Organic Living and Lifestyle Blog

How To Grow Organic Walnuts - One Of The Top10 Super-Foods

Walnuts – are an excellent source of plant based omega 3 fatty acids, known for fighting heart disease. They are also packed with micronutrients, antioxidants and plant sterol, which lower cholesterol.

Walnuts also provide protein and phosphorus as well as vitamins B and D. Eat nuts in moderation though as they are quite high in calories – perhaps a handful up to five times a week. Oil made from the nuts is delicious in salads or on pasta dishes.

Common walnut (Juglans regia) is a beautiful, slow growing, deciduous tree that may grow to around 15meters/50feet tall with a spread of about 10meters/30feet. Because of it’s potential mature size give some thought to its permanent position as not all back yards are able to accommodate such a tree. Even though they will tolerate heavy pruning, they shouldn’t be planted near drains or buildings.

It is a cool-climate tree and prefers a sunny position. The mature tree is quite frost hardy, but young plants and new spring growth are vulnerable to frost damage. Walnut trees prefer deep, rich, well drained soils with regular watering through summer and plenty of light.

Grafted plants will produce much better fruit than trees grown from seed. The cultivar ‘Wilson’s Wonder’ fruits at around 7 years, much sooner than most others. It is best to plant out young trees in winter, while leafless.

Barely noticeable female flowers grow on the current years growth and greenish/yellow male catkins hang from last seasons twigs on the same tree in spring, just before the large pinnate leaves appear.

The fruits are oval in shape and are 4-5cm across. The hard shelled nuts form inside green husks that turn dark brown when ripe. The tasty kernel is found inside the hard outer shell.

The fruit should be collected from the ground in autumn (fall) once they have withered and fallen from the tree.

Use gloves to remove the husk from the white kernel inside, to prevent staining your hands. Black walnut (Juglans nigra) produces the toxin juglone, which is emitted via its roots. Many plants that come into contact with it will wilt or die because this toxin is so strong.

Leaves that fall from walnut trees, as well as the husks, are toxic to other plants, so don’t include them in your general composting. They are also very poisonous to fish and most animals. The outer husks can be used to make a brown dye.

Some species are grown specifically for their yield of fine timber for furniture production. Sometimes they are just grown for their elegant, aromatic foliage and remarkable form.

Technorati Tags: organic, walnuts, grow, garden, top10 super-foods, healthy

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Add comment October 23rd, 2007

Organic Gardening Soil - Tips to Create a Healthy Foundation

Growing plants, vines, flowers, trees, fruits and vegetables and just about anything else you put in the ground with all natural methods most people would refer to as organic gardening.

Gardening the organic way means the use of pesticides, chemicals or other environmentally unfriendly substances used to produce fruit and foliage are never used. Organics are normally associated with fruits, vegetables and herbs, as people do not want chemicals on their foods. However, organic production can also be applied to the production of meats.

Soil preparation is where it all starts in organic gardening. The first step is building a soil full of nutrients for the plants grown in the soil all without the use of manufactured fertilizers and chemicals. This step of organic soil preparation can take some effort but makes the end result worth the time.

Mixing rich, healthy compost material together starts the base for creating organic soil. Some organic fanatics use compost piles, bins or containers to create their own compost. Some garden centers even sell compost, but creating compost is easy even without special compost bins.

Creating your organic soil is not difficult simply take the current soil and start adding items the soil and allow them to begin breaking down. Make sure all the items you add are natural, as they decompose the nutrients will remain in the soil.

To mix the organic items into the soil the soil needs to be loosened and turned. Now start adding the organics such as tea and coffee grounds, shredded paper, fruit peels and vegetable scraps. These items can be added slowly as they become available. The material will breakdown and compost much faster if the material is small in size. Try chopping kitchen scraps into smaller bits before throwing them into the garden. I’ve even thrown scraps into a food processor to chop them smaller.

After the organic items have been added, turn the soil to mix these new items in to soil and make sure they are covered well. Then every other day or so water the soil down and mix it up again. After three to four weeks, your organic bed of soil should be ready for planting plants or seeds in.

For a better organic soil do not wait until spring. Start preparing your organic garden in the fall, before the first hard frost or freeze arrives, the soil will be much richer and ready for spring planting.

Technorati Tags: organic, gardening, soil, compost, tips, fall, spring, natural, healthy

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2 comments October 20th, 2007

How To Grow Organic Pumpkins - One Of The Top 10 Super-Foods

[Editor’s note: In recognition of Halloween coming soon…]

Pumpkin – provides fibre, contains potassium and carotenoids (the antioxidants found in orange, yellow, red and dark green vegetables).

It is wonderful as a cooked veggie, makes great soup and delicious pumpkin pie.

Pumpkins are so easy to grow that you most likely know the basics, but here’s a few tips for you anyway. Consider growing different varieties as there are many interesting pumpkins to choose from.

Pumpkins are warm-season vegetables that don’t like to be transplanted. The seeds are large, so are best sown directly in the position that they will occupy for the summer. They will need between three and four months of frost-free days to reach maturity.

Sow your pumpkins seeds in a well drained, fertile soil, in a sunny position, as you want them to grow quickly. They prefer a soil pH of around 6.0. Add organic matter to the soil before planting and follow up with a measure of organic fertilizer half way through the growth cycle.

Pumpkins do well planted three to five in small mounds. Push each seed into the soil about 2cm / 1inch deep. In a month or so, thin to the healthiest two or three plants per mound. Space your mounds about 1metre / 3feet to 1.5metres / 4.5feet apart. Or you could try growing them in rows, placing two seeds per hole about 1metre / 3feet between seeds.

Pumpkins don’t like sitting in wet soil so only water when necessary, but water deeply. Powdery mildew can be a problem for pumpkins, so watering from below is helpful in preventing this disease.

There are several pests that will attack pumpkins, so it is best to grow in a companion planting situation such as with corn, beans and radishes.

Keep weeds at bay by adding organic mulch to the soil surface around your pumpkins once the soil has warmed enough.

Male and female flowers appear on the same vine. The fruits develop from the base of the female flower, which soon withers and drops off. Most pumpkins take around 50 days to mature, so you’ll be harvesting in autumn (fall).

Wait until the vine starts to die off and the fruit has developed a rich colour. The stem right next to the pumpkin should be dry and hard before removing it from the vine. Make sure the stem remains attached to the pumpkin or it will not store for very long.

It is best to “cure” your harvest for between 7 and 10 days at around 25°C / 80°F, then store in a cool, dry place.

There are so many wonderful varieties to choose from, with such varying shapes and sizes. Remember to save the seeds of your most successful pumpkins so that you can grow even better ones next season.

Technorati Tags: organic, pumpkin, garden, top 10 super-foods, healthy, tips

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1 comment October 14th, 2007