Ann and I interviewed John Stanley recently about his new book, he jointly wrote with his wife Linda, aptly named – Food Tourism – A Practical Marketing Guide.
The fastest growth in tourism today is the culinary sector.
Listen to John as he explains the overall direction of food tourism, including how he sees future development.
A few snip bits:
25% of the food we buy comes from 2% of the farmland around our cities, which is being swallowed up by development.
Farmers used to make 38 cents on every dollar now its down to an average of just 6 cents
Eating local seasonal food saves you around 25%, and is actually healthier for you!
A subject that has become more and more important to my family over the past few years.
My grandson Callum was born with severe allergies , which appear at the slightest opportunity, so much so that my daughter Nathalie has developed a huge number of allergy free recipes, started a company to help others with young children with allergies, has been featured in the newspapers, magazines and on television.
This prompted Ann and I to start some research to see how many children and adults are affected.
We were really surprised at how many people suffer severe allergic reactions, how this has exploded across the whole of the USA, partly it seems due to the demise of the Elm trees. You can hear more about this from Tom Ogren in our latest interview.
Nathalie had explained Callum, was a baby boy with severe eczema & food allergies, makes for an interesting journey of discovery!
We found only one food pantry offering exclusively gluten free and allergy free food in the USA.
in OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – It’s opening next month in Overland Park, Kan.
The ReNewed Health Food Pantry, it’s located at 87th and Antioch, will be holding its grand opening on May 13th.
In England rules for premises selling food changed back in December 2014, This has resulted in all premises selling food, whether freshly made or packaged, to provide details of any of the top 14 allergens used. It is still early days, and there has been some resistance, but there are signs that eating out with allergies is improving.
The medical profession in England is also beginning to realise the prevalence of allergies and how many more people are now presenting with serious allergic reactions in hospital – 20,000 attendances last year alone, with over 12,500 of those being an emergency situation!
Here in the USA , Ann and I were fortunate to interview Tom Ogren about his fascinating , very informative book about Allergies in the garden, this is a must read for avid gardeners everywhere.
Is this really salad ? it tastes so good like this !
Ann & I were fortunate to talk to three amazing ladies from Tennessee a little while ago. They wanted to start a school garden at their school, here is their story, the school garden is now in its third year.
Some of the main points we heard were:-
It’s essential to have teacher as well as parent support.
Take time to plan carefully
Initially growing from seed is harder , due to the school calendar.
Choose plants that will fit into this schedule.
The children want to take ownership of their plants !
Educating children in the different choices of produce increases the varieties they will eat.
Children really take pride in taking home to their family the produce they have grown.
In a blind radish test, the children could tell which were home grown as opposed to store bought and much preferred home grown !
If you would like us to put you in touch with these wonderful ladies,or if you would like more information on starting your own school garden just complete the comments box below and we will be in touch. If you would like us to interview you, send us a picture of your garden along with contact details, we will be adding a section to our web site www.grotrends.com specially on School garden projects.
Thank you Penny, Peggy and Emily, this was a fascinating interview.
Returning to growing your own Herbs & Veggies is taking on a new importance these days with the changes to our weather patterns, the realisation that many pesticides, insecticides and mass growing techniques are not necessarily the most efficient, cost effective or even healthy way for us to provide for our food needs.
Ann & I thought we would explore the various ways we knew how you can grow at home – we may have missed an idea or two, for which we apologise in advance ( please do send us your ideas and we will add them to our blog post).
Most people start by growing basic Herbs , then move on to the Tomatoes, Potatoes, Garlic, Lettuce, Spinach, Corn, Onions, Carrots, Beets, Garlic, Leeks, Chicory, Asparagus, Beans, Cucumbers, Zucchini ( Courgette), Squash, Sweet Potatoes, etc, etc.
Generally the ideal prerequisites for growing are, although these can be ‘created’ artificially these days.
A sunny site
Space to grow
Time to tend to plants.
1. Adding plants to an existing landscaped garden.
The easiest and simplest method is to introduce plants into your existing shrub planting beds. You would be amazed at what herbs and veggies can grow symbiotically with your favorite flowers and shrubs, some are even edible ( Take a look at a book we recently reviewed called Eat your Roses – by Denise Schrieber ) . .
When we interviewed the creators of this beautiful garden last year and found lots and lots of herbs, vegetables and fruits growing next to the flowers and shrubs.
2.Grow herbs & some veggies in pots.
You can use virtually any pot for this or you can purchase additional features to make the arrangement much more interesting.
Here a simple pot of herbs near to the kitchen door.
A simple herb pot
By adding a special rod system inside the pots, you can make the arrangement much more interesting and space efficient.
3. Square Foot Gardens – invented by Mel Bartholomew some years ago this is a fantastic solution for those with either a small space or for those who want an effective herb & growing method in a confined space.
If you want to you can add all manner of amazing refinements as seen here in this Chelsea Flower Show exhibit.
An example from a Chelsea Flower Show exhibit
4. A traditional ‘allotment or community garden.
Allotment
5. From a bygone era when labour wasn’t an issue and doing things on a grand scale no matter what it was, was considered the way..
Simply stunning !
We will spend a little time with each style, in the coming days, in the meantime you can listen to our podcast at www.growingtrends.org as we talk to a variety of guests from a passionate young mother, to a group of school teachers and to Mel Bartholomew,
Ann and Chris interview Rich Sapienza and Bill Sosinsky we talk about sustainable solutions for the world today. It's fascinating, interesting and very enlightening. Sustainability must work on its own, grow on its own, support itself with the built-in ability … Continue reading →
We started the year with the aim of adding some improvements to our website, blog and internet radio show..
One of the things we did was to add a podcast which you can now find on iTunes and our podcast site www.growingtrends.org
Our main website is still at www.grotrends.com the new format is taking shape and we would love to hear from you with ideas & suggestions.
Growing Trends internet radio is all about fascinating people. People who are passionate about our natural environment, sustainability, their gardens, their landscapes along with the experts that help them. Our talks with these amazing people are, informative, educational, fun often anecdotal. You can listen to them at anytime here “Listen Here” or on our podcast at “www.growingtrends.org”
Our new show format starting in January will have five segments:
Time to Eat : – All about growing Herbs & Vegetables
An example from a Chelsea Flower Show exhibit
Gardenesque : – Everything to do with Gardens & Landscapes
The rose arbor was connected to the house by the pathway.
World Wide WEsponsibility : – A more serious look at sustainability and how we might help our planet.
Face Time : – Interviews with experts on topics of interest.
Let’s dance !
Book Reviews : – We are delighted to announce that we have started to interview authors of books linked to :-
Nature,
The Environment,
Vegetable Gardens & Landscape Design
Current and past book reviews are displayed in our Book Review sector, along with details of the Authors, Publishers and most importantly, how to obtain these gems..
Ann & Chris invite you to write to them with ideas, suggestions and comments to info@grotrends.com
Interesting, Serious, Informative, Entertaining & often Fun.
World Wide WEsponsibility Bill Sosinsky, Founder, Co-Owner, and CEO of The Energime Family of Companies including Energime Sustainable Technologies, Energime Power, Energime Energy Efficiency and is the Chairman of the Board for The Energime Foundation. Bill is also the Founder … Continue reading →
Patti is one of those rare ladies, an expert bee keeper and a fascinating speaker. Listen to her explain the intricate lifestyle of the honey bee, it's truly fascinating and very educational. We visited Patti at her lovely country home … Continue reading →
An opportunity from Ann and Chris, but first we wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.
We would like to hear from you with ideas, comments and suggestions for our shows drop us a line at info@grotrends.com
We have been making changes to Growing Trends our internet based radio show.
Listen at www.grotrends.com
Our new daily show starts in January 2015, we will have five segments:
Time to Eat – All about growing Herbs & Vegetables
Gardenesque – Everything to do with Gardens & Landscapes
World Wide Wesponsibility – A more serious look at sustainability and how we might all help our planet.
Face Time – Interviews with experts on topics of interest
Book Reviews – Interviews with authors of books relating to the environment, nature and garden landscaping.
Perhaps we could interview you for our Face Time segment? …. just drop us a line and we will contact you.
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