As you can see by the above photo of my Cherokee Purple Tomato plants, it is time for me to start thinking seriously about what I am going to be doing in regards to how I will be supporting them.
I've reviewed many systems designed to support tomatoes, including the way my parents did it. They put locust fence posts in the ground and ran twine or wire along the top and another length of twine along the bottom, about a foot off the ground. They ran twine vertically between the top and bottom runs of twine for each tomato plant, and trained the tomato plants to grow up the vertical twine.
One method I'm flirting with for these tomato plants is a trellis system as described in this video...
...modified to use available materials. I'm thinking of tying off the plants using an elastic material. Kenny Point has Tomato Trellis System Designed by Kenny Point that I'm going to think about using in my garden.
The other method that I am strongly considering is the one described by Mel Bartholomew in his Square foot Gardening book. You can see a decent photo of that system in use at Adventures in Remuddling. A very handy tutorial on constructing one is below...
It seems that you can find tutorials on pretty much anything on You Tube these days.
I am leaning very strongly toward using the system described by Mel in his Square Foot Gardening method, but cost considerations may force me to use the trellis described by Kenny Point. I'll be sure to let you know what I go with, and will (of course) post videos and photos of that...
I'll leave you with a look at some Dark red kidney Beans that started breaking through the soil last night...
...already visions of soups and chili's are dancing through my head as I watch these things grow.
I've been trying a new method of gardening this year, one that was invented by Mel Bartholomew called The New Square Foot Gardening Method, and if you follow me on Twitter, you've seen the photos I've posted of my progress so far.
I have a pepper plant that I think has been snacked on by a snail, and am trying to nurse it back to health by transplanting it to the warm and dry area where I've located my garden. The two mystery plants to the left had sprouted up next to my Jiffy Pellets.
Yesterday, I made an instructional video (and I use the term loosely) showing me planting some carrot seeds. It was an off-the-cuff thing, so I ad-libbed my way through it:
Just a few minutes ago, I decided that my Cherokee Purple had taken up enough space in my germination laboratory, and transplanted them to my SFG [Square Foot Garden] box. It sure was a pleasant experience, having had to deal with clay soil all of my life to just slip them into Mel's special soil.
I'm thinking of putting together another box tomorrow and transplanting some Yellow Tomatoes and planting a few Chinese Red Noodle beans into it. Maybe start some peppers from seed...hoping that it's not too late to do that. But, that's part of the fun of gardening, to try new things and see if it works out!
I'll let Mel explain the benefits of this method of gardening:
To find out more about this unique method of gardening, visit the Square Foot Gardening Foundation. Most libraries carry a copy or two of his book...but I bet you'll have a hard time finding it on the shelf!
Here (courtesy of Wikipedia) is just a few of the benefits of Square Foot Gardening:
Much less work. Conventional gardening requires heavy tools to loosen the soil, whereas in this method, the soil is never compacted and it remains loose and loamy. Weeding takes only seconds to minutes, due to the light soil, raised beds, and easily accessed plants. Harvests per foot of garden are increased due to the rich soil mixture, well-spaced plants, and lack of weeds produced when following Mel Bartholomew's method.
Water Savings. The soil mixture that is advised has water-holding capacities, so that the garden needs water less frequently, and in much smaller quantities than when using other gardening methods. Water is also spared by hand-watering directly at the plant roots, so that there is very little waste and tender young plants and seedlings are preserved.
Very little weeding. One benefit of this close planting is that the vegetables form a living mulch, and shade out many weed seeds before they have a chance to germinate.
Pesticide / Herbicide Free. Natural insect repellent methods like companion planting (i.e. planting marigolds or other naturally pest-repelling plants) become very efficient in a close space and thus, pesticides are not necessary. The large variety of crops in a small space also prevents plant diseases from spreading easily.
Accessibility. A plywood bottom can be attached to the bottom of a box, which can then be placed on a tabletop or raised platform for those who wish to garden without bending or squatting, or to make gardening easy for wheelchair, cane or walker users.
To be able to critically analyze economic probabilities, one needs to know the history of previous similar situations. For the first 125 years of our county we had no Federal Reserve Bank and no income tax. We also had virtually no inflation and the average economic downturn lasted only 10 months. In late 1913 the Federal Reserve Bank (FED) was created. It made it possible for the government to create money out of thin air. Also a permanent income tax was passed. From 1915 to 1920 inflation was over 75%. Since 1915 there has been over 340% inflation according to government statistics. By 1920-21 the USA experienced the greatest economic downturn and depression in US history. Our economy contracted by 21% in one year putting millions out of work. What caused this? Among other things, the Federal Reserve Bank became the vehicle to borrow and create money to fund WW I along with a Federal income tax and many new regulations on businesses. What did President Harding’s administration do to get out of this depression left by President Wilson? Government spending in 1922 alone was slashed by 34%. They reduced taxes on businesses and individuals from 73% to 24%. They also repealed a lot of the costly government bureaucratic regulations on businesses. The result was a huge increase in tax revenues and prosperity, as has always happened when government intervention in the economy is reduced. We had the roaring twenties, the time of the greatest economic and technical improvement in the standard of living of the American people in our history. Also there were government budget surpluses every year and much of the WWI debt was paid off...
I am beginning to think that there is nothing we can do to prevent an economic disaster of biblical proportions from striking this nation, something that will be greater than the Great Depression. The Greater Depression, perhaps?
I'm not advocating that you do something stupid like buy overpriced Gold or Silver. I suggest that you do something practical, like start a garden. You'd be surprised at how much food you can grow in a relatively small amount of space. It also wouldn't hurt to start a stockpile of items that might come in handy if cash got a little short.
Graphic: Total Infections and Deaths from the Swine Flu in the USA (the one death was from a Mexican Citizen who died in Texas this past Wednesday).
You can track the evolving situation yourself at the CDC Swine Flu page, now renamed the H1N1 page in accommodation to political correctness.
The near-constant addition of 20 cases per day leads me to suspect the data from WHO, and to ponder if we are merely measuring the ability of labs to confirm new cases, rather than the actual spread of new infections. I will have a better feel for that on May 8th...the two-week point that should see the beginning of reporting of the third generation of data reporting.
As always, I will remind you that you have more to do with protecting yourself from the Swine Flu (or any other) than all the governments of the world put together. For some simple tips, visit Conservative Thunder.
Graphic: Infections and Deaths in the USA due to Swine Flu
Graphic: Swine Flu Numbers as of Friday morning.
The Politics of Swine H1N1 Flu
First, let me note that it appears that science is taking a back seat to politics at the CDC. They've accommodated special interest groups and changed the name of the disease from Swine Flu to H1N1. This is nuts! It does not give me any extra faith in their ability to handle an infectious disease, in fact, it lessens my confidence in the CDC.
Okay, now that that rant is off my chest, let's proceed with the breakdown of the spread of the Swine H1N1 Flu of 2009.
The CDC has a You Tube Channel that has increased dramitically in populairty in the past few days, currently receiving several honors:
I have found out that the one death in the USA is not even that of an America citizen...it was a Mexican toddler who was "visiting" Texas with his family and died there.
School Closings
The CDC is also recommending closing schools for at least 14 days if one or more children test positive for Swine H1N1 Flu, and here is a portion for the interim guidelines:
Sick people (students, faculty and staff) should stay home unless they need to seek medical care and stay away from schools regardless of whether schools and childcare facilities are operating normally or have dismissed students or closed, respectively.
Dismissal of students in a school and closure of childcare facilities should be considered in schools with one or more laboratory-confirmed or non-subtypable influenza A case among students, faculty or staff in order to decrease the spread of illness in the community.
Dismissal of students from schools and closure of childcare facilities should be considered for not-yet-affected schools and childcare facilities in the same area (e.g. a feeder school network or a geographic area) if more than one school or childcare facility in that area has confirmed or non-subtypable influenza A cases among their students, faculty, or staff. This would include preemptively dismissing students from schools in that area, including schools without current laboratory-confirmed cases.
Neighboring schools to those that dismiss students should also consider preemptively dismissing students from schools without current laboratory-confirmed cases. Issues to consider include geographic proximity and extent of mixing of student populations among area schools.
If a school dismisses students or a childcare facility closes, school or childcare-related gatherings should also be canceled. Parents and students should be encouraged to avoid congregating in large numbers outside of the school setting.
If a school dismisses students or a childcare facility closes, schools and childcare facilities should close for up to 14 days depending on the extent and severity of the illness and in close consultation with local and state public health officials (additional guidance on duration of school closures will be provided no later than May 8). This length of time is recommended because children are likely to be infectious for about 7 – 10 days after the onset of illness. Schools, in consultation with local and state public health officials, should evaluate daily the need for possible extension of the dismissal/closure based on local influenza surveillance information and the occurrence of new infections and severity of illness in the community from this virus.
Over 400 schools are reported to have closed. I guess some school districts are sharing an infected student since there are more schools closing than cases. Some school districts seem to be closing on rumors of Swine Flu being present.
Prevention
There is currently no vaccine for this particular strain of Swine Flu, but even if there were, there are enough atavistic people who would refuse to receive a vaccination to render it useless in preventing spread of the flu for fear of the one in a million chance of dying from the vaccination...even if there is a thousand times greater chance of dying from the Swine Flu itself. Perhaps this marks a return to the Dark Ages for mankind if the general population cannot distinguish the difference between a 1 in 100 or 1 in a 1,000 chance versus a 1 in a million chance. [Reaction to the 1976 Vaccination]
If people are going to refuse to be vaccinated, they should be prepared to be able to stay in their homes for several weeks straight, while the disease runs it's course, and burns itself out for this season.
Here is a section I am swiping from Wikipedia with advice on ways to prevent the spread of the Swine Flu:
Prevention in humans
Prevention of pig to human transmission
The transmission from swine to human is believed to occur mainly in swine farms where farmers are in close contact with live pigs. Although strains of swine influenza are usually not able to infect humans this may occasionally happen, so farmers and veterinarians are encouraged to use a face mask when dealing with infected animals. The use of vaccines on swine to prevent their infection is a major method of limiting swine to human transmission. Risk factors that may contribute to swine-to-human transmission include smoking and not wearing gloves when working with sick animals.[43]
Prevention of human to human transmission
Influenza spreads between humans through coughing or sneezing and people touching something with the virus on it and then touching their own nose or mouth.[44] Swine flu cannot be spread by pork products, since the virus is not transmitted through food.[44] The swine flu in humans is most contagious during the first five days of the illness although some people, most commonly children, can remain contagious for up to ten days. Diagnosis can be made by sending a specimen, collected during the first five days for analysis.[45]
Recommendations to prevent spread of the virus among humans include using standardinfection control against influenza. This includes frequent washing of hands with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand sanitizers, especially after being out in public.[46] Although the current trivalent influenza vaccine is unlikely to provide protection against the new 2009 H1N1 strain,[47] vaccines against the new strain are being developed and could be ready as early as June 2009.[48]
Experts agree that hand-washing can help prevent viral infections, including ordinary influenza and the swine flu virus. Influenza can spread in coughs or sneezes, but an increasing body of evidence shows small droplets containing the virus can linger on tabletops, telephones and other surfaces and be transferred via the fingers to the mouth, nose or eyes. Alcohol-based gel or foam hand sanitizers work well to destroy viruses and bacteria. Anyone with flu-like symptoms such as a sudden fever, cough or muscle aches should stay away from work or public transportation and should contact a doctor to be tested.
Social distancing is another tactic. It means staying away from other people who might be infected and can include avoiding large gatherings, spreading out a little at work, or perhaps staying home and lying low if an infection is spreading in a community. Public health and other responsible authorities have action plans which social distancing actions to request or require depending on the severity of the outbreak.
Crazy Talk From the Fringe
Now for the crazy talk, presented here for both entertainment and educational purposes. Entertaining because these people are nuts, and educational so that I can preserve their crazy talk so I can refer you to it in the future when the next hysteria arises, and I can point to this and say, "See, these people have no clue what they are talking about! Read what they said about the Swine Flu outbreak of 2009."
So, put you tin foil hats on, fasten your seat belts and follow me into the fevered swamps of conspiracy and paranoia...
There are claims that this outbreak is genetically engineered by people:
Swine flu panic is spreading in Mexico and soldiers are patrolling the streets after it was confirmed that human to human transmission is occurring and that the virus is a brand new strain which is seemingly affecting young, healthy people the worst. Questions about the source of the outbreak are also being asked after a public health official said that the virus was “cultured in a laboratory”.
“This strain of swine influenza that’s been cultured in a laboratoryis something that’s not been seen anywhere actually in the United States and the world, so this is actually a new strain of influenza that’s been identified,” said Dr. John Carlo, Dallas Co. Medical Director (video clip here).
Was this a slip-up or an admission that this new super-strain of swine influenza was deliberatelycultured in a laboratory and released?
InfoWars is the place where ignorant people read news and rumors written by ignorant people. Period, Paragraph, end of story.
Allow me to debunk this story by reporting that he was referrring to the labs' culturing samples taken from people to confirm whether or not the patient had Swine Flu or not. Any normal person who graduated High School (at least 1986 and before) should know this...I have no idea if today's High School students are taught this or not.
And from another conspiracy site:
According to two mainstream media journalists, one in Mexico City and the other in Jakarta, who spoke to WMR on background, they are convinced that the current outbreak of a new strain of swine flu in Mexico and some parts of the United States is the result of the introduction of a human-engineered pathogen that could result in a widespread global pandemic, with potentially catastrophic consequences for domestic and international travel and commerce.
The above article goes on to attempt a connection with Fort Detrick, the deaths of Microbiologists (I've seen the Microbiologist deaths tied to everything from 9-11 to Anthrax to SARS to Bird Flu and Equine Encephalitis), and a video report that The Dept of Homeland Security was spreading the Bird Flu.
To cap it all off...here is seven part video of the appearance of Alex Jones and Steven Qualye on Coast to Coast AM so you can hear them in their entirety to get a feel for how utterly wrong these nuts are:
Alex Jones stated in this appearance:
"This is clearly a designer virus. This clearly been man-made."
---Alex Jones on Coast to Coat AM in April 2009
I weep for the future of humankind because so many people believe this complete and total crap.
It is a very good sign that the rate of infection is not accelerating, although I want to wait at least a week or two before I firmly denounce this whole thing a case of media hysteria and over-reaction by the government.
By overstating the danger from this infection, and quickly moving to act on the event...it is a win-win situation for the government because if there is little danger of this thing killing as many people as the regular flu...then they can claim a success in stopping the disease. They can say.... "give us more money and we can stop even worse stuff than this."
If the Swine Flu of 2009 turns out to be able to kill tens of thousands, then they can say..."we didn't have enough money, give us more money so we can be better prepared."
Remember that the more money government (Federal, State, and Local) pours into education...the worse the education system becomes. It will be the same with health care.
I am very dismayed at the World Health Organization (WHO), who (pun intended) appears to be stoking the fires of hysteria:
The plea came as the WHO raised the swine flu threat awareness level to 5 out of 6, indicating that the world is on the brink of a pandemic. Holland and Switzerland both confirmed their first cases of swine flu on Thursday, bringing the total number of countries affected around the world to 11.
In Mexico there have been eight confirmed deaths from the virus, with another 160 suspected swine flu fatalities. There have been 93 confirmed cases in the US, 19 in Canada, 13 in New Zealand, five in Britain, four in Germany, 10 in Spain, two in Israel, and one in Austria. The US has confirmed the first death outside of Mexico on Wednesday, while a further "probable" case of swine flu has emerged in Glasgow, Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond told MSPs today. The new case is someone with travel links to an affected area, but he also disclosed that Iain and Dawn Askham - the first confirmed cases of the disease - had now been released from Monklands Hospital in Lanarkshire, where they had been receiving treatment in an isolation ward. Dr Margaret Chan, the WHO director-general, urged all countries to activate their pandemic plans as she made the announcement on Wednesday night. Phase 5 indicates that there is evidence of the virus being spread from human-to-human in at least two countries in one WHO region. Phase 6, the pandemic phase, is characterised by increased and sustained transmission in the general population. Dr Chan said that the world was better prepared for an influenza pandemic than at any time in history.
This is nuts. If we were to face a really virulent disease outbreak, how could we tell if it was a serious threat, other than by examining the real numbers and discounting the words coming out of their mouths?
You and I can do more than all the governments in the world put together to stop the spread of the Swine Flu by merely washing our hands, covering our mouths when we cough or sneeze, and by the frequent application of alcohol-based hand cleaners.
Stay safe, everyone...and don't panic just because someone on TV (or from the government) paints a bad picture so you will stay tuned to be scared even more.
Remember, no one said it better than Ronald Reagan when he said:
"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are:
I have gathered tips and resources for surviving a potential pandemic outbreak of the Swine Flu (H1N1 variant) and posted them to Conservative Thunder.
My biggest concerns are people over-reacting and panicking...creating more of a problem than would otherwise exist. Concurrent with that is all the insane doomsayers who have been predicting doom for decades will feel that they have somehow successfully predicted this outbreak, despite being wrong 999 times before....they will then gain credence in their own minds, and the minds of the gullible. Many of them will come up with schemes to part fools with their money (like buying Gold, Silver or useless cures or potions for surviving a flu outbreak.
Keep your heads straight, and think things through. After all, we can't all be Burt Gummer...
This is one of my favorite guys to listen to on the radio. He had a show on AM-1350 out of Asheville called "The History Guy" and every Friday was a feast of knowledge...
He has a new book out called "One Second After" that I highly reccomend for you to get and read. It is a novel about the struggle of a community to survive in the wake of a devastating EMP attack.
New York Times best selling author William R. Forstchen now brings us a story which can be all too terrifyingly real...a story in which one man struggles to save his family and his small North Carolina town after America loses a war, in one second, a war that will send America back to the Dark Ages...A war based upon a weapon, an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP). A weapon that may already be in the hands of our enemies.
Months before publication, One Second After has already been cited on the floor of Congress as a book all Americans should read, a book already being discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a truly realistic look at a weapon and its awesome power to destroy the entire United States, literally within one second. It is a weapon that the Wall Street Journal warns could shatter America. In the tradition of On the Beach, Fail Safe and Testament, this book, set in a typical American town, is a dire warning of what might be our future...and our end.
Here are some websites for you to check out that will help you prepare for an EMP or other disaster:
One of my favorite authors (William R. Forstchen) has his newest book available for purchase. The book is called "One Second After," and it deals with the danger of what happens after a nuclear weapon is detonated just outside the earth's atmosphere, and the Electro-Magnetic Pulse that would render nearly all electrical devices useless, and millions of people would starve because our infrastructure would be destroyed.
He set his book in Black Mountain, NC and covers what happens to his fictional characters in the year following the detonation of such a device.
I urge you to read the book, and make sure that you are prepared (as well as you can be) for such an event.
Here are some websites for you to check out that will help you prepare for an EMP or other disaster:
It is a Terrorism Survival Bundle for mobile computing devices, and here is the sales pitch:
If and when there is another terrorist attack, you need to know immediately what to do, no matter where you are or what you are doing. Your chances of minimizing the danger and inconvenience are enhanced if you've made common-sense preparations in advance, as well as knowing what to do afterwards.
The Bundle includes Terrorism Survival Plan Database and Terrorism Survival Response Database
Planning & response for terrorist attack scenarios
Full-color Cover Page, Storage Card Compatibility, Searchable Records
including a section on USA Travel:
Terrorism Travel Planner - USA:
Planning, including Planning a Trip, Before You Leave, What to Wear, and What Not to Wear
Packing, including Checked Bags, Prohibited Items, Firearm Requirements, Locks, and Carry-ons
Airport, including At the Airport, and Reducing Inspection Delays
Special Circumstances, including Children, Health Problems, Religious Concerns, Sports/Camping Equipment, and Summer Travel
Latest Developments, including RFID Test in Las Vegas, Halloween Costumes, Baggage Airline Guest Services, and TSA-approved Locks for Sale
Travel Information, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Complaints/Problems, Travel Resources, and 120 Airline Toll-Free Numbers
I am gratified to see a reference to firearms in the software bundle. My Terrorism Survival Bundle starts with a .45 with extra ammo clips, a Bug Out Bag, and ends with extra food and blankets always being in the cab of my truck.
I have no mobile computing device, except for a laptop that has a fried battery. I have an inverter for it to use in my truck...but should think about getting a laptop that has a working battery if I have to ditch the truck.
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," and it deals with the danger of what happens after a nuclear weapon is detonated just outside the earth's atmosphere, and the Electro-Magnetic Pulse that would render nearly all electrical devices useless, and millions of people would starve because our infrastructure would be destroyed. 
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