by Lizzie Bennett
Originally Published at Underground Medic
The practice of dosing livestock with antibiotics combined with putting the same drugs into animal feed is having a profound effect on the soil where the manure is used as fertilizer. We have known for years that antibiotics in livestock has hastened antibiotic resistance but a new study proves just how detrimental the practice can be to our health and our food supply.
Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München, in a joint study with researchers of Julius Kühn Institute in Braunschweig, have found that the repeated application of manure contaminated with antibiotics lastingly changes the composition of bacteria in the soil.
“After repeated application of manure contaminated with antibiotics, we found a decrease in the bacteria that are important for good soil quality. This means a loss of soil fertility and thus in the long run a decline in crop yields,” said Professor Michael Schloter, head of Research Unit Environmental Genomics at Helmholtz Zentrum München.
“Moreover, the number of microbes living in the soil that are harmful to humans increased under the experimental conditions of the study. The increase in human pathogenic microorganisms in the environment has wide-reaching consequences for human health,” says Professor Schloter.
“We are in continuous contact with these microorganisms, and the probability of contracting an infection increases accordingly. This applies particularly to diseases of the respiratory system and the lungs, as bacteria are spread through the air and inhaled. Moreover, many of the bacteria are resistant to commonly used antibiotics, which often makes treatment more difficult. We must therefore urgently develop a new mindset as regards the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry.” (my emphasis) (source)
We are already facing food shortages. The drought in California, the state that supplies an amazing 85% of fresh fruit eaten in the United States. The floods in the UK have contaminated thousands of acres of farmland that can’t be planted this year. The crisis in Ukraine is likely to affect corn exports and wheat prices.
The last thing we need at the moment, is for land that can be planted to have soil that is below the optimum condition for food production. We are in a cycle of lowered food availability that is going to start affecting how we feed our families.
Now is the time to start gardening, to start growing as much of your own produce as you can. Like all skills it takes practice so it is something that its best not to leave until you HAVE to do it to feed your family. However small your space is there is something you can grow.
- Cherry and plum tomatoes grow well in hanging baskets. They will trail down just like any other unsupported plant.
- Plastic pots can be fixed to fences, I used small plaster nails as the heads are wide and don’t pull through the pot. This allows you to grow food in a vertical space that may otherwise have gone to waste. Herbs work really well grown like this.
- Fruit trees can be trained up and across fences as well, again using what is often wasted space.
- Many veggies have smaller varieties useful for container growing. Round carrots( Altlas or Globe varieties are good) require much less depth than regular carrots and grow very well in pots.
- Bush beans will give a good sized crop from a container the size of a bucket. They take up much less space than pole grown beans.
- Potatoes will grow anywhere. Six inches of soil/compost in the bottom of a bucket and top it up as the plants grow. A food grade brewing bucket will give you 20 pounds of potatoes. Go for smaller varieties such as ‘Charlotte’ or other salad potatoes.
- Turnips go from seed to harvest in just 12 weeks, they grow shallow and can therefore be used as a fill in whilst your waiting for your slower growing stuff.
- Lettuces like it cool and do not do well in the heat. Plant in any shady corner or under a tree and they should do fine. Just take the leaves you need and leave the plant to grow on giving you a longer supply for your effort.
Thinking what you will get the most from in the least space will give variety to your diet. However small your patch try to get into the habit of preserving some of your harvest. Every single potion of food you freeze, can or dehydrate is a portion of food you can eat in winter when you can’t grow fresh food easily.
We all know it’s coming, the only question is how many people will be ready for it?
Take care
Liz
This is why people should only buy manure that is aged for at least 2-3 years. Many ranchers keep piles of manure at different locations around their farms. That’s how my Dad did it, anyway, and he never used or sold anything that wasn’t at least two years old, even though he was not into using drugs of any kind on our prime Hereford beef cattle and breeder bulls. He operated as holistically as possible, I guess you’d say. The cattle were pastured as many months out of the year as possible and during the months they were corraled close to the barn for winter protection, they were fed alfalfa hay, sometimes mixed with other hay grasses from our own farm. We never bought feed hay that I can remember. We did used to barter for straw bales from a neighboring farmer to use in the barn stalls, etc.
Regular watering is Very important when growing plants in containers outdoors. It’s so easy to forget to water one day and then find wilted, stunted or even dead plants. I had good luck growing leaf lettuce in a spot that wss full Sun for half the day during the first part of the growing season, so long as I remebered to water them everyday, sometimes twice a day. It gets to be a chore watering them all the time. I’m looking into building some kind of gravety fed drip irrigation to take some of the work (and time) out of growing plants in containers. Where’s the Easy Button for that? The inexpensive one?
And who knew how much lettuce acts like a magnet for wasps? Wow, do wasps love lettuce.
I used to try growing plants in small containers but I found they dried out too fast. I’ve switched to using larger containers in the five gallon range or a bit larger, they seem to keep the moisture in the soil a bit better, anything smaller and plants just don’t seem to produce like I think they should, or die from lack of moisture. Perhaps it’s partially due to the soil temperature as well?
The slow release watering idea of burying plastic bottles with small holes in them seems appealing, but it doesn’t seem like it would be very durable. Replacing the bottles every year would be a bit of a hassle, too. Some people use clay pots in place of plastic bottles, but those clog up over time and the idea seems a bit pricey, and again, not very durable – plus time consuming – as I imagine they would have to be dug up every fall to keep them from freezing and cracking over the Winter.
Right now I’m thinking of using some metal pipes in combination with quarter inch hoses. However; my wallet keeps telling me to just suck it up and use a garden hose the old fashioned way. It’s times like these I wished I lived in an extended family household, the old and the very young could water when I’m away.