How to Make Organic Alternatives to Roundup Weed Killer | eHow.com

There are a lot of concerns about the increasing use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in products such as roundup.  Many organic gardeners want to know how to make organic alternatives to Roundup Weed killer

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How to Make Organic Alternatives to Roundup Weed Killer | eHow.com

Some strategies involve physical removal, cultivation and mechanical barriers such as plastic or organic mulches.

Other methods exist such as pouring boiling water over the weeds.

Elite Eight

Organic cultivation of mixed vegetables on an organic farm in Capay, California. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here is another list that honors the NCAA college basketball tournament known as March Madness.

As the teams are down to the Elite Eight, I decided to come up with an Elite Eight list to complement our Sweet Sixteen list of Vegetables.

So what would be a good list of Eight Things?  How about the Elite Eight Reasons to go Organic, GMO free and all natural with farming/ homesteading?  So here goes:

1. Organic farming and gardening is better for the environment in many ways.  The first is that there is a focus on conservation.  I am not a naturalist nor a “tree hugger,” but rather I believe that God gave us a great planet, which we need to protect and respect.  Organic and natural farming tends to placeconservation in the forefront.  Compost is recycling at its basis.
2.  Organically grown foods contain fewer harmful chemicals than conventionally grown foods. In a conventional system, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and glyphosate (Round Up) are sprayed to increase production in various ways. These chemicals can be taken up by the plants and then eaten by the consumer resulting in toxin buildup within the body.
3. I would make a case that growing thing organically actually gains in yield over time. This is due to the better soil structure and the better ecosystem. By continuously amending the soil with organic matter, the earthworms and other organisms flourish. This can make to yield as good or better than a conventional system. The health of the soil leads to good health within the plants leading to reduced disease and fewer pest problems in the long run. Healthy plants, like healthy people,
   are better suited to fight off disease and pests.
4.  I will again cite Dr. Don Huber in regard to some research that is ongoing about potential problems with the use of Genetically Modified Corn, soybeans and now alfalfa.
   

   Predatory Polistes wasp looking for bollworms or other caterpillars on a cotton plant (Photo credit: Wikipedia)n insecticide is utilized.

5.  The reduction of chemicals that are relied upon for insect and pest control will allow natural processes to take hold. For most every pest that invades a garden or crop, there is at least one predator. These predators can be killed along with the pest when an insecticide is applied.  If natural cycles are allowed to run their course, predators will find area that their prey are thriving in.  A lot of prey, will ultimately lead to a lot of predators, which will reduce the population of the pest.
6. Though this point may be disputed, I believe that naturally grown foods contain more nutrients. I also believe that these nutrients are much easier for our bodies to utilize. This means that even a naturally grown vegetable or crop that is lower in nutrients will actually provide more usable nutrients, thus making it more nutritious for the body.
7. I would love to do a study on this one: Animals will eat naturally grown crops with more vigor. This means less stress to the animal and perhaps greater yields. Perhaps one day I will be able to do a study in this subject. The study would have to control just about every other variable other than the feed in order to be valid.
8. Finally, there is simply a self-satisfaction that goes along with producing your own food naturally.
   

   Growth of organic farmland since the year 2000 Development of organically managed land by world regions since 2000 Data: http://www.organic-world.net

   Something that I found very interesting is the chart above.  This chart shows that North America is not growing as much in Organic farmland, yet the world is.  We often look to other countries for many other things, why not look at others as the lead for this trend.  We need to figure this out, before it is too late.

The Organic Farm Challenge

As can be noted from this blog and our previous posts, we are fans of natural and organic farming.  Our basis is rather simplistic in the fact that we would not drink roundup or fertilizer so why put it on our foods or in our animals.
Herein lies the dilemma:  what do you do when you have a sick animal or a crop being ravaged by pests?  There are limited options in this area, as the focus of organic farming is prevention and overall health. Of course, you can reach for a home remedy. The quick fix is antibiotics or a chemical pesticide. Since I am a veterinarian and not a botanist, I will talk on the animal side.
Many sick animals can be treated with something to bolster the immune system. They can be given things such as IV fluids and vitamin C. Many organic dairy farms depend heavily upon aloe as a treatment for mastitis. I like to infuse hypersonic saline into the udder and then milk the affected quarters out 15 to 20 minutes later. Some animals can be fed dandelions as a natural diuretic if there ia a lot of edema (extra fluid) present in the udder.
The condition that presents the greatest challenge is bacterial pneumonia. This requires the use of antibiotics, which are restricted of course. I am hoping that there are some things in the works as far as research in this area. I think that for the moment organic dairies should be allowed to use the antibiotics, but the withdrawal times need to be extended out to allow residues to clear. A traditional dairy will have a milk withhold of 4 to 8 milkings, which amount to 2 to 4 days. Perhaps the organic dairy association should consider a 2 week or 1 month withdrawal time. This would allow the farmer to retain the animal, yet would be a long enough withdrawal time to strongly discourage the use of antibiotics. Just my 2 cents of course…..but it seems that a longer withhold that allows the farmer to help the animal and keep her in his herd is much better than having to wait to the last minute to treat her and then be forced to remove her from the herd. Afterall, are we desiring organic farms just for the purity of the food or do we desire the best for the animals as well?

Outcast

I oftentimes keep my opinions to myself throughout daily life.  This is likely due to the fact that my farming beliefs and eating beliefs lie outside of what is commonplace.  I deal with traditional farmers every day.  These farmers work very hard and are very wise in their ways.  The traditional view of farming is geared for maximum profit and maximum output.  In order to accomplish this, expenditures are a must.  These expenditures can be justified by the bottom line of increased production to a level above that of the expense.  This has to include time on my humble opinion.

Traditional farming is centered around the idea of maximum yield.  In order to do this, fertilizers, growth hormones, daily antibiotics, daily dewormers, daily coccidiostats and production hormones are given.   I worry about the end result in the food chain.  What are all of these chemicals truly doing to the people that consume all of these end products?

I watch as little girls mature at an earlier age and wonder why.

I watch the cancer rate increase and wonder why.

I watch the rate of ADD and ADHD increase and wonder why.

I watch the increasing rate of Autism….especially among males skyrocket and I wonder why.

No Artificial Growth Hormones (Photo credit: Tillamook Cheese)

There has to be a reason for the increases in these diseases and concerns that I can raise off the top of my head.  Many things could go into these issues.  It could

be the increase in nutrition has allowed young ladies to mature at a faster rate.  It may be that there is more radiation in our daily lives due to cell phones, electricity, microwaves, and supposed reducti

on of the ozone layer (whatever happened to that concern by the way?…..o yeah I think it was replaced with the rabid religion of global warming if you ask me).  Could it simply be blamed on hormones, glyphosate, GMO products, antibiotic usage, fertilizers and other factors that we have attributed to progress?

Again I will reference Dr. Don Huber as far as the concerns about GMO products and glyphosate application at an increased rate.  In fact, he states that he would rather drink DDT than glyhposate.  What is glyphosate you ask?  It is the ingredient in ROUND UP that basically kills just about every living plant that it comes into contact, except those that are GMO products.  GMO stand for Genetically Modified Organism.  A lot of information can be found using google.com.

I will stop with the questions for now, but back to the title of the post.  This makes me a bit of an outcast.  I am okay with that title.  I will take being an outcast if it ends up being for the betterment of my family and friends.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like having to be against the grain, but it is fine in this case.  I figure it this way:  They defend the practices stating that there has never been a problem with these practices and that “science” has proven that all of it is safe….I, however, am not going to drink the stuff, so I will strive to provide my family with food that is free of all the garbage.  In the end, the result is that I may have wasted some time and money, but if I am right….I will be standing strong in the end.

So Stand Strong and Live life to the utmost!

Support Local Farmers Markets

It is vital to support local farmers markets.  It is beneficial to the consumer and the producer.  Locally grown food has many benefits.  Oftentimes products are sold at the local market for a similar price to that of the larger retail stores.  The difference is that more profit goes to support the farmer,  the one who is actually doing all of the hard work to produce the food.

One benefit of buying from a local farmers market is the freshness of the food that you buy.  The products at the local farmers markets are not shipped long distances and are likely picked that day.  The fresher the product, the better the nutrients.  I do suggest trying to buy organically grown and GMO free products.  There are many websites and much information regarding the potential negative effects of GMO corn and soy.  (Organic Consumers Website) (Dr. Don Huber)

Another benefit is that locally grown food tends to have fewer preservatives than food that has been shipped to a supermarket.  Having worked as a produce clerk in high school and college, I have seen firsthand that supermarket food is sprayed with preservatives.  The bananas are a good example.  Bananas are sprayed with something to slows down the ripening process during shipping, then treated with high levels of nitrogen to get them to soften and turn yellow once they are close to their intended market.  This is not a natural process.

Interestingly enough, Dirk Benedict (the actor that played “Face” in the great 1980s television series the A-Team) has a theory about eating local foods.  I attempted to research further after hearing an interview years ago on the radio.  My conclusions of what he said appear to be consistent with the macrobiotic theories of traditional Chinese medicine.  To find out more about the Macrobiotic Diet, click on the highlighted words.  I took his interview at “face” value (LOL get the pun there?).  What I heard him say is that Eskimos should not eat tropical fruits such as oranges.  Why not?  I am glad you asked.  The reasoning is that oranges and related fruits tend to thin the blood, where as whale products (meat and fat I guess) tend to thicken the blood.  Thickening the blood keeps you warm per Mr. Dirk Benedict.

So now that I have let out the fact that I am a traditional A-Team fan and digressed, I hope that you find shopping at local farmers markets to be of interest.  This supports the farmers and benefits you.

If we don’t help in some way to protect our heritage, we will lose it.

Acquisition Ready?

I have been mulling over many thoughts in my head the past few days.  The most recent topic that I discussed with a dear friend (over coffee of course) is that of our declining confidence in the food system and supply.  We discussed our roles in how to combat the big factory farms and the chemical abuse that we see going on in regard to our precious lands around us.  Neither one of us is necessary a “green” geek or an environmentalist, yet each of us feels a role to protect the creation that has been given to us by our Creator.  We feel an obligation to best provide for our families and then as many people as possible after that.

We have had many a discussion about the state of the world, politics, instability, threats to the current systems and things of that nature.  We truly believe that God is in control. yet we have an active role to play.  So in light of that, we both want to be as prepared as possible, yet realize that no one is called to do this alone.  So where this leads as far as this blog and the concept that we are developing is, how do we do this in a practical way.  The other question is whether or not there is an economy of scale when it comes to producing GMO-free, natural, organic, etc foods?

I believe that we need to be active in planning ahead.  We also need to formulate a plan that is what I call acquisition ready.  What I mean by that is structuring our lives in such a way that we are focused on the goals that lie ahead.  We also need to structure our finances in such a way as to be the most responsible that we can.  That means living as debt-free as possible.  Can you imagine what you would be able to do without a mortgage payment?  Anyway, I digress.  Acquisition ready when it comes to the homesteading life means several things.  I will define it as being in a position to capitalize on opportunities that present themselves.  For instance, can I get my finances into such a state that I can buy the 10 acres up the road when and if it becomes available?  Can I purchase that next animal, or crop, or piece of equipment that becomes available out of nowhere?  This is more than simply having a strict budget, it also means finding the opportunities and identifying the good ones from the bad ones.  Easier typed than done I suppose.

Well, that may be enough on the sounding board for one post.  Hopefully more to follow.

GMO Products

GMO = Genetically Modified Organism

GMO is a term that is commonly applied to “Round-up” Ready crops such as soybeans and corn.  So what does genetically modifying crops do to the crops ………. then the animals.  Continuing on the theme of “You are what you eat,” I will try to evaluate this further and pass the information along.

There are some claims on the internet about new organisms that have been identified within genetically modified soybean meal.  These claims are from an expert in the field of Horticulture.  So what are the claims”  The claim is that this organism is capable of causing severe disease in Cattle, Hogs, and Horses to name a few.  In addition to causing diseases, the professor claims that Veterinarians have found this organism and it is linked to infertility and abortions.  Dr. Don Huber is the scientist who is making these claims.  An aside is that his claims are very interesting and very concerning, however they appear in the Youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nHCw36wIhs)  and are very vague at best.  Dr. Huber fails to name the organism nor does he even identify what classification the organism belongs to.  What does that mean?  Well he does not name it as a bacteria, a fungus, an algae, or a prion (responsible for mad cow disease and Kuru).  This definitely leaves the claims open to interpretation.

A larger question is what are the effects of Round – Up on the soil and plants?  The increase in GMO crops facilitates the increased utilization of Round Up. Again Dr. Huber claims that Glyphosate destroys various organisms within the soil.  These oraganism, he claims, are responsible for the production of the trace mineral Manganese.  Again from Wikipedia : “Manganese is an essential trace nutrient in all forms of life…….Manganese is also important in photosynthetic oxygen evolution in chloroplasts in plants. The oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) is a part of photosystem II contained in the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts; it is responsible for the terminal photooxidation of water during the light reactions of photosynthesis, and has a metalloenzyme core containing four atoms of manganese.^[41] For this reason, most broad-spectrum plant fertilizers contain manganese.”

The active ingredient of Glyphosate.  According to Wikipedia: “Glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide used to kill weeds, especially annual broadleaf weeds and grasses known to compete with crops grown widely across the Midwest of the United States.”  Other portions of the Wikipedia write up state: “While glyphosate has been associated with deformities in a host of laboratory animals, its impact on humans remains unclear.^[6]

Glyphosate’s mode of action is to inhibit an enzyme involved in the synthesis of the aromatic amino acids: tyrosine, tryptophan and phenylalanine. It is absorbed through foliage and translocated to growing points. Because of this mode of action, it is only effective on actively growing plants; it is not effective as a pre-emergence herbicide.”

While there is a lot of information that is yet to be gleaned and revealed,  Glyphosate has allowed for the rapid production of GMO crops.  This is another reason to consider homesteading.  Homesteading centers around the conservation of of soil, plants, and animals.  This is what we focus on here at Heritage Breed Farms.  Check out the previous posting about building soil.  Hopefully more to follow.