Agrimag December 2017

AgriMag

Down to Earth in Florida

Formerly: The Ag Mag

A Christmas Eve Tradition O, Tannenbaum Guyana Holiday Traditions Greens the Whole Year Round A Good Hoe Eminent Domain Pesticides and People

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Volume II, Issue 10, December 2017 Copyright 2017 December 2017 | 1

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Jeri Baldwin and Marnie Hutcheson

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From the Publisher All over the nation, farmer’s crops are harvested, land is mulched, equipment repaired, tools cleaned and sharpened, and plans for heat and food progress as the earth revolves toward a time of rest, reflection, and restoration. The planet’s tilt brings it to winter, giving longer periods of darkness and shorter periods of daylight.

Before technology’s darker offerings seized and poisoned the intellectual prowess of people, winter time gave folks respite and relief in the “stillness of the night.” We faced long stretches of darkness that encouraged quiet activity, periods of rest, and times of, as my Mama would say, “studyin’” about whatever needed thought.

In past times, contemplation broke out all over when winter settled in. Long hours of letting thought run through the mind, sometimes over and over, while ideas slowly arranged themselves into insight and decisions about problems, directions, relationships, and arrangements.

We spent time finding ourselves, admitting that we were happier when most of our days passed under the sky with our feet upon the land. We realized we felt most honest when breezes ruffled our hair, and when we dug into the earth. Our spirit quieted in the open. We rediscovered our love for the earth and the foundation it so freely gives. We remember the loyalty the planet bestows on everything so unequivocally.

I spend many winter hours pursuing my spirit and making my most genuine decisions about my living as the earth turns to another year.

Please join me.

May peace, integrity, and good manners overcome us all in the next year.

Jeri

AgriMag

Down to Earth in Florida

AgriMag ISSN 2471-3007 Publisher Jeri Baldwin Jeri@AgriMag.Press 352-209-3195 Editors Jeri Baldwin 352-209-3195 Marnie Hutcheson 352-207-6520 Contributors William K. Crispin Jan Cross Cubbage David Goodman Anabelle Leitner Melody Murphy Design + Production Marnie Hutcheson Marnie@AgriMag.Press Amy Garone Ad Sales Cindy Baldwin Cindy@AgriMag.Press Distribution Terri Silvola-Finch Founder Carolyn Blakeslee Contact Us & Subscriptions AgriMag Press info@AgriMag.Press 352-209-3195 P.O. Box 635 Orange Springs, Florida 32182 Websites http://AgriMag.Press https://www.facebook.com/ AgriMagPress/

Formerly: The Ag Mag

Copyright ©2017 AgriMag Press All rights reserved

A Christmas Eve Tradition O, Tannenbaum Guyana Holiday Traditions Greens the Whole Year Round A Good Hoe Eminent Domain Pesticides and People

Cover Photo: Jeri Baldwin

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Please Enjoy

Volume II, Issue 10, December 2017 Copyright 2017 December 2017 | 1

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Con t e n t s

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| Movement to Better Reading | From the Publisher

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| A Christmas Eve Tradition

by Jeri Baldwin

8 | O, Tannenbaum

by Annabelle Leitner 10 | Guyana Holiday Traditions

by Mackenzie Patel 12 | Greens the Whole Year Round

by Melody Murphy 14

| Collage: Holiday Traditions

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A Good Hoe (or Ten) Will Change Your Life

by David the Good

18 | Eminent Domain - When Push Comes to Shove

by William Crispin 20 | Pesticides and People - What You Need to Know

by Marnie Hutcheson 22 24 25 26

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In Season Recipes Farming Wonders Calendar of Events AgriMag Briefs

Peace on earth in seeds by Christine Newberry Photo by Jeri Baldwin Copyright 2017

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A Christmas Eve Tradition

by Jeri Baldwin (Note: My Daddy came from the Navy after World War I with two jewels of information.

One: in the Navy one’s best friend is called “Jack,” and two: no true Navy man drank coffee until and unless it closely resembled petrified motor oil.)

The 18 cup coffee pot tucked at the end of the wire grill showed no nicks or dents only because layers of thick soot and grime hid the years of wear on the unsightly container. Thing is though, my Daddy would no more have lit his fire without his pot than he would have cancelled Christmas.

The day before Christmas Eve, that ugly pot occupied the place of honor, and meant that we had everything ready for Daddy’s annual Christmas Eve Bar-B-Que. We scrubbed and oiled the mattress springs he used to cook the meats.

A stack of seasoned hard wood waited beside the fire pit where wood burned to coals all day, until Daddy decided he needed to refresh the coals.

Years of shoveling coals taught him exactly how much to scoop, how many scoops he needed, and where the coals needed to go.

A water hose stretched to the pit from the nearest faucet and shovels and wet burlap sacks waited nearby in case of a runaway blaze.

Heavy boards lay across sawhorses, ready to be tables all day. A heavy, dark wooden kitchen chair waited near the wire covered pit for

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Daddy to take breaks and still oversee the day’s activities.

Before daylight on Christmas Eve, Daddy lit his fire and tucked his battered black coffee pot between a log and the fire. It boiled there until midnight, with water and coffee added whenever the coffee level got too low.

About daylight Daddy shoveled coals into the fire pit. When the wire mattress, stretched as a 4 x 8 foot grill over the fire, heated, he covered it with cuts of beef and pork. He sat a bucket on the table and started his Texas Bar-B-Que sauce. Memories poured into the pot with the ingredients. His south west Texas hill country birth place, his Father, his Mama, brothers, the south Llanos River 300 yards from their home, the Comanches who travelled the river, and the cattle and wild game his family bar-b-cued made his saucemaking one of his favorite chores all year.

Anyone could identify the bottles of liquid garlic, Tobasco, cooking oil, Worcestershire sauce, finely chopped onions, a teaspoon each of red and black pepper, a tablespoon of chili powder, several

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globs of mustard and enough cane syrup to bring it all together and tame the fire a bit – just a bit.

He never measured, only shook or spooned or poured until it suited him. He just grinned when asked for the recipe. My mama, whom Daddy called “Jack,” brought him a clean rag which he wrapped around a thumb sized stick and tied with carpenter’s string into a ready made ”slopping” mop. An hour after he laid meat over the fire, he sterilized a pitch fork and turned all the meat, then slopped sauce over all with his “mop.” All day he turned and slopped, smoked his unfiltered Camels, drank coffee, and visited.

He had lots of company. Anybody who walked to the edge of the pit could count on him needing an opinion about the meat. A piece of bread, an outside slice of meat, a thick mug of the mud Daddy called coffee, laced with cream fresh from the morning milking made breakfast, snack, dinner, afternoon hungries, and any other hunger pangs that day. Folks sat, stuck their feet toward the fire and swapped stories, many from the year before and the year before and the year before that. They almost always began with, “Do you remember that time when we…”

Early afternoon, folks came by with chickens, venison, squirrels, rabbit, fish, whatever they wanted to add. Daddy welcomed it and cozied it together until he got every piece over the coals.

The new meats joined the cook, turn, and slop ritual. Nearly done pieces got shifted to the edge of the pit, coals burned lower, new coals came from the fire less often, the sun slid west towards dusk.

Daddy said the same to everyone: family, neighbors, church people, folk he barely knew, acquaintances, people driving by all heard,

“We’ll have a little to eat about dark, “Y’all come by.”

Daddy’s children, grandchildren, neighbors, and other volunteers loaded the yard with tables and chairs. Tablecloths, utensils, glasses, napkins, and serving spoons appeared. Bowls of fresh churned butter, potato salad, cole slaw, home made

pickles, onions, okra, and pitchers of swee-tea lined the tables.

My oldest brother sharpened his best knife with long artistic swipes across his whetstone and sliced the roasts, pork loins, chickens, and other cuts laid in front of him. Platters of sliced meats filled the table. From the house, my Mama hollered for help, and we came from her hail bearing baked beans, grits, and smoking hot biscuits.

When supper started, I don’t remember that the all day nibbling kept anybody from heaping a plate and tucking in. Folks ate and ran, Christmas Eve being what it was, ‘specially if you faced an unassembled bicycle. Others talked the fire into near dead coals. Finally they all left.

I went to the house, got my pillow and some quilts, threw a piece of canvas on the ground near the fire, added wood to the fire, rolled into my quilts, and listened. Fewer and fewer cars passed on the Jacksonville Highway. The night stilled, and I watched the sky. When I was little I looked for Santa; in later years, the stars were my gifts.

No other Christmas Eve will ever compare to those of my growing years. When my Daddy held court and food and stories flowed all day, rooted deeply into my nostalgic niche. I won’t forget those days. Won’t forget that awful coffee pot either.

Jeri Baldwin

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O, Tannenbaum

by Annabelle Leitner

We always cut our Christmas tree from the small trees growing on our farm. The native loblolly pine (aka field pine) or sand pines that grew wild in our fields would end up in our living room. We decorated with the fragile glass ornaments which ironically were made in Germany. Although our last name is German, our family came to the colonies before the American Revolution.

Through the generations we have lost many of the traditions of the “old” country” so it is always amazing to find that some things like the celebration of the Christmas tree can trace its roots back to Germany.

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, do kannst mir sehr gefallen! Although we sing it as “O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree” its translation is “O fir tree, O fir tree, How faithful are your branches.” Written in 1819

by Joachim August Christian Zarnack, it was based on the folk song “Ach Tannenbaum” by the 16th century German Renaissance/Baroque composer Melchior Franck.

When I was really young it seemed that the tree would just magically appear. Before it ever came into the house it would stand in a gallon can of water for several days. As I got

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older, cutting the Christmas tree became the responsibility of my brother, David, and me.

Sometimes we would just walk down the hill to the “tree field” with a hand saw (I think Daddy always used an axe and in later years a chainsaw to cut the tree.) Am sure that when I went to help cut down the tree, everyone considered the saw safer, because “the baby sister” was not the most graceful child. Some years we took our old International Super A to drag the tree to the house, but some years it was the old 1931 Plymouth without its body that would be the chosen “chariot” for the tree.

In our grandparents’ houses the tree always seemed to be a cedar tree, which was also harvested from trees that grew on their farms.

But, as usual we always had to be a little different so at our house it became tradition that the smell of freshly cut pine meant that the “Jolly Old Elf” would soon visit.

What a shock the year we were visiting someone in the family, and they had a tree that looked like it was made out of tin foil. It wasn’t, but am sure many of you remember the silver trees that came in a box.

We always had a very full Christmas tree and people who saw it always commented about

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our getting an old field pine to look so full. Our full tree really had a very simple explanation… ..a secret I think as I am not sure anyone was ever told. Simple really: we would choose the first tree, cut it, then cut the second tree and jam them together to see if the two combined was what we wanted. If it wasn’t, then another tree was added. This is also the reason a “tree chariot” was needed, as it was a long way to carry three or four trees up the hill to the house.

Although the old field pines were the tree of choice for our family….one year we had a sweet gum tree. We cut the tree and then painted the bare limbs and trunk. It was interesting all decorated and in fact when we first started taking handmade ornaments to craft fairs, we displayed them on a bare sweet gum tree. We did not use the cedar trees as they were planted to use as windbreaks.

No matter what kind of tree, it was always tied to a special hook screwed into the ceiling. Like it stayed outside for a few days, it also stayed un-decorated for a few days, so the kitties and even sometimes the puppies could hopefully get their race track up and down the trunk out of their system! Of course as soon as the brightly colored glass balls were hung, batting practice started!

A Christmas tree is so much more than something to hang shiny ornaments on or park the prettily wrapped packages under.

A Christmas tree holds memories of family and togetherness. As you unwrap those old ornaments, they take us back to a time when things seemed simpler, and often will bring tears to your eyes and at the same time a smile to your face.

Annabelle Leitner

The Florida Christmas Tree Associations’ website at http://flchristmastrees.com/ has a listing of Christmas tree farms, where you can visit and cut your tree. In the past the Ocala National Forest sold permits to cut a Christmas tree. Call 352-625-2520 or 669-3153 for more information.

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Guyana Traditions Remain Strong in Ocala

Jack Joree at temple with his daughter by his side, his sister on the left and neices all around.

by Mackenzie Patel Who knew Ocala, Florida, harbored a community of Hindus from the former-British colony of Guyana? For these devotees, Sundays are dedicated to worship, fellowship, and of course, curry. Even from outside the metal temple, the Sanskrit songs and deep-voiced recitations can be heard.

On the inside, women walk – barefoot – in flowing gowns of sequens and intense colors, while the men wear white smocks and gentle smiles. One of these men is Jack Joree, the vice president of the Shree Krishna Manbir temple. Sitting cross-legged with his daughter and priest in front of Ganesh (a Hindu deity), Joree is a model of calm and piety – and one year older.

Celebrating his birthday with his temple, Joree smiled and clapped

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when the congregation sang him an Indian-styled version of the American “Happy Birthday” tune.

Joree, like many Hindus that immigrated to the United States, was born in Guyana (a northern country in South America).

Although he is ethnically Hindu, his ancestors were taken by the colonial British to Guyana during the imperial era to be farm laborers.

Joree still owns and operates his family’s farm in Guyana while running a tractor mechanic business in the States.

“I’ve loved farming ever since I was a little boy,” said Joree, offering me rice pudding and a brief history of his lands.

“We have cows, goats, sheep, horses, and a rice farm there. I

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took over for my father and his father before him.”

As an international agriculturist, Joree travels to Guyana frequently to oversee his 20+ farmhands (many of whom are family) and the overall operations for the 220 acres – all the while maintainig his community contacts in the States.

A true Renaissance man, Joree gestured proudly at the Indian version of Chow Mein at lunch and said, “I cooked that.”

Hindu traditions during the holidays and solstice are ripe with history, both colonial-modern and Vedas-ancient. December is a popular time for festivities (i.e. Christmas and Boxing Day), some of which last several days. The Guyanese are a very celebratory people in general,

which explains the necessity for gardening during the holidays: Joree entertains guests and hosts dinners daily during Christmas time.

“In Guyana, it is 80 degrees all the time, and there is little humidity.

We plant tomatoes and eggplant; and prepare duck, goats, and lamb.”

With six tractors on his Guyana farm and special urea fertilizer, the bounties achieved beg for wintertime dinners and celebrations. Fellowship and genuinely caring about neighbors is essential to the GuyanaHindu culture, in addition to worshipping their one God of Vishnu, Brahma, and Mahesh (the equivalent of the Christian Holy Trinity).

This sense of fellowship is also evident in the celebrations of Pagua (Phagwah) and Jhandi, the former of which is known as “Holi.” The so-called “festival of colors,” this event features vivid, powdered colors covering participants with messy residues and stained everything.

Especially popular on college campuses, Holi attracts thousands of participants at the University of Florida every year and represents the end of winter.

Jhandi is another ceremony that Joree celebrates with his temple-goers in November.

Bright flags on bamboo sticks are essential materials, and each flag represents a deity and the ideals they stand for. In the Hindu religion, these deities possess different forms and come to Earth to teach humans lessons/morals

and progress humankind.

The Jhandi participants make a covenant to uphold the deities’ ideals through pooja (the Hindu version of prayer and worship). These triangular flags were planted outside the Shree Krishna Manbir temple earlier in November, their cloth rippling in the Sunday-morning breeze.

Most of the Hindu celebrations Joree described were practiced outdoors, enhancing his already engrained connection to farming and the land around him. He even created a stage out of his farm trailer, all the singers and musicians crooning atop the metal bed.

The children, clothed in miniature saris and long shirts, play in the yard, simultaneously begging their parents for iPhones and naan (Indian bread).

His congregation in Ocala is more close-knit and “older,” according to his niece, Kristen Racktoo.

“We sing older hymns here, and they’re in Sanskrit, not Hindi.

Our instruments are different than ones used in India…I play the harmonium, and when I tell my friends from India, they haven’t even heard of that instrument.”

In addition to being an able farmer, Joree is a cricket player, an equestrian natural, an entrepreneur, and a staple in his Ocala community. As both a role model for his daughter, Jasmine, and the temple at large, he is a true example of hard work and international persistence. And he knows how to entertain friends with Hindu traditions and local cuisine.

As I am half-Indian and halfGerman, experiencing a traditional Hindu ceremony - a Guyana one at that - was eye-opening since I grew up Christian and attended private school with plaid skirts and all.

My Indian relatives in England celebrate few Indian holidays, preferring to strictly adhere to British ones like Christmas and Easter. Although not solsticebased, they also observe Diwali, the Indian New Year that falls around October and November.

I plan on digging more into my family’s history and attending more Krishna worships – and learning how to play the harmonium. ~ Mackenzie Patel

Although the details of worship differ between Guyana-Hindus and Hindus from India, the main tenants of truth, morals, and faith remain the same. The spicy food, as always, is divine.

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Greens the Whole Year Round

by Melody Murphy

March, our coolest months. Fall is the ideal time to plant greens, a few weeks after enriching your soil with compost or organic matter.

“The ones that please my heart the most/Are green(s) the whole year ‘round.”

“Green the Whole Year Round” is a lovely Christmas song which praises the charms of evergreens like the holly and the ivy. But when the song pops into my head while I’m wandering the produce section or passing a backyard garden or roadside vegetable stand, the lyrics often change slightly to “greens the whole year round.”

Collards grow in a loose bouquet, not in a tight head like cabbages, so young plants should be thinned to have 10-12 inches between plants. Turnips and mustard greens should have 4-6 inches between plants.

Greens belong to the cabbage family, which includes broccoli, kale, spinach, Swiss chard, and Brussels sprouts. But the holy trinity of beloved greens in Southern cooking is collard greens, mustard greens, and turnip greens.

Perfect for this time of year, greens thrive in cooler weather. Collards particularly are cold-hardy, surviving temperatures in the teens without damage. We don’t have much of that here in north central Florida, so our winter cold spells are little cause for worry when it comes to your collard crop. In fact, a frost will “sweeten” collards and make them even more delicious.

In Florida, greens flourish under a wide range of conditions and can easily be grown throughout most of the year – thus, “greens the whole year round.” The peak season is October through

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Six to eight weeks after planting, it’s time to harvest your collards. On New Year’s Day, it’s a tradition to serve collards (for prosperity) alongside blackeyed peas (for luck).

Mustard greens and turnips are even faster-growing; harvesting can begin as early as 5-6 weeks after planting. You can harvest the entire plants at full size, or “crop” them by removing the lower, larger leaves and letting the rest continue growing, extending the harvest. When harvest-

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ing, remember: Smaller leaves will have a milder flavor and be more tender than larger leaves. The trickiest part is thoroughly rinsing your freshly harvested greens to remove all the dirt. This is important, because there’s nothing worse than gritty greens. They’re best when cooked within a day or two of picking .

The traditional Southern way to cook greens is to boil them with side meat: a smoked, salted, fatty meat, such as ham hocks, fatback, or smoked turkey necks (I prefer pork). I’ve also used bacon and smoked sausage with good results. If you are a vegetarian or here purely for your health, I don’t know how to help you fix authentic Southern greens. Maybe go another route than Southern-style.

For seasoning, you also need vinegar, salt, red pepper, and onion. I like apple cider vinegar best, though for Italian-style greens, red wine vinegar works well. Season with olive oil, garlic, onion, tomatoes, Italian sausage, red pepper, and a squeeze of lemon. I’ve also read an intriguing Asian-style recipe where you simmer greens in coconut milk and season generously with red pepper.

However you season them, greens are full of antioxidants, a good source of vital nutrients like iron, calcium, fiber, folate, and vitamins A, C, E, and K. They keep your body strong and your mind sharp.

Greens are best cooked slow, but not cooked to death. Young, tender greens may need only 20-30 minutes of simmering after bringing to a boil; older, tougher greens may need up to an hour.

But beware: Being a cruciferous vegetable, overcooked greens (collards in particular) emit an unpleasant sulfurous smell. I have a friend whose husband won’t let her fix them in their house. She used to come to my house on New Year’s Day to cook her collards.

Collards have a mild, smoky flavor which pairs well with smoked seasoning meat. Mustard

greens are nicely mellow (and yes, their seeds are used in making mustard), while turnip greens are more pungent. My grandmother was a master of mustard greens; hers were the best ever.

Truthfully, I’m not a fan of turnip greens; their sharp flavor is too bitter for me. My grandfather loved them, but I’ve turned up my nose at turnips since I was small. The bitter taste can be improved, however, by pouring off the water from the first boil and replace it with fresh water (and a pinch of sugar) before you season and simmer.

If you cook the trifecta together, that’s known as mixed greens. In the South, at least – salads composed of fancy mixed lettuces will call themselves “mixed greens” in restaurants, but we know better.

Some people love “pot liquor,” or “pot likker,” the juice left behind after boiling greens, and will drink it or sop it with cornbread. I don’t, though I do always fix cornbread (and a side of sweet potatoes) to go with my greens.

Each of the holy trinity of Southern greens has a peppery bite, which is enhanced by red pepper while cooking and a few dashes of hot sauce when serving. In fact, a nice spicy dish of greens may just be the ideal Christmas side dish: green and red, and wonderfully warming.

Melody Murphy wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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Traditions

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A Good Hoe (or Ten) Will Change Your Life Many of us hate hoeing. We try to devise ways to avoid the hoe altogether. Raised beds with special soil mixes, deep mulch gardens, gardening under plastic. Anything but hoeing!

This is uncharitable to a venerable tool, however. It’s usually not the hoe’s fault we hate it so. It’s our own ignorance of two things: good hoes, and good tool maintenance.

Good Hoes What makes a good hoe? I would argue almost NO ONE makes a good hoe anymore!

Modern garden hoes are a bad imitation of their golden past.

A flimsy socket collar holds in a swan neck welded to a junky steel blade.

Old hoes are the best hoes.

In the past hoes were made of good steel; light, strong and able to hold a sharp edge. The blade, the swan neck and the socket were all one piece, not

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by David the Good subject to spontaneously falling to pieces in the potato patch.

Svelte antiques excepted, of course.

In short: if you’re hunting a hard-working hoe, the antique store is a better bet than the hardware store. That’s where I buy my garden hoes, along with thrift stores, rummage sales and, of course, ebay.

Hoe Maintenance

One exception are the grape, triangle and grub hoe heads I get from EasyDigging.com. Greg, the owner, knows how to source good tools.

Another exception are “hula” hoes. This type of hoe has an oscillating blade that cuts both forward and backward. In sandy Florida soil, this thing is a champion weeder and I can’t recommend it enough. You can find them at more hardware stores and they’ll serve you better than a “normal” hoe.

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The other reason some of us are hoe-shy is that we spent time in the past hacking at the ground with a dull, poorly aligned hoe.

When you get a hoe, it’s important to adjust the swan neck to give you the most ergonomic swing for weed decapitation. You want an angle that chops away weeds easily without awkward movement for your body. Use a bench vise to grasp the blade, then carefully bend a little at a time, making sure to test your adjustments in the garden in between. If you’re taller, bend the hoe head away from the handle until it sweeps weeds away nicely for you. If you’re shorter, bend the head toward

the handle for best results.

Work with the swan neck until you find what feels best for you.

the hoe is carried by the front wheel and weeding is almost as easy as walking.

around, you’ll want to use your traditional garden hoe or even a hand-held one.

Once the angle is right and your swing is smooth and easy, it’s time to put a good edge on your hoe. I like a 15-degree angle blade on mine, though if your soil is very rocky you might want more of a 25-degree angle.

Use a good file and sharpen it to a knife edge on the side of the hoe facing away from you when you hold the handle. After the edge is well-filed, be sure to remove the burr that forms on the back by running another couple of strokes with the file.

I’ve used both the Hoss wheel hoe and the Planet Whizbang wheel hoe. Though Hoss has some really cool attachments, such as the Hoss seeder and various plow blades, it’s heavier and less fun to use than the Planet Whizbang wheel hoe.

Though the Planet Whizbang wheel hoe is for weeding only, it’s awesome at that and I’ve gotten a lot of use from mine.

Yet whatever you do, learn to embrace the hoe! Once you get a good one (or ten – I admit to being a bit obsessed) and sharpen and set it up properly, it’s a major time-saver and a must-have garden tool.

The great thing about wheel hoes is that they allow you to weed faster than a tiller can weed and they consume zero fuel. It’s just you out in the garden walking the rows. No wrestling with a heavy machine that wants to go its own way, no exhaust fumes and no expensive repairs.

Totally Crazy Easy Florida Gardening, Compost Everything: The Good Guide to Extreme Composting and Grow or Die: The Good Guide to Survival Gardening.

I rub linseed oil on my hoe heads and handles to keep them from rusting and rotting – just be careful when oiling after you sharpen a hoe, as the head can cut you.

Wheel Hoes: Another Option for Larger Gardens Some years ago I discovered the wheel hoe. This is a brilliant piece of simple technology that allows you to walk the rows in your garden and weed at least five times as fast as you can with a conventional hoe.

It takes a few minutes to hoe a thousand square feet of garden beds. I would walk the rows once a week with my wheel hoe and was always amazed by how little effort it took.

The power of the wheel hoe is its single bicycle wheel and oscillating blade. It’s the same type of blade as a hula hoe, but usually broader. The weight of

Though a wheel hoe isn’t great for tight weeding, it’s very useful for keeping a large space clear.

David The Good is a gardening expert and the author of five books available on Amazon, including:

Find new inspiration every weekday at his website TheSurvivalGardener.com and on his popular YouTube channel.

My Must-Haves If I were limited to one hoe, I would keep my antique classic garden hoe. After that one, I’d add a hula hoe. Then a grub/digging hoe. Then a wheel hoe for my bigger gardens.

If you have clay soil, a scuffle hoe isn’t as useful and you’ll find yourself using a grub hoe more often. If you have sloping ground, a wheel hoe is hard to use. If you have tiny plants to seed

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Eminent Domain – When Push Comes to Shove

by William Crispin

A recurring theme of several of my columns has addressed the chronic challenge of competing land use between production agriculture and urban spread. Included in the urban expansion are the many aspects of support infrastructure necessary to provide required services to the population.

Such services include various transportation corridors, housing developments, and energy production.

Fueling ever increasing energy needs in Florida with abundant natural gas brought about the desire to build a pipeline to transport large volumes of the fuel to south Florida power generating stations.

to Florida Power & Light Company and Duke Energy Florida, LLC, to generate power.

Authority to initiate this huge project arrived through the Natural Gas Act (NGA), 15 U.S.C. §§717–717z, a federal law authorizing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to consider and approve applications to build and operate natural-gas pipelines.

FERC issues a certificate authorizing a proposed project when it finds that it “is or will be required by the present or future

Stakeholders on the providing side of this equation formed Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC (Sabal). Sabal directors proposed to construct 516.2 miles of mainline pipeline in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, known as the Sabal Trail Project (“Project”).

The Project includes associated lateral pipelines in Florida, five new compressor stations, and a hub in Central Florida. The Project will supply natural gas

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public convenience and necessity” and the applicant is “able and willing properly to do the acts and to perform the service proposed.” Id. §717f(e). Several months ago FERC issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity authorizing Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC to construct and operate the Sabal Trail Project.

To build this pipeline, Sabal Trail needs to acquire many easements—a right to enter and use land—from 1,582 landowners along the route. Many of these affected landowners are located in North Central Florida, home of some of the most precious and unique natural resources in the world.

The sought-after easements would allow Sabal Trail to enter each bit of land to build, maintain, and operate the pipeline.

The estimated cost of Sabal

Trail’s approved facilities is approximately $3,220,241,225.

Upon completion, the Sabal Trail Project will be able to transport up to approximately 1.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. FERC determined that this pipeline is in the public interest, and therefore immediate possession of the subject easements to achieve an inservice date of May 2017 wasn’t adverse to the public interest.

As holder of that FERC Certificate, § 717f(h) of the Natural Gas Act authorizes Sabal to exercise the right of eminent domain and bring a condemnation action against private property owners for any property needed to construct, operate, or maintain a pipeline or associated facilities.

15 U.S.C. § 717f(h). The Natural Gas Act has a primary purpose to further the public interest “in matters relating to the transportation of natural gas and the sale thereof in interstate and foreign commerce.”

A number of the eminent domain actions relating to the Sabal Project are being heard in the Northern District of Florida’s District Court. Judge Mark Walker has held that Florida law governs the compensation measure in this eminent-domain condemnation proceeding as it was brought by private parties against private property owners. Therefore, Florida’s full compensation measure governs.

Drawing from settled rights early in the formation of our country the Court reminded us of the importance placed with property rights. It pointed out that property rights have long been recognized as sacred and fundamental.

Early on in our Continental Congress it was declared that the ‘right of property’ is the guardian of every other right, and to deprive people of this, is in fact to deprive them of liberty. James W. Ely Jr., The Guardian of Every Other Right: A Constitutional History of Property Rights 26 (2d ed. 1998).

And that statement was no accident—the Supreme Court has also stressed that property rights are just as fundamental as others—including, again, the right to liberty.

The owners of the property rights which Sabal is pursuing are having their property unilaterally taken from them.

Fortunately for Floridians, Florida state law governs the compensation measure in eminent-domain condemnation proceedings brought by private parties against private property owners. Florida’s “full compensation” measure therefore applies.

The Sabal Trail Pipeline represents a mere example of what is inevitable, to wit: demand for green space and agricultural land for development or related purposes.

The law in Florida supports a more reasonable compensation formula for its property owners subjected to eminent domain than many others. It isn’t perfect as the remedy is monetary only; an inherent shortcoming when it comes to replacing or taking the place of cherished heritage live oaks and peace of mind.

You can show your support for just compensation for landowners by staying abreast of these events around you and voicing your concerns to your representatives and senators. As sure as the sun rises in the east it is inevitable that there will be more “projects” knocking on our back and front doors.

William K. Crispin Afarmersfriend.com

Property does not have rights.

People have rights, such as the right to enjoy property without unlawful deprivation. Those basic civil rights also dictate that private property owners must be compensated when their property is taken for public use.

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Pesticides and People

By Marnie Hutcheson

What you need to know: ~ Neonics are in the dust in our houses, the water we drink, and the food we eat. ~ Neonics permeate plant stems, roots, leaves, and fruit and can’t be washed off. ~ Neonics stay active in plants, soil, and water for a very long time. ~ It only takes days for a bee or a human to become saturated with Neonics. ~ Direct contact with neonics can kill people. ~ Neonics cause birth defects, brain damage, and lower live birth rates in humans and animals. ~ Neonics are derived from “Nicotine.”

Last month I wrote about the weed killer, Glyphosate, (Roundup) and the health risks (cancers) that it poses to humans. This month I report the newest information on neonic pesticides.

In August, I wrote an article about the fact that all my pollinators had disappeared.[1] All my crops were affected and produced almost nothing. I was heartbroken.

There was a large response to this article via facebook, website, and email. The respondents were clearly divided into two groups, those who had similar experiences and those who believe that their pollinators are still present and fine and that I am ??crazy??

At that time there wasn’t a lot of information about what the cause of the pollinator disappearance might be. Even though pesticides were strongly suspected, my neighbors and I don’t use any herbicides, pesticides, or fungicides. --We were all left wondering “what happened?”

After years of false reasurances, finally we are getting lots of

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facts about these poisons; very uncomfortable facts. This stuff (neonictoids, or neonics for short) is deadly to just about everything, people included, and it’s everywhere. Here are findings from studies released in October and November 2017.

Neonics are everywhere and they don’t go away quickly.

Early this year Cornel University placed 120 pristine honeybee colonies near 30 apple orchards around New York state. After allowing the bees to forage for several days during the apple flowering period, the scientists examined each hive’s “beebread” - the bees’ food stores made from gathered pollen - to search for traces of pesticides.

17 percent of the colonies had beebread with acutely high levels of pesticide and 73 percent of the bees were found to have high exposure. [2] Here is the scary part of this study; the pesticides were not coming from the orchards where the bees were pollinating, they were coming from

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the surrounding farmland. More than 60 percent of the pesticides found were attributed to orchards and surrounding farmland that had not been sprayed during the apple bloom season.

Neonics are in our drinking water, lakes, streams and wells.

The U.S. Geological Survey found that neonics are widespread contaminants of surface and groundwater. Half the streams sampled in the USA contained neonics.[3] In nine rivers monitored in the Midwest, where neonics are most heavily used, the study found clothianidin in three-quarters of monitored sites, thiamethoxam in one-half, and imidacloprid in one-quarter.[4] Neonics are in the dust in our houses. A study that compared pesticide agricultural drift and residential use of neonics to their concentrations in household dust showed increased pesticide concentrations in house dust in agricultural areas. [5] Neonics are in our food.

75% (80% in the USA) of honey all

over the world is contaminated with Neonics.[6] Testing from the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found neonics in fruits and vegetables in the field and in stores.[7] Neonics cause birth defects, brain damage, lower live birth rates, and death in humans.

Several studies in 2017 have documented that neonics are not only major contributors to pollinator deaths they are also producing birth defects and brain damaged human babies in the US and elsewhere. [8] Eating more fruits and vegetables with high-pesticide residue (for example, strawberries and raw spinach) was associated with a lower probability of pregnancy and live birth following infertility treatment for women using assisted reproductive technologies.

[9] Acute pesticide poisoning is an important public health problem worldwide and accounts for a significant number of human deaths each year. Accidental human poisoning with neonicotinoid insecticides is a common event in Asia and rural India where the pesticides are used to kill fleas, termites and bees. [10] The neonicotinoid imidacloprid applied as flea and tick treatments for pets (Advantage by Bayer) during pregnancy is associated with Autism spectrum disorder in prenatally-exposed children. [11] [1] https://issuu.com/the-ag-mag/docs/ agrimag_august_2017/14

Can we farm without this stuff?

Sure we can. Commer-

cial farmers say that it will cost more to raise crops without the neonics and Roundup; the price of food will rise. Organic farmers are doing just fine without this stuff. Farmer’s markets are becoming the markets of choice for more and more people both in the USA and abroad.

--Apparently the consumers are willing to pay more for Certified Organic and Naturally Grown food-- that is not poisoned.

We must ban these herbicides and pesticides as soon as possible. More on this soon.

Give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees, and the animals, and my grandchildren. and mother earth. – please!

What are neonics?

Neonicstoids, (neonics) have been around since the early 1990s. There are many kinds, but they are all derived from Nicotine. Neonics are easier for farmers to use than the traditional methods of spraying crops and currently they are the most used insecticide on the planet. [12] Neonics are designed to target the insect nervous system. Neonics bind to a receptor on nerve cells which normally binds to acetylcholine. However, unlike acetylcholine, which is rapidly degraded after it has performed its intended function, the neonics are degraded very slowly. This causes havoc with the affected nerve cell, ultimately killing a target insect within hours.

Neonicotinoids produce the same adverse effects as nicotine on developing mammalian brains. In people, the acetylcholine receptor functions to insure proper formation of the correct architecture of the brain during fetal growth, muscle contraction, learning, and the ability to pay attention.[13] [14]

Marnie Hutcheson [2] http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2017/04/bees-face-heavy-pesticideperil-drawn-out-sources [3] https://www.nrdc.org/experts/jennifer-sass/neonicotinoid-pesticides-badbees-and-may-be-bad-people-too [4] https://www.usgs.gov/news/insecticides-similar-nicotine-found-about-halfsampled-streams-across-united-states [5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pubmed/27458779 [6] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/05/honey-tests-revealglobal-contamination-by-bee-harmingpesticides [7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pubmed/24456651

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[8] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/ neonicotinoid-pesticides-slowly-killingbees [9] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171030112401.htm [10] www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2090536X13000427 [11] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pubmed/24456651 [12] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/ are-pesticides-to-blame-for-the-massivebee-die-off [13] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles/PMC3290564 [14] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/ S0079612308605026?via%3Dihub

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In Season Recipes Sweet Potato Dumplings 1. Preheat oven to 350° F

2 can(s) crescent rolls 8 sweet potato slices (cut in half) 2 cups sugar 2 cup water 1 1/2 stick butter (3/4 cup) 1 Tbsp vanilla extract 1 Tbsp cornstarch cinnamon to sprinkle on top

2. Cut each patty in half.

Open and unroll the crescent rolls. Separate the triangles. Place each sweet potato patty on the wide end of each triangle.

As you roll up each sweet potato half in the crescent roll, tuck the ends in. They don’t have to be perfect, they don’t have to be sealed so it’s okay if the sweet potatoes aren’t completely covered.

butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.

3. After you finish rolling them up, place in an 8”x8” glass baking dish with the pointy end of the crescent roll facing down. If you are doubling this recipe, use a 9”x13” glass baking dish.

4. In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar and cornstarch. Mix well. Add the butter. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the

1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup shortening 1 1/2 cups white sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons cream of tartar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 5 tablespoons granulated sugar 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

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5. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

6. Pour the sugar mixture over the dumplings and sprinkle with cinnamon.

7. Bake in the preheated 350° F oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

Snickerdoodle

1. Makes about 4 dozen cookies Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

2. Cream together butter, shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar until fluffy, approx. 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each, then blend in the vanilla.

3. Whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add to wet mixture and blend in.

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In Season Recipes

Butternut Squash Hummus 1. Servers 4-5 as an appetizer Preheat oven to 425˚F 2. Peel and chop the butternut squash, and spread it onto a baking sheet.

Toss with olive or coconut oil and salt and pepper.

1 can Garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained 1 ¼ cup roasted butternut squash ½ tbsp. organic white miso paste 2 tbsp tahini 3 tbsp olive oil ½ tbsp. roasted garlic 1 tsp cayenne pepper ½ tsp ground turmeric(optional) Juice of ½ lemon and 3 tbsp water Salt and pepper Pomegranate arils and chopped pistachios to garnish(optional)

3. Slice off the bottom of one small head of garlic.

Drizzle oil over the cut end, and wrap the head of garlic in a piece of foil, adding it to the baking sheet with the cut end facing up.

4. Roast the garlic and butternut squash for 3040 minutes, flipping the squash once or twice in between.

5. While the squash roasts add the garbanzo beans, tahini, miso paste, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and turmeric(if using) to a food processor.

6. Once the squash and garlic have finished roasting, add 1 ¼ cup of the squash, and about

½ tablespoon of the roasted garlic to the food processor. (reserve the remaining squash and garlic for another use) 7. Process the mixture on high, and then drizzle in the olive oil and water, adding a little bit of water at a time if needed to thin the mixture. Process for about 5 minutes until the hummus is smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary.

Taste, and adjust the seasoning by adding more salt, lemon or cayenne.

7. Transfer to a dish, garnish with additional olive oil, pomegranate arils and chopped pistachios if desired. Serve with veggies, chips or pita.

Snickerdoodle continued

4. Mix the 5 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon in a small ziploc bag.

5.

Shape a heaping tablespoonful of dough into ball and place it into the cinnamon sugar bag. Shake the bag and roll the dough around until completely coated. Repeat and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.

6.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

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Farming Wonders of the World

Celebrating the handshake, a farmer’s inviolate promise or vow or sign of respect to family, neighbors, and other folk 24

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Calendar of Events Events, Workshops, Meetings, Classes, Conferences. Etc

December 7-8, 2017

December 20, 2017

National Conference of Cover Crops and Health Contact the Soil and Water Conservation Society for registration information and for further details about a large variety of other agricultural conferences which may interest you.

Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Ocala/Marion County Chamber and Economic Partnership Exceptional Mornings Breakfast. Contact Marion County Chamber of Commerce

December 12, 2017

Agritunity In its 10th year, Citrus County Agritunity offers two days of innovative, current agricultural possibilities. For more information contact, UF/IFAS Extension Citrus County. 352-527-5700

Understanding Florida Cottage Food Law Tallahassee, Florida A workshop providing general information for the Florida cottage food operation.

Contact Aquatic Food Products Lab, IFAS, University of Florida; 352-294-3609

January 22-23, 2018

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AgriMag Briefs

Hurricane Season Ends Florida’s expensive hurricane season has ended. The 2017 hurricane season saw its last day on November 30. It also saw the 2nd most expensive price tag for a hurricane season since 2005 when that spate of storms cost the state over $211 billion. The 2017 season, at $202 + billion, reduced much of the state to power outages and downed trees.

The 2016 hurricane season brought Hurricanes Matthew and Hermine to Florida, but the damage from those two was somewhat minimal. The first hurricanes in 10 years since 2005 left Floridians somewhat optimistic about 2017. That optimism died under the onslaught of a nearly state long trail of damage and destruction

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from Hurricane Irma.

Even with the huge price tag for Florida, Texas’ Hurricane Harvey became the most disastrous natural disaster in US history with $180 billion in damage. This, even though Irma’s huge size covered the entire state. A 3 foot storm surge hit Jacksonville, nearly 400 miles north of where Irma made landfall.

geography and the time of year when a plant needs pollination.

Good riddance to high winds and blowing rain. Six months before the next hurricane season begins.

Growers who found their fruit crops being pollinated by wild bees claimed reason enough to protect wild bees. A Yorktown Heights, New York educator, recommends a diversified diet to keep pollinators healthy and productive. Diversity in diet boosts the wild bee’s immune system because a different life force is present in each plant.

Pollinators and Weather In the world of fruit, herb, and vegetable pollination some pollinators prefer a diverse habitat because weather conditions and activities vary.

Also important for pollinators is

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Many growers, afraid that their tame honey bees weren’t actively pollinating because of the temperature, relaxed when the bee keepers discovered that wild bee were willing to fly and pollinate in weather 5 to 10 degrees colder than for tame bees.

AgriMag Briefs Damaged Agricultural Land Assistance Agricultural producers who sustained damage from Hurricane Irma can apply for assistance through a special Environmental Quality Incentive Program. The Natural Resources Conservation Service established the program to benefit impacted farmers from wind and flood damage resulting from natural disasters. most recently Hurricane Irma.

The deadline for application is December 28. Farmers and ranchers may get more information at their local NRCS field office.

Septic Tank Removal Funded One culprit of declining water quality in Florida spring sheds is septic tanks. At last, the St. Johns River Water Management District plans to work with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and local governments to provide funds to remove them.

The collaborative effort will target the Volusia Blue, Wekiwa, and Silver spring sheds as the first to replace individual wastewater treatment systems in areas where sewer line extensions may not be present or financially feasible. The system connects to existing wastewater

continued lines and drain field. The monitoring which will be needed can be done remotely by a local utility.

With the $2 million initial funding, approximately 200 existing septic tanks from single family homes will be replaced.

The nitrogen load reduction from this beginning effort is about 10 to 23 pounds per year per tank; location and soil type being a factor in the total amount.

A test project in Lake County early in 2017 showed a total nitrogen removal efficiency of 86 per cent one week following installation, with an increase to 98 per cent removal at the end of the 8 week period.

Disaster Relief Money for Citrus Growers Florida’s Citrus officials are increasing their efforts to gain much needed funding for Florida’s Citrus. The latest effort is a trip to Washington to lobby to be included in pending federal disaster-relief legislation.

Florida Citrus Mutual, the trade group for growers, is spearheading the funding effort.

“We have had promises and commitments,” explains Mike Sparks, chief executive. “We have run out of opportunities, and time.”

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Starting in January buy a subscription to AgriMag online magazine and get a free “No Farms No Food” Bumper Sticker mailed to you.

https://agrimag.press

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AgriMag Online advertising rates will be published soon!

AgriMag’s online Reach 55,000 people have seen the AgriMag Magazine on line in 2017. AgriMag online magazine is viewed by readers all over the world EVERY DAY. Not just once a month. Every month more people view our magazine.

Please join us online as we continue to improve our magazine and our website.

Find us at:

https://agrimag.press & https://www.facebook.com/AgriMagPress/

Hey, Advertizers GeT Noticed!

Advertize in Agrimag

Ads@agrimag.press Copyright 2017

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DANA’S Explore springs — coastal estuaries — quiet rivers — and slow floats upon

RAILROAD SUPPLY

pristine waterways.

North Central Florida birding and kayak fishing for 30 years

TRAIN SET · KITS · PARTS · DECALS · DIGITRAX · PAINTS · BOOKS · REPAIRS · LIONEL · SHIP & AIRPLANTE MODELS DANA: Owner NANCY: Station Master WHC JOHN: Chief Mechanic of WHC PAULO: Yard Master WHC Les: DCC

Hawkseye.lee@aol.com Lee Solomon 352-572-1667

4042 Deltona Blvd.

P.O. Box 5557 Spring Hill, FL 34606 (352) 684-2484

Email: dana@danasrailroadsupply.com Web Site: danasrailroadsupply.com

Meat Sheep

ALLIANCE OF FLORIDA

SERVING PRODUCERS IN FLORIDA AND THE SOUTHEAST

http://MeatSheepAllianceOfFlorida.com

RED WAGON PRODUCE

Fresh Produce Vegetable & Herb Plants Organic Practices

April & Gil Norris 352-537-0413 RedWagonProduce@hotmail.com

See us at local Farmers Markets: Thursdays: 9am - 12pm Circle Square Commons Saturdays: 9am - 2pm Ocala Farm Market

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Ocala Breeder’s Feed and Supply Producing top quality equine feeds for over 35 years.

FARM FRESH GIFT BASKETS

Livestock Equipment • Animal Health • Lawn & Garden Hay & Bedding • Aviary • Barn Care Tack & Riding Equipment

Fresh, the ultimate gift for everyone on your list.

Large variety of equine, livestock & exotic feeds from Purina Mills and Manna Pro.

20% OFF

Crones’ Cradle Conserve gift baskets Perfect for your holiday gift giving Choose your basket contents from this list:

Any Fly Product Includes sprays, baits, traps, wipes, fly mask, fly sheets

Fresh vegetables Herb and vegetable seedlings Fresh baked breads Pastries Jams & Jellies Local Artist Creations Honey Pickled vegetables

Not valid with any other promotional offer AgriMag Reader Coupon OBFS•Expiration 10.31.17

$2.00 OFF

Any dog or cat food 10 pounds or larger.

Over 16 brands of pet foods to choose from.

Not valid with any other promotional offer AgriMag Reader Coupon OBFS•Expiration 10.31.17

Minimum price per basket is $20.00; final price depends on your choices

Delivery is available for $5.00 in Marion County.

www.obfs.com Hwy 27 Retail Location • 352.402.0303 • Mon-Fri 7:30am-5:30pm • Sat 8am-4:00pm Airport Rd Retail Location • 352.237.3399 • Mon-Fri 7:30am-5:30pm • Sat 7:30am-4:30pm Mill Location • 352.629.8686• Mon-Fri 7:30am-4:30pm (Feed Sales Only) All Locations Closed Sundays

Email catcrone@aol.com or call 352-595-3377 to place order or if you have questions.

www.superiorlandscape.net FULL SERVICE GARDEN CENTER

LANDSCAPE DESIGN & INSTALLATION

Palms • Shade Trees • Citrus Trees Annuals • Perennials • Shrubbery Pottery • Custom Planters Mulch • Pine Straw • Soil

Ponds • Waterfalls • Fountains Paver Patios • Driveways Landscape Lighting Outdoor Kitchens

SUPERIOR LANDSCAPE & GARDEN CENTER 5300 North US Highway 27, Ocala, FL 34482

352-368-6619 Copyright 2017

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Continuing problems with the condition of the farm since Hurricane Irma make it necessary to cancel our December 9th, 2017, Natural Foods Gala.

Please join us for our

GRAND REOPENING Natural Foods Gala on

March 24th, 2018 Our Crones Cradle Conserve store REOPENED on November 11th, 2017 You can also find us at the Ocala Downtown Market Fresh vegetables now available. (limited varieties) Jams, canned vegetables, local handcrafted artwork, and vegetable seedlings available NOW

Volunteers Needed!!

We need volunteers for rebuilding garden beds, planting seedlings, pulling weeds and other farm related chores.

For weekly information about events on the farm, please send us an email to be added to our weekly Farm Flash newsletter.

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