I am new to gardening and have become inspired to start mainly because my daughter is milk soy protein intolerant. This means she is most likely allergic or sensitive to many preservatives and other chemicals.
I have alot of questions about gardening in general and specific to her condition. Also, I know there are questions I have not even thought of yet.
So I will start with just a few.
I have access to unlimited amounts of horse manure, is this acceptable?
Insects, what do I do about them?
Are there certain hybrids of fruits and vegetables that are more easily digested by babies than others?
Thanks for your time.
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rainbowgardener
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Hi and welcome to the Forum!
It is a wonderful thing you will be doing, feeding your child fresh home grown organic fruits and veggies. Nothing better. When my son was little, I had a simple hand grinder, to turn steamed veggies in to baby food. No additives!
The horse manure is great IF well aged and composted. Fresh manure is too intense. You can turn fresh manure in to your garden in fall (till it in tothe soil) and by spring it will be OK.
What you do about insects depends on what crop, what insect, etc. There is no one size fits all treatment (that won't poison your garden and be harmful to the environment). When you start having an insect problem, let us know and we will be glad to help. There are lots of organic solutions.
One thing you can do in planning your garden is plan not to have monocultures. Someone wrote in about all the pest problems in her giant potato patch of 270 plants. I suggested break that up into a bunch of smaller plots, interplanted with other things, especially aromatic herbs, which help make it hard for insects to find the crop.
It is a wonderful thing you will be doing, feeding your child fresh home grown organic fruits and veggies. Nothing better. When my son was little, I had a simple hand grinder, to turn steamed veggies in to baby food. No additives!
The horse manure is great IF well aged and composted. Fresh manure is too intense. You can turn fresh manure in to your garden in fall (till it in tothe soil) and by spring it will be OK.
What you do about insects depends on what crop, what insect, etc. There is no one size fits all treatment (that won't poison your garden and be harmful to the environment). When you start having an insect problem, let us know and we will be glad to help. There are lots of organic solutions.
One thing you can do in planning your garden is plan not to have monocultures. Someone wrote in about all the pest problems in her giant potato patch of 270 plants. I suggested break that up into a bunch of smaller plots, interplanted with other things, especially aromatic herbs, which help make it hard for insects to find the crop.
Older or composted manure is probably a better and easier place to start.mongo wrote:--><8snip8><-- So I will start with just a few.
I have access to unlimited amounts of horse manure, is this acceptable?
Get over them. Most neither hurt or help your garden directly. Some can help your garden. Only a few can hurt your garden. Learn who the player are and what they do, before going to war.Insects, what do I do about them?
Likely a great question you might want in a different forum.Are there certain hybrids of fruits and vegetables that are more easily digested by babies than others?
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applestar
- Mod
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How old is your daughter? Is she already 6-8 months and eating solid -- I.e. baby foods vs. breastmilk/formula? ...or are you planning for when she will be ready to? What kind of vegs and fruits do you envision growing?
I think it's not so much hybrids -- I really can't think of any hybridization intended for digestibility -- usually its more to do with ease of growing -- height, shape, uniform maturity, disease and pest resistance... And marketability -- color, shape, keeping qualities, and shipping qualities.
In fact, in case of many fruits and vegs, it's not the hybrids but open pollinated or heirloom market or backyard varieties that are more digestible in the sense that they have thinner skins or have tendencies to crack or doesn't travel well or have short shelf life, but are excellent while in the short -- garden-to-kitchen/table -- ripe condition.
I think it's not so much hybrids -- I really can't think of any hybridization intended for digestibility -- usually its more to do with ease of growing -- height, shape, uniform maturity, disease and pest resistance... And marketability -- color, shape, keeping qualities, and shipping qualities.
In fact, in case of many fruits and vegs, it's not the hybrids but open pollinated or heirloom market or backyard varieties that are more digestible in the sense that they have thinner skins or have tendencies to crack or doesn't travel well or have short shelf life, but are excellent while in the short -- garden-to-kitchen/table -- ripe condition.
Taro is a very hypoallergenic food especially for babies with milk allergies.
You should still check with your pediatrician first to make sure it is o.k. to give a baby any kind of new food.
Taro is very digestible for all ages but it is an acquired taste. Once you learn how to eat it, you cannot get enough. Babies take to it pretty well, it just needs to be thinned so it is not so sticky.
Real Hawaiians like their sour poi that has been fermented at least a week sometimes more, but wimps will put sugar in fresh poi and thin it down more.
Thinned down even more it makes a nutritious milk substitute. I remember reading an article a long time ago about how cases of bottled poi was being sent to a baby somewhere who had multiple allergies. (I have to tell you no one here would normally eat bottled poi, it is not the same as fresh.)
This article was written in 1982 poi costs $13 a bag now and usually delivered every other day. When there is a shortage, poi is limited to 1 bag per purchase, the price goes up and you have to ask for it at the counter, it won't be kept on display.
https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/31/trave ... -life.html
You should still check with your pediatrician first to make sure it is o.k. to give a baby any kind of new food.
Taro is very digestible for all ages but it is an acquired taste. Once you learn how to eat it, you cannot get enough. Babies take to it pretty well, it just needs to be thinned so it is not so sticky.
Real Hawaiians like their sour poi that has been fermented at least a week sometimes more, but wimps will put sugar in fresh poi and thin it down more.
Thinned down even more it makes a nutritious milk substitute. I remember reading an article a long time ago about how cases of bottled poi was being sent to a baby somewhere who had multiple allergies. (I have to tell you no one here would normally eat bottled poi, it is not the same as fresh.)
This article was written in 1982 poi costs $13 a bag now and usually delivered every other day. When there is a shortage, poi is limited to 1 bag per purchase, the price goes up and you have to ask for it at the counter, it won't be kept on display.
https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/31/trave ... -life.html
Last edited by imafan26 on Sun Feb 17, 2013 3:47 am, edited 1 time in total.