Food, inc. takes a fact-supported look at agribusiness. It’s not a pretty picture.

This book is a companion publication to the movie by the same name and includes much material and additional detail that simply could not be reasonably crammed, wedged, shoehorned or otherwise forced into the movie.

If, like me, you missed the movie, you want to get this book. Really … you want this book. If you saw the movie, you still want this book … because you’ve already forgotten most of the movie.

The impact of the food we eat on our health, the impact on those who produce it and the impact on our precious natural resources must be met by a personal determination to ‘do better’ with our food choices and practices.

Read on, my gardening friend. Read on …

Normally my interaction with oceans is limited to looking at them or, just once so far, swimming a few feet from shore. A quick glance at the horizon tells me that there is much more to know about them.

Oddly enough, that one salty swim seems to have instantly cleared up a patch of psoriasis. Now, a little more than a month later, it is returning.

While I was in Aruba in March I got a small glimpse into the power of the sea when I noticed a wreck –  half of a cargo ship, actually – that had been dredged up from deep offshore and tossed within yards of the beach. Aruba is off the beaten path for tropical storms … this was just the power at the edge of a dying storm. That wreck wasn’t there in 2008 when we had visited previously. And it may not be there when we return.

Yesterday my wife and I went to see the Walt Disney movie, “Oceans.” I found my store of knowledge regarding them greatly enlarged, all the while being entertained and filled with a sort of awe.

Whether you are more interested in the incredible size of the blue whale (~100 ft, ~200 tons) or concerned for what industrial farming waste does to the smaller organisms that, in a size cascade, all other life relies upon (not just that in the oceans), you will find something worth the price of the ticket if you can just get out to see it in time.

“Oceans”. It’s a good pick. Leave the kids at home … this is a movie you’ll want to pay attention to. — Bill

I don’t collect a lot of statistics about my readers so I can’t be certain that you will be interested in this.

It is only tangentially related to gardening. Well, maybe in the sense … Actually, it probably isn’t related at all, but I thought you might be interested in it anyway.

This is an example of the cool stuff that I encounter using Stumble Upon that I probably would never have seen without it. Hopefully you will take a moment to ‘Stumble’ this page using the (ShareThis) social networking link below.

Well, enough about that. Here’s the link you need.

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/posters/chromosome/chooser.shtml

When you get there, you’ll be able to order a free 24×36 poster of the human genome.

–Bill

This post inaugurates a series directed at the needs of new gardeners who are about to take the leap from wanting a garden to having one.

It isn’t intended as an all-inclusive guide, but rather as a starting point because gardening is a skill and a passion which can never be fully mastered. We can never say “That’s it. I know all there is to know about gardening … no sense doing it anymore.”

A garden is forever sending its best and brightest students back to the bottom of the class. I know this because I go there frequently. Ask me about last years potatoes. Or, better yet, please don’t ask.

The peas came out pretty nice, though. I just wish I’d planted enough.

We will consider:

* Choosing a site

* Preparing that site

* Starting from seed v. purchasing potted plants (there are a couple other alternatives that we will also consider)

* organic methods and (some – a very few) chemical methods

* fertilizing (under organic management, seldom necessary)

* various gardening philosophies

* About 10,000 other things … one at a time and in no particular order.

So, are you up for the ride?

– Bill

I suppose by now that you are hoping I will leave off the rants for a while … and in a while I intend to do so.

What kind of gardener would I be if I was afraid to stir up a little dirt when the time comes?

Read on, my gardening friend. Read on …

So … I’m not crazy after all. I’ve always felt that Detroit was in Zone 6 … and I was in good company, as many zone maps showed a microclimate around Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair that mirrored the intensely built up cities around them.

Cities bleed heat: ergo, Zone 6.

Now I note that Arborday.org has re-assigned the entire region to Zone 6 … which leads me to suspect that Detroit is now effectively in Zone 7.  So here’s a search box for you. Plug in your zip code and, if it’s in a major city, consider adding (1) to the zone shown.

This post will be left at the top of the page for one week and then allowed to sink downward. There has been a permanent page added to the widget column to keep it constantly available.

Clemson University, located on a former plantation known  as Fort Hill in Clemson, South Carolina, got its start at the death of George Green Clemson. In his will, he bequeathed his plantation and a considerable sum (for the day), to be used for the creation of a college for teaching agriculture and mechanics. In 1889 the necessary legislation was passed and Clemson college first opened its doors in July of 1893 as an all-male military college.

Today, it has branched out to include a worldwide campus and yes, as of 1955, it is co-ed. Its goal is to become one of the nations top-20 public universities by 2011 and it appears to be well on the way.

In the link provided below, you’ll find many gardening topics covered in expert, non-technical, prose. There is a set of navigation links across the top of the page (beneath the banner) in what is known as “breadcrumb navigation”. To move backward in it, simply click on a link to the left of your current location, to move forward, click on a link in the currently viewed page. When you get to a page that has no links in it, you are in a box canyon and will need to reverse course to read further.

The articles on the Clemson website are not strictly “organic”, so you’ll have to watch your step, but there is a lot of good reading here. After Saturday, this link will also be found in my links list.

It being difficult to UPS a bale of hay, many vendors do not have web sites.