Sunday Night Movie - Backyard Sustainability & Growing Food Around the House
Tonight we have two videos on surviving in your backyard. The first one is about a couple who is experimenting in backyard sustainability by growing as much food as they can in a suburban backyard. If time is short, skip the first 11 minutes of yapping on the front porch and get right into the garden tour.
The second video shows an example of how to grow a lot of food in your own backyard. There are only 2 minutes of yapping at the beginning of this one so just turn it up while you go to the fridge for a beverage.
Sunday Night Movie - Saving Tomato, Artichoke and Bean Seeds
Everyone is talking about hope and change for the future. Governments and organizations are certainly necessary for society, but I prefer to store my hope for the future in the form of seeds. They are a tangible sign of what's already working and good in this world and they need to be preserved!
Tomato seeds are a fun way to start seed saving and, over the years, you can improve upon the flavor, color, size and keeping quality of your favorite tomato with careful seed selection. Here are pictures of two of GardenSnob's best tomatoes from the summer. They were huge, beautiful paste tomatoes weighing about 14 oz each. Oh, sure, there are 3 lb tomatoes but they are mostly juice. These were solid and dense -just like a paste tomato should be. Unfortunately, all the tomato seedlings were mixed together so we don't know what kind they were, but we will develop them over the years and come up with our own "GardenSnob special".
The basic steps to saving tomato seeds are as follows:
1. Choose the best tomato with the qualities you like and keep it on the vine til just past ripe.
2. Cut out the seeds and pulp that comes with them and put it in a drinking glass or glass jar.
3. Cover the top of the glass with a cloth and an elastic or use a jar cover.
4. Leave it on the counter for approx. 5 days to ferment. A mold will be growing on the top of the seeds. This is supposed to happen.
5. Rinse the seeds until all the pulp and slime are gone. The good seeds will stay on the bottom.
6. Place the seeds on a paper towel or kitchen cloth to dry for a few days.
7. Pick the seeds off the towel and place in an airtight container (pill bottles work well) and label it.
8. Store in a cool place or, better yet, the freezer.
Here is a 5-minute video that shows how to save tomato seeds.
Here is a short video on collecting seeds from pole beans, artichokes, cilantro, marigolds:
Sunday Night Movie: The World According To Monsanto, parts 9 & 10
Tonight we conclude our viewing of The World According To Monsanto, directed by independent filmmaker Marie-Monique Robin, with the final parts 9 and 10.
Part 9:
Part 10:
Pass along this information. Support your local farmer. Grow some of your own food. It's the ultimate security.
Sunday Night Movie: The World According To Monsanto, parts 1 & 2
Here's another look at Monsanto, genetically modified seeds, and the issue of seed control as it affects farmers and the world's food supply. This documentary, by Marie-Monique Robin, is available for viewing in 10 parts on youtube and we'll be linking to it over the next five weeks til we see the whole thing!
Mantis Tiller - chop up those hornworm cocoons this fall!
As we were gathering the last of the tomatoes for canning, we went at it with gusto, confident that all the worms, bugs and caterpillars had taken wing in their new forms and gone on to greener pastures. But, soon enough, we were rubbing shoulders (no horns - I checked both ends) with this one.
Could be a late season hornworm since there can be two generations of them in a single year. And, there must be more than one in the GardenSnob garden because many tomatoes had that characteristic, quarter-sized bite shaved off of them. This one is a purple/brown/grey color, though, not the typical green, so we'll keep searching for its proper identity. We decided to leave this little guy on the tomato so it can mature into a moth. We have enough tomatoes and it would be really cool to see the giant 5-6" moth.
One way to stave off next year's hornworms is to till your garden this fall, keeping an eye out for the cocoons which are reddish brown. Make sure you crush, destroy, pulverize them. The Mantis tiller might be just the thing for this job. It's light and maneuverable and uses a dependable Honda engine.
I've only heard good things about them and am tempted to get one myself. Although it's more expensive, I recommend the one with the 4-cycle engine because it's easier to start and a lot quieter. On sale at Amazon for $448.82.
And now for the fun stuff. How could we mention something as disgusting as a tobacco worm without giving a visual? Here's a really gross video for all the worm lovers but especially my 7 & 8 year old nephews. It shows a pretty girl eating a large tobacco hornworm on a dare. This is as gross as it gets! Don't say I didn't warn you.
Sunday Night Movie: The Future of Food - Introduction
This introduction to the film, The Future of Food, reviews the history of seed saving, the decision to allow the patenting of life and seeds, and the corporations who are attempting to control the world's food supply. It also explores the growth of small farms in the past few years and their attempts to bring seeds and food back into the hands of individuals.
Sunday Night Movie: The Genetic Conspiracy (3/3) - about Monsanto
Here's a short film (8 min, 42 sec) about Monsanto's "round-up ready" genetically modified seeds and the farmers who use them. Watch interviews with farmers who have had to use increasingly more pesticides instead of less and who are now experiencing health problems.
For more information about genetic engineering and your food, read Seeds of Deception by Jeffrey M. Smith. The editorial review by Publishers Weekly suggests that Smith's book is one-sided. Given the millions of dollars Monsanto spends to promote their products, seems to me like they have presented their side enough already. Why would Smith give them even one page of his book? This book is a great intro to what goes on behind the scenes in the food world.
Tonight's Sunday night movie, Bad Seed (6 min, 37 sec), is about genetically modified food and the control of the world's seed supply. Think again about your decision to feed your chickens, goats, cows and pigs "regular" feed. Even if it doesn't contain antibiotics or pesticides, it probably contains genetically modified corn and soy. The only way to know what is in your feed is to grow your own or ask the farmer who grows it what kind of seed he/she uses.
Organic feed costs twice as much. But who knows how much cheaper it will turn out to be in the future when you factor in health costs. Do you really want to take that chance?
This just couldn't wait for the Sunday Night Movie slot. Here's a great collection of pictures and clips of hummingbirds that will inspire you to plant flowers for them. Imagine seeing these amazing birds in your own yard! If you don't like the music, just turn the volume down and enjoy the pictures.
Sunday Night Movie - Backyard Sustainability & Growing Food Around the House
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