Squash Bug deterrent

Brown Squash Bug, photo by lofaesofa

Did you know that squash bugs (not the equally noxious squash vine borers) apparently hate morning glories and their kin, moonflowers?

I have read that planting a morning gory, or a moonflower, between every 2-3 squash or pumpkin plants acts as a great deterrent. I haven't tried it yet, but I have plenty of time to get morning glories started so they are well advanced before I set out squash plants!

Of course, the best deterrent is a healthy, high-brix plant growing in properly nourished soil, but that's for a later post, as is management of squash vine borers and squash bugs *if the morning glories don't do the trick.

Nutrient loss in Our Vegetables

A good friend recently sent me a note that there is a story in the current Mother Earth News concerning the serious decline of nutrients in vegetables. Loss of nutrients in vegetables isn't news to me because I have been long aware of the published (and hard to find) data by the USDA on the declining nutrients in crops since the 1950's/1960's. (I used to have the USDA chart on my computer, but I lost it when the last hard drive died, and now it is not easy to find.)

Several "causes" have been cited in the research literature, ranging from overall loss in our soil nutrients, to the specific varieties chosen to plant. It certainly appears true that veggies remove micronutrients from the soil which are never replaced by the additions of just the popular NPK.

However, the loss of nutrients by the "choice" of planted varieties has me stumped. From what I read, some varieties that are chosen to grow quickly with a minimum of amendments to the soil might indeed result in a great crop of pretty and marketable produce, but lacking on the nutrition scale. Personally I am more inclined to believe the soil deficiency idea.

In 2008 I wrote a post on DavesGarden called "red tennis balls" which listed some USDA stats on nutrient decline in tomatoes. Here's an excerpt:

Taking statistics from the USDA comparing a tomato in 1963 to a tomato now (2008) shows that 100 grams of 'fresh' tomato has:

30.7% LESS Vitamin A

16.9% LESS Vitamin C

61.5% LESS Calcium

11.1% LESS Phosphorus

9% LESS Potassium

9% LESS Niacin (B3)

10% LESS Iron

1% LESS Thiamine (B1)

65% MORE Lipids (fats)

200% MORE Sodium

Vitamins E and K are not measured, nor are essential micronutrients like molybdenum and selenium.

Broccoli has lost 45% Vitamin C.

80% of the tomatoes grown in Florida now comprise just 5 varieties, and one of those 5 counts  by itself for 35.9% of all tomatoes (the variety is Fla. 47).

In the last 50 years, the Canadian potato has lost 100% Vitamin A, and 57% Calcium, 50% Iron, 50% Riboflavin (B2) and 18% Thiamin.

So, its not just Red Tennis Balls that are nutritionally deficient...

I've been working on increasing nutrient density (measurements aka Brix, and also taste in the veggies... the better the taste, the higher the nutritional value) in my own garden for 4+ years now and I still don't have a good handle on it, although my results are getting better. I DO believe that sufficient micro-minerals, good compost and an excellant microbial population are a big part of the equation. I hope to have some increased positive reports this coming gardening season.

Rock Dust and Japanese Beetles

By stevendepolo

The Japanese beetles are having a field day munching on the leaves of my fruit and nut bushes, and so I've come fully back around to where I started years ago, learning about the benefits of rock dust (apparently having forgotten a lot of it in the interim!).

Three years ago I wrote a piece for DavesGarden.com about rock dust in the garden. There are many things rock dust will do in addition to the overview I wrote (which I will not duplicate here), including a spray application that will keep Japanese beetles from eating all the leaves. I believe we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg of knowing and understanding the benefits of remineralization of our soils with rock dust, the most important of which to me is nutrient density... and thus better health from real/better foods.

My introduction to the necessity and wonders of rock dust was Julius Hensel's book, Bread from Stones, which I read perhaps 15 years ago. It took years of  "Gardening 101" for it to even make any sense to me, and apparently the information didn't stick long enough, although I never completely forgot about it.

Then just a few days ago a friend sent me a link to a farmer who found a simple application of rock dust over his plants made them resistant to aphids and Japanese beetles. Duh! I knew that, but somehow the idea got lost... perhaps by the same mechanism that makes most of us reject ideas like paramagnetism in the soil affecting plant growth? 

Actually I think I got caught up in just increasing Brix by soil remineralization, forgetting that the process takes time, and without aiding the plant portion above ground with rock dust is a good interim step. (Really healthy plants do not attract pests... pests are Nature's Clean-Up Crew for unhealthy plants. If our plants attract pests, the plant nutrition is lacking something.)

I have been posting bits here and there about possible nuclear radiation on our foods, and yesterday came across an article I had just read several weeks ago about food crops after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. I actually read that the foods grown and milk from cows raised on remineralized soils in the afflicted area were tested and shown to measure NO radioactivity. Now, why didn't that data connect in my head??? 

There is evidence that a supplement made from rock dust works against radioactivity in the human body, as well as evidence of rock dust counteracting radioactivity in the soil. Austrian Robert Schindele produced Schindele's Minerals (stone meal, aka rock dust) and was used in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster. Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird explain in their 1989 book Secrets of the Soil that when “the University of Vienna found that Schindele’s product worked against radioactivity–a claim confirmed by a Soviet institute for atomic physics in the Ukraine, the Soviets sent a truck to pick up two thousand kilograms of his Gesteinsmehl. Analysis under a micropolariscope revealed an alteration in the molecular and atomic lattice, which had an effect on ionized radioactive particles taken into the body.”

I also know that nutrient density is a result of high Brix in the plants that produce our foods (and thus in the foods themselves), and also a result of having a high Brix in the feed, hay/grass for our meat animals, and that high Brix depends on a complete mineral profile not generally available in our mostly depleted soils. We can fix that by adding rock dust!

There is a lot I could write about remineralization with rock dust, enough stuff to be worthy of a PhD dissertation... but boring for a blog. (That doesn't mean I won't post more on the essentials of rock dust!)

For those who care to learn more, here are some links:

Rock Dust Primer

Why Remineralize?

Rock Dust Sources

Good Brix Peaches

Last year I came across a peach orchard on a trip home from Charlottesville. Their Loring peaches (Prunus persica 'Loring') I bought measured over 14º Bx, which is in the "good" column. (Poor is 6ºBx, Average is 9.3ºBx and excellent is over 17.3ºBx.) Before last summer, I had not had a decent peach since I moved farther north. Grocery store peaches rarely measure over 6º Bx. The 14º+ peaches were so tasty that I am sure if I find a peach in the excellent category, it will be sheer ecstasy.

Two weeks ago (April 4th) driving on the same route, I detoured to see how the peach blossoms were opening, since so much else was blooming along the way. As you can see, they were coming along nicely, and the fully-opened ones were luscious-looking and fragrant. We have had frost twice since then and peach blossoms are very susceptible to frost but hopefully they were not in the frost warning area.

I also didn't notice many bees. Maybe that was just timing, and not an indication of yet more damage to our bee population.

Brix, Food and Cannabis

Photo from Oilbac's photostream

I belong to a discussion group about improving soil for better Brix, and lately there have been some amusing comments I thought I'd share.

The moderator commented that he said many years ago agriculture would not be revolutionized until a million housewives/mothers showed up at the grocery stores, brixmeter (refractometer) in hand, and screaming, "take this junk back and get us some real food". If that happened, farmers can and would do the right things to the soil for higher Brix... whether organic, or conventional farmers.

Then someone posted that there is some excited discussion on the Cannagraphic Magazine Forums about raising the quality of pot using refractometers to measure Brix.

The moderator replied that it's amazing that we live in a world where you can buy better quality dope than food!

Garden Update

I didn't think it was possible, but ALL my zucchini plants died more-or-less childless. It wasn't from squash borer either, which is what usually causes early demise in any of mine. I really haven't a clue what killed them, although I'm guessing the excessively wet and cooler summer weather has been a large factor.

Actually one plant managed to give me about 6-7 zukes that were edible; two of the other three plants blossomed, set a fruit or two, then aborted and gave up the ghost, and one did nada from the get-go. Sigh. Not much zucchini bread to look forward to this winter unless my neighbors give me zucchini...

My first planting of tomatoes are battling blight, and everyday it's a new standoff. If it ever dries enough to be effective, I'm going to give them a boost of Epsom Salts in water as a foliar spray.The second planting of tomatoes 40 feet away now has plants blossoming and I think I'll douse their foliage too. Tomatoes are heavy feeders and it can't hurt!

So far I have harvested a few Yukon Gold potatoes (about 25 pounds) and the remainder are ready to be dug, cured, and stored in the root cellar. The fingerling potatoes I started in The Great Potato Experiment have finally decided to grow, and last evening I even saw a couple of blossoms!

The Cattle Panel Arched Hoop I put in this year is now covered with pole beans and Japanese beetles (see photo above). I built it on what was part of the lawn and I guess I didn't get in enough amendments to raise the Brix, because high Brix plants don't get pest infestations. I hope I will get a few beans anyway, and next year will be another opportunity to do better!

On the outside left of the cattle panel I planted a few winter squash, which are now starting to trail. The tags have disappeared, but they are either butternut, or Futsu Black. The early spring-planted Brussels sprouts are finally making fruit and the Swiss chard continues to do well.

The root cellar is full of recently harvested onions and 2 kinds of shallots. The red onions aren't faring well so I think I'll make Pickled Red Onions. They are really yummy... I'll post the recipe and photos in another post when I make them.

Lastly, although not from my garden, I have half a bushel of Loring peaches ripening in the root cellar. I found them at an orchard on my way home from Charlottesville yesterday and one taste convinced me! The Brix measured almost 14ºBx, far better than any in the stores although really good Brix gardeners report Brix as high as 20º in peaches. I haven't decided what to do with them; certainly some will be for fresh eating! The rest may be divided into dehydrated, peach leather, and jam.

10º Brix Cantaluope, 17º Brix Peas

A major goal in my growing my own vegetables is increasing the Brix, which is a measurement of the nutrient-density. Brix is also something you can taste! For example, a cantaloupe I just purchased smelled fairly decent in the store. With high hopes for a tasty melon, I actually bought it and brought it home, despite past experiences with store-bought melons. I peeled and chunked up a bowl of the melon, pulled out a fork to taste a bite, and… yuck. Wet Nothing. No Taste.

So I got out my pocket refractometer and squeezed a drop of juice on the lens. It measured 10ºBx. The Brix chart is divided into values for Poor, Average (grocery-store), Good, Excellent, and Disease/Insect-free (for the plant). The numbers for cantaloupe are 8= Poor, 12= Average, 14= Good, 16= Excellent and Disease-Free. So, my store-bought cantaloupe measured between Poor and Average. No wonder it tasted like Nothing!

By contrast, I measured my home-grown peas just now. They measured 17ºBx!! The spread for peas on the Brix scale is 8, 10, 12, and 14. They taste just as wonderful as they measure, AND the plants are disease/insect-free.

So what’s the difference? Soil. Plain and simple. Well, perhaps not quite so simple. Conventional agricultural wisdom lists a whole slew of numbers of what the soil needs to grow stuff. Dr. Carey Reams, Professor Albrecht and others have differing opinions, with results borne out in taste tests, nutrition analysis, crop yields, and visible evidence like pests, disease and weeds.

One of the several elements needed in soil to produce high Brix is calcium, but there’s a trick to it. My soil tests indicated a high level of calcium, yet the Brix on most of my vegetables last year was marginal. All the soil calcium in the world does absolutely no good unless it can be broken down into a form the plants can use (available calcium). Soil microbes do the bulk of this work, but they need something to work with other than just the locked-up calcium in my soil, although they will convert that too, over time.

To get higher Brix this year, I have started applying soft rock phosphate (SRP, a colloidal phosphate, and a natural source of calcium and phosphate in a form plants can use). Most rock phosphates are hard rock phosphates, and will simply not do the job. I found a nearby organic supplier who carries Cal-Phos (SRP) in 40 pound bags and I apply it in each planting hole. There are other SRP sources, but that's what's available close to me.

(The local market farmer who supplies my free-range eggs buys thousands of pounds of Cal-Phos from the same supplier, for his fields. He is able to grow high Brix grass for his dairy cows and poultry, and he reports his family’s milk has very high Brix.)

There’s more to high Brix than just available calcium, of course. I will be adding to the basic information about improving soil and Brix over the next few months. Stay tuned!

Download a Brix Chart

The Taste of Food

I have been pondering taste (the taste of foods) while I have been sitting in the garden on my overturned bucket pulling weeds. My mind had been wandering to images of pulling and eating sugar snaps right off the vine (soon!) on my early morning garden walks, and visions of having munched just snapped-off asparagus tips several weeks ago. What is it about eating something just picked that makes it taste soooo good?

Fruits and vegetables contain aromatic compounds (scents) which we can smell, and scents are volatile... they evaporate. Our sense of taste is directly related to our sense of smell; things with little or no scent are not very appealing. How often have you sniffed the stem end of a cantaloupe at the store, and put it back because it had no smell?

For many households, any fruits and vegetables almost all come from the grocery store, and you can be sure they were grown and picked many days, and many miles ago, lessening the chance of retaining any appealing scents by the time you get them. Does that really entice you to nibble on the peas even before you get them home?

Fresh-picked anything from the garden has all its volatile aromatic compounds still permeating the air during the short journey from the plant directly to your mouth. Yum!

Taste is also directly related to nutrient density; the higher the nutritional content, the better the taste. Nutritional density may be measured with a refractometer, using a scale known as a Brix scale. The better the garden soil, the higher the Brix; the higher the Brix, the better the taste. By better garden soil, I mean soil that supplies all the nutrients the plants need, much more than just NPK. "Feed the soil, and it will feed us." To learn more about Brix, read my article here.