When the Grocery Bill Gets Too High...part 4 of 4



In this final segment of growing your own produce to offset grocery bills, I have chosen some wonderful fruiting trees, shrubbery, and vines that are easy to grow and whose fruit tastes great and is packed with nutrition. Where the majority of the plants listed below will show little if any fruit the first year in your garden, all of the plants I have chosen are hardy and long lasting; once established, they will grace your garden with tasty fruit for years.

1) Saskatoon -

A member of the rose family and cousin to such ornamentals as cotoneaster and mayday trees, saskatoons are hardy plants that are native to the prairies. Along with delicious fruit, plants are ornamental and look great in the landscape, providing visual interest all year long: pretty white flowers in spring, glossy green foliage throughout summer, vivid orange/red hues in fall, and strong branches to catch snow in winter. Top varietal picks for a residential lot are Honeywood (3m x 2m, late season producer, large berries), Northline (the most dwarf of the edible saskatoons at 2m x 2m, mid-season producer, large fruit), Thiessen (columnar form of 3m x 1.5m, mid-late season producer, medium-sized berries), and Smokey (semi-columnar form of 3m x 2m, mid-late season producer, medium-sized berries).

2) Cherry - Evans, Ranier, Romeo and Juliet, Carmine Jewel, Nanking -The list of edible prunus plants that grow well in our area is quite extensive. Sour cherries (i.e. Evans, Ranier, Romeo and Juliet, Carmine Jewel) are known for their prairie-hardiness, large-sized cherries, heavy fruit production, and reliability. Generally used for baking and jams/jellies, these fruits have a mildy tart taste when eaten fresh. Plant size varies with individual cultural conditions in the gardener's back yard: full sun with plenty of wind protection and winter snow cover will see the plant growing approximately 3.5m x 3m; full sun with little or no protection will spur the plant to remain in a smaller size, usually 2-3m x 2m. Nanking cherries are a wonderful alternative for those that enjoy a sweeter tasting cherry. Fruit is quite small (a bit smaller than a dime) but is very sweet and is produced in hoards. This is a very ornamental plant for residential yards: growing 3m x 3.5m, it is literally covered with beautiful white blooms first thing in the spring, before foliage is produced by the plant.

3) Gooseberry and Currant -

Underutilized in the local landscape, gooseberries and currants are a wonderful addition to any edible garden. Both belonging to the ribes genus, these plants have similar growth habits of 1.25m x 1.25m and thrive in our somewhat poor prairie soil. Red Lake currants (also known simply as red currants) are arguably the most reliable producer of the currants, with a large abundance of juicy red fruit that matures in the heat of July. Berries are excellent both fresh and in baking or jams/jellies. When choosing a gooseberry, Pixwell or Poorman varieties are generally recognized as favorites among prairie gardeners because they boast the  most flavor of the gooseberries, have beautiful fall color, and are vary low maintenance. Fruit ripens in late July.

4) Raspberry -

Would any garden be truly complete without a raspberry patch? Great for hiding compost piles, well heads, dog runs, and even neighbors (!), raspberries require very little care, are reliable producers, and are great for reconditioning poor soil and reducing erosion. Along with the gold standard Boyne variety, there are now a few other interesting varieties on the market, such as Fall Gold and Black raspberry. For maximum production, remove 25% of the raspberry canes each spring by trimming 1/4 of your berry patch to ground level. Most varieties grow approximately 1.25m x 1.25m.

5) Cranberry -

Unbeknownst to most gardeners, there is an edible cranberry that we can grow in the

prairies! Not for the faint of heart, Wentworth cranberry is a large shrub of 3m x 3m that produces large panicles of white blooms in the spring and then substantial amounts of large red fruit in late summer. Whereas most plants of the cranberry family can be grown in sun or shade, Wentworth requires full sun. Ammend soil with ample peat moss for best plant health and fruit production. Fall foliage is a deep burgundy-red color.

6) Kiwi -

Yes I said it - kiwi. This vining plant is surprisingly easy to grow in our climate. Choose the Issai variety for best results, as it is self-fertile and as a result doesn't require a partner to reproduce. Growing to a height of 3-5m, this plant requires full sun to produce it's 3" long, delicious fruit.

7) Grape -

Even though we prairie gardeners often have a bit of an (ahem) insecurity issue with our short growing season, we really should be celebrating: cool nights and warm days make the tastiest grapes. The two varieties that are best suited to our weather are Valiant and Frontenac. Try growing one of each, in close proximity, for best fruit production. Make sure to get these plants in a sunny, protected spot in the garden; once established, grapes are extremely long-lived plants.

8) Apple -

Johnny Appleseed loved the high-light and hot summers of the prairies, and so do apple trees. With over a dozen great varieties of apples to choose from, picking an apple tree to grow in your yard should be based upon both the fruit the tree produces as well as the aesthetics of the apple tree itself. For small yards, choose a dwarf variety (Goodland, Norland, Haralson, etc all come in dwarf forms) or a crabapple (Dolgo is the best producer of the crabapples.) For larger yards, choose Norkent, Norland, Parkland, Goodland, Heyer 12, and Hardy Mac for early varieties (fruit ripe in July/August), and Zestar, September Ruby, and Parkland for later varieties (fruit ripe in August/September.)

Growing your own produce is fun, healthy, and easy on the pocketbook. Over the course of the past month, we have learned that there is a veritable cornucopia of edible plants that prairie gardeners can grow with success. Armed with a bit of information and a desire to improve your family's health (both physically and financially), anyone with a modicum of space and sunlight in his/her yard can become an urban farmer! Yeehaw!

 

When the Grocery Bill Gets Too High...part 3 of 4

   This week, stretching your dollars gets easier by getting the kids involved in gardening! Growing your own "kid friendly" fruits and veggies will not only save on the grocery bill, it is a fun way to get your children active outdoors and to introduce to them the concept of agricultural sustainability. Where the list of choices for easy to grow, low maintenance produce for our area is immense, I have narrowed down the line-up to a few of the foods my own kids love to grow and eat. 

1) Crucifers - Broccoli and Cauliflower

 Well its true: sometimes what you don't know won't hurt you. I have this great children's CD that I used to play in the car when my kids were younger called "Cats Night Out" by Graham Walker. In it, Walker sings about a hungry pig named Priscilla who has so much of an affinity for flowers that she eats them "all the time." Our kids would squirm and squeal in uproarious laughter at the notion of anyone eating flowers. I never had the heart to tell them that the crowns of their favorite veggies - broccoli and cauliflower - were precisely that (I think I was just glad they would eat them!)

Very nutritious and easy to grow, both cauliflower and broccoli can be seeded directly into the garden or started indoors in April and then moved out when the threat of frost has passed. Coronado Crown and Green Magic are the most popular varieties of broccoli for serving fresh or freezing. Growing 18-24in high, they boast large, uniform flower heads that mature approximately 60 days from seeding. Early Snowball is the most sought after Cauliflower variety. Very vigorous and reliable, Early Snowball produces clusters of dense white flower heads approximately 50 days from seeding. This variety is also very tolerant of cool weather and is delicious served raw or cooked; blanche lightly before freezing.

2) Legumes - Beans and Peas
 Not only good for you, beans and peas are good for the earth, too. Belonging to the legume family, these fruits (yes they are acually fruit, as the seed is stored inside the pod) have the interesting ability to absorb nitrogen gas out of the air and then, with the help of beneficial soil bacteria, convert it to a form the plant can use, storing the nitrogen in their root nodules. Legumes are widely recognized for their soil-rejuvenating properties; cyclically planting legumes in your garden will help to revitalize soil health; always use a soil innoculant when seeding as your output (i.e. fruit produced) will be greatly enhanced.
  Kids love growing peas and beans because the seed is relatively large and easy for small hands to manipulate, plants grow quickly and in vines, the flowers tend to be delicate and lightly scented, and the fruit is delicious and ready to eat off of the vine. The most popular variety of beans for kids is Scarlet Runner. Think Jack in the Beanstalk with these plants: quickly growing 2m tall and higher, Scarlet Runner beans will produce huge 20-25cm long bean pods that are quite delicious. Wax beans are also easy to grow and quite sweet when eaten fresh. Typically maturing in 50-55 days, wax beans produce several stringless, meaty pods that "snap" when you bend them.
  There are a myriad of pea varieties that are great for our area, such as Green Arrow (heavy producing, super sweet, 55-60 days to maturity, vigorous and disease resistant) and Lincoln Homesteader (very productive, sweet, heat tolerant, disease resistant, 60-70 days to maturity, great for cooking). The most popular pea varieties for young apprentice gardeners, however, are the edible pod series, particularly the Sugar Snap variety, which grows vigorously, is disease resistant, and matures in 70-75 days. Featuring crisp, delicious pods that can be eaten in their entirety, kids love to spend hours out in the garden, eating these fruits right off of the vine. If any of the pods actually make it into the house, they are also wonderful cooked and freeze well.   

3) Carrots - Arguably the easiest vegetable to convince a child to eat, carrots are very easy to grow as well! Where traditional varieties such as Red Cored Danvers (65-80 days to maturity, long and sweet roots, great for cooking and freezing) and Scarlet Nantes (60-70 days to maturity, succulent bright orange French variety, great fresh or cooked) are the top picks for adult gardeners, kids really love Chantenay carrots. Also known as "baby" carrots, Chantenays are quick to mature (50-55 days), are uniformly textured (i.e. don't have as much of a differentiated core as other varieties do), and are quick to prepare: just rinse with cold water and enjoy!

4) Lettuce - The four most popular types of lettuce are butterhead, crisphead, loose leaf, and romaine. Whereas butterhead and crisphead form crunchy, spherical heads, Romaine (also known as Cos lettuce) and leaf lettuce form elongated and smaller hearts.  Iceberg is the most popular choice for crisphead lettuce: crunchy and mildly sweet, it is great served fresh in salads, sandwiches, tacos, wraps, etc. Butterhead features softer leaves with more texture and density than crisphead; Buttercrunch variety is the favorite among prairie gardeners as it is more tolerant of poor soil. Romaine is the piece de resistance of ceasar salad chefs worldwide. Boasting the highest nutrient content, romaine lettuce has relatively good shelf life. For those that like a leafy lettuce but would prefer a milder taste than traditional Romaine, try the Grand Rapids loose leaf variety; along with a sweeter finish, it is quick to mature and produces heavily.

5) Watermelon - When we ask our kids what they would like to grow in the garden, their first response is watermelons! Easy to grow, watermelons should be started indoors in early April and then set out when the threat of frost has passed. Moon and Stars is a great variety for kids, as it grows quickly, producing large 4kg fruit in less than three months from seeding.  Kids may also be interested to know that Moon and Stars is one of the oldest watermelon varieties; so old in fact, that it has been flagged as an heirloom plant. Flesh is deliciously sweet and red. I keep wondering if there is a way to grow napkins...

   Kids - the world is just full of them. The United Nations estimate that the global population under 15 is now approaching 26.3%, or 2.1 billion. Issues ranging from overcrowding, hunger, and poverty, to environmental degradation, non-renewable resource depletion, and power imbalances all face the world's youngsters. But all is not lost; as the global population explosion plateaus, opportunities that are present for the world's kids are also improving, due largely to the technological advances that have taken a canonic position in our time. Better education, advanced agricultural practices, freer flow of information...the list of pluses for our kids just goes on and on; this coming-of-age population is positioned to become a powerhouse of the world, and in all spheres - economically, socially, politically, and culturally. With such an important future ahead of them, and with so much to learn, why not take a few minutes out of your week to help train these young minds about the living world around us? Playing in the dirt and discovering the wonderful worlds of horticulture and biology are perfect learning opportunities; development of our youth is arguably the single-most important task our world societies face. As Walt Disney once said, "Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children"!

When the Grocery Bill Gets Too High...part 2 of 4

  Last week we started looking at ways to economize on ballooning grocery bills, primarily by raising some fruit and vegetables in your own back yard; tomatoes and potatoes were highlighted. This week, we examine two more great sets of plants, each chosen for its health benefits, ease-of-care, and prairie suitability.

3) Leafy vegetables - Beet tops (and roots), Spinach, Swiss Chard
Gaining levels of recognition daily, beets, spinach, and chard all belong to the chenopod plant family. While still not fully understood, chenopod plants are proving to be extremely beneficial to (among other things) the human nervous system, aiding in the maintenance and rehabilitation of relevant structures such as sense organs. High in Vitamins K, A, and C, chenopod plants also possess significant antioxidants and betalains, which aid in cell rejuvenation and detoxification, all the while minimizing inflammatory response.
 Spinach - look for varieties that give heavy yields and are slow to bolt (i.e. the stems stay firm and crispy; the plant does not go to seed.) Bloomsdale variety is known for this; in addition, it is tolerant of less than optimal weather conditions such as the cool nights we experience throughout the growing season. Combine it with mandarin orange pieces, strawberry slices, almonds, and raspberry vinaigrette for a delicious and healthful salad. Add it to your favorite lasagna recipe for a healthy punch of nutrients and flavorful texture. Steam it and mix it with fresh cream cheese for a party dip with bread pieces...the list of great recipes using spinach goes on and on. Far from the nose-wrinkling lore of old, spinach is great tasting and great for you; Popeye was on to something good!
 Swiss Chard is a favorable alternative for those that find spinach to be too flavorful or bitter. But not only is it milder in taste, research has shown that swiss chard contains syringic acid, a compound proven to help regulate blood sugar levels.  There are several varieties to choose from. Want a swiss chard that you can enjoy fresh or steamed? Try Fordhook Giant, which has tender yellow-white stems and thick crinkly foliage that is tender enough to eat raw and that still keeps its texture and flavor when cooked. Fordhook Giant also freezes well. Don't have much space? Try the aesthetically pleasing Bright Lights cultivar, which features stem colors of white, yellow, and red. In addition to a wonderful texture and taste, it is a gorgeous foliage addition to any flowerpot or bed!
Closely related to swiss chard, beets are colorful, tasty vegetables that can be eaten in their entirety. Braise leaves with butter and vinegar for a fancy addition to beef or spiced pork; boil the roots and serve warm or let cool and mix into salad. There are a few high producing, weather tolerant varieties that are great for the prairies, such as Detroit Dark Red (heirloom variety, reaches maturity in late summer, cylindrical root) and Early Globe (spherical root, reaches maturity in early summer.) It is interesting to note that the majority of beet seeds are called multi-germ, meaning that a single seed will produce several beet plants. As a result, a 10m long row of beet seedlings can produce 10kg of produce!
 To keep your crisper full all season, succession seed your leafy chenopod vegetables every two weeks from May through late July; beets should be sown shortly after the last heavy frost of the early spring. Maybe Juan Ponce de Leon actually discovered a chenopod patch when he first toured Florida!

4) Strawberries and Blueberries

 Current research has found that the more aggregate fruits and berries we eat, the better and longer we live. Increase your fiber, increase your vitamin uptake, fight off infection more vigorously, lower your blood pressure, increase your brain power...the list of benefits goes on and on with these fruits. And there is even more great news: they are easy to grow!

 Strawberries (technically known as "aggregate fruits" and not "berries," as their seeds are on the located on the outside of the fruit) tend to be separated into three main categories: Junebearing, day neutral, and everbearing. Junebearing strawberries have one primary producing period in the growing season (i.e. the month of June), during which time they produce large quantities of ample-sized fruit; canning and jam factories often use this type of strawberry. Everbearing strawberries produce 2-3 crops in a single growing season, but the fruit tends to be in smaller quantities than Junebearing. Day neutral strawberries produce throughout the entire growing season; the fruit, however, tends to be smaller and sweeter than Junebearing or everbearing types. The compact growth habit of day neutral strawberries makes them perfect for growing in a constrained space. Popular Junebearing varieties for our area are Kent (high yield, reliable producer,) Allstar (high yield, good for freezing,) and Honeoye (medium sized, high yield, firm fruit suitable for shipping.) Popular ever bearing varieties for the prairie region are Fort Laramie (large fruit, heavy producing,)  Hecker (sweet, small fruit), Quinault (mild-tasting, large fruit, often found in farmer's markets), and Tristar (large fruit, reliable producer, sweet). The most widely used day neutral strawberry in Canada is Seascape (medium sized fruit, conical shape, very sweet, good yield.) All strawberries are shallow rooted and as a result require frequent, light irrigation. Strawberries further tend to be a short lived perennial (usually around 3 years); in order to keep the production levels up in your strawberry patch, replace 30% of the crop every year.

 Blueberries are becoming increasingly popular in the diets of many due to the enormous health benefits they convey. Rich in anthocyanin antioxidants (this is what gives the berry its blue color; a single blueberry contains 15 different kinds), blueberries also posess high levels of vitamin A and C, are a good source of fiber, and contain potassium, iron, manganese, and other minerals. These berries have been shown to boost efficient brain function, lower the risk of heart disease, aid in digestive processes, and help to reduce the risk of cancer. The hardiest varieties of blueberries for the Calgary area are Northsky, Northcountry, Patriot, and Northland. All are crosses of highbush and lowbush blueberries and are hardy to winter temperatures of -30 degrees Celsius with 4-6inches of suitable ground cover such as snow or mulch. Whereas Northsky and Northcountry are very low growers (usually less than 1m in our area), Patriot and Northland grow marginally bigger (1.25-1.5m in our area.) Patriot is the earliest of the blueberries; all of the "North" varieties tend to be mid-season. All blueberries require acidic, peaty soil, so be sure to add two or three extra shovels full of peatmoss into the planting hole when first setting a new plant into the ground; follow up with a well-balanced fertilizer (i.e. 20-20-20 Ultimate by Plant Prod) twice a month from early May through late July.

   Evolution is an interesting phenomenon, both in the literal meaning of the word as well as cultural lexicon and jargon. Survival and evolution being closely linked to food supply, we as a species have learned to adapt to a wide variety of food sources in order to receive adequate nutrition; our population explosion across all continents is a testament to this. Although we may subsist on food that grows natively in our given ecological region, enjoying a breadth of culinary choices both locally and from abroad is a natural result of technological advances in the developed world. The problem that we are currently faced with has arisen due to inadequate supply for the unprecedented world demand, and the result is higher prices at the grocery store. So staggering is the problem, in fact, that it is estimated that close to 30% of household income in North America is now allocated to food (compare that to the 12% value that was the norm only a decade ago.) What does nature do when it encounters a problem? It evolves, and this is just what is happening to the cultural psyche in many communities. Instead of spending all of one's hard-earned money on groceries, the grass-roots movement that is sweeping many developed nations is to grow some of the household's food requirements. By simply growing 5% of the food you consume, an average household in North America can save approximately $1000 per annum. Team this with the unarguable fact that home-grown produce is measurably better for you, and the solution to the issue quickly arises - try growing some of your own!

When the Grocery Bill Gets Too High...Grow Your Own!

part 1 of 4

I have been following world commodity pricing with some interest over the course of the past 30 months or so. How governments and society at large have chosen to deal with the global economic crises has made a substantial impact on the dietary choices/realities of many families, as rising food prices have caused many of us to contemplate working more, cutting back, or searching for lower end options. Where the outlook of going without or increasing your workload simply to maintain your dietary status quo may be unpalatable (writer's pun number 1), there is, in fact, a very easy, very enjoyable, very healthy solution: instead of purchasing all of your food from others, grow some of your own! With only a modicum of sunny space, anyone can enjoy fresh fruit and veggies, straight from your own garden to your table! Over the course of the next month, I will be highlighting some of my top picks for easy to grow, health-packed produce.

1) Tomatoes

Tomatoes are well known for being replete with antioxidants. Along with vitamins such as C and A, tomatoes also contain an antioxidant compound called lycopene,which has been shown to greatly reduce the risk of certain cancers. I once found myself sharing a flight to Denver with a prominent cancer researcher, who told me tomatoes really were the magic fruit for men, as there was a direct correlation between tomato consumption and healthy, cancer-free prostate glands. Gentlemen, eat up!

There are several great tomato varieties for our area. Early Girl (medium sized with a meaty and mild centre, much like the tomatoes you commonly purchase at a grocery store) and Tiny Tim (cherry sized, juicy, and quite sweet) are the shortest crops to grow, with fruit maturity approximately 45 days from seeding. Beefsteak tomatoes are longer to fruit and mature (approximately 65-75 days from seeding),but they are the tangy tomato of the backyard barbeque. Measuring 3-5" across, they are the perfect size for a hamburger bun. Try Bush Beefsteak if you prefer more substance (and less juice) in your tomato. Roma and Pear tomatoes are oval shaped,mid-length crops (55-65 days from seeding). These tomatoes tend to be quite mild with thicker skins and very meaty innards. They are perfect for cooking. Yellow pear is known for it's mild and smooth flavour. Patio tomatoes are great for growing in containers as they don't mind their roots bending. This is an early-midseason crop (50-60 days from seeding) that features medium sized, sweet and juicy fruit. (If you are thinking about starting your own tomatoes from scratch, now is the time to get them seeded; all varieties will also be found at your local garden centre, grown into 4" and 1 gallon pots in mid-May.) Also, keep your eyes peeled for the new cherry tomato called Tomaccio this spring: growing like a regular Sweet100 cherry tomato, Tomaccio tomatoes are great eaten fresh, have robust skin that makes them suitable for cooking, and are also very easy to dry. You will have topurchase this plant already grown into a 1 or 2 gallon pot, as their is no seed stock currently available on the market.

2) Potatoes

Mashed, scalloped, fried, in soups or salads...potatoes are both delicious and a very healthy starch. Eat them with the skin on and you benefit from their vitamin and antioxidant repertoire as well. A single potato typically contains 7g of protein, 70mg of vitamin C, 1500mg of potassium, 210mg of phosphorous, and over 1000mg of aspartic and glutamic acids (proven to help maintain a healthy metabolism.) Unbeknownst to most aspiring potato gardeners, potatoes don't need to be grown in the garden; they will produce ample, high quality tubers when planted into any deep, well drained container such as an old garbage can or a couple of rubber tires stacked up on top of each other. You can also buy a reusable "potato bag" planter at eco-conscious garden centres.

When potato lovers talk about growing their own tasty potatoes, there are generally 3 main factors that they use in determining which variety is right for them, namely: crop time (early or late), skin color (i.e. red, purple, blue, white, oryellow), and storing qualities. Because potatoes are a highly cultivated crop, you may also hear gardeners discussing disease resistance. With so many choices, it is difficult to pick just a few great varieties, but there are some that stand out in their fields (pun number 2; gardeners don't always make the best comedians!): Dakota Pearl (mid-season, yellow skin, good storing, resistant to scab), Sangre (mid-late season, bright red skin, great storing, resistant to scab and hollowheart), Purple Viking (early-mid season, purple skin, good storing, resistant to scab), and Yukon Gold (mid-season, yellow skin, excellent storing, resistant to scab and hollow heart.)

Decreasing reliance on grocery stores to supply household food requirements is becoming ever-more popular in today's economy. Squeezing out conventional rhetoric, ballooning food costs are prompting many of us to rethink our old assumptions about grocery stores: namely, that these outlets will continue to offer ever-present, quality food at affordable prices. As world demand for food rises and according supply diminishes, increased prices at the grocery tills are inevitable. But all is not lost - paying through the nose for quality produce is not a necessity. Simply growing a few fruit, vegetable, and herb plants this spring can save you hundreds of dollars at the grocery store. Consider this: $2.50 for a single, fresh beef steak tomato at the grocer's or $2.00 for a pack of seed that can produce dozens of better-tasting, healthier produce of the same variety...I pick the seeds!

The Nuts on Peanuts

Have you ever wondered why peanuts play such a permanent role in North American society and abroad? With all of the growing incidences of peanut allergies and horrific stories of unsuspecting people literally dropping dead after merely touching the substance to their lips, how could it even be possible that we still see this product in its many forms (peanut butter spread, cookies, candy, cooking oil, etc.) on grocery store shelves? If this were a pharmaceutical medicine, type of alcohol, or even a brand of glue, the regulatory-bodies-that-be would arrive in HAZMAT suits and usher the danger out in vacuum-sealed containers. Well, the answer is that peanuts are actually pretty amazing, and unfortunately often misunderstood.

The Nature of Peanuts

Myth #1: Some people believe that peanuts must grow on peanut trees. The vast majority of edible nuts grow this way; just think of chestnuts, almonds, cashews, brazil nuts, walnuts, and more.
The Facts: Peanuts do not grow on peanut trees. Peanut plants are herbaceous annuals (meaning they grow fresh from seed every year, and that the plants only last one season), usually growing less than 4 feet tall; the peanut plant does not bear any resemblance to a tree. Peanuts are not even nuts; heralding from the Fabaceae (bean) family, peanuts are a type of fruit called a legume. Garden peas that are commonly grown in our area are also legumes, and accordingly the peanut plant looks remarkably similar to a pea plant. As with garden peas and any other legume, one of the very notable things about peanut plants is their ability to absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere, transport it to their roots, and “fix” it in the soil. Peanut plants are wonderful revitalizers of the soil.

Myth #2: Many people know that peanuts grow underground and, as a result, reason that the brown edible morsels must be part of the root system.
The Facts: While it is true that peanuts are harvested from the soil, peanuts are not part of the root system of the peanut plant; they are the fruit that result from it’s reproductive processes. The botanical name of peanuts - Arachis hypogaea - describes the nature of the plant perfectly; “Arachis” refers to plants with yellow pea flowers and pods that ripen below the surface of the soil, and “hypogaea” further enforces the interesting way that peanut fruits ripen: “underground.” Peanut plants begin growing just like most other legumes: they sprout from a seed, grow a leafy top, and, when mature enough, produce flowers. Having the ability to reproduce without a partner, self-fertile peanuts pollinate themselves. Once the peanut flower has been fertilized, the peanut plant forces the flower stalk to grow quickly. It elongates to the point that the fertilized ovary (or “pod”) touches and is driven into the ground. Aided by hot weather, ample rains, and adequate nutrition, ripe peanut fruit are ready to be pulled from the ground approximately 100 days after flowering.

Myth #3: Peanuts are bad for you; that’s why people are becoming allergic to them.
The Facts: Peanuts are one of the most nutrition-packed foods for their size and weight. High in unsaturated fat, full of antioxidants, a good source of fiber and minerals, loaded with protein, and replete with over 30 essential nutrients, peanuts are one of the most inexpensive, healthiest foods on the world market. The unfortunate fact that allergies are rising, in Canada and other developed countries, has been a source of intense study for the scientific and medical communities. Along with focus on issues of air quality and peanut crop over-regulation (peanuts are one of the most regulated – meaning treated with pesticides – crops in the world), there has been a real interest in the North American tendency to over-protect our children from dirt and pathogens. The current leading theory in regards to peanut allergies (as with many other allergies) is that we as a society have insulated our young children so much from bacteria, fungi, and viruses that the immune systems of our youngsters have not been allowed to develop properly and as a result mistakenly detect harmless substances as dangerous; allergic reactions therefore develop. Researchers have coined this explanation to the rising trend of allergies as the “hygiene hypothesis.”

Myth #4: Hundreds of people in Canada die from peanut allergies each year.
The Facts: Approximately 100 people do die from allergies in a given year in Canada, but not uniquely from peanuts; rather, the statistic represents the mortality rate for all food allergies combined. Where there is an estimated 54% of the population that suffers from one allergen or another, only 1.1% suffer from peanut allergies (the number is slightly higher in children at 1.2%, and 20% of these children outgrow the allergy by age 6.) Concern over the rising number of peanut allergies is also somewhat over-reported: the fact of the matter is that all allergies are on the rise in developed nations. The increased percentages relative to peanut allergies may well be attributed to the fact that peanut consumption has also risen significantly over the past decade.

Peanuts are a wonderful food for those that can tolerate them. Amazing nutritional attributes and inexpensive cultivation make these legumes invaluable the world around. Although developed countries are experiencing rising food allergy rates, including peanut sensitivities, there is much research underway that aims to unlock the inner workings of the immune system so that we can develop adequate and effective antidotes and immunizations to allergens. Along with being delicious and healthy, peanuts are fun and rewarding to grow. Start raw peanut seed indoors in April and transplant into a large outdoor pot in May; you will enjoy fresh peanuts come August!

Fishing for the Big One!

I have two adolescent boys. Along with an undying love for sports, a burning passion for music, and quite the bent on becoming the funniest guy in the room, these boys love to fish. And by love to fish I really mean that they are obsessed. It doesn’t matter the time of year, where we are, or how long we are going to be there: if there is a patch of open water with a chance of fish below, the sky of possibility is opened and conversation turns to fish species, lures, reels, rods, and ultimately the best way to hunt the next family dinner. I asked them the other day if they knew much about Alberta’s fish, their diets, and their habitats, and found myself surprisingly impressed by their answers. Take the following quiz about fish in our area and see how you do!

1) Q: Where do fish in Alberta live?
A: Fish can live anywhere there is suitable habitat that includes good quality water, an agreeable food source, and protection from predators and the elements. This includes streams, rivers, lakes, irrigation canals, and, when maintained, man-made ponds and dugouts. When it comes to long-term species survival, however, it gets a bit more complicated. Depending upon the species, some fish need to migrate and have their own spawning grounds.

2) Q: What do fish in local streams, rivers, and lakes eat?
A: If you guessed plants, you are kind of right! Fish actually eat a varied diet, with the seeming mantra “if it moves and is smaller than me, take a bite.” The larger the fish, the larger the lunch: tiny fish feed on zoo and phytoplankton. Small fish feed on zoo and phytoplankton, small invertebrates, and tiny fish. Medium-sized fish feed on all of the above plus small fish, etc. As the fish size increases, so does its ability to eat larger and larger specimens. Plants are important to the diets of fish less as a direct food source but more as a home to the animals that fish like to eat. The notable exception to this is the triploid grass carp, which is a voracious plant eater; so much so in fact, that it has evolved pharyngeal teeth to aid in ripping leaves. This fish species is being used in a limited way in Alberta as a test to control weeds in dugouts and ponds. These fish are so invasive that they all must be sterilized prior to being released into any water environment; introduction into lakes and waterways is not practical for this reason.

3) Q: How many types of fish are there in Alberta?
A: Unbeknownst to most, there are several dozens of fish species that call Alberta waters home. While there are approximately 20 different species of fish commonly sought after by anglers for sport fishing, there are also over 40 other species that are not as illustrious (minnows, etc). While most species are native, there are a few non-natives that have been introduced, such as rainbow trout.

4) Q: What happens to fish when the water freezes over in winter?
A: It’s a Winter Wonderland down there! Thanks to water’s very unusual habit of hydrogen bonding, ice is less dense than water and actually floats. (Compare this with the behavior of most substances, where the solid state of the material is denser and thus heavier than the liquid state; the solid state will not float on the liquid state.) Fish lower their metabolic rates and simply travel to lower depths where the water is warmer.

5) Q: Is all fishing in Alberta for sport?
A: Although sport fishing is the largest sector of fishing in Alberta (with approximately 19 million fish caught – and most released – annually by sport anglers in the province), we also have a substantial commercial fisheries market. Harvesting in excess of 1.2 million kg of fish per year, most fish caught commercially are consumed by the local market; the rest is marketed through the Government of Canada Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. According to RAMP (Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program), species typically fished commercially are “whitefish, northern pike, lake trout, and walleye, … cisco, burbot, and sucker species.”

Enjoying the outdoors and taking an afternoon off to go fishing is a great pastime no matter what the season. More than just throwing a line in the water, however, there is a growing recognition of the importance of fish not only to the economy but also to our local ecosystems. Support, protect, enjoy, harvest, and revitalize; these are all noble and practical goals for maintaining fish populations and fisheries, both in Alberta and beyond. Octogenarians Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau had it right when they starred in Grumpy Old Men: fishing as part of the job? Sounds too good to be true!

Amazing World Safety Net

Envision an enormous concrete vault tunneled into the side of a mountain in the middle of practically no-where, the insides of which store fantastic riches. More valuable than gold, more complicated than the most advanced nano-technology, and as promising as a rainbow after a storm, these goods have the ability to save mankind from an uncertain fate after a traumatic or even cataclysmic world event. Almost completely automated and technologically sound, the vault, it’s creation, and contents are not the brainchild of some scheming mastermind whose directive is to rule the world. No, this vault has been conceived, constructed, and stocked as a result of a multinational consortium. Sound way too futuristic, way too peaceful, and entirely too good to be true?

Well it isn’t – if you haven’t already been made aware, I introduce you to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Opened in 2008 by an association of the Norwegian government, Global Crop Diversity Trust, and Nordic Genetic Research Center, this amazing vault is housed in the side of a sandstone mountain on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen near the Norwegian city of Longyearbyen. Stocked with over 500 000 food crop seed samples of various varieties (sample size is 500 seeds per variety), the vault has the capacity to store a staggering 2.25 billion individual seeds, representing 1.5 million varieties. It is a testament to a growing, cooperative movement of governments worldwide interested in protecting global food supply, as this storage facility has been quickly amassing deposits from around the world. From wheat to sorghum to rice to maize to potatoes and more, the current seed stock represents approximately 1/3 of the world’s most significant food crop genetics; more countries continue to contribute year over year.

Intended to preserve our ability to feed the world after any tumultuous event such as extreme weather, crop mismanagement, earthquakes, climate change, etc., the vault has some impressive features. Being dug into the Arctic permafrost far from any continental plate boundaries (i.e. minimal tectonic activity) allows a stable environment. Coolers that house the seeds are kept at –18 degrees Celsius; even in the case of a power outage or disruption, it would take several weeks for the cooler chambers to warm to the already cool –3 degree Celsius of the surrounding permafrost bedrock. Minimal oxygen-interaction in the vault (to reduce chance of metabolic activation of the seeds) is achieved through the length of the entrance tunnel to the storage area and design of the airlocks. The vault has been excavated at a height of 130m above sea level; if the sea level were to rise (as a result of melting glaciers and ice caps, for example), the vault and seeds inside would not be affected. Even the vault layout makes it uninviting to interested intruders: there are locks through the main entrance and long tunnel leading to the vault; entrance directly into the storage area via the surface would entail digging through metres upon metres of bedrock, a timely endeavor that would allow law enforcement to be alerted.

One of the most interesting, come-of-age projects that have surfaced in agriculture in the past century, this genetic repository is not the only one in the world (there are about 1400 other, smaller gene banks worldwide), but it is the most comprehensive, largest, and most multinational. With the noble aim of being the safety net of the biodiversity and food seed supply in the world, countries are encouraged and bolstered by the Vault’s progressive position of acting solely as a safety deposit box. The country that deposits the samples retains all rights to the seeds, and only the depositing country has access to them.

Every once in a while, you come across information that is so interesting and uplifting that you can’t help but say “Wow!” That’s exactly how I felt when I discovered the Svalbard Global Seed Vault a few years ago. With such amazing, far reaching influence, not only in the realm of science but also in societal and global relations, there is little doubt why Time magazine named the Svalbard Global Seed Vault as one of the “Best Inventions of 2008!”