Fruity Friday, 14 May 2010, is a campaign by World Cancer Research Fund to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables to reduce the risk of cancer in later life.
dug-carrots
Fruit contains many compounds that are beneficial to health by protecting body cells from damage that can lead to cancer.
The kitchen garden can provide portions of fruit & veg
One adult portion is equivalent to:
- 1 whole apple
- 2 whole plums
- A handful of berries
- handful of cherry tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons of cooked carrots
- 3 tablespoons of cooked peas
- 3 tablespoons of cooked sweetcorn
- 4 tablespoons of green veg, like cabbage
- cereal bowl of salad
Fruity Friday, 14 May 2010, is an annual awareness and fundraising campaign by World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF UK), to increase public awareness of the links between diet, nutrition and cancer prevention, and to raise valuable funds for cancer research and education programmes of cancer prevention.
slug&cabbage
Colin Myram exonerated gardeners of wrongdoing in their use of metaldehyde slug pellets, on Radio 4 Farming Today.
Gardeners’ use of metaldehyde slug pellets is not a concern because:
- gardens are not usually under-drained, so there is no drainage system taking water draining from gardens directly to aquifers
- gardeners tend to use slug pellets in the spring. The problem with metaldehyde in water is in the autumn
Metaldehyde is a selective pesticide used by gardeners to control slugs and snails. The slug pellets are usually blue coloured.
Some water companies have recently been finding traces of metaldehyde in the raw water they abstract from rivers or reservoirs and treat to produce drinking water. These traces are at levels above the European and UK standards set for drinking water. But the Health Protection Agency has confirmed that at the maximum level of metaldehyde detected in treated drinking water, the intake from drinking water would be well below the acceptable daily intake and therefore there would be no reason to expect adverse effects.
5inch-slug
A positive approach to slug control in the vegetable garden will involve several techniques, including metaldehyde slug pellets which are helpful in the spring when new plants are at risk from slugs.
In the last few years it has been shown that Beetroot juice effects blood pressure & stamina.
beetroot
In 1998 Two Swedish scientists (Weitzberg and Lundberg) found that natural nitrates (NO3) in the diet (such as those found in beetroot, spinach and lettuce) are broken down during digestion to produce nitric oxide in the blood stream.
Nitric Oxide is important because it:
- regulates blood pressure;
- controls blood flow to certain organs;
- enhances stamina by improving oxygen use;
- fights infection;
- is a signal molecule in the nervous system.
Beetroot juice is particularly high in natural dietary nitrates
Professor Amrita Ahluwalia of the William Harvey Research Institute, published a paper in March 2008 in the American Heart Association’s journal showing that oral nitrate (taken through drinking beetroot juice) reduces high blood pressure.
Professor Andrew Jones, of Exeter University, published a paper in August 2009 explaining that dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O2 cost of low intensity exercise and enhances tolerance to high intensity exercise in humans (Journal of Applied Physiology).
beetroot-growing
Dietary nitrate has such a beneficiary impact on sporting stamina that Beet It are supplying beetroot juice for trials with UK Athletics, swimming, rowing, cycling teams and even the entire England rugby union team.
Red watercress has become the latest ‘must have’ of celebrity cooks.
Red watercress:
- Latin name – Nasturtium officinale
- red hybrid
- peppery flavour
- superfood with same health benefits as green watercress
The variety of red watercress grown by the watercress company is Old Flame.
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Watercress is classed as a superfood because it has high levels of antioxidants which increase the ability of cells to resist damage to their DNA, helping to protect against cancer.
The nutritional value of watercress:
- high levels of Calcium (more than an average glass of milk)
- high levels of Vitamin A, E, K, C
- high in Iron
Read more about the superfood watercress at www.thewatercresscompany.com
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Broad beans are getting blown about in this windy weather & need protection to stop them being knocked down. Beans will grow tall if they are on fertile soil and tend to blow over in heavy rain or wind.
- LodgedBroadBeans
When the broadbean plant blows over it ‘lodges’ with other broad bean plants and stays close to the soil. Some of the leaves will be hidden from bright light so the broad bean pods will not be fed so well which means that they will not grow and fill with good sized broad beans.
To protect broad beans from the wind:
broad beans protected by polythene
- a windbreak can be put up around them to stop the wind from blowing the beans over. This is particularly effective when the beans are young and still quite short. Any barrier from the wind will do, even mesh fencing helps.
tie-bean-to-stake
- staking the beans, either individually, or as a group, will help to hold them up.
- lodged-Optica-broad-beans
The beans in the picture lodged at a late stage in their growing period, so will provide a decent harvest. But if the lodging had happened at flowering time, the broad bean pods would not have filled properly.
- broad-bean-plant-Optica
It is well worth taking the time to protect broad beans from the wind.
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The colour of Rhubarb sticks is determined by:
- variety – later varieties hold their colour longer
- growth rate – in Spring the rhubarb stick grows slowly so the colour is retained further along its length of stick. Later as the season warms up, the stick grows faster and the colour disappears, turning the stick green.
An exception is Cawood Delight, a late variety harvesting from late May, which keeps a fantastic dep red stick.
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David Travis has posted this fantastic jacket potato on facebook:
- baked beans
- plus lots of extra ketchup
- lashings of HP Rather Hot Jalapeno & Lime sauce
Definitely a baked potato recipe to try!
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Rhubarb flowers should be removed as soon as they are seen.
- Hold the flowering-stalk close to the ground
- Pull upwards twisting the stalk
- Remove the flowering stalk to the compost heap
If the rhubarb flower is left on the plant, the root will be weakened & the stalks will be weak and thin.
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These 3 super fruits are extra healthy and very easy to grow in the garden!
Apples
- high in antioxidants
- high in vitamin C
- high in soluble fibre pectin – helps lower blood cholesterol levels
- low on the GI index – releasing energy into the body slowly, helping to keep blood sugar levels regulated
- 47 calories in an average-sized apple
apples-on-tree
Cherries
- full of antioxidants
- contain vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, iron, fiber and folate
- contains 19 times more beta carotene than blueberries or strawberries – prevents cancer
- 75 calories in one cup of cherries
- good source of melatonin – which helps sleep
cherry-blossom
Blueberries
- full of vitamins
- rich in polyphenols - reduce the risk of cancer and delay the onset of dementia
- the fibre in blueberries helps reduce the risk of bowel cancer
Most gardens would be able to find some space for one of these 3 super fruits to grow.
