Friday, July 23, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
THE ATHEIST PROFESSOR
Monday, July 5, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
COMPOSTING IS A GOOD THING! . . .Great Link for List of Composting Materials
.
In composting, the goal is to create an environment in which the natural decomposition of organic materials speeds up through the use of green materials, brown materials, moisture, and air. Successful composting strikes a balance between materials that produce nitrogen and others that produce carbon.
- Fresh green materials like leaves, grass clippings, and pine needles produce nitrogen. (make sure that you keep stuff with seeding weeds out as they may seed in garden)
- Brown materials like coffee grounds, dead leaves, twigs, corncobs, and cardboard produce carbon.
Composting Methods:
The composing process can be as simple and cost free as establishing a pile in your yard, away from your house, or more costly and elaborate as buying a specially made composting bin or constructing a wood-and-wire structure. Whichever method you choose, be sure the site is level and has good drainage and airflow. A mixture of brown and green materials yields the best results.
- Composting on the ground. If you build your compost pile on the ground, be certain to place it over the soil, not on cement. This way, the organisms in the soil can travel back and forth between the soil and the compost heap. Make your compost pile at least 3×3×3 feet.
- Composting in a bin. Great low-cost composting bins are available at many gardening stores or you can also make your own bin. A little research will help you figure out which option is your best bet.
- Keep it warm. For the fastest rate of decomposition, try to keep the temperature within the compost heap between 104° and 160°F. You can purchase an inexpensive compost thermometer to test the heat in the pile or you can monitor the heat by feeling it with your hand. If it's warm to the touch, the pile is probably doing well. If the pile feels cool or the same temperature as the air outside, it likely needs more heat. To increase the heat in the pile, add more green materials, such as grass clippings, that will produce more nitrogen.
- Choose a good location. Heat helps the micro-organisms work faster, makes the materials decompose quicker, and kills weeds within the pile as well as plant diseases living on the materials. If you live in a cooler climate, locate your compost bin in a sunny spot so it can trap solar heat. But if you live in a warm climate, pick a semi-shady spot for your compost pile so the material doesn't dry out too quickly.
- Make sure it stays moist. Moisture aids the composting process by helping to break down the materials. Try to keep the materials in your compost pile as damp as a wet cloth that has been wrung out. Too much moisture, however, can cause an inordinate amount of odour as the materials break down and can ultimately slow the decomposition process because the water will replace the air in the mixture.
- Turn to help with aeration. Hand-turning your compost pile daily with a pitchfork or garden fork ensures that enough air is circulating within the pile and lets you check the moisture level of the pile. For example, moving the materials from the edges into the centre gives you an even decomposition rate. Also keep in mind that as materials decompose they shrink. Make sure to add new materials to the pile throughout the process and mix them into the pile.
Depending on how you maintain your compost pile, several weeks or months later you will have a dark, earthy, and crumbly compost mixture. Your compost will provide your plants with lots of nitrogen and vitamins, and it will also be an excellent soil conditioner. Spread the compost around the base of your plants in a 1-inch-thick swath and watch your plants thrive.
*© 2010, Trademark of Kashi Company used under licence
Here is another site that has an excellent variety of videos to further explain composting and its benefits: http://www.ecoz.co.uk/CompostConverterHomeCompostingBin.htm
Here is a set of three informative You Tubes to show how its done:
I hope you found the above beneficial. Below is a couple of links on how to build compost bins:
http://www.specialareas.ab.ca/compost_bins_build%20_Jan10.pdf/how_to_build_compost_bins.html

Also, you might be interested in getting some composting worms for the bin. Here is some sites regarding what type of worms are required and how they work:
http://www.cityfarmer.org/wormcomp61.html
Here is a couple of videos re using worms:
Cherylg
Thursday, June 3, 2010
ARE WE GETTING ENOUGH MAGNESIUM??? - Link: Magnesium Deficiency Prevention
The Canadian Community Health Survey provides the latest information on food and nutrient intake data for Canadians of all ages. And it points to some critical nutrient shortfalls, especially magnesium. It's a mineral that simply doesn't get the same kind of recognition as others like calcium. But that's a different story in scientific circles as researchers find it's a major player in the risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
The survey results showed that shortages of magnesium were among the highest when compared to other nutrients. More than 34 per cent of Canadians over the age of 19 consumed magnesium in quantities below the Estimated Average Requirement - the average amount you should consume in a day.
.
Also see:
.
The 5 foods you should eat every day (and how to cook 'em!)Friday, April 23, 2010
I HEAR HIM IN MY GARDEN
Trickling streams
Splash reflections
Sunlit with
Extra sparkle
Rapid water falls
Mingled springs unite
.
.
.
.
.
From treetop high
In emerald forest
Sun beams
Spotlights
The floral path
We take
.
All of nature longs
To be me
Walking
Laughing
Quietly
Talking
With Him
.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
ARE WE LIKE DANDELIONS?? - Link to Natural Weed Killer
Wrote by Merve:
Are you like me? You walk outside on a nice sunny day just to see that bright yellow flower in your yard? Quick get the weed sprayer, find the spade, someone get down in the position of prayer and get that thing out of the yard!
.
Why? Do you know or have you watched as those little yellow blooms turn into white little wind catchers and off they go! My yard, your yard the neighbor’s yard, Help, we have got to stop them from spreading!
Now step back just a moment and try to follow my odd line of thought.
Is mine and your faith or desire to spread the Gospel of Jesus anywhere this plentiful?
.
How quickly can it or does it become a flower; bright and joyous and pleasant? How long before it turns and takes wing to fly to the neighbors’ door
or the one down the block in the midst of a storm?
How about the mother in need of just a kind word?
OH dandelion, let my love for Jesus become more and more like you. . . Till it becomes like a tree!
Just a thought from Mervi in http://www.passthisway.blogspot.com/
A couple of interesting sites re dandelions as a food and its medicinal qualities:
http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Dandelion.html
http://www.altnature.com/gallery/Dandelion.htm


