Category Archives: Gardening

Spot for you to do some reading on gardening and staying healthy. Also a great place to put your feet up and relax for a bit.

Gardening, George's Writers Corner, Health

Onions: Health Benefits and How to Store Them the Right Way

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Only On The Walters Post

Onions have always been a must-have in the home, and there’s a lot more to them than just adding flavor to your meals. Personally, I like Honey Sweet onions, which have a much milder taste compared to stronger varieties like Spanish onions. I find these sweet onions nicer to eat raw. A slice of homemade bread with grass-fed butter and a hunk of aged cheese—now we’re talking.

How to Store Onions Properly

Once you’ve picked the right onion, storing it properly is key to keeping it fresh. After cutting an onion, wrap the leftover pieces in wax paper and place them in an airtight glass container in the fridge. This will preserve freshness without using plastic, which can trap moisture and cause onions to spoil faster. Avoid plastic wrap and plastic containers, as they aren’t the best for keeping food fresh.

When storing whole onions, you want to keep them in a cool, dry place like a pantry. They need ventilation, so make sure they’re not in a sealed plastic bag or the fridge, as this can cause them to turn soft quicker. A basket or open container works well for keeping onions fresh.

An Old-School Health Remedy: Onions to Combat Sickness

Here’s something I’ve used for years and swear by: if sickness strikes in the house, cut an onion in half and place it around different rooms. The idea is that the onion will draw in bacteria and viruses from the air, helping to clear the germs out of your space. Change the onion every couple of days and keep doing it until everyone’s feeling better. This old-school remedy might sound a bit odd, but it’s something that’s worked for me, especially during flu season.

Why Eating Onions Daily Is Good for Your Health

In addition to their immune-boosting effects when used around the house, onions are rich in nutrients like vitamin C and antioxidants, both of which help support a healthy immune system. Eating them regularly—whether raw or cooked—can keep your body strong and ready to fight off common colds and the flu. Combine them with Vitamin D3, and you’ve got a powerful combination to stay healthy through flu season and beyond.

Onions are simple, but they’re a mighty tool in the kitchen and for health. Whether you’re using them for storage, remedying sickness, or adding them to your meals for a boost in nutrition, they’re worth incorporating into your daily routine.

Until the next time: Keep Your Minds Open & Your Stories Alive. GW

All my books are available on my Amazon Author Page.

If you purchase a book, a brief Amazon review really helps new readers discover my work—it means a lot.

Support my writing: Support My Writing

In Closing, I Would Like to Wish You Well!

George Walters | [email protected]

Gardening, George's Writers Corner, Weather

What’s Coming for Port Loring? Weather Wise

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Short-Term (Next Week):

  • We’re in for a mixed bag. A few mild days, some rain midweek, and then another cold snap around Thursday.
  • Might see some flurries early Saturday, but nothing major.
  • Nights are still dipping below freezing, so don’t get ahead of yourself thinking spring is here just yet.

Long-Term (Next Month or Two):

  • Spring is trying to push through, but it’ll come in fits and starts—warm one day, cold the next.
  • Expect plenty of rain, and maybe even some late snow squalls before April settles in.
  • If the weather systems don’t shift enough, we could be in for a dry, warm spell later on.

What It Means for the Farm & Garden:

  • Planting: Hold off on putting anything tender in the ground. Frost is still a real threat at night.
  • Soil Moisture: Should be decent for now with the rain coming, but if the weather swings dry later, we might have to keep an eye on it.
  • Fire Risk: If we get some warm, dry air moving in from the south, it could dry things up fast. Don’t go burning brush carelessly.
  • Livestock: If you’ve got animals, they’ll be dealing with some wild swings in temps. Make sure they’ve got shelter from the wind and rain.

In short, spring is trying, but winter’s still got a few punches left. Keep the heavy coat handy, don’t trust the warm days too much, and watch the sky.

Until the next time: Keep Your Minds Open and Your Stories Alive! GW

All my books are available on my Amazon Author Page.

If you purchase a book, a brief Amazon review really helps new readers discover my work—it means a lot.

Support my writing: Support My Writing

In Closing, I Would Like to Wish You Well!

George Walters | [email protected]

Gardening, George's Writers Corner, Health, My Opinion Only

Canada, It’s Time to Rethink Our Food Supply

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These are my own thoughts from what I’ve seen and lived through. I’m sharing them to spark some thinking and honest conversation, not because I have all the answers.

Take a walk down any grocery store aisle, and you’ll see just how dependent we’ve become on foreign-made products. From fresh produce to processed foods, much of what lands on our tables isn’t grown, raised, or made here in Canada. But lately, we’ve been getting some harsh reminders of the risks that come with outsourcing our food supply.

The latest wave of food recalls from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reads like a roll call of imported goods gone wrong. Cheese, chocolate, salt, pepper, sauces, even staple ingredients like eggs, many of these products have been flagged for contamination, undeclared allergens, or even the presence of foreign materials like plastic/steel shavings. That’s right, and if that doesn’t make you rethink what you’re eating, I don’t know what will.

The problem? Too much of our food is coming from places where we have little to no control over how it’s produced . Countries with looser safety regulations, mass-production factories churning out products for the lowest possible cost, and supply chains so tangled that by the time food reaches our plates, who knows where it’s been or what’s in it?

And let’s clear something up… some folks like to point fingers at the U.S., but that’s not where most of these recalls are coming from. These products are being imported from other countries entirely, not from the good old USA. This isn’t about avoiding American goods… it’s about realizing just how globalized and risky our food supply chain has become.

Meanwhile, Canada… one of the most resource-rich nations on the planet… is under-utilizing its own land, farmers, and industries. Instead of investing in local agriculture and food production, we’re increasingly importing things we could be making or growing ourselves. It’s not that we can’t produce high-quality food, we just haven’t made it a priority.

But here’s the real kicker: when we rely on other countries for our essentials, we put ourselves in a vulnerable position. Whether it’s food shortages, supply chain disruptions, or just plain bad products slipping through the cracks, we’re at the mercy of outside forces. And let’s not forget how quickly prices shoot up when we depend too much on imported goods.

So what’s the solution? It’s time for a shift in mindset. Instead of treating imported food as the default, we need to make homegrown products the norm. That means supporting local farmers, buying Canadian-made when possible, and pushing for policies that encourage domestic production rather than offshoring everything in the name of cost-cutting.

If you’ve got space, grow your own food. Hell even a small backyard garden can make a difference. If you can buy from local producers, do it. The more we invest in our own food system, the less we’ll have to worry about what’s coming in from who-knows-where.

Canada is more than capable of feeding itself. The question is? Will we step up and start doing it? Or will we keep rolling the dice with foreign-made food until the next big recall makes us regret it?

Until the next time: Keep Your Minds Open & Your Stories Alive! GW

All my books are available on my Amazon Author Page.

If you purchase a book, a brief Amazon review really helps new readers discover my work—it means a lot.

Support my writing: Support My Writing

In Closing, I Would Like to Wish You Well!

George Walters | [email protected]

Gardening, Health

From Field to Fridge: The Hidden Processing of Fresh Fruit and Veggies?

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These are my own thoughts from what I’ve seen and lived through. I’m sharing them to spark some thinking and honest conversation, not because I have all the answers.

In a way, yes, fruits and vegetables today are more processed than they used to be, even if they aren’t what we’d traditionally think of as “processed food” like chips or frozen meals. Here’s the thing: while the fruits and veggies you find at the grocery store might look fresh, they’ve likely gone through some level of processing before they even make it to your kitchen.

Most commercially grown produce is picked before it’s fully ripe to make sure it survives the long journey from farm to store without spoiling. This early harvesting affects the taste, texture, and even nutritional value of the produce. And then there’s the washing and sometimes waxing process to help preserve that “fresh” look for longer. You’ve got fruits and veggies that get coated in chemicals like wax or sometimes even preservatives, all to extend shelf life.

Now, let’s talk about the real processing… there’s the use of pesticides, fertilizers, and growth hormones to make crops grow faster and larger, and to keep pests away. While it gets the job done for farmers trying to feed a growing population, it’s not exactly the same as the kind of produce our ancestors grew in their gardens. Back then, you didn’t need pesticides if you were growing food with care, and you certainly didn’t need chemicals to extend the shelf life.

When it comes to fruits and veggies today, the big difference is the level of treatment they go through before they reach your plate. In some ways, you could say they’ve been processed, but it’s not the same as your pre-packaged, frozen meals or junk food. It’s more of an effort to make produce last longer on store shelves and reduce waste, but at what cost? The flavor, nutrition, and natural benefits are often compromised in the process.

So, are fruits and veggies today processed? In a modern sense, yes, but they’re not as heavily processed as some other foods. The key is knowing where your food comes from and how it’s grown. If you’re buying from local farms, you’ll often find that it’s fresher, less treated, and closer to the way it was meant to be.

Until the next time: Keep Your Minds Open & Your Stories Alive. GW

All my books are available on my Amazon Author Page.

If you purchase a book, a brief Amazon review really helps new readers discover my work—it means a lot.

Support my writing: Support My Writing

In Closing, I Would Like to Wish You Well!

George Walters | [email protected]

Gardening, Health

Non-GMO Foods: What You Need to Know

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These are my own thoughts from what I’ve seen and lived through. I’m sharing them to spark some thinking and honest conversation, not because I have all the answers.

In Canada, many fruits and vegetables are non-GMO simply because there are no genetically modified versions approved for sale ‘Yet‘ Here are some common non-GMO fruits and vegetables you can find:

Vegetables (Non-GMO in Canada)

✅ Carrots
✅ Beets
✅ Lettuce & Leafy Greens (Spinach, Kale, Swiss Chard, etc.)
✅ Broccoli & Cauliflower
✅ Peppers (Bell, Hot, Sweet)
✅ Tomatoes (Most varieties, except some imported GMO types)
✅ Onions & Garlic
✅ Cucumbers
✅ Zucchini & Squash (Most varieties, but beware of some GMO summer squash in the U.S.)
✅ Potatoes (Unless specifically labeled as GMO)

Fruits (Non-GMO in Canada)

✅ Apples (Except the Arctic Apple, a GMO variety)
✅ Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Blueberries
✅ Grapes
✅ Cherries
✅ Pears
✅ Peaches & Plums
✅ Watermelon & Cantaloupe
✅ Oranges, Lemons, Limes

Caution: GMO in Canada

🚨 Corn (Most field corn is GMO, but organic sweet corn is safe)
🚨 Soybeans (Almost all non-organic soy is GMO)
🚨 Canola (Most Canadian canola is GMO)
🚨 Papaya (Imported papaya from Hawaii may be GMO)
🚨 Sugar Beets (Used for sugar production, mostly GMO)

If you’re looking for truly non-GMO produce, buying organic or heirloom varieties from local farmers or growing your own is the best bet.

All my books are available on my Amazon Author Page.

If you purchase a book, a brief Amazon review really helps new readers discover my work—it means a lot.

Support my writing: Support My Writing

In Closing, I Would Like to Wish You Well!

George Walters | [email protected]