For those that grow food at home

anyone looked at the solar talk?

Not me.

Turns out I didn't have time to watch ANY of it...

I just noticed I received an email tihis morning from the food summit.

I watched the hoop house construction one. It was a well done presentation, even though building one is not a project I could pull off anytime soon since I rent.

I also watched the Controlling Insects Naturally and Organically. It was a little more about identification than control, but even so, I learned a few things and would recommend it. (There were a few mis-speaks, but that happens when you're speaking publicly, and none of it was egregious.)

BeetlesPerSqFt wrote:I watched the hoop house construction one. It was a well done presentation, even though building one is not a project I could pull off anytime soon since I rent.

I also watched the Controlling Insects Naturally and Organically. It was a little more about identification than control, but even so, I learned a few things and would recommend it. (There were a few mis-speaks, but that happens when you're speaking publicly, and none of it was egregious.)

i'll try to catch the insect one. I was sleeping yesterday to works night, so didn't see anything. I'm off today but have many irons in the fire. thank you for the send out.

I enjoyed the Howard Garrett, Controlling Insects Naturally and Organically and Glenn Meder-Water Purification for Better Health. The latter really open my eyes more about the safety of our water and the real myth of the efficiency of using filters. I have some time left so I will watch the one on hoop house.

BeetlesPerSqFt wrote:

has55 wrote:

countrynaturals wrote:

has55 wrote:she was good, but understanding soil building by Geoff Lawton knocks it out of the park. It will make up what you miss. With him, it like being a classroom. uses a chalkboard. he on today. will talk about her later. have to rest for work tonight.

Amen to that! He was amazing! That was the best presentation of the week and Stacey Murphy came in a nice close 2nd.  They've made a soil-lover out of me fer shure.

It worth it weight in diamonds and gold
Jimmy cee I hope u can see it
It right up your alley

Watched Geoff Lawton’s  Understanding Soil Building and feel I have to comment on three points:

He says fertilizers "bound up in cadnium salt." This is misleading. Phosphate sometimes has a little cadmium contamination (as does your soil, and compost, and rock dust) but the NPK in fertilizers are salts that are typically combinations of one or more of: each-other(nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), oxygen, hydrogen, calcium, sodium, sulfur, and chlorine. I’m not saying that fertilizers can’t have a detrimental effect on soil, but they aren’t salts of cadmium.

Second, and this may be a translation issue but he conflates the word “starch” with “sugars.” Plant roots trade sugars (and other compounds), not starch, with bacteria. Starches are large molecules made of many sugars stuck together and are difficult to export through the plant cell walls. The bacteria feed on the sugar and make that sticky substance that holds together the soil crumbs. That substance is also not starch, but is mostly composed of sugars.

I'm also not agreeing with the assumption that all insecticides kill bacteria just because they are smaller organisms than insects. I think the conclusion is correct (Insecticides usually have a detrimental effect on soil, and ultimately disrupt the bacterial diversity) but the means of arriving at that conclusion seems sketchy/overly simplified.

I have to admit I didn't pay much attention to the science, but this year really opened my eyes about the importance of soil health -- first from Paul about BTE, then these 2 presenters from the Summit. It's amazing how much healthier my plants are already. Next year it should be amazing.  Thank you so much, Beetles, for taking the time to post such a detailed analysis. The lesson here is to pay attention and not accept everything we read as being 100% accurate.

Thanks, Suz! I try to use my critical thinking as I'm watching, because there are a lot of myths that creep in. The scientific grain of truth of the myth gets overstated, understated, or misstated because things change as they pass through/between people and the media.

And sometimes science doesn't set up studies well - the microwaving broccoli study made me aware of that. I went back and looked at the original study, and found they used different amounts of water for comparing cooking broccoli in the microwave and steaming it on the stove top. The problem with that is when you use more water to cook vegetables, you have greater potential to lose more water-soluble vitamins/minerals/etc. By using different amounts of water, you introduce a variable - and you can't discern whether any of the nutritional loss was due to the microwave itself, or if it was all loss to the water the broccoli was immersed in. Steaming the broccoli in the microwave would have been a better comparison. (I now cook my broccoli in the microwave without adding any water.)

My main thought after watching the distilled water video was - Wait, what happens to all the bad, good, and neutral stuff that is left behind after you remove the water from the tap water? I'm guessing there must be some part of the distillation device (it was implied that selling such devices was a family business) that needs to be periodically cleaned or replaced to deal with the accumulation of salts and other ex-solutes.

I'm also leery about the healthfulness of drinking distilled water. In school they specifically indicated the distilled water present in laboratories shouldn't be consumed because it wasn't safe. But I'm not finding any good studies online that indicate anything one way or the other: nothing says its perfectly safe to drink long-term, and nothing proving it's slightly harmful.

Welcome Encore Day #2 of the Home Grown Food Summit
got this AM. only a picture below. click above link to get there,

BPSF, this may help you with some of your questions about the long-term effect of distilled water.

Water—The Choice for Long-Term Health


The Hallelujah Diet® Research-more research articles

has55 wrote:BPSF, this may help you with some of your questions about the long-term effect of distilled water.

Water—The Choice for Long-Term Health


The Hallelujah Diet Research-more research articles

Thanks! That's exactly what I was hoping to find!
Hm... some other interesting articles, too...

I hope everyone has a chance to see "Howard Garrett – Planting and Managing Trees the Right Way." it was so good. A great presentation with excellent pictures. it's about 30-35 mins long.  I assume the encore viewing is over at 9:00 AM.

https://www.superseeds.com/blogs/know-your-roots/growing-your-own-food-and-why-it-makes-you-so-happy?_kx=nKdNXGOwHxc5erFKHU6md8PD0cJDv_ZJsNtQClhioPc%3D.gDufjw

Good read!

It certainly does help clear the mind!    I'm always focused on how I'm going to get my fingernails clean.