NEW CITRUS!! Limequat lakeland American oil beetle

Limequat - Lakeland 

Its been a great week for us here, new shipment of citrus came in, We managed to get our hands on the lakeland limequat which Ive been wanting for some time now. Whenever the limequats come around its usually the eustis, our normal supplier does not carry the lakeland so we were very lucky to find this one available. The next mission will be to source the tarvaes,  part of our goal is to locate old/odd varieties that the industry has neglected, often at times for the oddest reasons, but I digress.

We just added a new berry bush to our collection!! ( cherry red current ) and a rhubarb ( crimson cherry  ). 

It will be interesting to compare the two rhubarbs we have ( Canada red + crimson cherry ) as when I was growing up I never knew there was more then one type.

I stumbled across this little guy the other day ( american oil beetle ), this is the first time Ive seen one, very strange looking thing, almost seemed to stop and watch me as I brought the camera closer, his colour was the most vibrant blue with almost an iridescence as it stumbled quickly along the grass.

American oil beetle

Work has begun on the new greenhouse, pathways have been mulched, hydroponic tomato system is being setup, display racks are full, plants are potted up and most are ready for sale!!.

and to top it all off, we have a week/two of 20c+ weather!. Cant beat that in spring, especially for Canada.

This coming week we will be placing an order with our new sub-tropical fruit tree supplier, as well as sourcing an organic fertilizer we can start to sell + work on our rabbit/chicken shelter. 

Spring is never a boring time round here.

Lakeland Limequat

Oil beetle

American oil beetle + parasitoid 

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Hormone free meat!!!!!! well not really

Hormones in food - Antibiotic food

Now a days with every agri business claiming one thing after another, the hormone issue is one fraught with confusion. While the government has acknowledged the rBST growth hormone to be of concern, they fail to recognize the implications of other so called "natural" growth hormones used and still  taught to farmers today. The most humorous blogs/websites are put up by the government, filled with hypocritical statements like

there has been no evidence that has shown that animals treated with growth hormones are a threat to human health. 

And on the same page write 

Reducing exposure with your food intake

Although growth hormones and antibiotics are considered safe for food production in Canada, consider the following tips to reduce your exposure to these additives:

• Organic foods have fewer traces of antibiotics than non-organic foods.
• Since beef cattle are the only animals that contains growth hormones, consider choosing organic beef instead of conventional beef when you can.
• Thoroughly wash all vegetables and fruit for thirty seconds under running tap water to minimize the intake of antibiotics.

This is all off of the (eat right ontario) website located here 

http://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/Articles/Farming-Food-production/Hormones-and-antibiotics-in-food-production.aspx

And if you would like to look at the alberta agriculture and rural development page, you will clearly see what is being used and taught to "farmers", why they use it and there so called "benefits" in production.

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/beef11691#Introduction

Growth hormones in food

Whether or not these "farmers" are required to state they have used "natural" or synthetic hormones is a whole other question. This should be brought up any time you speak to a farmer, be informed, if you feel any type of pull back or beating around the bush, say thank you and walk away. People who practice good farming methods are happy to talk about what they grow with ( I know I am ).

The old time farmers from the industrial age are lost in a world of herbicides/pesticides/ growth hormones/antibiotics/ and petroleum. IMO This should not be called farming, this is a disgrace to the name. All it has done is wrecked our land, seeds and health, giving rise to corporations like Monsanto and Dow chemical. 

Farmers??  you dont deserve the name.

This post will be more towards growth hormones with a follow up on antibiotic use.

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