Mango: the King of Fruits!

Mango, the king of fruits not just for its delicious taste and super flashy yellow color, but also for the health benefits it offers.The vitamin content depends on the variety and maturity of the fruit. When a mango is green and still growing there is a high vitamin C content, as the fruit ripens and matures the amount of beta carotene (vitamin A) increases.

When we say mangoes are grown naturally, here is how they are grown:

In chemical farming of mangoes, starting from the month of Dec/Jan, there will be three to four chemical sprays to increase the flowering and few sprays for pests. In natural farming, we spray Neem and butter milk solutions for pests and there is no process to increase the yield. what tree gives us is what we eat.

Wastage will be high when we go natural: In conventional method, mangoes are harvested before they are fully matured on the plants and ripe them chemically, so absolutely zero wastage (but this process decreases the taste). We leave the mangoes on trees till they are completely mantured and our first customers are different birds which start eating on the trees and this is also a sign for us to harvest.

Also during the ripening process, not all mangoes will be riped properly, on daily basis we have to seperate the ones which are not good.

Adding to this, if there are windy rains in between, many mangoes will be down before they are matured and it would be an extra cost for us to remove them from the farm. On the other hand, unmatured fruit is chemically riped and sold in the market.

So what we get are the mangoes left after all these segregation.

Millets – Goodness of Ancient grains

Millets are antient native grains grown and eaten in India for at least the past 5000 years. It has multiple advantages over other crops, including drought and pest resistance. It’s also able to survive in harsh environments and less fertile soil. They are rain-fed, hardy grains which have low requirements of water.

Millet has high content of nutrients, including impressive starch levels, very high B-vitamin content, as well as calcium, iron, potassium, zinc, magnesium, not to mention of its being a healthy source of essential fats in the body. Furthermore, there are significant levels of protein and dietary fibre in millet as well, which contribute to further health benefits of this important grain! It may help to lower the blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Plus, it’s gluten-free, making it an excellent choice for people who have celiac disease or follow a gluten-free diet.

Millet also contains antinutrients- compounds that block or reduce your body’s absorption of other nutrients. This can be lowered by soaking it overnight at room temperature, then draining and rinsing it before cooking or by sprouting the millets.

Millets are classified as:
Positive Grains (Siridhanyalu)
Neutral Grains

The Fiber content in ‘Siri dhanya Millets’ is 8 to 12.5%. High fiber allows these foods to release Glucose slowly over 6 to 9 hours duration. Slow and steady release in small quantities in to our blood stream is the key as this keeps you charged/energized all the day.

Sustainable Living

Sustainable Living:

Sustainable living describes a lifestyle which reduces our demand on earth’s natural resources by making sure that we replace what we use to the best of your ability. Sometimes that can mean not choosing to consume a product that is made using practices that don’t promote sustainability; and sometimes it means changing how you do things by adopting actions for sustainable living.

On the surface, it can be incredibly daunting to reduce our environmental footprint, especially when you see others around you are not doing their part. But when you break it down into small steps, you realise you have more power than what you thought.

We all know that climate change, global warming, depletion of ozone layer and resource depletion are real and their impact on human and animal lives can be devastating. It is an opportunity for us to adopt actions for sustainable living that can help reduce the carbon footprint or environmental impact by altering our lifestyle.

There are many ways we can define our steps for sustainable living, few of them are listed below:

  1. Reduce air pollution: Conserve energy – at home, at work, everywhere. Carpool, use public transportation, bike, or walk whenever possible.
  2. Sustainable Fashion: Buying cloths and other accessories that we need and use them rather filling the wardrobe without using. Invest in better quality items that last longer, slow fashion trumps fast fashion. Support fashion brands that are ethical and environmentally conscious.
  3. Ditch Plastic: It takes millions of years for plastic to decompose, it never goes away which is impacting natural habitat in many ways. Its time for all of us to switch to reusable bags when we shop and ditch one-time use plastic covers, water bottles etc.
  4. Buy products with less packaging: Keep track of unwanted plastic you get home and which goes to your dustbin and from there it goes to landfills. Plastic not only contaminate the environment, but also pose serious health effects to humans and animals.
  5. Use efficient lights and daylight as much as possible: Sunlight is free and doesn’t cost anything. Using sunlight during the day helps to reduce dependence on fossil fuels to produce electricity and your bulbs and tube lights are going to last longer. Using longer lasting, energy efficient light sources (LED lighting or CFL bulbs) also reduces the amount of waste going into landfills significantly. Choose renewable energy like solar power to the extent possible.Unplug the devices when not in use.
  6. Start using natural cleaners: Take an hour or so to research some home-made options for natural cleaners. Vinegar and water can clean most surfaces. Soap nuts can be used to replace chemical soaps and shampoo, is a natural laundry detergent and for kitchen cleaning. By using natural cleaners you are reducing the amount of plastic packaging being made, and the amount of chemicals that are being introduced to the water system.
  7. Reduce food waste: Keep track of food what you throw away, there is lot of effort behind the food we eat: growing, harvesting, packaging, transport, storage etc. Find ways to store the food properly. Cook what you need and consume it on time.
  8. Kitchen Garden: Check the possibility of growing own greens, vegetables and fruits by composting kitchen waste. Start with growing greens which are easier to grow.
  9. Save water: Use water saving flow restrictions for the taps, showers at home. Avoid running taps when you are not using water. Check water leaks. Consider reusing water drained from RO filters.
  10. Practice Minimalism: It doesn’t mean living without anything, it means that you are making sure that everything you own and use is put to its maximum purpose. With a minimalist lifestyle, you will recycle more, and be more mindful of the items you support being produced so that sustainability is emphasized.

About Natural Farming

The Secrets of Natural Farming That Everyone Should Know

If you are not aware of the term “Natural Farming” and products available in the market associated to it, then Farm4Health is here to guide you. Natural farming follows the most contemporary forms of farming techniques to develop a close relationship between land and farmer. In contrast, the industrial farming process severs this relationship from the very beginning.

The Farming That Depends on Nature

The term ‘Natural Farming’ means farming with nature and without using any chemicals and external inputs (all the inputs are prepared at the farm). Using conventional techniques in agriculture is like cancer to our soil and health as well. It does not only make the soil barren but eventually, the farmer goes under debt. Hence, the only way to deal with this ever-rising problem is to adapt to the methods followed by our ancestors before Green revolution came in to picture.

There are many principles and methods introduced by agriculturists for natural farming. To name them, ‘Masanobu Fukuoka’ a Japanese farmer and philosopher who wrote the book ‘The One-Straw Revolution’ who emphasizes on no tillage, weeding, pesticide, fertilizer and pruning. ‘Subhash Palekar’ an Indian farmer who practiced and wrote many books on natural farming emphasized on crop rotation, multi cropping, mulching techniques, soil protection techniques, natural pesticides and fertilizers. He named it as ‘Zero Budget Natural Farming’(ZBNF). ZBNF is the most popular model in India

Let us see how it works.

  • Plants get 98% of their supply of nutrients from air, water, and sunlight. The remaining 2% can be fulfilled by good quality soil with plenty of friendly microorganisms. (Just like in forests and natural systems)
  • Soil microclimate: The soil is always supposed to be covered with an organic mulch, which creates humus and encourages the growth of friendly microorganisms.
  • Desi cow: The system requires cow dung and cow urine (Gomutra) obtained from Indian breed cow only. Desi cow is apparently the purest as far as the microbial content of cow dung, and urine goes.
  • Cultures: A farm made bio-culture named ‘Jeevamrutha’ is added to the soil instead of any fertilizers to improve microflora of soil (like earthworms). Jeevamrutha is derived from very little cow dung and cow urine of desi cow breed, jaggery and dicot flour.
  • Natural, farm-made pesticides like Dashparni Kashayam, Agniastra, Brahmastra and Neemastra are used to control pests and diseases.
  • Weeds are considered essential and used as living or dead mulch layer. 
  •  Multi-cropping is encouraged over single crop method.

The Benefits of Natural Farming Over Industry Grade Farming

Ø Zero Exposure of Chemicals and Pesticides

Researches prove that we could easily eliminate millions of tons of harmful and persistent pesticides from entering the environment by merely adapting the natural farming methods. The use of pesticides and chemicals not only allows disease resistance to build up in weeds, fungi, bacteria, and plant-eating insects, but also contaminates the soil, water, and air supply. Well, natural farming eliminates this cycle completely.

Ø Health Soil to grow Your Food

The soil damaged with pesticides and chemicals won’t thrive on its own and not suitable to grow healthy food. Natural farming builds up compost-rich soil that hosts loads of helpful bacteria, essentially required for better and healthier food growth.

Ø Helps Combating Erosion

Natural farming techniques help to combat erosion loss, which may seriously affect land, food supply, and the future generations of the human race also.

Ø Fight the Effects of Global Warming

Natural farming can actually reduce the carbon dioxide amount present in our atmosphere. It also helps with slow climate change. As natural farming involves absolute no use of instruments, pesticides, or other advanced methods of industrial-grade farming, the carbon dioxide and additional harmful emission of nature destroying elements will be zero here.

Ø Conserve Water

Natural farming helps water conservation. As the principle of natural farming prevents human intervention, so as the use of regulated irrigation supply, it helps conserve water and also stops it from getting polluted.

Ø Encourages Biodiversity and Animal Welfare

With industry farming methods, we destroy the natural habitats of insects, birds, countless other critters. Natural farming not only helps in preserving natural habitat present in that area but also encourages healthy biodiversity.

Health Benefits of Using Natural Farming Products

  • With natural farming, food products are grown without the use of any harmful substances such as fungicides, herbicides, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers, thus presenting them as a superfood for your intake.
  • Natural farming products are free of artificial color, flavors, trans fats, preservatives sweeteners, stabilizers, and other additives, making them naturally tasty and healthy from other available options.
  • Research shows that natural farming products are high in nutrients and antioxidants as they grow on nutrient-rich soil.
  • Natural farming ensures that your food is not subject to any genetic modification or artificial human intervention.
  • Natural farming foods eliminate irradiation, which changes both micro and macronutrients available in food, making natural farming products way superior to industry-grade products.

At Farm4Health, we respect and adhere to the principle of natural farming to deliver our customers’ natural superfoods with affordable pricing. All our food products are 100% naturally grown and delivered right to your doorstep without any use of artificiality. Check our broad range of products and orders online with the best convenience and price today. Call us at (Phone Number) for details and queries.