The Violet Spectrum

07/09/2019

Think beyond the rain barrel: This simpler, cheaper approach to rainwater harvesting will help you harvest much more water for your garden!

06/23/2015

Fun fact: those insect-eaten holey kale leaves (or any other leafy green) are actually better for you then their unassaulted counterparts!!

Okay, so we all know that I'm a plant phytochemical nerd. I believe that one of the keys to health is consuming lots of them (which means eating lots of veggies, but also seeking out those veggies that have a higher density of phytochemicals, like wild plants and like local organic produce grown in high quality soil). So, when one of my local farmers mentioned this fun fact to me today, I just had to look it up!

And it's true! Plants are smarter than we think! They actually

Leaves normally release small quantities of a class of phytochemical called "plant volatiles". While the name sounds a little intimidating, plant volatiles are known to have very strong anti-cancer and antioxidant properties--meaning, it's improves health to eat them (this is one of the classes of compounds in plants credited with the ubiquitous health benefits of high-veggie diets).

When a leaf is damaged by herbivorous insects (yes, insects can be herbivores, carnivores or omnivores too!), many more plant volatiles are released. Exactly which plant volatiles are produced varies both by the plant species and by the species of that's eating it.

Why does the plant do this? These volatiles attract both parasitic and predatory insects that are natural enemies of the herbivore insects eating the plant--meaning, it's the plant's way of recruiting help defending itself. The plant attracts other insects that like to eat the insects that are eating it. Isn't that amazing?! These plant volatiles can even signal to neighboring plants to increase their defense responses too!

So, woohoo to plants for having such a sophisticated defense strategy. But, even better for us? This means that we're getting more antioxidant goodness when we eat those organically-grown leafy greens that have some insect holes in them--you know, the same ones no one else wants to buy so your farmer sells them to you on the cheap?!?! It also means we don't need to get quite so worked up about aphids eating up our vegetable gardens--they're doing us a favor! This is also why strategies like crushing garlic 10 minutes before you add it to whatever you're cooking increases the antioxidant properties.

And thanks to Fry Farm for sharing this fun fact with me!

05/12/2015

Exciting new changes coming soon, including a new name!! Stay tuned for what we have in store....

05/08/2015

Picked our first strawberry on Tuesday. It was as delicious as it looks...

03/22/2015

Jesse Herman, Powerful Primates One of the more interesting aspects of living in Brazil is the different approaches to food. We are…

03/16/2015

Join us in celebrating the farmers and ranchers that provide the United States with some of the healthiest, safest and most affordable food in the world. Happy Agriculture Week!

02/24/2015

Hi Friends,
Please LIKE our PAGE if you agree! :)

02/16/2015

02/16/2015

A woman who lost her wedding ring 16 years ago has found it around a growing in her garden.Lena Paahlsson had taken off the white gold band and put it on the side before a Christmas baking session with her daughters in 1995. - www.FARMERSPAL.com

01/24/2015

What can we do to get more people to think like this?

Eat Local Grown