Gardening Background

I have been an organic gardener for about forty years. It made sense to me to give back to the earth what I take out of it. Through the years my wife and I have moved several times. I started my current garden four years ago. The main garden is 40 by 40 and includes both vegetables and herbs. I have another plot of ground that I call my annex. The annex contains flowers, shrubs, and excess vegetable plants that I don't have room for in the main garden. Last year I replaced my strawberry bed by rearranging it into three separate beds, one for more herbs, one for strictly salad fixings, and the third with just strawberries. Each year I like to try different plants. For 2008 I plan on trying some artichokes and parsnips. For the past three years I have been working the soil. About 75% of the garden has been double-dug. By using the French Intensive method I have increased the amount of veggies I've harvested from the garden each year. The first couple of years I put in a cover crop, but last year I just let the soil rest over the winter. If anyone has any gardening questions please drop me a line and I will try to answer them. I'm writing this post the morning before the new year arrives. Good luck with your New Year's resolutions.

more organic veggies

part of my organic garden

Narrowing The Gap

I was raised in the ghettos of Detroit so I know poverty when I see it. Growing up we didn't realize we were poor because everyone around us was poor.
In order for someone to be poor there must be someone who is rich. There is certainy rich people but it takes relativity to see the difference. The point I'm trying to make is that no matter how society tries, and that means all societies, unless human beings are willing to share with everyone else, there will always be poverty. I get a good laugh when I hear politicians who want to eliminate poverty. What the hell do they know about the subject? If the politicians really want to eliminate poverty all they would have to be willling to do is create a dynamically balanced monetary system, one that narrows the gap between the haves and have nots. But of course with our currect system of rewarding only one segment of society, that will never happen. Human nature? Perhaps. Greed? Sure. But there can be a better way of living for each one on this planet. All it takes is true concern for one's fellow human beings. Happy Holidays!

The Enviromental Destruction Agency

The federal government recently overturned the results of a lawsuit by the people of California that would have given them the right to boost mandatory mileage ratings on all vehicles sold in the state. In effect, the EPA ruled that the state of California did not have the right to protect its citizens from tailpipe emissions and that it is better to protect the failing auto industry than the health and welfare of all Americans. What kind of protection agency is that? They have things totally screwed up once again. They should be concerned with limiting harmful earth-destroying man-made carbon. American car companies should suffer for years of neglicting to design an environmentally safe vehicle and letting other global car companies to race ahead of them.To cite another example of how the irresponsible idiots at the EPA work, recently the agency was going to allow the companies that once poured toxic chemicals from their paper mills into Kalamazoo Michigan's streams to clean up the hazardous sites by dumping their toxic slush into a landfill in the middle of the city of Kalamazoo. Right smack dab into the middle of the city! It took a concerted effort on the part of many citizens and government officials of that fine city to overturn the decision and move the toxic waste to a more rural area of Michigan. Not the best solution, but better than what the EPA had planned. 'Nuff said. Stay green and balanced.

The Best of All Gifts

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Thus begins A Man Without A Country. The holiday season can be a time of joy or a time of sorrow. If one's perspective of the season includes the receiving of material gifts then sorrow is often the end result. Material gifts, not even all the money in the world, can replace the joy of being with family on this special season. Whatever your belief system is, I hope that when you read this message your loved ones will be close at hand. Enjoy the time with them and revel in your gift of family. There is nothing like it.

Surprising Survey

A recent survey by a market-research group conducted for the Wall Street Journal asked a group of world-wide respondents how they view the global society. "Is the current global situation improving or declining?" they asked. The number of negative responses is stunning. About twenty percent said that things were getting a lot worse. Besides the continuing problems in Iraq and the Middle East and the looming economic collapse of America's housing market, respondents were worried about the wide-spread degradation of the environment. Count me in that group as well. We are destroying our planet at a pace that appears suicidal. The pollution of our water and land continue almost unabated. What's going on? There is only one nest for all of us humans. If we destroy the nest we destroy ourselves. The problem isn't in the fact that we destroy things. After all, how can you eat an egg if you don't break the shell? The problem is that we are breaking too many shells to get too little eggs. We have passed the "tipping stage," a point where order morphs into chaos, where the law of diminishing returns take effect. We can correct things by attaining more balance in our personal lives, which will then produce balance in our "world view." The bottom line is that we live in a vast universe on a tiny planet far out in space. We are all we have. Love for one another is paramount for our future. Let's begin to care about each other today, not tomorrow, TODAY!