Good Food

Housewife/Actress Mary Deegan in the Kitchen Preparing Dinner For Her Four Children

I'm not sure when this photo was taken, but I can assume it was before the introduction of fast food, processed foods, etc. So many good, natural, whole foods have been given a bad name over the years, and the potato is one of them! Any food that is high in starch is shunned by the dieting community. But the potato has given nourishment to generations of people worldwide for centuries.

Going back to the terrain dilemma I mentioned in an earlier post---It's not the food that is bad, it is the soil which has been depleted, and the processing practices that have made good food bad for you.

There are many things that can be done on a small scale, meaning we can grow our own food using organic principles. The first practice being nourish your soil---don't destroy it. How can this be done? By giving back to the soil what was taken out of it, in the form of compost.

NOW, is the perfect time to begin preparing your soil for springtime planting, while the ground is recovering from the growth of last year's garden.

First you'll need to clean it up.

Get rid of any insect/egg harboring plants that have been left in the garden.

Burning them (check with your local authorities before burning anything!) is the best way to cut down on what might be in there just waiting to develop. Just when your broccoli or greens start to flourish, overnight, bugs can make a disaster of them.

In my opinion it is better to burn the weeds and leftover plants to get rid of the nuisances, than worrying about what good insects you might be killing off. Nature is going to provide us with both! But with a little forethought, we can possibly cut down on the bad ones.

Now, plow the ground and plant a cover crop. According to many experts, "Cover crops just might be the hardest-working plants you’ll ever grow. Cover crops (also called green manure) suppress weeds, build productive soil, and help control pests and diseases. Plus, cover crops are easy to plant and require only basic care to thrive. And they grow well in nearly every part of the country." http://www.suburbanhomesteading.com/build-your-soil%e2%80%99s-productivity-with-cover-crops/quick-tips

Other enthusiasts on using cover crops for the above reasons, include: Mary Jane Butter's, Mother Earth News, and a myriad of other experts in organic gardening. Mary Jane even suggests using an edible cover crop, Daikon Radishes.