tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.comments2023-09-06T03:55:07.903-07:00Real Food & Scandalous Gardening SecretsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger231125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-67876755634628157232018-04-15T18:37:01.006-07:002018-04-15T18:37:01.006-07:00“No ray of sunlight is ever lost, but the green it...“No ray of sunlight is ever lost, but the green it wakes into existence needs time to sprout, and it is not always granted to the sower to live to see the harvest. All work that is worth anything is done in faith.” Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Peace Prize recipient, 1952Harvesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08872861471819228830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-1471441382468202522018-04-15T18:36:23.250-07:002018-04-15T18:36:23.250-07:00Here's another April tip--if you haven't a...Here's another April tip--if you haven't already begun starting seeds for warm season crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and squash--now is the time. They need a nice warm spot with bright light to get a head start. If your ground is ready to be worked, you can plant cool season crops like lettuce, cabbage, and broccoli right out side. Use the search function at the top left of this page to get more information on what you want to grow--and if you don't find all the information you need--please feel free to leave a comment . . . .Harvesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08872861471819228830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-27458951320526742612018-04-09T14:22:38.344-07:002018-04-09T14:22:38.344-07:00Thanks, Harvest. This sounds like a perfect veggi...Thanks, Harvest. This sounds like a perfect veggie for me to plant in Covelo in my poor soil.Firewalkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04230679683627776312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-83309429998357340092018-04-08T09:43:27.106-07:002018-04-08T09:43:27.106-07:00Great storytelling. I feel as if I went through y...Great storytelling. I feel as if I went through your experience.Firewalkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04230679683627776312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-80629320426655747302017-08-29T07:32:54.386-07:002017-08-29T07:32:54.386-07:00Hi Katherine, Thanks for your comment! If you us...Hi Katherine, Thanks for your comment! If you use the google provided search thingy up in the left hand corner of the page you will find lots of information on controlling snails. I am not sure if it is mentioned in any of those entries that granulated dried garlic is good. We found, at the community garden where I used to be the coordinator, that the slugs would not cross the garlic when we used it as a barrier around tender seedlings. Hope you have been having a productive gardening season. :) Harvesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06317944232551873144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-40851027702815751122017-05-14T20:39:57.153-07:002017-05-14T20:39:57.153-07:00This information is fascinating. I am a new garden...This information is fascinating. I am a new gardener and am planning to try this hole composting. I have always wanted to compost. I'm in the San Diego area. I am having a problem with snails. I want to garden organically. Do you have any suggestion?<br />Thank you!Katherinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03974270660998392483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-76759340785149745902017-04-14T11:48:34.300-07:002017-04-14T11:48:34.300-07:00Very interesting post, thanks for the information!...Very interesting post, thanks for the information! One note: some varieties of garland chrysanthemum do self-seed exceptionally well, and the species is actually colonizing disturbed areas and open spaces here in California and many other states. It can form dense stands of individuals and crowd out native annuals (such as our beloved poppies and other wildflowers) due to its fast growth rates. Like fennel, we would recommend that gardeners who live close to wild, natural areas manage the seeds carefully so that they don't escape and become invasive. Ventura Hillsides Conservancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00354700217308114586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-39080867712390706692017-03-15T17:02:40.911-07:002017-03-15T17:02:40.911-07:00great article, thank you! I love this humble littl...great article, thank you! I love this humble little flowers, that remind me of my great grandma and her magical little garden... in Chile! they are all over the place... just hanged a basket of them next to my front door, and I have a few wild ones in the yard... planning on eating a few now, as I've been enjoying a lot of the weeds this beautiful California spring.... :)luna errantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09256626969439666221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-28611033145871448372017-01-07T08:53:45.749-08:002017-01-07T08:53:45.749-08:00More information on CimeXa:
CimeXa is a silica b...More information on CimeXa: <br /><br />CimeXa is a silica based product. If anyone does any reading on bed bugs on-line, you will see many references to another silica based material, diatomaceous earth, which was the previous go-to non-toxic remedy. Diatomaceous earth is made up of microscopic fossilized diatoms. This material is found in old sea bed deposits and it has very sharp edges. It cuts through the bed bugs’ exoskeletons and caused them to die of dehydration. However, bed bugs adapt very quickly, because of their genetic diversity and the fact that they can have many generations per year. Populations of bed bugs that have been exposed to diatomaceous earth have started secreting a waxy substance that reduces their fluid loss. While they will eventually succumb to their wounds, they are now surviving weeks to months; which gives them time to reproduce. CimeXa also cuts up the bed bugs’ exoskeletons. However, it has an electrostatic charge and it sticks to the bugs and absorbs their waxy secretions allowing them to dehydrate and die. CimeXa has been shown to kill bed bugs in a matter of hours to days after contact, which breaks the cycle of infestation. Right now, CimeXa is the best remedy and preventative treatment available. I had the opportunity, since the article came out, to communicate with company that produces CimeXa. They let me know that while there are brick and mortar retail outlets that offer CimeXa on-line, it is not stocked in stores. CimeXa is primarily sold in 5 gallon buckets to pest control companies. The four ounce squeeze bottles offered for home use are only available online. Meanwhile, since the article came out, everyone’s big question is how to recognize a bed bug infestation. There is lots of information on-line, but I will also be covering that in another article very soon.<br /><br />Excerpted from my letter to the editor, published in the Willapa Harbor Herald, on December 28th, 2016.Harvesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06317944232551873144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-65205358068930197622016-11-28T16:59:19.178-08:002016-11-28T16:59:19.178-08:00Here's a little up-date. After not taking cal...Here's a little up-date. After not taking calcium for a few years, I did in fact clear the grit out of my joints. Yeah! I now take a single capsule of 'Nature's Life' Cal / Mag / Zinc complex from time to time. (A full serving is 4 caps.) I take it when I have been eating some really healthy high fat foods, and I take it with a little vitamin C. (Turns out the rose hips gave me a migraine.) For vitamin C I am using dried powdered Camu Camu, which is higher in vitamin C than either rose hips or Acerola. I am still moving really good most mornings. But eating junk food or just regular American food will do me in for a few days. And stress or skimping on stretching will also do me in. Harvesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06317944232551873144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-51921156040393522582016-08-31T10:59:37.619-07:002016-08-31T10:59:37.619-07:00Quick tip, it turns out that dried or dehydrated g...Quick tip, it turns out that dried or dehydrated garlic granules make a great spot treatment for seedlings and small transplants. Check out the photos and information here: https://www.facebook.com/Growing-Together-Community-Gardens-197769820314987/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1079216142170346 Highlight and right click to go to the photos, click on each one to read the description and comments and to ask questions. Thanks! Harvesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06317944232551873144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-86673979301647604032016-03-29T12:32:33.721-07:002016-03-29T12:32:33.721-07:00You are so welcome! Raised beds are excellent for...You are so welcome! Raised beds are excellent for high rainfall areas, as they provide drainage. They are also really good for cool summer areas, if you lay them out in the sun with long south facing sides, as the soil warms up quicker. <br /><br />However, in hot dry areas, sunken gardens, or at least sunken planting holes are a better plan. They help keep the water right were you need it, the help shade the soil so you don't get so much evaporation, and they help shade the roots so they don't cook. When you bury the compostables, you can mound up the dirt, so you have a raised mound to start. This will help the soil warm up if you live in a cool spring area, and it will help provide drainage if you live in a wet spring area. As the plants and worms and soil microorganisms utilize the compostables, they soil will sink forming a basin which will hold water in hot dry summers. <br /><br />If you don't have pests living in your soil, you can also simply move that soil to another area where you can use it. If it does have pests, it is best not to move it around, unless you are going to layer it in a hot and active compost pile . . . but that is a whole other subject! <br /><br />In any event, excess soil can be used to form circles around plants to retain and focus water at the base of your plants, no matter what technique you use. This is very useful in dry low rainfall areas. On the other hand, it can be problematic during the rainy season in high rainfall areas . . . . <br /><br />Gardening techniques, by experimentation, must always be adapted to the soil, climate, and site where you are gardening! Harvesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06317944232551873144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-73725236697509879962016-02-13T16:47:04.272-08:002016-02-13T16:47:04.272-08:00Thank you again! Yes your response is very helpful...Thank you again! Yes your response is very helpful! I was a bit worried because here in Southern California, the backyard dirt is terrible and I couldn't imagine my seedlings getting enough nutrients when the humus hasn't been created yet. It sounds like they can still draw nutrients from the compostables as they decay. I guess I'll just do it and see what happens.. :)<br /><br />That's interesting. I did read elsewhere online about "circle gardens" or "eco-circles", which form the basin shape you speak of. Only it gets formed right away from the excess topsoil after you mix layers of subsoil with compostables and topsoil. It becomes something like a raised circular bed.WithoutTheGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14615145721356782949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-58787324914787811002016-02-13T07:23:08.788-08:002016-02-13T07:23:08.788-08:00You are so welcome and thank you! Yes, if you bu...You are so welcome and thank you! Yes, if you bury the compostables under 4 - 6 inches of soil, you can plant in them immediately. Best not to use animal products of any any kind in these compost holes, however, especially if you are planting root crops. <br /><br />If this is how you handle all your compostables, you will likely need to use some of the same spots next year. I find that compost holes started from fall through spring have fully turned into top soil by fall of the same year, and if needed the same spot can be used again. Holes started in the summer, are best left to the following spring or summer. Your results may vary, but just check the holes. Things may take differing amounts of time in different climates and in different soil types.<br /><br />I do find, that when using this technique in the spring for planting heavy feeders, like squash and pumpkins, the soil in the hole subsides by mid summer, as the plants scavenge all moisture and nutrients from the compostables. This forms a convenient watering basin, and also a nice depression into which you can stuff grass clippings possibly mixed with some coffee grounds. The grass clippings will hold moisture and also release nutrients as they decay.<br /><br />Now, the most important thing for gardeners to do, is to make observations. Not all techniques are equally useful for all gardeners, for all climates, and for all soil types. <br /><br />On the year wait. If you are composting manure or any other animal product, except for hair, fir, or wool, hot composting is the best way to do, and after hot composting it is best to let the compost age a year. This is to reduce or eliminate possibly disease carrying pathogens. Not everyone does this, but it is what is recommended. <br /><br />Hope this answers your questions! Please feel free to ask more . . . . Harvesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06317944232551873144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-27953445209620863672016-02-13T00:44:59.074-08:002016-02-13T00:44:59.074-08:00Hi there! Do you plant seeds/seedlings immediately...Hi there! Do you plant seeds/seedlings immediately after filling the compost hole? I thought I read in another post of yours that we shouldn't plant until a year later because that's when the kitchen scraps and stuff will be fully decomposed...<br /><br />Also, do you re-use that hole for new plantings? I assume all you need to do afterwards is to topdress with compost once every year, as you would do in a traditional garden bed.<br /><br />(I am new to gardening...) Thanks! And love your posts!WithoutTheGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14615145721356782949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-41355788786460844372016-02-11T07:04:54.434-08:002016-02-11T07:04:54.434-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Harvesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06317944232551873144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-15864275323590056462015-10-24T11:47:51.195-07:002015-10-24T11:47:51.195-07:00I haven't stopped by this page in a while . . ...I haven't stopped by this page in a while . . . I just want to give a big 'Thank You,' to all of you for your good words.Harvesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06317944232551873144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-1803217040141229232015-10-22T14:27:25.804-07:002015-10-22T14:27:25.804-07:00The issue with kudzu in the US, typically, is that...The issue with kudzu in the US, typically, is that it is greatly reducing genetic diversity nearly everywhere it occurs. On the other hand, all parts of kudzu are edible, some are medicinal, and it has economic value. It seems to me that in a would were there is hunger and malnutrition, and where there are people who need work, kudzu could be utilized in beneficial ways if we were creative enough to do so. Considering kudzu's actual invasive potential, its ability to out grow and smother nearly everything in its path unless aggressively managed, it puts itself into an entirely different category than ox eye daisies . . . Ox eye daisies are not going to strangle mature native trees. <br /><br />You bring up some very good questions. What in deed is the natural or expected natural environment bordering superhighways? But I would go a little further. In fact, do we expect the environment bordering super highways to be natural? And I can think of even more related questions to add. However, this is a blog about gardening and food, primarily, and my expertise on correlating these things to the borders of super highways is very limited, and even more so when speaking of the South, where I have never lived and never even visited. It is still find it a very worthy subject, and I hope there are venues where it is being addressed in depth.<br /><br />Thanks for your comment!<br /><br /> Harvesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06317944232551873144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-75739949767711688772015-10-22T07:30:49.251-07:002015-10-22T07:30:49.251-07:00Thanks Tim, and that may work in some instances, h...Thanks Tim, and that may work in some instances, however, in the case sited of my aunts garden, the deer in fact did jump into the narrow area between the fences from time to time, and then had to be let out. It is entirely conceivable that they would jump into a small garden space and not be able to leave if they didn't have enough room to jump out.<br /><br />At the community garden where I am the coordinator, the deer previously were walking up a wheel chair ramp and using it to jump into the garden at the low part of the ramp. They would then stay in the garden until someone let them out, even though it is fairly large. The jump from the wheel chair ramp was doable for them. They jump from the ground back out was too high. Since then we have installed a lattice panel along that section of the wheel chair ramp, and haven't had a problem. Seven foot fences, that the deer can actually see, seems to work pretty consistently for nearly everyone. They will absolutely find any low spots or gaps. <br /><br />Thanks again . . . some strategies may work better for some situations than others.Harvesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06317944232551873144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-34398341027147726972015-10-16T11:07:17.168-07:002015-10-16T11:07:17.168-07:00My impression is that deer will jump a fence into ...My impression is that deer will jump a fence into a large enough area but not into smaller areas. Instead of a double fence it may be more expedient to have several fences enclosing smaller garden areas.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00860457258447774030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-66228439381057997012015-10-16T09:39:54.238-07:002015-10-16T09:39:54.238-07:00The criteria listed above should also include one ...The criteria listed above should also include one more, sine qua non, is the environment where the plant is proliferating and inviting scrutiny undisturbed, pristine, relatively natural, that for good reasons should be protected from the so-called invasive? Vs. for example kudzu growing along superhighways in the South? What is the natural or expected baseline natural environment bordering superhighways?Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00860457258447774030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-20161306930231396482015-10-14T09:49:08.947-07:002015-10-14T09:49:08.947-07:00Even if you still feel you can deny climate change...Even if you still feel you can deny climate change, there is no denying pollution.<br /><br />"The noxious combination of soot, dust, sulfur, nitrogen oxide, ammonia, and hydrocarbons that kills about 7 million people around the globe every year . . . "<br /><br />"Kicking exhaust-spewing vehicles off roads is key to reducing pollution . . . When Paris banned cars on the last Sunday of September for one day, the amount of nitrogen oxide in the air dropped 20 percent." (Nitrogen oxide is also a green house gas.)<br /><br />Park your car for Peace with the planet; as often as you can, as long as you can.<br /><br />http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/10/12/press-print-air-pollution?cmpid=ait-fbHarvesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06317944232551873144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-44243655482725960312015-10-14T09:38:19.130-07:002015-10-14T09:38:19.130-07:00
Heat from the Earth’s interior does not control... <br />Heat from the Earth’s interior does not control climate.<br />Read the science and see the charts here:<br />http://www.skepticalscience.com/heatflow.html<br />Highlight and right click URL to open the article.Harvesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06317944232551873144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-16457920490132758432015-10-14T09:21:43.311-07:002015-10-14T09:21:43.311-07:00Stashing some information so I can find it later ....Stashing some information so I can find it later . . . .<br /><br />In conversations on facebook, I have run across two interesting hypothesis. One that claims that chem-trails are causing global warming, and another that claims that reduced cloud cover is causing global warming.<br /><br />Here is my response to both:<br /><br />Here is some science and math related to the purpose and weather out-comes from chem-trails. It also documents increased rather than decreased cloud cover: http://meteora.ucsd.edu/~jnorris/presentations/Caltechweb.pdf<br /><br />See:<br />Page 19 for a chart that shows the type of clouds that reduce the green house effect. <br />Page 29 for a discussion of anthropogenic effects that make clouds more reflective.<br />Pages 30 and 31--charts that explain the above.<br />Page 64 --last statement: "Cloud changes since 1952 have had a net cooling effect on the earth."<br />(Of course we know that the net cooling the clouds are providing is not enough to offset global warming.)<br />Important-- on page 59 he states that the increase in the types of clouds which are reducing the effects of climate change cannot solely be attributed to anthropogenic sources.<br /><br />There are a total of 64 pages, I do not agree with everything presented, but most of it seems sound, including the discussions of the many uncertainties involved. In particular, I want to note, that the reason I am sharing this, is that it more or less verifies my own hypothesis; that the reason 'they' are spraying these chem-trails is in an effort to reduce global warming. Now, I think it is ill conceived idea, totally. I don't think you can fix what we have broken by the use of chemicals and combustion technologies--by using more chemicals and combustion technologies. While these efforts may have slowed global warming by some tiny fraction, they are also releasing green house gasses in concert with these actions, and they are releasing chemicals and particulates that we have no concept of what they will do in our atmosphere or our environments over the long run. <br /><br />Harvesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06317944232551873144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20713191.post-22877033887190146442015-10-12T18:50:32.894-07:002015-10-12T18:50:32.894-07:00The slowing of the Jet Stream, which leads us to t...The slowing of the Jet Stream, which leads us to the situation we have today, got started in earnest in 2006, as you can see in the third chart down at the following link. You will also find lots of other good information here:<br />http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/our-extreme-weather-arctic-changes-to-blameHarvesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06317944232551873144noreply@blogger.com