Health and stuff

I have been spending time in the office so that in the next couple of weeks when we start to heat the greenhouse I can leave the paperwork behind, or at least for the time being.

I'm very excited to be growing a greenhouse full of tomatoes (mostly HEIRLOOM varieties) and a good selection of peppers.  Oh how I long for those beautiful orange peppers that we ate like apples and a bowl of fresh salsa for snacking while cooking dinner.

Orange bell peppers are an excellent source of carotenoids like alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene and lutein,  cryptoxanthin, and zeaxanthin, plus vitamin C and E.  Zeaxanthin promotes eye health, Beta-carotene wards off harmful free radicals that damage healthy cells, and they are an excellent source of vitamin C. Studies have shown that there are only two veggies that can provide you all this goodness and they are tomatoes and bell peppers.  So having said that, the greenhouse if bursting with goodness!

Ever since attending the Heirloom Expo last September in Santa Rosa, CA I am committed to growing 

heirloom, heritage, open-pollinated, and organic seeds. If we are trying to grow nutrient dense, non-GMO, chemical free food, then it must start with good seed.

We attended the Back To Your Roots Annual Producers Conference in Regina again this year.

We had an amazing keynote speaker line-up.  Dr Arden Andersen, Dr Don Huber, Glen Rabenberg, and Dr Tom Dykstra.  All world class speakers who do in fact travel the world educating.

Dr Andersen possesses a unique understanding of the link between soil/crop health and human health.  He works both as an integrative family doctor and a soil and crop consultant.

Dr Huber spoke on GMO's and glyphosate, and state of the world food system.

Dr Dysksta spoke to us about bugs, yes bugs and their relationship to healthy or unhealthy crops and what exactly that should mean to the farmer.

Glen Rabenberg is the President of Genesis Soil Rite Calcium.  After an extensive background in animal pharmaceuticals he started to understand the relationship between sick animals and poor feed.   
This relationship also holds true for humans and the food we consume.

To say the least it was a very emotional and eye opening couple of days.

If you are interested in the topic of soil health (having vital nutrients available for plant use) and would like more information, contact us @ brixnberries@gmail.com  We'll also have dvd's from the conference available.

Laurie