Boncho didn't write the book I took it from either. Melancholy woven into the hope of spring. Joy and sadness, the irony of life, in whole cloth.
Boncho wrote this 300 years ago. I have known this haiku for nearly forty years, and the budding brushwood still talks to me.
Sorry, it didn't talk to you.
Is he lazy or just malicious. His senses are disconnected from rational thought.
Four different Roundup formulations of the herbicide glyphyosate manufactured by Monsanto are highly toxic to human cells, and at concentrations far below the recommended agricultural use levels. Researchers at the Institute of Biology in Caen , France published their latest results in the current issue of Chemical Research in Toxicology
Know your enemy. Archer Daniels Midland, ConAgra, Cargill, American Cyanamid, Ciba-Geigy, Monsanto, Dow, and Syngenta are the most obvious.
They want to be paid, every time you eat.
For decorative plants, I am concerned about how they look therefore the bigger and more overblown they are the better they meet that criteria. Chemicals do that in bucket loads - think gross or force feeding.
For food, I am concerned about taste, nutritional quality, yield and keeping ability. Organic growing gives me that although given that I use trace elements once a year that come in a pack I don't claim to be a true organic grower. I use only animal manures, compost and teas however on beds in additon to the once yearly trace elements. I started my veg garden on dirt (not soil) that looked and acted like concrete and where not an earthworm was to be seen.
Justification for that would be impossible to do in a post as I'd have to give you 40 years reading, and garden observation cut to less than a bone. Some clues: Billy's post about soil biota and ad to that brix and baume. Do a google.
Billy, I think you are being a bit harsh on this occasion. At least Tim seems to be interested enough to be asking questions and trying to understand organics vs chemicals. The same could not be said for some of the 'nuke it till it glows' trolls we've had here.
decades ago, I began gardening using chemicals. It didn't take me long to realise the error of my ways but I suspect most people in the western world begin gardening that way. The chemical companies employ very good mind bending advertising agencies.
And what do you observe? Have you tried using only composted poop in one lot, a mix of composted poopand chemicals in another lot and just chenmicals in a third lot?
I wouldn't mind betting pounds to peanuts that the chemical lot looks fat and huge.
And there we have it in a nutshell.
One *must* do most of their own research and *experimentation*. What we often hope to achieve, through short example, quotations (pay heed oz, the poster) is awakening an interest in organic methods and a turning away from the status quo.
That and bashing a few heads when needed.
Billy, god luv the old bastard, has many hammers in his toolbox.... the old warrior's been fighting long enough to know that a hammer, when time is short and situations dire, is most often called for. ;-)
Charlie
You don't like my pedagogical approach? Hmmmm. I was just trying to get his attention. Sometimes you need a very large 2" X 4". The length gives more leverage. He does seem a nice enough chap but he is proposing something very stupid. Very small to be sure, but stupid none the less. Organic costs nothing but our kitchen scraps. He is willing to give Monsanto money for the ability to kill topsoil. You think a charm offensive is better? OK, I'll go brush my teeth. I appreciate the thought, truly. You not the first to mention my bedside manner needs some attending to.
All the best.
Hey! I represent that remark. Humph.
Odd you planting Jersey Giants tomorrow, I'm planting UC 157. Planning on getting an early start and it should be cooler. Hit 95F (35C) today after 68F (20C) a couple of days ago. I came back from shopping feeling as light headed as an old man. I plan on starting early tomorrow and the high is only supposed to be
81F (27C). Sliding back to 66F (19C) on Friday. Eating from the salad patch and the carrots are showing. I'll enjoy my head start for awhile but your warm evenings will have you out in front of me in no time.The hanging petunias are showing very nicely. They may replace some geraniums that have gone toes (?) up.
When one of my plants dies, I die a little inside, too. ~Linda Solegato
First of all...THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your prior post. 8-) If I needed attention getting, I wouldn't be here.
Now, no I never did that experiment! But you raised a good point in "taste". Thats one area I've never even thought about..Used to be in my raised beds my peppers seemed hotter, I donno. They seem to be every bit as big, and colorfull, etc...But I can't swear to the taste. Are you saying to just use the compost with NO other type of feeding? My soil-less medium has no food of it's own, what else can be mixed in? Remember, I barely have room for my pots, so a mulch or compost pile is out.
The more fertile the soil is, the hotter the peppers. Same goes for radishes.
Billy, I have no objection whatsoever to you or anyone taking a baseball bat to someone who shows either their disagreeable side or who writes idiotic things. Lord knows I've done it often enough myself.
What I do have a problem with is if you do it without first doing some analysis of the thread. Tim made sensible responses in answer to points raised so all I was trying to do was to point out that he hadn't shown any indications so far in the thread of being a troll. Don't clean you teeth yet, they might fall out because of the shock you've given them :-))
Taste is something that can also from vary season to season - yield can also do the same thing. One of those mysteries of gardening.
Basically most organic gardners tend to think in terms of feeding the soil rather than feeding the plants. If you have healthy soil, you'll have healhty plants and things like taste and yield will follow from that. That's a bit general as some plants have specific needs but it's close enough at the moment.
Even if you can't have a compost pile, have you considered Bokashi composting? (
Space for storage sounds like it could be a problem for you, but all gardeners who garden organically seem to find a spot to store the more bulky things that we all have. A pot or bag of chemicals takes up little space but not so organics.
I don't know which country you live in so I can't be too specific on products or suppliers but look for animal manures, blood and bone and rock minerals. And if there is any doubt about the quality of those products spend the extra money and buy organic. Good quality animal manures and blood and bone have a very distinctive smell. Chemicals smell of chemicals whereas animal products have a distinct animally/earthy smell. It's a smell I love, but YMMV.
Any farms near you, or stables or mushroom farms?
No mum, no sign at all, but I did catch a hint of doubt, of vacillation. I just hates vacillation when it comes to Archer Daniels Midland, ConAgra, Cargill, American Cyanamid, Ciba-Geigy, Monsanto, or Syngenta. Grrr - owwl
Yes mum, I was just goin' to bush them out a bit, sort of a comb over;O)
Tim, here is my simplistic view on using fertilisers - synthetic and natural. I figured out a while ago that humus and organic matter in my soil is good for it. Stripping away the humus was bad for my soil. Therefore, I practise putting organic matter in to my gardens. I use composted manure, compost or mulch. Bunging that stuff on my garden improves my soil over time, but also beneifcally adds nutrients in a soil friendly manner which are released in a controlled and time released way. Therefore, I concluded, as long as I am adding organic matter tom my soil, the plants will get fed in the process. Ipso facto, why bother adding extra fertiliser. To date my veges have done nicely following this line of reasoning. They are not the largest and fastest growing, but they are healthy and aboput right size for me & the family, and they taste good. If I look after my soil, my veges look after me.
rob
Thank you all for your posts. I think perhaps I may have come across different than I intended, as I am aware of most of what is being posted here. In other threads, I've stated before that I *used* to grow in raised beds, had a mulch pile, etc...and never used chemfer....Had great plants. When I had to switch to containers, I first started to make my own soil, and included much organic material in the pots, as that was what I was used too. Results became sporadic, both in varieties that grew well, as well as years that would differ. I played with the mix of my soil, with mixed results. Nothing consistent. See, I don't view this as a "political", or "green" thing, but one of consistency. What I have learned is that the eco-systems of containers is vastly different than land based eco-systems. ie, what works great in the ground, may not work in a container. Now, having read many posts from container specific sites, everyone else has the same problem, that try the organic approach. Looking at sites that sell organic material, one finds that the majority of fertilizers are in need of microbes and other critters to make the organic fert inorganic so the plant can use it. That, I think is the problem for organic container gardeners, some time you have the critters, some times you don't. Heck, even the temp of the growing medium makes a difference. To high or low, the critters don't work as well, or may die off.
Wow, this is long, sorry. The bottom line seems to be one of consistency. The best results for most 'weekend' gardeners, seems to be a mixture of the two worlds, at least with containers.
Snort! That'd I'd love to see. Teeth with a comb over! Just let them go bald and be proud of them as there is nothing worse than a comb over.
I saw a chap in a cafe a couple of weeks ago who had a comb over that came from about 1 inch above his collar. It was so disgusting and fascinating that I couldn't stop staring. He must have used Super Glue to keep it in place.
I'm not sure what you mean by your reference to 'weekend' gardeners. I think I probably achieved more in the garden when I still had a full time job than I do now that I just do occasional work. I was more organised when I worked as I knew I had to get it done. Now I know I have all the time in the world (or at leas till the Grim Reaper comes calling).
Take your time. You have until the end of the month to complete this test. For 100 points.
Q. What is your favorite color?
A. _ _ _ _ _ _
Once you finish the test, you may wish to look at the following sights, er, sites.
As I may be away for a couple of days, I'm asking Ms. Rice to sub for me, and I'm sure she will do a wonderful job of maintaining the continuity of the class.
pictures?
Comb overs, groan. Hoped they'd have gone out with walk shorts and walk socks. Guy in my office still does a comb over, though not from that far down. That said, I maintain a "comb forward" to disguise the advancing forehead.
rob
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