And Then There Was One.....

One little, two little, three little squirrels... I started making popcorn for the squirrels in order for them to get filled up and not be tempted to go into the garden and destroy the corn I am trying to grow. So, I made popcorn every day for them. I called them by name. Jenny, Jimmy, Johnny, your meal is ready! They became less afraid of us, and it seemed like each day more squirrels were out there eating the popcorn!
  At one point, I counted 12 squirrels. So, I made sure there was plenty of popped corn available for them. But after a while, I noticed that the squirrel population began to decline. Over a period of a couple of weeks, we were down to a couple of squirrels. Either they got tired of the popcorn or they disappeared for some unknown reason.
  Now when I put popcorn out, only one squirrel usually is there to eat it. But fear not, there is a cat and a raccoon who both love the popcorn! They come around and enjoy the meal originally intended for the squirrels.

    I have a theory, and I think I know what really happened to the squirrels. You see, we have owls and predator birds living in the wildlife conserve we have in the back. Me thinks the squirrels became a tasty meal for them. Sad to think the Jenny, Jimmy, Johnny and the rest are gone. Rest in peace, squirrels. The hawks enjoyed their popcorn flavored rodents for a nice midnight snack. Now we don't have to fear the squirrels getting into the corn. But we do have to prepare for the raccoon and cat, to keep them away from the garden plants!

I Got My Straw Bales, Finally!

  For the past couple of years, I have been interested in doing Straw Bale Gardening. In Straw Bale Gardening, you take some straw bales and use them as a garden bed. Potatoes grow well in them and they also make the garden very pretty, at least in the beginning.
   I do not live in a place where straw bales are easily found though. And if I do find them, I would have to make sure that they have not been sprayed with pesticides.
  While I was at a store to pick up an outdoor table to put my hydroponic garden system on, I noticed that there were straw bales. They were small and I asked about them. The cashier didn't know, so he paged someone else, who never responded. I could have waited, but had to get home.
   I called the company who sells the small straw bales and they researched for me whether or not there were pesticides used on them. There are no pesticides used and I was very happy to find that out. So, out to the store, I picked two of them up.
   I had a bale of hay a couple of years ago, and placed in between some garden beds. What was so good about this was the ground underneath the bale was protected from the outside elements. It served much like mulch would have. I spread it around and it was very helpful to the garden, except for the fact that it contained seeds, which eventually caused some grass to start growing in the garden. But I just pulled it out and to this day I am still impressed on how it benefitted that area of the garden.
   The small bales are around $6 a piece, but I think they will serve the garden well this time. Now, to study about straw bale gardening!

Why Grow Cotton?

   As I emptied one of my supplement bottles this morning, I remembered the time I actually grew cotton. Whenever I am on the last capsule and it is time to dispose of the bottle, I always save the cotton ball on the top. Kind of like recycling and saving money at the same time. I will use the cotton balls for skin care or for stuffing toys, like catnip toys for the cats.
   Cotton was actually fun to grow. I primarily grew cotton as an education experience for my children. The problem was, I didn't know what to do with the cotton once I harvested it. Because it was so precious (homegrown by me) I didn't even want to use it. But what could I do with cotton anyway?
   I could have used it for skin care. If I were really creative, I would use it for making fabric! We could actually grow our own clothing now! But only if I grew tons of cotton, I guess.
  Well, like I said above, I could use them to make catnip toys. If there were any way to protect the gardens from the outside cats, I could grow catnip (Been there. Done that). Forget growing catnip though, if you have neighborhood cats. Cats have a very keen sense of smell and can detect catnip from very far away.

Why Corporate Agriculture is a Problem

Why Corporate Agriculture is a problem

I am not going to write on this now, but I will give a url of a web site that lists the problems with corporate agriculture and how it affects us today.

Why Corporate Agriculture is a Problem-Article