going organic

Very sane argument.

 

I read your links.

The cons listed on this site are only "possibilities" and "not knowns."

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of Monsanto, I personally think the company borders on being more of a terrorist organization than a corporation. Any company that has it's own police force to spy on it's customers should be put out of business via boycotts.

I was merely making the point that genetic modifications are only a short cut to years of cross breeding and the hysteria surrounding it is more of a knee jerk reaction.

However, as with anything else, there is a potential for abuse and there should be government oversight.

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There should be but currently there isn't. The government only seems able to intervene on the side of the corporate interests and that's extremely scary. And excuse me if I don't believe Monsanto can engineer a plant that will end Hebpatitis B.

I am not above buying the latest hybrid plant if it appeals to me for various reasons such as color and form, usually ornamentals , but I am not about to buy into the Monsanto spiel or eat one of their bananas.

 

Sadly that is the system under which we live. I hope you don't think that the farms producing the bulk of the world's food are doing so because they get warm and fuzzy feelings from seeing well-fed healthy families; they do it for profit.

To change this, we need to change our entire economic and social systems.

In Capitalistic systems the bottom line decides whether or not to grow, no profit = no food.

To a greater extent I agree with you, but reality is what it is, and we need to grow more food for a rising population. Personally, I would like to see Monsanto taken over by The Hippie Group™, but Capitalist corporations would eat them alive, pun intended.

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Even if that banana promised to increase male size and virility? You know that's gotta be on the drawing board.

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No in a capitalistic system Monsanto is protected and the South African farmers experienced no profit and no crops. Monsanto continues to profit the rest of the world has to suck it up.

Kind of like a deep water well in the Gulf that was never planned for production but managed to pollute a huge section of our coast and lose the profits of many hard working locals who only sought to harvest what nature provided. Yet the international company that polluted is protected while the locals suffer.

 

Especially then. Never bought into the viagra spiel. Why would I risk going permanently blind for a few moments of fun. And who knows what the side effects of that banana might be. They are probably experimenting on monkeys or apes as we speak. Pleasant thought isn't it?

 

Hmmmm. How many moments, how much fun, and with whom?

The side effects or experimenting on monkeys?


I don't disagree with you at all, but present reality only affords us the luxury of working within the Capitalist system, which I would love to change. For instance, I'm going to town tomorrow and one of my agenda items is to buy some garden supplies. My purchases have already been determined by the marketplace based on which items have been profitable in the past. And, that profit was based on purchases made by decisions based on advertising rather than the reality of their effectiveness or quality.

In the Capitalist world, nothing is as it seems to be, and products are rarely what they are advertised to be.

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It's August what are you buying? Seeds? or did you break your spade? I am looking forward to putting my garden to bed for the winter. Not buying anything to do that. And wouldn't purchase a spade or seeds based on advertising. I'd base my purchases on past experience. Experience is one thing a garden can impart.

 

Dude ! I've got at least 2 more months left in the growing season. I'm going to be harvesting my Stevia in a day or 2, which leaves me a free bed and 2 months, thinking about some corn. I'm getting low on fertilizer and I always start looking for clearance sales this time of the year for next spring. I also need to scout out some materials to rebuild my berm greenhouse for this winter and I need some PVC and fittings to finish my irrigation system in my new beds and the greenhouse.

I buy based on my experience, too; but experience has taught me that just because I bought it last year doesn't mean it will be available this year. Like Cyprus mulch, all I can find now is a Cyprus blend, which is OK I guess, haven't noticed a big difference, but I added in some Cedar this year to see if it would help with insect control, smells good at least.

Since most people do buy based on advertising, availability is determined by their purchases. Take the "Topsy Turvy" tomato pots. A horrible idea that any experienced gardener would cringe at hearing, continues to sell by the millions because they promise car loads of tomatoes for no work.

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Had a friend insist on buying some of those. She was just sure they were the answer to her problems. 3 weeks out they looked like hell. She couldn't keep them watered.

I've still got a few more growing months as well, but I am not planning anything new. Just maintaining and waiting for the first cold snap and an oportunity to kick back and read cheap mysteries. After I clean up.

 

A guinea is not a chicken. They eat bugs and don't bother vegetables like chickens do. A little bit of light scratching is good for your soil, but I don't remember guineas doing much scratching anyway.
Guineas are very flighty and not as easy for a fox to capture.

 

I live in the same area you do and I have a 12 month growing season.

In a few weeks, I will be planting collards, broccoli, parsley, lettuce and onions. The collards will survive the entire winter if I don't eat them up first. Same story for parsley.

Winter gardens are great. As we get into the fall, there will be no bugs, few weeds, ample rain.