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Levin Branch Newsletter October 2009

Oct 1, 2009

ORGANIC GROWING NEWS Newsletter 265 - October 2009

Levin Branch, NZ Soil & Health Association>

www.organicnz.org/branch/Levin

Patron Fay Te Kira 364 5168 President Ian Sheen 364 3299 singa@xtra.co.nz Treasurer Liz Baucke 368 0009
Minute Secretary Val Nicol 367 8320 Secretary Annmarie Coote 367 3753
Committee Emily Williams 362 6684 Barbara van der Valk 364 3244 Jill Scott 363 7567 Michael Hunt 364 8053
Ambassador at Large: Winifred Bourn, 23a Fairfield Road, Levin Fax 368 6271, ph 368 6701

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Visit to Anna Royal: sowing and growing seedlings.
356 Kuku Beach Rd, Ohau. Sunday 1st November at 1.30pm

This will be a hands-on workshop. You are invited to bring along any surplus seeds you may have, for a seed swap. Any unusual or heritage seeds would be very welcome. A $2 gate charge includes afternoon tea.

*****Bucket/Donation collection: Soil & Health Levin are collecting any donation you would like to contribute to for the "Safe Food Appeal 09". Your help is needed and any spare $'s you have are very welcome to support this cause. Soil & Health Levin will happily forward on what is collected on the day. So be prepared to bring $'s to buy some plants and for the donation. If any one has spare potted up plants for our Sales Table, please contact Barbara van der Valk 06 3643244.

Other Future Meetings:

6 December – Christmas Afternoon tea for Members at Thomas Reisinger's organic Lavender Farm, Whakahoro Rd, Manakau. $10 per person. Please contact a Committee Member to book.

Please mark your calendars to give some time to help in January at the Organic River Festival stall and in February at the Medieval Market stall.

Amor Walter is holding a Shiatsu Workshop on Sunday 8 November at Thompson House. The cost is $20, plus $15 for notes. The doors will be open at 1.45pm and close at 2.10pm (so no entry after that time). Please contact Winifred 06 3686701, if you wish to participate in this workshop

The next committee meeting will be on Monday 16 November with Val Nichol,.178 Lindsay Road, Levin

An introduction to Kefir, Kombucha & other fermented foods - with Phillippa Martin & Emily Williams:

Over 40 people attended a very informative talk and demonstration. Phillippa began by noting the work of Sally Fallon, the Director of the Western Price Foundation. Price was a dentist who, after travelling the world investigating nutrition and physical degeneration, observed that with the implementation of white flour and sugar there was a significant decline in dentition and jaw structure. He drew up a list of factors all traditional diets had in common e.g. bone broths, fat always with carbohydrate (e.g. porridge and cream!), never lean meat etc.

Phillippa then focussed on the work of Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride, a British paediatrician with post-graduate qualifications in nutrition and neurological surgery. For the last 10 years she has had outstanding results in dealing with first, autism , then ADHD, depression, schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder etc and now also asthma, all digestive disorders, MCS, auto-immune disorders, anorexia, CFS, etc. After her son was diagnosed at the age of 3 with severe autism, she began investigating traditional nutrition and the role of the gut. She introduced GAPS – Gut and Psychology Syndrome (based on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet) the protocols of which are now used worldwide. Campbell-McBride works in Cambridge, England with children with GAPS. It can take a couple of years to see improvements in these children as there are different stages for the introduction of different foods. She notes that all of the children are malnourished and have problems with bedwetting and colic. Food intolerances and allergies are also caused by the gut being out of kilter. The workings of which also has a huge impact on brain health and effectiveness. This is evident for many of these children in that the’ feel good’ chemicals e.g. dopamine are not properly broken down and so continue to travel in altered form throughout the body.

Phillippa highlighted Hippocrates claim that all disease begins in the gut. She noted that we should all have between 3 and 5 pounds of ‘good’ bacteria within our system - if we don’t, this is where problems begin. This situation of diminished gut bacteria has come about partly with the use of antibiotics. Women who have been given antibiotics have compromised gut flora, so babies (who are born with a sterile gut) don’t pick up the right flora from the birth canal, which is problematic when you realise that the gut is an open tube and so is potentially susceptible to infections.

Heavy metals and chemicals also adversely affect both the quantity and quality of our gut flora. One of the jobs of the good bacteria is to latch onto these heavy metals etc, which are then excreted from the body. So again, a diminished amount of this good flora will result in problems. Special mention was made of Mercury, which was previously used in vaccinations. Campbell-McBride recommends waiting until a child has reached two years of age, before vaccinating and then only if they are in good health at the time of the vaccination. Only getting one vaccination at a time is also a good idea.

There are three books which Phillippa recommended as being extremely important in terms of following the GAPS protocols - Sally Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions" Natasha Campbell Mc-Bride's "Gut and Psychology Syndrome" (GAPS) as well as her new book "Put Your Heart in Your Mouth". The NZ equivalent by Kay Baxter and Bob Crowther, is "Change of Heart". (Websites include: www.dietnet.nz www.gaps.me and www.westonprice.org)

By taking advantage of all the techniques in Nourishing Traditions you can help digest your food before it even hits your mouth. By using the bowl as your first stomach, your real stomach has less to do. This means soaking or sprouting all grains, using fats and dairy products with their full complement of enzymes intact (this means raw or cultured or both), using lacto-fermented beverages and vegetables, and most importantly using soup broth with extra gelatine at each meal. It was found that the only way mammals can eat cooked foods is if they consume gelatine along with it. The gelatine particularly helps with digestion, making our stomach enzymes and acids more effective. The best drink for the stomach is beet kvass which supplies Betaine, a necessary component of healthy digestion.

The focus of the meeting then turned to practical demonstrations:

Sauerkraut is made with cabbage, which is cut up or put in a food processor. From here it is transferred to a jar and whole salt is added. Bay leaves and caraway can also be used. Pressure needs to be applied to the cabbage. Phillippa uses a bottle filled with water for this purpose. Top the jar up with filtered water. The cabbage must be kept under water so airborne bacteria can’t get in. Store it at room temperature for two to three weeks. The speed of fermentation will be dependent on the weather. Carrots, choko, parsnip etc can be added to the mix. When eaten the sauerkraut should be crunchy rather than soggy. It will keep in a fridge for up to six months after fermentation is complete.

Like yoghurt, Kefir is lacto-fermented. It requires a starter to begin and when her jar gets down to 1/10th full, Phillippa adds their raw milk to the remainder in the jar. It is then left by the fire overnight and produces more kefir. Grains are created in the bottom of the jar, which is the kefir culture. The taste can be somewhat tart, but honey can be added. The kefir will keep for some time if refrigerated and can be made with pasteurized, soya, rice milk etc.(but not homogenised). It is used the same way as yoghurt and cream from the top can also be made into delicious butter. Dogs with skin conditions can show improvement if given a tablespoon of kefir each day.

Beet Kavass is a drink used for detoxification. It is made by cutting up beetroot, transferring this to a jar and adding filtered water. It is then left in a warm place for a couple of days. Whey, old beet culture or a broken probiotic tablet should be introduced to this mix.

Kombucha has similar properties to apple cider vinegar and is made by making a tea and adding sugar (herb teas can be used). A kombucha mushroom is then added to the cool mixture. It is left for a week, during which time a baby mushroom is produced under the original ‘adult’. This baby mushroom can be divided off for others to enjoy. As the mushrooms eat all of the sugar, the taste can be quite tart. More information can be found at www.kombuchatea.co.uk

Emily then demonstrated how to make sour dough bread. As this contains fermented grain it is beneficial for the gut. Again a starter is used, which is kept in the fridge until needed. This is then put into a bowl with some warm water and flour and mixed until a runny porridge consistency is attained. It is left to ‘bubble’, then salt and more flour is added. If the mix is made in the morning, make the bread at night or vice versa. Oil, molasses, eggs, fruit or seeds can be added to the mix. A baking dish is oiled, the mixture is placed into this, so it is no more than half full and it is left until the mixture reaches the top. It is then put in the oven to cook for 50 minutes.

The afternoon concluded with a tasting of the various delights both speakers had brought along.

OCTOBER and NOVEMBER IN THE ORGANIC GARDEN from the Organic Garden Calendar by Kath Irvine

October:

Don’t be in a hurry to plant out your summer veges Potatoes can be planted in tyres now

November:

Sow another lot of lettuces and salad greens Direct sow carrots, radish, beetroot and parsnip

MOON PLANTING GUIDE – late OCTOBER

17 – plant potatoes

20 – sow seeds of herbs and transplant previously grown herbs on the 29th

21,22 – sow celery, leek,, cabbage, lettuce, silverbeet and spinach seeds

28, 27 – apply compost to beds, transplant kumara and yams

31 – transplant leafy vegetables

REIKI – A NATURAL & EFFECTIVE HEALTH THERAPY

Organic wholemeal flour available at de Molen windmill in Foxton. Open 10-4, 7 days. 1.5 kg for $5.80 Enquiries: phone: 06 363 5601 email: demolenfoxton@xtra.co.nz

Peter’s Yoga Sunday morning Yoga Classes for Men & Women

EM (Effective Micro-organisms)

EM 1 available in 750ml, 2 litre and 20 litre containers. Bokashi Zing Compost Buckets and Bokashi Zing.

Full range of EM Ceramics and EMX. EM Practical Workshops..... to be advised.

Dave Johnston, 39 State Highway 1, Otaki, ph 06 364 6101, email lao@ihug.co.nz

A1 SHELTER BELT TRIMMERS for all your shelter belt and hedge trimming. Height reduction and decrowning now available. Competitive prices, prompt service. Phone Marty (06) 362 6737

MAWHENUA FARM

IMAGO ORGANIC ORCHARD

World’s first fully certified organic SKINCARE, BODYCARE AND COSMETIC PRODUCTS.

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