Berry Exciting

Planted nine blueberry bushes along the back edge of the backyard this afternoon. Got them from a lady who sells at the Matthews Farmers Market and sells transplants of berry bushes, tomatoes, etc. She grows organically and the bushes look really health. The nine consist of three "early" fruiting (Star Highbush [2] and O'Neal Highbush), three mid-season fruiting (Legacy Highbush [2] and Brightnell Rabbit), and three late fruiting (Powderblue Rabbit Eye [2] and Tifblue Rabbit Eye).

I put them in a line three feet in from the fence. Perhaps should have put them 4-5 feet, but I'm starting to contemplate putting garden beds back in the backyard again so didn't want to encroach too far into the yard:



A few of the bushes:

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Organic or Not?

Dr. John McDougall continues to publish incisive commentaries in his monthly e-newsletter (along with Mary McDougall's monthly vegan recipes). (Subscribe to the McDougall's e-newsletter here --left-hand column, halfway down the page.)

Today's newsletter has a great article on organic vs. conventional food -- why he doesn't make organic a fundamental point in his published recommendations for health, but does recommend organic if you ask him personally, and eats organic AMAP (as much as possible) himself.

Answer:

•Organic, grass-fed meat and dairy is still meat and dairy and will lead to heart disease and other problems.
•Conventionally-grown fruits, veggies, seeds, and nuts are still fruits, veggies, seeds, and nuts and will lead to health.

That is, a conventionally-grown plant-based diet is always better than an organically-grown meat/dairy diet. We are so inundated today by the "organic" label that we forget that it is not organic food that makes us healthy; it is plant-based food. This is the diet "forest" we need to keep in sight when we get lost among the organic "trees."

The best of both worlds is organic AND plant-based. But since "buy organic" will turn off some sick people in terms of the extra effort and expense, he doesn't make it a foundation of his therapies for beginners. It's not organic that cures people, it's plant-based food.

WK note: These slight refinements and tweaks in our understanding are what keep us from succumbing to the marketing hype even in areas with which we are sympathetic.

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Voter Guide

At WallBuilders.com, there is a convenient display of where the two presidential candidates stand on 14 different important issues. If you download the Guide in .pdf format, you'll see the documentation for each of the positions stated.

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Tea Tweaks

I posted during the summer about making sun tea, which I've continued to do almost daily. However, after reading the following information about tea in Anticancer—A New Way of Life, I'm revising the plan. The author, Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, discusses the anti-cancer properties of lots of foods, including tea, which has many. I'll continue to consume decaffeinated green tea, but will make it a different way.

Here are some notes from his section on tea as a cancer-fighter:

•Rich in polyphenols, including catechins, which reduce the growth of the new vessels needed for tumor growth and metasteses.
•Powerful antioxidant and detoxifier.
•Facilitates the death of cancer cells by apoptosis (death by suicide; programmed into every cell to prevent "anarchy" and uncontrolled duplication)

As to tea itself -- kinds and preparation:

•Black tea is fermented, a process that destroyes a large proportion of its polyphenols. Oolong tea is midway between black and green in terms of retaining polyphenols. Decaffeinated (as well as regular) green tea retains the highest amounts of polyphenols.
•Japanese green tea (sencha, gyokuro, matcha, etc.) is richer in EGCG (powerful catechin) than common Chinese green tea.
•Green tea must be steeped for at least five to eight minutes -- ideally ten minutes -- to release its catechins.
•Steeped green tea should be drunk within the hour. Do not store green tea after steeping as it loses its beneficial polyphenols after 1-2 hours.

It's this last point that is the bummer re: sun tea. It sits in the sun for "eight" hours, then in the refrigerator for a day or two -- quite longer than the ideal one-hour consumption time. The author doesn't comment on green sun tea and its polyphenol retention rate, but I've decided to err on the side of caution at this point and switch to steeped green tea. Sun tea in the summer is still great as a refreshing drink, with its lower levels of (bitter) tannic acid. But as a cancer fighter, it may not be as good.

Anybody read anything different -- especially re: sun tea? I'd like to know if you have. (By the way, I don't have cancer, except for the myriad cancer cells that are floating in all our bodies waiting to be destroyed by our immune system, but if I'm going to drink green tea I'd rather drink it the cancer-fighting way.)

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Avocado Jackets

Charlotte is going down to the high 20's and low 30's at night this week, so last night I rigged some jackets for the six newly-transplanted avocado trees. I bought six ten-foot long "masonry ladders" -- wire reinforcements that go between courses of block in masonry walls. I cut them in half and stuck the ends of the five-foot pieces in the ground to form a frame over the trees; then pulled plastic leaf-bags down over the frames and tied them at the bottom (though one blew off during the night). It only went down to about 35 or so last night, but a better test will be tonight when it's supposed to dip down to 28 or so. I did this in the dark last night, but here's what they looked like this morning:



The frames around two of the trees:

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Your Own Personal Banana Farm

Picking up on the "eat local" trend, the Dole food company is helping locavores get connected by putting the identity of the organic banana farm where the bananas were grown on the sticker on each batch. For instance, these Dole organic bananas were grown at Dole's Certified Organic Farm #781. By going to doleorganic.com and selecting Farm 781 you can see pictures of the farm -- in this case the El Pozo Farm ("pozo" means "well" or "shaft" in Spanish, as in "water well" or "mine shaft") on the northern coast of Colombia. You can even link to Google Earth to get a map of Colombia and see the location of the farm. It ain't local, but it seems a little closer.

Bookmark this post on Delicious

The Late Bruce

My third-grade neighbor friend, Kiralyn, was growing a cabbage last spring for a class project. Her dad brought it over one day to ask about the yellowing leaves, so I gave them some liquid organic fertilizer to take home to feed "Bruce." He rallied and was transplanted to a large pot where Kiralyn dutifully cared for him all summer, through bugs and droughts. By mid-July, Bruce had gotten the big head (six pounds worth), and was given the honor of accompanying a corned beef and red potato dinner at Kiralyn's house.

May -- the head was forming:



July -- Bruce, the big-head:



August -- the late Bruce:



Nice job, Kira! (And thanks to Kira's dad, John, for the great photos!)

Bookmark this post on Delicious

Google Phone Review

For those interested, CNET has posted a thorough review of the new Google Dream phone. It's only significant because of the potential for the Dream phone to challenge the iPhone, and because of CNET's thoroughness with whatever they review.

Bookmark this post on Delicious

What Obama Thinks About Your Money

Everyone by now is familiar with Obama's conversation with "Joe the plumber" in which he (Obama) said it was a good thing that "Joe's" wealth (the money you and I earn) be re-distributed to others in society. It already is redistributed, of course, through taxes that fund social welfare programs, etc. But Obama is talking about something more pronounced, it would appear -- and he has been accused of tending toward socialism in that regard: the pooling of national wealth into a large pot and then parceled out on a more equal, or fair, basis -- the government being the one to decide who gets what.

This is apparently not a new thought with him. In this transcript of a 2001 radio interview he laments the fact that the Civil Rights Movement court decisions never got around to "economic justice" -- the redistribution of private citizens' wealth. He also (as a professor of Constitutional law at that time) laments the "negative" approach of the Constitution -- saying what the government was not allowed to do but failing to specify what the government should do (e.g., redistribute wealth). (As I understand it, the Founders did not overlook anything when they crafted the Constitution. They were intent on protecting citizens from the powers of government. That's why they fled oppressive government activism in Europe and created a new LIMITED government, focusing on what people were responsible for doing for themselves and limiting what government could do to interfere in peoples' "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.")

Well -- see what you think about his words in this interview. (Disclaimer: Has the interview been unfairly edited? Is it complete? Has it been edited to cast Obama in a negative light? I don't know. The website that sponsors the video is a pro-McCain/Palin site, but I don't know if that means the transcript of Obama's words is accurate or not. Judge for yourself. I share this only because, in this "courtship" stage of political campaigns we are hearing only that which is designed to consumate the marriage. What candidates have said in the past, and fail to repudiate or reaffirm in the present for fear of derailing the relationship, is important as well. That goes for both candidates, not just for Obama.)

P.S. I am not opposed to the "redistribution of wealth." I voluntarily "redistribute" a portion of my income (over and above taxes) each month for the benefit of others. But that's a decision I make, not one that is made for me by government.

Bookmark this post on Delicious