I'm all for gardening, if it won't be wasted effort and water - I know I have rarely had success growing things because I am just not dedicated enough to my plants! Something to work on when my kids are a little older and independent, I think.
Anyhow, I was searching for a good place for her to buy some interesting seeds, when I stumbled across a company advertising seeds. They (א.ב. זרעים) are selling Monsanto seeds - a whole variety of them. Tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, cucumbers, melons, and more. In other words, Monsanto is marketing seeds for vegetable varieties used ALL THE TIME in Israeli cuisine.
This is very troubling to me. I don't think that the answer to the world's food crisis lies in GMO food. Recent studies show that since the introduction of Round-Up ready Corn (Monsanto's corn), the use of Round-up increased by 11%. Round up is a chemical herbicide which causes environmental damage to fragile eco-systems.
You can read more about it, and get a better idea of what is going on with Round-up and GMO seeds...
And you can buy seeds from other sources - Eden Seeds, Organi-Grow, and My Garden.
Will you be growing your own vegetables?
Does this concern you?
They have seeds in out local gardening shop but I didn't notice which brand. I'd love to grow vegetables. I must google growing vegetables on a small balcony and see what I find.
ReplyDeleteYou totally could do it! Right now I am growing sweet potato vines in pots, scallions in pots, and beet greens in pots - my "re-growing" projects. I have seen some awesome potted gardens, I'm sure you'll get some great tips!
DeletePretty much every flower shop in the country sells seeds. Here in Haifa, I know of four places that sell seeds within a 15 minute walk from my home. No need to buy Monsato seeds either. BTW, in some cases, you can get seeds for your plants at the shuk -- when you buy a vegetable or fruit, it comes with free seeds. This doesn't work for everything (bananas are a good example -- they are exclusively made through grafting). However, many kinds of fruit (peaches, apricots for example) can be grown from seeds you get when you eat the fruit. Any specific fruit or veggie you want to plant, just do a Google search for "grow [insert fruit or veggie here] from seed." You'll find a wealth of information on which things can be grown from seed and which cannot.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the tips!
DeleteFlower shops. I never would have thought to look at the flower shop for seeds...
:-)
(shows you often I go to the flower shop)
I buy them on ebay from international sellers. They're small enough that shipping isn't too high.
ReplyDelete