Harvest Time

Today I harvested as much of my zucchini and beans as I could carry. I also got flowers on my sunflowers.

Now I just have to get the olive oil and breadcrumbs to fry them up. :)

Recipies

I plan to use the zucchini to make some fried zucchini to go on the side of eggplant Parmesan with my eggplant and tomatoes.

Organics and Sustainability

This week in the garden was really the same old same old. I didn't even have to weed or fertilize because, well, I had no weeds and I fertilized last week. My zucchini leaves aren't looking too hot though. They are still producing but they look a little sickly. I think that they are having a white fly problem so I sprayed a bunch of neem on them. Besides that everything is moving along quite well. I can't wait for some tomatoes!

So today I am going to discuss a little bit about sustainability and my own organic eating habits. In short I don't have any organic eating habits. I have no problems eating plants that once had pesticides on them and I generally just pick the food that has the lowest price tag. Whether the difference is $10 or 10 cents, I'm probably going to pick the cheaper one.
Now sustainability is a whole other animal. According to the Union of concerned scientists the most common sustainable agriculture methods are:
Below are some of the most common sustainable agriculture techniques employed by farmers today to achieve the key goals of weed control, pest control, disease control, erosion control and high soil quality:

• Crop Rotation
• Cover Crops
• Soil Enrichment
• Natural Pest Predators
• Bio-intensive Integrated Pest Management

Crop Rotation is growing different crops is succession in the same field.
Cover Crops are crops that are planted between sowing periods that help prevent soil erosion and weeds. They can also help to improve the soil quality.
Soil Enrichment an be attained by leaving some crop residue after a harvest or laying down compost/manure.
Natural Pest Predators are a sophisticated and effective way of helping to control crop pests.
Bio-Integrated Pest Management is one of the most promising technologies is the control of pests through integrated pest management (IPM). This approach relies to the greatest possible extent on biological rather than chemical measures, and emphasizes the prevention of pest problems with crop rotation; the reintroduction of natural, disease-fighting microbes into plants/soil, and release of beneficial organisms that prey on the pests. Once a particular pest problem is identified, responses include the use of sterile males, bio-control agents like ladybugs. Chemical pesticides are only used as a last resort.

Here is a collage of the scavenger hunt we did in the garden....