#and i used some local grown spinach

[council-of-beetroot]

Took Eddy's advice and made myself an actual meal

I actually used the vegetables I bought from the store!

#i made spinach and cheese quesadillas #but with locally made healthier tortillas not filled with shit and are also whole wheat #i am bougie and used organic cheese #and i used some local grown spinach #cooked it in my lodge skillet and bam #food thats not takeout or frozen pizza or chicken tenders

[lilliesforya]

Google Translate in the Grocery Store

August 21, 2023

The supermarket is the size of a large Walgreens. I don’t know where anything is located. The products look like things I recognize from a dream but have never seen before in real life. I walk around with a basket in one hand and my phone in the other. The basket always gets too heavy but I never grab a cart from the front because I’m always convinced I won’t need one. I always need one. The carts are smaller and they look like the ones from Wegmans but with only one place for the items. I find items on my list like spinach, bread, and garlic. I lament the loss of niche (or not) food items I love like nutritional yeast, plant based butter, peanut butter that isn’t peanut flavored cream, and maple brown sugar oatmeal. I try to replace this with a feeling of gratitude for the improved access to locally grown rice, miso soup, pickled ginger in large amounts, bread that tastes savory like pastry dough, red bean flavored anything, and 9% alcohol in a can for like barely $2. 

The picture above is part of the alcoholic drink section in the grocery store. I can get these at my local convenience store for slightly more yen but it’s not a huge difference. The drinks range in alcohol content- the light pink peach drink in the upper right corner is 3%. The grapefruit vodka soda I picked up from the front of the aisle is 5%. My favorites are ‘Strong Zero’ and Chu-Hi both in lemon flavor. These are 9% and they make me the closest I’ve ever gotten to drunk on one drink. They taste so good it is easy to forget they’re so strong- similar to the Soju effect.

This is all of the miso soup options. I wanted to buy the paste because it seems more cost effective but one time I did that I forgot to use dashi (fish stock that gives the salty flavor) and the result was awful. I was so paranoid that I just got the packets that come with the seaweed, green onions, and tofu, etc. with it. I must have stood in this aisle for so long trying to google translate the differences between all of the miso soups. I don’t usually get stared at too much in the grocery store but I think this warranted a few glances as to what on Earth I was doing. 

In a lot of stores, including the grocery store, there are sections for omiyage (souvenirs) or items that can be given as gifts. It’s an extremely common cultural practice. When people go away on trips it's customary to bring back small gifts for family, friends, and/ or coworkers. Usually, it’s small items special to the place you’ve visited or sweets that are local to the area. For example, Chiba prefecture is known for peanuts (among other things), so if I went to visit friends in Kobe I would bring some peanut based sweets to give to people. Also, most prefectures and sometimes cities and towns have mascots. So, often in train stations you can find small memorabilia of the mascot of the area. Example: Osaka is known for takoyaki so they sell octopus plushies and keychains (and I have a large plushie of him). Even my small town has omiyage in the local train station! 

#grocerystore #omiyage

[ferdydurke]

Such a cool topic! Yeah the old italian problem I assume applies to nearly all european national dishes (we didn’t have potatoes once upon a time??). I think basically all the ‘classic’ welsh dishes are post-medieval.

The 14th c diet would have been v similar to mid/southern English, excluding influence of more hills and sheep farming (already big by 14th c), so you can really look around widely. Obviously it would have been super difficult without some sort of grain finding its way into your bowl. For those living a settled life, gruel was defintely the default (as in Poland or anywhere in Europe I assume).

Local texture I can add is walking up a local mountain/hill, the Blorenge (rhymes with Orange!!!!), with my father and collecting what we’d call wimberries (commonly: bilberry, in Welsh: lluen). These aren’t grown commerically and were v likely there in 14th c. Tiny, blue, and tasty in a grassy way.

Today’s ‘welsh cakes’ are clearly products of a later age, but the idea of cooking things on a large slab of slate/stone/etc called ‘bakestones’ (‘bake stones’ are confusingly something else) is something that we could reasonably imagine being v old. Probably something like an oatcake was the proto-welsh cake. The bakestone itself might be a fun weapon in a pinch for dnd.

So yeah, a bilberry oatcake baked on a stone. An authentic treat from South Wales 14th c, maybe.

I've never used hogweed in cooking! What would you reccomend? Oh but yeah we do have shit tons of garlic, as in most of Europe. The local castle, Castell Coch, (a weird and cool 19th c pseudo-medieval build today, but was around in 14th c too), is just surrounded absolutely everywhere by the smell of wild garlic. I use the leaves in a stir-fry instead of spinach.

Omg this is all very interesting thank you for writing so much :0c!!! I really appreciate the info about bilberries and welsh cakes and bakestones, this is all so so cool!!

And to be honest i have also never used it myself jdbdjf i just have a very hazy memory of my grandma collecting and drying it in the kitchen but i have no idea what for :'3. But ive seen it in some foraging videos now and apparently you can pickle the leaves and also use em as greens in soups ect, also spinach like... and i made a mistake as well, giant hogweed was indeed imported only in the 19th century but common hogweed is native to europe and is actually where the name for one of my favourite soups "barszcz" comes from... it was originally made from that plant i had no idea :0c bc nowdays its commonly made with beets...

#ask #barking #very cool thank you again for all the info!! #i dont know much about foraging or native plants and i havent done it at all =w= #most of my food autism until now has been centered on chinese cuisine #i got interested in european medieval food very recently and i havent had time to read much about it #it makes me so excited that my head hurts jdjdid i need to pace myself

[pokemon-researcher-corvid]

Pokémon Feeding and nutrition!

It can be tricky to provide your friends with a nutritional, balanced diet, especially if you have lots of team members, very large Pokémon, or Pokémon with specific dietary needs. Luckily, the past twenty years have provided massive technological leaps for healthy, sustainable food for your Pokémon. A special thank you to the PFDA for helping me do research that contributes to this post!

(Please note that this post contains brand names for companies that I personally use. I am not recommending or endorsing these products)

1) Lab-Grown meat

This is the number one source of nutrition for many meat-eating Pokémon (and people!). Identical to meat products in most every way, but cheaper, easier (and better for the environment) to produce and store, and much less likely to carry disease! Lab-grown meat is used in just about everything these days. In the past two decades, it’s pretty much fully replaced the farmed meat industry in most regions, both for human consumption and captured Pokémon consumption. Lab grown meat and fish, raw or cooked, is a great addition to your partner’s diet! Just make sure that if you do cook it (to make it easier on their digestive system or if that’s how they prefer to eat it) you use a natural, cold-press oil and little to no salt. Too much of either sodium or oil can upset a Pokémon’s stomach.

2) Fresh and Frozen Produce

Fruits and vegetables are pretty much always a great addition to a Pokémon’s diet. Fiber, vitamins, minerals and micronutrients help round out the edges of what other foods may miss. Leafy greens like spinach, kale, lettuce, and other similar greens should be a staple in your Pokémon’s diet. Pokémon centers often provide these in community gardens so don’t be afraid to ask about it there! You can also often get roots, stalky and starchy vegetables, mushrooms and more.

Grains and seeds are also usually on the table for Pokémon. Depending on how your partner likes to have them prepared, they can be raw, roasted, ground up to a paste, whole in-shell or husked, pretty much any way you like.

Berries and fruits are a great treat for Pokémon too! I buy a big bag of frozen in-season berries at the Costkomala and it lasts me like three months. Good for the summer!

If your Pokémon has a ruminant digestive system, you can look into grazing as well but you should follow local laws about public grazing.

3) Dry food/Kibble

Probably the most convenient food for your Pokémon, Dry food can be a great option for trainers! I’m partial to Phampy Farms since they have a great high-protein blend for carnivorous Pokémon and an herbal pellet blend for rodent Pokémon (I have a picky Alolan Raichu so thank Arceus for this!). I recommend hydrating the dry food with water, Moomoo milk, berry/apricorn juice, or broth to help your Pokémon get enough water!

You can also use a slow-feeder or a puzzle feeder to help your Pokémon stay engaged and excited about mealtime, and to not eat so fast that they get sick.

4) Feeding Behaviors

Some Pokémon are natural-born hunters, but you can’t just go let them outside in the woods to feed themselves. That’s a big problem both for the local wildlife and other people/trainers. They could try and catch your Pokémon thinking it’s wild, they could call Pokémon Control thinking it’s unattended or unsafe, or it could be lost/injured. Instead, there are lots of ways to help manage this hunting instinct and provide your partner with everything they need!

Hunting feeders, Kongs, Snuffle mats, etc! There’s a feeder for every Pokémon. Same thing with other food-related items like bones, dental chews, lick-mat toys, treat dispensers, and more. Let mealtime be fun and engaging for your partner.

Here’s what I personally feed my Pokémon on an average day!

Togetic (Pascha)- A serving of SwabluWild Avian seed blend with a big handful of mixed greens. Chopped Big Root and then whatever blend of Hearty Grains, Berries, and apricorns are in season at the time. Her favorite foods are Misty Seeds, Kelpsy berries, and Blue apricorns.

Sylveon (Chimera)- half a serving of Phampy Farms Carnivore blend hydrated with broth. Supplementing that, I add a few ounces of Reuniclus Labs’ Deerling meat. I serve this out of a slow feeder or a hunting feeder. Then I usually offer up a mix of greens, mushrooms, roots and berries as a side. His favorite food is Kebia berries.

Alolan Raichu (Nikola)- A handful of Phampy Farms herbal pellets for Rodent Pokémon and then just. So many berries. I’ve posted about Alolan Raichu’s diet in the past. They eat a LOT of berries. Usually I mix in things like seeds, mushrooms, roots, apricorns, and greens into the mix but the main ingredient is a big bag of mixed berries. His favorite are Mago berries, but he also really likes Electric Seeds and Balm mushrooms!

Crobat (Cruor)- usually Cruor gets an equal amount of Reuniclus Labs’ Mammalian Pokémon Blood Supplement and a variety of fruits and berries to feed on. Sometimes I supplement with meat, and when it’s in season I like to give her nectar and flowers as well. Her favorite food is probably Wacan berries.

Porygon- (note: this Pokémon is a bit malnourished from previous circumstances so I’m including a lot of extra vitamin supplements to help get them back to where they’re supposed to be). Usually I give Porygon about 10 minutes a day of access to a steady electrical signal, and the rest of their food is corporeal. Metal powder, berries, and juiced black apricorns are the main foods, with things like greens and root vegetables on the side. I also use Morning Sun Multivitamins and supplements like Carbos, Calcium, and Zinc to help restore their strength. They seem to particularly like Chople berries and Copper powder!

#pokemon #pokémon #pokémon rp #pokemon irl #pokémon irl #pkmn irl #pokemon research #pokemon rp #pascha #chimera #nikola #Cruor #porygon #crobat #togetic #alolan raichu #sylveon

[diamondheart22]

‘Who by Fire, Who by Water’

Bella Hadid, Gal Gadot, Monica Bellucci, and Me (?).

🇺🇸💸

Dear readers,

How are you feeling today? How is your heart today? Let us be light of heart together today. Let’s talk about the little things we do everyday. Let’s talk about my little things. Perhaps you will get ideas for little things to try yourself!

I am living in Sarasota, FL for the indefinite future. I also hope to buy the car I want.

I had a great day yesterday. I ate scallop sashimi and yellowtail sushi for dinner. The sushi was loaded with masago. Very tasty. I have had major hankerings for raw fish recently. I eat lox bagels Almost every day… am I going to get some sort of disease from this?

How to make Ultimate Good Lox Bagel:

1. Double toast egg bagel

2. Apply thick schmear of plain

3. Lay down a few leaves of spinach

4. Layer on thinly sliced tomato.. preferably a locally grown heirloom

5. Now add a wee bit of diced onion

6. The best part: layer on lox … amount is your preference

7. Ok .. caper time

8. Lil bit sprouts of your choice

9. To finish; drizzle with good EVOO and sprinkle with Himalayan salt .. or French grey salt.. and pepper

10. Cry while you eat because it’s so good omg

At dinner my family discussed our morning eggs. Are eggs hen periods? How are they fertilized? Why did no one in my family know the answers to these questions? Can you fertilize an egg with a light? Could I live under this light? I remain unsure.

After dinner my family went to see a movie I did not want to see so I stayed back at the restaurant. I am reading about Leonard Cohen in ‘73. I am reading about war. The bartender made me a passion fruit mock-tail with almond syrup? I complimented her face. She did not charge me for the drink. I have been getting a lot of things for free. The restaurant is at a big shopping center and they host outdoor karaoke shows on the weekend. I decided to sing. Unfortunately the man singing before me, Mike M, was a dazzling talent in a Hawaiian shirt. I sang an extremely melancholic version of “bang bang” (Nancy) and not a soul clapped. The Hawaiian shirt guy had a posse. They complimented me as I left.. ‘Pipes, girl! It’s ok to be sad!’

Speaking of mornings, back to mornings. I keep dreaming about the morning star and neon yellow rope. Apparently the rope is yellow; I’d prefer pink. I have odd dreams. What is there to be done about the dark stars? I reckon they cry too. It is all ancient stuff. There is nothing to be discovered. I have discovered Nothing so I drink a lot of water now.

The stars make me think of the war. I am trying hard to not think of the war. I hope to get a job as a ‘stylist’ (salesperson) at Free People. I am trying to think about clothes. I am trying to be light-hearted like a good American girl. I am trying to not-think. By the Grace of God, there goes I.

Also on soft-top:

- How to write square not circle

-Can the pendulum ever stop swinging

-Will the quantum computer exist in my lifetime

-Is someone going to want to marry me ever

Thank you for coming. I have included a cute phone background as a reward for your labor today. Eat a bagel.

I love you,

Jillian

#diary entry #americana #geopolitics #star wars #cleopatra

[unimother]

Aquaponics Plant Choices

Environmental Impact of Aquaponics

Aquaponics' Impact on the Environment:

Aquaponics is a sustainable food production method that positively affects the environment when done at home. Let's explore how aquaponics contributes to eco-agriculture and resource conservation.

Environmental Impact of Aquaponics Compared to Traditional Farming:EffectHome AquaponicsTraditional FarmingCarbon FootprintMinimalHighWater UsageDrastically ReducedA Lot of waterways destroyedOverfishingPreventedHigh bycatch ratesDeforestationPreventedTo build farmlandTransportationMinimalOther parts of the worldSingle-use PlasticAlmost noneEvery product in multiple wrapsFood LeftoversFed to Fish and Fertilizer for PlantsEnd up in LandfillsResource ConservationMostNone

Unique Details:

Aquaponics not only reduces carbon footprint and water usage but also prevents overfishing and deforestation. Plus, transportation requirements are minimal, which lowers emissions,  fuel consumption, and single-use plastic. Also, aquaponics significantly reduces food waste because it keeps growing instead of getting bad if you don’t eat your food.

Suggestions:

To maximize aquaponics' environmental impact:

Use renewable energy sources to power systems, reducing carbon emissions even more, like synchronizing LED lights and heating with wind or solar energy.

Install rainwater harvesting systems to minimize water consumption and increase sustainability by increasing the local water cycle.

Promote responsible fishing practices globally to protect aquatic ecosystems beyond the scope of aquaponics.

Keep researching and improving your system to make it more efficient and less resource-intensive.

By taking these steps, we can ensure that aquaponics remains an eco-friendly option, promoting sustainable food production for years to come. Aquaponic gardening – where fish live in synergy with plants. Filter water and recycle nutrients in one convenient waterbed or in multiple vertical farms! Let your creative mind play.

Benefits of Aquaponic Gardening

Aquaponics - Reap the Benefits of Sustainable Farming!

Organic Produce: Grow chemical-free fruits and veggies.

Water Conservation: Use much less water than traditional farming.

Eco-Friendly Agriculture: Create a self-sustaining ecosystem.

No pesticides or antibiotics are needed. Plus, you can recycle leftovers and make use of black soldier fly larvae. This holistic approach creates optimal growth and minimal waste.

Enjoy organic produce, conserve water, and contribute to eco-friendly agriculture with aquaponic gardening! Start your journey today! Remember: Selecting the right plants is key - plants are great listeners!

Types of Plants Suitable for Aquaponics Systems

Are you searching for a sustainable way to cultivate food? Aquaponics provides an environment-friendly answer fitting your home, garden, or backyard. You'll be astonished at the range of plants you can grow with aquaponics - from herbs to leafy greens to vegetables. To discover more about your aquaponics plant options, peruse this article.

Certain plants are ideal to cultivate in aquaponics. They love the watery environment and help the system to work well. Many of the things you grow can also be fed to the fish if you don't like it or it's old or brown or something like that. Another factor that many people like about aquaponics is that the leaves grown are softer and crispier than supermarket produce because it's fresh and not dead and decaying.

You can argue with me, but I think it's possible to grow any plant in aquaponics if we just create the right conditions by playing around with substrate, flooding frequency, fish feeds, grow bed size, and many more factors.

Here are some ideas for you to grow:

Leafy Greens:

Leafy greens are perfect for carnivore and omnivore aquaponics fish.

Lettuce

Spinach

Kale

Arugula (Rocket)

Cucumbers

Bell Peppers

Tomatoes

Broccoli

Radishes

Bok Choy (Pak Choi)

Swiss Chard

Mustard Greens

Collard Greens

Endive

Escarole

Watercress

Romaine Lettuce

Butterhead Lettuce

Iceberg Lettuce

Red and Green Leaf Lettuce

Fruiting Plants:

Fruiting plants thrive in aquaponics with omnivore and more herbivore fish.

Strawberries

Blueberries

Raspberries

Blackberries

Dwarf Melons

Dwarf Watermelons

Figs (with appropriate pruning)

Grapes (trellised)

Passionfruit

Dwarf Banana Plants

Tomatoes

Peppers

Cucumbers

Aquaponics Compatible Plants:

Aquaponics plants that thrive in nutrient rich water.

Watercress

Water chestnuts

Taro

Vietnamese coriander

Water spinach

Root Crops:

Root crops require nutrient rich water.

Carrots (shorter varieties work best)

Beets

Turnips

Radishes

Onions (especially green onions)

Flowers:

Enhance the beauty in your life.

Marigolds

Violets

Pansies

Petunias

Sunflowers

Medicinal Plants:

Treat diseases naturally.

Aloe Vera

Chamomile

Lavender

Echinacea

Lemon Balm

Others:

Some other ideas for your aquaponics system.

Green Beans

Peas

Okra

Brussels Sprouts

Cauliflower

Lots of Plant Varieties: Aquaponics offers lots of different plants. From leafy greens to fruiting crops to exotic herbs.

For those seeking unique aquaponic plants, consider amaranth and chili peppers.

Sarah, in a small coastal town, began aquaponics with leafy greens. Soon, her lettuce beds inspired others to experiment with different plants. The town united to grow a wide range of edible plants in aquaponics. This changed their food and living landscape and gave them more self-sufficiency. Aquaponics sparked personal and community growth.

Inspire other’s to start growing by making them jealous of your home jungle.

It is clear that aquaponics integrated with vertical farming holds great potential for sustainable and effective food production.

A study showed that aquaponic systems can harvest up to ten times more produce than traditional soil-based methods!

Aquaponic Herb Gardens

Aquaponics Herb Selection!

The aquaponics system is known for its amazing relationship between fish and plants. It's the ideal environment to grow many different culinary and medicinal herbs. Here's a list of the most common herbs that grow in aquaponic systems:

These herbs boast unique flavors and aromas, plus health benefits.

To get the best herbs from your aquaponic system, remember these tips:

Manage pH properly. This ensures nutrients will be absorbed and plants stay healthy.

Control the temperature. Monitor and regulate the water temperature within the ideal range.

Give herbs the correct lighting. Make sure they get enough sunlight or use artificial lighting.

Supplement with essential nutrients. Do this occasionally to maximize growth and nutrition.

Pick the right herbs and use these suggestions, and you'll have a vibrant herb garden full of flavorful produce!

Plant Growth Rate in Aquaponics vs. Traditional Soil

Comparing growth rates, aquaponics is faster and yields more than traditional soil-based cultivation. The cyclic nature, nutrient availability, and oxygen level create ideal conditions for plants as well as fish. Automated systems are simple to build and remove the need for manual watering and feeding, keeping produce always fresh without pesticides. No extra fossil fuel fertilizer is needed either - nitrogen from fish waste feeds the plants. This sustainable practice cuts down on the unnecessary transport of fertilizer, plastic, and food.

An example of a guided automated aquaponics setup is seen here.

It's like a two-for-one deal! Veggies get supercharged nutrients from the water like SpongeBob on steroids.

Nutrient Uptake in Aquaponic Plants

Aquaponic plants absorb essential nutrients from fish waste in a symbiotic relationship. Ammonia that fish breathe out and is being released during the decay of organic matter can directly be absorbed through diffusion and converted to ammonium, instead of oxidizing ammonia to nitrate, which the plant has to reduce to ammonium first to make amino acids. These plants are key to sustaining water quality and growing both fish and plants. Lettuce, basil, and mint absorb nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and iron. Acidification can arise over time from breakdown of fish waste, so rock dust can be used to raise pH levels and create an optimal environment for plants. Don't forget to mix up your plant varieties for an efficient system with improved productivity. Get creative with your aquaponic plant choices now! Oh, and don't worry - pH levels won't cause any arguments like some couples do!

Also, check our nutrient and fertilizer deep dive guide to master the elements.

The Role of pH in Plant Growth

The influence of pH on plant growth is massive. Its balance affects the alkalinity of water, pH readjustment, and nutrient availability - all impacting the health and productivity of plants. Different plants thrive in acidic and alkaline conditions, so it's important to understand and maintain the right pH levels for growth.

A table shows four key factors related to pH in plant growth:

Water alkalinity: determines water suitability for plant growth.

pH adjustment: helps maintain ideal pH levels for different plants.

Nutrient availability: affects the absorption and use of essential nutrients by plants.

Acidic vs. Alkaline: different plants prefer different pH conditions.

It's also significant to know that individual plant species or cultivars have varying preferences for acidic or alkaline environments. Regular monitoring and adjustments can optimize nutrient absorption.

Sounds very complex and scientific but plants and fish are also adaptable so don’t overcomplicate it. Just learn and allow yourself to make some mistakes by setting up a small aquaponics system.

An interesting fact from history is that ancient civilizations knew soil fertility was important and experimented with ways to get it. They were aware that adjusting soil acidity could increase crop yields - showing that pH's role in plant growth has been recognized for centuries. Finding disease-resistant aquaponics plants is like seeking a mythical creature!

Disease Resistance in Aquaponics Plants

Tomatoes and basil are less prone to diseases since they have high resistance. Bell peppers, however, need more attention to prevent diseases.

Pest management is also key. A balanced ecosystem with pest predators helps control them naturally, without using any chemical pesticides. This way, the produce improves its taste and quality. 

One of many plant's defense mechanisms is with chemical substances to defend from pests and predators increasing health benefits and taste for us.

How You can Influence Plant Taste and Health

For example, we can significantly increase the taste by stopping watering herbs before harvest. Equally important, direct sunlight improves the plant's ability to create enzymes, vitamins, and amino acids to enhance taste. Sunlight also damages the plant, which in response, increases its defense mechanisms against UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C rays. UV-C is the most damaging, and UV-A is the least damaging. But that also means UV-C has the most energy and UV-A the least of the UV rays. LED lights can only produce light up to UV-A lights because UV-B and UV-C destroy the light-emitting diode very quickly. Rock dust increases nutrient availability, which makes it possible in the first place to produce certain plant flavors, which are also defense mechanisms against certain predators and parasites. In the plant world, parasites are the so-called pests, and they increase defense response by stimulating immunity unless the plant misses nutrients and can't produce enough or there are too many pests, and the plant dies.

A farmer experienced the advantages of disease prevention in his aquaponic farm. He used organic methods and focused on disease-resistant plants. This resulted in impressive crop yields and great taste. This success story shows the importance of disease resistance in aquaponics plants for productivity and customer satisfaction.

Plus, root systems in aquaponics are like the unrewarded heroes of the plant world. They anchor and absorb nutrients, while the fish can enjoy the waste free waters.

Root Systems in Aquaponics

Hydroponic Roots are a must for aquaponics! They ensure root oxygenation and health. Roots give stability and absorb nutrients for water-based growth. Knowing the root structure is key to keeping an aquaponic system healthy and productive.

No need for Tinder here! Fish and plants make the perfect pair in aquaponics and in the amazon rainforest.

Synergy Between Fish and Plants

The bond between fish and plants is symbiotic.

Fish waste is converted by bacteria, insects and worms. This assists aquaponics.

All the waste combined  provide nutrients for plants, aiding plant growth.

The ecosystem balance is regulated by the nitrate cycle. This creates a diverse habitat, providing living space for many species.

For optimal growth, pick fish species which produce waste rich in nutrients beneficial to plants. Finding the ideal grow bed medium is like finding true love - it takes effort, but once found, it's a match made in aquaponic paradise!

Choosing the Right Grow Bed Medium

Selecting the optimal grow bed substrate for an aquaponics system requires careful consideration. Weighing the pros and cons of items such as sand, clay pebbles, perlite, gravel, small stones, lava crushes, and recycled materials like broken clay vessels or glass containers is vital for successful nutrient uptake.

These media offer unique benefits for different plant species and growth requirements. Beyond weight and surface area, other factors such as aeration, water drainage, and porosity can influence a substrate's effectiveness.

Clay pebbles, for example, have high porosity which allows sufficient airflow around roots and enough moisture for growth. Plus, recycled materials are an eco-friendly option that repurposes waste.

Also, porosity affects how well the plants absorb nutrients. Lightweight materials like perlite create air pockets within the root zone while keeping adequate moisture.

Finally, remember to give your plants enough space. Overcrowding can be a problem in aquaponics, so learn the art of plant spacing and density for the best results.

If you have can handle the weight of sand I would heavily advice you to set up a sandponics system because the anaerobic root environment creates the best nutrient-availability for the plant.

Challenges in Aquaponics Plant Cultivation

Aquaponics Plant Cultivation Challenges:

Nutrient balance: Carnivore or herbivore feed.

Pest management: Introducing pest predators.

Aeration needs: More oxygen is better.

Water quality: Too clean water won’t grow plants and too dirty water won’t maintain fish.

Cultivating plants in an aquaponics system? It ain't easy! It needs careful monitoring and maintenance at the beginning. You gotta be on top of the nutrient balance, pest management, aeration needs, and water quality.

Did you know? Aquaponics is a sustainable agriculture method. It combines fish farming and soilless plant cultivation. Imagine, vertical farming where plants can reach new heights and fish can learn to fly!

Aquaponics in Vertical Farming

Vertical Farming: An Exciting Innovation in Aquaponics!

Aquaponics, a method blending aquaculture and hydroponics, is revolutionizing vertical farming. Space optimization is achieved using vertical grow towers, allowing for high-density cultivation in urban areas. This new approach to aquaponics offers multiple advantages, like efficient resource utilization and increased crop yield.

Vertical Farming Advantages:

Space Optimization: Vertical farming makes the most of restricted space, suitable for urban settings.

High-Density Cultivation: Vertical aquaponics let you cultivate plenty of plants in a small area.

Efficient Resource Utilization: Aquaponics recycles wastewater from fish tanks to nourish the plants, minimizing water usage.

Increased Crop Yield: The controlled environment of vertical farms allows for optimal plant growth, resulting in multiple times higher yields per square meter.

Furthermore, vertical farming presents the chance for year-round crop production, regardless of weather. This steadier supply of fresh produce contributes to food security and decreases reliance on long-distance transportation. Studies have also revealed that vertical farming can reduce water consumption compared to traditional agriculture methods - a study from the University of California discovered that 95% less water was used in vertical farms while yielding similar or higher crop yields.

The Future of Aquaponics and Plant Breeding

The future of aquaponics and plant breeding looks promising! By using plant genetics and conducting research, we can maximize crop production. What's more, we can even create our own plant breeds by crossing our favorite strains.

These advancements open up a world of potential! Increased nutrient availability in water, conservation of resources, disease-resistant plants, and nutrient-dense produce. Aquaponic systems have the power to transform farming practices. Through breeding, we can boost crop quality and create varieties that are perfect for aquaponics. Don't miss your chance to join the sustainable agriculture revolution. Start exploring now!

#sustainability #environment #plasticfree #wastefree #trash #sustainable #food waste #viral #water #aquaponics

[chappythegardener]

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Winter

FAQ

Which vegetables are suitable for summer planting? Some of the vegetables that are suitable for summer planting include tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, beans, eggplants, and okra.These vegetables thrive in warm weather and can tolerate high temperatures. Can I use regular seeds for organic gardening? Yes, you can use regular seeds for organic gardening.However, it’s important to ensure that the seeds are not treated with synthetic chemicals and have not been genetically modified.To be sure, look for seeds that are certified organic by a reputable organization. How do I prepare my soil for planting organic vegetable seeds in summer? To prepare your soil for planting organic vegetable seeds in summer, start by removing any weeds or debris from the planting area. Then, loosen the soil with a rake or hoe and add compost or other organic matter to improve soil fertility and structure.Make sure the soil is well-draining and has adequate moisture before planting. How often should I water my organic vegetable seeds during summer? During summer, organic vegetable seeds may require more frequent watering due to high temperatures and dry conditions. Water the seeds deeply and regularly, preferably in the morning or evening to avoid evaporation. Check the soil moisture regularly and adjust your watering schedule as needed. How long does it take for organic vegetable seeds to germinate in summer? The germination time for organic vegetable seeds in summer can vary depending on the type of vegetable and growing conditions. Generally, most vegetable seeds will germinate within 7-14 days if the soil temperature is between 60-85°F and the soil is kept consistently moist.However, some seeds may take longer to germinate or may require special growing conditions. What are organic vegetable seeds? Organic vegetable seeds refer to seeds that are produced without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs).These seeds are grown and harvested using natural methods that promote soil health and protect the environment. Where can I buy organic vegetable seeds for summer? You can buy organic vegetable seeds for summer from online retailers, seed catalogs, or your local garden center.Look for companies that specialize in organic and non-GMO seeds and offer a wide variety of vegetable seeds suitable for summer planting.

Organic Seeds

Tomato

Cucumber

Pepper

Bean

Zucchini

Melon

watermelon

Corn

strawberry

Pumpkin

Squash

Okra

Fertilzer

Herbs

Lettuce

Eggplant

Cauliflower

Kale

Carrot

Artichoke

Greens

Broccoli

Onion

Cabbage

Bok Choy

Spinach Helps Us Grow - Share If You Like Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Read the full article

#nongmo #online #seed #seeds #shop #Summer #vegetables

[christinahobbsofc]

Best Crops For Hydroponics Most Recommended Plants

Best Crops For Hydroponics Most Recommended Plants Best Crops For Hydroponics. Congratulations! Now that you've built your first hydroponic system, you can begin growing! What should I grow in my hydroponic garden, though, is the big question at hand. You probably have grand aspirations of feeding your family from your abundant setup at each meal. That is possible, but we suggest that you start out slowly. If you attempt everything at once and encounter difficulties, you might become frustrated and abandon the entire project. Running through a few test crops is crucial because you definitely don't want that to occur. Your hydroponic garden can be expanded and varied once you have a handle on the system. image of Best Crops For Hydroponics Most Recommended Plants for New Hydroponic Gardens The following are the top five plants for hydroponic systems: - Lettuce - Spinach - Strawberries - Peppers, bell - Herbs These plants respond to hydroponics like a duck to water, according to growers. They have great qualities that give a novice grower some leeway, including durability, quick growth, and low startup costs. Let's now examine best crops for hydroponics of these in more detail: Using hydroponic lettuce Your first plant to try with a hydroponic system should be lettuce (and the majority of other leafy greens). These plants have short above-ground heights and shallow root systems. Therefore, there is no need to tie stakes to the ground or install plant guides. Simply allow them to grow while frequently changing their nutrient solution is the better option. They'll eventually appear appetizing enough to eat, and then you can! - 30 days or so for growth - pH 6.0 to 7.0 is ideal. - Stagger your plantings to ensure a steady supply of lettuce for your lunchtime salads! - Romaine, Boston, Iceberg, Buttercrunch, and Bibb are available as options. Using hydroponic spinach In a hydroponic system, spinach grows quickly, especially when the Nutrient Film Technique or other techniques are used to maintain a high oxygen content in the nutrient solution. In comparison to an underground garden, you'll also use a lot less water. These plants are simple to grow from seed, and you can introduce them to your system a week after they sprout. - 40 days or so for growth - pH 6.0 to 7.5 is ideal. - Keep your growing temperatures between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit for spinach that is sweeter. Lower temperatures could, however, shorten the growing season. - Savoy, Bloomsdale, Smooth Leafed, Regiment, Catalina, Tyee, and Red Cardinal are some of the variety options. Hydroponically grown strawberries The fact that strawberries are a seasonal food is their worst drawback. If you rely on trucked-in berries, they start to degrade as soon as they are picked if you don't get them when the crop is ready locally. All year long, strawberries that are ready to eat can be grown using hydroponics. It's very convenient to harvest because you don't have to bend over. Deep water culture or the nutrient film technique can work for a small crop of strawberries, though an ebb and flow system seems to work best for them. - 60 days or so for growth - Best pH range: 5.5 to 6.2 - Don't buy strawberry seeds because they won't produce berries for several years. Instead, you should purchase runners that have already reached that stage and are cold-stored. - Brighton, Chandler, Douglass, Red Gauntlet, and Tioga are among the options. Peppers grown hydroponically A slightly more sophisticated hydroponic plant is the bell pepper. Instead of letting them reach their full height, pinch and prune the plants when they are about 8 inches tall to encourage pepper growth. For peppers, deep water culture or ebb and flow systems work best. - Grow time: approximately 90 days - pH 6.0 to 6.5 is ideal. - Plan to give these plants up to 18 hours of light per day, raise your light rack as the plants grow, and maintain a distance of 6 inches between the plants and the lights. - Ace, California Wonder, Vidi, and Yolo Wonder are some options for variety. Hydroponic herb growing Herbs come in a huge variety and are excellent for hydroponic gardening. According to studies, herbs grown hydroponically have a stronger flavor and aroma than those grown in the field. Which herb would you like to grow? Great choices include basil, chives, cilantro, dill, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme, and watercress. Another excellent way to test your new hydroponic system is by producing some herbs, and almost every system style is suitable for this as you get the hang of it! - Growth Period: Varying by Plant - Best pH: Depends on the plant - To get rid of any extra nutrients that your plants haven't (or won't) absorb, flush your growing medium about once a week. - Choose from a variety of options, and you'll find instructions for growing it! FAQ Best Crops For Hydroponics How often should I water my hydroponic drip system? Drip-feeding with different media types In free-draining substrates, such as clay pebbles or rock wool cubes, irrigation frequencies can be as often as every hour or two when plants are feeding heavily. And in larger pots using substrates such as coco and soil, they often only require water once or twice a day. How do you set up a hydroponic drip system? What are the pros and cons of drip irrigation? Drip irrigation Pros Cons Saves water by minimizing evaporation Method cannot be used with high iron content water because emitters become clogged Nutrient losses from leaching is reduced Maintenance is required to keep system going No land grading required Chewing on tubing from insects and rodents can cause water leaks What water is best for hydroponics? Distilled water is the most preferred type of water for hydroponic systems due to its lack of harmful contaminants. Once diluted with tap water, it is the best option. Alternatively, tap water that has undergone reverse osmosis filtration is another great choice. How long should drippers run? How long to water Emitter type Length of each watering High-flow emitter (Up to 20 gph) 12 minutes Low-flow emitter (Up to 4 gph) 30 minutes Low-flow emitter (Up to 2 gph) 60 minutes Low-flow emitter (Up to 1 gph) 90 minutes How long can hydroponic roots be out of water? In general, most hydroponic plants can survive for as much as two to three weeks without water. However, many species are more delicate and may die in as little as three or four days, without water. Do you need a pump for drip irrigation? Unless you are using hundreds of emitters at once, it is not recommended to use a pump to provide water to drip emitters. Instead, we recommend using zero-pressure emitters, such as Flag Emitters, where the pressure created by gravity on an above ground tank is sufficient to provide water to the emitters. How many GPH do you need for hydroponics? Basically, you need to pump 25 gallons per hour if you're running a two hour cycle. This is a good rule of thumb to use to get a baseline for how many GPH you need in a hydroponic pump. However, depending on the size and type of your system, as well as your plants and ambient conditions, that number will vary. Is aeroponics better than hydroponics? Deciding whether to choose an aeroponic aeroponic Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil or an aggregate medium. The word "aeroponic" is derived from the Greek meanings of aer ("air") and ponos ("labour"). It is a type of hydroponics, since water is used in aeroponics to transmit nutrients. What is the downside of using drip irrigation? Disadvantages of the drip irrigation system are given below: High initial investment requirements. Regular capital requirement for replacement of drip irrigation equipment. Drip irrigation emitters are vulnerable to clogging and dysfunction. What are the problems of drip irrigation? One of the main problems with drip irrigation is blockage of the emitters. All emitters have very small waterways ranging from 0.2-2.0 mm in diameter and these can become blocked if the water is not clean. Thus it is essential for irrigation water to be free of sediments. Which irrigation method is the most efficient? Drip irrigation is the most water-efficient way to irrigate many different plantings. It is an ideal way to water in clay soils because the water is applied slowly, allowing the soil to absorb the water and avoid runoff. Is tap water OK for hydroponics? To answer the question – can you use tap water for hydroponics? The answer is yes. Know the water in your area. Know the chlorine, chloramines, and PPM level of your water and treat it properly before starting. Is rainwater OK for hydroponics? But can you use rainwater for hydroponics? It is safe to use water collected from rain barrels in your hydroponic system. Unlike tap water, rainwater does not contain added chlorine or chloramines. In addition, rainwater does not contain as many dissolved minerals as tap water. Do plants grow better with tap water or distilled water? distilled water In side-by-side comparisons, plants watered using distilled water tend to grow faster and stronger than those watered with tap water. We find it the “Best Water for Indoor Plants”. Plants watered with distilled pure water usually produce more leaves and grow more vigorously. Read the full article

[gatheringbones]

["At the end of August in 1981, I found myself in a small town in Arkansas, where I knew no Lesbians other than my new lover, Lynn. I wanted it that way. We were living in hiding from my armed and vengeful ex-lover who had abused me for four years and had threatened both of us with deadly harm. This was five years before the publication of Kerry Lobel's ground-breaking book, Naming the Violence: Speaking Out About Lesbian Battering. I knew I had been battered, but I did not understand how deeply I had been injured.

I only knew that I seemed to have saved my life at the cost of my sanity. I jumped at loud and not-so-loud noises. A frown from a stranger could reduce me to tears. I was afraid to bathe if I was alone in the apartment. I relived every word of every fight in relentless flashbacks. I had blocked much of the unbearable pain of the previous four years out of my consciousness at the time, in order to cope with immediate danger. Now that I was "safe" it all came flooding back. To escape, I watched TV compulsively, avoiding anything violent—nature shows were my favorites—and I read science fiction. Having lost faith in women as well as men, I was a serious candidate for a species-change operation.

Luckily, at some point in that bleak winter, I read a magazine article on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Vietnam Vets, and I recognized all my symptoms. I had a name for my suffering, and 1 knew I was not "crazy." I'd felt so much guilt and anger towards myself for not being okay, that is, my old self, since I was "free." Now I knew healing would take time and effort, and I gave myself permission to not be normal right away. Also, seeing how much my condition resembled that of war survivors helped break down some of my denial about the hell I'd been through.

Still, I had no guidance on how to recover from PTSD. I followed only the dimmest instincts. First, I began to read accounts by survivors of any serious trauma. These people became my invisible support group. I found myself drawn especially to stories of political prisoners and concentration camp survivors. Although my experience was not like theirs, these were the people I felt would understand how my will had been sapped and my strengths twisted, how the smallest acts of resistance and mere endurance had needed all my wits and courage. Bruno Bettleheim in his chapters called "Behavior in Extreme Situations" (The Informed Heart) finally answered the question I'd put to myself every 44 hour since my escape: "How could I have been so stupid?" He made me realize that under abuse, especially the combination of intermittent threats, unpredictable violence and constant psychological torture, everyone responds differently, but everyone changes fundamentally, and everyone has their breaking point.

One day as I sat reading at the kitchen table, I looked out the window at the small yard beside our duplex apartment, and I began to imagine growing a garden there in the spring. It seemed like a highly improbable idea: the area was very small, steep, bare of everything but gray shale and orange clay, and the house shaded it part of the day. But the notion of a garden took root strongly. For the first time in several years I had something pleasant to anticipate.

I wrangled my landlady's permission to put in a garden. Then I mailed off postcards for seed catalogs. I persuaded an acquaintance who owned a truck to bring me a load of cedar slabs discarded by a local sawmill, and I used these to construct two frames, about four feet by six feet, and two even smaller ones, just three feet by four feet. By this time Lynn and I had saved enough money to buy a very old VW bug, so we drove to a nearby creekbank and filled bushel baskets with rich bottom dirt, which we dumped into the frames to make raised beds about four inches deep.

To supplement the tiny growing space, Lynn scavenged large cans from the cafeteria of the hospital where she worked. I painted them a hopeful green, filled them with soil and placed them along the sidewalk below our porch. Old-timey "Corn-row Beans," originally bred to tolerate the shade of cornfields, grew up strings tied to the roof and bore prolifically.

I didn't have much money from my SSI income to spend on garden gadgets, so I made do. I wove a trellis for my peas from six-pack rings liberated from a liquor store trash bin. (I can testify that this plastic never biodegrades—the pea fence survives to this day.) I got some more bushel baskets from the local grocery, painted them with non-toxic preservative and lined them with garbage bags after snipping a few drainage holes in the bottom. Placed around a small stone patio above the garden, these became containers for large plants.

The garden rewarded me before the first mouthful of early spinach was harvested. It moved me out of the gloomy apartment and into the sunshine, watering can in hand. It motivated me to interact with people and to occasionally risk asking for help. I found out they would usually say yes. My attention was now focused on the future, not the bitter, unchangeable past. At night when the flashbacks threatened to roll, when I dreaded the dreams I might have, I put myself to sleep with 45 detailed plans of my next crop rotation. I found out I could learn a major new skill, a little at a time. I could do things right, even come up with ingenious solutions to seemingly impossible difficulties. And when I did things wrong, plants were most often forgiving. The plants themselves were a tremendous source of inspiration. Talk about survivors! They defied every book written about their needs, often thriving with too little sun, too little water, and too little soil. At the end of a year, I could easily stick my shovel in the dirt up to the hilt, where only four inches of top soil had previously existed; compost and the action of the roots had created friable loam out of shale and clay.

When I experienced failure with gardening, it was never the kind of disaster I'd grown to associate with mistakes. We didn't go hungry, because other crops outstripped our expectations. My lover didn't beat or berate me, but sympathized and helped. The garden was important to us economically, because we'd both lost almost everything we owned in our escape. Luckily, in southern Arkansas, it's possible to garden yearround. The garden gave me precious, desperately needed tastes of success. Disabled, unemployed, I still felt like an important contributor to the household. I even had food to give away sometimes, and that was a delicious feeling.

Gardening was not the only factor in my recovery, but it was an important one. I didn't grow up with abuse, but battering and similar traumas can expand minutes into hours, years into decades, until four years feel like most of a lifetime. At the end of a year and a half of gardening, I no longer felt as if I'd spent the majority of my life in a battering situation. Healing had acquired a new definition for me: I didn't insist on having the old me back; I'd mourned her long and well. I accepted the fact that some injuries are too severe to be made whole, that I might never be the same again. But I began to actually like and trust the me I am now, scars and all. As my garden taught me, I must make do with what I am. I have discovered that my flaws are not fatal and my successes are greater than I'd hoped for. So far I have not gone hungry, and I even have something to offer."]

Amy Edgington, Gaining Ground, from Garden Variety Dykes: Lesbian Traditions In Gardening, Herbooks, 1994

#amy edgington #lesbian literature #terra preta #cw abuse #you are a goddamn tree stump with leaves sprouting out

[thessalian]

Thess vs Herb Garden Day 49 - In Pictures

I was going on about my (mostly) indoor herb and veggie garden the other day but didn’t have pictures. Now I have pictures, so here’s the kitchen:

Parsley still doing well post-haircut. Note the massive sprouting in the beetroot and to a lesser extent the carrot.

Green onions and three of my potato plants, all grown from stuff I bought but didn’t use all of. Now, I did originally have six of these, so here’s where the rest went:

Grow-bag on the balcony! I really want to get a sort of tiered shelf to make the most of the light in that corner, and there are some nails embedded in the walls where I’m going to hang some plant pots later, but I only had enough potting soil to transplant three of my potato babies. Payday next week. Anyway, on to the study:

My one lone lemon balm plant, dill flanked by strawberry and rosemary, and healthy growing basil with some sprouting oregano. (The rest of my basil is in a bigger pot on the other windowsill; I’ve already shown that off with the chives, so we move on.)

Mint is growing like a maniac, and one of my cucumber plants has sprouted. Huzzah! And now, the bedroom:

On the left, spinach (needs a harvest again). On the right ... well, remember when I said I was worried my coriander hadn’t survived the cold snap? Well. That is my coriander, growing like a maniac. Probably needs repotting. I will have to buy so much dirt, and maybe some herb fertiliser.

Lettuce. I actually harvested some of that the other day, and had a nice little leafy salad with home-made vinaigrette. Also more strawberry, leftover chives, and some coriander getting in on the act because seriously, it is growing like a maniac. Still no love from any of the peppers, though. Nor the garlic. Nor the lavender. I should try planting different seeds; I might have just got unlucky.

(Please see also: my bunny slippers and “skinned a polka-dotted Muppet” bathrobe. I am not getting dressed today if I don’t absolutely have to.)

These guys, though... You can probably see the labels, but everything’s sprouting. That onion far in the back is not entirely my doing, though; I had a leftover onion that had started to sprout so I used what I could of the onion in a bolognaise and planted the sprouting bit in the centre. It’s doing well and will also need repotting soon. But everything else - the other onions, the various tomatoes, the courgettes and the peas (DAMN look at the peas) ... that’s all me.

So that’s the garden at the moment. I have plans. These plans involve saving a lot of my jars, actually. Home-made pickled beetroot. Home-made dill pickles. Mint sauce. I intend to get a jam pan and start making preserves - not just out of my strawberries, either. My entire neighbourhood is covered in blackberry bushes (particularly around the perimeter of the local cemetery, which winds up with a lot of blackberry creeper leaning out into pedestrian areas, just ready for the picking), so who am I to let something like that go to waste?

I know a lot of this started because of stress about food scarcity, but I am having fun with it. Sorry for the picture spam; I’m just really proud. This is all in under three months!

#Thess on gardening #long post sorry

[reflectionsofgalaxies]

Introduction time! Gonna be a huge photo dump for the first intro, but after this I’ll only be posting photos when there are visible changes or updates to my plants 🪴

To start off these are two lovely succulents I impulse bought from the grocery store, because the poor delosperma (left) had been left out in torrential rain with soil that had almost no drainage, and the sempervivum (right, also called hen and chicks) had FIVE chicks all crowded in there and again really damp soil with poor drainage, so I separated the four largest chicks but am leaving the smallest one with mom for a little longer. The day after I got the delosperma into more appropriate soil it started to bloom for me!

Next we have a very leggy boi, my hemp plant (left), grown from a seed I found in with the hemp mix I put on my cereal! I can’t really use him for anything but he’s so tall and loves to climb so I just think he’s lovely to look at. In the middle we have my seedling experiment tray, I literally just throw seeds/plants in here to see if they’ll sprout or root and some do! I’ve got four mystery sunflower seedlings curtesy of my bird seed mix, a baby fern with a tiny bit of root rescued from someone’s garden clippings, and a spinach plant that I didn’t have room for and wasn’t doing great, so I just plopped him in here and mist him occasionally and he seems to like it? He’s grown since I moved him away from the other sprouts. And finally my random prop tray! Some of these I’m like 99.9% sure won’t propagate, but no harm in waiting to see. Includes broken leaves from re-potting, fallen leaves from grocery store succulents, and some leaf cuttings from a friend’s plant collection!

These are my Russian Mammoth sunflowers on the left (I had them in too low light to start so they got very tall poor things, but I moved them into better light and now they’re putting their energy into pushing out their true leaves.) And beside them on the right are dollar store flower seedlings that I promptly threw out the package for and now have no recollection of what they actually are. Oops.

My little kitchen table-top garden with my spider plant (front left) who is in a pot that I know is a little cramped for her but I just love love love it, and it’s from a local woman owned company. Behind her I have my two very scraggly poinsettias from Christmas’s past, I don’t like tossing plants so I’ve just kept these guys barely alive and chilling on my kitchen table for three (left) and two years (right). In the right photo we have some spinach sprouts, a tiny African violet that split off from its mother plant (almost killed her too, they were so root bound, which is something African violets usually tolerate decently well.) In the heart we have my beloved young black prince echeveria (this was a dollar store container my mom was going to toss, instead I stabbed some drainage holes in the bottom and I think it’s a super cute pot, I’m going to do more with it at some point.) In the very middle in the jar lid are some cacti pups that one of my bedroom plants pushed out. These things are insane, they propagate like nothing I’ve seen before and are honestly impossible to kill in my experience. They were a gift from a neighbour and I have no clue what they actually are, so if someone knows please enlighten me, I’ve had them for years now and know nothing. In the very front of course is my seed starters, can’t remember what I planted where tbh but I woke up this morning to the first two tiny sprouts!

I’m about to hit the image limit so I’m going to introduce my last two in a separate post.

#Tumblr is being f-ing annoying and messing with the formatting on this post #it also keeps re-shuffling the photos?? I hope it doesn’t do that when I actually post #if the photos don’t seem to match the caption blame Tumblr #plant introduction #long post #succulents #personal #gardening #plants #novice gardener #just realized I should have a tag for my plant updates so I can track them #my plants #yeah that’s fine

[farfromsugafanfic]

Innocence

Genre: Mafia AU, Angst, Fluff

Pairing: Namjoon/Reader

Warnings: violence, guns/gun violence, cursing, violence against women, home invasion

Synopsis: When you end up getting caught in the crossfire, you’re brought to the local mafia leader who promises to rehabilitate you. Although, falling in love you certainly wasn’t part of the plan.

﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

"Shit, she's bleeding out," someone said from a few feet away.

"What? Who?"

"I don't know some random lady."

You moaned in pain as a pair of boots approached you and eventually, you could make out the fuzzy face of someone crouching over you. You couldn't tell where the pain was coming from, only that you felt it rippling through your body

"Fuck, Namjoon doesn't like when innocent people get hurt. We've gotta take her back with us."

"What? Isn't that just part of it? Innocent people get caught up in this shit all the time."

"Not the way Namjoon does it, come on, come grab her legs."

As one of the men looped his arms underneath your armpits, you felt one final jolt of pain that felt like it was ripping your body apart before everything went black.

﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

"Is she going to live?" one of the men who'd brought you back asked.

"Yes, barely," Namjoon said, his face firm and his voice steadier than normal. "You're sure it wasn't one of your bullets?"

"All of our bullets were accounted for, sir."

Namjoon nodded. "If I find out either of you are lying, you know the consequences?"

Both men nodded in understanding.

The doctor emerged from the room where you were. "She's waking up, sir. I'll leave the rest to you. Call me if she starts showing any concerning signs."

Namjoon nodded and waved the doctor off and entered your room.

If it weren't for the drab gray appearance of the room, it would've looked like you were in a normal hospital room. An IV in your arm and white sheets pulled up to your chin. Your eyes were still closed, but your heart monitor was beginning to slowly pick up from it's near flat line when you'd arrived.

He pulled a stool from the corner of the room and sat next to your watching as your chest moved slowly up and down. The doctor had extracted the bullet and cleaned the blood from your skin and clothes. Your bloody jeans and sweatshirt had been washed and were folded on a table in the corner of the room. Your hair was still dirty, but the blood washed from its tips.

You looked younger than when he'd first seen you and it only made his chest ache. He had no idea who you were or what you had been doing in that part of town, but you certainly didn't deserve the bullet in your shoulder. It had nearly missed your collarbone and the important blood vessels, but you'd still lost enough blood to be anemic.

Your eyelids began to flutter and Namjoon sat still as he met them.

﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

You opened your eyes and were immediately met with a pair of unfamiliar brown ones.

"Hello," the man said. He sat with his elbows on his thighs and his hands clasped together.

Other than the fact that you had no idea who the man was, the more concerning thing was that you had no idea where you were and you were seemingly alone with him. If you had to take a guess, the room almost seemed like a storage room of some sort; a cement floor and shelves lining all but two of the walls. They were mostly empty except for vague medical supplies.

"Where am I?" you asked, the beep of your heart monitor beginning to quicken.

"You're safe." The man sat up straighter, but his eyes never left you. "I'm Kim Namjoon. What's your name?"

You eyed him suspiciously. "Y/N."

"Just Y/N," he asked, his eyebrow arching.

"For now."

He chuckled before getting up and heading for a sink in the corner of the room. He filled a glass and walked back over to you with a pill in his hand.

"Take this," he said, placing the pill in your palm and holding the glass above you for when you were ready. You stared at him for a moment before glancing down at the pill. It looked normal and based upon the fact that this man was most likely the one responsible for saving your life, he would have no reason to kill you now, right? "It's an iron supplement. Cause you lost so much blood. You'll have to take them every day for a couple months."

You nodded and placed the pill in your mouth and swallowed it down. There was a feeling in the pit of your stomach that you could trust Namjoon, at least that he wouldn't kill you.

"Now, I need you to tell me everything you remember from the night you were shot."

﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

You were on your way home after work. You'd just graduated and started in an entry-level position at your dream company, but it left you exhausted and overworked. It was already nearly 11 and you knew you should've allowed your co-worker to drive you home, but you didn't know him well enough yet to trust him with where you lived.

You normally felt fairly safe walking through the city by yourself. You'd grown up there and you knew the areas to avoid, but you were tired and decided to take a short cut through a rougher neighborhood.

You took out your headphones and increased your pace so that you were walking faster than your normal pace, but wouldn't look too scared or suspicious.

For the first ten minutes, everything was normal, but as you neared the end of the neighborhood and the beginning of yours, you heard yelling. You looked around and couldn't find a source, so you kept walking and as you crossed an alleyway, a man ran into you, knocking off your feet.

You sat up, your vision a little blurry and your head still coming off its daze. As your vision came back, you stood up and braced yourself against the wall. That's when you looked up and the shot came. You couldn't see who shot you, if they meant to, or if it was just an accident. Heck, you couldn't even tell which direction the bullet came from.

You fell to your knees and eventually on your back. At first, the pain was unbearable, you felt the blood pouring out of your shoulder, although couldn't tell if it was from the back or front. But, eventually, the pain ceased and your eyelids began to feel heavy. It was soon after the man lifted you that a final burst of pain caused everything to go black.

﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

"You don't know who shot you?" he asked. The darkness in his eyes as he asked the question caused the pain in your shoulder to flare.

You shook your head. "It happened too fast."

He nodded, before getting up and leaving the room without another word. You then only saw strangers as they came to give you meals or check your wound which still had a long way to heal.

﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

"Morning," Namjoon said, in the exact same cadence he said it every morning. He laid a tray over your lap which had a spinach and cheese omelet, toast, and a rotating menu of meats. Today was two slices of bacon. And, of course, on the side was a pair of iron supplements.

"Think you can eat it all today?" he asked. While you needed the nutrients, you had basically no appetite most of the time, but today, the toast was spread with a red jam it usually wasn't, which made you bite into it immediately. Raspberries. Your favorite. "Why don't you tell me about your job today?"

He pulled a chair to your bed and flipped it around and sat on it backward, allowing his arms to dangle off the top. The two of you had promised to tell each other something about each other each day. You knew it was a way to get information out of you and monitor your well being, but you didn't really mind. It started to become one of your favorite parts of the day.

"I'll tell you about mine if you tell me about yours."

He stiffened at that. You had your suspicions that Namjoon's job was less than legal considering how you ended up meeting him. You just weren't sure exactly what it was he did. Was he some sort of drug lord? A gang member? A pimp? Your stomach turned at the possibilities.

"Okay," he said. "You just have to promise that you won't be scared of me."

"O-okay."

He nodded, although you knew he caught the shaking in your voice. "You first."

"I—uh—I work for a non-profit that benefits women who have been victims of violence," you said. "I help process all the donations and make sure all the finances match up. I was an accounting major in college, but I didn't really feel like doing other people's taxes for the rest of my life. I want to feel like I'm making some sort of difference. Even though I don't make as much money, I feel like it's worth it."

"You are," he said. "You are making a difference."

Silence filled the room for a few moments, but it wasn't awkward or tense, it was simply you and Namjoon in your own thoughts. His eyes locked on you and your eyes unconsciously noticed the dimples on his cheeks that appeared and disappeared as he talked.

"All right, you promised," you said. "Your turn."

Namjoon's posture straightened and he cleared his throat. "Oh, well, I'm sort of the leader of the local mafia. I mean, it's not quite as nefarious as it seems. It's mostly just money laundering and stuff like that."

"But, you still kill people?"

"I never have. My men do only when necessary."

You gulped and pulled your eyes away from him. "Then, why did you save me?"

"Because I don't like innocent people getting hurt."

"How did this happen? How did you become the leader? You--you just don't seem like the type."

"My family," he said. "They kind of started this whole thing. I went to college and everything, but ultimately, I didn't know how to be anything else."

"You know you could always leave it behind. You're the leader. You could end all of this."

"It's not that easy. If I end it, I immediately become a target or someone would start it back up. And, let's just say, you don't want this kind of operation falling into the wrong hands. Many wouldn't have batted an eye at you getting shot."

"Don't think you're the hero here. Whether or not it was your men who shot me, whether or not you chose to save me, I still got shot because of you."

Namjoon's jaw stiffened and he crossed his arms over his chest. "You're right, I'm sorry," he said. "Although, it's not quite as easy to just leave."

"What did you study in college?"

"Huh?" He paused. "Literature and Writing."

You smiled. "Why don't you read to me?" you asked. "I never really got to take any literature classes in college and I missed them. I still have longer to recover. You could read to me whenever you wanted to."

"I'd like that," Namjoon said, his dimples appearing and lighting up his face.

﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

You laid back with your head and neck pressing back against the pillow as you closed your eyes as Namjoon's voiced lulled you asleep. You knew it wasn't just his voice and the way his voice took on a smooth rhythm as he read or the way his voice grew hoarse eventually. The doctor had slowly been weaning you off of the painkillers, while the pain wasn't as intense as before, it still exhausted you.

He was reading from Jane Eyre a book you certainly hadn't expected Namjoon to choose. The gothic element was enough to send shivers down your spine, but not keep you from falling asleep.

You were halfway through the book now and you knew you would never finish. Your condition was improving and you barely needed pain medication anymore. The doctor came once a day and today he had told you that he thought you'd be able to go back to your own apartment and life the next day.

Namjoon stopped reading and it jolted you out of your half-slumber.

"Why'd you stop?"

"I thought you were asleep."

You opened your eyes and shook your head, although your eyelids were only half open crescent moons and the way you were forcing them open made Namjoon chuckle.

"You're tired, anyway," he said. He closed the book and stood up from his chair. "Goodnight. Sleep well."

You watched as Namjoon walked towards the door and felt something in your chest. "Wait," you said. "This is the last night and we haven't finished the story."

"Y/N, we still have half the book left. There's no way--"

"Just stay with me tonight," you said. "I'll have to go back to being in my apartment all alone tomorrow and I don't know. I've enjoyed having you around."

"Y/N--" Namjoon said. "You're just--this isn't right--"

Namjoon's eyes met yours for a second before he ripped them away and walked out of the room with the book still in hand.

﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

"She--she asked me to stay with her," Namjoon said. He sat in his desk chair with his feet resting up on the desk, something he only did when he was thinking deeply.

"Is that a bad thing?" his right-hand man, Yoongi asked. "You like her, right?"

"Yes, but Yoongi, she hasn't been out of that room for weeks. She's only seen me and the doctor with only a couple of exceptions. It's just Stockholm Syndrome."

"We didn't kidnap her though. She could've left if she wanted."

"Yes, Yoongi, but why would she? She would've had to pay for medical care elsewhere. Even if we didn't mean to, we trapped her here. She's hardly seen anyone but me. Of course, she'll become attached."

"It's not like you were torturing her, Joon. You were helping her and I see the way you look at her too. Everyone does."

"If I wanted to, I can't give her the life she deserves. She's doing good things, Yoongi. She's innocent and I want her to stay that way." Yoongi nodded in his head in understanding, but there lingered a small glint of hesitation in his eyes. "And, even if I could, keeping her around her is dangerous. If our rivals found out about her, she'd become a target."

Namjoon sighed and stood up from his desk and shuffled through his papers. "Make sure she gets home safely tomorrow. Keep a couple of men in the area for the next week or so just in case it was a targeted attack."

﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

"He's not coming?" you asked the man who introduced himself as Yoongi.

He shook his head and gave you a sympathetic look. "But, he did want me to give you this."

Yoongi reached into his bag and pulled out the copy of Jane Eyre Namjoon had read to you. It was an old copy--at least fifty years old--and he had a bookmark stuck halfway through. You opened to the marked page and found his handwriting on the bookmark. He wrote in black ink. It was neat, although smudged around the edges because he'd closed the book on it when the ink was still wet.

It's your turn to read now Namjoon x

Your eyes focused down on the 'x'. It certainly didn't mean anything, it was just his way of signing off, but it left you satisfied as you walked out of the door escorted by Yoongi and a few other men.

﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

3 months later

"Y/N!" one of your coworkers said, rushing into your office. "You're never going to believe this."

"What?" you asked looking up from your work.

"Some guy just came in here. He was so handsome and wearing a fancy suit and he wrote us a thirty thousand dollar check." She held up the check so you could see it.

"No way," you said, grabbing the check from her hands. You held it up to the light and placed it under the black light you had to verify authentic donations. You had a weird feeling in your gut and you glanced down at the signature on the check. You couldn't make out a particular name, but a shiver ran down your spine. "What was his name?"

"Oh, well, I don't think he told us his real name. But, you know the rich types, always wanting to protect their identities."

"Y/C/N, what. was. his. name?"

"Mr. Rochester."

6 months later

"We're a bit short his month, Y/N," your boss said. "You know I hate to deduct from wages. It wasn't much this month."

You nodded. It was the reality of working for a non-profit. Sometimes you got paid and sometimes you didn't, but you knew the money was going to people more deserving of yourself. You waited until you were on your way home to open the envelope and see just how much you were getting that month. When your eyes met the total, you slowly looked down before continuing onto your apartment.

You pushed the key into the lock wondering just how you were going to scrounge up enough money for next month's rent. You could always sell something or do some odd jobs on the weekends. You opened your door and stepped inside feeling your foot slip forward, causing you to nearly trip, your only savior is your right hand was still holding on to the doorknob.

You got your footing and bent down to find a small envelope that was slid under your door. Your name was printed neatly on it. Normally, this would freak you out, but you noticed the same black ink from the bookmark in the copy of Jane Eyre.

I know money has been tight. Here's rent for the next couple months. Keep doing what's important x Mr. Rochester

Tears came to your eyes and your bit your index finger as you read the note over and over again. He was absolutely insufferable and part of you wanted to rip up the check, but instead, you slipped it out of the envelope and into your purse.

9 months later

It was a quiet Saturday night when you heard the knock at your door. It was nearly 11 pm and you weren't expecting anyone. You were already in your pajamas and you had picked up Jane Eyre for the first time in a few months. It wasn't that you found it particularly hard to read, but every time you picked it up, you were reminded of him. The man you had no idea why you still thought about. The man who occasionally came into your life and then left just as quickly.

The knock came again and louder this time. This time panic rushed down your spine and you froze. Was it best to approach the door and give away the fact you weren't asleep? Or was it best to just act like you'd already done to bed and hope they go away?

You stayed put, but clutched your cellphone close to you. Another knock never came, but instead the rustling of the doorknob and the clicking of the lock. It was when you heard it successfully unlock that you ran towards the kitchen. You grabbed your largest kitchen knife and crouched in the corner.

You were in the middle of dialing emergency services when you were yanked up by your hair and your cellphone went clattering to the floor.

"Ah, yes, you are her," the man said.

You didn't recognize the man in front of you. He was taller than you and held your hair in a tightening grip that caused you to whimper.

"You're plainer than I expected. He's head over heels for you, so I figured you must be beautiful. But, I guess, you must have better things to offer." He smirked, but unlike the smirks Namjoon sometimes let slip, this one terrified you.

"Who are you?" you asked.

"It doesn't matter to you baby girl," he said. "All you need to know is that you're going to die."

﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

"Namjoon!" Yoongi said, running into the room, breathless. His face was red and his eyes were creased, almost in fear. It was uncommon for Yoongi to get so worked up, let alone run. He spoke when he finally caught his breath, "Min-sung," he said. "Min-sung was seen near her apartment."

Min-sung had once been a trusted man, but he began getting greedy. Wanting to take all the jobs. Skimming money off the top. He felt betrayed when Namjoon finally let him go. You'd think he'd be grateful, most other bosses would've had him killed for how much money he stole, but no. Min-sung's mind was only focused on the drugs he took and the money he needed to buy them.

Namjoon's eyes widened. He pulled open his desk drawer, nearly pulling the entire drawer out of it's setting. He pulled out a handgun and fed in the clip. It had not once been fired. Namjoon had never had the urge nor the need to kill, until that very moment.

﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

"I'm going to play with you," he said. "To let him know you suffered. His precious little secret on the south side of the city."

"Please, I don't know who you're talking about. The walls are thin. I'm sure the neighbors are worried by now." Both were lies, but you hoped it came off convincing enough. He'd let go of your hair, but now he straddled you.

"Tell me, how do you want to die?"

"I don't want to die."

He laughed. "Of course not, sweetheart. But, you're going to. I'm being generous and giving you a choice. I could take that knife you had when I came in and stab you or I could kill you with my hands on your throat. Or, I could hold your head down in the bathtub and watch as you writhe around--"

Tears pushed out of your eyes and you felt blood sprout from your bottom lip as you dug into it. You squirmed underneath the man trying to wriggle yourself free or one of your limbs free.

"You know, I haven't really given much thought to dying," you said. You slowly slipped your foot upwards until you had enough leverage to bring your knee into his crotch.

He doubled over in enough pain for you to free yourself. You ran back towards the kitchen to grab the knife from earlier. You wrapped your palm around the hilt, but he was behind you before you could turn around. With all your might, you forced the knife backward, but it was at an awkward angle. Yet, you still heard him wince.

The knife dropped from your hand and the man turned you around, forcing your back against the counter. You noticed a long cut on his arm and felt a small sense of pride. At least if he was going to kill you, he would have a scar.

His hands wrapped around your neck and his thumbs sat right on top of your windpipe. You made eye contact with him as he pushed down and you made a small croaking sound as your eyes grew wider and your toes pointed in reaction to the lack of air.

"Stop...please...help...Namjoon..."

You managed only a few words before you ran out of air to manage any sounds. Your vision was beginning to blur and you knew in a few seconds you'd black out and it'd be the end.

The last few moments were so loud you couldn't make out what happened. Yelling, shuffling, a slam of a door, a loud pop. Then, it was all over.

﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

"Y/N, Y/N, please come back to me."

You opened your eyes to see Namjoon crouched over you. Blood stained his shirt and even parts of his skin, but his hand was clean as it caressed your cheek softly.

"Thank God," he said. "I thought I was too late. The doctor is on his way and so are my men to clean up everything. We'll pay off the neighbors to keep things quiet if we have to. You don't need to worry."

"I'm not worried, Namjoon." Your voice was hoarse and still not all the way there. You felt the bruises forming on your neck and your entire body ached. You turned you head to see your attacker laying in a pool of blood a few feet away.

"Hey, hey, don't look at that. Come on."

"I'm not a child."

"That doesn't mean you need to see a dead guy on your kitchen floor."

He lifted you up and carried you into your bedroom. After setting you down, he went back out to the living area and grabbed the copy of Jane Eyre.

"You didn't get very far."

"I've been busy."

﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

1 year later

Namjoon is almost done setting up everything in his new office when he hears a soft knock at the door. A delivery person carrying a large bouquet of flowers strides in and sets the vase on his desk and left without a word.

Curious, Namjoon walked from the corner of the room where he had been shelving books and to the center of the room. He plucked the card from among the flower heads.

I finally found time to finish the book. Congrats on the new job. Let's meet soon. Love, Jane

#bts #fanfiction #bts imagines #fan fiction #bts fan fiction #bts fanfic #bts fanfction #btsimagines #btsfanfic #farfromsuga #namjoon fanfic #Namjoon #bts mafia fic #btsau #Namjoon mafia au #Namjoon fan fiction #rm fanfic #originally posted on wattpad #bts namjoon #kim namjoon #kim namjoon fanfiction

[venusfce]

it’s been a minute!

so last month i went to a real farmers market for the first time. look up mueller park farmers market atx. it was pretty epic.

they have this program set up so that if you receive food stamps you can take out say 10 dollars from your loan star card and they will match that! meaning you could receive $20 of organic (it has to be in order to be at the market), locally grown food for $10! (this doesn’t apply to ready to eat food though)

i bought spinach, turnips, eggplant, and a couple of varieties of mushrooms. 

that same weekend i decided fuck it- babie garden. i really went all out too.

since then i have bought a tomato, bell pepper, lavender, cauliflower, spinach, aloe vera, dill, peppermint, rosemary and lemon balm.

i also began composting!! it’s not as difficult as it seems actually it just takes longer than i originally expected. Here’s the video I followed. If you don’t have a drill, buy an icepick from your local hardware store, I only paid $5 for mine :-). I have two bins right now so I wanna say that for one regular sized bin it was about $7 dollars and for a large one it was $9. then adding an icepick, and soil ($9 for two bags of different brands), my total came out to $30. of course this doesn’t include the food waste inside as well as paper and cardboard things. BIG TIP: when you throw in food or “greens” make sure you cover it in “browns” THOROUGHLY and then possibly cover that in some dirt possibly followed by more browns. my first couple of weeks i’d made the mistake of not having a good ratio (2:1, brown to green) and so i found myself with SO MANY GNATS when i’d open my bin to turn it. overall, it’s not very difficult. i keep a lil shoebin i got from dollar tree in my freezer to fill with food waste and when it’s full i spread it out in one of my bins. be careful with seeds though! a couple of weeks ago i was eating pomegranate seeds and spitting them back out into a little bowl for my food waste stuff i ended up throwing it in there and they started sprouting! i’m not mad about it personally-i’ll get to have my own pomegranates someday- but i’m sure that if you throw in more seeds that sprout quickly, you’ll accidentally have these pop up in your garden. anyway i’ll update as i start to learn new things and see results.

back to my garden, the plants (starters) were surprisingly cheap so i’m excited to be able to harvest my own food. this week i threw in said sprouted pomegranate seeds into a small tray that i’m reusing to start seeds in as well as some bell pepper seeds and catnip. i spray these with water rather than pour it from the can to gently dampen the soil. i hope the all grow soon :-)

a bit before all of this i decided to make my own apple cider vinegar. upon typing this out i’m realizing that today is actually the day i remove the apples from the jar! i’m really excited to have made this seeing that i use a lot of it in my hair and in my baths. again very easy!! (this recipe is from tiktok) just get a large jar (any will do) throw in your apple scraps (any time you eat an apple and leave the core, peelings, anything from it really) and 1 tbsp of sugar (i used brown) then fill the jar all the way up with warm water. leave it alone somewhere for three weeks and then remove the apple pieces. in a month it should be ready for use!

up until the last few months i never really saw how easy it can be to live more sustainably. like some stuff is actually so easy and cheap to do. try just searching on youtube, instagram, tiktok (this is my favorite for fast, to the point ideas/diys) tags like eco friendly, sustainable living, ecotok, zero waste or low waste, or really any variation of eco friendly phrases. 

i hope anyone who sees this feels motivated to begin their journey. for me personally i’ve always been interested in helping out with the environment and so being able to do it on my own terms is really cool. i am so excited!

to close this epic of a post i will leave a quote from audrey hepburn,

“to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”

#zero waste #low waste #ecofriendly #sustainability #sustainable living #sustainable lifestyle #vegetarian #garden #vegetable growing #composting

[chappythegardener]

Organic Online Vegetables Seeds - Summer

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FAQ

Which vegetables are suitable for summer planting? Some of the vegetables that are suitable for summer planting include tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, beans, eggplants, and okra. These vegetables thrive in warm weather and can tolerate high temperatures. Can I use regular seeds for organic gardening? Yes, you can use regular seeds for organic gardening. However, it’s important to ensure that the seeds are not treated with synthetic chemicals and have not been genetically modified. To be sure, look for seeds that are certified organic by a reputable organization. How do I prepare my soil for planting organic vegetable seeds in summer? To prepare your soil for planting organic vegetable seeds in summer, start by removing any weeds or debris from the planting area. Then, loosen the soil with a rake or hoe and add compost or other organic matter to improve soil fertility and structure. Make sure the soil is well-draining and has adequate moisture before planting. How often should I water my organic vegetable seeds during summer? During summer, organic vegetable seeds may require more frequent watering due to high temperatures and dry conditions. Water the seeds deeply and regularly, preferably in the morning or evening to avoid evaporation. Check the soil moisture regularly and adjust your watering schedule as needed. How long does it take for organic vegetable seeds to germinate in summer? The germination time for organic vegetable seeds in summer can vary depending on the type of vegetable and growing conditions. Generally, most vegetable seeds will germinate within 7-14 days if the soil temperature is between 60-85°F and the soil is kept consistently moist. However, some seeds may take longer to germinate or may require special growing conditions. What are organic vegetable seeds? Organic vegetable seeds refer to seeds that are produced without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). These seeds are grown and harvested using natural methods that promote soil health and protect the environment. Where can I buy organic vegetable seeds for summer? You can buy organic vegetable seeds for summer from online retailers, seed catalogs, or your local garden center. Look for companies that specialize in organic and non-GMO seeds and offer a wide variety of vegetable seeds suitable for summer planting.

Click To Grow

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Spinach Helps Us Grow - Share If You Like Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Read the full article

#nongmo #online #seed #seeds #shop #Summer #vegetables

[soumenoraw09]

How can I lose weight quickly? The most effective method to Lose Weight Fast — Quick and Easy Weight Loss Tips

Shed 5 pounds in a single week! It’s a figure of speech we see all over the place. And keeping in mind that it’s conceivable that somebody can lose that much in that time-frame, it truly relies upon your digestion and heaps of different variables remarkable to you, including actual work and body structure.

The eating routine itself can fool you into believing that this eating style is working — when truly, you may restore what you lost when you eat carbs once more. That can feel unbelievably demoralizing in the event that you need results that last more than seven days.

In light of my involvement with sustenance directing, a large portion of us will in general nibble on food varieties that aren’t supplement thick, yet are high in calories. Significant offenders frequently come as refined grains like oats, chips, wafers, and treats yet additionally calorie-pressed beverages like juice and pop.

Skirting sweet drinks is regularly the least demanding approach to get more fit quicker. You don’t feel full from drinks, so trading those out for shining water or unsweetened tea and espresso is the best spot to begin.

take 28 days challenge weight loss (click here)

1. Concentrate on eating quality food sources, not including calories.

Yes, that implies try not to crunch the numbers. All things considered, put your consideration toward consolidating more organic products, veggies, protein sources, and entire grains into your eating regimen, says Wendy Leonard, RD, author of Rhode Island Nutrition Therapy. Ya know, food varieties with heaps of supplements and nutrients.

In the event that you center around the nature of food, there’s a decent possibility you’ll eat more supplement thick choices that leave you satisfied, adds Lauren Sullivan, an enlisted dietitian with Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Human Nutrition. This can mean normally eating less calories without having to overthink it.

Checking calories can remove the pleasure from eating, Zeitlin says. It can likewise prompt an undesirable fixation on remaining under a specific carbohydrate level or working out to consume calories. Considering food and not a mathematical question can tackle those issues.

Need some more explicit ideas? Loneke Blackman Carr, PhD, RD, right hand teacher of local area and general wellbeing nourishment at the University of Connecticut suggests looking at the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to figure out how to assemble a fair, supplement rich plate.

2. Try not to skip meals.

Overlooking your appetite is never a smart thought since your body capacities best when you eat at normal stretches during the day, says Alicia Romano, RD, a clinical enlisted dietitian at the Frances Stern Nutrition Center at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Doing so assists with controlling your glucose so you can keep away from the spike and crash that accompanies eating a major dinner on an unfilled stomach.

Eating routinely likewise keeps you stimulated and less inclined to nibble on sweet stuff for the duration of the day, Zeitlin says. “Feeling languid and blah triggers you to search for helpful in and out food choices.” To be clear: These food sources aren’t “terrible food sources,” and you don’t have to keep away from snacks or bundled merchandise to get more fit. Zeitlin takes note of that you ought to eat this (and any kind of food) carefully and when you really need it, not on the grounds that your body is denied and desiring energy.

Zeitlin prescribes eating each three to four hours for the duration of the day. Regardless of whether that is a tidbit or supper, it’s just about placing some sort of energy into your body..

3. Eat foods grown from the ground with each feast.

Indeed, your mother was correct (once more). Foods grown from the ground are useful for you, and we as a whole most likely need to eat a greater amount of them.

Vegetables — particularly non-bland vegetables like spinach, asparagus and celery — give a huge load of supplements and fiber, clarifies Leonard. Fiber eases back the absorption interaction and upgrades completion and supplement admission at supper time, so eating it at each feast can help you feel satisfied longer in the wake of eating, Romano adds.

Eating an eating regimen wealthy in foods grown from the ground has likewise been demonstrated to support wellbeing otherly, with contemplates discovering defensive advantages against coronary illness and type 2 diabetes, Williamson says.

So what amount would we say we are talkin’? “A large portion of your plate ought to be foods grown from the ground,” Williamson says. The rest ought to be a quarter protein and a quarter entire grains. Obviously, this is anything but an immovable principle, however generally isolating your plate into these extents can help you ensure you’re eating supplement rich plants at each supper.

4. Keep a food diary.

On the off chance that writing down all that you eat in a day causes you to feel regretful or restless, skirt this completely. All things considered, individuals who track what they eat (as in food varieties not calories) will in general be more fruitful in shedding pounds since it brings issues to light about the thing they’re noshing on, says Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, PhD, an enrolled dietitian and seat of the Department of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Indeed, a progression of studies distributed in the Journal of Personalized Medicine recommend that those utilizing applications to screen their eating regimen and action were bound to encounter an increment in weight reduction.

Zeitlin suggests keeping a food diary where you record what you eat at every dinner and nibble and when. That way, you can think back and learn in the event that you’re truly eating however many veggies as you might suspect you are or in the event that you’re eating consistently or coincidentally skipping dinners on occupied days.

You can likewise attempt a photograph food diary application like Ate Food Journal, Leonard recommends. She noticed that individuals will in general like this methodology better on the grounds that opening an application and snapping a fast pic is way less monotonous than recording every last insight regarding your suppers for the duration of the day. Also, it’s similarly as successful

5. Reconsider your beverages.

You don’t have to remove liquor to get thinner, and having a Coke won’t destine your weight reduction objectives. In any case, it is a smart thought to know about the thing you’re burning-through and realize that your beverages might be a greater wellspring of calories than you understand — and possibly something you wouldn’t actually miss all that amount on the off chance that you traded for water or seltzer and lime.

Leonard suggests wiping out or definitely lessening how much alcohol you drink a little while to perceive how you feel. The experience could make you consider switching around your drinking propensities on the off chance that you notice an improvement in your personal satisfaction with less assimilating.

6. Focus on protein and entire grains.

We previously discussed foods grown from the ground, however we need to sing the gestures of recognition of protein and entire grains as well.

Protein is a significant macronutrient that our bodies need to work appropriately. It’s a decent wellspring of energy, and it requires a moment for our bodies to process it, which implies it gives a consistent wellspring of energy.

When matched with starches, which rush to process, everything moves a little more slow — which causes us to feel satisfied and keeps us full for more. Additionally, in case you’re working out, protein will be considerably more essential to help revamp your muscles and keep you moving and getting more grounded

7. Drink more water.

The best sub for sweet or boozy beverages? Plain ol’ H2O. Remaining hydrated can really help you feel less swelled and full and simply keep your body running similar to a well orchestrated symphony.

Drinking water can likewise assist you with getting tune with your craving signals. “Our bodies will in general feel hungry when we’re really parched, so when you’re not drinking sufficient water for the duration of the day, you may believe you’re eager and reach for additional bites when truly you simply need a glass of water,” Zeitlin clarifies. On the off chance that you know you’re a hydration sovereign, you’ll know a food craving implies you’re really eager and need to eat.

8. Continue to eat the food varieties you love.

You totally ought not deny yourself of the food sources you love to get more fit. Truth be told, proceeding to eat your faves can help you arrive at your objectives.

In the event that you allow yourself to continue to eat your top picks, you can fulfill your longings without gorging. In case you’re zeroing in on eating supplement rich, useful for-you food varieties most of the time, that treat or donut or frozen yogurt dessert won’t prevent you from getting in shape. Additionally, appreciating what you burn-through is sound as well

9. Overlook the scale.

On the off chance that you get on a scale each and every day for an entire week, it will show you an alternate number each day. There are a ton of things that can impact the amount you gauge — like how much water your body is clutching. Eating a great deal of sodium, not dozing enough, and exercise would all be able to affect water maintenance and change the number on the scale. It’s simply not a decent marker of your genuine body weight.

#how can i lose weight quickly #diet #weight loss

[ducktracy]

176. porky’s garden (1937)

release date: september 11th, 1937

series: looney tunes

director: tex avery

starring: mel blanc (porky, chickens), george humbert (neighbor), earle hodgins (salesman)

this would be tex avery’s final black and white cartoon until 1941, and his second to last porky cartoon. how time flies! i enjoy his porky entries a lot. the blow out, the village smithy, and of course porky’s duck hunt are all shorts of his that i find myself coming back to frequently. but, of course, greater tex cartoons lie ahead. interestingly enough, this is also the second and final credit for animator elmer wait, who passed away in july of 1937. chuck jones once described him as “a fine young assistant animator who died too young." i’ve heard speculation that tex’s little-known character elmer fudd was named in wait’s honor--i’m not sure if it was that, or the fact that every other cartoon character in the 1930′s was named elmer, but this is a claim i can find myself believing with more conviction than other animation claims. for now, we visit farmer porky, who’s eager to enter the local contest for the largest home grown product. however, his stereotypical italian neighbor seeks to out-perform him at any cost.

this cartoon is a peculiar anomaly in the tex avery-verse, in that it feels much more like the 1936 avery porky cartoons than the 1937 bunch—and almost deliberately, too. the cartoon starts off very similarly to his first directorial entry, gold diggers of ‘49, laying out the time (1927), the place (podunk center), and the population 500 502 — mrs. castle bottom just had twins!). though tex would constantly reuse gags all throughout his career (and quite well, often elevating the hyperactivity of the gag), it’s rather uncharacteristic for him to reuse a gag for nostalgic purposes. nevertheless, the opening is amusing, and faster paced than its facsimile over at gold diggers of ‘49. the sound of the baby wail as the 500 is replaced with 502 is an extra bonus.

a sign gag featuring the tried and true income tax gag (which has been used, and will continue to be used, in a number of cartoons--tex’s milk and money is another porky entry that uses this gag):

porky is amongst the group crowding around the sign, joyfully declaring that he’s going to win first prize with his garden. cue the antagonist of the picture, porky’s curious italian neighbor, voiced by george humbert. humbert was an italian actor, starring in a large number of hollywood films throughout the ‘30′s and ‘40′s. if i recall, bob clampett once mentioned that tex would go to the movies to get ideas, no doubt his reasoning for getting humbert to do the cartoon. humbert’s vocals shine and add a lot of vitality to this otherwise tame entry. speaking of, italian neighbor is quick to contradict porky: “ohohohoho no, i gonna ween with my cheeken!” with that, he leapfrogs over porky, who is quick to bumble along after him.

we get a brief overhead shot of the two neighbors and their respective houses, the overhead shot once again calling back to earlier porky entries such as milk and money. the competitors both go to their gardens to out-perform the other. cue a short gardening sequence with porky, who uses his straightened out tail to dig holes in the soil, big enough to drop seeds in. his neighbor, on the other hand, concocts a meal full of vitamins and tonics for his chickens cheekens, narrating all the way. the underscore is a stalling favorite, “chicken reel”, and if my memory is correct, i BELIEVE this is the first instance it’s used in a warner bros. short? cue a seemingly arbitrary cut back to porky, who finishes the job of planting. back to the neighbor who summons his chickens to eat his mystery feed of who-knows-what. the chickens dig in... only to halt, spit out the food, and hold their noses (beaks) in disgust. great timing--the drawings especially of the chickens rejecting the food feel quite avery-esque, which is nice: it’s always nice to feel the personal touches of the director.

cut back to porky, a cue of “carolina in the morning” (which is impossible for me to hear without thinking of daffy kaye’s rendition of it in the anomaly that is book revue) underscoring his plan to use hair growth tonic as a means of growing a quick, hearty, full harvest. the scene is cute, yet sluggish--if the cartoon were made even 5 years later, it would have been twice as fast, if not more so. nevertheless, his plan works: the ground shakes beneath him, and crops as tall as the eye can see spurt out from the soil. satisfied, old pigdonald strolls inside, “uh-veh-vuh-vo-do-de-oh”ing and “uh-uh-eh-beh-beh-boop-de-oop”ing all the way along (to remind our audience that this cartoon takes place in 1927--because, why not, right?)

meanwhile, pesky neighbor pops his head over the fence, equally as impressed with the results as porky. perfect food to fatten up the cheekens! the animation of the neighbor is rich and full, humbert’s vocals of course magnifying the quality. with that, the neighbor loosens up one of the boards in the fence, sparking the feeding frenzy: “come an’ get it!”

the chickens do just that. calling back to the days of porky the rain-maker (where there were vegetable gags galore), we get a montage of semi-amusing “chickens eating vegetables in creative ways” gags. one chicken uses a tomato vine as a straw, sucking out the pulp from all of the tomatoes connected. another rolls a line of peas straight into its mouth, rolling up the shell like a toothpaste tube. 

though the gags rouse polite chuckles at most today, the most uproarious gag is the last one: a chicken and a baby chick fight over a watermelon. big cheeken asserts its authority by flicking the baby chick away, spouting tearful insults at the bully chicken. just then, fortune: the chick spots a patch of spinach, the seeds belonging to jones (yes, that chuck jones--whose birthday is today! happy birthday, chuck!) garden company. i can’t say this with staunch certainty, but i do have reason to believe that this cartoon was backlogged for a few months: chuck jones would have been at bob clampett’s unit during the time of this cartoon’s release, but the allusion to his name, the animation of this scene looking peculiarly reminiscent of bob clampett’s animation, and the lack of irv spence animation leads me to believe as such. nevertheless, as you may be able to surmise, the chick transforms into a caricature of popeye, complete with jack mercer-esque mumblings and popeye speak. the newly transformed chick socks the chicken right in the face, usurping the half-eaten watermelon slice and gobbling it down all in one go. easily the highlight of the cartoon, and a gag that can be appreciated regardless of time period.

one last eating gag of a chicken plucking a ripe worm from an apple (fittingly scored to “in the shade of the old apple tree”). the joke suffers from constipated timing, more on the part of carl stalling than the animator. there is a nice, quick, shiver take as the chicken attempts to rip the apple open into two halves. fade out.

fade back in on the feeding frenzy. porky takes notice, and is not happy about it. he does a lumbering, quick little run that calls back to the 1936 porky entries where he was much more short and squat (virgil ross animation?), zooming out of screen, then back in again to retrieve a nearby broom. porky swats the chickens frantically, but to no avail: despite his angry demands for them to get out, they continue to eat.

virgil ross animates the next scene as porky confronts his neighbor: “hey, n-nn-ne-neighbor, eh-teh-teh-tell your cheh-cheh-cheh-chi-chickens to keep outta my uh-geh-eh-geh-eh-geh-garden!” the neighbor complies, his vocals hilariously disingenuous as he haggles with the chickens, who, predictably ignore him. thus sparks an overly-profuse string of excuses from the neighbor, who doth protest too much. “you see? i talk to them! but a-they don’t listen to me!” he pauses. “i’m too sorry for you.” another pause, just as we think he’s finished. “...but i cannot talk-a cheeken talk!” one more pause. “i can no make-a the cheeken coming out!”

neighbor finally leaves the disgruntled pig to his own devices, laughing as he talks to the audience. “eet’za too bad...” he looks at the audience and gives them a knowing wink as he finishes “but not too bad!” overall, a great scene. humbert’s vocals are divine, as is the comedic timing. porky’s befuddlement by the rapid-fire responses from his neighbor is another plus. 

back to a downtrodden porky, who mournfully sulks along to a succinctly timed rendition of “am i blue?” (if you listen closely, you can hear the beats lining up exactly with his footsteps.) suddenly, a thick vine growing out of the patch catches his eye. he follows the vine, pulling it like a rope... 

and the perfect solution awaits on the other side of the fence: a giant pumpkin! perfect for the harvest contest. 

porky lugs his new prize out from the fence, which instantly attracts the attention of the hungry chickens. spark the ever transformative avery moment, where the cartoon halts to make a big production out of nowhere--in this case, football. the favorite “freddy the freshman” score serves as the backing track of the makeshift football game as the chickens line up to take position: “HIKE!”

the next sequence appears to be animated by chuck jones: porky runs long, pumpkin in hand as he swats away the oncoming rush of chickens. the extra touches of making porky do some twirls and swivels as he attempts to maintain balance are not taken for granted. a nice straight-ahead shot of the football field turned garden, with a trellis in the foreground and clothesline in the background to form goal posts--very clever! 

it’s not the chickens who serve as porky’s pumpkin demise, but rather a spare crate left on the ground. porky trips, horrified as he watches his pumpkin launch into the air and across the yard. we get a tashlin-esque concealed pan as porky darts through his house to retrieve his prize, the action obscured: we only see a brief glimpse of the house’s facade, the drumroll and sound effect of the airborne pumpkin being our only indicator to the success of the stunt. thankfully, porky shuffles out of the other end just in time to catch his pumpkin (topped off with a triumphant “ta-da!” fanfare.) wasting no more time, porky dashes down the road and off to the fair. meanwhile, the neighbor’s chickens are all plumped up, ready to win the first-a prize. 

“the merry go round broke down” scores the scenes at the fair as we catch our hero bumbling along with his prize pumpkin into the fair, neighbor and cheekens not far behind. there’s a line of posters advertising the various attractions at the fair, including a caricature of bobe cannon (once more reinforcing the idea that this cartoon was back-logged: he would have been at the clampett unit by the time of the cartoon’s release.) 

earle hodgins voices the salesman (a specialty of his--he played the pill-peddling salesman in porky the rain-maker, as well as the oil huckster honest john in get rich quick porky) peddling the miracle “reducing pills”. his test subject? an elephant. the salesman pops a pill in the elephant’s mouth, who stares at the audience nonplussed as he shrinks to the size of a mouse... literally. 

the next scene of the salesman is great, as it’s full of energy, zaniness, and fervor. i wonder if it’s a clampett scene? the voice of the salesman rises into astronomical pitch as he describes the size of “teensy, weensy, weensy, bitsy, weensy, teeny little mouse”, capping it all off with a flamboyant “WOO!” and pose. the pose looks similar to the same one struck by daffy in clampett’s entry the henpecked duck 4 years later, hence my reasoning. nevertheless, a great scene of zany eye candy. 

peddling his wares, the salesman accidentally knocks over a spare bottle of reducing pills, right in the trajectory of the passing cheekens. and, predictably, the cheekens devour the pills in no-time.

cue a rather blunt cut to porky, who’s about to receive first prize for his pumpkin, standing on stage and politely soaking in the glory. just as the judge reaches to give him his dough, he halts, spotting the ginormous array of poultry behind the pig. the judge is quick to take back his bag of money, much to the awe of porky (which also gives us this intriguing little error for a few frames). neighbor accepts the bag--that is, until the pills kick in. the chickens revert back to the size of chicks, and there’s just enough comedic pause to let the joke sink in before the chicks revert back to mere eggs. 

we iris out--or so we think. just another declaration of tex’s love of playing with the iris out gags. that is one steamed ham.

not the snappiest entry in the avery repertoire, but not exceedingly dull, either. george humbert steals the show with his acting, and the popeye gag with the chick is wonderfully amusing. the cartoon mainly suffers from sluggish pacing in some parts, tired gags in others, but not enough to exclude a watch-through. it’s a fond look back at the earlier days of tex’s directing, and asserts just how far the cartoons have yet to improve. so, for that, i’d say i’m relatively neutral on whether or not to persuade you to watch it: the porky lover in me and ‘30′s cartoon lover in me say go for it! there are bits of greatness that you should definitely seek out. but it won’t kill you to skip this one either.

here’s the link! (excuse the butchered titles/credits: opening title music is the merry go round broke down which is wrong, and the title card music is the opening to porky’s tire trouble--also wrong, as is the porky “that’s all, folks!” ending over the written script) 

#lt #looney tunes #porky’s garden #reviews #long post #avery