Organic Gardening Tips for Better Health!

I can't say enough about "paramagnetic" rock dust. I'm not much of a gardener but have a small patch that is basically an 8 foot tall "raised bed" on three sides that gets full sun all day and is right in the path of a sort of wind tunnel created by this hilly area, so it's dry as a bone and, I discovered a couple of years ago, full of earwigs! YUCK!! Those are creepy little things!

Anyway, it's only about 20' x 20' and rock dust made a world of difference. I also put it around the foundation along with some diatomaceous earth because I was a little concerned about where those evil-looking little buggers ran off to and didn't want them coming into the house. LOL! So far so good!

HI U OM, , , , , , got 6 containers of Red Pontiac potatoes planted today. Just do enough to have new potatoes. Once grew a 100' row of Kennebec potatoes for storage, but too old for that nonsense now. Dip them in powdered sulfur to prevent rot and keep them on the acid side. Soil is mushroom compost so all is natural.

Would go into my poverty routine that we pore and jus barely getting by, but most see through my line of stuff.

Blueberries are blooming along with our three pear trees. Folks should not wait until they retire to get started. Then it's almost too late.

Will keep you posted on our goings on... if it does not upset the bosses. As Hippocrates said, " let your food be your medicine".

Your friend, , , , , =====ORH======

OM, , , , , , , spring is busting out all over East Tenn. The dog wood bloom barely made Easter and that means the crappie will be spawning and we will fill our freezer with this delicious fish.

Since my last post, our sour cherry trees are in bloom and our 14 apple trees are about ready. The freezing did not kill back our fig trees as it did two years ago. I have given up on Peach trees. Too much trouble. Can't grow plums because of the black rot from the native Black Cherry Trees.

Know you are not supposed to work on Sunday, but we may go over and till a raised bed for our beet, spinach and black radish transplants because they are ready now and we have rain in the forecast for the next 10 days. We have cover we can put on to protect the plants should there be a frost.

If you recall, I promised our boy , Timh, some black radish juice to help with his ailments. Don't want to let him down.

Yo buddy ========ORH=========

HI U OM, , , , , , , , , we still working in our raised beds and only do the big garden for bulk stuff. Today, we planted two kinds of carrots, and added a succession planting of green onions. Transplanted beets , spinach, kale and black radish.

Learned years ago to encourage birds to keep down the insects and the Tree Swallow scouts are here checking out our 20 plastic gourds for nesting. Initially put these up for Martins but Swallows will do. In the Sweat South folks put up gourds for Martins because they kept the hawks run off from catching the young free roaming chickens.

We have many skunks digging for grubs which turn into June Beatles and eat our grape and bean leaves. So we love skunks. Found two new Ground Hog holes and that is not good. These critters will devastate our garden. I love turtles in Sewee Creek and try to feed them Ground Hogs every chance I can. Won't get into my methods as I know your are a tree hugger.

The absolute worst critter for a gardner is deer. I know every trick there is and only one works and that is a multi-level electric fence. It messes up their head. They don't know whether to jump high or jump long. So they just go away.

Our electric fence is in disarray and we have to get it going this week because our blue berries are budding out and deer love to bite off these buds.

What is so sad is the we live in the sticks where people were reared by a garden. Now , most are too sorry to do that work, but they keep up with our goins on as our farm is on a busy state highway. Is that sad or what?

What we try to do is eat healthy and try and avoid ailments. Even that is hard.

OUT OF SPIT ======ORH=========

HI U OM, , , , , , , know you a gardener, so I'm not talking down to you. The fence entrance to our little farm is falling down and we got a price to replace the entrance with a 16' gate and a 4 slat fence. Above my pay grade, so me and my 74 year ole tractor driver decided to take this project on. We are right on a busy state highway and folks are not accustomed to seeing a silver haired lady driving a tractor. Guess we have nearly caused a few wrecks from drivers craning their necks. We have been at this for about two weeks and have let our greenhouse plants do what they do.

Today, I looked at our tomato plants and they have to be transplanted to larger pots least they become root bound. That is when the roots have no where to go so they go round and round. That is not good as you know. I get a kick out of city slickers who buy the largest plants in the smallest pots, and think they got a deal. No, you just got snookered. Those plants will be slow to grow because of their root bound system.

Well, we are shutting down our fence work tomorrow and transplanting our tomatoes into larger pots , least I be the dummy of this story. I get a kick out of folks saying that tomatoes contain Lycopene and helps prevent cancer. Cooked tomatoes contain Lycopene and that's the reason we can about 30 ea. 1/2 gallons of tomato juice each year. The only juice we buy is Cranberry Juice for our Kidneys. We do tomato, apple , grape, pear and muscadine juice to last us all year.

For those excited about reading this ....my counsel is to get started now because when you retire its 'bout too late.

As Joy said, I's a story teller and she's right. Just hope this has lit a fuse in some to grow their own healthy fruit, berries, and veggies. At least you know what you are eating. With our Big Agri friends, you are shooting craps.

ATS ========ORH=========

HI U HEALTH NUTS DOIN, , , , , , , , spent the day at the farm erecting our 16' gate and I's a happy camper because it works.

Next, we transplanted our Arkansas Traveler, Cherry and Roma tomatoes to big pots. Transplanted our Green Tower lettuce to a raised bed. We have grown ever variety of lettuce known to man and this is the best for home gardeners.

Got two frogs in our greenhouse water beds and we playing games. They blow up their throat like a balloon and let out their call. When they stop calling then I try to mimic their call and they start up again. Here is an old man playing games with a frog. Are you kidding me? Run out of something to do, huh. I took a picture of them with their throat thing. Wish all could see that.

Got a young kid working for us tomorrow and I require him to tell me the name of the trees, fruits, veggies , etc. He also has to tell me the name of the tools he works with. His dad passed some 10 years ago and he has no mentor. His momma appreciates my counsel except she doesn't know I'm an iron ass. He has to answer me yas sur or no sur. If all did that, when the cops would not be shooting down folks running. They would just stop and talk it out as took place in my youth. You always lost, but at least you did not get shot. Are we dumb or what?

ATS ========ORH=============

HI U OLE PATOOTS DOIN, , , , , , , , SAT. got our garlic planted in a raised bed and tomorrow will transplant our pearl onions. I have our Ambrosia Cantaloupe, Crimson Sweet Watermelon, Straight Neck Squash, Zucchini Black Squash, and Little Arkie Cucumbers seeds soaking in a 1 % HP solution as our hero, Bill Munro, advocated. He only wrote about health HP on this site, but he was a fantastic gardener and used HP to grow vegetables resistant to disease and insects. You can find his tales on the internet. We will set them out in our floats and into our sprouting cabinet.

I think his slide rule slipped because when I used the strength he supposedly did, it killed my plants. This just works for hard seeds as things like beans will turn to mush and the skin falls off if soaked more than an hour or so. For the hard seeds , they will start to sprout in the HP after a day.

This will be an interesting week because we are on a limited apple juice fast to soften up our Liver, Gall and Kidney stones in preparation for our flush come Sunday night. This means drinking 32 oz of quality apple juice a day. I want to incorporate Timh's menthol cough drops protocol into this, but running blind. He told me to dissolve 6 of the cough drops and I would pass stones in my gall. Kinda spooked to do this without doing it along with the Hulda Clark flush.

This flush is to get my liver in better shape to handle the toxins released from my daily use of my Rife Machine. This is to address my preclinical detection of blood cancer for the second time. This in not carte blanche as I am following a strict protocol developed by The Independent Cancer Research Foundation. I follow each session with massive amounts of Ozonated water and a FIR Sauna to get rid of the killed toxins.

I also take Transfer Point's Beta 1,3D Glucan to get my immune system in good shape. I also have added 1/2 T of baking soda at bed and on awaking to get my urine pH close to 8. This was based on my research and a nudge from an EC reader.

Following my flush I will do a coffee enema followed by an Ozone Anal Insufflation. The last time I did this I passed a handful of segmented Candida. So I know this parasite is giving me grief. Bill is the expert in this area and has suggested I do turpentine inhalation and I will try to work that in. He also suggests a fiber shake which we already do, but not in earnest.

At 78, I figure this will be a way of life 'til I meet the Lord. Not a problem. I have planned this meeting in 14 years, but HE'S calling the shots. My friend at church is going the Chemo way and he will be sick as a dog from here on out and his chances of beating his cancer is 3%. I like my odds better.

I had a whole body Thermograph made a few weeks ago and I'm inflamed from asshole to appetite. My tractor driver was clean as new blown snow.

Dr Simoncini says cancer is a fungus. That is disputed , but fungus is always in a cancer patient. Our Allopathic doctors do not even recognize Candida as a problem.

To keep tabs on my progress , I will have my DNA tests done monthly. The cost is $80. A PET SCAN is thousands and you are radiated.

This is not a pity party as I've said before. Lets just see how this works out as we all watched Bill Munro live 25 years after he was found to have two cancers and he lived a good life until age 89.

This is not a ATS, this one is 100%.

=======ORH==========

ORH: I hope to one day have a veggie garden, fruit orchard, a few egg Hens, and a pond full of fat catfish, all for the harvesting. For red meat I don't think I have enough disregard to kill a Deer so would proly opt for the grocer on that one.

Anyway, yesterday I bought a pack of "reduced for quicksale" Strawberries w/ the hope I could clean em' up for consumption. I cut away the worst parts and placed the berries in a plastic container and added a cup of water and 1/2 cup Colloidal Silver. Have had two large serving and zero gut infection, so hurray on that.

Also, lately I have gone back on Milk because my metabolism and appetite is increasing. I still need to take Strontium Citrate caps as my mineral deficiencies cause me to take on radiation rapidly. Living by oneself is a disadvantage in food wise. So, I have found an effective way of keeping that milk from spoiling. After consuming about half a container (1/2 or 1 gal) add a few spoons of Colloidal Silver and you're good for several more days; maybe as much as doubling the shelf-life of the Milk.

ORH, have you got any tips for us city folks who only have a porch (mine is in southern sunlight all day) and who want to "wet their feet" doing a little food gardening?

HI U GERTIE, , , , I presume that's short for Gertrude. One of the prettiest in my high school was named Gertrude. I know you are pretty too.

I got into soaking seeds by reading what our ole buddy, Bill Munro, wrote in his blogs. I only use 1% as the 8 % Bill used, killed my seeds. I have found that you can also soak the seeds too long.

Why do you use food grade H2O2 on plants? I am not an expert on the use of H2O2 on plants and appreciate your input. Folks are getting interested in using food as a way to cure their ails. We just try to eat healthy.

My Dad was country as dumplings and his famous saying is that I'd rather pay for milk than a doctor's bill . So we drank more milk than anyone in our little South Arkansas town. The milk then was whole milk in glass quarts. You had to shake the bottle to get the butter fat to mix.

Modern milk these days will not cure any ails, and I'll leave it at that.

========ORH==========

HI Mmsg, , , , , , , , my suggestion is to start with one tomato plant in a large pot on your porch. Take your choice of Grape tomatoes or Roma tomatoes.

Next year, add a second pot of bell peppers. Just remember that nitrogen aids the plant and the phosphate and potassium aids the fruit. Your coffee grounds are mostly nitrogen. Dump them in the pot. Keep us posted.

===========ORH============

Oh dear, ORH, I don't drink coffee....Anything else good for the plants?

So you give nitrogen while the plants are growing and the phosphate and potassium after the fruit comes out??

HI U Mmsg, , , , , , , , , , , here I am on the gulf beach at St George island Fla and you pestering me about coffee grounds on tomato plants.

Just messn with you girl. Yeah, plants must have enough nitrogen to grow but need potassium and phosphate for roots and fruit. Maybe you just need to get a good fertilizer and forget the table waste route until you feel comfortable.

We just pulled in a few hours ago and besides my face and hands, I's lilly white. We like it here because St George Island has not been turned into a carnival like Gulf Shores, Destin and Panama City. It's mostly old folks sitting in the sun letting their capillaries turn the rays into Vitamin D.

Anyways, I need to get into my swim trunks and join my lovely wife of almost 55 years. Will soak in the magnesium gulf waters for awhile, so I will sleep tonight. The Lord provides.... as he has told us all.

========ORH============

Oh ok, ORH. I do happen to have some organic powder that is supposed to be plant fertilizer. I'll use that. Thanks!

Mmsg - I somewhat agree with ORH, do one pot at a time. Although I would add a second pot the next week!!! Then a third the following! Why wait??? You can buy some good organic seed (which by the way will sprout for several years) and grow lettuce, spinach, chives, scallions, endive, kale, oregano, basil, ...should I go on? You could actually grow enough to make a big salad for lunch every day and not be able to eat it all. I did this last summer all in containers. Don't forget to go out and pick the dandelion and wild onion and blackberries, etc. and you will be living a vibrant life. Let us know what you grow, I would love to hear about it! :)

HI U SWEET PEA, , , , , , , , , you are right on. However, folks that have not been into gardening get burned out pretty quick. I was wanting her to succeed at one thing, get pumped, and expand with time.

I even watch experienced gardeners in our area shoot a bear in the butt and plant a big garden only to have the weeds take it over in a month or so.

I have been guilty of that in the last few years and that's the reason our garden is 1/3 of what we once raised.

Your selection of veggies and herbs tells me that you eat healthy and with a raised bed is not too much of a chore. Thanks for joining in as we only do a few herbs like chives, and sweet basil, so I will learn from you.

========ORH=======

HI U SWEET PEA GIRL, , , , , , , , you have heard the word... play-like, well I would play-like I knew who Ruth Stout was, but you would see through me PDQ. So, I looked her up and now 'bout half smart.

Sounds like a good method for a small garden and hopefully you have sparked some others to join in to grow veggies for a better health.

What most don't understand is that in our ancestors' lifetime, the men took care of the bulk crops that fed the family and their livestock and the wemmins took care of the small vegetable garden.

Anyways, there seems to be an interest here, so tell us more about this system.

===========ORH=========

Hello all. I had found a post on here once, that was to what I can best remember was by a gentleman. He talked about getting the soil balanced with all the correct minerals. He also provided his e-mail for us to contact him. I can not find this post or remember what his name was. If any of you know what I am referring to, please let me know where to look.

There has been a lot of talk about the old timers use to dump their ashes from the fire into the garden area and this would make the soil rich in minerals. I am not sure if this is what he was referring to or not.

Thank you.

Hi Rebel ---- but this is quite common practice including in my garden. My neighbour has a wood stove and lets me have what I need. just mix it in well. Also acts as a repellent sprinkled on top. No need to be scientific about it. You may find info on the 'net, too. Om

Hi Rebel,

There's some really useful information about the use of wood ashes in the garden on this site http://voices.yahoo.com/wood-ashes-improve-garden-3-ways-as-fertilizer-soil-2803696.html

One thing to remember is that you want to make sure your ashes are pure WOOD ashes and that a little sprinkle over the soil is plenty. You don't want to overdo it.

Happy gardening!!!

PLANT ROTATION — Rotating your plants every few years can break the disease cycle if particular microbes are returning annually to attack specific plants. Moving that crop to a significantly different location for a few years might break the cycle in that particular patch of soil. Ideally, give yourself about ten feet of separation between the new and the old plot.

You want to grow a nice organic garden full of pesticide-free goodness, but the snails and slugs are always claiming the first bites on everything! What's to do? From the shear number of folk remedies available to combat them, you can easily see what a problem snails and slugs can be in the garden. Their aesthetic failings aside, these munchers can ravage a plant's leaves in no time at all. Prevention goes a long way. First remove the clutter from your garden, including decorative elements that give these guys shelter. Morning watering allows the soil to dry before night-feasting snails can come out to enjoy the moist environment. Rough mulches can deter these pests as well. Then give some of those folk remedies a try, but remember that what works in one place might not be right for another set of pests and conditions. Try, try again!

A good size slug will make a catch for a fish like Bass or Catfish. Be careful to not eat fish from large rivers and reservoirs in densely populated, dense agricultural or industrial areas as the fish could contain high levels of pollutants and heavy metals. Always wash hands after handling snails as they are the primary source of the Liver Fluke.

HI YA'LL DOIN... Know this is not a gardening site but most know that I've been using numerous yearly detox's to get out what garbage I accumulate each year. I'm a gardner and I use pre-emergence herbicides. I just learned from the Texas folks that have the largest onion farm in the U. S. How they prevent grass with a corn by-product which is natural and not a toxin. Thought some on this site might like to know that and live a healther life.

When corn is processed into various things, a by-product called corn gluten remains. This is then fed to cattle and such. What has been recently learned that when this pellet is ground into a meal and spread on soil it will prevent weed seeds from germinating. Hey, but it will also prevent any seed from sprouting so you have to use it on transplants or wait until your veggie or flower seeds are up out of the ground.

This is what I'm doing this year in my garden and hope you can use this imformation for your health. This was news to me, but all know.... I's smart, jus slow.

=======ROBERT HENRY=========

Hi Robert Henry....That sounds like it was made from the "Round-up ready" corn if it keeps things like grasses and weeds from growing.... if so, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole! Just a thought.

Roses are not the only popular flower and garden plant to often be affected by a powdery white-to-gray layer of fungal spores from the White Powder Fungus, also called powdery mildew. The happy news is that, while unsightly, white powder fungi are not particularly damaging, and each fungus is particular to a type of plant, so other species in your garden ordinarily won't be contaminated. White powder mildew spreads in cool, moist environments and will take advantage of weak plants. There are organic treatments for white powder fungus, including cinnamon either sprinkled on dry or sprayed on; and baking soda seems to work as a preventative while Neem Oil might help to get rid of the powdery mildew. Copper sprays are the most common commercial treatment, but although copper is a natural and essential mineral, its concentration in the spray - along with the other chemicals that might be riding alongside - could not quite be called organic. Fortunately, the most effective step in combating white powder fungus is to carefully clip off affected leaves and dispose of them in such a way as not to spread the fungal spores or allow them to infiltrate your garden any further. A truly hot compost pile will take care of the spores, but throwing them in the trash might be your best bet. Then keep your plants watered from the base in dry times (don't water in the evenings), spaced out to improve airflow, and well fed with natural fertilizers.

SOLARIZING — Here's a trick for killing off a fungus or other pathogen that seems to have infested your soil. After carefully removing the infected plants in the area, thoroughly water the area to be treated and give it time to seep in (overnight is a good idea), then cover the affected area with a clear plastic sheet and use weights or ties to keep the edges down. The idea is to more or less bake or steam out the infection, so over several weeks the soil should reach between 130 and 140 degrees F. Remove the plastic sheet after a month or two, and your soil should be back to normal.

Rose from Santa Cruz, California writes: "I laid a 1/2" wire mesh before I created my raised vegetable garden beds and haven't seen any gophers so far this year.

Sandy from Carmel Valley, USA replies: "The wire mesh worked for me for several years but I was warned the mesh won't last forever and this spring I've seen several gophers back in the garden

Karl ([email protected]) from St. Louis, Missouri writes: "Pepper and tomatoes (all) plants need to be "hardened off" prior to planting in the garden. Harden off by taking the plants outside during the day. Make sure to put them in the shade. Return them inside at night, usually 3-4 days of hardening off is sufficient. Tomato and peppers usually are planted outside in the garden around the second week of may depending upon your planting zone.

DPK from Hoosick Falls, NY writes: "My mother has always sworn by egg shells crumbled up a bit and scattered beneath tomato plants. She says they deter insects and provide nutrients needed by tomatoes in particular. We never worried about cleaning the egg shells up before tossing them out there, but some people think it a good idea, to keep the odor down.

Jane from Sussex, England writes: "When I first started gardening it was with a great boom! I read up on everything I could find at the time, (this was 40 years ago, before the days of the internet) and proceeded to scout around to see what I could find with regard to improving the soil at our new, little house in Greenwich, Connecticut. Great success story! Having been told that it was a hundred percent safe to use, I was given sludge (aka treated sewage) by the town, which was dumped at a really good distance away from the house, and also I was given a load of seaweed from the beach. The latter is also something that I believe would be preferable to keep at a distance while it rots. Eventually I carried barrowloads of my collection to where I wanted to plant tomatoes. Added all sorts of other natural items, with great and unprofessional enthusiasm! The end result was spectacular, enormously tall plants full of great tomatoes, and a bonus in the shape of a beautiful snake curled round the base of one of the plants. I vaguely remember it was called a bull snake, quite harmless. This is the story of someone attempting their first garden. Somehow I think that it was my best and most successful one.

Frank from Tulsa, OK writes: "I read a few years back in an organic gardening book to add 1 tablespoon of epsom salts to a gallon of water every time you water your tomatoes. I tried it last summer and my tomatoes grew like gangbusters. You do want to do a soil test before you add epsom salts first because you can harm your plants if you already have high levels of magnesium in the soil. Oh, one more thing --tomatoes don't like getting their leaves wet, so I always water from the bottom.

Alan from Boulder, CO writes: "No one here has mentioned the beer trap yet, so I figured I might as well post it. It works for me out here in Boulder, but I guess it's not foolproof. Anyhow, the idea is that the slugs and snails are attracted to the yeast and sugar in the beer, but the alcohol kills them. Or dries them out. Here's my set up: a Frisbee turned upside down and filled with about two centimeters of cheap beer. I push the Frisbee down into the soil a bit, so that it's easy enough to crawl into. Whatever container you like, it should be shallow and fairly smooth. Something the slugs or snails won't mind climbing on. I leave a can of beer open in the refrigerator when I'm trying to kill them off, because you want the carbonation to be out of it. Bugs don't like bubbles, I guess. Toss the beer and the trapped slugs out every morning, then refill the tray with beer every evening until the problem goes away. It's a home remedy, for sure.

Meg from Santa Clarita, CA replies: "My mother used the beer trap with great success!

T from Maryland, USA writes: "I've been 'stockpiling' egg shells for a few months now in anticipation of my new veggie garden. Rinse the shells well and air dry them, then put them in a large plastic bag, crush them up a bit, and store in the freezer. Add some to the soil for nutrients, and sprinkle some around plants as they come up to deter slugs.