Contents

WHY IS GROWING HEALTH IMPORTANT?

STRATEGIES FOR GROWING HEALTH

APPROACH #1: THE KITCHEN GARDEN

Sprouting

APPROACH #2: THE BALCONY GARDEN

Growing Micro Greens

Container Gardening

APPROACH #3: THE OUTDOOR GARDEN

Square Foot Gardening

Grow Biointensive Gardening

Lasagna Gardening

Permaculture

COMPOSTING

BUYING GROUPS

BLENDING AND JUICING

“OK, YOU‟VE CONVINCED ME. WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW?”

THE ECONOMICS OF CHANGING THE WORLD ONE COMMUNITY AT A

TIME

THE FAMILY G.O.A.L. PROGRAM

WHY IS GROWING HEALTH IMPORTANT?

Writings that date back thousands of years say that we humans are “fearfully and wonderfully

made.” You might say the authors had no real idea what they were talking about back then, but

the same probably holds true for us. We are perhaps the most complex beings on the planet, yet

so often we take the systems in our bodies for granted.

To understand just how complex the body is, let‟s compare it to the busiest airport in the world,

Atlanta International Airport. Every year, 88 million people fly out of Atlanta, a number which

exceeds the population of most countries. It‟s mind-boggling to imagine the communications

systems needed to coordinate the flights of those 88 million people to hundreds of different

destinations, not to mention the luggage they expect to arrive with them. It would take months to

map out and explain the hardware and software required to create the layers and layers of

systems that regulate the flow of information in that airport.

Every person‟s body has over 70 trillion cells undergoing millions of different processes

involved in functioning, dividing and dying. We have almost a million times as many cells in our

bodies as the number of people who go through the busiest airport in the world each year. Not

only that, but the human body gets a complete rebuild every seven years on average, and areas

that are worked hard like the liver are rebuilt every five months. With everything factored in, our

bodies are a million times more complicated than the largest airport.

The human body is so complex that after centuries we still don‟t understand all that is needed to

sustain life. Maybe we never will. One thing is clear: Things that are alive have more pressing

needs than things that aren‟t. A statue of a person can stand outside for centuries and need

virtually nothing. A live person is different. Literally thousands of nutrients and chemicals are

needed to keep humans working.

The good news is that we are amazingly designed and built – too complicated to just have

happened. The bad news is that our bodies are meant to eat fresh, nutritious food, and

urbanization makes it increasingly unlikely that most people will do so. For centuries there has

been a steady rural-to-urban migration, and in 2008, for the first time, more than half the world

lived in urban areas.

The health-related effects of a more urban lifestyle are staggering. To cope with a smaller

percentage of people producing food, we have moved to mass production. Now, that method is

good for cars and computers, but for humans it just doesn‟t seem to work. We are not a few

pounds of predictable metal, but living multiplexes of dynamic ebb and flow processes, each of

us a world within a world of complexity. Yet somehow many of us feel that we can keep the

most complex creatures on the planet working well with nourishment that is greatly reduced

from its original live form. Although most of our food today has plenty of calories and often

amazing flavours, anything in it that was alive has had to be changed to make it more versatile or

lengthen its shelf life.

Because our bodies are so complex, it can be daunting to figure out how to maintain them. But

that‟s the easy part: live things need live food. Cardboard is a manufactured product that began

as a living thing. It is very strong by weight, functional and very predictable, but dead

nevertheless. Many processed foods are coming closer to having the nutritional value of

cardboard. Live food that is picked from the ground, on the other hand, is just that: alive. It has

thousands of enzymes in it and myriad nutrients.

After several decades of preparing and eating processed food, changing our eating habits seems

too hard for many people. At the same time our bodies, which are more complex than anything

else on the planet, are telling us, even screaming at us, that they need something more. Every

week, new contagious and deteriorating diseases are showing up. At the same time, age-old

diseases are returning and spreading at high rates.

The 70 trillion cells in our bodies need nutrients to function properly. Given the right building

blocks, our bodies can remain vital for almost a century. So what is the solution? The simple

nutrient density chart that is explained in all our projects holds the key. It clearly states that the

average North American‟s diet sits dangerously at an unhealthy average of about 100 nutrient

density points per calorie. Our mega-complex bodies need to average at least 200 to 400 nutrient

density points per calorie – even more if our bodies are in a health crisis.

In order to raise the average, at least a third of our diet needs to be made up of the highest-

nutrient foods in their most original form. Fortunately, these foods are also the easiest to produce

with the simplest gardening techniques.

We are alive, and our bodies, at the smallest cellular level, crave live food. If we don‟t want to

suffer from the many diseases we see around us, we need to rethink our bodies‟ needs and

embrace the foods that we can produce to empower them.

This booklet describes the best ways to produce high-nutrient foods in minutes a day. Not only is

it possible to drastically improve your diet, but with the strategies outlined in these pages you

can have 10 times the nutrients in your diet for 1/10 the cost. That is your Creator‟s gift to you.

Have a look and see just how easy it is.

STRATEGIES FOR GROWING HEALTH

In our research, we have come across three types of gardening approaches that can help anyone

grow health: kitchen gardens, container or balcony gardens and outdoor gardens. Any of these

garden types by themselves can create 10 times the nutrients in your food. Read on for a

description of each approach.

Then, continue reading to learn about the art and science of composting, how you can form a

buying group to reduce your costs, and how blending and juicing can help you make the most of

the living food you have grown.

Finally, there‟s a list of 10 steps you can take if you decide to take on the joy and challenge of

growing health, plus information about how you can invest the money you save to change the

world one community at a time.

Growing Health could not be any easier.

APPROACH #1: THE KITCHEN GARDEN

Sprouting

Sprouts are one of the greatest miracles anywhere. In three days, with simply the addition of

water, they can go from being dormant to five times their original size and totally alive. That

makes sprouts the cheapest and freshest organic food on the earth if you grow them yourself.

According to the International Journal of Applied Science, alfalfa, radish, broccoli, clover and

soybean sprouts contain concentrated amounts of phytochemicals (plant compounds) that can

protect us against disease. Phytochemicals increase bone formation and density and prevent bone

breakdown or osteoporosis. They are also helpful in controlling hot flashes, menopause, PMS

and fibrocystic breast tumours.

Alfalfa sprouts are one of our finest food sources of another compound called saponins. Saponins

lower the bad cholesterol and fat but not the good HDL fats in our bodies. Animal studies show

the benefit of saponins in combating arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Saponins also

stimulate the immune system by increasing the activity of natural killer cells such as T-

lymphocytes and interferon. The saponin content of alfalfa sprouts is 450 per cent higher than

that of the unsprouted seed.

Sprouts also contain an abundance of highly active antioxidants that prevent DNA destruction

and protect us from the ongoing effects of aging. It wouldn‟t be inconceivable to find a fountain

of youth here. After all, sprouts represent the miracle of birth.

Dennis Baker, a researcher and commercial sprout grower for the company Bioessential

Botanicals, says that seeds, nuts and beans increase 15 times in nutritional value when they

sprout. He says that ungerminated seeds and grains contain “anti-nutrients” such as enzyme

inhibitors and phytic acid, which prevent proper digestion. As sprouts begin to grow, phytic acid

is reduced and natural enzyme inhibitors are eliminated.

If we look at the Nutrient Density Chart developed by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, grains, seeds and beans

receive 30 to 70 nutrient points on average. If sprouting increases nutritional values by 10 times,

that could result in live foods that score as high as 700 nutrient density points. That is exciting,

especially for those who do not have a garden or can only grow during summer months.

Incredibly, it takes literally minutes a day to care for sprouts.

When seeds sprout, the vitamins, minerals and protein available increase substantially, while the

number of calories and carbohydrate content decrease. The following table shows the average

effect of sprouting on various nutrients found in dried seeds, beans and legumes.

Energy content (calories) Decreases 15 per cent

Total carbohydrate content Decreases 15 per cent

Protein availability Increases 30 per cent

Calcium content Increases 34 per cent

Potassium content Increases 80 per cent

Sodium content Increases 690 per cent

Iron content Increases 40 per cent

Phosphorous content Increases 56 per cent

Vitamin A content Increases 285 per cent

Thiamine or Vitamin B1 content Increases 208 per cent

Riboflavin or Vitamin B2 content Increases 515 per cent

Niacin or Vitamin B3 content Increases 256 per cent

Ascorbic acid or Vitamin C content Increases infinitely

The increase in protein availability is important because the protein that results from sprouting of

dried seeds, beans and legumes is the most easily digestible of all proteins available in foods.

Sprouts supply food in pre-digested form, that is, food which has already been acted upon by

enzymes and can therefore be digested easily. During sprouting, much of the starch is broken

down into simple sugars such as glucose and sucrose by the action of the enzyme amylase.

Proteins are converted into amino acids and amides. Fats and oils are converted into simpler fatty

acids by the action of the enzyme lipase.

At the same time, other contents of the sprouts help the body to metabolize the proteins. Dried

seeds, grains and legumes do not contain discernible traces of ascorbic acid, yet when sprouted,

they reveal quite significant quantities of ascorbic acid, which are important in the body‟s ability

to metabolise proteins. The infinite increase in ascorbic acid derives from the sprouts‟ absorption

of atmospheric elements during growth.

The remarkable increase in sodium content during sprouting is also important in nutritional

terms. Sodium is essential to the digestive process within the gastro-intestinal tract and also to

the elimination of carbon dioxide. Sodium contributes to the easy digestibility of sprouts.

During sprouting, beans lose their objectionable gas-producing quality. Research has shown that

oligosaccharides are responsible for gas formation. For maintenance of health, some amount of

gas production is necessary, but it should be within safe limits. As the process of germination

ends and sprouting begins, the percentage of oligosaccharides is reduced by 90%. Sprouts

contain a lot of fibre and water and, therefore, are helpful in overcoming constipation.

Eating sprouts is an extremely inexpensive way of obtaining a concentration of vitamins,

minerals and enzymes. They have in them all the constituent nutrients of fruits and vegetables

and are „live‟ foods. Eating sprouts you have produced yourself also allows you to avoid any

contamination and harmful insecticides that may be found on commercially grown fruits and

vegetables.

There are a number of books and videos that show how easy it is to grow your own nutrient-

dense foods in small spaces, without too much time and effort. Most libraries carry books on

making sprouts. Sprouts: The Miracle Food is probably the best-known book on growing sprouts

and greens. Steve Meyerowitz, the author of Sprouts: The Miracle Food, has been known as the

Sproutman for over three decades. His book covers just about everything you would want to

know about sprouting. Reading it, you will be amazed at the variety of different sprouts you can

make.

The Sproutman‟ s guide shows you step by step how to grow delicious baby greens and mini-

vegetables in a few days to a week from seed to salad. You can easily be a self-sufficient

gardener of sprouts that are bursting with concentrated nutrition. In Meyerowitz‟s “sprout

manual,” you will also find many comprehensive nutrition charts, questions and answers, seed

resources, illustrations, photos and charts.

There are a variety of different methods of growing sprouts, such as in baskets, sprouting bags,

glass jars, trays, etc. Sprouts: The Miracle Food gives in-depth instructions for three methods

(baskets, bags, and trays), each of which has its own pros and cons. It also provides information

about seeds, including the varieties, the days until harvest, the uses and tastes, etc. In summary,

Meyerowitzs‟ manual on sprouting is very comprehensive and is a must-have reference for

beginners or even experienced “sprouters.”

There is also a companion book by Meyerowitz called Kitchen Garden Cookbook which I really

like. It contains several recipes that can get you headed the right direction. The sprout cookie is

one of the recipes which is super simple. The dried sprouted lentils recipe is a great snack. The

Manhattan sprout chowder leaves lots of room to experiment by substituting ingredients, which

is something I really like to do. And lastly, the sprout vegetable soup is something that is just

plain good for you. Meyerowitz doesn‟t have a good sprouted chickpea hummus recipe, but that

is easy to find online. Because there is so much information on the internet, you can find

someone who has added sprouts to almost any dish.

On a personal note, we have used several different types of sprouting devices ourselves and

particularly like the „Easy Sprout System‟ for several reasons, one of which is that it takes up

very little counter space. We usually have three or more going throughout the winter and early

spring before things start to grow outdoors. The container has natural ventilation built in and you

can use any size seeds. It makes it super easy to sprout when travelling, camping or, in our case,

sailing. Several online outlets carry the Easy Sprout System, and it is reasonably priced. To

sprout seeds into tiny greens like sunflower seeds, use basket sprouters like the ones at

http://www.sproutgrowers.com.

We have a friend who most would consider fairly radical. He grows 80% of his food in a

12”x12” area in the kitchen year round. He claims a 50% to 75% reduction in food bills. That‟s a

lot of sprouts. However, even if you decide not to take the radical route, sprouting can

significantly impact your monthly food costs and only requires a small time commitment to do

so.

If you do try sprouting, I suggest joining an internet user group. They can help you trouble shoot

almost anything and there are always great suggestions on different seeds to try and how to

incorporate them into your diet. We use the Yahoo group called Sproutpeople. It is linked to a

very good sprout company in the USA that has lots of resources.

The internet has almost unlimited information on seed sources and growing techniques. Besides

web pages, blogs and user groups, there are several dozen YouTube instructional videos on

sprouting which also provide a great classroom to sit in on. Above all, do not be in a hurry, but

enjoy the life you will see bursting forth in your creations.

These projects are not only great for you but also wonderful for building responsibility in kids.

Nothing is easier to grow than sprouts. Micro greens, described in the next section, take a little

longer, but both of these simple projects teach children how practical and fun it is to GROW

HEALTH.

APPROACH #2: THE BALCONY GARDEN

Growing Micro Greens

If you are really excited about adding greens to your diet, but don‟t have much space, you might

want to take a look at the book Micro-greens: A Guide to Growing Nutrient-Packed Greens by

Eric Franks and Jasmine Richardson. This book explains the easy process of planting and

growing little greens, which on average takes about two weeks. These greens can be grown on a

porch, patio, deck, windowsill, or balcony. The nutritional potency of micro greens is amazing,

and they make salads, sandwiches, soups, entrees, and burgers much tastier.

Container Gardening

Many gardening books describe ample land and space as being a prerequisite for growing

flowers, plants, and food. This simply isn‟t the case. We really like the book Fresh Food from

Small Spaces: The Square-Inch Gardener’s Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and

Sprouting, by R. J. Ruppenthal. The book does a great job of explaining container gardening for

those gardeners who are space challenged.

Readers discover techniques for sustainable food production – even on a small scale – by using

every square inch of space available to them. Ruppenthal walks gardeners through assessing their

available space and its lighting, deciding what to grow, and buying (or building) vegetable

garden containers. Using his techniques, gardeners will learn to grow herbs, vegetables, fruit and

grains and eat some home-grown, fresh food every day of the year.

A book with more technical information on using containers is McGee and Stuckey‟s Bountiful

Container: A Container Garden of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers. It includes

detailed information on the types of containers to use, equipment needed, the right soil, when to

plant which seeds and how best to deal with problems such as too much or too little sunlight. The

book also explains more sophisticated techniques like succession planting, whereby ongoing

seasonal planting takes place in the same container.

Beginning with the basics of soil, sun and water, fertilizer, seeds and propagation, Bountiful

Container also covers specific information on a variety of vegetables, herbs, fruits, and edible

flowers. Each plant is addressed for several pages, with information such as when to plant, sun

and water requirements, general care, and varieties suitable for containers. The pros and cons of

different types of containers are also described.

APPROACH #3: THE OUTDOOR GARDEN

Square Foot Gardening

The cost of organic greens does not have to turn you off. There is an easy solution: grow them

yourself! Growing the best organic greens in your backyard is probably the easiest and fastest

garden project you can undertake.

Some might think growing greens is too hard, but Mel Bartholomew, author of the book Square

Foot Gardening, claims to have discovered a gardening method that is not only easier than

traditional gardening but produces a better yield with less wasted time, energy and money.

If you do a quick Google or YouTube search for square foot gardening, you‟ll find thousands of

people who love this growing method. Most people are compelled by the simplicity of

maintaining such a systematically planned garden once the initial work of setting it up is done.

We should also mention that this book has sold more copies than any other book on gardening,

ever. This form of gardening is so popular that there is even an iPhone app for it.

So what does square foot gardening involve? The first key is that your garden is generally laid

out in 4 x 4-foot or 4 x 8-foot raised beds rather than the traditional long rows. Those beds are

then divided using string or boards to make smaller 1x1-foot squares. Seeds are planted into

these smaller squares. The proper spacing of seeds is based on what you‟ve chosen to plant.

Some plants, such as cabbage, grow quite large and require an entire 1x1 block for each plant.

Other plants such as radishes can be seeded 16 to a 1x1 block (one every three inches). You can

reach any square from the sides, which makes work on the garden beds easy. Weeding is also a

breeze in the raised beds, because the soil is loose and with ordered plant spacing anything out of

the pattern sticks out.

Most gardens have problems with poor soil and drainage. This manual teaches how to create and

maintain great soil for your garden quite easily. It includes tips on restoring minerals, like

magnesium, which can be lost over time and which are so critical to our health.

Square Foot Gardening contains many great tips on gardening and little sidebars that are

directed at getting kids involved. If you‟re new to growing things, you will benefit from

information on crop selection and seed-starting techniques. Other forms of growing veggies such

as containers or patio gardening are addressed as well.

Grow Biointensive Gardening

Jon Jeavons, who has spent the last 30 years refining the Grow Biointensive gardening model,

has created an amazing system for sustainable food production that has been taught around the

world. The recommended garden beds are 5 by 20 feet.

Jeavons‟ model makes it possible to create stable food production in almost any environment.

For example, Kenya has about 20% more people than Canada but occupies about half the space

of the province of Ontario. In places like Kenya the Biointensive method is perfect for growing

things because this method requires very few outside resources to start or maintain. With the

population density of Kenya at 174 people per square mile, everything has to come from that

area.

Jon Jeavons‟ less technical book on Biointensive gardening is called The Sustainable Vegetable

Garden. This shorter book is a great introduction to the grow Biointensive method. It is also a

useful resource for experienced gardeners who want to know about John Jeavons‟ highly

successful methods but who don‟t have the time to study the more comprehensive version, How

to Grow More Vegetables. The Sustainable Vegetable Garden makes many of the key concepts

simpler to understand and put into practice. It is full of useful diagrams which will be invaluable

to novices and experts alike. You don‟t just read about how to „double dig‟ a bed; there are step-

by-step images to help you see exactly how it‟s done.

If you are a beginner, both of these books cover just about everything you need to know, clearly

and concisely. The grow Biointensive method is a little more work in the beginning but costs

slightly less to create than square foot gardening. You will probably get better results the first

year with square foot gardening because the soils are purchased and it is a little simpler to learn.

The grow Biointensive books go into more detail on the science of soils and plants. A number of

charts and plans are included in both books for you to photocopy.

Lasagna Gardening

Lasagna gardening is a no-dig, no-till organic gardening method that results in rich, fluffy soil

with very little work from the gardener. The name has nothing to do with what you‟ll be growing

in this garden. It refers to the method of building the garden, which is, essentially, adding layers

of organic materials that will “cook down” over time, resulting in rich, fluffy soil that will help

your plants thrive. Also known as “sheet composting,” lasagna gardening is great for the

environment, because you‟re using your yard and kitchen waste and essentially composting it in

place to make a new garden.

One of the best things about lasagna gardening is how easy it is. You don‟t have to remove

existing sod and weeds. You don‟t have to double dig. In fact, you don‟t have to work the soil at

all. The first layer of your lasagna garden consists of either brown corrugated cardboard or three

layers of newspaper laid directly on top of the grass or weeds in the area you‟ve selected for your

garden. Wet this layer down to keep everything in place and start the decomposition process. The

grass or weeds will break down fairly quickly because they will be smothered by the newspaper

or cardboard, as well as by the materials you‟re going to layer on top of them. This layer also

provides a dark, moist area to attract earthworms that will loosen up the soil as they tunnel

through it.

Anything you‟d put in a compost pile, you can put into a lasagna garden. The materials you put

into the garden will break down, providing nutrient-rich, crumbly soil in which to plant. The

following materials are all perfect for lasagna gardens:

Grass clippings

Leaves

Fruit and vegetable scraps

Coffee grounds

Tea leaves and tea bags

Weeds (if they haven‟t gone to seed)

Manure

Compost

Seaweed

Shredded newspaper or junk mail

Pine needles

Spent blooms, trimmings from the garden

Peat moss

Just as with edible lasagna, there is some importance to the methods you use to build your

lasagna garden. You‟ll want to alternate layers of “browns” such as fall leaves, shredded

newspaper, peat, and pine needles with layers of “greens” such as vegetable scraps, garden

trimmings, and grass clippings. In general, you want your “brown” layers to be about twice as

deep as your “green” layers, but there‟s no need to get finicky about this. Just layer browns and

greens, and a lasagna garden will result. What you want at the end of your layering process is a

two-foot-tall layered bed. You‟ll be amazed at how much this will shrink down in a few short

weeks. You can make a lasagna garden at any time of year. Fall is an optimal time for many

gardeners because of the amount of organic materials you can get for free thanks to fallen leaves

and general yard waste from cleaning up the rest of the yard and garden. You can let the lasagna

garden sit and break down all winter. By spring, it will be ready to plant in with a minimum of

effort. Also, fall rains and winter snow will keep the materials in your lasagna garden moist,

which will help them break down faster.

If you choose to make a lasagna garden in spring or summer, you will need to consider adding

more “soil-like” amendments to the bed, such as peat or topsoil, so that you can plant in the

garden right away. If you make the bed in spring, layer as many greens and browns as you can,

with layers of finished compost, peat, or topsoil interspersed in them. Finish off the entire bed

with three or four inches of finished compost or topsoil, and plant. The bed will settle some over

the season as the layers underneath decompose.

When it‟s time to plant, just dig down into the bed as you would with any other garden. If you

used newspaper as your bottom layer, the shovel will most likely go right through, exposing nice,

loose soil underneath. If you used cardboard, you may have to cut a hole in it at each spot where

you want to plant something.

To maintain the garden, simply add mulch to the top of the bed in the form of straw, grass

clippings, bark mulch, or chopped leaves. Once it‟s established, you will care for a lasagna

garden just as you would any other: weed and water when necessary, and plant to your heart‟s

content.

While you will be maintaining a lasagna garden the same way you would care for any other

garden, you will find that caring for a lasagna garden is less work-intensive. You can expect:

Few weeds, thanks to the newspaper suppressing them from below and the mulch covering the

soil from above.

Better water retention, due to the fact that compost (which is what you made by layering all of

those materials) holds water better than regular garden soil, especially if your native soil is

sandy or deficient in organic matter.

Less need for fertilizer, because you planted your garden in almost pure compost, which is

very nutrient-rich.

Soil that is easy to work: crumbly, loose, and fluffy.

Lasagna gardening is fun, easy, and allows you to make new gardens at a much faster rate than

the old double-digging method.

Permaculture

Permaculture is the study of how living things and the earth interact. It began about 50 years ago

as people looked at food sustainability and considered less harmful ways to interact with the

earth. Principles began to evolve that focused on how to work cooperatively with the world

around us to perform a variety of functions, such as building and maintaining soil fertility and

structure. Permaculture then advanced to looking at ways to catch and conserve water in the

landscape as well as growing trees that yield seasonal fruits, nuts, and other foods. New ideas

were created to reduce or eliminate most of the backbreaking work needed to maintain the

typical lawn and garden.

Now permaculture has evolved to include working in urban areas with very limited growing

space. Size does not matter. The space can be as small as window box or an entire forest. Basic

permaculture principles can make our surroundings more diverse, natural, productive, beautiful

and best of all, less work.

Some even say permaculture is an advanced form of biointensive gardening. Within a

permaculture system, “wastes” become resources, productivity and yields increase, and

environments are restored.

By understanding the core set of design principles, individuals can design their own

environments and build increasingly self-sustaining surroundings. Reducing society‟s reliance on

industrial systems of production and distribution will allow us to have a less drastic effect on the

earth‟s ecosystems.

Modern permaculture principles are:

1. Looking at the whole system of nature

2. Observing how everything interrelates

3. Replacing unhealthy systems with long-term sustainable working systems

These principles involve a shift in our world view and from dependence on purchased, imported,

technology-based interventions to more locally available natural solutions. One book to read if

you‟re interested in the philosophy and techniques behind permaculture is Ken Fern‟s Plants for

a Future: Edible & Useful Plants for a Healthier Planet.

COMPOSTING

Industrial agriculture today looks a lot like strip mining. For every pound of food that is

produced by industrial agriculture, 23 pounds of soil and nutrients are lost to our waterways. But

it is possible to give back to the soil what we have taken and a little more. If you do so, nature

will give back to you abundantly. How is this possible? One way is to create loose soil so that

roots can grow twice as far and leave great nutrients in the soil. Another is to collecting organic

matter to recycle back into the soil, also known as composting. This can be one of the most

important practices of any grower.

Compost containers come in all shapes and sizes. They convert scrap food, peelings, used soil,

and plant matter into rich, fertile humus. The chief advantage of compost is its ability to improve

soil structure. Adding compost to heavy clay soil improves drainage by improving soil structure.

Compost also absorbs water and improves the water-holding capacity of sandy soils. In addition

to improving soil structure, decomposing compost will slowly release plant nutrients.

Typical composters are open-bottomed and sit on the ground in direct contact with the earth.

This allows nature – in the form of earthworms etc. – to come in and break down the organic

matter.

Composting does involve a little more than simply pouring organic waste in an open-bottom box,

however. Many people have tried composting out of concern for the environment and stopped

because of the smell created by not varying the material put into the composter. When you

compost the right mix of materials, you end up with a very rich, dark soil-like material that

smells sweet and will do wonders for your plants

The trick is to strike a balance between hot/green and cold/brown materials. When it comes to

“brown” material, soft and small items such as leaves break down more quickly, but you can also

add cardboard, paper, egg boxes and pine needles along with your “green” kitchen scraps. If you

have any trees around your property, the fallen leaves are very useful in compost. It seems

strange that people bag up leaves and send them somewhere else and then haul organic fertilizer

back in the spring.

All living microorganisms live on carbon in plant material combined with smaller amounts of

nitrogen. The balance of these elements in an organism is called the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio.

This ratio is an important factor in determining how easily bacteria can decompose organic

waste. The microorganisms in compost use carbon for energy and nitrogen for protein synthesis.

The proportion of brown to green organic material should be 2 to 1.

To support several garden beds larger compost piles need to be created, but they should be no

more than five feet tall, wide or deep. First a layer of coarse material like corn stalks is put down

to create good drainage. Then 6 inches of brown material is laid down, followed with about 3

inches of green. Then, after a covering of soil, the whole layer is watered. That is continued until

the pile is 5 feet high. Over a couple of months in warm climates the pile will heat up and shrink

down to about a third of that size.

Finished compost is dark brown, crumbly, and is earthy-smelling. Small pieces of leaves or other

ingredients may be visible. If the compost contains a lot of material which is not broken down, it

is only partly decomposed. Adding partly decomposed compost to the soil can reduce the amount

of nitrogen available to plants. The microorganisms will continue to decompose but will use soil

nitrogen for their own growth, restricting the nitrogen‟s availability to plants growing nearby. If

you choose to use compost that has not completely decomposed, one option is to add extra

nitrogen (such as in manure or commercial fertilizer) to ensure that growing plants will not suffer

from a nitrogen deficiency.

BUYING GROUPS

Are you sick of the quality and cost of food today? Well, sorry; it‟s probably not going to get

better – not if you keep buying it from stores. For decades, food has been linked to cheap energy

costs. That is a thing of the past.

Consider starting a buying group with others. This can seriously improve both the quality of the

food (i.e. organic in most cases) and the cost per unit. Organic seeds, grains and beans can be

purchased in quantities of 10 kg or more.

In the course of a year we go through large quantities of seeds for sprouting. You will find being

part of a buying group saves money and makes organic seeds quite affordable. In fact, buying

good quality organic seeds and beans and then sprouting them is the best way we can suggest to

get nutritional value for your money. It provides the best return in as little as a couple of days.

Several websites encourage buying groups. A good example is www.Foodcoops.org. They offer

everything you need to create a buyers‟ group. They have created PDF‟s outlining how to create

a buyers‟ group in schools, high schools and at work. We would add churches and other service

organizations to that list of options for recruiting members and coordinating distribution.

How do you start? Get people to read books about how food can make or break your health. We

think the list in the second half of our book The World’s Organic Solution is a good place to

start. Gather several people who are open to new ideas and discuss the topic during lunch or

other times. Once the group members are committed to the concept of upgrading their diet, then

the PDF manuals mentioned above will provide the answers to everyone‟s questions.

This could be ideal for those who have no time or interest in growing anything but still want to

replace at least a third of their diet with foods of the highest nutrient density to offset the dead

food they tend to consume. The upgrade in quality is worth it. If we didn‟t grow so much of our

own high-nutrient food all year round, we would easily buy a quarter box of organic kale twice a

week. That would form the basis of daily green smoothies and large batches of soup.

Buyers‟ groups may also wish to purchase different types of fresh, organic fruit. Many things

like bananas can be frozen, so it is advantageous to buy larger amounts.

All it takes is someone with a bit of leadership to get the ball rolling. Everyone will be happier

and healthier.

BLENDING AND JUICING

Sometimes people like the idea of improving the nutrient density of their diets but don‟t know

how. Here‟s a hint: blenders and juicers are your friends.

If you have read The World Organics Solution, you will already know that Victoria Boutenko,

author of Green for Life, is one of our heroes. She has taken the simplest solution to all health

problems and tested it to the point where a large following around the world is starting to notice.

Be sure to read her story in The World Organics Solution. It‟s free online on our website. There

are also lots of videos and stories about Victoria on the web.

In the past, people would trek half way around the world in search of health. Green smoothies

are the five-minute answer for the masses. After all, if we can‟t do it in a few minutes, it

probably will not become habit forming.

The basic idea is to start with about three handfuls of the highest-nutrient live foods like top

scoring leaves (i.e. kales) and add enough fruit so that you really like the taste. Then, blend it

with a bit of good water for less than a minute. It‟s that simple.

As we mentioned in our book review, this is the biggest boost you can give to your immune

system. Leaves, being a live food, have more micro-nutrients that we even understand. They are

really living factories, and having all those resources inside our cells has to be beneficial for our

bodies.

We feel the greatest asset in a kitchen is a good blender. The best ones are expensive but have a

two horsepower motor. If money is an issue, there are a few blenders that are 1000 watts that are

quite reasonably priced and can do a pretty good job. As we mentioned in our other book, people

involved in most of our projects in Africa would walk miles to have any blender to make a green

smoothie. For them it is the difference between sickness and health.

For those who are interested in growing wheat grass, there is another option: juicing. There are

hundreds of stories of people who pulled back from the edge of unrecoverable health problems

by taking a couple of ounces of raw wheatgrass juice a day. The juicer of choice, we think, is

hand powered. We use them in Africa as part of the medical intervention in our projects. The

device is appropriately called the Healthy Juicer and usually sells for around $50 to $60. This

unit is super simple to clean, which in my mind is key. It takes a little longer to make juice than

the blender, but the cleanup makes up for it.

Winters here in Canada can be difficult for those who love fresh, live food. For us growing a

small amount of wheat grass to juice and adding that to fresh sprouts with perhaps a few

purchased greens all blended with some great fruit gets us where we want to go in the off season.

As we travel to countries that have some pretty serious diseases, having an average immune

system is not an option. That‟s why I have no problems investing some time in a little health

insurance through the best possible diet.

“OK, YOU‟VE CONVINCED ME. WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW?”

Change does not come easy. Planning to continue learning for a lifetime is a good approach.

With that in mind, there are 10 steps I would recommend to someone just starting out.

1. Get a real grip on reality and build your diet around live foods not taste. Even though our

bodies are amazing, everything falls apart if neglected. We think a reasonable goal is to

try and triple the nutrients in your diet over a couple of years. There is a direct correlation

between documented increases in health problems and altered and processed foods. The

nutrient density chart pretty much tells it all. Most of the commonly eaten foods in

Canada have a third of the nutrients we need, and tripling your nutrient intake doesn‟t

have to cost you one penny more than what you are spending right now.

2. Experiment with sprouts. It is easy and you will receive a good return on your efforts.

There is great research to support their value. Sprouted cookies and biscuits are great

with soups or snacks, and sprouts taste good when combined with soups, too.

3. Get a good blender and experiment with blended salads with sprouts and lots of fruit to

completely hide any tastes you don‟t like. Combine sprouting with the blender and you

can easily save a dollar a day to change the world. We use our blender daily for

smoothies. You can also make delicious things like sprouted hummus and great healthy

almond milk. We‟ve all heard people talk about the value of a bowl of porridge in the

morning. Why not up the nutrients 10 times by sprouting the oats and then blending them

with some honey and cinnamon for a really good stick-to-your ribs breakfast? Lastly,

blended soups with lentil sprouts are super easy to make and again offer the best value for

your dollar.

4. If you do not have even a 4 x 8 ft. area for gardening, consider potted plants, or micro

greens/wheat grass. Micro greens and wheat grass require just twice the growing time of

sprouts and do not need to take up much space.

5. If you have space, create a couple of smaller raised garden beds. It doesn‟t matter which

model you use. Look for whatever attracts you. Square foot is the most manicured,

biointensive is the most advanced organically, and lasagna is great if you have lots of

trees and you want to reuse the organic matter that is there. I use all three and love to

compare. Do not underestimate how much food you can grow in even a small 10x10

garden.

6. Look at moving toward growing plants that are more permanent and like each other.

Examples are small fruit trees, berry bushes and perennial herbs.

7. Watch the whole organic cycle of life and observe how easy it is to work with nature.

For example, when leaves fall in flower and growing beds, leave them there and cover

the whole bed with a thin layer of compost in the spring to make it look better. Try not to

disturb the soil but let the organic material simply increase. Look for plants that seem to

like being together.

8. Capture rainwater if you can and redirect it to where it is needed most. As a property

matures, the plants do not need as much rain because the perennials have deeper roots.

9. Spread the good news of super simple disease prevention and consider buying seeds or

fruit in bulk with others.

10. Be thankful for the amazing quality of life that has been provided for us.

THE ECONOMICS OF CHANGING THE WORLD

ONE COMMUNITY AT A TIME

Most Canadians spend between six and 10 dollars a day for food. On average that would be a

minimum of a dollar for breakfast, two for lunch and three for supper if made at home. People

who buy their lunch every day spend that on lunch alone.

Even the most frugal Canadians, then, spend almost $2,200 a year for food per person. Guess

how much it costs to transform a whole village living in extreme poverty in a developing

country? Just $500 per year. After claiming the tax deduction here in Canada, the cost per day to

support a program like that is $1.Using the methods outlined here, we can shave a dollar a day

off our food bill to help change the world while at the same time greatly increasing the nutrients

in our own diet.

Everyone is busy, so the idea of a doing a garden might seem like one more thing on the list of

things that never get done. As I have said so many times, growing sprouts takes minutes a day

and can easily boost your nutrients. By adding sprouts to soups, smoothies, salads, cookies,

sandwiches and a great-tasting hummus you can shave at least 15% off your food costs while

eating tastier, healthier food. There you have what it takes to transform a whole community

somewhere in the world.

Excited About Even More Change?

Consider the Family G.O.A.L. Program

Our G.O.A.L program stands for Gardens of African Love. Using the resources mentioned

above, this GROWING HEATH program encourages families and individuals in North America

to get healthy and save money through simple backyard gardening

What Can You Gain from Starting a GOAL?

Invaluable lessons for kids about the value of global caring

A lifetime of health here and Africa

Environmental benefits (no renewable energy needed)

Quality organic food to eat

The chance to change the world at no extra cost

International friendships with those in sponsored communities

Ask about becoming a Growing Health GOAL Volunteer