Nutritional Gardening Rhona McAdam, RHN, PDC, MFC

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Rhona McAdam, R.H.N. • Master’s in Food Culture &

Communication

• Permaculture Design Certificate

• Writer: Digging the City

• Nutritional Practice: Go Local Nutrition at Haliburton Community Organic Farm, Victoria

• Some resources and links you might like to follow on my website, www.golocalnutrition.com

Eco-Nutrition

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What is Nutritional Gardening?

Why do I need to know about it?

What can I do in my own garden to grow more nutritious food ?

Some Recommended Reading • Digging the City: An Uban Agriculture Manifesto, by Rhona

McAdam

• Eating on the Wild Side, by Jo Robinson

• Eat your Greens: The Surprising Power of Homegrown Leaf Crops, by David Kennedy

• The Intelligent Gardener: Growing Nutrient- Dense Foods, by Steve Solomon

• The End of Food, by Thomas J Pawlick

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Soil, plants, ecosystem = nutritious (nutrient-dense) foods

Nutritional Gardening

Why do we need to think about nutritional content in what we grow?

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Soil deficiencies lead to plant deficiencies; plant deficiencies lead to human nutritional deficiencies.

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Human needs:

Food

Water Air/light

Bacteria (microbiome)

Plant needs:

Food

Water

Air/light

Bacteria (plant microbiome)

Soil needs:

Food

Water

Air

Bacteria (soil food web) & more

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Human Nutritional Needs

Essential Nutrients:

Macrominerals (Ca, Cl, Mg, P, K, Na, S)

Microminerals ( Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Se, Zn)

Vitamins (A, B, C, D, E, K1 & K2, Folic Acid)

& Fats, Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fibre

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Nutritional Needs of Plants

Essential Nutrients:

Macrominerals (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, O, H, C)

Microminerals (B, Cl, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Zn)

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Healthy Soil Needs

Air (Aeration)

Water (Source, flow, retention)

Food (Nutrients)

Microbial Life

Fungal Life

Nematodes

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Protozoa

Micro Arthropods

Environmental Toxins

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Glyphosate

• Health effects on plants, soil and humans

• What’s a weed? What’s a pest?

• Long-term effects on soil fertility

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A Healthy Garden Needs:

Good soil

Water supply

Ongoing nutrient supply

Healthy birds, bees & other participants

Why are nutrients unavailable to us?

Growing, harvesting methods

Food produced far away

Processing, transport, storage

Imbalanced diet; artificial flavourings

Age

Increased need for nutrients: pollution, medications, genetic deficiencies/ illnesses

Soil depletion

We’ve been studying microbiome for 7 years

Bacteria have been in existence for 4 billion years

Humans, 2 million

Human Microbiome

Our Bacteria Affect...

Metabolism of nutrients/vitamins, including calcium uptake & bone health

Immune system

Digestive tract health

Allergies, asthma

Autoimmune disorders

Mental health; stress management

Neurotransmitter metabolism

Cancer drug functionality

Farms, Dirt & the Microbiome

Rural populations have different microbiome from urban; full implications not yet known

Several studies have shown reduced incidence of Irritable Bowel Disease (Crohn’s, UC) in rural populations: much more an urban disease

2014 study from Denmark found growing up on a farm with livestock halved the risk of IBD in adulthood

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Death to the Microbiome

Antibiotics

Other medications: proton- pump inhibitors (GERD)

Antimicrobial soaps etc.

Processed food, lack of soluble fibre

Environmental toxins – esp. pesticides

Urbanization: lack of contact with soil, animals, plants

Feeding the Microbiome

Gardening

Composting

Fermentation (kimchi , kefir, yogurt, kombucha, raw-milk cheese, sourdough, other “live-culture” foods)

Soluble & Fermentable fibres (probiotics, prebiotics)

Certified organic foods

Lots of fresh fruits & vegetables!

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Microbiome: Inside & Out

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Mycorrhizae (mycelium)

Small pine tree showing roots and micorrhizae

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Some agricultural practices that deplete soil bacteria (& soil fertility generally):

Grass Roots Power

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Breaking news, from Facebook!

Those insect-eaten holey kale leaves (or any other leafy green) are actually better for you then their unassaulted counterparts!!

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How plants defend themselves: e.g. Tomatoes

Chemical fertilizers

High use of nitrogen fertilizers decreases the vitamin C content in many fruits and vegetables

Double whammy: increases the concentration of nitrate and simultaneously decreases antioxidant ascorbic acid

Nitrogen fertilizers can increase the concentrations of carotenes and vitamin B1

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Furthermore...

Chemical fertilizers reduce the storage life of foods

Since 1960s, potatoes have lost: 100% of Vitamin A

57% of Vitamin C & iron

28% of calcium.

This is similar to 25 other fruits and vegetables that were analyzed in a CTV study.

Humans need all these nutrients in balance for homeostasis and general good health.

Adding Nutritional Value to your Gardening

Fertilization

Pest control

Water management

Harvest – timing, methods

Preservation

Agricultural failings catch up with us

Since the beginning of agriculture we have been breeding nutrition out of our food

Most wild plants are low in sugar, starch, and fat (small, bitter)

Our reward centres are wired for sugary, oily, and starchy foods

Wild Tomatoes

Galapagos Tomato

Lycopersicon / Solanum chilense

Wild tomatoes, Peru

Lycopersicon peruvianum

Lycopersicon hirsutum (Solanum

habrochaites)

Super Greens

Dandelion Greens 8x more antioxidants

100% cheaper

Spinach

vs.

Fruits & vegetables showing losses or gains of four or more nutrients

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From a study conducted by CTV in [2002]

2015

7 peaches

1951

2 peaches

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How many peaches? A woman’s RDA of vitamin A (2333 IU) then & now

2015

2+ servings

(& declines in Calcium, Riboflavin & Vitamin C)

1951

1 serving

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How much broccoli? A man’s RDA of vitamin A (3000 IU) then & now

What do people grow in food gardens?

Top 10:

1. Tomatoes

2. Cucumbers

3. Sweet peppers

4. Beans

5. Carrots

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6. Summer squash

7. Onions

8. Hot peppers

9. Lettuce

10. Peas

22 Crops you can add for nutritional value

Eat Your Greens: The Surprising Power of Home Grown Leaf Crops, by David Kennedy. New Society, 2014.

1. Grain Amaranth 2. Quail Grass 3. Roselle 4. Sweet Potatoes 5. Wolfberry 6. Alfalfa 7. Austrian Winter Peas 8. Barley 9. Cowpeas 10.Wheat 11.Chaya (tree spinach)

12. Cranberry Hibiscus 13. Garlic Chives 14. Jute 15. Moringa (Horseradish tree) 16. Okinawa spinach 17. Taioba 18. Belembe (Tannier Spinach) 19. Taro 20. Toon (Chinese Mahogany) 21. Vine spinach 22. Walking stick kale (tree collards)

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