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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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From Tower To Table: Growing Plants With Aeroponics

Fortis Farms is about creating easy access to fresh, local food sources in a sustainable, space-saving, resource-conserving system. Started by four Culpeper, Virginia-area entrepreneurs, the company is committed to supporting communities, families and businesses through the imperative of generating new, resilient, accessible food sources and economies using innovative technologies and systems.

        Fortis Farms leverages aeroponic vertical solutions as an approachable, scalable pathway to grow more and reduce waste in a low-cost, small-footprint framework. Aeroponic gardening is an evolution of hydroponics that employs a process of growing plants in a mist environment rather than soil. By combining water, liquid nutrients, soilless medium and a timer-controlled pump, plants raised in this method grow more quickly, more heartily, are incredibly delicious and highly nutritious. Using this method, yields can increase by 30 percent, plants grow two to three times faster, and the systems use up to 98 percent less water and consume 90 percent less space than traditional techniques.

The towers are extremely easy to maintain and almost run themselves. Families will find themselves wasting less food, eating more healthfully, and spending less. The produce is simply there and doesn’t travel thousands of miles to reach the table. Larger producers can take advantage of gravity-fed irrigation, nutrient delivery systems, and the space-saving, effort-reducing nature of these solutions to produce more, faster, and closer to their communities.

For more information, call Fortis Farms at 540-409-6871, email [email protected], or visit GrowFortisFarms.com

Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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