How to Grow Tasty, Nutrient-Dense, Fruits and Vegetables...with flavors like your grandmother experienced Larry Bailey Clean Food Farm Orting WA www.cleanfoodfarm.com
Organics - only 10% is better for you Certified organic produce Does it Taste better? Is it Better for you? Organic growers get paid by the pound!
Soil Health vs. Health Care - Maximize investments in farm/garden labor, materials? - Investment in bettersoil health and fertility - 1/6th of our economy spent on health care - A health care crisis or a health crisis? - Why not grow health?
We Can Grow Nutrition Must be in, made available or added to soil Must be in form plants can take up Us Plants Food Soil-Food Web
1.Collect solar energy What Plants Do 2.Combine earth's minerals with atmospheric gasses to make organic material 3.Manufacture sugars and proteins We can measure plant health by how well plants do #1-3
Vegetables and fruits are stupid! If not available in soil then fruits and vegetables can't take up nutrients and minerals People and animals can't ingest the nutrition You are what edible plants take up and assimilate for you and your animals
What is Nutrient Density A measure of the amount of nutrients a food contains in comparison to the number of calories.
Does Nutrient Density Matter? More complex and intense flavor Longer shelf life Greater specific gravity, or density More tendency to dry out instead of rot More disease pest resistance in growth phase Greater yield per plant/acre
Nutrient Density and Brix Costly to send food samples to testing lab (Blueberries = $400/sample) Need a field measure Brix refractometer measures refraction of light correlated to dissolved solids Brix = measure of quality (sugars and disolved solids [minerals, carbohydrates etc])
Higher Brix = More Nutrient Density 1. More dissolved carbohydrates = better metabolic function. 2. Greater mineral density, e.g. increased calcium and trace minerals. (Trace minerals = co-enzymes in digestive process. ) 3. Better taste. Taste is built on the carbohydrate and mineral levels in produce. 4. Increased shelf life. 5. Improved insect and disease resistance (Bob Wilt story)
Nutrient Dense Gardening/Farming Soil Test Sun/Water Nutrient Dense Food Testing Lab Your farm or garden You and your animals Customized Nutritional and Biological Inputs Health
Minerals and Carbohydrates Minerals carry an electrical charge stimulating our taste buds. More minerals (in balance) the better the taste Carbohydrates and mineral density rise and fall together
Nutrient Dense Produce Characteristics Less water weight More weight coming from minerals Trace and other minerals heavier than O2 and H which make up water weight Weigh more on a weight per volume basis Bob Wilt's heavy blueberries
How can you grow these?
Not with This Closed Environment
Assess and Build Soil Foundation Visual clues Drainage Structure Tilth Workability Signs of life Smell test
Varieties and Vitamins -Some varieties can extract more of vitamins -May not taste better (a tradeoff) -Overall may not be more nutrient dense if gown on poor to average soil ex. Caro-Red Tomato (1958 Purdue) High Vitamin A, = lower betacarotene
What do plants need/use? Non mineral: H, O, C,N Mineral: Macro N, P, K Secondary nutrients - Ca, Mg, S Microntrients: B, Cu, Fe, Cl, Mn, Mo, Zn But plants can take up and make bioavailable many more minerals that they don't need to grow These non-essential minerals can enhance taste and improve overall nutritional value
What do people need? Calcium Iodine Iron Beta-carotene Boron Chromium Cobalt Copper Magnesium Manganese Phosphorus Potassium Selenium Sodium chloride Zinc
If I went to Dr. with these symptoms Urinating often Feeling thirsty often Feeling hungry even when I have eaten What if Dr. never ordered urinalysis and blood sample? Would she be guessing?
Don't Guess Test Your Soil Obvious? Can't tell deficiencies only by observation See resource page for labs and how to's SF vs. Acre results
Take Action-Make a Plan Understand the results interpretation Make a plan to correct deficiencies Don't just focus on NPK Look at more than Macronutrients and essential nutrients Understand, measure, feed soil biology Soil foodweb Don't forget organic matter (4% min. Higher OM holds more trace minerals) Fix drainage, irrigation etc
Resource Handout Review
How I did it Took initial composite soil analysis (fall 2011) Deficiencies in: P, N, Ca, Bo, Mn Tilth (Orting Loam) Overabundance of K (manured ground) Don't overdo compost or composted manures etc Can create imbalance Used inputs indicated and applied in fall to allow at least 6 months for minerals to become bioavailable
How I did it Made my own higher quality compost Started making my own vermicompost Kept soil covered ( Mother Nature is Not a Nudist Dr. Raymond Pool - 1937) Minimized tillage Watered evenly
Nutrients Reflected in Food 2012 Entered Butternut squash competition (11th place of 250 competitors) Developed and used compost tea weekly sprays Squash: deficient in Phosphorus, Calcium, Manganese No downy or powery mildew, few insects Action: Continued to corrected with Soft rock phosphate, ground limestone, manganese sulfate and sodium borate Keep making and using compost tea
Fall 2012 Consulted with competition winner Retired US Federal soil scientist! Sample tested 37% better overall than USDA average for butternut squash Gave me several recommendations Urged patience... Re-built his soil over 20+ years
2012-13 Action Plan Consulted with competition winner Added broad spectrum natural rock dust powders: Asmoite, Ground Basalt Applied lower amounts of rock phosphate powers, limestone, gypsum Applied organic nutrient drenches and aerated compost teas during growing season Did not plant cover crops mulched instead Watched Carbon to Nitrogen ratio of inputs Sawdust, bark [620:1] (locks up N to plants)
Measuring During Growing Season Brix=rough measure of nutrient density Use an optical or digital refractometer Measure fruit, leaves and compare with chart Track status as season progresses and from year to year Helps Determine when to apply foliar feeds Costly for vegetable/fruit lab testing Blueberries = $400/sample for vitamin, minerals etc analysis
Types of Refractometers Digital ~ $250 up Optical: $85-150
. Measuring Brix (demo) Take Brix reading from whatever part you eat if ripe. If not ripe take most recent mature leaves that had full sunlight for at least 2 hours. Use mortar and pestle, Visegrips or garlic press to crush/generate plant sap to put on refractometer lense Take measurements same time of day to compare throughout growing season
Brix: 6.1 Average Garden Green Beans
Nutrient (100g beans) USDA %DV Store Garden %DV Protein 1.8 g 4% 1.76 g 3.34 g 7% Calcium 37 mg 4% 70 mg 130 mg 13% Magnesium 25 mg 6% 30 mg 50 mg 13% Phosphorous 38 mg 4% 40 mg 80 mg 17% Potassium 209 mg 6% 190 mg 580 mg 17% Copper 0.1 mg 3% 0.1 mg 0.4 mg 20% Iron 1.0 mg 6% 1.3 mg 2.1 mg 12% Zinc 0.2 mg 2% 0.72 mg 2.3 mg 15% Manganese 0.2 mg 11% 0.29 mg 0.35 mg 18%
Comparison 2-brix difference more than doubled dry matter content. Weight per volume, as measured by the Mineral Density Rating (MDR) improved Taste enhanced. Grocery store beans were similar to the USDA average while the beans from the garden showed great improvement in nutrient levels.
Next Steps Take a 5 year phased approach and build fertility gradually Don't guess--soil test every 1-3 years Go in with a friend on a refractometer and use it
Resource Handout Review
Change is hard! Are you going to rely on the industrial food system for most of your nutrition? Or Make and implement your own garden/farm action plan