juan0505

Washing Enzyme Frustrated with the rising cost of produce at grocery stores andfarmers' markets, more first-time vegetable growers are putting outhome gardens this year. As a consequence, Mike Green of Green's Feed & Seed on PiedmontRoad has been answering a lot of questions. The rookies want to know what to plant, how deep to plant, whatfertilizer to use, how often to water, what seeds grow andgerminate quickly, and what's easy to grow. "I tell them soil preparation is most important and then tryto answer their other questions as best I can," he said. The store sold out of bush beans and several types of sweet cornseeds earlier this spring. Green said they sold more chicks around Easter time than everbefore. "Maybe they didn't want to pay the high prices foreggs," he said. At F.M. Pile Hardware on the West Side to M-M Feed and Seed inClendenin, people have been buying more vegetable plants and seedsthis year than ever before. "We've seen greater sales of seeds and plants this year butyou have to remember that last year was a very dry year," saidSandy Pile, who along with her husband Bill own F.M. Pile Hardware. They sell seeds in packets and in bulk. She said people are buyingboth this season. And she can recognize the first-time growers bythe questions they ask. "They want to know what to do with the seeds and how deep theyshould be planted," she said. "If they give us an idea ofhow much room they have for their garden then that helps us offerthem advice." Sheela Midkiff, one of the owners of M-M Feed and Seed in Clendeninis also seeing more first time vegetable farmers. "We've found that younger people ask a lot of questionsbecause they're planting vegetables for the first time," shesaid. "They're not so sure about the process so we just givethem the best advice that we know." The store has seen more customers than usual this year. "Ithink it's because of the high gasoline prices," she said."They can stop here and buy the vegetable plants and seeds andhardware items they need without having to travel toCharleston." Midkiff said they have also sold more vegetable plants and seeds tothose who plant gardens every year. "As food prices continueto rise, I'm sure those folks are planning ahead and building theirgardens with more and more vegetables this year," she said. At Capitol Market, growers are seeing people buy more vegetableplants than flowers this spring. Romin Fields, who helps out at Ron and Alta Crihfield's stand atthe market, said they are selling to first-time growers, too. "They ask me all sorts of questions. How deep do I plant this?What fertilizer to use. Lot of things," he said. He still has tomato plants, peppers, squash, watermelon plants, anda few greens to put into the ground. The Crihfields' farm is inJackson County. John Crihfield and his family farm 598 acres in Roane County. Their stand at Capitol Market is still selling a variety ofvegetable plants. "I've been selling vegetables for almost 64 years," hesaid. "And I've talked to more first-time growers this yearthan ever before." The people he has spoken to usually ask him what's the easiesttomato variety to grow and take care of and how deep do they needto be planted. People who come into his stall are spending more on vegetableplants this year and his prices are the same as last year. Crihfield suggested that if you don't have a lot of garden space,some of the vegetable plants can be grown in large pots. "You can grow some tomato varieties in pots, as long asthey're not the 50-75 pound yielding varieties," he said."Cherry tomatoes can be grown in pots as can eggplant, peppersand squash." He even advocates growing cucumbers and strawberry plants inhanging baskets. The hot weather has been good for the growing season, he said."Our first sweet corn is starting to tassel and it won't belong until we'll be bringing it to market." While onion sets have sold out, Crihfield may have green onions inby Friday. These Oso and Vadalia varieties can be planted throughJuly, he said, and they sell out as quickly as he can bring them into market.
2008-06-12 09:47:48

Washing Enzyme Hmmm! Rich, chocolate-covered desserts, olives and all kinds ofdelightful nuts and seeds. Sounds scrumptious and, at last, allpart of a waistline-friendly diet that doesn't tell us to eattasteless rice cakes and drink cabbage soup. Foods like these are now being called 'flat-belly foods'. Quite afew studies and a recently published diet book called, The Flat Belly Diet , have been touting the idea that we can lose belly fat by eating a1,600-calorie diet which is rich in monounsaturated fats (MUFAs). Chocolate, olives, seeds and nuts, avocado and some oils (forexample, canola, flaxseed, olive, safflower, sesame, walnut) areall rich in MUFAs. The studies are indicating that diets rich inMUFAs reduce belly fat as these healthy fats are said to increasepeople's fat burning ability and to attack the fat that sits aroundthe waistline. MUFAs, polyunsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids - the healthyfats - have long been prized for lowering heart disease risk bycutting total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levelin blood. Cholesterol, produced by the body for cell building, isthe main substance in fatty deposits or plaque that can develop inarteries. No magic foods But not all nutrition scientists are gung-ho about MUFAs asflat-belly foods. Some international experts say that most peopleon a diet of 1,600 calories will lose weight anyway and questionwhether there can be magic foods or even exercises that canclinically target belly fat. (You can read more of their views onwww.webmd.com.) Other critics also say that MUFAs, though they are healthy fats,like all fats have nine calories per gram which is more than twicethe amount of calories per gram in proteins and carbohydrates, eachof which carries four calories per gram. These experts, however,are not gainsaying that MUFA-rich foods are good for us with provenhealth benefits.
2008-06-12 09:47:43

Washing Enzyme The Department of Agriculture and Food hopes that new hemp trialsin Kununurra can create another market for growers after thecollapse of the sugar industry. The department began planting 30 hectares of hemp for a privatecompany at its Kununurra research station yesterday. But growers have mixed feelings about the crop's value, after asimilar departmental trial failed in 2000. The department's Gae Plunket says if this trial is a success, itmay pave the way for Kununurra growers to export the fibre toChina. "The last trials here were in 2000 and the varieties we grew uphere that time didn't grow very well at all," she said. "We had very low yields, we were actually even lucky to get thequantity of seed back that we planted so it was a bit sad. "We're hoping to get something like 100 tonne a hectare of fibreoff these crops to make them worth your while."
2008-06-12 09:47:38