400 Companies That Are GMO Free

05 Thursday Jun 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Buy Idaho, Cooking Safety, Food Prep, Food Trivia, Gardens, GMOs, Interesting Information, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Special Information, What's For Dinner?

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GMO, GMO free, Organic products, PLU, The Free Thought Program, Whole Foods

Here is an article from The Free Thought Program that lists 400 companies that are GM free, at least some of their products. They do not use GMO’s in their products. Whole Foods is just one of them.

All too often we rely on the state to tell us what to eat and which companies are ethical. And all too often the companies that the state deems ethical and safe are proven to be quite the opposite. The giant agricultural companies that produce GMOs and use millions of tons of chemicals are able to do so because of monetary support. As long as we continue to purchase their products they will continue to pollute the environment and our bodies.

You and I have the power to stop this madness. We can choose to support those companies that do not use GMOs. The best way is to buy from a local organic farmer, or to grow your own; however there are plenty of ethical companies out there that you can support who practice sustainable methods and source from farmers that do not use GMO. [The Free Thought Project]

Another good informational social media site is on Facebook at GMO Awareness USA, which also has some good information on GMO free and resources. And if you are following the PLU numbers, that little 4 or 5 digit number that is on a sticker on most produce, then be aware anything that begins with an “8” is a GMO product. Organic products start with a “9” and conventional growing practices run the gamut from “2” – “7”. Stated another way, organic produce has a 5 digit PLU number that begins with the number 9. Conventional produce has a 4 digit PLU number that begins with the number 4. Genetically modified (GMO) produce has a 5 digit PLU number that begins with the number 8.

Re-Use Your Wine Bottles!

28 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Gardens, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Information

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I suppose if you wanted to you could also use a 10 Barrell Apocalypse IPA bottle for this watering system. (Just make sure it’s empty!) Many thanks to Cristi Takeda, the Buzz Coffee and Wine, for leading me to this post, Reuse Wine Bottles to Water Your Plants. Here I have placed an emptied wine bottle, full of water, in my pallet garden. The slow release of the water should last 6 to 8 hours. Here I used a 2007 Chateau de Robin Merlot bottle. Cheers!

I have also used this set-up for a well developed basil plant in a pot. This will be interesting. Thanks Bill Fraser, Fraser Vineyards Winemaker and Owner, for making this awesome bottle of 2005 Fraser Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon available. (We still have some more.)

It’s Time To Start The Garden!!!

13 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Gardens, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Locavore, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Information

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Well, yes! Start those plants indoors or in a small portable greenhouse or any where where the seeds and plants get plenty of sunlight and air movement. Keep them damp, not wet! And here is some information for planting using Household Food Left-Overs. The article, lists 5 Foods You Can Grow From Left-Overs. Foods like celery, ginger root, cloves, sweet potatoes or onions. The web site is called Garden Swag. Another place that you may be interested in is City Girl Farming which has this information to share. (There is a link in the sidebar, too.) Enjoy these articles and the information that can be found on the links. If you have any comments, please let us know. Cheers!

Growing Food From Kitchen Scraps

There’s all sorts of growing experiments you can do with your kids just by using food from your kitchen. The possibilities are nearly limitless…take some time to take stalk of the food supplies you have, and decide which ones you’d like to experiment with. To give you an idea of the kinds of things you can plant, here’s a quick list:

(Graphic: City Girl Farming)

1. Whole seed spices (like coriander seed, mustard seed, etc.)
2. Seeds from fruits and vegetables (like potatoes, green peppers, apples, etc.)
3. Snack food seeds (like popcorn and raw nuts, etc.)
4. Fresh herbs and spices (like garlic and ginger root, etc.)

Most of these seeds and roots will grow best by starting them in water. Also, many of them can be transplanted out into the garden, if you’d like. (Here is one suggestion. There are several more on the links above.)

Potato
Keep a potato around until some eyes start growing on it. Slice a piece of the potato off where the eye is, and put it in a cup with water covering the potato, but not the eye. Soon, you’ll have a potato plant sprouting up and you can plant it in the garden, or just watch it grow in the cup (no potatoes will grow in the cup, but the plant will grow and look good.)

Enjoy these two garden resources – there are many more on the web, just search for them – as it is starting to look a lot like Spring! (I noticed our Forsythia is in heavy bud. It will bloom in the next several days) Cheers! And thanks to Barbara Joan Mayhre for sharing this information, although I don’t know that she realizes it as the link above is on a FB post she made. You never know, Barbara.