Soil Bag Planting

I am experimenting with two methods for my suburban garden in Las Vegas: container and soil bag. Soil bag gardens are as simple as they come.


How to plant in a potting soil bag:


1. Determine the bottom side of your bag. Punch drain holes into the bag then flip it over.

2. Cut an opening into the soil bag, leaving high enough sides to retain the soil.

3. Break up and even out the soil.

4. Transplant nursery plants into the soil bag. I used the Square Foot Garden method to determine plant spacing. Finish your project with watering.

I used a smaller square method for my Japanese eggplant and yellow squash. Mainly I wanted to try it...this is recommended for planting tomato plants. In the side slits, I planted garlic cloves pointed side up. You can use the slit variation for lettuces also.

I used 2 c. ft bags of GroWell Soil, which is a special mixture of 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 coarse vermiculite (no dirt needed) known as Mel's Mix. Take this composition to your nursery and ask for the potting soil that most resembles it.

Their biggest detractor as far as I can see is the ugliness of the bags. As the plants grow, the bags will be less visible. My cousin, Katherine, uses hers to plant under trees where the root system doesn't let her dig and covers them with mulch. If the bags put you off, you can always invest in some grow bags. A solution Doug came up with was to build a frame for them, shown above. Here's another example of an attractive, sturdy box for the bags.

I have arranged my bags in a sunny spot close to my water source. Care for plants is a bit easier than row gardening. Because of the drainage, you are less likely to over water. If using Mel's Mix or something similar, no need to fertilize. Otherwise fertilize once a month.

I have green leaf and romaine lettuces, arugula, swiss chard, cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, eggplant, garlic and squash planted in my bags. With a bit of luck, I will have a delicious harvest to take to the kitchen. With a trip to the nursery for plants and soil and a few hours of planting, you could have your own harvest, too.

Not Your Nana's Container Garden

My dad is a row gardener. He plants over a half acre each growing season and I am in awe and overwhelmed when I tour his garden. I admire his self sufficiency and envy the year round bounty of healthy produce.

As a novice, the expertise and back breaking work of row gardening has held me back. With the resurgence of victory, urban and suburban gardens, the science of what one can grow on a window sill, patio and tiny backyard makes it easier than ever for anyone to enter into the gardening foray.

Container and no dig gardening appeals to me. Once you have acquired your plants, soil and containers, your garden can be planted in a few hours.

Last year, I planted a container garden. I had a lot of success with my herbs. The tomatoes and peppers did great until the blackbirds noshed on them just before time to harvest. We were in the middle of installing a raised bed garden when we relocated so I have no idea about how that might have turned out.

This year, I reestablished my containers and am trying my hand at planting directly in soil bags. In my research, I have been astounded at the ingenuity others exhibit growing gardens for very little investment in very little space. If a garden can thrive on a Chicago rooftop or in soda bottles on a dorm balcony, surely the rest of us can find a way to grow nourishing foods for ourselves, neighbors and community.

Take a look at some of the creativity of container and no dig gardens...









Square Foot Box Raised Bed


















Plastic Swimming Pool















Soil Bag













Whole Foods Bag











Plastic Bottle














Straw Bale








































































Re-purposed Containers

5 Natural Sweeteners

Doug and I are making progress on our goals to build more muscle and lose fat. Our physical training programs and my candida/yeast diet restrictions prompted us to remove the last amounts of offensive white and brown sugar from our pantry and foods we purchase.

Here are 5 sweetening options that are low to medium on the gylcemic index (GI). Several are allowed for diabetics and those on diets such as mine.


Agave Nectar - GI 15-30

Also known as agave syrup. It is expressed from the agave plant and is a blend of fructose and glucose. Ratios vary from manufacturers so glycemic indexes do as well. Make sure your brand is relatively low in glucose, such as Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave, and is minimally processed with heat.

Agave nectar is about 1.5 times sweeter than sugar and is a great substitution for natural and artificial syrups and processed honeys. Agave nectar dissolves quickly so works well when sweetening cold beverages such as tea or margaritas.

This sweetener is the new darling of food manufacturers. It is now an ingredient in soy yogurts, salad dressings and coconut milk ice creams. I try to keep in mind that the food industry likes to use the cheapest ingredients possible, so they are likely using higher levels of glucose in their products. It is better to buy a low glycemic nectar and add it to your plain yogurt or make your own frozen dessert.


Xylitol - GI 7-13

Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that naturally occurs in foods such as berries and corn husks as well as birch trees. It is safe for diabetes and hyperglycemia sufferers and pregnant or nursing moms. It is thought to prevent dental decay so is used in toothpastes and gums such as Trident. Studies suggest Xylitol may control oral candida and prevent the weakening of bones or progression of osteoporosis.

Some people can experience laxative or other intestinal issues with high sugar alcohol consumption.

Xylitol replaces sugar 1 to 1 with about 30% less calories. I use is as my sugar substitute in recipes. I also find xylitol packets convenient to carry in my purse.



Stevia - GI 0

Derived from the stevia plant, herb varieties can be up to 300 times as sweet as sugar. It hangs around a while and has what some people consider to be a strong aftertaste. It has zero calories.

Stevia was considered unsafe by the FDA as a food additive, although Japan consumes 40% of the stevia on the market. In 1995, stevia was approved as a diet supplement. Some studies suggest stevia is helpful in treating obesity, glucose tolerance and high blood pressure. Other reports show dangers related to male reproduction, cancer and energy metabolism.

Most recent brands, Pruvia for example, are blending stevia with sugar alcohols such as erythritol, making a better tasting sweetener. Like agave nectar, stevia is beginning to show up in commercial food products.




Coconut Sugar - GI 35

A recent arrival on the natural sweetener scene, this sugar is made from coconut palms. I found it first granulated but it is also available in a liquid. It reminds me of brown sugar and, having a high burn temperature, is good for baking. It is more nutritious than other sweetening options with traceable amounts of potassium and magnesium.



Raw Honey -GI 30

Processed honey has a glycemic index around 60, almost as high as table sugar. Eat raw honey and you reduce the glucose impact by 1/2 and it becomes low glycemic. Raw honey is honey that has not been heated or otherwise processed, leaving its vitamins and enzymes intact. Raw honey contains bits that make it more nutritious also, such as bee pollen, honeycomb and propolis.

Alkalizing benefits of raw honey include aiding in digestion and counteracting acid indigestion. Best of all, enzymes in raw honey help predigest starchy foods such as bread.

Other

Sugar Cane Juice - 43, Organic Sugar - 47, Black Strap Molasses 55, Table Sugar 65.
Glucose is 100. We should eat below 55. Brown Rice is 55. Rice Cake is 80.

Eventually, the goal would be to eliminate all sweetening additives from our diet. I am not there yet. With options such as agave nectar, raw honey and coconut sugar, I can be a bit indulgent without routinely my raising blood sugar levels into unhealthy and dangerous levels. Perhaps you can too.

Inconvenient Truth Indeed

When I was young, scientists warned the next ice age was practically upon us. So when those same scientists began predicting "global warming", I had my doubts. By the time Al Gore got around to his prize winning Inconvenient Truth, my skepticism was growing as I witnessed people from all walks of life having a conversion born of the apocalyptic predictions.

Nowadays, I can no more believe the scientific community to predict climate change than I can a rural preachers predicting the rapture. Frankly, they both seem to be selling the same thing: redemption for believers.

Mark Landsbaum at the Orange County Register rounds up the recent global warming advocate scandals:

ClimateGate – ... thousands of leaked documents from Britain's East Anglia Climate Research Unit showed systematic suppression and discrediting of climate skeptics' views and discarding of temperature data... if, as global warming defenders contend, the "science is settled?"

FOIGate – ... East Anglia committed a crime by refusing to release global warming documents sought in 95 Freedom of Information Act requests.

ChinaGate – ...Chinese weather station measurements not only were seriously flawed, but couldn't be located. "Where exactly are 42 weather monitoring stations in remote parts of rural China?" ..."how much of the warming seen in recent decades is due to the local effects of spreading cities, rather than global warming?" ...researchers covered up the missing data for years.

HimalayaGate – ... he intentionally exaggerated when claiming Himalayan glaciers would melt away by 2035 in order to prod governments into action. ...admitted it was "speculation" lifted from a popular magazine.

PachauriGate – R. Pachauri, the IPCC chairman who accepted with Al Gore the Nobel Prize... 'fessed up, Pachauri admitted to making a mistake.

PachauriGate II – Pachauri also claimed he didn't know... ... prominent science journalist said he had pointed out those errors in several e-mails and discussions to Pachauri, who "decided to overlook it."... Pachauri says he was "preoccupied." ...Pachauri's India hoped to wrench billions from countries like the United States to combat global warming's melting glaciers.

SternGate – One excuse for imposing worldwide climate crackdown has been the U.K.'s 2006 Stern Report, an economic doomsday prediction commissioned by the government. ... "some of these predictions had been watered down because the scientific evidence on which they were based could not be verified." Among original claims now deleted were that northwest Australia has had stronger typhoons in recent decades, and that southern Australia lost rainfall because of rising ocean temperatures.

SternGate II –...Stern Report misquoted his work to suggest a firm link between global warming and more-frequent and severe floods and hurricanes. Robert Muir-Wood said his original research showed no such link.

AmazonGate – ... the IPCC claim that global warming will wipe out rain forests was fraudulent, yet advanced as "peer-reveiwed" science. ... based on an unsubstantiated claim by green campaigners ..." "authored by two green activists" and lifted from ... environmental pressure group. The "research" was based on a popular science magazine report.

PeerReviewGate – The U.K. Sunday Telegraph has documented at least 16 nonpeer-reviewed reports (so far) from the advocacy group World Wildlife Fund that were used in the IPCC's climate change bible, which calls for capping manmade greenhouse gases.

RussiaGate – ... evaluated thousands of documents and e-mails leaked from the East Anglia research center and concluded readings from the coldest regions of their nation had been omitted, driving average temperatures up about half a degree.

Russia-Gate II – ... tree-ring data from Russia indicated cooling after 1961, but was deceptively truncated and only artfully discussed in IPCC publications.

U.S.Gate –... The U.S. National Climate Data Center has been manipulating weather data too... Forty years ago there were 6,000 surface-temperature measuring stations, but only 1,500 by 1990, which coincides with what global warming alarmists say was a record temperature increase. Most of the deleted stations were in colder regions.

IceGate – ... IPCC based its findings of reductions in mountain ice in the Andes, Alps and in Africa on a feature story of climbers' anecdotes in a popular mountaineering magazine, and a dissertation by a Switzerland university student, quoting mountain guides.

ResearchGate – ... climate scientist Michael Mann ... climate research impropriety. ...seriously deviated from accepted practices for proposing, conducting or reporting research or other scholarly activities."

ReefGate –...link between climate change and coral reef degradation.... IPCC cited ...but advocacy articles by Greenpeace.

AfricaGate – The IPCC claim ... cut in half agricultural yields in African countries turns out to have come from a 2003 paper published by a Canadian environmental think tank.

DutchGate – The IPCC also claimed rising sea levels endanger the 55 percent of the Netherlands it says is below sea level. The portion of the Netherlands below sea level actually is 20 percent.

AlaskaGate – ... studies largely overestimated by 40 percent Alaskan glacier loss for 40 years.

Strawberry Ice Cream

A fresh crop of strawberries arrived at our farmer's market today. We picked up 3 pints, certain that Jessica and her visiting girlfriends would help us eat them. I immediately pictured the strawberries with coconut milk. I decided on making a homemade ice cream.



Strawberry Ice Cream

1 pint strawberries with 1/4 pint chopped and reserved
1 can coconut milk
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 tablespoons vodka



Blend coconut milk. Add cleaned strawberries, vanilla beans, agave nectar and vodka. Blend until smooth. Place mixture into ice cream maker for about 20 minutes. Add chopped strawberries and continue til soft frozen, about 10 minutes.

Place in freezer for several hours before serving.

*Vodka is used in the ice cream to keep it from becoming icy.

**Recipe inspired by version at Elana's Pantry.



No dairy...no eggs...naturally sweetened...moderate on the glycemic index. A treat that can be loved by all.