"Making a healthy difference in a community is possible
with a garden," says George Ball, Jr., CEO of the W. Atlee Burpee & Company
seed business (Burpee). On this last day of January, a time when many of us give
up on our New Year's Resolutions, it seems particularly important to interview
George Ball, Jr. and discuss keeping those resolutions. Ball came up with the
fantastic idea of packaging his company's seed offerings in the form of a New
Year's Resolution Garden to encourage better health - not just an ordinary
garden - this is a special idea inspiring green and positive mental health
changes.
Ball hopes that Burpee's 2010 New Year's Resolution Garden will bring
families closer together while inspiring consumers to relax, make better food
choices, save money, increase exercise and become a better steward of the
environment. The pack contains seven easy-to-grow varieties for cultivating a
200 square foot kitchen garden and can be purchased on the Burpee seed website -
NYGarden.
The New Year's Resolution Garden provides the following seeds for your
kitchen or balcony garden:
· LOSE WEIGHT - Lettuce Heatwave
· EXERCISE - Pole Bean Blue Lake
· SAVE MONEY - Tomato Supersteak
· REDUCE STRESS - Mixed Cutting Flowers
· STEWARD OF THE ENVIRONMENT - Monarda Bergamo
· SPEND TIME WITH FAMILY - Sun Forest Sunflowers
· BETTER FOOD CHOICES - Carrot Burpee A#1
Speaking with Ball is fascinating as he is a wealth of information about the
history of how health and gardening are connected. According to Ball, "Gardens
were adopted after the crusades. Monastery properties often held 'physic
gardens', which were filled with healing plants. In time, world exploration
expanded in search of additional plants, herbs, and spices to expand and
maintain a healthier diet."
(to continue this story, please follow the below link....)
One of Burpee's goals as a 135 year old seed company is to think
environmentally, by maintaining diversity in plantings, trying always to build a
healthier environment and prevent monoculture - the all-too-often side-effect of
our contemporary fast-food industry demands. Monoculture is the agricultural
practice of producing or growing one single crop over a wide area. More than
half the world's potato crop is made up of one variety of potato: the Russet
Burbank favored by McDonalds. Imagine if this crop were to catch an untreatable
fungus or disease? World disaster. To prevent disease in a monoculture,
pesticides and herbicides must be used to maintain strong production - and to
prevent the ever-pending disaster of crop failure.
By planting locally grown gardens with the type of variety found in heritage
and heirloom plants offered by Burpee, you are doing your part to increase
biodiversity as well as consume fresher food. By eating freshly picked
vegetables from the garden, you receive far more vitamins and nutrients which
increase brain power - making you healthier both mentally and physically.
When asked, "What vegetable plant do you feel is the strongest nutritionally
- for example, if you were only to grow one plant, what should that plant be for
pound per pound nutrition value?" Ball picked his favorite as cabbage. Although
the sweet potato has starch as it's driving compound, which allows a human to
survive longer, the cabbage offers a wide range of vitamins and nutritional
content as well as energy driving compounds.
George Ball, Jr. writes his own blog called the Heronswood Voice, through Heronswood
Nursery, and is actively involved as the CEO of W. Atlee Burpee &
Company making a difference for the health and nutrition of humanity by
encouraging gardening. To purchase the New Year's Resolution Garden and make a
difference for your 2010, go to the Burpee seed website - NYGarden.
Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The
Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com,
or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com
Filed under: Food & Health
Tags: biodiversity, garden, green living, health, heirloom, herbicides, monoculture, New years resolution, organic, pesticides, seed, simple living, vegetables
The Russet Burbank variety of potato is nearly 100 years old, so would seem to have some resistance to a variety ending disease. While Idaho grows more Russet Burbanks than any other state it is only 56% of the state's potato crop. It is difficult to grow, so most other state's have a much lower percentage. It is not, as stated, 50% of the world's potato crop.