia [5].

Does it really work?

Trials at the Freshwater Institute’s greenhouses showed that nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients in aquaculture effluent can be effectively removed by plants grown in NFT hydroponics or constructed wetland systems. James Rakocy, Ph.D., and associates at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) developed a commercial-scale aquaponic system that has run continuously for more than five years [1]. 

Is it sustainable?

Sustainable indoor fish farming is the farming of the new millennium [3]. Aquaponics increase economical efficiency because several key costs, such as nutrients, land and water are substantially reduced and component operating and infrastructural costs are shared. Lower resource requirements extend the geographic range of production to areas that rely heavily on food imports [3].

Utilizing data collected via a case study of an aquaponics operation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin... in temperate climates, tilapia and vegetable sales or, alternatively, yellow perch and vegetable sales are insufficient sources of revenue for this aquaponics system to offset regular costs when grown in small quantities and when operated as a stand-alone for-profit business. However, it is possible to reach economies of scale and to attain profitability with a yellow perch and lettuce system [4].

How to differ aquaponics from hydroponics?

Aquaponics is one method of hydroponics, and hydroponics is one method of greenhouse production [1]. Aquaponics is essentially the combination of aquaculture and hydroponics [3].

Which method is best?

Production of 2.8 kg m^-2 from the first hydroponic crop was similar to the 2.7 kg m^-2 assessed in the high density aquaponic treatment. Conversely the 2.3 kg m^-2 measured in the low density treatment was smaller. For the second trial no differences were noticed between the 6.0 kg m^-2 measured in the hydroponic system and the 5.7 and 5.6 kg m^-2 assessed in the high and low-density aquaponic treatments, respectively. Nevertheless different nutrient concentrations in water affected plant mineral composition. Aquaponic leaves were poorer in phosphorus but richer in calcium, potassium magnesium and sodium. [2]

[5]

[1] Diver, S., Rinehart, L. (2006). "Aquaponics - Integration of Hydroponics with culture".  ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information, pp. 1-28

[2] Pantanella, E., Cardarelli, M., Colla, G., Rea, E., Marcucci, A. (2010). "Aquaponics VS. Hydroponics: Production and quality of lettuce crop". ISHS ACTA Horticulturae, 927, pp. unknown.

[3] Blidariu, F., Grozea, A. (2011). "Increasing the economical efficiency and sustainability of indoor fish farming by means of aquaponics - review". Animal Science and Biotechnologies, 44(2), pp. 1-7.

[4] Goodman, E. R. (2011). "Aquaponics: community and economic development". MIT Library Archives.

[5] Rakocy, J. E., Masser, M. P.,  Losordo, T. M. (2006). "Recirculating aquaculture tank production systems: Aquaponics - Integrating fish and plant culture". Southern Regional Aquaculture Center, pp. 1-16.

Figure 1 taken from Aquaponics systems, Home aquaponics system diy, [http://aquaponicssystems.landscapeideasandpicture.com/home-aquaponics-systems-diy/], last visited on the 16th of July 2014, last update unknown.

Read More..

New Guinea Flatworm Discovered In France

"One of the consequences of globalization and increased worldwide freight trade is the introduction of invasive alien species. In the list of the 100 worst invasive alien species in the world, there is only one terrestrial flatworm: Platydemus manokwari, also called New Guinea flatworm. This species has now been found in France, Caen, and was identified by an international team led by Jean-Lou Justine of Institute of Systematics, Evolution, Biodiversity, Paris, France (Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle / CNRS / UPMC / EPHE). This is the first discovery of the species in Europe, reported in an article to be published March 4th in the open-access journal PeerJ.

The damaging effects of the New Zealand flatworm, Arthurdendyus triangulatus are already known in Europe. This species has invaded the whole north of the British Isles, including Scotland and Northern Ireland, and is responsible for significant reductions in populations of earthworms. To prevent its spread to other regions, measures have been implemented by some European countries. This species has so far never been found in France.

Now, another flatworm has been found in France and in Europe for the first time: the New Guinea flatworm, Platydemus manokwari. These flatworms were found in a greenhouse of the Jardin des Plantes de Caen (Normandy), and were identified by their characteristic appearance and molecular analysis of gene Cytochrome Oxidase Type I, often used to characterize animals. As one of the 100 most invasive alien species in the world any new discovery is clearly very concerning.

Platydemus manokwari, which was introduced – sometimes deliberately – in over fifteen territories in the Pacific, has become invasive and it consumes land snails, endangering endemic species. Indeed, although living on the ground, it is able to climb on trees to follow the snails. Very flat, it measures 50 mm long and 5 mm wide, the back is a black olive color with a clear central stripe, and with a pale white belly. The head is elongate, with two prominent black eyes. The mouth is in the middle of the belly.

The New Guinea flatworm, although from a tropical country, inhabits the mountainous regions of New Guinea at an altitude of 3000 meters, so it can survive relatively cool temperatures down to 10 ° C. Thus, it is not impossible that the species could spread into the environment in France and much of Europe. Moreover, it was observed in the laboratory to be capable of consuming European snails. Apart from the flatworm being a threat to snails, one of the main dangers of this case is that the diet of Platydemus manokwari is very diverse and in the absence of snails it can feed on numerous soil-dwelling species, including earthworms.

Platydemus manokwari represents a new and significant threat to biodiversity in France and Europe, which hosts hundreds of species of snails, some of which are endangered and protected. It is therefore important to consider the implementation of eradication and control of this flatworm."

***

If youd like to read the full article, in case you have access to PeerJ, please visit this link here.

Article transcribed from redOrbit, New Guinea flatworm discovered in France, [http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113086653/new-guinea-flatworm-discovered-in-france-030414/], last visited on the 05th of March 2014, last updated on the 04th of March 2014.

2nd image taken from Publico Online, Especie invasora de verme achatado descoberta pela primeira vez na Europa, [http://www.publico.pt/ciencia/noticia/especie-invasora-de-verme-achatado-descoberta-pela-primeira-vez-na-europa-1627045], last visited on the 5th of March 2014, last update on the 04th of March 2014.

Read More..

Alpaca Cria

Our first alpaca cria, born 08:00 April 25 2013

This little girl is still a little wet as she is less than 2 hours old in this picture

Big sister having a look

Mum having a good look, must be an interesting little one!

Sure is dry out here

drinking some milk

Read More..

Were now on Crowdrise!

Its not that we always have our hands out for money. Its just that helping people costs money. Hoping we can reach more partners through this medium.

But it is true that our hands are out to give a hand up.

https://www.crowdrise.com/nicaimpact

Read More..

Poisonous Pufferfish vs Eel when failing is actually winning !

This time I had to borrow some incredible images [1] of an attack perpetrated by an improvident Eel against a Poisonous "Fugu" Puffer fish. Dumb idiot!!!. These are the worlds most toxic group of fish containing tetrodotoxin in their livers, gonads and skin [2]. Since there is no specific treatment for humans that come into contact with this potent neurotoxin the best remedy is prevention. Unless you are really hungry like this Eel.

 

[1] Worlds weirdest: Poisonous Puffer fish vs. Eel, National geographic, [http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/weirdest-pufferfish], last visited on the 22nd of May 2015, last update unknown. 

[2] Ahasan, H. A. M. N., Karim, S. R., Bakar, M. A., Gazi, E. A., Bala, C. S. (2004). "Paralytic complications of Puffer Fish (Tetrodoxin) Poisoning". Singapore Medical Journal, 45(20, pp. 73-74.

Read More..

My Latest Aquaponics System

It has been so long since my last post.  Anyway, this is my latest aquaponic system, built on last June- July 2012. These pictures was sent by my brother in Sabah.

I am still experimenting the best possible and simplest system. One thing for in my opinion, every aquaponic system should have some filtration system, regardless of the techniques used (media bed, deep water culture, nutrient rich technique and whatever), filtration system is really crucial.

In this system, the water level is constant, and I think, some adjustment should be done. The media is quite alkaline, around ph 7.5 to 8. However my mom said the fishes are great and healthy.

Read More..

TODAY IS WORLD SJÖGRENS DAY!

TODAY IS

WORLD SJÖGRENS DAY!

World Sjögrens Day commemorates the birthday of Henrik Sjogren, a Swedish opthalmologist who first identified the disease in 1933. Today creates an ideal opportunity for you to talk about Sjogrens with the people in your life and provide much needed awareness for this common yet little known disease. By sharing your story and educating others, you are helping spread the message that Sjögrens is a serious and life-altering disease and it deserves to be recognized. You may also be helping someone who is looking for answers to their problems.

We also encourage you to make a donation today to help further Sjögrens research and awareness. You can donate in honor of Dr. Sjögren, yourself, a loved one. You can also encourage your family and friends to make a donation. Each and every donation will greatly impact the efforts of the SSF.

Thank you for your support. Together we can transform the future of Sjögrens!

Read More..

Shaggy Parasols

A brief mushrooming expedition through our local wilds, with a knowledgeable mycologist neighbor, led us to identify and harvest a small quantity of late flushing Shaggy Parasols.  The first two pictures are actually specimens I found down on the bottom of our property under some Eucalyptus trees the day before.  I pulled them out to get a proper ID from our friend who confirmed they were indeed Shaggy Parasols.  

These mushrooms can be huge with a pleasant aromatic odor, and taste to me like what I imagine beef would taste like (or maybe vegi beef from a vegetarians perspective).  

REALLY delicious and flavorful!  The Shaggy Parasol can be prepared the same way as the Chanterelle, cooking for a long period of time to break down the chitin.

It was exciting to find these first wild edible mushrooms on our hillside and now that I know where they will bloom I can check back in that spot each year.  

Remember, caution must be exercised when identifying the Shaggy Parasol, whose poisonous look alike, the Green Spored Lepiota can be very dangerous.  Of course always use the utmost caution when identifying ALL wild mushrooms! 

Read More..

The Meat Chickens

We are pleasantly surprised with our broilers who are now about six weeks old.  All the talk of how freakish the Cornish X are does not really seem to hold true.  Yes, they are ravenous at times and will eat, eat, eat continuously.  And yes, they will plop themselves down in front of the food to just sit, or really lie and eat.  But they are far from the frankenbirds we heard and read about.
They have definitely grown at an alarming rate and are now approximately three times the size of the layer chicks of the same age. And they do start out looking a bit different but once fully feathered they have grown to be pretty normal looking.  Otherwise,  the Cornish X seem to behave just like all the rest of our chickens, exploring and foraging around for food and enjoying dust baths in the sun.  Since we transferred them to the run (which is left open all day to give the flock access to the hillside) the meat chickens are free ranging with the rest of the birds.  There has not been much bullying by the layers either.

We have picked up a couple of tips to give them a better start and to help keep them healthy as they grow.  While they were still in the brooder we started adding apple cider vinegar to their water.  Their energy immediately increased and their stool went from watery yellow to normal looking chicken droppings.  Second, we tried to give them a variety of foods.  In addition to their chick starter we offered them mashed boiled eggs, greens, seaweed, kitchen scraps, and bits of grass.  At first they were only interested in the starter but after a few days they began eating all the different foods including pumpkin, which appears to be a favorite.  Fermenting the feed by soaking overnight and letting sit for a day or so is another tip we are eager to try out soon.

Sunshine Chicken is a website we stumbled across about free ranging, holistically raised meat chickens in the Philippines.  It is loaded with amazing information, videos, and great ideas for fermented supplements and super foods (for livestock) that are easy to make.

It has been interesting so far to learn about the Cornish X birds.  We have been discussing that it would be fun to try out some Freedom Rangers in the spring when the grass is high and there is more wild food to eat. We are also hoping to keep a couple of roosters and some hens to try breeding our own meat stock, therefore avoiding having to order from the hatcheries.  There is no doubt that raising our own meat birds is NOT cheaper than buying from the stores but there is satisfaction in knowing that they grew here from start to finish and that we had our hands in the process them.  (Not to mention that we are on a mission around here to find more sustainable -aka free- ways to feed these animals of ours.)

Read More..

The family photo shoot that rocked

Hugest thanks to Nikki at Virtual Memories Photography. Super happy with the photos and the service you get for your money is exceptional (definitely not a paid ad I really am super happy) Here are some of my favorite pics (you try picking from 155 or 310 if you include b/w photos)

Read More..

Thoughts On Today

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened.
Dont open the door to the study and begin reading.
Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
Rumi

??

remembering the struggles of our ancestors,
times have been hard before

? ?
In these times where there is so much turbulance, change, and sorrow, we need to be desperately seeking out the joy and beauty that is all around us.  I have not written for awhile, feeling to overwhelmed by current events to talk about the new chicken tractor, the felted soaps, or the seedlings in the ground.  The mundane seems so trivial and yet it is what keeps us going day to day as we are cleansed by the rain and watch the shoots push up and grow tall, painting the hills green.  Meditating on what might be good information to share right about now I realized that many are feeling a bit helpless not knowing how to be proactive or what to do to protect ourselves-to feel empowered. Here is some knowlegde I have accumulated from various sources I trust on moving through trying times with wisdom and grace.  Protecting our bodies is just the first step but an important one we cannot afford to overlook! 

Radiation Concerns
It is fun and easy to incorperate these delicious foods into our diet.  Wake up people and take good care of yourselves.  The time is now. 

??

Native Californians have been harvesting seaweed as a main
 food in their diet for thousands of years

??

Foods and herbs recommended as offering the best protection against radiation:

sea vegetables (seaweeds)

fermented vegetables (especially cabbages and other brassicas)

dark green leafy vegis (collards, kale, mustards)

miso

daikon

burdock

mushrooms (reishi, shiitake)

lentils

coconut milk

black and green teas

anything high in Vitamin C

apple pectin

nettles

eleuthero (siberian ginseng)

cilantro

Notes on Eleuthero (Siberian Ginseng): 

Eleuthero is an adaptogen which reduces stress on the body by combating harmful toxins. Eleuthero has shown a protective effect in animal studies against chemicals such as ethanol, sodium barbital, tetanus toxoid, and chemotherapeutic agents.

eleuthero leaves and berries

 Eleuthero also reduces the side effects of radiation exposure. In animal and in vitro studies, Eleuthero has demonstrated effects of radiation protection (Yonezawa et al., 1989) and stress reduction (Takasugi et al., 1985). After the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, many Russian and Ukrainian citizens were given Eleuthero to counteract the effects of radiation. Eleuthero was also commonly used in Russia in oncology hospital departments to increase the tolerance of the patients to the adverse effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy (Gvamichava, 1966; Khatiashvili, 1964, 1966; Kupin, 1986a, 1986b).

???? 

????

eleuthero root

????

?Important Links to Check out with Lots More Info, Articles, and Recipes!!!

http://www.seaweed.net/Words/healing.html

http://www.jonbarron.org/natural-health/radioactive-fallout-fear-recommendations

http://www.susunweed.com/Article_Surviving_Radiation.htm

http://midnightapothecary.blogspot.com/

*This is intended to be an open forum.  Please respond with suggestions, comments, questions.  Lets educate each other, we are all in this together.

Happy Spring!

Read More..