By Jannie Vaught

There are many people working together to bring biological diversity and food production together to bring food to our table and growing native forests and plants together for a truly sustainable healthy practice. For example here in our Texas farm ranching the use of planting Daikon radishes as a cover crops between seasonal crops using “No-Till” practices by simply using a seed drill to plant and when the fields are ripe with large radish the cattle are turned into the crop. They eat and root up the radishes giving back their manures and natural plowing abilities.

Another special practice is something I personally take great attention to is the production of cocoa. This has been known to be a practice that cut down rain forests, impoverished the growers with little pay for their hard work and crop. Something to take a look at is The World Cocoa Foundation online. This brings the native forest back into the cocoa plants supporting the natural habitat and bringing a renewed vision and quality of the plants back to a natural state. There is training for better growing and harvesting techniques and including the Women as the ones not having to be in the field but active in ordering, shipping, accounting that can be done from the home not taking them away from the needs of the children.

They increase the size of their farms and make a Fair Trade for their Cocoa. For me and all who Love chocolate, we get organic products and the knowledge that what I am paying for that chocolate the family growing it is getting a fair price and living. These are simply two examples of using existing cattle feeding and the rainforest restoration as a real working part of the bigger picture. We do not have to section the natural world out of the process but with the combination of Working in Harmony, we restore while bringing a good product to market. I know I am a small gardener, working to build soil regeneration and weekly I get the honor to share a little helping of gardening with a twist to anyone who reads the” Bloom” column.

Fall gardens are on the fast track now and it is such a relief to go out in the heat of the day and not run back in the house. Fall is my favorite garden time. And even though I am a simple gardener I take time to see that we are all included, big and small growers bringing sustainable farming and gardening into our everyday practice.

Time to water the garden.

Growing Green With Jannie