Thursday, February 04, 2010
Bad Time For Epilepsy...
Shitty timing. Had a seizure last night, and feeling punky today. Called in sick to just rest and be safe. As it's not a particularly good idea to go to a concert after a seizure, for all the sensory overload. I'm going to miss the show tonight.
I have a ticket to see The Residents for someone in the Memphis area, if one is interested. Free. First comment of interest gets it.
Here's a clip from the show "Six More Miles"(to the graveyard):
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Labels: My Life As It Is
A serious Seed Shortage This Year...
No, not my seed fetish...
via MSNBC
DES MOINES, Iowa - Dreaming of biting into a garden-fresh cucumber sandwich this summer? Better order your seeds now.
A poor growing season last year and increased orders from Europe could make it difficult for home gardeners to get seeds for the most popular cucumber variety and some vegetables this spring. Farmers, who usually grow different varieties than home gardeners, aren't likely to be affected.
Seeds for what's known as open-pollinated cucumbers seem to be most scarce, but carrots, snap peas and onions also could be in short supply.
It's true that snap pea seeds are tough to find. The best varieties are already sold out at most places.
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Labels: Gardening, Seed Trading
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
My Seed-Buying Fetish...
It starts with a catalog that comes in the mail,
Just about the time that you're sick of those pale,
thick-skinned, store-bought, sorry, hard as rock,
excuses for tomatoes, with the flavor of a sock.
--Stephanie Davis, "Talkin'Harvest Time Blues"
Just about the time that you're sick of those pale,
thick-skinned, store-bought, sorry, hard as rock,
excuses for tomatoes, with the flavor of a sock.
--Stephanie Davis, "Talkin'Harvest Time Blues"
I'll be good from now on, Lord, I promise I will.
I just got a great tip via email, from a reader: The Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, of Mansfield, MO.
Since they are in my Zone, and have been growing their stock for years, I couldn't resist buying some seeds. But, I felt guilty when I realized how much I spent.
Granny Cantrell German Red Tomato-- I liked the story of the seeds. I'm a sucker.Any way, I am going to bring two big, fallow, production beds back online in the coming weeks (as soon as this snow melts), and expect to really grow more Tomato varieties this year. I am going to try something different, that I expect to work. Here's the plan:
Pantano Romanesco Tomato-- These look like beautiful tomatoes.
Borage-- I've been looking for Borage seeds of three years. Always sold-out every year. I bought a LOT, as I really want to establish a nice patch in the yard. Great nutritional value, good for chickens, and the compost!
Cilantro, Slo-Bolt-- I love you, Cilantro, but you leave me dry oh, so soon every year!
Greek Mullein-- A good medicinal plant to have in abundance. I am going to establish a nice stand of Mullein this year, too. These seeds, like Borage, are always in high-demand.
Lemongrass-- I gotta try.
Stevia-- Dry the leaves, dip a couple in your tea. Sweetens without sugar. Great for diabetics.
Oriental Scarlet Poppy-- Pretty and perennial!
Cumin-- I gotta try growing this, too! I cook with it too much to not try growing it.
In the past, I've only grown tomatoes/vining plants on the north side of my beds, in order to grow other crops in front of the vines. This let me grow 16 plants in a 16'L bed. It was enough to supply fresh tomatoes every day, and enough to can, freeze, roast, and dry. I did go to a local farm to get a bushel of tomatoes for canning. I am glad I did, too! So, this year, I want to make up that difference for canning. That bushel was $35.00. My bushel will cost me ~~$5.00 in seed and postage, and a couple of bucks for water. Next year, just the water, when I decide which plants' seeds to save for re-planting.
If I plant tomatoes on both sides of a bed-- taller, viney, indeterminate varieties on the west side, and shorter, bushier, determinate varieties on the east side-- I can grow 32 plants in a box, with both sides getting full sun.
Under, and in-between the plants, I'll grow long-term root crops like carrots, leeks, beets and onions. Just as the tomatoes are exhausted, it will be time for the roots to be harvested, or boosted by that extra light. It will also be time to plant-in the winter crops, where the tomatoes were.
Thanks, Dick! You pointed me to a place that really helped me to solidify my gardening plans for this Spring, and fed my impulse compulsion fetish. Heh... the worst thing that happens if I really get my fix on, is that my larder fills up fast, and more hungry people in my area get good veggies to eat.
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Labels: Gardening
The Residents...
They have been together since the mid-50s. Their music is impossible to define, other than calling it eclectic. They appear in public, and on stage wearing giant eyeballs on their heads. Nobody knows who they really are. They have rarely, if ever, hyped a tour. They don't give interviews. For many, many years, it was widely believed that they were the Beatles performing in costumes. I never imagined that I'd ever get the opportunity to see them play live, but it turns out, I get to see them perform at a very tiny club in Memphis on Thursday night.
The Residents' Website
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Monday, February 01, 2010
Great Question...
My friend, Glenn and I were having a discussion the other day. He's finally back to school to get his BA. Because he is writing a persuasive paper, where he has to defend "his" culture as a civilization, we were discussing why...
1. A phonetic alphabet... were the basic, core elements defining a civilization. Yes. Basic Civ. We blahblahblah'd about hunter-gatherers settling down, producing food crops, leading to surpuses to support specialized classes, usually beginning with a surplus-supported Religious Class, and on and on. Well, I was in the middle of playing a round of Sid Meier's "Civilization IV" and, as we were nodding off-topic of Glenn's paper, I noted that I was negotiating with Frederick The Great.
2. Being either a city-state or a nation-state
3. Some form of government to oversee this city-state or nation-state
After some silly discussion, Glenn asked me "Has there been any other National Leader who was labeled, "The Great"?
I've been digging, and after Catherine The Great, who ruled in Russia at the same time Frederick was ruling in Prussia, and died shortly after, I've run aground.
Can you think of any other National Head suffixed with "The Great" after Catherine and Frederick?
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Labels: Silly Chat
