New GMO tomato seed released for sale to home gardeners
sah67 (zone 5b - NY)
2 months ago
last modified: 2 months ago
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daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
2 months agolast modified: 2 months agoRelated Discussions
Garden Area at New House Covered with Landscape Rock -- Help?
Comments (10)Container gardening, if the hour is late and you are fit to be tied for what to do, might be the best, cheapest, and most certainly quickest answer. DH and I moved into this house three years ago, and there really is no place suitable for a garden, except right up next to the house on the south and west sides, where the prior owners HAD rock, then barkmulched on top of it to cover the rock. Now, it's an ugly combination of rocks and bark, and since we both work full time and have three teenagers, time constraints didn't even allow for the "dig up and make it a real garden" option; besides, there are a few nice low shrubs that we didn't want to tear out. So, I did a little research and found the Earth Box. Did a little more research, and didn't begin to want to deal with their customer service, so continued to research. Found Garden Patch Grow Boxes, spoke with reps at customer service and felt pretty good about the company. Bought thirteen of them, and then found an Earth Box at a garage sale--great, this way I could compare. For the record, there is no comparison: the elasticized cover on the Earth Box (through which a gardener is supposed to make "X" hatches and plant starts), coupled with the butt-ugly black pipe sticking out, made the Grow Box a KO winner, especially when calculated in the GB came with the first year's supply of fertilizer. I have since discovered that their plastic covers will break down during the second year, so will be replacing all covers with some 4-mil plastic that I picked up in the Walmart hardware department, and using my own fertilizer, ala EB's original instructions, to make a "hybrid" growing box. Heat? Dry? Not a problem--the GB has a 4 1/2 gallon reservoir, and even on very hot days, if I water in the a.m. and check back in the p.m., they're never dry (and must NEVER be allowed to go dry). Weeds are not a problem, either; the bonus (that I didn't realize would be a bonus) is that we have terrible bindweed in our yard (okay, so that's not the bonus--wait for it!), and I didn't end up planting my garden into the ground right where the bindweed seems to be the worst. I never thought I would swear by container gardening, but I have grown carrots (in the same box with the tomatoes--who needs a separate stinking box!?!), peppers, radishes, eggplant, tomatoes, herbs, lettuce, cucumbers, squash, watermelon, cantelope, and flowers in my boxes. HUGE BONUS for container gardening: when we get our first hard freeze, I can take those suckers in the garage, and we'll have fresh tomatoes from our own garden well into January. They may not be as flavorful as those sun-warmed and -ripened that we miss from last August, but they're better than those pink mushy things loosely marketed as "tomatoes" at the local grocer, and not just cuz they're free! Good luck with your garden, and let us know what you end up doing!!!...See Moreabc News - Original Cheerios to Go GMO-Free
Comments (19)USA Today just came out with a slightly different twist in their handling the story. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/01/03/gmo-genetically-modified-organism-facts-cheerios/4302121/ Of particular interest: " FDA is considering two citizen petitions it has received asking the agency to require GMO labeling." And "Why are some people concerned about GMOs? Critics say there are potential health effects (see next question) and environmental concerns surrounding GMOs. One of the supposed benefits of GMOs is that they should result in less herbicide spraying, since some plants have been modified to be herbicide resistant. However, over-reliance on these crops has led to the emergence of "super weeds" that are also more resistant to herbicides, requiring increased spraying, according to a University of Washington study." H.Kuska comment: the U. of Washington study link was given. It is: http://news.cahnrs.wsu.edu/2012/10/01/summary-of-major-findings-and-definitions-of-important-terms/ Of particular interest, to me, is the following: "Today’s major GE crops have increased overall pesticide use by 404 million pounds from 1996 through 2011 (527 million pound increase in herbicides, minus the 123 million pound decrease in insecticides). Overall pesticide use in 2011 was about 20% higher on each acre planted to a GE crop, compared to pesticide use on acres not planted to GE crops." And The biotechnology-seed-pesticide industry’s primary response to the spread of glyphosate-resistant weeds is development of new HT varieties resistant to multiple herbicides, including 2,4-D and dicamba. These older phenoxy herbicides pose markedly greater human health and environmental risks per acre treated than glyphosate. Approval of corn tolerant of 2,4-D is pending, and could lead to an additional 50% increase in herbicide use per acre on 2,4-D HT corn." H.Kuska comment: I could actually cut and paste much of the article, but instead I will simply suggest that everyone read the complete article. However, I will put the conclusion here: "Much new research will be required to translate emerging data on higher exposures to glyphosate and Bt toxins into estimates of human, farm and companion animal, and environmental risks." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ H.Kuska further comment: I feel that the above conclusion is consistent with my personel conclusion that scientists who are opposed to their being GMOs in our food supply generally are opposed to using the general population as beta testers ( beta testers is my term - long term safety studies are still needed is a more common statement). The main concern, as I see it, is what will happen if we are exposed to a continual diet of GMOs for an extended period. Normally included in statements like this is that each type of GMO has to be certified individually. ----------------------------------- 2013 scientific review: Title: "Food health quality of genetically modified crops ��" review of risks and benefits" "However, genetically modified organism are relatively new, as they appeared commercially in the mid 90’s and are poorly addressed by current testing methods [51]. That is why, there is a need for further discussions on risks and benefits of GM crops not only in terms of health, but also in terms of the environmental and socio-economic effects. To obtain more valuable results, the presented factors must be also evaluated in terms of their relative importance under specific conditions. For example, in poor and malnourished societies, “improved nutrition” and “food availability” may be considered a more important aspect of health sustainability than “changes in level of natural toxins” in plants, whereas in rich societies, this relation is likely to be the opposite. A major limitation of this review is the availability of the existing studies, showing results that were often conflicting and rooted in speculations. Thus, further research is needed to obtain more consistent outcome." http://mil-pharm-med.pl/2013/2-6/3.pdf Here is a link that might be useful: USA Today version of story...See Morewhen?what kind? new to tomatoes gardening
Comments (1)Hi cankton - It is difficult to cover all there is to know about growing tomatoes in this format but in addition to reviewing all the discussions here and doing a search for "how to grow tomatoes" to get even more reading, I can give you links to get you started. ;) First, in zone 9 it is likely far too late this year to start. You will need to discover the ideal starting time for both seeds and for transplants for where ever you live. Your local country extension office/website is a good source of info and many states have their own forum here that will help too. Are young transplants still for sale where you live? What are the best kind? That is very subjective as size, flavor, color, etc. are all personal preferences. Since you are new, I would recommend you begin with whatever the most common variety of transplant is sold in your area at the garden centers. They usually stock what does best in your area. The FAQ section here (just click on the FAQ button at the top of the page) can help you with many of the basic decisions such as determinate varieties vs. indeterminates, hybrids vs. heirlooms, etc. As to in ground vs. containers - again your choice depending on what you have available. In ground generally requires less intensive care, allows for bigger plant varieties, and produces more. Containers are often more convenient and easier to prepare than a big garden bed is. It also depends on if you are talking about 1-2 plants or 20 plants. ;) Then check out these links: How to Grow Tomatoes in the Home Garden Growing Home garden Tomatoes Growing Tomatoes in Containers There are many, many other sites full of info that a Google search will pull up for you too. Good luck with your tomatoes! ;) Dave...See MoreTotal Beginner New Home and Want to Garden - Help
Comments (3)Warning: Wall of text. I'm one year in, but I learned a bit from my mistakes. 1. I was going to start with a raised bed for this year since I don't have any compost of my own ready and don't feel the soil is of good growing material if I just till for this year. So, does anyone see that as not a smart move? For organic gardening, soil quality is the most important, it will determine whether have have any success or not. When I started, I bought junk 'organic' home depot brand "Vigoro" soil. It is extremely heavy, with no nutrient and have zero water retention ability, which mean you water it and the next day its dry. If you can buy bulk topsoil it would be nice, but you have to be very careful who you buy it from. You have to first find out what good soil should be like, imo (!) it should not be too heavy and have a bit of a sponge feel so the roots can grow easily, but also have some structure and not too soft. It should have good water retention, for a place that is very hot with expensive water bills, this important to me. I personally like to add to my soil a good amount of peat and coconut coir for water retention. Peat moss is acidic which is good for some plants. I like coconut coir more because it seems to retain it's structure better and wick up water more evenly. With peat moss, there is more chance of getting dry spots hard to get evenly wet again, so I do not over use it in my soil mix. The biggest mistake I did when I started was not using enough compost and not having a compost pile, this would go a long way to save money without having to spend too much on fertilizer. Ultimately my point of view is it takes years to build up soil quality, so it's an on going process, you're not going to have great success first year with fresh soil unless its already very high quality to start with, at least that's how it was for me. 2. My goal is grow really clean vegetables. What soils or soil additives can I purchase that help me meet that mark? This is a very complicated question and imo usually go in hand with the issue of sustainability. If that isn't important to you, there are lots of good organic soil amendment products you can use, some more effective than others. And also whether you will use animal based fertilizers, there seem to be a new vegan movement who refuses to use animal-based sources in their soil, I think it is possible if done right, but not all plant-based fertilizers are from sustainable sources. I stopped buying soil or soil amendment from big box stores. Except "Lambert" is a peat moss based soil brand sold at Home Depot and claimed to be sustainably harvest, I do like their peat moss. It's most convenient to look for nurseries and local companies who will sell soil and compost, especially in bulk for wholesale prices, this is what I recommend. I also like local resources. It's very easy to get free horse manure and compost yourself. I make compost pile from local leaves and I get free wood chips for mulching. See if you can find local municipal piles for leaves and wood chips, I guess some people are concerned they can have contaminants, ymmv. The main things I add to my soil are: leaves compost, mushroom compost, horse manure compost, worm casting, comfrey, wood chips for mulching, and less frequently: fish emulsion, rock minerals, biochar. I do admit I sometime use Espoma products to amend certain nutrients in my soil. I personally like using local horse manure compost since they are grass eating and preferably non-juiced. If you are afraid of diseases, the manure needs to be properly composted for months, this is also require to kill the weed seeds in the manure, or you can buy pasteurized compost manure. Chicken, rabbit and other birds manure will have higher nutrient contents than horse and cow manure. But for even higher NPK rating, you need to look at bone meal, blood meal, feather meal, greensand, and fish based fertilizers, they have different NPK values and it's depended on what your soil needs. When it come to pest control, like sprays, I stick with products that are OMRI listed, however, to me OMRI is just a label like "USDA Organic" which doesn't really mean anything about the quality of the actual product. I would never buy MiracleGro even if it's OMRI listed, that's just me. 3. What is the best source for super healthy seeds? There are many places to buy seeds, from your local nursery, to many heirloom seeds companies to eBay. Unless you buy heirlooms, the usual popular hybrid seeds variety you buy regardless from where are likely sourced from Seminis, which is a seed company owned by Monsanto that control about 30% of the seed supplies. Obviously, if you live in a hot climate and obtaining seeds from plants that has grown in hot climate for many seasons will give you better results. It's more important to look for variety that does well for your climate and disease resistant. Some variety resist disease better than others. For me it's more important to get seeds affordably as they can be pretty expensive. First place I would check is local nurseries for seedlings. I admit I like the Bonnie plants at Home Depot whenever they go on sale. Some seeds companies I like are Botanical Interests, Baker Creek, and the Seed Saver Exchange. But I like eBay as well mainly for cost saving as long as the seeds are organic (you'll just have to trust the seller and ask them). For tomatoes, imo there is no better place than TomatoFest. I am beginning to not buy from Burpee and Park Seed nowadays. 4. My land has maybe a 20 degree slope to it. Raised beds are supposed to be on a flat surface. Can I offset by putting stones or extra wood under the raised bed to level it and fill with extra soil? This could be a good thing as long as you don't have run offs from rain or something. If you can observe correctly the direction of the sun for different seasons, you can build raised beds with an angle toward the sun to increase sun exposure, this generally is useful if you live in a colder climate zone, the angle sun rays hit the soil makes a big difference. You don't need to make a flat raised bed, one side can be taller with deeper soil, and this can accommodate plants that require more root spaces or need extra light exposure. 5. When I'm ready to plant is there a good step by step on that anywhere? There is a very big YouTube organic garden community, I suggest you look there. Shameless plug: I personally like OneYardRevolution, Alberta Urban Garden, MiGardener, they have some very good tutorials and info. 6. If I want to grow to make as many meals as I can what are my best mixes of veggies and herbs to grow for both that and the health of the garden? I don't think there is any right answer to that, it depend so much on your specific situation, your location and what you like to eat. I personally feel that each person have a different scenario and challenges, just because one person is very successful with one method doesn't mean it will apply or work for someone else. For starter, you should grow plants that grows well in your climate. Growing easy to grow crops and edible perennials is a good idea. Maybe plants that doesn't require so much nutrients for yield. Sweat potatoes is a stable plant for my garden because the leaves are edible and they grow insane without needing much water. I also like plants that self seed easily like malabar spinach, I will always have an abundance of these in my garden. Mustard and arugula are very easy to grow, bokchoy is an amazing producer. I also like plants that are easy to save seeds like okra. - Side note, I used to make raised beds with woods, but I think I will stick with cinderblocks from now. I really like the fact that it is cheaper than wood (from where I am) and will last much longer. And they are modular so you can change the size of your bed easily. The only downside is they are heavy. Also you should consider the width of your raised bed. I will no longer make raised beds wider than 3ft because I feel this is ideal size for me to be able to reach to the middle. 4ft wide gets uncomfortable for me, especially if you need to dig the middle, you don't want to stand on the soil itself and compressed it in the process. Lastly, you should check the type of trees in your surrounding. I have serious issue with invasive roots from surrounding trees stealing nutrients from my raised beds, so I'm probably going to have to dig trenches around my beds....See MoreJudi
2 months agocallirhoe123
2 months agoA Carter
2 months agozen_man
2 months agolast modified: 2 months agowar garden
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2 months agodaninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
2 months agolast modified: 2 months ago
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