Battling the Basil Bugs

Everybody who gardens battles bugs at some point. Every time I have grown basil the plants have been severely stressed by the annual influx of Japanese beetles. The attack started in earnest this past week. Whenever I would walk by my basil plant I would "kick" it with my foot and 15-20 Japanese beetles would come flying out from within and on the top leaves. Fortunately, they are not hard to get off the plant but they come right back.

Japanese beetles eat the flesh of the basil leaves leaving a "skeleton" of the leaf behind. Using scissors this morning I cut off all the worst examples but you can see a few holes in some of the leaves in the pictures below.

The beetles are only active (it seems) from morning to late afternoon. So I decided yesterday that this morning I would cover the basil plant with netting to see if that would keep the little buggers at bay. Before they arrived this morning I covered the plant with tulle (wedding veil material) which I use for a variety of purposes (dust covers, water filters, etc.). It appears to be working -- before I even returned inside a JB showed up for breakfast and was relegated to sitting on top of the tulle and not gaining access to the basil leaves. I went back out a while later and he was gone. I simply draped the tulle over the top of the plant and tucked it in around the base of the trunk.

WhereTheH**lIsMatt?

Hate to take up digital space with this, but I found it fun and interesting -- one of those things that I'm sure couldn't have been anticipated. I think this video has become viral on the Internet, but I just saw it today on another blog. See what you think -- and see if you don't feel like dancing at the end. (My hands-down favorites are the tribal elders in Papau, New Guinea.)



You can read more about the title, about "Matt," and why the video was made here.

Get the Garlic and Lime II

I noticed a slender stem coming out of the ground in the front bed this morning about 5" tall with 3-4 green leaves on it that I didn't recognize. Because so many seeds fall into that bed and sprout I assumed it was something "wild." My normal action is to grab, pull, and toss.

When I grabbed the stem and pulled it didn't give -- so I pulled harder and it snapped in two. So I grabbed the remaining stem and pulled again and brought up a sprouted avocado pit. This was not one of the ones I pictured a couple of weeks ago on the blog. They haven't done much. This one sprouted by itself and was healthy and strong with leaves unfurled. I quickly buried the exhumed pit and watered it, but now that I've disrupted its roots I'll be surprised if it grows.

Looking around, I found another exactly like the one I pulled up -- maybe an inch shorter. An avocado tree -- California in Carolina. (Look closely and you can see the yellowish pit at the base of the stem -- split in two with the stem coming out of the center. Very nice.)



Here's my one basil "bush" that I've babying along -- and I'm really pleased with the result. I talked to one of our local organic farmers (from whom I bought this transplant) about how I've grown basil in the past. He advised me to keep pinching off the new two-leaf starts that appear at the end of every stem. That stops the "vertical" growth of the stem and forces more "horizontal" growth from new shoots off to the side. Continuing to do that produces a really full "bush" instead of a "plant." The leaves on this one are large (my chief complaint from past basil plants -- very small leaves) and luscious (except for the holes where the Japanese beetles have already been chewing -- arrrgghhhhh!). The growth is slower at first but is beginning to be exponential as stems produce stems produce stems ad infinitum:

Alkaline vs. Acid

This is such a good summary of the Alkaline vs. Acid discussion (maintenance of the proper pH in the body), and the information is so important to health, that I'm posting it here. It appeared today in the Hallelujah Acres Health Tip (email). If you want to read the whole article click on the title above. (I'm using this without prior permission -- copyright belongs to Hallelujah Acres; Health Tip #553, June 24, 2008.)

Exercise: In the charts below, see how many of the foods you consistently eat are alkaline or acidic.

THE IDEAL RATIO OF ALKALINE TO ACID IS 4 TO 1

The ideal ratio of ALKALINE to ACID is approximately 4 TO 1 – that is four parts (80%) ALKALINE to one part (20%) ACID. When this ratio is maintained, the body has strong resistance to disease as well as bone fractures, but when the diet is overly ACID, disease resistance diminishes, and bone density decreases.

To overcome disease and low bone density, the greater the amount of ALKALIZING foods in the diet, the faster the recovery! ALKALIZING foods neutralize the ACID, strengthen the immune system, while rebuilding and strengthening the bones.

The Hallelujah Acres Diet is primarily a raw ALKALINE diet, which produces and maintains an ALKALINE environment within the body! Some of the most ALKALIZING foods in The Hallelujah Acres Diet are BarleyMax, carrot juice, and the abundance of green vegetables the diet contains. These raw and ALKALIZING foods build up a healthy reserve of ALKALINE minerals, especially calcium, which are ready on demand to neutralize any excess ACIDITY, when too many ACID foods are consumed.

When the ratio of 4 to 1, ALKALINE to ACID drops to just 3 to 1, health can be seriously challenged! Unbelievably, the average person of today, on the typical SAD meat based, highly ACID diet, is consuming a diet that may have a ratio as low as a 1 to 4, ALKALINE to ACID, or even lower.

The human physical body can only function properly, and sustain health and a sound bone structure that is resistant to disease and fracture, when there are adequate ALKALINE reserves, and the ACID to ALKALINE ratio in the body’s blood are in proper balance.

Below are tables of common foods, grouped into both ALKALI-FORMING and ACID FORMING:

Alkali-Forming Foods

Alfalfa Grass	Apple
Barley Grass	Apricot
Wheat Grass	Banana
Spinach	Cantaloupe
Kale	Dates
Collard Greens	Figs
Lettuce	Peaches
Broccoli	Grapes
Cauliflower	Raisins
Cabbage	Watermelon
Carrot	Almonds
Beet	Brazil Nuts
Celery	Coconut
Cucumber	Millet
Buckwheat

Acid Forming Foods

Beef	Wheat & most grains
Chicken	Rice
Pork	Lentils
Veal	Most Nuts (except almonds)
Fish	*Most Acid Forming*
Eggs	Coffee: pH 4
Milk	Beer: pH 2.5
Cheese	Coca-Cola: pH 2

From the chart above, you can readily see that most grains are ACID forming, with the exception of millet and buckwheat, which are considered ALKALINE. You can also see that wheat is a highly ACIDIC grain, the grain that is consumed in greatest quantity in our society, and especially in its refined form. Sprouted seeds and whole grains become more ALKALINE in the process of sprouting. [WK note: the Ezekiel 4:9 and Genesis 1:29 breads are made from sprouted grains, not milled grains, meaning more alkaline. These are excellent breads to use to promote an alkaline pH.]

Almost all vegetable and grass juices are HIGHLY ALKALINE! The most ALKALINE juices are the juices from grasses (BarleyMax), green vegetables, and spinach, along with carrots, beets (especially beet tops), and celery. On The Hallelujah Acres Diet, the abundance of juices and the abundance of raw fruits and vegetables in the diet, helps the body maintain a predominantly ALKALINE environment, while the cooked whole grains, seeds and nuts, provide the 20% ACID foods needed to maintain the desired 4 to 1 ratio of ALKALINE to ACID.