http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/gardening-chat/ en-us Tue, 7 Oct 2008 01:28:47 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2099191/posts Will Allen was cutting heads of lettuce in a farm field when his cell phone rang. The caller told him to put down his knife. He had good news: The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, known for its annual award of “genius” grants, was giving Allen $500,000 — no strings attached. Allen is not your typical farmer. He is the founder of Growing Power, a nonprofit farm in the middle of Milwaukee that raises fresh produce for under-served populations with high rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. The son of an illiterate laborer, Allen has been a... JSOnline http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2099191/posts#comment Tue, 7 Oct 2008 01:28:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2089499/posts REMEMBER 9/11: The WTC, Flight 93 and the Pentagon! Never, never forget the attacks on our country. We need to be ready to protect this country from all who would do her harm, both foreign and DOMESTIC. various news sources, personal experiences http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2089499/posts#comment Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:35:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2087531/posts I've been asked to start you this week...those who normally do this..... can't...so you got me. I haven't even looked at the news ...but my coffee is very good this morning....so get a cup and lets get this show rolling. All of us......citizen journalists in jammies. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2087531/posts#comment Mon, 22 Sep 2008 08:34:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2087377/posts (More than 150 battle in Rotten Tomato Fight on the east side) The tomatoes had been cooking on the blacktop since 8 in the morning — 100 cases worth, past their prime and starting to ooze. By 4 in the afternoon, more than 150 combatants were staring at the pen full of produce, itching to mix it up. Milwaukee's second annual Rotten Tomato Fight was minutes away. "So, is there going to be a winner in this?" asked Karen Kainz, a 56-year-old homemaker who had come to watch the spectacle at the North Avenue parking lot between Beans & Barley... JSOnline http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2087377/posts#comment Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:41:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2082631/posts Most people don’t think of raw vegetables as art. But in the hands of an artist with a sharp knife and a cutting board, a few shiny onions, vibrant bell peppers and linear green beans can be transformed into a harvest mosaic that remarkably resembles a still-life painting by Post-Impressionist Paul Cezanne. A steady rain kept much of the usual crowd from the South Shore Farmers Market in Bay View on Saturday morning. But a couple hundred die-hard shoppers still came, and many watched artist Katie Schofield and two assistants re-create - with vegetables - Cezanne's still-life painting of a... JSOnline http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2082631/posts#comment Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:24:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2082096/posts Stop Deer From Devouring Your Landscape Anyone who's ever had deer in the garden knows that these cutesy marauders -- which author Rhonda Massingham Hart calls "Agent Orange on hooves" -- can decimate a landscape like no other pest. Safe from hunters in the suburbs and well fed by the shrub and flower buffets set out by kindly gardeners, deer are becoming more and more of a problem in these protected pockets. Penn State University wildlife specialist Dr. Gary San Julian says just five male and five female deer can produce up to 200 deer in just five years. "The... GardenPA.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2082096/posts#comment Sun, 14 Sep 2008 12:29:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2075726/posts Three Somerset County residents have learned firsthand the dangers of picking and eating wild mushrooms. The trio from Franklin Township have been hospitalized with liver toxicity; one is in critical condition and may need a transplant. Bruce Ruck, director of drug information and professional education at the New Jersey Poison Control Center in Newark, identified the victims as a mother and her daughter and son-in-law, all Asian Indians. The mother is in critical condition and being evaluated for a liver transplant at University Hospital in Newark; the other two are at Princeton University Medical Center. "They picked and ate wild... star ledger http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2075726/posts#comment Sat, 6 Sep 2008 01:00:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2074087/posts To Amy Hobbs Harris, a dozen jars of strawberry preserves are worth $391 — the amount she estimates she'll save in a year by canning the fruit herself. Not that she normally would spend that much on jam. But the savings add up once she factors in other uses — giving them away as gifts, for example, or stirring the preserves into plain yogurt instead of buying pricier flavored cups. Harris, 33, of Tipp City, Ohio, started canning for the first time last summer, putting her a bit ahead of a trend seen around the country: as food prices rise... Waterbury Republican-American http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2074087/posts#comment Wed, 3 Sep 2008 22:42:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2066995/posts The smallest species of snake ever discovered lives on the Caribbean island of Barbados. The new species is called Leptotyphlops carlae. It may look like a little worm, but a newly discovered creature has earned a spot in the record books: It is the smallest species of snake known on Earth. sciencenews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2066995/posts#comment Sun, 24 Aug 2008 04:11:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2065935/posts I chainsawed some "trees" (I call them weeds), leaving stumps that are 8-10 inches in diameter. I'm looking for a chemical that will prevent them from growing back. In this particular area, I am not concerned about run-off. Any suggestions? I haven't bought a defoliant in years. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2065935/posts#comment Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:57:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2064125/posts No excerpt, but a bear got into an apple tree. The family's cow is named apple because she likes to eat apples from this tree. The bear and cow sniff each other then the cow chases the bear away! Just what I need, a guard cow! Associated press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2064125/posts#comment Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:35:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2064013/posts I have been cultivating a Rose Hedge, the roses are doing well but I need some advice on training and pruning. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2064013/posts#comment Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:56:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2057593/posts A handsome new book by Amy Goldman jump-started memories of my family saving seeds from our beloved yellow oxheart tomatoes through fall and winter for spring planting. This was our heirloom tomato, although we did not think of it as such. In reading Miss Goldman's "The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table" (Bloomsbury), I learned that one woman, who was involved with preserving a strain her ancestors had brought when they emigrated from Germany, still puts sugar on her sliced tomatoes. I remember my grandmother doing this, although she also added a few drops of vinegar on the slices of... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2057593/posts#comment Wed, 6 Aug 2008 20:36:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2057000/posts It used to be that marijuana came to the Bay Area from the legendary back country of Humboldt County or the desert fields beyond Tijuana. Now the fields are in the Bay Area, and everywhere else in the state. Marijuana is one of the top cash crops in California, NBC Bay Area's Mike Luery reported. Many of the fields are located next to popular trails and in the middle of state parks. A fierce battle is being waged in our own back yard to remove the pot groves. They are hidden in brush so thick that specially trained officers must... NBC11 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2057000/posts#comment Tue, 5 Aug 2008 20:04:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2056884/posts Hotness has got a new definition, courtesy a curry called 'Satan's Ashes', which requires its makers and staff to wear masks and rubber gloves to handle it. Touted as the hottest in the world, the dish contains the Naga Morich chilli, which measures 953,721 on the Scoville heat scale. If this was not hot enough, the dish also contains the Bhut Jolokia, which has been registered at a sweat-inducing 1,001,304. And to get a spoonful of this sadistic dish, one has to visit Cumbria, where it is prepared, reports News of the World. Now, Ged Fowler, of the Chilli Pepper... One India http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2056884/posts#comment Tue, 5 Aug 2008 16:43:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2053600/posts Working in the solitude of an Austrian monastery, one 19th-century holy man managed to unravel the basic principles of heredity with just a handful of pea species that he bred and crossbred, counted and catalogued with monastic discipline. While plant and animal genes were Gregor Mendel's original focus, his ideas later made sense of our complex human workings, too, kicking off the scientific discipline of genetics. An unconventional scientist Today, Mendel is revered as the father of genetics, but the Austrian's work on heredity didn't initially make the kind of big splash in the science world achieved, for example, by... Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2053600/posts#comment Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:33:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2053484/posts Dear fellow forum members, What are the best reasons or arguments you can think of to keep marijuana illegal? It would really really help to if you can reply only after reading http://www.nationalreview.com/12feb96/drug.html . Thank you. National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2053484/posts#comment Wed, 30 Jul 2008 03:38:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2051706/posts OK. I had a few small like hills in my backyard where moles (moles? gophers? chinese miners?) had dug up I guess for air or whatever. No biggie, really. Never had the problem when I had a dog, maybe getting another dog would be the ultimate solution. But this morning I go out there and there are SIX of these large hills, with the opening very clear and visible, no doubt the little bastids did a lot of work! While I applaud their tenacity and dexterity, enuff is enuff. So I have this stuff called "Critter Ridder". It is a... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2051706/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:57:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2047254/posts Syracuse, IN (AHN) -- Two men and a juvenile have been charged with possessing more than 1,000 marijuana plants with the intent to distribute after more that 5,000 plants were found growing at a Girl Scout camp. Mario Comacho, 44, and Mariano Gonzales, 38, were charged with growing thousands of marijuana plants on land belonging to the Limberlost Girl Scout Council, which runs Camp Ella J. Logan in the area where the plants were discovered by Indiana State Troopers while searching the land by plane. Sherri Weidman, CEO of the Limberlost Council told the Journal-Gazette that the plants were located... All Headline News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2047254/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:43:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2047087/posts Where, oh where, has Sarah Jessica Parker’s famous facial mole gone? The “Sex and the City” actress’ face was mole-free when she stepped onto the field at Tuesday night’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium in New York. A source told Foxnews.com that the 43-year-old actress had her trademark bump removed sometime during the last two weeks. Another source told UK’s Daily Mail that the singer wants to keep “Operation Mole” on the down-low. “I don’t know exactly when she had it done but she has definitely had a procedure. She’s kept it really quiet, though,” said the... Boston Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2047087/posts#comment Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:40:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2046575/posts Clues in Saratoga pot bust suggest link to Mexican drug cartel From the bags of beans and rice found in the camp to the type of fertilizer used on the plants, the large marijuana farm in the Saratoga hills that was the scene of a deadly shooting last week has all of the marks of a Mexican drug cartel, law enforcement officials said Tuesday. The farm is part of a growing trend dating back to the 1980s, when increased security at the U.S.-Mexico border prompted drug trafficking organizations and cartels to move part of their business to California - and... Teh Murky Nuz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2046575/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:36:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2045683/posts Sexually deceptive orchids, as biologists have long known, look and can even smell so much like a female insect that males will try to mate with the flower in a sometimes vigorous process that can result in pollination. But scientists now report that the tongue orchids of Australia are such thoroughly convincing mimics of female wasps that males not only try to mate with them, but they actually do mate with them — to the point of ejaculation. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2045683/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:52:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2044566/posts It's County Fair season in Wisconsin -- when you can ride a Ferris wheel, win a giant stuffed gorilla at a ring toss, watch a "spine-tingling, death-defying" daredevil show, share a funnel cake with your family and watch sparkling clean hogs snore in a pen, all in one afternoon. It's the kind of fun that is hard to come by at any other time of the year. But it's something else, too.At the heart of most fairs are boys and girls who spend months, sometimes even years, raising cows, pigs, sheep, guinea pigs, birds and a variety of other animals,... Wisconsin State Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2044566/posts#comment Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:08:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044294/posts Deputies seized more than 60,000 marijuana plants over the past week from the Santa Ana River bed west of Norco, potentially removing millions of dollars from the pockets of drug dealers, sheriff's officials said. The Press-Enterprise http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044294/posts#comment Sat, 12 Jul 2008 04:01:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2040892/posts After this weekend's barbeques and fireworks displays, you might wonder why some people wind up covered in mosquito welts and others are bite-free. It's not a coincidence. Each person's individual body chemistry determines how many mosquitoes will come calling. According to Joe Conlon, a medical entomologist who advises the American Mosquito Control Association, the insects can detect their targets from nearly 100 feet away. But what are they seeking? Mostly the scent of carbon dioxide and lactic acid, two compounds that indicate to the hematophagous — or blood-sucking — pests that their next landing pad is nearby. (It's worth noting... Newsweek http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2040892/posts#comment Fri, 4 Jul 2008 23:34:10 GMT