Raw Foods Diet

Spencer and Sabrina Aird, Proprietors or The Grass Root Restaurants

On Sunday I drove 3 hours west to Lakeland to give an organic gardening workshop at a Raw Foods Restaurant, Grass Roots. Owned and operated by Spencer & Sabrina Aird, Grass Roots has a warm ambience with cinnamon and saffron painted walls, large arched windows, and upscale art.

The Airds have created a hub for the raw/organic foodies in Lakeland (they also have a restaurant in Tampa). Like the owners, workshop attendees were vibrant and excited about growing some of their own foods.

My mission on this trip, however, was to learn as much as I taught. A small part of me believes I would be healthier on a raw foods diet, but a bigger part of me stubbornly reminds myself of the years I have spent developing recipes for cooked meals. I wanted to know how those who partake in the raw foods lifestyle survive (happily) without lentils, brown rice, pasta, apple pie...what kind of life is that?

After the workshop, I signed books and surveyed the crowd for the best person to corner about her diet. Aha! There she was...last in line and wearing yoga clothes. She would tolerate my questions no matter how basic and annoying. She handed me a book to sign and I held onto it until my questions were answered.

Beans? I asked. How do you live without beans? I asked a million questions and she answered them all.  Thank you, Patricia!

It would be inaccurate to say raw foods dieters don't cook. Though it may not be over a hot stove, they spend more time preparing their food than the average person. They combine ground up nuts with other vegetables to make raw crackers, julienne zucchini to create "noodles", and substitute little known vegetables, such as Mameysa Pote, for those that would require cooking, such as sweet potato.

If I ever become a raw foodie, I promise it won't be tomorrow. But I am going to incorporate more raw foods into my cooking...for example, I'll add diced carrots and celery to my lentils after the lentils are cooked.

So--is a raw foods diet really any healthier than a cooked diet rich in vegetables and whole grains? See the Side Wiki for more information about this debate.

For more on growing your own food, visit The Gourmet Gardener.

Winterizing Fruit Trees

For deciduous fruit trees to break dormancy and produce flowers in spring, they must be winterized properly. The following guidelines on fertilization, watering, pruning, chill hours, and freeze protection will ensure your tree wakes from its winter slumber next spring.
Fertilization: It's time to wean your tree off its monthly fertilization schedule.  Reduce its feeding by half each time you feed until the end of fall. Do not fertilize again until spring.
Watering: Reduce waterings when the tree begins to go dormant. Soil should only be slightly moist throughout the winter period.
Pruning: Do not prune trees less than one year old. Any major pruning of older trees should be done during the dormancy period. See my book, Container Gardening for Health,  for detailed information and illustrations.
Chill Hours: Most deciduous fruit trees require a certain number of "chill hours," the number of hours the temperature drops below 50 deg. F,  in order to produce fruit.  Research the number of chill hours required for your tree variety and compare this number to the average chill hours received in your region. (Ideally, this should be done prior to buying a fruit tree.)
Freeze Protection: Though deciduous fruit trees require chill hours, it is important to keep the roots in containerized trees from freezing.  In most areas trees can overwinter in unheated garages or basements to protect them from hard freezes, but you still may need to wrap the containers in insulative material to prevent root death.  I'd like to hear from gardeners in USDA Zones 1-2B about root protection of containerized fruit trees in these areas. 

For More Information on Growing Organic Fruit Trees in Containers, check out my book, Container Gardening for Health: The 12 Most Important Fruits and Vegetables for Your Organic Garden