Wood Prairie Farm Seed Piece Newsletter

Wood Prairie Farm In This Issue of The Seed Piece:
Seed Piece Newsletter Prop 37: Biotech Buys Itself An Election and A Determined Opposition
Organic News and Commentary Vandana Shiva Video: 'Take Back the Land'

Thursday November 08, 2012 Recipe: Autumn Vegetable Soup

   Special Offer: FREE Wood Prairie Organic Sprouting Seed
         Mailbox: Facts, Struggle, Good Farming, Truth, Grasshoppers and Taters
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This edition of the Seed Piece can be found in our Seed Piece Archives.

Promise of New Growth and New Hope.

        Wonderful Klari Baby Cheese Sweet Pepper. This week at long last we are sending off our new catalog to the printer. Klari Baby Cheese is one of the ‘new’ organic seed varieties which we grow here on Wood Prairie Farm that for the first time we will be offering to you this year. Klari Baby Cheese - shaped like a wheel of cheese - is an incredibly prolific and delicious and very early heirloom from Hungary. Everyone should try this pepper! You’ll find it on our website here.
   Besides working on our catalog, we’ve been busy shipping out your orders for both organic seed potato and garden seed and organic kitchen potatoes, vegetables and grains. With Thanksgiving coming up we’re happy to help you prepare for that favorite family holiday centered around gratitude. There's still time to order.
   We’re also buttoning up our crowdfunded Farm Equipment Repair Shop project. Yesterday we dug through frozen ground with our excavator to bury the last of the shop’s utility lines – electric, water, computer and phone. Today we’re closing up the West wall.
   With a chilly morning of +15ºF earlier this week and today’s wind and snow, we are reminded that Maine’s winter is not far off. It's time to get the last of the firewood put away.

Jim & Megan Gerritsen & Family

Wood Prairie Farm

Bridgewater, Maine

Click here for the Wood Prairie Farm Home Page

Prop 37 Post Mortem: Biotech Buys Itself an Election and A Determined Opposition. It took lying and systematic serial misrepresentations plus $46 million to do it, but Biotech and their Big Food cronies bought their way to 'victory' and ‘won’ California Proposition 37, the people’s Right-To-Know GMO labeling initiative. The official vote was 47% Yes; 53% No. Throughout the Fall Monsanto and their cabal were spending $1 million/day on a saturation campaign of misleading television ads and disinformation concocted by hired former tobacco industry lobbyists in an effort designed to confuse voters into voting against their own interests. Despite Biotech’s demonstrated utter contempt for the democratic process, over 4 million California citizens expressed their desire to have food labeled when that food is the result of laboratory genetic engineering (GE). The people came within 3 percentage points of winning their battle. Many consider access to this basic information to be a fundamental human right. As such, the corporate-government collusion which for almost twenty years has denied American citizens this information represents a human rights violation. Biotech’s massive cheating has unintentionally communicated to the world that they have little faith in their own products, so little that they lacked any confidence that they could win the initiative contest if they conducted a civil and truthful campaign. Some of the anti-Prop 37 campaign activities violated federal law and an official complaint has been filed with the U.S. Department of Justice by the Yes-On-Prop-37 allies. Election fraud represents a serious threat to the functioning of our democracy. It is abhorrent to our American sense of justice and it tarnishes the people’s institution of a free and fair vote. Please join us and sign this new petition aimed at applying pressure to the U.S. Dept of Justice to prosecute the No-on-37-Committee for their violations of federal law. Let’s make clear that America and our system of honest elections is not for sale to arrogant, malevolent, multinational corporations. Meanwhile, in San Juan County, Washington, citizens voted by a wide margin to entirely ban genetically modified organisms. Washington State, it should be noted, is one of at least 23 states (including AZ, CT, CO, FL, HI, ID, IA, ME, MA, MN, MS, NJ, NY, NC, SC OR, PA, VT and VA) now organizing efforts to require labeling of GE food. The people may have had the Prop 37 election stolen from them, but Monsanto is delusional if it imagines it 'won' anything. The people are not going away. We are not about to abandon our rights. We are more determined than ever to fight for our Right-To-Know and our Right-To-Farm. Monsanto has no idea what they are up against and how they have increased our resolve beyond measure. Jim & Megan
Vandana Shiva. Speaker of truth.	Vandana Shiva Video: 'Take Back the Land'. The always inspiring environmental activist Vandana Shiva is the antidote to any feeling of hopelessness. Everyone should view this MUST WATCH video (1:40). As Vandana explains, “…the solution to so much of this comes from people being on the land as conservers – of the seed, of the soil, of the water. Food production is a byproduct of ecosystem conservation…Putting people back on the land and defending those who are on the land are the two most important projects for our time.” Jim & Megan
Recipe: Autumn Vegetable Soup. 2 T olive oil 3 medium Chantenay Carrots, cut into medium dice 1 large Dutch Yellow Onion, diced 2 cloves Red Russian Garlic, minced 2 c cubed peeled Butternut Squash (about 1 pound) 1/4 tsp ground allspice pinch cayenne pepper Sea salt 1 qt chicken broth 14.5 oz of diced Tomatoes 4 springs fresh Thyme 2 c lightly packed, coarsely chopped Winter Bloomsdale Spinach 1 c canned chickpeas Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the squash, allspice, cayenne, and 1 tsp salt and stir to combine. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes with their juice, and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the spinach and the chickpeas and cook uncovered until the squash is tender and the spinach has wilted, about 10 minutes more. Discard the thyme sprigs before serving. Season to taste with salt and cayenne. Megan Adapted from: www.finecooking.com	Autumn Vegetable Soup. Hearty and Delicious. Photo by Angela Wotton
Wood Prairie Organic Sprouts. Wintertime Staple.	Special Offer: FREE Wood Prairie Organic Sprouting Seeds. One of our family’s favorite staples for winter eating are fresh organic sprouts which we easily grow right in our kitchen using our Wood Prairie Organic Sprouting Seeds. Utilizing well-designed ansd economical Sprouters make the task of growing sprouts quick and convenient. It takes about three days to grow a batch. By investing just a couple of minutes a day you can maintain a continuous supply of delicious and healthy sprouts all winter long. We enjoy sprouts as a winter-time fresh salad, as a crispy addition to sandwiches or as a fresh garnish or snack. Our Organic Sprouting Seed collection includes Alfalfa, Crimson Clover, Red Clover, Rapini Broccoli, Small Crimson Lentils, Large Green Lentils, Green Speckled Peas, China Rose Radish, and Daikon Radish. Here's your chance to earn a FREE 4 oz sack of Wood Prairie Organic Sprouting Seed ($5.95 value) – Your Choice of Variety - with your next purchase of $35 or more. FREE Wood Prairie Organic Sprouting Seed offer ends Tuesday, November 13. Please use Promo Code WPF1132. Your order and FREE Wood Prairie Farm Organic Sprouting Seed offer must ship by 12/5/12. Offer may not be combined with other offers. Please call or click today! Click Here for Our Wood Prairie Farm Organic Sprouting Seeds.
Our Mailbox: Plain Facts, Human Struggle, Good Farming, Truth, Grasshoppers and Taters. Just The Facts. Please. Dear WPF. Dear Jim, I know you are busy, respectfully. My Dad doesn't believe that any farms have been taken or that there have been heavy financial losses secondary to suits by Monsanto saying smaller farmers have stolen their property when in fact the pollen was brought by the wind and the farmers never wanted the GMO seed in their crops in the first place! I am trying to give him a couple of references. He is smart and will go look them up. can you point me to one or two of the seminal suits and maybe we can pick up the research tail from there? As and when it is convenient with your busy flow, kind sir. Thank you, SD World Wide Web WPF Replies. Monsanto characterizes every one they oppose and sue as liars and dirty rotten scoundrels. It is part of an orchestrated plan of character assassination against opponents. Some no doubt may have misused their technology. However it does not mean that somehow Monsanto has learned to become honest and that all their other characterizations are truthful and accurate. Here are three links which provide insight into the legal issues, how Monsanto treats innocent farmers and the nature of the products Monsanto produces. Jim 1. Our lawyer Dan Ravicher in OSGATA et al v. Monsanto explaining (15:30) the current legal situation. https://www.pubpat.org/monsanto-seed-patents.htm 2. Most recent Center for Food Safety 2005 Report on Monsanto vs. Farmers. https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/pubs/CFSMOnsantovsFarmerReport1.13.05.pdf 3. Dr. Donald Huber MUST VIEW lecture (part 2 of 6) (1:30:47) on glyphosate. https://www.seedsofdoubtconference.com/videos-la-oct-6-2012 The Very Human Struggle. Dear WPF. I continue to support what you are doing on your farm and with the lawsuit and related matters. I find this newsletter and its blockbuster feature articles very powerful. The lies and disinformation being exercised by the biotech industry truly violate the values I believe in and thought our country stood for, and the same goes for the lawsuit which you and others have been forced to bring. DW Peterborough NH WPF Replies. Thank you. The struggle against oppression has been going on for a long long time and continues today. Jim Organic Is Good Farming. Dear WPF. Thought you might like to take a look at this if you haven't already. Food and Agriculture: The Future of Sustainability https://www.un.org/esa/dsd/dsd_sd21st/21_pdf/agriculture_and_food_the_future_of_sustainability_web.pdf MH World Wide Web WPF Replies. Thanks. I read the Executive Summary and it indicates that this is a valuable work with some outside the box thinking. I love the opening photo. Thank you for sharing. Here's another excellent report from the UN on related food security matters in the developing world. https://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/mar/08/eco-farming-double-food-output/ Jim Bernie Speaks The Truth. Dear WPF. Not that this is directly related to Ag, but it does clarify what is going on in this country and why Monsanto and other corporate Ag-related companies can get away with the things they do. I hate to say this, but America is being looted by Corporate thugs. A Scandal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sknt-UBRhxo AB Greenville NC WPF Replies. You and Bernie Sanders are right on target. This is a monumental scandal. And it cuts across all sectors of the economy. Government collusion which facilitates seed monopoly is just another flavor of the scandal Bernie speaks about. Thanks for bringing the video to our attention. I would vote for Bernie Sanders for President in a heartbeat. Jim Grasshoppers in Wyoming. Dear WPF. Dear Wood Prairie folks, Do you guys have any advice for protecting plants (especially potatoes) from grasshopper infestation? Last year they destroyed most of the garden, including what started out to be a fantastic potato crop. This year looks to be even worse and is hopefully the peak of the cycle. I began using 'nolo' bait last year after it was too late (many were already adults). Diatomaceous earth is impractical when you water frequently. This year I started early with 'nolo' bait, when the grasshoppers were first instar. It has clearly helped but I'm hoping you have some advice for additional control. I just ordered my third 25 pound bag. (Of course, the country weed and pest guy surge everyone to use carbaryl. Not happening) If you're unfamiliar with nolo bait, the information is here: https://www.goodbug.com/nolobait.html BC Wapiti WY WPF Replies. We have no problem with grasshoppers out here so our knowledge is scant. We have heard of nolo spores. By googling 'organic grasshopper control' Arbico came up first. We buy ladybugs and beneficial nematodes from them. They have a competing beneficial spore product in a 50lbs bag. https://www.arbico-organics.com/product/semaspore-organic-grasshopper-control And there is an informative article from The Mother Earth News. https://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/Grasshopper-Control-Kill-Grasshoppers.aspx One other idea might be vacuuming them up with a shop vac. Good luck, Jim Potatoes in North Carolina. Dear WPF. Hey Jim, thank you very much for your time this morning I put the notes in my log. Answer to whether or not the deer eat the potato vines is: I don’t know.. we were hoping to find out with the Yukon Golds planted outside the fence but the voles got them first… I have a lot of spearmint planted alongside the potato fence and hopefully that is what kept the voles out of the potatoes…… 40 lbs from 2 ½ pounds of rose gold seed even with all the adverse events … 20 pounds and counting from 2 pounds of Buttes… who knew! P.S. we support everything you do for the family farmer… you are our future and our heritage. KB Raleigh NC WPF Replies. Thanks for your support. Those are very good yields. One of my favorite stories is a farmer who once got 750 lbs of Rose Gold seed from us and harvested 24,000 lbs - that's a 32x increase. That crop was a moneymaker. Jim

Wood Prairie Farm Quick Links

Jim & Megan Gerritsen
Wood Prairie Farm
49 Kinney Road
Bridgewater, Maine 04735
(800)829-9765 Certified Organic, Direct from the Farm
www.woodprairie.com