We grow food, & make medicine, & build resiliency.

ines871
ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited June 2019 in Our Garden: Growing Food

in keeping with Marjorie's vision of 'we grow food, & make medicine, & build resiliency', most people so involved have at least some space, some ground, some yard-age.

Money-wise, who knows how many so-called 'homeOwners' the USA has, versus how many can just rent a much smaller space with maybe not even a porch. Unfortunately increasingly many empoverished people are forced to live out of their vehicle. - Can the latter even grow food, make medicine, & build resiliency? - I think about such matters, do you too?

IF I had unlimited $, I would bless anyone who wants to Homestead a piece of ground to grow food, & make medicine, & build resiliency. Since this is not reality, I simply share such that I have. Do you share your Homegrown foods, & medicine with others freely too?

Beyond trying to set best example possible, have joined groups, & taught various classes. Have you too Noticed that often those with nary a place to garden, do not Attend classes as they think What For? I don't have the means to grow food, make medicine, let alone become resilient. But we each can...for example grow Sprouts & Microgreens

You know this is a really cool class to invite children to as they being 😀 New sprouts themselves naturally easily understand the benefits of Sprouts:

  • Rich in protein. On average 40% of calories in sprouts is protein. Low in calories. Along with their rich supply of enzymes the protein is of a superior quality, easy to digest and assimilate by the body. The sprouting process breaks down proteins into their amino acid counterparts, easy for our body to quickly utilize.
  • Rich in enzymes. Being raw, sprouts come into our bodies with their own rich supply of enzymes. Highly beneficial for us, as our body does not have to expand its own energy to provide the enzymes and breakdown the food source.
  • Rich in living energy. Every living being has a quantifiable energy within them, their “Chi”, “Qi”, life energy or life force. When food sources are “living” (plant foods), as opposed to “dead” (animal foods), they transfer to our bodies their life energy, improving our overall energy levels.
  • Rich in minerals. Sprouts contain some of the highest concentrations of major & trace minerals necessary for our bodies to thrive at optimum levels.
  • Rich in vitamins. Sprouts contain some of the highest concentrations of vitamins valuable to us for proper health and maintenance of tissues, as well as the healing and prevention of disease.
  • Rich in phytonutrients. Being a plant food, and a fully living one at that, sprouts include a rich variety of various phytonutrients. Nutritional science today is discovering how highly protective and healing these compounds are for all acute and chronic conditions, incldg. cancer.
  • Alkalizing. The average person is suffering from chronic acidity, resulting in increasing ailments and weight/obesity. Most of our food should come from alkaline forming sources, & sprouts are 1example, because as seeds sprout they become more alkaline.
  • Positive cholesterol effects. Sprouts decrease LDL and increase HDL.
  • Healthy hair, skin, nails. Due to their high protein, vitamin, and mineral content, sprouts contribute to healthy skin, hair and nails.
  • Highly Economical. Seeds are very low cost food sources. When sprouted, they increase in volume and nutrient density, becoming an even more economically sound food choice.

Latest client knew next to nothing about food that is healthy. A year ago. In just 8 months, via example & gentle guidance this person learned

how wonderful... a Garden-salad tastes, & where to buy Organic produce at low cost, & soon is gonna learn how to have Healthy food available year-round, either on the window-sill, or on the porch. Also the YMCA was joined so naturally the aches & pains further leave. - LIFE is looking up 🙂

What are your favorite Sprouts to munch on & benefit from year-round ?

Comments

  • H_D
    H_D Posts: 384 ✭✭✭

    I love beet sprouts, broccoli sprouts and of course mung bean sprouts..we always have a jar sprouting ;) Plus sprouts are the most nutritious time to eat the plant :)

  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Good for you Heather :) - We also love Broccoli sprouts, & too Pea sprouts as they are naturally sweet. Munching on some right now... yummy.

  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭

    so Microgreens can be grown from many different types of seeds.

    The most popular varieties are produced using seeds from the following plant families:

    • Brassicaceae family: Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, watercress, radish and arugula
    • Asteraceae family: Lettuce, endive, chicory and radicchio
    • Apiaceae family: Dill, carrot, fennel and celery
    • Amaryllidaceae family: Garlic, onion, leek
    • Amaranthaceae family: Amaranth, quinoa swiss chard, beet and spinach
    • Cucurbitaceae family: Melon, cucumber and squash

    Always amazes me learning what different plants belong to the same plant family. And what about you?

    What are some of your favorite salads ?, inviting you to grow evermore foods

  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Recently there was a "Superfood Garden Summit" - presenting: Supercharge your Soil,

    John Moody: What You Need to Know to Grow Sweet Potatoes Anywhere!

    Marjory Wildcraft: Gardening in an era of Climate Change

    Stacey Murphy: Simple Ginger and Turmeric Container Garden

    "Your Complete Herbal Medicine Garden in 10 Plants" = from his photos, I now see our Rosemary & Sage :)

    Dax Funderburk: 5 Keys to Growing Garlic Without Any Hard Work

    Melissa Norris: Blueberries for Beginners: Increase Yield & Combat Disease Naturally

    Greg Peterson: Three Stages to Fruit Tree Success

    John Moody: Simple Tricks to Growing & Harvesting Elderberries; - and

    about 5 other presentations. Did you get Inspired from that Summit too ?

    Trying to break my life-long habit of being an over-achiever, I tried to Focus on just 1 presentation: Kevin Espiritu: Grow a Non-stop Supply of Nutrient Rich Microgreens : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yuUU8DGI3Y okay gonna grow Broccoli sprouts, Mixed-lettuces, Black Sunflower seeds, Green-peas, Radishes?, & Scallions. Good Lord, I should stick with 4 first, lol

    Sprouting & daily benefiting from Microgreens is a surefire way to eat better, stay healthier & feel happier… What do you think ?

  • Marjory Wildcraft
    Marjory Wildcraft Posts: 1,615 admin

    Hi @rainbow oh I love this topic! THere is so much mor eyou can do without 'owning' land... and sprouts are an awesome way to start. BTW< what is your favorite sprouting method? Mason jars? trays? I found I really do best with those stacking rectangular trays for alfalfa / radish / clover type sprouts. For some reason, I've never been abel to get those to do well in a jar...

  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Hi @Marjory Wildcraft - Agreed on both "More you can do without 'owning' land", including the trays...

    Sprouting... (aside the 10 🙂 major benefits in Op) is further good for perpetually Time-challenged folks like me. Far too much ! of life is spent working... not enough Play. - Growing more sprouts will eventually enable passionate Sports fun...

  • I like to grow a variety of sprouts to supplement my diet as well as the diets of my goats and chickens. Our feedstore carries a locally grown 5 grain scratch mix that I've just begun experimenting with. Will let you know how successful I am at sprouting this to create a bit of a treat for our farm buddies!

  • seeker.nancy - Central Texas
    seeker.nancy - Central Texas Posts: 795 ✭✭✭✭

    Where is a good but not expensive place to buy sprouting and/or micrograms seeds? What are your favorite places to get your seeds and why? I haven't grown many types of sprouts and not grown any in a while. I've been so focused on my outside garden lol.

    And the garden summit was awesome, I watched every presenter in that one. So often it is the little things that make a great outcome.

    Thanks!

  • RICHARD
    RICHARD Posts: 22 ✭✭✭

    I like a combination of daikon radish, red clover, alfalfa, broccoli, amaranth. Plus I grow a few herbs in containers along with microgreens that include lettuce, and clove. I use raw, unfiltered local honey and grated ginger for the odd cough. a cold water infusion of common mallow for soothing the lungs from smoky air (wild fires).

  • sarah121
    sarah121 Posts: 129 ✭✭✭

    Nettles are very nutritious and make a cheap yet substantial soup. Try to gather the young leaves and not the old tough ones. You can cook them like spinach, but be sure to blanch them first to get rid of the stings!

  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @RICHARD - Your response was priceless... Why? - Well, not everything grows from a seed, yet most plants do, - so reading your examples, thought gee I wonder what else (aside seeds already sprouted) could I also eat as a microgreen (especially since daily Intermittent fasting on mostly liquids). For example QUINOA (the complete Protein). Have you ever added Quinoa as a microgreen, Richard ?