Spraying BT

In a previous post I talked about spraying the bacteria BT (bacillus thuringiensis) onto brassica plants to deter the caterpillars that attack them (attacks usually come in the summer, which is why brassicas are usually grown in early spring and fall/winter to miss the caterpillar cycles). Daniel had asked about the mister I use to apply the BT, and which I have also used to apply foliar feeds (fertilizers) to other plants.

The mister is a Flowtron Bio-Mister. The liquid BT is diluted into the bottom container, then a powerful fan in the housing on the rear of the mister pulls the mix out of the container and atomizes it, creating a mist that clings to plant leaves.

There is a control on the front of the mister that increases or decreases the density of the mist:

Here are two short movies of the mister in action. The mist stream is strong -- you can see it shaking the plant leaves. When plants are this small there is obviously a lot of overspray and waste. The larger the brassicas get with their huge leaves, the more suitable as an application tool the Bio-Mister becomes. (The mist is more visible in the second video due to a darker background.)

As the water evaporates out of the droplets it leaves behind the BT which is what the caterpillars consume as they feed on the leaves. Spraying the underside of leaves as well as the tops is optimum, but when a caterpillar feeds on either side of a leaf (creating a hole in the leaf) it is eating the top-side and bottom-side of the leaf, consuming the BT regardless of which side of the leaf the BT is on. You can see the moisture collected on the leaves of this plant:

Best Blender Is the Cheapest

Popular Mechanics magazine did a test of five blenders and ranked them best to worst. The five they tested included the long-time favorite of chefs, the VitaMix, as well as the newcomer BlendTec (the one that blends iPhones, golf balls, etc. on TV), both of which cost around $500. Surprisingly, their top-rated blender was the cheapest—a Kitchen Aid that sells for $150 ($100 street price). (The VitaMix, which I've been using for 6-7 years, came in second and won the "smoothest" blend award, which is why I love it for making smoothies. Some of the reviewers didn't like the "plunger" used with the VitaMix, which is many users' favorite feature.)

You can see some video and read the reviews here.

Compost Tea

It's been a couple years since I made compost tea, but since I created a compost bin a couple months ago and now have some viable compost, I made a batch of tea yesterday. Instead of the 30-gallon brewers (plastic trash cans) I used previously, I used two 5-gallon buckets. Into the water went about a gallon of compost, a few tablespoons of blackstrap molasses (to feed the bacteria), and some ground kelp. (Daniel and I debated the addition of kelp and took the "couldn't hurt" approach and added it in—he to his tea in Columbia and I to mine in Charlotte. Credit where credit is due: Daniel and I both watched a video online of John Evans, a renowned Guinness record holder for giant vegetables in Alaska, who uses compost tea a lot. So it stimulated a resurgence of interest in brewing teas again.)

After brewing for 24 hours, and scooping the largest debris (un-composted bits of organic "stuff") off the surface of the tea, it's ready to be filtered:

I use a large plastic funnel stuffed with tule to act as a filter. Simply pouring the tea into the funnel catches the debris in the tule making the tea clean enough to go in a watering can:

I then poured the tea into a large watering can, diluted with water from the rain barrels:

Compost tea can serve three purposes: One, poured directly over the plants it provides a microbial coating on leaves that provides a defense against airborne disease spores; two, it serves as a foliar feeding source for plants to absorb nutrients through the leaf pours (stomata); and three, as a soil drench, tea adds microbial life and nutrients to the soil to aid in nutrient uptake through the roots. These pictures are of drenching young transplants:

For soil drenching, I used a different watering can, filling it first with rain water from the rain barrels. I love having access to this water from the barrels!

I then added tea to this water making a diluted mix to soak the roots of the cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and collards:

A few other pictures:

Daniel and I were agreeing the other day on what troopers the Swiss chard plants are. We both have plants that have been producing since last spring, going through the summer without bolting (going to seed). They are truly prolific staples of the home garden: (I tucked a couple cauliflower plants in around this chard)

My Russian kale plants, after surviving two severe attacks by the cabbage butterfly caterpillars, are re-sprouting for a third try this fall. The standard (organically approved) defense against these and other caterpillars on brassica plants is a bacteria called bacillus thuringiensis. When it is sprayed on the leaves of plants, caterpillars ingest the bacteria and it causes their demise in 1-2 days. The bacteria is harmless to humans or pets. I didn't have any BT on hand earlier this summer to protect the brassicas, but have some for the fall season in case the caterpillars show up again:

Finally, I don't think I've shown pics of my pineapple plants. I was at a grocery store back in the spring and saw a deli guy slicing the tops off some pineapples before chopping the fruit up for sale in the deli. I asked him if I could have the tops—brought them home and planted the two nicest ones. They were about a fourth this size when I planted them. Don't know what the outcome will be, but I'll probably try to keep them indoors through the winter. They have become beautiful plants:

More Research on Cell Phones and Cancer

Researchers at the Australian National University undertook a review of all the research done so far on the epidemiological evidence for "an association between long-term cell phone usage and the risk of developing a brain tumor."

There conclusion: Yes, there is evidence of a connection.

In order to be included in their review they only examined previous studies that met the following criteria:

1. Publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

2. Subjects studied had used cell phones for more than 10 years.

3. Brain tumors which corresponded to the side of the head where the cell phone was normally used.

Eleven prior studies met those criteria. The result of their review of prior studies based on the above three criteria: "The results indicate that using a cell phone for 10 or more years approximately doubles the risk of being diagnosed with a brain tumor on the same (ipsilateral) side of the head as that preferred for cell phone use." (Surgical Neurology 2009 Sep; 72(3): 205-14)

On the flip side, the research accompanying the release of these findings says that there have been no conclusive studies showing that cell phones DON'T cause brain tumors or other problems.

Most of the people writing about this issue are using tobacco-related diseases as a paradigm for warnings. It took decades for the health effects of tobacco to show up -- remember that a half-century ago many/most doctors smoked, many participated in cigarette ads, and many doctors recommended smoking to their patients. (I remember as a child a physician friend of my parents, Dr. Leo Harris in Decatur, Alabama, being in our home on social occasions and smoking. He was a kind man but was like most doctors of that era, simply didn't know the deleterious effects of tobacco -- nor did most people. My own parents both smoked until I was around 6-7 years old when my mother somehow knew they needed to quit. She did but my father was never able to break the habit, smoking under cover for most of his adult life. His addiction probably accounts for my own Draconian views on the subject.)

Many researchers today fear that the effects of cell phones, and other devices that produce similar "radiation," may have results that don't show up for many years -- especially among the many children who are now using cell phones since their skull bones are much thinner than adult skulls.

As I said in previous posts on this topic, I'm taking a "where there's smoke there's fire approach," and trying to err on the side of caution. And trying to remember Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 10:23: "You say, “I am allowed to do anything” —but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything” —but not everything is beneficial" (NLT-SE). (See Dr. Mercola's site for his comments on the new study mentioned above.)

Odd Couple

I know these odd animal couple videos are all over the web, but this one from National Geographic is very nice: an orangutan and a beautiful hound (a Bluetick hound? not sure):

Hopeful Signs

The following two-minute video highlights a program hosted by Ohio State University in which OSU students and Metro High School students are getting hands-on experience in growing vegetables organically. Produce from the farm is sold to campus dining facilities, at a local farmers market, and at a farmers market started by the students at Metro High School. It's amazing that such ventures qualify as "news." But in an era when a few large agri-corps produce most of the chemical-laden food the nation consumes, this venture (and others like it) are indeed good news. This venture is one of thousands of small, hopeful signs about how seriously people are beginning to think directly about the quality of food in America -- and indirectly about the quality of food and its impact on the quality of life. It's one thing for old folks to do these things but quite another for students -- especially high school students. It bodes well for the future. (Note: in the age of uber-videos, this small slide show will rate low on the Wow! scale. Look past the simplicity of the production to the hopeful hearts and hands of the students and those mentoring them.)

One Take

It's all over CNN and YouTube this weekend -- this music video shot by a group of students at the University of Quebec in Montreal. It involves 172 students -- two rehearsals, two takes -- and the second take was a wrap with NO EDITS. The students who produced it spent a month planning it, but the idea of a 4.5" music video in one take is amazing. Check it out -- set to the Black Eyed Peas "I Got a Feeling:"