The Dirty Dozen/Clean Sixteen

I received this info by email and thought it beneficial for all to read.

DIRTY DOZEN
Buy These Organic as they rate high in pesticides:

WORST
1 Celery
2 Peaches
3 Strawberries
4 Apples
5 Blueberries
6 Nectarines
7 Bell Peppers
8 Spinach
9 Kale
10 Cherries
11 Potatoes
12 Grapes

CLEAN 16
1 Onions
2 Avocado
3 Sweet Corn
4 Pineapple
5 Mangos
6 Sweet Peas
7 Asparagus
8 Kiwi
9 Cabbage
10 Eggplant
11 Cantaloupe
12 Watermelon
13 Grapefruit
14 Sweet Potato
15 Honeydew
16 Melon

Why Should You Care About Pesticides? The growing consensus among scientists is that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can cause lasting damage to human health, especially during fetal development and early childhood. Scientists now know enough about the long-term consequences of ingesting these powerful chemicals to advise that we minimize our consumption of pesticides. What’s the Difference? EWG research has found that people who eat five fruits and vegetables a day from the Dirty Dozen list consume an average of 10 pesticides a day. Those who eat from the 15 least contaminated conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables ingest fewer than 2 pesticides daily. The Guide helps consumers make informed choices to lower their dietary pesticide load. Will Washing and Peeling Help? The data used to create these lists is based on produce tested as it is typically eaten (meaning washed, rinsed or peeled, depending on the type of produce). Rinsing reduces but does not eliminate pesticides. Peeling helps, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the skin. The best approach: eat a varied diet, rinse all produce and buy organic when possible. How Was This Guide Developed? EWG analysts have developed the Guide based on data from nearly 96,000 tests for pesticide residues in produce conducted between 2000 and 2008 and collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

You can find a detailed description of the criteria EWG used to develop these rankings and the complete list of fruits and vegetables tested at our dedicated website, http://www.foodnews.org/.

THE POWER OF INFORMATION Headquarters 1436 U St. N.W., Suite 100 Washington, DC 20009(202) 667-6982

Learn More at FoodNews.org

Rain and Garden Progress

It had been really dry here for the past few weeks...so much so that I have had to water the garden. This weekend it finally rained and the garden needed it! I think they are saying we received over 3 inches total. It sounds like we will have a few dry days now and then more rain toward the end of the week. The sugar snap peas, shelling peas, onions, garlic, cabbage, and broccoli are looking good...I am seeing rows of greens, spinach, lettuces, radishes, kohlrabi, and chard coming up as well. I suspect that the potatoes are starting to come up or will be soon, but it is too muddy to go check today. Things are coming along in the garden and overall I am pleased. The rain is helping our newly planted fruit trees and bushes as well. We are looking into the possibility of purchasing a high tunnel for the farm...that would help us get an earlier start on the season and also be able to extend our season into early winter. We are reading a few books by Eliot Coleman about extending the harvest and they are very good. We would love to be able to provide a Summer share as well as a Winter share someday...maybe next year...we shall see.

Berries and Brambles

We received our berry bushes in the mail today! I ordered some from Hartmann's Plant Nursery and some others from Pinetree Garden Seeds...they are all alive, which is a bonus! The varieties are: Poorman Gooseberry (6), Encore Raspberry (6), Blueberries (2 each of Hannah's Choice, Jersey, and Blue Ray), and Seascape Strawberry (100). We also received our Jersey Knight Asparagus (50), and garlic. I would like to plant them tomorrow, but if it rains tonight (like they are predicting) it may be too muddy. We'll have to wait and see. This weekend is supposed to be sunny with nice temps, so we can get some more work done then. I should also be getting my fruit trees any day from Stark Bros. I ordered 2 peach and 3 plums. I can't wait until all of this fruit starts producing!

Spring Planting Has Begun!

Well, yesterday was a beautiful day and we were able to get much accomplished! We cultivated the soil and got it ready to plant, then we planted shelling peas, sugar snap peas, onions, scallions, garlic, chard, spinach, kale, kohlrabi, turnip greens, and potatoes (red new potatoes, Red Norland, and Yukon Gold). The rain today was perfect timing to water it all in too! Hopefully we will have a few more dry days next week to plant some more. So far things are looking good to start CSA deliveries Mid-May. Hopefully the weather will continue to cooperate with us!

We are also painting our honey bee hives and getting ready for the new bees to arrive in the next couple of weeks...that and finishing up and painting the new chicken coop. A few of our chickens are scheduled to arrive around April 20th, with the remainder arriving in June. Spring has finally arrived after such a long Winter, and I am thankful for it!