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How To Grow Chillies

June 25, 2011 By

They’re a great crop for a busy life. Just follow a few simple rules and you could be harvesting chillies until Christmas

In a hellishly hot polytunnel in Bedfordshire, grower Joanna Plumb is laying to rest the myth that chillies are hard to grow. In fact, it pays to be a bit lax: “If you let them wilt and stress the plant out,” she says. “It’s one way of getting hotter chillies because the plant thinks it’s going to die and puts all its energy into reproducing.”

Plumb is an expert chilli grower and owner of Edible Ornamentals, growing thousands of chillies every year for everyone from supermarkets to Fortnum & Mason. She’s convinced that these hot fruits are a great crop for the style of growing most of us can manage in modern life: chillies are perfectly content in a pot on a sunny windowsill or patio, with fruits that can be picked over a long period and easily stored for the following year. [Read more...]

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Mangoes Are High On Health

June 23, 2011 By

The King of Fruits has several benefits, so indulge your senses this season in some mangoes.

Not only do they taste great, but mangoes are also loaded with several qualities that are excellent for your health. They are rich in powerful antioxidants that are known to neutralise free radicals that cause damage to cells and lead to health problems like heart disease, premature aging and cancer among other things. Here’s why you should consume them…

- With its high iron content, mangoes are excellent for pregnant women and those who suffer from anaemia. But do consult with your doctor beforehand on how much is suitable. [Read more...]

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Safe Food, From Farm To Fork

May 6, 2011 By

Now, they will have to do all this and more under a new set of rules and regulations under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, to be notified soon by the Union Health Ministry.

The two states have begun to get their act together.

“Food can be contaminated at any point, from farm to fork. The norms aim to secure each link of the food chain. Right from the fields of farmers, transport, storage, processing units, handling, wholesale markets to the final consumer, contamination can happen at any level, which are then transmitted to the next level of the food chain.

“Since food is primarily handled through agricultural markets administered by marketing boards, the markets will also have to follow hygiene standards to ensure food safety,” says S S Randhawa, Managing Director, National Council of State Marketing Boards (COSSAMB). [Read more...]

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Surviving Any Situation

January 23, 2011 By

As always, being prepared is the best solution into surviving any situation, and of course that starts with the food supply. Does anybody here is searching for the best food container for your food storing needs, but don’t know what is right for you? Well, longer-term storage requires greater preparation and involves putting up a supply of important survival foods that can be stored for long period of time without spoilage. When purchasing food for long term food storage, there are several things to look at. First, make sure the foods you get do not require electricity to store. And when storing organic food, one will need to keep in mind that natural food will not last as long as commercially grown, processed and packaged products unless it is cared for in certain ways.

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Eating From The Garden Program Gives Youths Get A Taste Of Healthy Habits

January 23, 2011 By

Eating From the Garden, the University of Missouri Extension’s youth health and nutrition program, is offering its volunteer training program at the end of the month. The program teaches fourth- and fifth-grade children about fresh fruits and vegetables and the pride that comes from growing them.

Trained partners and volunteers visit 30 area schools and community centers in Jackson County to talk about the importance of nutrition and physical activity. Students participate in a 13-lesson curriculum during the school year.

“A lot of the focus is on influencing the families’ eating behavior by helping the children,” says Rachael McGinnis Millsap, nutrition garden coordinator. “We get them excited about eating fruits and vegetables, including sending home plants in the summer that can be grown in pots.”

In addition to the lessons, students maintain a cool-season garden in the fall and spring and get to taste what they’ve grown. The goodies they’ve raised include greens, radishes, turnips, lettuce, strawberries, carrots and sweet potatoes. [Read more...]

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Soon, Philippines Farmers To Get Rice-Growing Advice Via Text Messages

November 11, 2010 By

Farmers in the Philippines will soon have nutrient management advice tailored specifically to their rice crops delivered to their mobile phones.

Dr. Roland Buresh, part of the International Rice Research (IRRI) team, said that after responding to a series of simple questions about their rice paddy, farmers would receive an automated text reply recommending what amounts, sources, and timings of fertilizer are needed for profitable rice production in their paddy.

To help understand changes in rice production, IRRI’s mapping team has published a map of rice-growing regions in South Asia for this season. They will compare maps from different years to identify new rice production areas and areas where rice is replaced by other land uses. [Read more...]

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Diseases Threaten Tomato, Cucumber Crops

July 2, 2010 By

Farmers and backyard gardeners are encouraged to watch for two diseases that can destroy tomato, potato and cucumber crops.

Late blight and downy mildew have both been confirmed in Ohio, the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster Township reported Thursday.

Late blight affects tomatoes and potatoes and is the fungus that caused the Irish potato famine. The strain of downy mildew that has been found in Ohio destroys cucumber plants and also affects cantaloupes, but not fatally.

Downy mildew was found June 23 on cucumbers in Wayne and Holmes counties. Late blight was confirmed about the same time on tomatoes in Harrison County.

Both diseases are spread by spores that are carried by wind and thrive in wet conditions. Recent storms have provided ideal conditions for their transmission, said Sally Miller, a vegetable pathologist with OARDC and the Ohio State University Extension. [Read more...]

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