Hi George, was wondering what your ideas are on why all our bees are slowly dying.  Jim Paterson.

Hi Jim good to hear from you.  That is a great question for sure.  For most parts the scientists will tell you they can’t explain why as of yet. Myself, I have a theory being an old farmer.  For years now us humans have been spraying chemicals like fungicides and pesticides on pretty well every thing we eat.   First off, we just have to look at how us humans are doing with eating all these things covered with poison.  Don’t have to look far, as most folks today are getting sicker inside than ever before.   What’s happening is, that we are slowly killing ourselves.  Our immune system isn’t built for all these man made chemicals.  Same goes for the Bees. We keep subjecting them to all kinds of things, like pesticides and all sorts of chemicals. Then when a disease comes along, or another insect like a mite, they aren’t able to protect themselves, as they are too weak. Kind of like us humans taking the flu shot each year, as it is slowly messing things up with our immune system.  Not only the pesticides are killing the bees, other things are too. Like stress from moving them hundreds of miles a day, introducing them to bees from other countries and places, and now the high technical things, like cell phones, heck there is all  kinds of things going through their air space, causing them to be disoriented and confused, they just don’t know what is happening.  I gotta’ tell ya, it doesn’t take no scientist to tell me what is happening.   We humans are the blame.  To single out just one would be wrong as there are many many companies out there today promoting all these things, some are even in the business that feeds you each day. I don’t think I have to mention any names here, as I am sure you all know exactly who I am speaking about.  These are the ones that are causing the problem.  We either have to wake up and start to straighten out this mess and tell these huge corporations to either clean up their act, or we will boycott everything they sell or promote, simple as that.  Years ago if one got to messing with ones crops or family they would be in dire trouble and folks took the law into their own hands.  Today they say we have special law enforcers to do it for us.  Thing is they can’t do it for us any-more, to much red tape and politics.  You have to do it folks.  Like I keep saying, take the blinders off, don’t be fooled into what these so called powers that be is telling you is all true, as it isn’t.  Either we get to doing it quickly, or…………….well, we will all  perish.  The ones that will survive will be the ones that comes from the old school or looks towards the old ways.  I am not saying all the new things today are bad, as they surely are not.  I am just saying we have to blend in some of the old ways with the new before it’s to late. These things that are happening haven’t just started. They have slowly been creeping up on us for years now.  It’s just now we are starting to see the results.  Hope this helps.  Oh, and with out the bees, all of us humans would cease to exist, in just a few short years.  My Opinion Only

Most folks up here in the north take all our leaves just for granted.  Myself I see them as a  benefit to my gardens.  Come fall when they start to drop, I gather up all I can, which is quite an amount to say the least.  I then rake them, carry them and wheel them to my garden and spread them all over the top.  Once done I then till them in a wee bit, just so that they don’t blow away with the winter winds. Come spring they will be then tilled in again and other than the looks of nice the black soil, you wouldn’t even know they were there. It’s a great economical way of building your gardens and  so easy to do.  You got to figure that every year your plants are taking a lot of that soil and using it to keep themselves alive.  If you don’t put back in what is used, well you won’t have a garden for very long.   The leaves I don’t use in my garden are, cedar, not really a leave, same as pine as I don’t use them either, but for leaves, not to be used, the main one would be black walnut.  Actually you don’t even want your garden to be near one.  Also oak isn’t the greatest either, but can be used if left off to one side of your garden rotting for a few years before using.  So there you go, you still got lots of time to make use of them leaves  so why not make some use of them.  Talk Soon.

Well back to some more rain here the past two days.  Also had some freezing stuff thrown in with it.  Nothing to make a fellow or gal worry though.  One thing at least we aren’t shovelling yet.

On another note this is the time of year to get down on your knees.  No………not to do any praying, as that never helped anyone that I know of in my day.  But……….. this is the time to get that garlic planted so you can be eating healthy come next June.  I put in around five, twenty foot rows this year, as my wife told me we needed more than I planted last year.   Thing is, one doesn’t need  much space when it comes to planting garlic.  I keep my rows around six  to ten inches apart and plant each clove another six to ten inches apart, which for around thirty years has worked well for me.   I like to put them under ground around an inch or so, which also I found is a good depth.  To finish them off I spread a few leaves over the top of them, straw or what ever is ok also.  I then mark my rows so I don’t get to tilling them up in the spring, and, well that’s about it.  I got to tell you, my wife and I sure love fresh home grown garlic.  Once you taste home grown garlic you will never go back to store bought stuff.  Should mention one more thing, the garlic that comes from China in 75% of the stores today, I won’t plant.  Reason being, it just doesn’t grow as nice.  The kind I like, has a bluish ting to it and usually sells by the pound.  So that’s that.  Now I hope you all get outside and put a few in the ground.  You will be glad you did I can guarantee that.  Oh and when down on your knees planting, take up a good handful of soil and let the fragrance of it entice you, as it is a long while till spring. Talk Soon.

You know every once in a while I get to thinking that these so called Pharmaceutical companies are not doing things that are in the public best interest. Now take herbs.  Did you know that herbs have an antibacterial and antiviral properties?  Well they do, especially the ones out in the wild.   Only common sense that they do, as if they didn’t they would be eaten alive by microbes in the soil before they even got to growing.  In saying this, the Pharmaceutical and others say that there is no plant fungi in the world that can act as an antibiotic in our body. Hmm, I wonder where they think mould came from when they got to making penicillin.  My Opinion Only.

Well it’s that time of year.  Got my large vegetable garden cleaned up for winter.  Vegetables are in the jars and freezer and looks like we won’t be hungry this winter.  Gives me a good feeling inside knowing the shelves are full.  Also healthy eating too.  IN other words no pesticides and things.   Once the garden was all cleaned up I noticed a lot of really nice large dandelions so I got to digging them up. Washed the roots and got them ready to bake.  The roots make the best drink one could ever ask for and so………………….good for you.  Here is how I go about it.

Digging The Dandelion Root

You will need a good shovel as Dandelion Roots are taproots that can go up to a foot and a half underground in good soil.  Early spring and late fall are the best times to harvest for medicinal purposes or maximum nutritional value.  This is the time when most of the plant’s constituents are being stored in the roots, although it wouldn’t hurt anything to harvest anytime for Dandelion Root Coffee.

Roots are much easier to dig when the ground is soft, as during the spring thaw or after a good rainy spell.  Once the ground is baked hard by a long, dry period, digging roots can be frustrating work, so plan accordingly.

The best place to harvest is from a farm field that gets plowed frequently or a large garden.  The soil will be looser, which allows the roots to get really big and also makes for much easier digging.  The dandelions in your lawn or other mowed places are generally stunted and yield very small roots.

Look for the biggest, thickest clumps of dandelion leaves, as these are usually fed by a nice, fat root.  I also carry a  Jack-knife with me to cut the greens away from the roots.  You will need about one 5-gallon bucket of roots to make 3 or 4 quarts of roasted Dandelion Root.  This would yield 10 gallons or so of coffee.

If you have time, take the greens home separately and prepare them for freezing.  A bucket of roots will give about a bushel basket of greens so plan accordingly!  I like to make a day of it and stock up for the whole year on both greens and coffee.

Washing the Roots

I used to scrub each root by hand, and believe me this was a lot of work!  I have since developed a much more efficient method where I can process large quantities relatively quickly.

To wash the roots, (you’ll probably want to do this step outside) put them in a bucket, fill it with water and agitate the roots with your hands until the water is very muddy.  Pour off the water, fill the bucket again and repeat this process a few times until the water runs clear.  At this point you should have a pile of beautiful, golden dandelion roots.  Don’t worry if there is still some dirt left on them, as we will be washing them one more time.

Grinding the Roots

With a large kitchen knife, cut the roots into chunks.  Put these into a large bowl and fill with water.  Move around with your hands until water gets dirty, pour off and repeat until water runs clear.

Now cut into a coarse-looking mixture, small pieces.
If you like, you can wash this coarse mixture one more time to be sure you have squeaky clean roots.  If you do, let them drain for a good hour or spread them on a towel until the roots are fairly dry to save time in the oven.

Roasting the Roots

Spread the coarse-ground Dandelion Roots on cookie sheets about ½ inch deep.  I can fit 4 cookie sheets, stacked, 2 on each rack, in my oven.  Try to roast as much as you can at one time.

Set the oven at 250° and leave the oven door slightly ajar while they are roasting so that moisture can escape.  You will be both drying and roasting the roots in this step.  The roasting process takes about 2 hours.  As the roots dry, they will shrink down to about ¼ of the size when fresh.  After they dry they will begin to roast, going from a blonde color to a dark coffee color.

Be sure to mix them every once in awhile with a fork to assure even drying and roasting.  You may have to rotate the cookie sheets occasionally if they are stacked to ensure even drying and roasting.  As they get close to desired color, be careful not to burn them!

Cool and store in glass jars or old coffee cans, they work good too.

Well it’s that time of year and wife and I are steadily putting tomatoes into jars. Nothing better when them north winds start to blow.  Figured I would let you in on how we do it here at  our home in Port Loring.

Here is a picture of one sunflower plant we had growing by our pole beans this year.  Had over twenty flowers on it.  Kind of out did itself I would say, but it sure was something to look at through out the summer.  Lady here in town gave me some seeds in the spring and just had to put one or two in the ground. Thank her for that. Had more growing but they over powered the beans so had to take a few out.  Thought I would share.  Click On Picture To Enlarge.

Here is a picture of some Phlox that grows by our front deck.  Old Grindstone from our farm sets in behind them.  Just couldn’t let it go when we sold the farms years ago. Click On Picture To Enlarge.

Well looks like we are in for some warmer sunnier weather in the coming weeks.  Sure needed too if we want to get any tomatoes and things.  Got lots on my vines just small and not turning red yet. But that all will change if we get a few days of sunshine and warmth.  Zucchini is looking good and been eating it for the past two weeks now. Got to say they sure are tasty too.   Cucumbers are just starting, so think they will be ok too just need a few week of growing season to get them to size.   Cauliflower is coming along, picked one head yesterday for supper.  I like it raw with home made garlic dip.  Good for ya too.  Brussels Sprouts are starting to take form, but they are late anyways, so I am thinking they will be ok also.  Carrots are real good this year, we been eating them to for the past week.  Real tasty.  Herbs also are growing real well this year in-spite of the wet, cool, sunless, weather.  Beans it seems is going to be down from last year.  Might have to move my location next year too.  But the word is that beans is not so good anywhere this year.  But that can change. Mine are out in blossom now, so still lots of time.  Shouldn’t  jump the gun with a prediction I guess, as old Mother Nature has a way of doing things all on her own.  Strawberries are over, but had a real good crop this year. Got a bunch in the freezer and have made up some nice jam already, and, gave our boys a couple jars for a taste. More jam will come later.  Rasberries are on now and have been  picking a bowl a night.  I don’t have to many plants, I got rid of my old ones and planted some thornless ones.  Got to say they sure are nice and sweet. Real old variety but strong and they don’t cross to easily with the wild ones, which grows in abundance around my home here, which isn’t a good thing.   They grow up to around six feet tall these ones.  Nice to pick too, being thornless.   Well guess that’s it for now on the garden update.  All and all not a bad year so far.  Even the store is going ok now.  Was  a bit slow in the beginning, but picking up now. The last few days  cars were lined up in the driveway.  So……………………….not complaining in that department.  Talk Soon

Thought I would share a few flowers with ya.  My lovely wife picks a fresh bunch right out of our gardens every couple days.