Medicinal AUS 20 by Garden Culture Magazine

AUSTRALIA EDITION · ISSUE 20 · 2021

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CONTENTS

THE 50 STENCH OF POWER:

IF WE LET SCIENCE WIN

MAKING COMFREY TEA

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHTS

WHO’S GROWING WHAT WHERE BY JESSE SINGER

80,000-60,000 BC Neandert

Medicinal Plants I N TH IS ISSU E O F GA R D EN C U LT U R E :

In 1960, archaeologists exploring the Sh in Iraq discovered a Neanderthal Bu dated back about 60,000 to 80,000 y they found there was a body that had with eight different species of medicina

Pictorial Evidence

9 Foreword

46 5 Cool Ways To Prepare Plants As Medicine

10 Author Spotlight

48 Growing Monster Plants Organically

12 Product Spotlights

56 Growing A Garden For Health and Well-Being

16 Medicinal Plants - A Timeline

25,000-13,00

On the walls of the Lascaux Caves in France, scientists discovered the first pictorial evidence of herbal medicine. Radiocarbon dating placed the creation of the images somewhere between 25,000 and 13,000 BC.

In 1991, the body of the was discovered in the Sw body dated back years, and strun waist was th Piptoporus b fungus is thought tentially to trea parasites strung aro man’s waist).

3000 BC Willow Bark

A stone tablet of medicinal remedies dating back to the Third Dynasty of UR (in what today is part of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Iran) lists willow bark among them.

64 Get Better Fruits By Understanding Roots

24 After The Rain, Comes The Nice Weather

68 The Stench Of Power: Making Comfrey Tea

28 The Rights Of Nature

74 Who’s Growing What Where

34 Reservoir Tank Troubles

76 Chitin: The Secret To Organic Gardening

38 Touring a Medical Cannabis Facility

78 If We Let Science Win

FOREWORD & CREDITS

FOREWORD

t took our ancestors thousands of years to discover and record the medicinal proper ties of herbs. Historically, from ancient Chinese secrets to your Grandma’s special

tea for cold and flu season, medicinal plants have been an integral par t of human life. Unfor tunately, over the past 100 years or so, we have drifted from the natural sciences and now rely on modern medicine and doctors’ advice to aid what ails us. Don’t get me wrong; medicine today can play an integral role in our health and well-being. However, it is no secret that a healthy diet and regular exercise prevents illness. Taking advantage of nature’s most potent plants to improve our health makes sense.

So many great plants and the knowledge on how to use them exist in every corner of this world. All you have to do is find them. Comfrey has been healing people for over 2,000 years and is also used to make one of the most powerful plant-based elixers for your gardens. Martyna Krol tells the whole stinky story in The Stench Of Power: Making Comfrey Tea. Once you have found them or grown them, 5 Cool Ways To Prepare Plants As Medicine by Catherine Sheriffs will help begin your healing with plants. Dr Callie Seaman tours a medical cannabis facility in Denmark and continues her fight to bring this miraculous plant out of the shadows and into UK mainstream medicine. In the first piece of fiction ever to appear in Garden Culture, Everest Fernandez takes a look into one of our potential futures where the corporate state controls our caloric intake and our minds. Is it good, bad, or just downright scary? You be the judge.

CREDITS SPECI A L TH A N KS TO: Anne Gibson, Catherine Sherriffs, Cody J Garrett-Tait, Dr Callie Seaman, Evan Folds, Everest Fernandez, Jesse Singer, Martyna Krol, and Rich Hamilton. PRESIDENT Eric Coulombe eric@gardenculturemagazine.com +1-514-233-1539 E XECU T I V E ED I TO R Celia Sayers celia@gardenculturemagazine.com +1-514-754-1539 ED I TO R Catherine Sherriffs cat@gardenculturemagazine.com DESIGN Job Hugenholtz job@gardenculturemagazine.com D I G I TA L & SO CI A L M A R K E T I N G CO O R D I N ATO R Serena Sayers serena@gardenculturemagazine.com +1-514-754-0062 ADVERTISING ads@gardenculturemagazine.com PUBLISHER 325 Media INC 44 Hyde Rd., Mille-Isles QC, Canada J0R 1A0 GardenCultureMagazine.com ISSN 2562-3583 (PRINT) ISSN 2562-3591 (ONLINE) Garden Culture is published six times a year, both in print and online.

We hope you enjoy this edition; happy gardening.

Eric 3

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D I ST R I B U T I O N PA R T N ER S • WHG • HY-GEN • Stealth Garden Supplies

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GA R D EN CU LT U R E M AGA Z I N E.CO M

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT

Resistance is fertile.

Author Spotlight

Everest Fernandez

llow us to introduce you to one of Garden Culture’s many fantastic contributors, Everest

Fernandez. He’s a veteran hydroponic grower and knows everything there is to know about the industry, educating us with humour and wit in every issue. Let’s get to know him a little better, shall we?

What’s your growing motto? Resistance is fer tile. What is your favourite plant? I promise I’m not ducking this question, but I’m not a “favourites” sor t of guy. As I live deep in the countryside in French Catalonia, I primarily grow the vegetables and culinary herbs that are difficult to source locally. Cilantro and chillies feature regularly, as I enjoy cooking spicy Asian dishes. Cilantro works great in soilless potting mixes as I can “treat them mean” with a low EC to bring out the flavours. Chillies are super tough and forgiving—I prefer mild to medium varieties—it’s always flavour over heat for me. Choy Sum is another great vegetable for cooler grow rooms. You can eat the whole plant, stems, leaves and flowers, it doesn’t take long to reach harvest, and it’s packed full of nutrition. What is your preferred growing method? You can’t beat the simplicity of a 70/30 coco/perlite mix in a fivegallon fabric pot for fast-growing, heavy fruiting annuals with nice yin yang of secondary metabolites. Oh—hang on—yes you can! NFT! No irrigation cycles to dial in. No run-off to manage and test. No blocked drippers. No shifting huge volumes of water around as with ebb and flow. Next to no growing media needed. No repotting. As long as you don’t rush the propagation stage (and have plugs or blocks bursting with roots!), you can place them into the system, 10

and they go crazy. Arguably, you need to keep an extra close eye on air temperature as the roots don’t have much insulation, but if your room is more or less dialled in, NFT is a great option. My go-to NFT system for home growers is the GT424 by Nutriculture. Where would you like to travel? Historically, I’ve travelled a lot. But these days, just the thought of spending several hours in a pressurised container with a sweaty mask inhibiting my breathing is enough to dampen any lingering wanderlust—let alone being forcefully penetrated on arrival by some uniformed zealot with a swab test. If I could fire up the old teleporter, I would set the destination to Cape Maclear, Lake Malawi, camp out there for a few days, and then travel overland to the Mozambican coast. Once I’m done there, I’ll head down via Zimbabwe to eSwatini and then stow myself away on a boat to Madagascar to investigate its incredible fauna and flora. Do you listen to any podcasts? Grand Theft World (grandtheftworld.com) 3

Are you interested in writing for Garden Culture Magazine? We’d love to hear from you! Send us an email introducing yourself with a sample of your work. editor@gardenculturemagazine.com

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GROWING PRODUCTS

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GROWING PRODUCTS

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BY JESSE SINGER

Medicinal Plants Plants arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just pretty things we put on our window sills. From the earliest prehistoric times, humans have been exploring the medicinal and curative properties of the plants around them. And while herbalism today has both strong supporters and detractors in the medical community and beyond, many of the drugs you have in your medicine cabinet right now are derived from synthesising one plant or another. Explore the history of it all in this timeline of medicinal plants.

MEDICINAL PLANTS - A TIMELINE

80,000-60,000 BC Neanderthal Cave In 1960, archaeologists exploring the Shanidar Cave in Iraq discovered a Neanderthal Burial site that dated back about 60,000 to 80,000 years. What they found there was a body that had been buried with eight different species of medicinal plants.

Pictorial Evidence

25,000-13,000 BC

In 1991, the body of the Otzi Iceman was discovered in the Swiss Alps. The body dated back some 5,300 years, and strung around its waist was the birch fungi Piptoporus betulinus. The fungus is one that is thought to have potentially been used to treat intestinal parasites (why it was strung around the Icemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s waist).

5100 BC The Otzi Iceman

3000 BC Willow Bark

A stone tablet of medicinal remedies dating back to the Third Dynasty of UR (in what today is part of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Iran) lists willow bark among them.

The Ebers Papyrus

1550 BC

The Ebers Papyrus is one of the most important medical papyri of ancient Egypt. It contains information on over 850 medicinal plants, including cannabis, juniper, aloe, mandrake and, once again, willow bark.

Rigveda

The Rigveda is one of the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism, known as the Vedas. These Sanskrit writings detail much of the medical knowledge that became the basis of the Ayurveda system of medicine - a holistic practice that promotes herbal medication as well as lifestyle practices including yoga, meditation, and more.

1500-1200 BC Hippocrates “The Father of Medicine”, Hippocrates (the Hippocratic oath), classified hundred of herbs and also developed a system of diagnosis and prognosis using herbs.

60 AD

460-380 BC

De Materia Medica Written by Dioscorides, De Materia Medica is a unique five-volume text discussing some 500 plants and the preparation of about 1,000 simple drugs. It was the standard text for the next 1,500 years.

200-250 Shennong Ben Cao Jing

(The Divine Farmer’s Classic of Herbalism)

Shennong Ben Cao Jing is a Chinese book on agriculture and medicinal plants written sometime between 200 and 250. The book is often credited to Emperor Shennong who lived thousands of years before the book’s publication (research suggests that the book is a compilation of oral traditions). The book names over 250 plants and their medicinal properties. It is said that Shennong tasted all of the herbs himself to determine their medical value.

The First Apothecary 754 18

Scientist Jaber Ibn Hayyan managed the first apothecary in history, which opened in Baghdad in 754 AD, offering herbal, as well as some chemical remedies. The growth of apothecaries spread through the Muslim world and made their way to the Western world, appearing in England by the 1300s.

MEDICINAL PLANTS - A TIMELINE

Account of the Foxglove and Some of Its Medical Uses 1785

In 1975, Dr William Withering had a patient suffering from dropsy caused by heart failure. Traditional medicine wasn’t working, but when the patient’s family gave him a herbal brew from an old family recipe, he started getting better. Dr Withering examined the mixture and determined that foxglove was the most crucial herb in the formula. This led to him publishing, “Account of the Foxglove and Some of Its Medical Uses” in 1785, providing over 200 examples of foxglove successfully treating dropsy and heart failure.

1804 Morphine In the 1800s, pain was mostly treated with opium. One problem with that was there was very little consistency in the quality. So, while it might work for some, if a patient got a bad batch, their pain would not be quelled at all. But in 1804, after months of experimenting, German pharmacist, Frederich Serturner, was able to extract morphine from the opium poppy - making it the first drug/alkaloid ever isolated from a plant.

New Guide to Health; or Botanic Family Physician

1822

This is a book written by self-taught American herbalist and botanist, Samuel Thomson. Thomson developed the alternative system of medicine known as “Thomsonian Medicine”, which became quite popular in the 1800s. The book New Guide to Health; or Botanic Family Physician provided people with ways to prepare plant and herbal medicines at home - rather than spend money on overpriced conventional medicine and doctors. To quote from the book: “One ounce of the emetic herb, two ounces of cayenne, one-half pound bay-berry root bark in powder, one pound poplar bark, one pint of the rheumatic drops. This stock will be sufficient for a family for one year, with such articles as they can easily procure themselves when wanted, and will enable them to cure any disease which a family of common size may be afflicted with during that time. The expenses will be small and much better than to employ a doctor, and have his extravagant bill to pay.”

1826 Merck

The pharmaceutical company begins commercially extracting purified alkaloids from medicinal plants.

Salicin 1852 Scientists synthesise salicin, an active ingredient in willow bark, for the first time.

1899 Aspirin Drug company Bayer modifies salicin into a milder form of acetylsalicylic acid and Aspirin is born.

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MEDICINAL PLANTS - A TIMELINE

1910

Flexner Report Abraham Flexner’s report was a landmark report criticising the process of medical education in North America. In the aftermath of the report, there were sweeping changes made - including the closing of Eclectic Medical Schools (where they studied and practised botanical medicine). This had the effect of pushing herbalism into the “alternative medicine” realm, which is how it is still usually referred to today.

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong officially founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949. One of the first things Chairman Mao did was reintroduce Traditional Chinese Medicine (a practice that is heavily reliant on herbalism) into the Chinese healthcare system.

1949

1954 Vinblastine Canadian physician, Dr Robert Noble, and Canadian Organic Chemist, Dr Charles T. Beer, successfully isolated the “vinblastine” alkaloid extract from the Madagascar Periwinkle plant. Vinblastine blocks cell division and as such has anti-cancer abilities. This was a landmark in cancer chemotherapy.

The act takes away the authority of The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate vitamins, herbs and other food-based products and herbal supplements.

1995

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act

1994

Billions of Dollars Estimates put the sales of herbal products in the United States at $5.1 billion. And in China, herbal medicine manufacturing reached USD 2.5 billion.

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MEDICINAL PLANTS - A TIMELINE

Quality control methods for medicinal plant materials

1998:

The World Health Organization published the Quality control methods for medicinal plant materials to establish qualifications and standards of herbal medicines.

2002 50,000 Plants The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that over 50,000 medicinal plants are being used around the world.

Sales in China 2005 21st Century 80% of the Population

Sales of herbal products in China reach USD 14 billion.

The WHO estimates that up to 4 billion people living in the developing world (making up about 80% of the world population) rely on herbal medicinal products as a primary source of healthcare.

Sources: • • • • • •

History of Medicinal Plants (longdom.org) bit.ly/2JIjUAx De Materia Medica (britannica.com) bit.ly/36STt44 Morphine’s Modest Origin (The Hospitalist) bit.ly/37HG2TJ Historical Review of Medicinal Plants’ Usage (NCBI Resources) bit.ly/36PZJte An Early Timeline Of Herbal Medicine (monicawild.com) bit.ly/3qB99Rb Herbs In History (planetnatural.com) bit.ly/37DMUBo

• • • • •

Ayurveda (Health Link BC) bit.ly/37HGYrd Classics Of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine) bit.ly/37JteMl The Flexner Report - 100 Years Later (NCBI Resources) bit.ly/33OeYkf Herbal Medicine - A Growing Field With A Long Tradition (NCBI Resources) bit. ly/3mSoYRi Charles Beer (Canadian Medical Hall of Fame) bit.ly/2VRaoNP

BIO

Jesse grew up obsessed with movies and so it only makes sense that he graduated from McGill University with a degree in Political Science. He then put that degree to good use with a job at a video store. After that, he spent months backpacking around Europe - a continent that he has been back to visit many times since. Jesse is super curious and loves to learn and explore new subjects. For the last 15+ years, he has been writing online for a number of different sites and publications covering everything from film and television to website reviews, dating and culture, history, news, and sports. He’s worn many hats - which is ironic because he actually loves wearing hats and he has many different ones.

BY CATHERINE SHERRIFFS

After The Rain,

Comes The

Nice Weather

he smell of a forest after it rains evokes a sense of peace and tranquillity. Warm, almost sweet, and

incredibly earthy, the aroma has been studied by scientists and perfumers for years (1). The fragrance results from rain hitting the dry ground and the molecule geosmin, which is produced by bacteria. The scent’s scientific name is petrichor, but Quebecer Aurélien Pochard doesn’t think that word rolls off the tongue quite right. So, he decided to name his artisanal cannabis farm Après La Pluie, which translates to After The Rain in English.

Pochard’s organic cannabis farm sits in the picturesque Eastern Townships, a lovely piece of mountainous countryside with plenty of lakes in Quebec, Canada

AFTER THE RAIN

You know how they say cannabis is a gateway drug? It is, but to agriculture But the name is also a symbolic one. There is a famous saying in France that goes, “Après la pluie vient le beau temps,” meaning, after the rain, comes the nice weather. Pochard says the proverb speaks to his farm and everything the cannabis plant has been subjected to over the years. “I didn’t think of it when I first chose the name of the farm, but people seem to connect it to 100 years of prohibition and that it’s now getting better,” he explains.

The smell of a forest after it rains evokes a sense of peace and tranquillity. Warm, almost sweet, and incredibly earthy, the aroma has been studied by scientists and perfumers for years

The outlook is cer tainly looking good for the cannabis plant, which is becoming more widely accepted and appreciated for its medicinal proper ties. When Pochard first decided to star t farming, the plant was not yet legal in Canada, so he grew organic vegetables instead. But in October 2018, the government legalised the recreational use of cannabis, and while Pochard’s girlfriend has continued with the veggie plot, he decided to change course. Pochard’s organic cannabis farm sits in the picturesque Eastern Townships, a lovely piece of mountainous countryside with plenty of lakes in Quebec, Canada. And although the operation is just star ting, Pochard’s love affair with cannabis is nothing new. He grew up in a city in the South of France; although many family members are connected to the vineyard industry, he didn’t have a garden or farm at his home.

Press, hope to lead a six to eightperson team one day. Small-scale farming at its best. While remaining a small, ar tisanal grower is a large par t of his vision, Pochard also wants to set his farm apar t by growing his plants strictly outdoors.

“We see a lot of high tech greenhouses and even warehouses for indoor growing, and I’m fine with that,” he says. “But it’s more of a consequence of prohibition than anything. So, as soon as you legalise the plant, it just means that you’re opening the doors to bringing it outside again.”

Alla Malyezyk, owner of cannabis PR company Fresh Press

“The first oppor tunity I had to grow a plant was to grow cannabis in my basement; as soon as I left my parents’ home,” he laughs. “I loved it. It’s an odd feeling; discovering [how to care for] a plant is something amazing, akin to having an animal to take care of for the first time.” After moving to the Canadian city of Montreal a few years ago, he and his girlfriend decided they wanted to jump into the world of hor ticulture. Pochard credits the cannabis plant he had growing in his basement in France for piquing his interest in farming. “It star ted with cannabis, which led to agriculture,” he says. “You know how they say cannabis is a gateway drug? It is, but to agriculture.”

Artisanal, All-Natural Cannabis His dream is to grow differently from what is typically seen in the world of cannabis. He wants his product to remain local, something he realised there was a real demand for while working par t-time last year at the SQDC, Quebec’s licensed cannabis distributor. He and his par tner, Alla Malyezyk, the owner of a cannabis PR company called Fresh

Aurélien Pochard, owner of artisanal cannabis farm Après La Pluie

Growing organically in living soil, Pochard depends on the natural sunlight for his fields of cannabis. Much like food crops, he believes that exposing plants to the elements in an eco-friendly way results in a bettertasting and healthier product. “As soon as you bring them into a natural environment, they’re going to pull on hidden resources and play on whatever life is in the soil,” he says. “Plants have grown successfully outdoors for millions of years before we had to bring them indoors. They have the skills to make it outdoors, and cannabis is a tough plant as well.”

Property and Plant Selection

Cover crops are also essential to helping soil life thrive, and Pochard always has living plants in the ground; when cannabis isn’t growing, crops like oats and peas are

Apès La Pluie is in Bedford, just across the street from the vegetable farm Pochard star ted with his girlfriend. The area sits between a river and a forest of maple trees and is the ideal microclimate for growing cannabis in the harsh Quebec climate. Surrounded by mountains and Lake Champlain, summers in the region are typically hot; the first frost hits quite late in the fall, and the winters are relatively mild. The proper ty is about an hour outside of Montreal, and yet storms that hit the big city often miss Bedford completely. Several vineyards also benefit from the unique weather patterns in the area known as La Route des Vins (Wine Route).

AFTER THE RAIN

Much like food crops, he believes that exposing plants to the elements in an eco-friendly way results in a better-tasting and healthier product Although cannabis plants are naturally robust, Pochard also selects more conducive strains to Quebec’s short and sometimes temperamental growing season. While he’s still in the process of obtaining his recreational growing license from Health Canada, he has been growing medical cannabis on the same property for some time, which has allowed him to do quite a bit of research and development. The master grower knows he needs varieties that flower early and are resistant to the mould and diseases caused by humidity. He also seeks to stagger his harvest throughout the season, but nothing past October when the weather turns cold. Pochard has trialled some strains that have turned out to be disasters, but he has also found some real winners in the process, often plants with tropical backgrounds in their genetics. “There’s a strain I love that’s called Nepal Jam,” he explains. “It’s a cross between a Nepalese strain, so it has all the resistance to frost, to cold, to changes in temperature that a mountain strain will have, but it’s crossed with a Jamaican strain. And that Jamaican strain brings resistance to the high humidity jungle environment.”

Organic Growing Beyond testing various strains, Pochard is also perfecting his organic growing practices. He doesn’t use any chemical inputs on the five-acre property he is leasing. Being in a wet climate, he says he struggles with botrytis, a common disease that also affects strawberries and grapes. “Instead of using chemicals to kill the pathogen, the idea is to cover the plant with other microorganisms,” Pochard explains. “They interact with the plant and essentially become their bodyguards.”

When The Cold Sets In When the outdoor growing season comes to a close, Après La Pluie will turn its focus to the production of hashish, something Pochard says helps him connect with his family’s roots in France’s wine industry. Like how grapes must age before they can be turned into wine, harvesting cannabis plants and knowing it’s not the final product is an exciting prospect for Pochard.

The Very Near Future Après La Pluie is in the midst of the application process, and Pochard says Health Canada’s guidelines for cannabis farms are reasonably straightforward. Before obtaining the license, he and his partner must build the drying, processing, and packaging buildings on the property along with a security fence, cameras, and sensors. He’s scheduled to start building next summer and hopes to have products on the shelves within two years. His excellent reputation as a medicinal grower has helped him immensely. The SQDC has already signed an agreement with Pochard saying that it will buy his product for sale at local outlets closest to his farm once he’s fully-licensed. There’s a delicate balance between doing something small-scale and artisanal and still having a profitable business model. But Pochard is confident he can make it work. By keeping it local, he hopes people will get to know their cannabis farmer. And by working with nature and growing organically, Pochard believes he can enhance each plant’s potential, aroma, and flavour. Both the environment and the consumer win; a perfect combination. For Après La Pluie, nicer weather is certainly on its way. 3

As on all organic farms, Après La Pluie focuses on feeding the soil, not the plants. Blue powders are replaced with compost and algae. Pochard says he enjoys using products from the sea, including crab and kelp meal, excellent for keeping the plant healthy until harvest. Cover crops are also essential to helping soil life thrive, and Pochard always has living plants in the ground; when cannabis isn’t growing, crops like oats and peas are. “From irrigation schedules and the type of fertilisation to the best way to trellis a plant in Quebec, I’ve learned a lot about the different methods that fit my site, my climate, and the way I like to grow,” he says.

Source: Petrichor: Why Does Rain Smell So Good? (BBC News) bbc. in/2KhZLBs

Catherine is a Canadian award-winning journalist who worked as a reporter and news anchor in Montreal’s radio and television scene for 10 years. A graduate of Concordia University, she left the hustle and bustle of the business after starting a family. Now, she’s the editor and a writer for Garden Culture Magazine while also enjoying being a mom to her two young kids. Her interests include great food, gardening, fitness, animals, and anything outdoors.

Bio

BY EVAN FOLDS

RIGHTS OF NATURE

“In the seed and the soil, we find the answers to every one of the crises we face. The crises of violence and war. The crises of hunger and disease. The crisis of the destruction of democracy.” - Dr Vandana Shiva

oil is the basis of Nature, the source of alchemy that sustains the wonder of life as we know it, and the answer to what ails us. The lack of reverence we show for the living soil in our approach to agriculture is a perfect parable for understanding the stress we are experiencing towards our way of life, and its

regenerative capacity the ideal lesson for the way forward.

There is a growing recognition that we must fundamentally change the relationship between humans and Nature. However, our actions are not enough; we need a massive systems overhaul, and if it comes to it, a second American revolution. It need not be violent, but to be effective, it must be radical.

is not broken; it is working exactly as it was intended. The British Empire has violently invaded 117 different countries during its existence. Sixty-five counties celebrate their independence from England. Historically, before Britain invaded and occupied another sovereign nation, they first created a “crown corporation”, like the East India Company or the Africa Company, to make their pillaging legal. The 13 colonies that first established the New World in America were themselves all crown corporations chartered by the British monarchs, like the Pennsylvania Company and Massachusetts Bay Company.

There is a growing recognition that we must fundamentally change the relationship between humans and Nature

Our lakes and rivers are dead and dying; we live in cancer clusters with 1 in 2 people now developing cancer in their lifetime. We even establish “sacrifice zones” in low-income and minority communities, where entire geographic areas that have been permanently impaired by environmental damage are forfeited. The devolution of life on Earth is crippling us, compounding upon itself and getting worse, and while most can see it, collectively we feel powerless to change it. Why is it that most people can sit around the kitchen table and identify what is wrong with the world, and even how to fix it, yet nothing ever changes? Our attempts at generating solution tend to chase symptoms, tepid efforts that seem to appease most of the masses, but ultimately, serve to dilute the righteous indignation required for meaningful fundamental and lasting change. The first step towards the abundance that the Earth can bring is to identify that the root of the challenges we face lies in our legal framework. The law does not define our actions; it guides them, as they did for the generations that refused suffrage to women, or denied fundamental human rights to people of colour. We are not bound by our laws, and if they do not serve us, we must break them. The system that we live under today is constructed to support political parties and profit, not people. There is a growing consensus around this reality and a general understanding that this is a new phenomenon with the Supreme Court decisions of Citizens United and Hobby Lobby fresh on our minds. But the sociopolitical malady at play here runs deeper to the origins of our democracy. In other words, the system

These corporations ran American colonies with ruthless powers of monopoly and violence, which generated great resentment against British rule and sparked the first American revolution. It was Thomas Jefferson that said, “I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country.” After the American Revolution, corporations were explicitly mandated as the subordinates of people. Their charters were written by a state legislature and included several prohibitions and requirements, such as provisions to obey all laws, to serve the common good, and to cause no harm. But that all changed in 1819, when the Supreme Court in Dartmouth College v. Woodward delivered for the ruling elite and decided that a corporation is a private contract and not public law. The decision altered the legal relationship between our government and business corporations. From that day since, it has continued to strengthen the posture of corporations over the rights of “We the People”. We now live in a corporate state protected by a corporate veil that shields from liability a small minority of ruling elite perpetuating power over the masses through what amounts to legal coercion. In effect, we don’t have environmental problems from fracking or toxic pollution; we have a de-

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RIGHTS OF NATURE

It is only the beginning; Rights of Nature is here to stay

mocracy problem. If we are to build a just and sustainable world, we need a legal framework that supports this vision; we need a paradigm shift in legal thinking.

The devolution of life on Earth is crippling us, compounding upon itself and getting worse, and while most can see it, collectively we feel powerless to change it

The stakes couldn’t be higher. In the United States, we must come to terms with the reality that representative government does not exist at the local level. Counties and municipalities are held hostage by state preemption laws that tie the hands of local officials and serve to separate any legitimate lever of power so far away from where we live that it leaves us resigned and hopeless. In other words, if we don’t have a democracy where we live, then we don’t have democracy.

Further, our current system of law makes sustainability illegal, instead favouring regulatory agencies that are not designed to protect us, but rather, legalize the destruction of the environment and the pollution of people. The most valuable thing in a community, and what we should be protecting at all costs, are the people. But how are we to accomplish this when our legal system undermines our very source and way of life? Currently, by way of our basic actions, humans dominate and plunder Nature. We somehow justify this reality at the expense of ourselves, undermining the ecological conditions we need to live, threatening our very survival. The legal system is part of the problem, and therefore, must also be part of the solution. We must provide Mother Nature with a legal standing by enacting her legal rights; by activating the “Rights of Nature”.

Environmental law typically protects ecosystems and organisms indirectly by limiting human activity. Rights for Nature would allow her to defend herself and participate directly in our legal system via human representatives. If laws represent a nation’s values, what does it say that the US grants personhood to corporations and not Nature? If a corporation has the same rights as an individual, why can’t an ecosystem? It turns out, it can. Rights of Nature is not just a conceptual idea – it has been implemented into law in a growing number of places around the world. In 2006, Tamaqua Borough, PA, became the first community to enact the Rights of Nature to prevent the dumping of sludge on local farmland. In September 2008, Ecuador became the first country in the world to recognise the Rights of Nature in its constitution. Bolivia followed suit in 2010. In November 2010, the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, became the first major municipality in the United States to recognise the Rights of Nature. The movement is now gaining momentum. In February 2019, more than 60% of participants in a special election in Toledo, OH, voted to establish a Bill of Rights for Lake Erie. The effort was initiated after a toxic algal bloom created by fertiliser and manure runoff from upstream farms shut down Toledo’s water supply in 2014. Ohio has a right-to-farm law, which dramatically limits the people’s ability to win lawsuits against farm pollution. Federally, the Clean Water Act has long exempted most agricultural operations from stringent regulations. So the people acted.

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RIGHTS OF NATURE

Rights for Nature would allow her to defend herself and participate directly in our legal system via human representative

If we are to build a just and sustainable world, we need a legal framework that supports this vision; we need a paradigm shift in legal thinking

The documentary films We the People 2.0 and the recently released Invisible Hand chronicle the legal fight of Grant Township, PA against a fracking discharge well targeting their area. In 2014, Grant Township drafted a Community Bill of Rights ordinance prohibiting the dumping of toxic frack waste within their community. They were promptly sued by the fracking corporation, claiming that the ban violated their corporate constitutional rights, and a federal judge proceeded to overturn the ordinance.

In 2015, Grant Township citizens adopted a new Home Rule Charter, a form of a local constitution. They proceeded to pass a law legalising nonviolent direct action to protect the community from frack waste if the courts failed to do so. In a stunning example of the corporate state, in response, they were sued by their own state “environmental protection” agency – the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). But in March of 2020, after a now eight-

year legal battle, there was an extraordinary reversal; the Pennsylvania DEP revoked the permit for the injection well abiding by the status of law in the Township. The case is currently in litigation.

The most recent example of Rights of Nature being utilised to protect people and ecosystems from corporate pollution occurred in the November 2020 election, when Orange County, FL, became the largest municipality in the United States to adopt a Rights of Nature law. A stunning 89% of citizens voted in approval. The amendment gives citizens the right to sue corporate polluters, and they can do so without proving that they have been personally harmed, as state law requires. This demonstrates that an overwhelming bipartisan majority of people in Orange County have lost confidence in a state government and laws do not protect the natural world and the fundamental rights of people. It is only the beginning; Rights of Nature is here to stay. As more and more people become aware of the emerging precedent of Rights of Nature, and the courts become more favourable to the use of the legal instrument, more and more communities and politicians will begin standing up to corporate power. This will start to bring balance to our actions and our world. Either you stand up, or you don’t. If we want to thrive, this is the way. 3

Bio

Evan Folds is a regenerative agricultural consultant with a background across every facet of the farming and gardening spectrum. He has founded and operated many businesses over the years - including a retail hydroponics store he operated for over 14 years, a wholesale company that formulated beyond organic products and vortex-style compost tea brewers, an organic lawn care company, and a commercial organic wheatgrass growing operation. He now works as a consultant in his new project Be Agriculture where he helps new and seasoned growers take their agronomy to the next level.What we think, we grow! Contact Evan at www.BeAgriculture.com or on Facebook and Instagram @beagriculture

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BY RICH HAMILTON

Understanding Reservoir Fluctuations

RESERVOIR TROUBLES

n indoor garden’s success largely depends on the environment, with the nutrient feed being an integral part. The plant’s nutrients are a complex combination of chemical elements that must be prepared correctly. If great care is not taken, the substance can be something very different from what it once was. Growing indoors offers many

advantages, but it also comes with one significant challenge: understanding the chemistry behind everything you are doing.

A Grow Room Story Let’s say you are mixing a nutrient feed for a plant that requires an optimum pH range of between 5.5-6.5 and an EC of between 1.2-2.0. After adding the selected nutrients to clean water in the nutrient tank, you measure the pH, and it is in the range of 5.5, and your EC is around 1.4. Perfect! A day later, you return to check your tank and find that the pH has risen to 7.5, which is no longer in the plant’s optimum range. The EC will also have changed, falling to the low end of the optimum range or out of it; the feed is now weaker. At this point, small rocks will have also formed at the bottom of the tank. How did they get there?

Growing indoors offers many advantages, but it also comes with one significant challenge: understanding the chemistry

Why Did This Happen? This change is the result of naturally-occurring chemical exchanges and reactions. The water source alone can cause a pH fluctuation. All sources of water will contain some level of dissolved CO2, known as carbonic acid. Water from a household tap will have higher levels than most due to the bubbling and frothing in the plumbing system. The change of CO2 into carbonic acid is a reversible reaction, meaning that CO2 can dissolve into and evaporate out of the water at will, affecting the overall pH and EC. While solids are more soluble at higher temperatures, the same is true for gases when colder. When water comes out of the tap, it is cold at around 10°C and full of carbonic acid. However, as the water warms to room temperature or above, the carbonic acid changes back into CO2. It evaporates along with other gases, such as dissolved oxygen and chlorine, reducing the tank’s acidity. This causes the pH to rise and the EC to fall. Leaving tap water to stand for 24 hours stabilises the temperature and pH. This can help matters in the short term but is not enough to ensure the pH remains stable in the long term. If you do not take action every time the temperature fluctuates by more than a few degrees, you will be adding or losing carbonic acid from your water and changing the pH and EC. Smaller tanks and reservoirs heat up and cool down much faster than larger ones. Generally, nutrients are more stable in a large tank, and factors such as temperature, pH levels, and EC are much easier to manage. The presence of algae and bacteria in the tank can also affect pH and EC levels. Lackadaisical cleaning regimes between tank changes and exposure to light or higher temperatures

behind everything you are doing encourage organic matter such as algae and bacteria. When the two come together, irregular fluctuations occur as algae consume carbonic acid in the water. The pH will rise, and bacteria will release acids into the tank, causing pH to drop.

Precipitation When it comes to looking at the solids or sediment lurking at the bottom of the tank, this can be explained as precipitation and can be caused by pH fluctuations. At the same time, the deposit can also cause pH fluctuations. Precipitation is an irreversible chemical reaction where a liquid turns into a solid. In this case, the liquid is the nutrient mix, and the solids are the crystallised lumps at the bottom of the tank or reservoir. Not all sediments will be noticeable, however. Some are so fine that they remain suspended in the liquid and invisible to the naked eye. A pH of more than six can start to affect the dissolvability of many nutrients. If the pH is already too high or too low, this can contribute to individual nutrient precipitation. In this instance, a chemical reaction occurs where one nutrient element reacts badly with the high pH, forms a solid, and becomes impossible for the plant to take up. Incorrect or careless dosing when mixing feed and the mismanagement of the tank’s temperature will also lead to precipitation in the tank. In this situation, a chemical reaction occurs between two or more of the elements causing solids to form and rendering them insoluble to the plant.

RESERVOIR TROUBLES

Keep the tank out of direct sunlight and consider wrapping it in insulation Precipitation may be a consequence of too high or low pH, but it can also be a contributing factor to the problem of fluctuating pH. When specific elements are made unavailable to the plant, the tank’s environment changes. The acidity or alkalinity of what remains, along with the number of available nutrient salts, will both be different, exacerbating the fluctuation in pH and EC. At this point, precipitation will likely continue to occur as the conditions in the tank evolve.

If you do not take action every time the temperature fluctuates by more than a few degrees, you will be

Avoiding Precipitation To avoid precipitation of nutrients, look after the bottles of concentrate. Keep them in a cool, dark place between 10-19°c. Precipitation can occur within the bottles of concentrate before ever being opened if stored incorrectly.

adding or losing carbonic

When mixing nutrients, follow the instructions on the bottle and use clean equipment. Never mix nutrients unless pH and EC it is into a body of water. Some nutrients do not mix well in a concentrated form, and a chemical reaction can occur, which changes their nutritional composition and affects their bioavailability.

acid from your water and changing the

Achieving A Perfect Environment The water source is the first element needing attention. If using tap water, invest in a RO water filter, which will remove almost all impurities. RO water is purified using osmotic pressure with a membrane and is much more efficient at removing contaminants than a generic water filter. Bubbling the water is a good idea, as this increases dissolved oxygen levels and keeps the mixture fresh and cool, thus deterring the growth of algae and bacteria. An airline also encourages dispersing all the nutrient elements in the water, keeping them moving and warding off any possible precipitation. A light-proof tank is essential to prevent the growth of algae. Algae need light, as they use photosynthesis to grow and reproduce. Keep the tank out of direct sunlight and consider wrapping it in insulation. This will also help control temperature. Ideally, store the nutrient mixture at 18-23°c. Direct light will heat the feed, resulting in EC and pH fluctuations. Place the tank in a cool, dark place. Keep the nutrient cool by insulating it and using an air conditioner or fan in the surrounding area. Keep in mind that cold temperatures can be just as damaging to the tank’s environment. If too chilly, consider moving the tank somewhere warmer, keeping it off the floor, insulating it, or turning the heat on.

Add nutrients gradually and stir well to ensure even dispersal. Precipitation often occurs when concentrated nutrients are mixed together too quickly. If adjusting the pH using pH up and down, only do so after adding all the base nutrients and boosters. Be sure never to mix pH up or down together. Keeping the nutrient tank clean is paramount. The nutrient mix can be kept for up to two weeks as long as there is an airline to ensure it is well mixed and kept fresh. Empty the tank when it gets low, clean it thoroughly, and refill with a freshly prepared solution. This will create a stable pH environment and avoid any potential pathogens, algae, or bacterial growth. In indoor growing, we are continually trying to balance a very complex interaction between different nutritional elements, environmental conditions, and our plants. Monitoring temperature, pH, nutrient levels, and water quality forms the basics of achieving perfect harmony. 3

BIO

An industry veteran with over 20 years of experience in a variety of roles, Rich is currently a business development manager for a large UK hydroponics distributor. The author of the Growers Guide book series, Rich also writes on all aspects of indoor gardening. He is also an independent industry consultant, working closely with hydroponic businesses worldwide.

BY DR CALLIE SEAMAN

Cannabis Pharm is a 500 square-metre, custom-built, climate-controlled, closed-loop facility

Jacob is Cannabis Pharmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Extraction Specialist, and Dr Callie Seaman

MEDICINAL CANNABIS

Medicinal Cannabis Production and Cultivation Dr Callie Seaman walks us through a medicinal cannabis cultivation and production facility located in Denmark as part of Medical Cannabis Awareness Week 2020 (#MCAW2020). As of November 1st, 2018, the UK has legally allowed doctors to prescribe cannabis to patients. However, two years later, and only four prescriptions have been written on the NHS, leaving people no choice but to pay for private prescriptions. The goal of MCAW and the facility tour is to help destigmatise cannabis-based medicines, show how the products are made, and why they cost so much.

orten Noehr Mortensen is the founder and CEO of Cannabis Pharm, one of Denmark’s leading research and development licensed cannabis cultivation facilities. Working as a journalist, Morten met the parents of children with epilepsy and those recovering from

cancer treatments who were treating them with medical cannabis, despite the fact it was illegal. When the Danish government decided to pilot a legal medical cannabis program, he wanted to be a part of it.

This is a significant factor in the high Cannabis Pharm is a 500 squareAn HVAC system price of cannabis products today. Still, metre, custom-built, climateensures no parasites Morten is confident that the market controlled, closed-loop facility. opening up to competition and Currently, plants are grown under or contaminants can efficiencies will lead to a drop in the a mixture of LED and HPS (Highenter the facility price. Pressure Sodium) lights. An from outside, and They don’t use all their lights yet, but HVAC (heating, ventilation, and Morten puts the yearly electricity bill air conditioning) system ensures the internal air is at around £9000. no parasites or contaminants can continuously cleaned The flowering room features 160 enter the facility from outside, using activated 600w LED lamps across a two-layer and the internal air is continuously rack system. The vegetation room cleaned using activated charcoal. charcoal also uses a rack system, but it only All of this allows for a stable and requires 48 grow lamps. Still, this controlled environment, essential for accounts for massive energy requirements. Every amp costs maintaining a consistent product. Even small variations in roughly 1,000 Danish Krone (about £120). When you’re the content ratio have the potential to affect the patient working in terms of 300, 600, and sometimes 1,000 watts, adversely. For example, in epileptic children, it can trigger the cost of electricity alone is enormous. But where the more seizures. cost is high, maintaining consistency is priceless. Morten admits to some naivety at first, believing he could set up shop in a fixed up old barn. It quickly became The Grow Rooms apparent that a purpose-built facility would be necessary. Anthony is Cannabis Pharm’s Head Cultivator, overseeing The facility cost around £250,000 to build, then roughly the the plants from seed to harvest. He starts by taking same again to stock with all the required equipment. cuttings from a selected mother plant, which then spends seven to ten days taking root in the clone room before Despite starting on January 1st, 2018, Cannabis Pharm being transplanted to the vegetation room. Typically, doesn’t have products on the market yet. The rules are so vegetation will take 14 to 21 days. An 18-hour light cycle strict and the entry point so high that it takes a minimum of per day prevents the plants from blooming, giving them two years to get there. During those two years, companies time to both grow and be cut and shaped into the optimal require steady cash flow to pay employees and keep afloat. condition necessary for the flowering room. 39

Despite starting on January 1st, 2018, Cannabis Pharm doesn’t have products on the market yet In the flowering room, they’re given the space necessary for their significant growth rate over the following eight to 12 weeks. The exact time flowering takes varies depending on the plant’s composition, such as how much ruderalis, Sativa or Indica it contains. The most intricate part of Anthony’s job is breeding and plant selection - choosing which plants are taken to full maturity and eventually made into the finished medical products. Between 250 and 300 seeds are planted then whittled down to a final four or five plants, which go on to be bred and crossed with other plants. Production, medicinal and general quality are all considerations when selecting which plants have the traits necessary to go forward. The CBD and THC ratio is considered first. However, the terpene ratio is the most critical criteria for Cannabis Pharm’s selection. Terpenes are present in a range of plants besides cannabis, such as lavender and thyme. Each terpene has a benefit, from being anti-inflammatory to offering neuropathic pain relief.

Pairing these terpenes with the appropriate cannabinoid content allows each patient to receive a tailored treatment suitable for their needs. Cannabis Pharm’s 3,500 plants are all currently geared towards illnesses and diseases, most of which are neuropathic or pain related, that can be legally treated with medical cannabis according to Denmark’s medical agency list. Every minute of the day, each environmental factor, such as temperature and humidity, is measured, controlled, and logged. All the plants are grown in soil/coco mix using a drip feed system, with the feed programme, lighting regime and environmental controls all used to steer the plants into producing secondary metabolites. Cannabis Pharm uses biological controls in place of pesticides to control pests and parasites. Mould and mildew aren’t a problem at the facility, partly due to strict environmental control, but predominantly because of selective breeding of resistant plants.

MEDICINAL CANNABIS

Morten Noehr Mortensen (r) is the founder and CEO of Cannabis Pharm, and Dr Callie Seaman

The cleaning regime is an integral part of maintaining GMP standards at the facility. Daily cleaning and sterilising processes are coupled with a three-hour deep clean every Friday.

Extraction Jacob is Cannabis Pharmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Extraction Specialist. He uses a closed-loop butane system; under vacuum, a reagent grade butane with known impurities is used to extract nonpolar constituents of the cannabis. The four-hour process results in an unrefined crude oil, known as the full-plant extract. This is a viable medicine, but post-processing increases the benefits for the patients.

When youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re working in terms of 300, 600, and sometimes 1,000 watts, the cost of electricity alone is enormous. But where the cost is high, maintaining consistency is priceless

Isolates are more in line with the way pharmaceuticals are produced today, but suffer from being one-dimensional. They require large biomass to produce, where a fullspectrum oil requires less. Five to 15 grams of biomass are necessary to produce isolates or full-spectrum oil, while 15 to 20 grams are necessary to make 1ml of aromatics. Further post-processing is necessary in many cases. For THC, decarboxylation has to take place for it to be effective - something that happens naturally when smoked but has to be done in production for the patients ingesting it. In-house and independent analysis ensures a high standard of product quality consistency. Where home growers will likely struggle to test for chemical residues, the expensive reagent grade gas used by Cannabis Pharm ensures they know the purity of the gas, since it is produced specifically for use in the pharmaceutical process.

MEDICINAL CANNABIS

Cannabis has helped a countless number of sick and disabled people to live more fulfilled lives.

As the facility in Denmark shows, high standards are needed for medical-grade cannabis, including tight cleanroom procedures. These products, after all, are being given to children who are already immune-compromised

Cannabis has helped a countless number of sick and disabled people to live more fulfilled lives. Around the world, legislation is changing for the better, but a lot of red tape needs to be removed to keep up with the increased demand, and eventually, bring down the price of the product. As the facility in Denmark shows, high standards are needed for medical-grade cannabis, including tight cleanroom procedures. These products, after all, are being given to children who are already immune-compromised.

Once the oil is produced, it goes into a vacuum oven. Because of the low boiling point of butane, the excess is evaporated and removed. European medical guidelines limit the content to 5000ppm; Cannabis Pharm products routinely come in at 100-400ppm, depending on the type of product they’re producing.

For more information on the volunteer-led, non-profit organisation that spearheaded #MCAW2020, please visit PLEAcommunity.org.uk or give @plea_ community a follow. 3

Ethanol extraction is another popular method. Again, a lab grade 96.4% bioethanol is used in the pharmaceutical process, free from isopropanol and methanol - the more poisonous forms of alcohol that may be found in a backyard ethanol extraction set-up. One of the most popular methods in the pharmaceutical industry is supercritical CO2 . This is an ideal method, as it does not involve using any solvents for the extraction process, only CO2. When CO2 is pressurised, it turns from a gas to a liquid, where cannabinoids can be dissolved. Dry ice is often used, as it is below the supercritical temperature to be solid. Adding the pressure transforms it into a liquid, and the flower from the cannabis plant is added to the mix. The results are highly refined cannabinoids.

Bio

Dr Callie Seaman is a leading expert of the UK hydroponic industry and became passionate about medicinal cannabis when she was diagnosed with epilepsy over 20 years ago. After obtaining a Biomedical Sciences degree at Sheffield Hallam University, she completed a PhD titled “Investigating Nutrient Solutions for Hydroponic Growth of Plants”. During her PhD, she became a founding director of Aqua Laboratories Ltd – a formulator and producer of specialist hydroponic nutrients. In October 2018, Callie became a non-executive director of a home office licenced medicinal cannabis facility within the UK. She consults with a wide range of other licensed producers worldwide as they look to set up their facilities.With numerous scientific articles, book chapters and peer-reviewed papers to her name, Callie is an experienced professional in the field of medicinal cannabis, cultivation and fertiliser science. Instagram: @dr.callieseaman Facebook: @DrCallieSeaman Twitter: @dr_CallieSeaman LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dr-callieseaman/ Website: aqualabs-uk.com and cbdhempire.co.uk

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GREEN ADVICE

BY CATHERINE SHERRIFFS

TO PREPARE It’s no secret that plants are therapeutic! Long before modern medicine, flowers, herbs, and trees have been used to treat everything from common colds, wounds, scrapes and bruises, to athlete’s foot, migraines, and more. While it’s true that the forest and our gardens are an all-natural medicine cabinet, it’s essential to do your research before foraging plants.We recommend The Herbal Handbook For Homesteaders: Farmed and Foraged Herbal Remedies and Recipes, by Abby Artemisia. Her book offers a wealth of information on medicinal plants, what they’re suitable for treating, and how to prepare them. For now, here’s a list of 5 Cool Ways to turn plants into medicine.

Poultice

A poultice involves chopping and cutting herbs and applying them directly to the skin to soothe muscle pain. Got a bee sting or splinter? This treatment might be the solution to your troubles. A poultice is the easiest way to prepare and use medicinal herbs and flowers; all you need is fresh material from the garden, never dried. Plantain is an excellent choice for poultices and grows just about everywhere across North America and Europe. It draws out bee venom, shards of glass, and splinters from the skin. It can even help treat snakebites! Ground comfrey root is another option for treating sprains and strains. Finely chop the herbs in a food processor, mix with some water, and apply to the affected area. Cover with a bandage and replace the poultice every three to six hours.

Plantain

Tincture

Get your mad scientist on and make a tincture with some of your medicinal plant material. This concentrated herbal formula is made by infusing plants in alcohol, vinegar, or glycerin. The entire process takes several weeks, so it’s a good idea to make this in advance and store it in your medicine cabinet for when you need it. Tinctures keep for up to three years and are perfect for treating coughs, colds, pain, and headaches. There’s more to making a tincture than meets the eye; many herbalists depend on celestial energies and start their brews in specific moon phases. To make a simple herb tincture, wait for the waxing moon and gather half a cup of fresh herbs, 8 ounces of 80- to 100-proof alcohol, glycerin, or apple cider vinegar, and combine in a mason jar. Cover with parchment paper and seal the lid. Place in a cool, dark place for four to six weeks, shaking the mixture every day. Finally, strain with cheesecloth and put your creation into a dropper bottle. Tincture of yarrow

PLANTS AS MEDICINE

Oil

For topical or edible use, oils are herbal formulas made by infusing wilted or dried herbs in oils. From olive, grapeseed, avocado, and coconut oils, to cocoa butter and lard, there are plenty of different oils intended for various uses. Infused herbal oil is typically used for food or salad dressing, massages, swollen lymph node glands, ear infections, and more.They can be made by either gently heating the oil and fresh herbs in a double boiler (active method), or by slowly allowing dried herbs to infuse oil in a sunny windowsill over a couple of weeks (passive approach). Regardless of which way you go, be sure the herbs are completely dry before adding them to the oil to avoid rancidity and never add essential oils if you’re using for food. Dried herbs that work well in oils include calendula, burdock root, elderflower, and ginger root. If using fresh herbs, consider garlic, mullein flower, or St John’s wort. When stored correctly, herbal oils can last up to two years.

Salve

A salve is a wonderfully rich herbal remedy used topically to treat burns, scrapes, and bruises; it also helps with muscle relaxation, moisturizing, chapped lips, diaper rash, and even relieves chest congestion. The added wax (beeswax, candelilla, or soy) helps create a creamy treatment with a long shelf life; a typical salve will last up to three years. Herbal salves are made by combining herb-infused oil (read above) with hardened wax in a double boiler. Add some essential oils for an extra kick. Plants that do well in salves include calendula, comfrey leaf, plantain leaf, dried St John’s wort, and Solomon’s seal. Always store the ointment in a cool and dark place.

Infusions And Decoctions

An infusion is the standard way of making tea these days; that is, letting dried herbs sit in some hot water for about five minutes before drinking. A decoction, however, is typically made with hardier plant parts (roots, bark, and twigs) when we’re looking to gain some therapeutic properties from the brew. It takes longer to extract all of the good stuff from the herbs, about 20 minutes in hot water, or even overnight in some cases. Classic herbs for basic tea infusions include chamomile, mints, lavender, and stinging nettle. If you need a more potent and medicinal beverage, make a decoction with the roots of burdock, chicory, dandelion, or ginger. In either case, be sure to strain the herbs after the steeping process for a more pleasant drinking experience. 3

Source: The Herbal Handbook For Homesteaders: Farmed and Foraged Herbal Remedies and Recipes, by Abby Artemisia (Voyageur Press, 2019).

GROWING ORGANICALLY

BY CODY J. GARRETT-TAIT

any growers think to achieve big yields they need a large number of plants. However, this isn’t always the case! You can har vest a tremendous amount of high-quality produce by maximising the size of just a few plants. It requires some hard work, but the results pay off in spades.

For success, we must optimise the environment for maximum production within a given amount of time For success, we must optimise the environment for maximum production within a given amount of time. Whether dictated by the outdoor seasons or controlled through manipulation, there is always a finite amount of time for each phase of growth. The environment, location, lighting, soil, water source, supplemental fertiliser program, and plant support have to be on point so there are no setbacks along the way.

The environment, location, lighting, soil, water source, supplemental fertiliser program, and plant support have to be on point so there are no setbacks along the way

The Right Space Big plants need large containers (or planting holes) to accommodate for plenty of space. For significant yields above ground, there must be adequate room below the soil’s surface for the plant roots. That means proper spacing between plants as well. Give them big shoes to fill, and they more than likely will do just that.

ple of hundred litres to a couple of thousand litres of soil per plant, depending on how long the outdoor season is and what month you star t your plants. A cubic metre is a nice round figure for most genetics and does well in most areas suitable for cultivation. Indoors, anywhere from 100 to 300 litres per plant works well.

Fertile Earth As for soil, use the highest quality possible; one that is nutrient-dense, drains well, and is matured. If prepping the soil from scratch, choose the highest quality ingredients you have access to and allow plenty of time for the amendments to break down before planting so the nutrition is more easily accessed.

Sturdy containers are recommended; some growers prefer to use large grow-bags, while others like raised beds. It’s even possible to make a large pile of soil on the ground and wrap it with geotextile material. That way, the plant can also access the subsoil beneath. When it comes to container size, go anywhere from a cou-

Gavita Master controller

Gavita Master controller ELF Get enhanced control of your grow room with the second generation Gavita Master controllers. The Gavita Master ELF is the latest addition to our controller line-up. You get everything the upgraded second generation Master controller offers, plus fan control. With the integrated fan controller, it can directly control your lights and fans for a stable temperature in your grow room. • Switch, dim, and boost your fixtures from a central unit • Independent cycle programming (EL2 only) • Separate sunrise and sunset settings • Direct control of EC fans (AC fan control with optional EFM1 module • Balance your intake and outtake fans with the Gavita Fan balancer (FB1)

GROWING ORGANICALLY

Support Systems

Big plants need large support structures to support their heavy yields, especially those exposed to adverse weather such as wind and heavy rain

Big plants need large support structures to support their heavy yields, especially those exposed to adverse weather such as wind and heavy rain. Bad weather will quickly obliterate an otherwise proud specimen, so give thought to how much weight the structure will have to support ahead of time. Remember, the plant’s overall mass will be much heavier than the harvested product. Build something robust and sturdy, well anchored to the ground, and build it early! This way, you won’t get caught off guard and the plants can be trained from the start to improve canopy size.

Feeding Schedule

A supplemental fer tilisation regime plays an essential role in developing monster plants. Even in the best soil, it’s possible to achieve better results with extra nutrient supplementation. Apply top dressings regularly throughout the crop cycle that include good quality organic inputs. Rich compost, worm castings, and an actively decomposing mulch layer ensure the soil remains productive and that the plant’s buffet table is continuously replenished. Couple this with liquid and foliar applications of organic additives containing biostimulant compounds, such as humic and fulvic acid and L-amino acids. These help the crop better access the soil nutrition and turn the food into a more rapidly available form.

Apply top dressings regularly throughout the crop cycle that include good quality organic inputs

51 51

GROWING ORGANICALLY

Depending on the inoculum, there is potential for the upcycling of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous, and even micronutrient availability

Seaweed, kelp, and extracts from algae are excellent options. These contain a diverse array of natural growth-promoters useful for improving plant cell division, suppor ting rapid growth, enhancing flower set, and boosting stress tolerance.

To fur ther bolster the availability of nutrients, consider applying some microbial inoculations at critical points of growth, such as at the time of planting and before the peak flowering period. Depending on the inoculum, there is potential for the upcycling of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous, and even micronutrient availability. Mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobacteria have the remarkable ability to make the roots more efficient at accessing nutrients from the soil, produce growth and root stimulating compounds, and help protect plants from drought conditions. You don’t need a large amount of these products, so it’s an affordable way to increase your harvest naturally.

Rainwater is best for organic soils, but when using a municipal supply, dechlorinate the water.

Irrigation

Large plants need a lot of water, so be sure to have a steady supply throughout their lifespan. Rainwater is best for organic soils, but when using a municipal supply, dechlorinate the water. This process can be done through filtration or by allowing the water to circulate and bubble uncovered for 24 hours to dissipate the chlorine. This step is necessary so the microbes doing the heavy lifting aren’t harmed or killed off. Similarly, if your water supply is from a dam or bore, it will need filtering as these sources can contain impurities and potential pathogens. TLC All that’s left now is to provide diligent and loving care to the plants, a stable indoor environment, and hope for a good season outdoors. If the plants get between one and three months of vegetative growth indoors or two to four months outdoors, you will be treating yourself to some monstrous, epic plants at harvest. 3

BIO

Cody is the owner of High Powered Organics and a second-generation Australian grower with more than a decade of experience in the horticulture industry. Cody works closely with growers locally and abroad, creating organic solutions for high output cropping. He achieves maximum results by combining aspects from permaculture, biodynamic farming, and Korean natural farming techniques. Cody’s main focus is finding natural, and sustainable ways to produce high-quality plants with a minimum of input.

53 53

BY ANNE GIBSON

Growing a Garden for Health and Wellbeing

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

garden connects us with Nature to heal and nourish our health and wellbeing on many levels. With everyday stresses, a garden not only helps renew our physical bodies but also gifts us a way to nurture our mental, emotional, and spiritual health too.

With everyday stresses, a garden not only helps renew our physical bodies but also gifts us a way to nurture our mental, emotional, and spiritual health too

I grew up in a garden. As a baby, my mother put me in a bassinet almost daily under the shady orange tree amongst the nasturtium flowers; a deeply sensory experience with the sounds of birds and bees buzzing, sweetly perfumed flowers, and soothing breezes. As I grew, I was encouraged to play in the garden, get dirty, eat a diet rich in homegrown fruits and vegetables from our backyard dedicated to food production, and collect eggs from our chickens. Dad encouraged me to rake out manure from their coop and help add fallen leaves to his mountainous compost bays. I climbed our mulberry and plum trees to pick fruit and helped mum make jam. Our backyard was my childhood playground with our swing hanging from the persimmon tree. The garden was filled with food, flowers and wildlife—a place to escape, explore and play. I didn’t value the health benefits of this opportunity as a child, but I do now.

Physical Health Getting outdoors in the fresh air helps oxygenate our bodies and give us a break from indoor air pollution. Physical exercise with gardening tasks like digging, weeding, and raking burns calories, contributing to healthy weight management. Eating fruits, vegetables, and herbs we grow also help build the immune system, preventing illness. Phytonutrients or phytochemicals are plant-based compounds that help protect a plant’s ‘immune system’ against bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Phytonutrients not only give many foods their aroma and diverse colours but may play a role in human disease prevention and treatment. Eating a rainbow of colour on our plate, especially organically homegrown foods, is another way a garden can contribute to our health. A 2015 study concluded walking barefoot, ‘earthing’ or grounding ourselves can help reduce common health conditions, including pain, inflammation, and stress. (3) In 2007, a neuroscientist discovered that strains of harmless soil-borne Mycobacterium vaccae dramatically stimulated the human immune system and exposure to soil bacteria can contribute to developing strong immunity. (4)

Take time to reflect sit in a quiet nook with fragrant herbs and flowers Digging potatoes and preparing garden beds is a healthy way to exercise in fresh air

Health Benefits of Gardening PA review of over 50 studies confirmed interacting with Nature can offer positive effects on health and wellbeing. (1) One study verified that ‘those who are involved in gardening find life more satisfying and feel they have more positive things happening in their lives than those who are not.’ (2) A growing body of scientific literature provides significant evidence for beneficial health outcomes for not only spending time in a garden but specifically growing food at home and in our communities. Nastur tiums

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HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Nature is a powerful healer and self-care is more important than ever

Emotional and Mental Wellbeing Gardens provide unlimited sensory experiences. The fragrance of beautiful flowers or scented foliage; the taste of a homegrown ripe, juicy tomato; listening to birds singing or bees buzzing; plant textures that are enjoyable to touch, like soft Lamb’s Ears leaves; and of course, the visual beauty we can enjoy. Harvesting and savouring the flavour of homegrown foods is one of the most satisfying rewards of growing an edible garden. The therapeutic benefits of gardening can also help us cope with the daily pressures of life. With many of us spending more time at home than ever before, our gardens have also become sanctuaries, a place to retreat from the world to find peace of mind. Nature is a powerful healer and self-care is more important than ever. A garden acts as a refuge, a space to relax and reflect, and a soothing tonic for the soul.

Swedish research (Stigsdotter and Grahn, 2004; Stigsdotter, 2005) found that people who had access to a garden had significantly fewer stress occasions per year. They found those living in apartments without a balcony or outdoor area had more stress annually than those with a patio or small garden. Those who had the least stress were people with a large leafy garden, and the more frequently people spent time there, the less stress they suffered. American naturalist John Burroughs (1837-1921) had the right idea when he said: “I go to nature to be soothed and healed and to have my senses put in tune once more.”

American naturalist John Burroughs

When we spend time observing plants or insects and engaging in simple gardening tasks, we live in the moment, and daily cares are put aside. We become immersed in the outside world. Our Wormwood gardens allow us to unwind mentally, enjoy sensory stimulation, and use our brains creatively to design, plan, create, and nurture plants. Growing food is immensely satisfying and gives us a sense of purpose and hopeful anticipation of a successful harvest. Journalling and planning are also helpful activities that are part of growing a wellness garden. Keeping our brain active has been found to help protect against degenerative diseases like dementia. Even challenges like pests or weather teach us to problem-solve and upskill our knowledge, often connecting socially with other gardeners to find solutions. Mindful breathing helps us slow down and spend time at nature’s pace in the garden as an effective antidote to stress. Even a tiny balcony with a well-placed chair surrounded by plants can make a difference. Growing plants with flowers in your favourite colours can incorporate more joy in your garden. Bring the outdoors in; cut flowers, herbs or foliage to arrange in a vase, add to a meal, or enjoy in a herbal tea.

HEALTH AND GARDEN WELLBEING WEEDS

Chamomile has a gentle calming sedative effect that can improve mood, aid sleep, relaxation, stress, nausea and anxiety

Plants for a Wellness Garden Many people I work with are recovering from health issues and want to grow plants that heal and support their wellness journey. One of the most empowering ways we can take care of ourselves to prevent illness and treat everyday ailments is to use some of our culinary herbs for their medicinal value. There are so many plants you can grow for a healing garden to support your health and wellbeing. These are a few of my favourite easy-to-grow herbs that perform multiple functions and are a great place to start in pots. Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) This pretty lemon-flavoured and scented herb is top of the list. It has been used widely for its natural antidepressant properties, helping relieve stress and anxiety, and uplift the spirits. It’s incredibly fast-acting. I’ve found the easiest way to get the benefits from this herb is to pick a few fresh leaves and make a tea, brewed for a few minutes. Lemon balm helps improve sleep and can relieve indigestion; drink it hot or chilled as a refreshing beverage. This perennial herb prefers moist, well-drained compost-rich soil in sun or partial shade. The pretty flowers are also edible.

Mint in bloom is fragrant and beautiful Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) The dried flowers from this pretty annual herb have been used for centuries to make a delicious herbal tea. Chamomile has a gentle calming sedative effect that can improve mood, aid sleep, relaxation, stress, nausea and anxiety. This herb offers a wide range of health benefits including antibiotic, pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-fungal and antiseptic properties. Chamomile grows best in well-drained, compost-rich soil in a sunny location to encourage flowering. Chamomile flowers make a soothing tea to aid sleep and relax

Lemon balm lessons pain soothes and heals

Mint (Mentha sp.) Mint is another fragrant, attractive, perennial and moisture-loving herb for a large pot. It’s not only refreshing to use in salads, drinks, and meals but contains powerful antioxidants, helpful for building a strong immune system. Because mint leaves have anaesthetic, antiviral, and antiseptic compounds, it’s beneficial for all sorts of ailments like sore throats and as a natural breath freshener. Mint comes in many flavours, including spearmint, peppermint, and my favourite, chocolate mint. One to tempt the tastebuds. Picking fresh leaves just before using and chopping or bruising them releases the volatile essential oils. Mint enjoys the same growing conditions as lemon balm.

GA R D EN CU LT U R E M AGA Z I N E.CO M

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Learning to take care of ourselves by growing a wellness garden, even a small one, can help us relieve stress, find peace with a rewarding hobby, and ultimately improve our health and wellbeing Nasturtiums are not just pretty faces but powerful antibiotic herbs

Harvesting edible flowers herbs and vegetables is a feast for the senses and wellbeing Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) This annual herb has so many uses that I am never without it in our home pharmacy garden. Nasturtiums are not fussy whether they live in the sun or shade but will flower profusely in a sunny, moist location. While many gardeners grow this plant for its stunning flowers and intoxicating fragrance which lift the spirit, the nasturtium is far more than just a pretty face to put in a vase! The highest value is in the leaves, which contain potent antibiotic properties, backed by considerable scientific research. Nasturtiums contain tromalyt, a fast-acting antibiotic compound that helps boost the immune system in just an hour without the usual side-effects on gut flora. Leaves, seeds, and flowers are eaten raw and are high in vitamin C and B vitamins, also supporting immune health. At the start of a cold, flu or respiratory ailment, we always eat three leaves several times a day, and it quickly abates. Powerful plant medicine indeed and another fantastic addition for your wellness garden. Growing medicinal plants like herbs to use for simple remedies is a sustainable and economical way to support health. Plants can be harvested just before you need them when they are freshest. Being able to step out onto your balcony or wander in the garden to pick herbs for a tea and minutes later cure an ailment is incredibly empowering. Learning to take care of ourselves by growing a wellness garden, even a small one, can help us relieve stress, find peace with a rewarding hobby, and ultimately improve our health and wellbeing. 3

* Consult your health care provider to determine if any medications could interact with herbs you intend to use.

References: 1.

Grinde B. and Patil, G.G. (2009) Biophilia: Does Visual Contact with Nature Impact on Health and Well-Being? Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health Blair, D., Giesecke, C. G. and Sherman, S. (1991) A Dietary, Social and Economic Evaluation of the Philadelphia Urban Gardening Project. The Journal of Nutrition Education Oschman, James L, Chevalier G, Brown R. (2015) The effects of grounding (earthing) on inf lammation, the immune response, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inf lammatory and autoimmune diseases. Journal of Inflammation Research. Lowry CA, et al. (2007) Identif ication of an immune-responsive mesolimbocortical serotonergic system: potential role in regulation of emotional behaviour. Neuroscience.

BIO

Anne Gibson, The Micro Gardener, is an author, speaker and urban garden community educator on the Sunshine Coast, in Queensland, Australia. Anne is passionate about inspiring people to improve health and wellbeing, by growing nutrient-dense food gardens in creative containers and small spaces. Anne regularly presents workshops, speaks at sustainable living events, coaches private clients and teaches community education classes about organic gardening and ways to live sustainably. She has authored several eBooks and gardening guides. Anne shares organic gardening tips and tutorials to save time, money and energy on her popular website - TheMicroGardener.com.

BY RICH HAMILTON

Get Better Fruits By Understanding

Roots Out of Sight, Out of Mind?

Roots make up a considerable physical part of the plant, and since they live underground, they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always get the attention that they should. Roots provide stems and leaves with water and nutrients for growth and development. The root system can also store starches for later use. Not all plants have the same type of root system. The two most common varieties are fibrous and taproot systems.

Fibrous Root Systems A fine network of roots makes up fibrous systems, which grow directly from the base of the stem and spread out through the soil. Fibrous roots are slim, relatively close in diameter, and grow in branched groups. These kinds of root systems are typically found on smaller plants as they do not extend deep into the ground and are closer to the surface. A tomato plant is an excellent example of a fibrous root system. As germination occurs, some fibrous root system plants may have a primary taproot, but as they mature, this central taproot dies off and is replaced by fibrous roots.

As germination occurs, some fibrous root system plants may have a primary taproot, but as they mature, this central taproot dies off and is replaced by fibrous roots

Taproot System

he bigger the roots, the bigger the fruits: a common phrase used in the growing world, meaning that understanding and caring for

a plantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s roots will reward you with better yields.

Not all plants have the same type of root system. The two most common varieties are fibrous and taproot systems Taproot Systems A taproot system consists of a singular main or series of taproots that reach deep into the soil for nutrients and water. The central taproot helps anchor and support the plant, allowing it to grow strong and tall. Other roots (known as secondary and tertiary roots) grow laterally from the primary taproot in what is known as acropetal succession. Taproots grow deep into compact layers of soil in search of water and nutrients. A taproot system releases carbon dioxide as a by-product of respiration, which reacts with the water in the ground and forms carbonic acid. This acid dissolves certain minerals, which makes it easier for the roots to move through compact dirt.

Fibrous Root System

UNDERSTANDING ROOTS

Capillary action is where molecules of a liquid (water) are attracted to the molecules of a solid (the plant’s stem)

How Roots Work

The central taproot helps anchor and support the plant, allowing it to grow strong and tall

Water and nutrients move through root systems and into the plant through diffusion and capillary action. Watercontaining soluble nutrients diffuse through the thin walls of the root and the cells, which make up the epidermis (outer layer of tissue).

Once in the epidermal cells, the water and soluble nutrients diffuse into the cells of the root’s cortex. The solution then continues to diffuse until it ends up in the plant’s xylem vessels, which are the beginning of the plant’s vascular system. From here, the water and nutrients rise into the plant stem through capillary action. Capillary action is where molecules of a liquid (water) are attracted to the molecules of a solid (the plant’s stem). This attraction forces the water up from the roots and distributes it throughout the plant.

Getting The Most From Roots

There are many things a grower can do to support natural, robust, and healthy root growth. Phosphorous and potassium are essential, helping develop new root clusters while maintaining existing ones. Feed ranges with higher levels of these nutrient elements build on what nature provides. Natural sources of phosphorous and potassium include rock sulphate, bone meal, wood ashes, and kelp. Using an enzyme will also help. A suitable enzyme can condition the existing roots while breaking down any dead root matter as well as regenerating new root growth.

Natural sources of phosphorous and potassium include rock sulphate, bone meal, wood ashes, and kelp

Root temperature matters a lot. The key to being a great grower is all about the environment, and the root system is no exception! A perfect temperature around the root zone will result in better yields. Different plant root masses prefer different climates, but on average, an acceptable temperature range should be between 19°C and 24°C (66°F and 75°F).

Measure root mass temperature with a probe thermometer, available relatively cheap at most garden centres. When growing in pots or planters, take the temperature as near to the centre as possible. If the numbers are out of the ideal range, try altering the grow room’s temperature or the temperature of the nutrient solution. Wrap the pots with insulation or cool them with ice packs. Keeping the temperature in the correct range will maximise plant efficiency.

UNDERSTANDING ROOTS

The key to being a great grower is all about the environment, and the root system is no exception!

Roots need oxygen to breathe and absorb it from small air pockets in the soil, which is why a plant can drown if the ground becomes waterlogged. Most gardeners like to create dry spells in the watering of their plants. Doing this makes the roots grow as they search for water and nutrients while also drawing fresh oxygen into the ground as it dries out. Oxygenating the water or fertiliser before feeding plants is an excellent way to turbocharge roots. This process is done by pumping Oxygenating the water or oxygen directly into the feeding fertiliser before feeding solution with an air stone via an air pump.

Maintain nutrient/feed ratios around the roots by following a feeding schedule. Remember, this plants is an excellent way is only a guide and doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t account for exactly what is going on with the to turbocharge roots roots. Measure the EC/PPM of the Mycorrhizae can be mixed into area around the root zone to adjust potting soil or added directly to the feeding regime appropriately. Take an EC probe and press it the roots with every transplant. Mycorrhizae form a symbiotic into the root system, or measure the plantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s runoff. Overwater relationship with the root system, helping to increase the size of the plant slowly and collect the runoff from the base. The EC the network, and therefore, the potential amount of water and probe measures the nutrient-salt level, which gives an idea of nutrients for uptake. what is happening in the root zone. As a general rule, the EC runoff should be slightly lower than that of the feed. If it is considerably higher than that of the feed, then this could mean that the plant is taking up more water than nutrients and could be at risk of nutrient lockout or toxicity. If the EC is higher than it should be, lower the strength of the feeding solution or give the plants only water. Flushing them out and reducing high EC levels helps keep problems at bay. The roots are the mouth of the plant. Keeping the system strong and healthy ensures the plant can do the same. 3

BIO

BY MARTYNA KROL

The Stench of Power:

Making Comfrey Tea 68

MAKING COMFREY TEA

magine the stereotypical organic grower working in their garden during the summer : dungarees tucked into wellies, straw hat perched jauntily atop sunkissed hair, and a light trowel in hand. Perhaps a small glass of something pale and fizzy sitting on the potting table for the wasps to investigate.

Don’t try this before a romantic date Now, contrast this lovely image with me, wearing a rubber fullface gas mask, a double layer of thick rubber gloves taped to my wrists, and a nylon apron better suited to a slaughterhouse than a polytunnel. More Walter White than Capability Brown, this, dear reader, is the outfit necessary to tackle this subject.

The old common name for it was Knit bones, thanks to its reputed property of healing broken bones quickly

Fermenting away happily in a 220-litre barrel sits a mixture of such potency that it dissolves Instagram perfection. A quick sniff provokes a gag reflex. What is this evil brew, you ask? None other than comfrey tea.

Comfrey Tea This excellent fertiliser for flowering plants requires extreme levels of caution because it gives off an overpowering smell of rotting flesh. Worse yet, (potential comfrey homebrewers, be warned) do not let it touch your skin, as the scent lingers for days, no matter what brand of fancy soap, essential oils, or bleach you use. The retch-inducing honk of the tea aside, there are many reasons why comfrey is one of my top five favourite garden plants. It’s pretty easy to grow in abundance, hardly ever suffers from pests or diseases, and its nutritional content is the real deal for all flowering plants.

Medicinal Benefits Before it became a simple garden plant for bumper crops, the medicinal and healing properties of comfrey were valued for hundreds of years. It’s Latin name ‘Symphytum’ comes from a marriage of words’ Sympho’ – ‘grow together’ and ‘Python’ – ‘plant’. The old common name for it was Knit bones, thanks to its reputed property of healing broken bones quickly. This practice has been abandoned since the development of modern medicine, especially considering that if the bones weren’t properly set before applying comfrey poultice, they would heal unevenly, which then required breaking and resetting. Just the thought of that scenario makes my legs hurt! The magical compounds responsible for easing arthritis pain, inflamed joints, cuts, wounds, sprains and bruises are pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which comfrey has in abundance. Notably, one called allantoin speeds up the cell-healing process and decreases inflammation. Back in the day, comfrey root was also used for the treatment of mouth ulcers, soothing irritation of the digestive tract, and easing chest infections thanks to its mucilaginous properties.

Russian comfrey Symphytum uplandicum

There are two sides to this medal of honour, unfortunately. The oral application of comfrey root was abandoned after several cases of liver damage in patients, and it was later discovered pyrrolizidine alkaloids are toxic, particularly echimidine. Echimidine is present in Russian comfrey (Symphytum uplandicum), which is the most popular hybrid of comfrey nowadays. Oral use of Symphytum is now limited to drinking weak tea for less than six weeks to help bone healing; however, the most common and safe medicinal use is to make a poultice. You can do it from the root only if you apply directly to the skin. Or, mix the root with mashed leaf and ‘sandwich’ the mixture between gauze, as the leaf has small hairs which can irritate the skin if applied directly. In modern-day skincare, allantoin is widely found in sun care lotions, anti-acne creams, and products promoting healthy skin. Creams containing the compound are never as potent as the leaf itself.

GA R D EN CU LT U R E M AGA Z I N E.CO M

LIGHTS LIGHTS ON! ON! NO NO DAMAGE!! DAMAGE!!

W O R G R E O OV R G

SAFE SAFE ON ON FLOWERS FLOWERS LIGHTS ON! NO DAMA SAFE ON FLOWERS

G R E OVDO DO IT IT WITH THE LIGHTS WITH THE LIGHTS

ON ON

DO IT WITH THE LIGHTS ON

WWW.OPTICFOLIAR.CA | SALES@OPTICFOLIAR.COM | SALES@OPTICFOLIAR.COM WWW.OPTICFOLIAR.CA WWW.OPTICFOLIAR.CA | SALES@OPTICFOLIAR.COM

MAKING COMFREY TEA

AGE!!

This excellent fertiliser for flowering plants requires extreme levels of caution because it gives off an overpowering smell of rotting flesh

What It Looks Like Comfrey has a broad, hairy leaf with a deep green colour and is adored by bees, especially bumblebees. Flowers range from hues of deep purple and pink to cream-yellow and white. The colour depends on the variety of comfrey growing. However, they hybridise easily between species, and it’s often challenging to tell which one is growing. Symphytum prefers damp and semi-shade areas to grow; it’s usually found in ditches and wetlands.

Give the process 12 to 14 days, and the tea should be ready—the darker and smellier the brew, the better.

while the cut part will produce new leaves. If you have more than one plant, chop one and leave one; you’ll have a constant supply of leaves for the brew and keep your pollinators happy. Fill the bucket or water reservoir with the comfrey leaves, stems and flowers. If planning to use a butt with a tap on, use only leaves, as the stems are slower to break down and their fibres are likely to block the tap. This sounds like little to be worried about, but it’s all well and good until you have to submerge your whole arm in the anaerobic sludge to unblock it! Don’t try this before a romantic date.

Nutritional Profile Fellow plants highly regard comfrey for its excellent source of nutrition. It’s rich in all three macronutrients as well as micronutrients such as calcium and silica. The NPK values of a dried comfrey leaf are estimated at around 1.8–0.5–5.3 when the plant is in flower, but when it’s in the vegetative state, it has higher nitrogen, making it an ideal food for seedlings.

Making The Brew Gardeners want to watch for the first flower sets, usually early in spring as the plant sprouts from the ground. Grab a bucket, a long stick for stirring, and a pair of rubber gloves. Once the comfrey has emerged a bushy plant, chop half of its volume at about 5cm (2”) above the ground. The half you leave on the plant will mature and flower, giving nectar to the bees, GA R D EN CU LT U R E M AGA Z I N E.CO M

powerful soil for powerful plants www.highpoweredorganics.com

MAKING COMFREY TEA

Without Comfrey feed

With Comfrey feed

Flowers will be larger and more sets visible, trusses of tomatoes (depending on the variety) will double, triple, and even quadruple before your eyes You can also use an old potato sack as a giant tea bag, which allows the water to penetrate the contents and leave all the fibrous pulp inside. If you have an air-tight lid for your container, make sure you burp the top every few days, as the gas generated by the fermenting bacteria will inflate the bucket and likely cause a small explosion. I leave mine open, as it also keeps any nosey allotment visitors away from the plot – at least those with a working sense of smell. Give the process 12 to 14 days, and the tea should be ready—the darker and smellier the brew, the better.

Tea Time Once the stinky potion is ready, mix with water and feed it to your plants. There are many dilution ratios suggested for the finished brew, but a good rule of thumb is to make it the colour of a weak tea. If the undiluted brew is deep green, the ideal concoction may be as much as ten parts water to one part comfrey concentrate. A more diluted tea is recommended at the beginning of flowering, and a full blast once the fruit starts to set. It’s always better to dilute the tea with water, as the oxygen in the water will limit the numbers of parasitic and detrimental organisms present in the solution; after all, it’s still a living thing!

When your fruit, vegetables and flowers have entered the bloom stage, feed them once or even twice a week and the results will show very quickly. Flowers will be larger and more sets visible, trusses of tomatoes (depending on the variety) will double, triple, and even quadruple before your eyes. The much-needed potassium will be forcing your plants to give its best. With zero-waste in mind, after the tea is finished, scoop out the soggy plant material from the bottom and use it as mulch on your vegetable patch. The organic waste will break down into the top layer, feeding not only the plants but also the soil biome.

Final Notes It is worth remembering that the temperature also plays a role in this process. My timings work for the UK and similar climates, but if in sunny and hot parts of the globe, your brew may take as little as seven days to make. Similarly, if you’re in a colder neck of the woods, it will likely take longer. Another note: my opening lines are no exaggeration. The smell of the massive barrel of comfrey tea in my polytunnel is so strong, I can barely breathe, even with the gas mask. Unfortunately, we only have one mask, so those around relying solely on holding their breath face an uphill battle. I highly recommend locking up the mask, making sure no one else knows the combination to the safe. 3

BIO

Martyna Krol is a vegetable grower, natural beekeeper, and edible spaces designer. She is a lover of all soil and urban farming techniques and is the former head of growing at Incredible Aquagarden.

s ’ o h W Growing

t a h W Whe

austin rali a & Ze a N e w lan d

McLaren Flat (SA)

Credit: Gemtree Wines

Gemtree Wines

Ginginup (WA)

Gemtree Wines is a third-generation family-owned winery on 306 acres. Owners Mike Brown, Chief Winemaker, and wife Melissa Brown, Biodynamic Viticulturist, work together with a close team to grow their award-winning vineyard with biodynamic and certified organic wines. With minimal intervention in the winemaking process and a more environmentally conscious farming system, Gemtree produces powerful, concentrated wines that express each grape’s actual characteristics. Gemtree’s sustainably built Tasting Room takes in elevated views over McLaren Vale to the ocean beyond. At the Cellar Door, the Gemtree Biodynamic Hut offers visitors an informal interactive experience to learn about biodynamic viticulture. The 1km Gemtree Wetlands Ecotrail, a meandering path through 10 hectares of regenerated natural bushland, provides a connection to the surrounding land that inspires Gemtree’s guiding philosophies. Melissa and Mike aim to set new standards for sustainable, generational farming, offering eco-tours, wine and food tasting experiences. Learn more: gemtreewines.com facebook.com/gemtreewines gemtreewines

Rae Jefferies and partner Angus Cowling are biodynamic farmers operating Guinea Grove Farm, an 80ha certified biodynamic property. They have managed the development of a 3,000 olive tree grove with Italian, Greek and Spanish varieties since 1998, focusing on nurturing soil health using biodynamic and organic practices. Over 100 guinea fowl free-range in the forest helping with pest and weed management while fertilising the soil. The farm produces multi-award winning extra virgin olive oils, flavoured olive oils, saffron and dukkah. Their flavoured olive oils are produced using the traditional “Agrumato” method where fresh citrus, herbs and spices are crushed with the olives. The processing shed houses a 500kg/hr olive mill, oil storage, bottling and labelling facilities so Rae and Angus can manage the entire olive oil making process from tree to bottle on the farm. Products are sold through weekend farmers markets, online, weekly home deliveries, and organic/wholefood shops in Perth. Learn more: guineagrovefarm.com.au

Credit: Guinea Grove Farm

Guinea Grove Farm

WHAT’S GROWING ON

Draper (QLD)

Loop Growers

Credit: Hannah Puechmarin

Alice Star and Phil Garozzo are ‘closed-loop’ farmers operating a 2-acre bio-intensive market garden 30km NW of Brisbane in the Samford Valley. They partner with local venues, including kitchens at city cafes, restaurants, brewers and bars with the aim of closing the loop on food ‘waste.’ Loop Growers have created a weekly collection system of surplus organic materials (‘yields’) in colour-coded buckets from their Brisbane business partners, saving valuable resources from landfill. Their recycling collaboration salvages fruit and vegetable kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, spent grain from breweries, eggshells, and even wood shavings. The collected yields feed their worm farms and are converted into biologically diverse compost to grow nutrient-dense crops. Loop Growers sell their freshly harvested produce back to the food business partners in their collaborative. They facilitate a win-win team effort that supports their local communities with nutritious chemical-free food, strengthening community ties, connecting customers to the land and educating consumers on sustainable food production. Learn more: loopgrowers.com

Credit: Farm It Forward

Blue Mountains (NSW)

Farm It Forward

Farm It Forward is an inspiring social enterprise that connects Blue Mountains landowners with local young people interested in growing food regeneratively. In exchange for leasing their land, landowners receive a weekly food box of organic vegetables, grown on their property or other lands in the project. They are visited weekly by working groups of young, aspiring farmers to establish and maintain organic food production and enhance cross-generational connections. Regular supportive social contact addresses loneliness and anxiety, adds value to isolated people’s lives and gives purpose and meaningful employment to the young growers. After a year in the program, they have the confidence to start their own farms. Farm It Forward is a blueprint for restoring soils, tackling social isolation, creating local employment and growing connected, resilient communities. All excess produce is sold to local cafes, restaurants and the local food co-operatives which support the project including Lyttleton Gardens and Lyttleton Stores. 3 Learn more: farmitforward.com.au facebook.com/farmitforward5 farmitforward

GA R D EN CU LT U R E M AGA Z I N E.CO M

BY CODY J GARRETT - TAIT

The Secret To Organic Growing

W 76

hat do crustaceans, insects, oyster shells, fish scales, and fungi all have in common? These organisms all contain an interesting compound known as chitin. But what is chitin, and how does it benefit organic growers?

CHITIN

One of the most exciting benefits of chitin is that it shows incredible promise at increasing active compounds such as flavonoids, terpenes, and overall resin production in medicinal plants

Nothing New The earliest records of chitlin date back 25 million years in Trilobites! Today, you can find it in the exoskeletons of insects, shells of crustaceans, oysters, mussels, molluscs, and even the cell walls of fungi. You may even have taken a derivative of this substance in glucosamine, sold as a remedy for arthritic conditions. Chitin is a polysaccharide (a long chain oligosaccharide compound) similar in structure and function to cellulose and keratin. On its own, chitin is a tough yet pliable compound. However, it is often combined with either calcium carbonate such as the shells of oysters and crustaceans or interlaced with protein compounds like insect exoskeletons to form durable materials currently being investigated a possible bio-plastic.

Chitin and its deacetylated water-soluble form, chitosan, show some incredible benefits to plant immunity while also contributing to an increase in the quality of medicinal compoundproducing plants

In The Garden Arguably the most exciting area of research where this compound is concerned is in the agricultural sector. Chitin and its deacetylated water-soluble form, chitosan, show some incredible benefits to plant immunity while also contributing to an increase in the quality of medicinal compound-producing plants.

Using this incredible compound puts plants â&#x20AC;&#x153;on guardâ&#x20AC;? and ready to tackle any impending threat. Because the plant already produces these defence compounds, its systemic immunity is higher, and if an attack happens, the plant can leap into action and protect itself much faster. Incredibly, chitin shows a simultaneous ability to promote beneficial microflora propagation while interfering with or stopping undesirable onesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; proliferation.

Improved Yield and Quality

One of the most exciting benefits of chitin is that it shows incredible promise at increasing active compounds such as flavonoids, terpenes, and overall resin production in medicinal plants. Both studies and real-world anecdotal reports discuss improved yields in dry weights of harvested produce and the actual active constituents produced; higher quantity and quality at the same time! Other research correlates chitin and chitosan use with increased drought resistance, with the plants yielding the same as untreated ones not exposed to drought conditions.

The Verdict Chitin and chitosan offer a way to boost plant immunity, quality, and drought resistance naturally. Adding this ingredient to our gardens might be the secret weapon organic growers have been waiting for! 3

It is possible to obtain chitin from some organic amendments, such as oyster shell powder, crustacean shell meal, insect frass, and mealworms. It is also available in many commercially-produced products in the water-soluble and active form of chitosan.

Bolstered Health Chitin and chitosan induce a systemic defence response that can promote an increase in chemicals naturally produced by the plant when pests and pathogens are present. This process brings about significant peripheral benefits and has shown promise in preventing plant viruses, pathogenic fungi, and certain insect species.

GA R D EN CU LT U R E M AGA Z I N E.CO M

BY EVEREST FERNANDEZ

The life of an imbecile in 2048 is simultaneously secure and precarious 78

FUTURE VISION

Everest climbs out of his cave to share his nightmarish vision of the near future. You have been warned… “Make yourself sheep, and the wolves will eat you.” - Benjamin Franklin

The life of an imbecile in seamlessly into the walls of Bonus credits are available 2048 is simultaneously secure his living quar ters. The tiny and precarious. Lacking the when the imbecile manages brain scanners, the most opportunity to exchange his sensitive of which are located to deposit the associated time and energy for anything he in his mattress, bedhead, and regards as valuable, the imbecile’s packaging from his meal into pillows, collect vast amounts resulting lack of get-up-andof neurological and physical the appropriately coloured go or professional ambition is data while he sleeps. This data now a moot point rather than a (arguably the most valuable recycling unit. cause for greater social concern. thing the imbecile produces) Nobody is worried any longer is transmitted to “wellbeing about his lifelong productive servers” running everdearth. Universal income gives evolving algorithms capable him sufficient spending power of detecting even the tiniest to sustain himself comfortably mental aberrances long before and carelessly from week to the imbecile is even aware of week; his automatically accrued them. His next meal can be electronic tokens afford him advantageously amended to the ability to purchase readyinclude microdoses of tasteless, cooked meals tailored specifically colourless, and odourless to his tastes (more on this in pharmacological additives to just a moment!). At all hours, extinguish the genesis of any thousands of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and midnight unwanted psychological manifestations. snacks are created on-demand in vast automated kitchen factories by row after row of whirring, whizzing robot arms. Perhaps, as you try to make sense of the imbecile’s Once the components are mixed and assembled, the meals superior life with your tired, unassisted brain, you might are irradiated, packaged, and delivered to recipients’ doors try to consider the greater good it represents rather than by squadrons of buzzing drones, sanitizing their cargo as limiting yourself with misplaced Luddite concern. Is it not they fly so that they arrive 100% bacteria and virus free— a cause of celebration that depression, sadness, cynicism, guaranteed. Who would risk experimentation with the loneliness, and melancholy are no longer a par t of the ancient art of home-cooking in the light of all this safety imbecile’s vocabulary? For millennia, he has been stalked and convenience? For this highly risk-averse generation, by a legion of uncer tainties. Why, only a few decades knowledge of even the most basic culinary practices is ago, his life was characterized by struggle, ever-present confined to erudition, as exotic and rare as proficiency in anxiety, and continual confusion in a perpetually stormy gothic calligraphy. and inhospitable economic reality. What a sombre contrast to the existential surety, contentment, and blueBonus credits are available when the imbecile manages sky calm in 2048! Indeed, it could be strongly argued to deposit the associated packaging from his meal into that an imbecile’s life has never been more intrinsically the appropriately coloured recycling unit. Vir tual reality wor thwhile! No longer is he subjected to the indignity video games, movies, news, and other fictional works of repetitive manual labour in return for a pittance. are streamed onto the imbecile’s raft of enter tainment Measured against any reasonable scale, it’s undeniable devices 24/7. But wait—are you still watching? Here that his existence’s quality has been vastly improved— comes the science bit: his mental wellbeing is monitored free food and water. Free shelter. Free enter tainment. and managed via a wireless neural interface integrated Free choice from the menu. Free time to make the choice.

@greatwhitemyco www.plantrevolution.com

FUTURE VISION

So, before you err into condescending pity for the imbecile, consider this: in return for this hard-won and preternatural gift of a happy, peaceful and carefree life on our overcrowded planet, is not a painless and nonsurgical reduction in fertility a reasonable exchange?

revolution, along with the invention of synthetic nitrogenbased fertilisers, caused a population explosion (whether you like it or not, we are all the children of oil.) But, in the dawn of robotics and artificial intelligence, there persisted a surplus human residue left over from our 20 thcentury endeavours. Homo vulgaris, as it was euphemistically coined, desperately needed to be controlled and eventually eradicated, but how could this be done in a modern, efficient and humane way?

If the world I have described sounds far-fetched and futuristic, please note that drones have been delivering poisonous pizzas to imbeciles for nearly half a decade

Without genetically-modified crops, humanity would have been doomed to continual food shor tages and inexorable conflict. Instead, our essential staples such as corn, soy, wheat, canola, potato, and rice are now superefficiently produced on automated mega-farms, enjoying greater resistance to pests and disease than ever before. Moreover, these are the only crops that are economically viable to grow. The fact that these crucial cultivars were also engineered to confer additional ecological benefits, namely the incremental lowering of sperm count and motility in human male consumers, was not widely known at the turn of the 21st century—and for good reason! Fer tility had long been considered a desirable trait in both males and females and, as such, humans—even imbeciles—were hardwired to resist any notion of its diminution. After all, left unchecked, fer tility surely would remain one of the few domains in which the imbecile has never been found wanting. A stark choice confronted our leaders in their speedy approach to planetary reformation. The third industrial

Inaction was no longer a viable option. Allowing Homo vulgaris to continue breeding haphazardly and exponentially would prove catastrophically immoral in the light of the clear, technological solution to hand. Only genetic engineering had the potential to untether humanity from its lingering lowest common denominators. Providing the economically dependent with a safe and secure environment to quietly neuter themselves through the willful consumption of genetically engineered food is a world away from strong-arming people into gas chambers or subjecting them to forced sterilisation. Perhaps we would do well to recall the words of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes during the 1927 Supreme cour t case, Buck vs. Bell, where he upheld a Virginia law that empowered the state authorities to surgically sterilise “mental defectives” without their consent.

FUTURE VISION

To desire freedom is an instinct

If, on the other hand, you find my “It is better for all the world if, A better future starts with a words disgusting and disturbing—I instead of waiting to execute doff my cap to you respectfully. degenerate offspring for crime garden—even if it’s just 10 Might we consider the words of or to let them starve for their square feet or a container on the great monetary theorist Edwin imbecility, society can prevent Riegel: those who are manifestly unf it your balcony “To desire freedom is an instinct. To from continuing their kind. . . . secure it requires intelligence. It must Three generations of imbeciles be comprehended and self—asserted. To petition for it is to stultify are enough.” oneself, for a petitioner is a confessed subject and lacks the spirit of a As the global population peaked sharply then declined freeman. To rail and rant against tyranny is to manifest inferiority, for throughout the 2020s and 2030s, it was inevitable that there is no tyranny but ignorance; to be conscious of one’s powers is some bean-counting commentators, perhaps with their to lose consciousness of tyranny. Self-government is not a remote aim. minds stuck in the darkest shadows of our history, made It is an intimate and inescapable fact. To govern oneself is a natural hyperbolic and alarmist accusations of global genocide. imperative, and all tyranny is the miscarriage of self-government. The Fortunately, these worrisome and unhelpful voices were first requisite of freedom is to accept responsibility for the lack of it.” effectively isolated and quarantined across all social media platforms before they had any chance to contaminate the If you resonate with the idea of governing yourself, it’s time well-earned peace and serenity of the happy imbeciles. And to return to wherever you left off. (Whatever you do, please if within the upper echelons of the managed population, don’t ask for permission or worry if you can afford it.) A better there remained a small number who retained their procrefuture starts with a garden—even if it’s just 10 square feet ational desires despite the chemical coercion, there exists or a container on your balcony. Indoors. Outdoors. Organic. the option of specialised fertility treatments to enhance Hydroponic. Biodynamic. Whatever. Find some space. Claim their chances of reproductive success significantly. Credit it. Collaborate, but please don’t have meetings about it. You subject to status. can dig and talk at the same time. If the world I have described sounds far-fetched and futurisTell Everest about your growth plans. Send him emails at tic, please note that drones have been delivering poisonous just4growers@gmail.com 3 pizzas to imbeciles for nearly half a decade. Moreover, if you follow the path of least cultural resistance and choose to eat the cheapest, nastiest crap that a bloated corporation has specifically designed to pass your fat, salt and sugar tick-box Everest Fernandez is a well-respected industry educator, veteran hydroponic grower and grow light taste-test with flying artificial colours, then you are the apenthusiast, based in France. He works primarily as a marketpositely unwitting subject of this satire. In reality, nobody will ing and cultivation consultant and was the founding editor of mourn the removal of your genetics from the pool. You and Urban Garden Magazine in the UK, US and Canada. He also your kind signed on the dotted line to be confined to the writes and researches for the popular hobby horticulturalist YouTube channel, Just4Growers. landfill of history, along with the Neanderthals.

Bio

ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S EASY TO GROW YOUR OWN SUPERFOODS www.stealth-garden.com