The Vanishing of Bees

I'm only half way through this but already felt it's worth sharing, because it gives an insight into agribusiness from a new angle: the pollination of crops.

Some of the reviews I read on Netflix are critical of it for being overly religious.  The jury is still out on this as far as I'm concerned but that may be because I'm only 1/2 way through.

God is mentioned in the film, and a lot more than once. And the most prominent people in the movie are very religious.  But I'm not convinced that the the point of the movie is going to be the rapture. But those who made the critical reviews might have watched the whole movie while I haven't. Let me know your thoughts if you take a look at it.

This is both interesting and disturbing and yet another snapshot of agribusiness and how lack of finesse with Nature.  Agriculture is now an industry and it's eerily similar to other industries, whether they build cars, refine oil, or make steel. The agricultural industry produces plants to make food or feed

And when I look at agricultural workers, at all levels, I see people like us.  Some just do their jobs, some do it more reluctantly occasionally stopping to scratch their heads and themselves "what on earth are we doing here??!!"

See for yourself.  Hopefully this preview will make you curious enough about this documentary to watch it yourself.  It's available on Netflix for streaming.

Radishes Nouveaux!

5 radishes a day ...

a) ... are better than a kick in the mouth?
b) ... keep the dentist away?
c) ... both of the above are true, as a pair?

First crop of 2013 (excluding oranges or course, and possibly cayenne, bay leaves, rosemary, sage, oregano...)

Mid-Fall Crop Preparation

I have been working on preparing a few areas of the garden for Winter and Spring crops.

Yesterday, I worked in the Plumeria Garden (just off our back porch) and did the long-overdue fertilization of our pineapple (the only one in the ground anyway).  Its growth has been a little thwarted by lack of feeding, I believe, and probably lack of water also.

The problem with fertilizing is that since I started to do it organically, it seems that just about anything I can use appeals to Lola and Ethel, our dogs, who can barely wait until I'm finished to go eat the dirt, and dig around the plant.

I've resorted to different methods, and am working on more.  When I have enough vermicompost from my little red wiggly worms, it's not going to be quite as bad, even though they do like that stuff too, if it's fresh...

But that's an issue I'm working on.  When fertilizing plants does not involve as many workarounds and time, it will be done more regularly and plants will not only grow better but I believe will resist disease and pests much better also.

Plus, once I manage to run a few water tubes to the various areas, waterings can be done more easily and/or automated, which will prevent plants from not being watered enough, especially during the "baking season" aka the Summer months.

It's all a process and it will all get done in the end.

A week ago, I sowed cauliflower seeds (purple of sicily) and fresh garbanzo beans that I bought at the grocery store (still in pods.)  The cauliflower seeds started emerging early in the week and almost all of the little pots have at least two.  The garbanzo beans however have been slower.  Perhaps I planted them a little too deep.  But I see an ever-so-small green spec in one of the pots which looks like a garbanzo bean leaf about to emerge.

Today, I continued the sowing of seeds: 2 different kinds of broccoli (8 pots of each, to start), and 16 romaine lettuce pots.  I will probably be sowing a good amount of lettuce on a weekly basis so that we have continuous supplies through the Winter.

I have many other seed packets to tear open and peat pallets to puff up with water in order to sow more seedlings, and should be able to get a number of them done over the next 2-3 days.

Inevitably, the timing won't be perfect for all of them, but it's all a big experiment, and I think that our large garden has enough microclimates going that I should be able to grow a number of different things as long as the Winter is not too severe.