If you would prefer not to eat pesticides AND like to save money please raise your hand.
Well, it's really pretty simple. Find out which fruits and vegetables are laden with the most pesticide residues and grow them yourself. What? You don't have the time to do the research to find out which ones are the worst? No problem! The Environmental Working Group does it for us and they recommend we buy them only if they're grown organically.
Better yet, you can add them to your list of things to plant this year or next and grow them yourself.
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The 2013 Dirty Dozen
apples
celery
cherry tomatoes
cucumbers
grapes
hot peppers
imported nectarines
peaches
potatoes
spinach
strawberries
sweet bell peppers
kale/collard greens
summer squash
Which ones can you add to your garden this year?
Everything here is sprayed to within an inch of its life---no options. Plus, we're drinking powdered milk and I'm cooking with margarine. So much for healthy choices!
ReplyDeleteWe are new to our property. It will be a year come the end of May. I try to stay on top of the dirty list and okay to eat list. I will be growing most of the items on the list. Or, should I say attempting to grow? Our soil has never been worked and we are short on compost, so we have to do what we can and hope for the best.
ReplyDeleteI have planted 61 strawberry bushes, but have been told I shouldn't expect too much from them. I also have four blueberry bushes and six raspberry. Our fruit trees won't be ready for years because they are so small, but we will get there some day.
It's been a slow go getting things planted this spring because we are so new to it and because I am pregnant. Top that off with a husband that travels over 50% of the year and you have a combination that makes things difficult.
Hey,
ReplyDeleteI have been following you for quite a while now and really like your blog.
So far we only have a small vegetable garden but we are planning to have a big one that will feed our family once we move to a bigger place.
From those vegetables listed we grow our own:
apples, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, hot peppers, spinach, strawberries, bell peppers and summer squash. We also always get potatoes from my grandparents so there is no need of growing them ourselves.
I would love to grow cucumbers! But our cucumber plants always get this white stuff on the leaves, and then they turn yellow and die, and then the vines dry up and they're done. My husband tells me it's powdery mildew, and there's nothing to do. Any tips on growing good cucumbers? We live in South Western Ontario (about 1.5 hours west of Buffalo New York), so we don't have a terribly long season (decent, but not extremely long). My son eats cucumbers like they're going out of style, so I'd love to have our own so he can 'help' grow them too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for any help.
Melanie, Our kids love cucumbers, too! See if you can find a cucumber variety that is genetically resistant to powdery mildew. It seems that I read something about that on Mother Earth News' website- maybe you can find the article there. Good luck!
DeleteWe grow tomatoes each year, plus a few strawberries - will try to do more this year. Also trying potatoes for the first time this year, and I usually try for at least a couple of zucchini plants, though they have not produced as well lately - a dearth of bees, you know. We are also growing spinach for the first time this year and will probably plant an apple tree in the fall - we are looking into one that has 3-4 different varieties on the same tree, since we only have a good spot for one tree and you need to cross-pollinate, from what I have read. Very excited to try this, though!
ReplyDeleteThe pesticides are not just on the surface, there are inside the produce also...I'm trying to incorporate more organic and natural foods into my family's diet. Go with organic and sustainable. That's the nature's way.
ReplyDelete