THE VEGAN NEWS THE VEGAN NEWS
The Vegan News is written and edited by P M Lloyd. Please e-mail your contributions to the editor at: pauline@bury-rd.demon.co.uk or fill in the form provided.
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Recipe of the Month(Source: The Cookbook for People Who Love Animals (Gentle World, 1992).
Note: I usually increase the cooking time by an extra 5 mins if I use the broccoli. But if you are in a hurry cut the broccoli florets into smaller pieces and reduce the cooking time a little. Adding a green vegetable, such as broccoli, further increases the amount of calcium in this meal.
Serve with crusty bread and perhaps a tomato or a green salad. Tasty and very quick and easy, especially if left-over, cooked potatoes are used.
Readers' Contributions - Earthworm ObservationsI have always been interested in earthworms and as a veganic gardener I have made observations about the earthworms I have come across.
Earthworms abound in my simple compost piles. Many of them are of a truly shocking length and diameter. I have read that earthworms like to eat fall tree-leaves and my compost piles do start with about 50 percent, or more, of material in the form of fall tree-leaves. I have read that they like (undyed) corrugated cardboard - the kind of brown cardboard that shipping boxes are made out of. I have more than once neglected to remove a piece of such cardboard, or even a small pile of cardboard, that was littering my lot, for more than a little while and when I finally got around to removing it, picking it up, I was thrilled to find - lots and lots of long, fat earthworms. I have observed that adding just a few pieces of corrugated brown cardboard to my compost pile (I wouldn't recommend using too many pieces, or you may not have a well-balanced compost) appears to help earthworms thrive in the compost. And of course, it probably isn't good to use cardboard with lots of paint on it.
Soil that has become ecologically unbalanced due to excessive tilling, or use of certain insecticides, may not support as many earthworms as soil that is left to its own devices. I've observed that tilling causes some earthworms to be cut into two or more pieces, but I think it is more the ecological imbalance of turned-over soil that depletes earthworms, rather than the death-by-dismemberment of a portion of them, for earthworms are reproductive dynamos.
I believe that heavy applications of commercial, industrially-produced nitrogen plant nutrients, or other concentrated plant nutrients, may also throw the soil's ecology off-balance and result in earthworm depletion, as may treatment of the soil with insecticides or fungicides. I believe that some so-called 'organic' insecticides, such as rotenone, may deplete earthworms, when the insecticide is applied to the soil, or runs off into the soil from plant leaf and stem surfaces that it is applied to. It would be nice if some researcher, somewhere, could check this out for us. Is there anyone who would like to wade through texts in the libraries of agricultural colleges and report on what the texts say about this? Or maybe search the net?
I've observed that if soil that has been tilled and amended with plant nutrients is left alone for awhile, that after awhile earthworms will reappear, provided the soil has sufficient fall tree-leaves mixed in, or on the surface, or sufficient plant-matter in other forms. I've observed that earthworms like small bits of bark or tree-wood also. They seem to prefer tree tissue, as opposed to the tissues of cover crops or green manures, or composted material from garden vegetables.
At any rate, earthworms tend to return after tilling and chemical treatments. I suppose it is possible to chemically shock soil so many times that earthworms are very slow to return and that severely abused soil may not support earthworms for years. Even simple tilling tends to deplete them noticeably. And then they take weeks to months to return. That's how it looked to me. I didn't actually take large soil samples and count the earthworms. I simply noticed that soil seemed to have fewer earthworms immediately after it was tilled, than soil that had been left alone for weeks or months. Generally it is recommended that one turn compost piles occasionally, but I wouldn't recommend turning them every few days. I think too much turning of compost piles may deplete the earthworms in compost piles too. I'd love to see lots of scientific studies made to support or refute my informal observations. If someone would like to search for such studies and quote from them and refer to them on your web-site, it might be nice.
The Soil Man, Theodore Zuckerman
'Professor of Materials' at The
Earthly Origin of Commercial Materials Educational Organization.
(© 1999 retained by the author.)
September
Product Review Aspall Organic Cyder Vinegar
This cyder vinegar is produced from organically grown apples by a unique natural process and is listed in the Animal-Free Shopper as suitable for vegans. Unpasteurised and containing no preservatives, I use Aspall Cyder Vinegar mixed with olive (or hemp) oil and a crushed garlic clove to make a tasty vinaigrette salad dressing. Aspall Organic Cyder Vinegar is produced, oddly enough, in Aspall in Suffolk, along with organic balsamic, organic red and organic white wine vinegar, plus organic cyder and apple juice - all of which are incidentally suitable for vegans. Look out for Aspall Cyder Vinegar in your health shop or supermarket. I paid £1.49 for a 500ml bottle in Holland and Barretts. For more information (including the medicinal uses of cyder vinegar) visit The Aspall website.
Your QueriesI want to know if the manufacturers of 'Braggs Liquid Aminos' prohibit the inclusion in their product of any genetically engineered soybeans, including but not limited to 'Roundup Ready' soybeans? Because the information I have read from several sources states that genetically engineered soybeans have not been tested extensively (if at all) for human safety and Roundup Ready soybeans are reputed to be able to be given up to three times more of the pesticide Roundup without dying and are thought to contain three times more Roundup pestcide residue. I have also recently read that Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma has been linked to the pesticide group that includes Roundup.
Sent in by: Clay Olson
Editor: I have been in contact with Braggs Health Science and this is what they said in reply to your query:
'We purchase the soybeans for the Liquid Aminos from a co-op of growers in the Midwest. They have guaranteed that they do not use Roundup Ready soybeans, the genetically engineered soybean product from Monsanto. We try to use only *organically grown soybeans, but the co-op we purchase from has told us they cannot guarantee that 100% of the beans are organically grown. We are currently attempting to locate a grower or co-op that can supply us with the amount of organic soybeans required to produce our Liquid Aminos.'
More information on Braggs Liquid Aminos can be obtained from the Braggs Website.
* Please note that organically grown produce has not been genetically engineered.
What's
Happening in the Veganic Garden This Month?Well it's harvest time once more. Hope that you've all had a successful growing year - I certainly did!
There's still time to sow some Oriental vegetables in September, if you didn't get round to doing it last month. I'm going to make a sowing of Chinese celery, in early September, as soon as my dwarf French haricot beans have finished drying in the sun. But, if Chinese celery doesn't appeal to you, then choy sum, mustard spinach, chopsuey greens, seedling radish jaba and various types of mustard greens ('Green in the Snow', 'Giant Red' etc.) are all suitable for September sowing.
If you prefer to grow onions, then 'White Lisbon Winter Hardy' is a salad onion, suitable for outside sowing at this time of year and there are also several types of onion sets available for autumn planting - 'Senshyu Yellow' being one of them. Rocket is a useful salad crop (with a rich and spicy flavour) and can be sown outside until the end of September. It's also worthwhile stocking up on seeds of 'Feltham First' - a pea which is suitable for autumn as well as spring sowing. And if you want some early broad beans next year, then the variety 'Aquadulce Claudia' is suitable for sowing in November - so order your seeds now! Home-grown or bought spring cabbage plants can be transplanted outside in September and in October. Note: All of the seeds mentioned here can be purchased from the Organic Gardening Catalogue. (Tel: 01932 253666 for a catalogue.)
Not much to do this month! I make indoor sowings of the winter lettuces - 'Imperial Winter' and 'Winter Density' and plant them outside when they are large enough to handle. But direct sowing outside is possible, if you don't have a lot of slugs in your garden.
New strawberry beds can be planted up this month. After planting, enrich the strawberry bed either with garden compost or with composted forestry bark. And as soon as your crops have been harvested start to tidy up the garden.
Butterflies in Autumn - By Lynn Fomison of Butterfly Conservation
Tomatoes, celery, maincrop potatoes, carrots, runner beans, French beans, beetroot, onions, sweetcorn, marrows, lettuce, autumn cauliflowers, calabrese and possibly even some early Brussels sprouts if you're very lucky! Fruits available include: apples, pears, blackberries and plums. Happy harvesting!
Recycling
TipsIf you ever buy onions in net bags don't throw the bags away - reuse them! They are ideal for storing onion and garlic bulbs. Fill the bags with homegrown, dried onions or heads of garlic and hang them from a nail in an airy place, such as in your shed. Incidentally, they are also quite good for protecting clusters of ripening fruit from the birds, if you don't have a proper bird net. Try draping the bags over ripening raspberries etc. (you may need to tie them in place if it is very windy). They certainly stopped the blackbirds from swiping my raspberries this year!
Butterflies in AutumnLynn Fomison gives seasonal tips for the butterfly gardener in autumn....
September and October hails the end of the butterfly season, but fine weather can bring a surprising number of butterflies into the garden. They will be attracted by ice plant (Sedum spectabile), Michaelmas daisies and Buddleia weyeriana. (This buddleia has yellow flowers and flowers longer and later than B. davidii, the more common buddleia of the two.) Another attractive plant is one of the herbaceous clematis - C. bonstedtii 'Wyevale'. This has purple flowers and grows about a metre tall. Ivy flowers late too and so is valuable. If your garden is short of plants to attract butterflies in autumn, then a good tip is to visit a local nursery on a sunny autumn day and see which plants are attracting the butterflies. Or visit an open garden, like those in the *yellow book scheme.
And of course autumn is THE time to see butterflies (and other wildlife) enjoying rotting fruit. One year when wasps had ruined our plum crop, comma butterflies fed on the wizened prune-like fruits on the tree. As apples fall to the ground and start to decay they are a rich source of sugars to butterflies and this helps them through the winter. Sometimes the fruit ferments and the sugars turn to alcohol and intoxicated red admirals can be seen. However, if you do not have fruit trees put out rotting fruit from the green grocer.
With thoughts on the plants butterflies will need next year, get busy! September is a good time to collect seed from both cultivated and wild plants, (seeking prior permission from the land owner if necessary). Most seeds are best sown straight away and left to overwinter in a cold frame or sheltered spot outdoors. But 'hedge your bets' and save some to sow in spring too. 'Bowles Mauve' wallflower, buddleias, hebe and holly can all be propagated by taking cuttings now too.
And as caterpillars and pupae start to overwinter, avoid tidying the garden too much as you might be destroying next year’s butterflies!
*Open Gardens are listed in many local papers and in The Big Yellow Book which can be purchased from WH Smiths. Many counties also produce leaflets listing gardens and their opening times.
The Kingcombe Centre, at Toller Porcorum near
Dorchester, has an Apple Day on Saturday 2nd October. (For more
information tel: 01300 320384 or e-mail: kingcombe-centre@
demon.co.uk.) And our Apple Day here at Mount Pleasant, Ropley,
Hampshire is on Sunday 17th October. (Tel: 01962
772251.) Full details of Apple Days, nationwide, will be on Common
Ground's website.
Other
Interesting Vegan WebsitesAn excellent site and a particularly good starting point for obtaining information for the new or intending vegan. You can now visit their online shop or become a member.
Roll up! Roll up! A new vegan-run, animal-free circus which can be hired to perform at street events, walkabouts, festivals, shows etc. They also give workshops on circus skills and traditional ethnic dance.
The Captured Animals Protection Society deals with issues such as the use of chimps in the Brooke Bond PG Tips advert and in chimps' tea parties. Offers a merchandise catalogue to raise money for its campaigns.
Read about how Pepsi Cola supports animal cruelty. Why not boycott their products until they stop?
Has recently been updated and now has a new section called 'Vegan Life' containing articles on topical vegan-related issues.
Movement for Compassionate Living (MCL)
MCL now has its own recently launched Internet website. Here you can subscribe to MCL and find out more about their quarterly journal 'New Leaves' and their leaflets and booklets.
The Sprouters Handbook by Edward Cairney (Argyll 1997).
A highly readable and informative little book. Ideal for city dwellers, flat owners without gardens, or for people on low incomes - indeed for anyone who wants to produce a regular supply of fresh, organically grown food, cheaply, quickly and easily.
In the Sprouters Handbook Edward Cairney clearly explains how to produce many types of sprouts and salad greens indoors and also how to grow that marvellous health supplement - wheatgrass. You'll also find out how eating sprouts can help you to permanently lose weight, why plant enzymes and chorophyll are so important for your health and why sprouts are the perfect food for sports people. This book contains a useful spouting chart and about twenty vegan recipes. Highly recommended.
Available from The Organic Gardening Catalogue for £4.25 (plus a handling charge for small orders) or from The FRESH Network for £3.99 plus £0.80 postage. Address details are given at the end of this month's Article.
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Copyright © Pauline Lloyd 1999
September
Book Review 