Got into my gardening area for about the first time in two weeks because the rain has kept me inside. Near giddy with excitement when I saw the green manure and clover was taking hold. To me that means in about two months, I can lay down more newsprint, mulch and, start gardening. And the crowd goes wild.
Gotta feel good about the under dog Giants. They did it the hard way. Too bad there can only be one winner. Against any other team, except Green Bay, I would have been rooting for the Patriots.
Always a pleasure Om. My main concern is warming the soil. Two years ago, I had twelve 100F + days and the garden responded wonderfully. Last year, I had two 100F + days and the garden struggled. Basically, I'm trying to warm the soil as the sunlight doesn't seem to be to different from year to year. From my cursory browse of the effects of plastic ground covers, I found two schools that had done the experiments. They recommended clear plastic until mid-july to mid-August, when they pulled back the plastic to keep from over heating the soil. Above 91F (33C), the roots become over heated and reduces yeild. All the other sites, anecdotally reported the superlative effects of red plastic, putatively because of reflected red and infrared wave lengths but there was no clear advantage
I was being facetious, sweety;-) I hate weeding as much as the next person. I love watering although my drip is much more efficient. My weeding gets done on a hit and miss basis when I make my rounds of the garden. My biggest problems have been the spearmint moving into the lettuce patch, or the peppermint infiltrating last years tomato area, or the woodruff trying to over whelm the chives and my lavander. As I mentioned in another post, I'm trying to get my plants to hold hands, hoping that the shade and mulch will squeeze out the undesired plants. It worked pretty well last year except for the tomatoes and the green beans swapping some kind of leaf curl. They are at separate ends of the garden this year.
I agree completely.
I dunno, I like watching the kids play basketball but watching grown men run up and down a court in shorts doesn't spin my wheels. And of course, it doesn't have to.
Funny you should mention that. I was told that there was some good discussions over there, but as the name implies, it's all about people who like to shoot things and what they like to shoot them with. I have a gun. I have a hammer. I have a hose but I don't obsess on them. To me they are just tools. On the other hand, I'm willing to obsess on gardening, I think it brings out my inner Hobbit.
I was just on my way over to tx.guns and thank them for their forbearance of an aging California hippie and bow out of further discussions.
Ok, I see where you are coming from. Black absorbs the most heat in general so I'd continue with that since that is your goal.
Landscaping fabric is black also so should warm the soil some, but not as much. Soil warming is not my goal here. If I'm going to germinate seeds, I'll do that in the greenhouse under lights.
I tend to cheat tho' and get bedding plants pre-grown since I don't grow a lot. The water is too expensive. Like I said before, I'll be container growing my 'maters this year to conserve water.
Ah. Missed that.
Hope it works out!
Oh I generally just catch it on the radio on the way to work at night. I'm only a luke-warm fan at best, but I have co-workers that are major fans so it gives me something to talk about with them. Final scores, various players and such.
As it does in all of us! Plus, there is nothing on gods green earth like a sun warmed, vine ripened tomato! There is nothing at all in the stores that is even close except for maybe those vine tomatoes that sell for twice the price.
I need to put in a sweet 100's this year. Give me something to take to the nephews during the week once they get going. If I put in two of them, I'll have cherry tomatoes galore.
Good source of Lycopenes.
I see you went back. ;-) Some of the political stuff can get pretty interesting. It's one of the few groups that can at least have civilized discussions (for the most part anyway) unless it's being cross posted from talk.politics.guns.
That list is a sewer much of the time. :-P
I'm not posting much anywhere right now. Just been busy with other things, so my posting volume is way down overall.
I know, being unemployed at present, I'm probably posting too much but I only do so when I think I can help, or when I get cranky.
As you probably noticed I'm posting over at ca.politics. I hope that is Californla and not Canada. I just got some rants that aren't appropriate for gardening.
There are some good people who post in tx.guns, just like in ca.politics, and then in both groups, there are those people who seem to think the world is for them that think their way. As far as I'm concerned, if I can be in your dream, you can be in mine.
Is there a lot of violent crime in Texas? That would explain the gun thing. Here in Sonoma County, we have more gang members per capita than in L.A. but for the most part they fight among themselves, with the occasional innocent bystander. The Mexican gangs get the most press here but we have white supremists, Crips & Bloods, and motorcycle gangs as well. Homicides, though, are unusual outside of Oakland, where there are gangs, drugs, and a whole lot of hopelessness. A president Obama could fix a lot of that but I'm still voting Green, because I can, because California will vote Democratic..
Oh, before I forget, cooking tomatoes makes the lycopene more available nutritionally. Doesn't taste the same but is healthier to eat.
Hoping to make another run at milk thistle this year. The "Hounds from Hell" trampled it last year, just like they are doing to the red clover between the stepping stones this year. The green manure is doing well, I guess I'll find out how well in about three months.
Black absorbing heat was my thought originally but the two schools that did the experiment with clear and colored plastic reported better results with clear. Logic is always based on the premise. If the premise is wrong . . . .
We, Sonoma County, were asked to conserve water last year. We did so well that they are raising our rates this year because of a loss of revenue. I got into trouble, even with my drip.
Been lookin' at the weather maps. Seems like you run 10F ahead of us. When do you plant?
You probably won't see this until you get off work, so I hope your night went well and you carried to a relaxing sleep quickly.
He actually is very bright. That's what makes him so good at it. He's the list clown but he sometimes says stuff that will tick off even the most patient of people. Deliberately.
Oh I'd love to see a decent standard of living world wide, but the corruption of various third world country governments seems to prevent that. Mexico could be one of the wealthiest countries in the world, AND be the breadbasket of the world with their climate and workforce! Many of the out of season veggies we've been getting here are from Mexico. It's been nice to once again enjoy Avocados for $.25 each.
Depends on our energy sources. So long as we are dependent on fossil fuels, that will continue to be an issue.
The oil cartels have a stranglehold on the world economy.
I won't disagree...
It's concentrated and the drying process does not destroy the Allicin. I suppose I could google for a cite, but I do remember reading it somewhere, just not where.
Not really. ;-) What makes you say that?
Fascinating! I'm guessing the increased spectrum might have something to do with it.
It's in the 40's outside right now. We are running the furnace, but I have my bedroom window open. I like it cooler in the house than dad does. But, he _is_ 75. I'm just glad that he was willing to move back in with me. I don't want him living alone any more. We can work with the thermostat wars.
I eat when I get hungry. Generally twice per day altho' if I'm really busy, I may only eat once when I settle in for the evening...
It's not the fossil fuel, which is supposed to reach its' peak in 2030 and isn't sustainable in any event. It's the unsustainable consumption of natural resources which will increase as the 2.8 billion people who live on $2/day and others in the Third World aspire to first world living standards. The poorest countries are the most overpopulated.
"And Garlic Powder is higher in Allicin than fresh garlic... Either one makes my sweat stink of sulphur tho'." - Om
In this day and age of self-promotion, when everybody is walking around with portfolios to hype themselves, a more appropriate response would have been,"It gives my skin the scent of lavender and the taste of raspberries";-)
Among winemakers, pinot noir often is attributed with having a "barnyard odor" but that descriptor isn't used in advertising.
Aak. Today we're the same. Fired up the barbecue yesterday. First time since Thanksgiving. Only cooked chicken and sausages over hickory chips. My god it smelled good and tasted even better. It's been a long winter and our taste buds were more than ready. The "Hounds from Hell" and four of the five cats were totally bummed. No bones. Randy, the old man of the felines got a few scraps but he wasn't satisfied. Tonight we gotta do some ribs or our companions will find some way to show their dissatisfaction. Ribs here are a much anticipated summer staple for saturday nights, which attracts all our little four footed friends around the barbecue.
We are down to a fire in the morning which keeps the house warm all day.
Setting down to the table for dinner is important for us, it's not a hard and fast rule, but it is our standard.
I know you have an awkward schedule which probably makes it too difficult to do. Are you swing or graveyard?
They do get that high sometimes, but they've been 4/$1.00 now for a good couple of months. Nice decent Haas too.
Yes. The higher the education level, the fewer kids born. It's kinda scary actually.
Ok! I was not trying to market it per se'. I personally don't mind the smell of garlic (when dad hits it heavy, I can smell him when I walk into his room) but many find it to be offensive.
;-)
Man. I've not BBQ'd in ages. I need to do it soon. I bought those racks of beef ribs for $.69 per lb. a couple of weeks ago. I'll follow the instructions and braise/roast them first, then finish them off in the BBQ with some mesquite. ;-d
It was 34 degrees here this morning btw.
I don't have a fire place.
But all there is is me and my dad. :-) We sometimes sit down and eat lunch together, but most of the time we snack/eat when we get hungry.
Had been having some problems with avocados and dark spots in them but that hasn't been a problem lately. Artichokes are coming in here as well, although they have a papery feel on the outside, they are still good for eating. Priced dropped from $1.50 each to $.99 each in the last week.
I thought it was affluence. Large families were once necessary to have heirs that would survive infant mortality and to have a labor force for subsistence farming. Once they had a comfortable life, they reduced their number of children.
My mom came from an old colonialist family that moved from Maryland to New Brunswick when the American colonies seceded from England. I'm afraid she ingrained into me the old English habits of understatement and modesty that are at such cross-purposes with todays culture where everyone is required to wear a sandwich board saying, "I'm the best".
It's good for avoiding colds. People won't get close enough to be contagious to you;-)
Yesterday, I took a longer nap than I had expected. Late getting the barbecue up and cooking. It's a new Weber (last Fall) and I didn't have it shut down enough, and to make a long story short, the pork ribs cooked too quickly. They were still nice and smokey, just not falling off the bones good. The kids (Lilly & Beau, and the cats that our daughters have bequeathed to us, Randy, Figaro, Buddy, Misty, and Willow) didn't seem to mind. Good time had by one and all.
A German friend never had beef ribs before visiting the States. He went bonkers over them.
Same here yesterday 72/34 F. Good season to catch a cold.
The smell of a wood smoke is one of my seasonal treasures.
I "think" that is part of Zen wisdom. Eat when you are hungry. Sleep when you are tired. Smile when you are happy.
I think I really got addicted to "sit downs" in France where a typical restaurant lunch ($12 before Bush screwed up the $) with five courses, will last an hour and a half. I was stunned that I could carry on an original conversation with someone I've known for thirty years. It's still a good way to talk about things that never get mentioned in passing.
I love sunrises. It's like before the show and everything is quiet.
Totally tangential to all the above. Look for a French movie, Le Bal. It follows French music from the 30s to the 70s using a repertoire cast. There isn't any conversation, so you don't need to know any French. A few French I've talked to think it makes the French look stupid. I think it just makes them look human.
My cabbage and lettuce has germinated, so here I go again. Next month I'll start the really important stuff.
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