Hillbilly's Garden of Weedin'

I have garden that really needs to be tended to, but I cannot stand to be up on my feet long enough to take care of it. I find that to be one big reason to be aggravated about this situation. If I can stand to be on my feet long enough, I will get out and take the planting bells off of the seeds and seedlings that I have planted. At least they will get a little bit of rain. I cannot get out to water them every day or two like I should, so I will let the rain take care of some... of my chores for me. I will have to rework my garden plan for this year, especially for the planters with the potatoes. I will get the potatoes in, but they will be pretty late and will not come off in time to plant turnips in them. I may try to plant some turnips in other planters that I have other things planted in right now. I could always plant garlic in the wading pool planter, but the winters kill the garlic, so there is no sense in planting any garlic this year. I am just plain old aggravated at the way that things are turning out this year. I had such a good plan too for this year. Maybe, next year things will go better.

My plans for the potato planters have kind of gone by the wayside as I have not been able to get out and plant my potatoes, and I find that to be most irritating. I put a lot of effort into my garden plan this year and I am not happy that I have to set my plans aside for a while. Maybe next year I will be able to make my plans work. There always seems to be something getting in the way of my plans for the garden and they never seem to go as planned. I confess that I find myse...lf wanting to give it all up and quit gardening from time to time, but I keep on picking myself up and muddling through one way or another. I admit that I will be greatly surprised if I get an early garden this year. But, one way or another, I shall salvage as much of the year as possible. Surely this pain I am currently experiencing cannot last forever. I shall overcome. See more

Foraging Adventure: Chickweed The information presented here is for entertainment and general information only. Always positively identify any plant before harvesting for culinary and/or medicinal use. Some plants can interfere with certain drugs, or may have unwanted risks and/or side effects. Always seek the advice of a trained healthcare professional before using any plant or plant product. To the best of our knowledge the information contained herein is accurate. Brief Hi...Continue reading

Have you noticed that as a well-built compost pile ages that it shrinks in size? Have you ever wondered why it shrinks? You might say that it is because the material rots and that would be correct, but why does it shrink in volume? A person of a much more analytical mind might try to explain that material gives off its water volume and cells collapse driving out air from the pile to create a more solid mass. That would be correct in one sense but does not explain the decrease... of dry matter volume. If you were to compress and dry all of the air and moisture out of the material and compress it into a 1-foot cube, it would still decrease in volume, if the decomposition process could continue why. Compost, as it decomposes, releases carbon dioxide, CO2, as an active component of the decay process. In simple layman’s terms, compost will lose between and of its volume in CO2 gas released from the decomposing material. The loss of water and other minor gasses results in a further reduction in volume so that you end up with roughly as much volume as you started out with. See more

Cinnamon for Plants Cinnamon has a long history of use. Possibly as long ago as 2,000 B.C. Egyptians were using cinnamon as well as the related spice cassia, as a perfuming agent during the embalming process, and it was even mentioned in the Old Testament as an ingredient in anointing oil. Overall, approximately 250 species of Cinnamomum have been identified among the cinnamon genus, with trees being scattered all over the world. Over the centuries that have followed, cinnamo...Continue reading

Dealing with Soil Molds While I was looking up some information on another topic, I ran across information regarding mold forming on potting soil and recalled my own bout with mold on potting soil many years ago now. Mold forming on potting soil while unsightly, generally poses no threat to plants in most cases. However, mold on potting soil does reveal a practice in plant care that usually needs to be addressed as I learned the hard way. Soil mold in general will only thriv...Continue reading

To treat seeds for faster and increased germination: Simply add 1 ounce of 3% hydrogen peroxide to 1 pint of water (2 Tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide per 1 pint of water). Soak your seeds for 18 to 24 hours, rinse and plant. Mix fresh solution for each batch of seeds to be treated as the hydrogen peroxide will be broken down by the time the soaking is finished.

Chlorine in Tap Water After reading report after report and study after study, there is no evidence that the small amount of chlorine in tap water does any harm to plants. Both chlorine and chloramine ( a blend of chlorine and ammonia) have been studied in depth by many Universities and laboratories, and not one shred of evidence could be found that the level of chlorine found in tap water (less than 5 ppm) harms plants, whether in pots or in the ground. But, if chlorine is s...Continue reading