Thursday, February 23, 2012

Welcome Bees

Bees are a welcoming sight for those who have fruit trees, plants and flowers. These black and yellow pollinators play a very important role for a successful garden through pollination.

Pollination is the act of transferring pollen grains from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma. The goal of every living organism, including plants, is to create offspring for the next generation. One of the ways that plants can produce offspring is by making seeds. Seeds contain the genetic information to produce a new plant.
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/whatispollination.shtml

I was able to capture some pollination in action on our peach tree.













Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Three Snowmen


Aunt Cass Snowman


                                                                       Khaya's Snowman

Joey's Snowman


Sunday, February 19, 2012

Kale: A Great and healthy Snack

Do you need a healthy alternative to Potato Chips ? Then Kale Chips are perfect for you.








Our first Snow Storm of the season, Yeah, I am so excited =)


We are expected to get 3 to 5 inches in the danville VA area, and I can't wait to make a snowman with my niece and nephew =)













Thursday, February 16, 2012

Gardening Terms from the National Garden Bureau

A Glossary of Gardening Terms

How many times have you read a gardening article, looked at a website or catalog and wondered, "What does that mean?" Thanks to NGB Member Park Seed, we've excerpted their list of garden terms for your referral during the upcoming garden season.
Annual Plant     
A plant living one year or less, usually planted in the spring after the last frost. During this time, the plant grows, blooms, produces seeds, and dies.  
Balled & Burlapped     
The roots of the plant have soil attached and are held in place with burlap or some other material.
Bare Root     
The roots of the plant are bare, with no soil.
Biennial     
Of two seasons duration, from germination to maturity and death, usually developing vegetative growth the first year and flowering, fruiting, and dying the second year.  Biennials need exposure to winter temperatures to trigger flowering or fruit production the second year.
Bulb     
A resting stage of a plant that is usually formed underground and consists of a short stem base bearing one or more buds enclosed in fleshy leaves and buds (tulip, daffodil, etc). 
Corm     
A rounded, thick modified underground stem base bearing membranous or scaly leaves and buds (gladiolus, crocus, etc).
Crown     
The base of the plant, where the stem and root meet.
Cultivar     
A cultivated variety or strain that originated and has persisted under human cultivation.
Deadheading     
Removing the dead blossoms.  If a plant is termed “self cleaning," the blossoms fall off on their own.  Deadheading usually extends the blooming season.
Deciduous     
A plant that loses its leaves seasonally, usually in the fall.
Determinate     
The growth of a plant stops at a certain height (usually in reference to tomatoes).
Dormancy     
A period in the life cycle of a plant where it is “asleep” and not actively growing.  Dormancy is brought about by cool temperatures and shorter day length.  
Evergreen     
A plant that stays green year-round.
Floriferous     
Bearing flowers/blooming freely.
Germination     
The sprouting of a seed and the commencement of growth.  Also used to describe the starting of plants from seeds.
Grafted Plant     
The top (desirable) part of the plant is grafted onto rootstock, usually of a hardier or less rare plant.
Heirloom Seed     
Mostly open-pollinated seed that have been planted and passed down for generations. Most lack disease resistance.
Herbaceous     
A plant that dies back to the ground in winter and returns again in the spring.
Herbicide     
A chemical used to destroy undesirable plants and vegetation.
Hybrid Seed     
The result of cross-pollination of parents that differ in size, color, taste, or other traits.  Seeds from hybrid plants cannot be saved and used again, as they will revert back to one of the parents.
Indeterminate     
The plant continues growing until pinched or killed by frost (opposite of determinate). These plants usually require staking.
Organic Seed     
A seed that has been grown and harvested without being exposed to any inorganic chemicals, fertilizers, hormones, etc.
Pelleted Seed     
Small seed, such as petunias or pentas, that have been coated with an inert material such as clay to make them easier to handle.
Perennial     
A plant that lives for three or more seasons. 
Rhizome     
A somewhat elongated, usually horizontal subterranean plant stem that is often thickened by deposits of reserved food material that produces shoots above and below the roots (bearded iris).
Rootstock     
Root system of a more common or hardy variety that is used to graft a more desirable variety onto, usually roses and/or standard forms.
Self-Pollinating     
Plants that do not require pollen from another plant in order to produce fruit.
Semi-Evergreen     
A plant that drops its leaves in cold areas but keeps at least some of them in milder zones (typically zones 7~11).
Standard     
A shrub or herb grown with an erect main stem so that it forms or resembles a tree.
Sucker     
Undesirable growth coming from the rootstock of a grafted plant.
Treated Seed     
Seed that have been treated with an insecticide or fungicide to aid in preventing soil insects or disease from destroying the seed prior to germination. 
Tuber     
A short, fleshy, usually underground stem bearing minute scaly leaves, each of which bears a bud in its axil and is potentially able to produce a new plant (iris potato, caladium, tuberose begonia)

National Garden Bureau website http://ngb.org/index.cfm

Friday, February 10, 2012

A Winter Walk on the Trail










Blooming already ?

Due to the unusual warm weather we are having in Virginia, our preach tree has decided to wake up a little early this year, blooming already.





Thursday, February 2, 2012

Why I became a Vegetarian
     

     There are a number of reasons why I became a vegetarian, but the main one is I love vegetables dishes more than meat. I prefer a veggie burger over a beef burger; I prefer egg plant parmesan over chicken parmesan. In my opinion, veggie meals taste better and they are good for your overall health. I’m not against meat or anyone who eats meat, (but I am against factory farms and the mistreatment of animals before they are killed).
    
     God gave us good food to eat, and not only are they good and tasty but they have healing aliments to cure any disease and sickness. Salads and green smoothies are a fantastic way to get your daily dose of produce. Juicing your own fruits and veggies are much healthier than drinking store bought juice, (which some contain high corn fructose syrup). Eating nuts will do wonders for your body, and snacking on fruits will give you the energy you need throughout the day.

     As I began to study more about vegetarianism I learned a lot about meat production and factory farms here in America, and all I can say is MY GOD. I had no ideal that animals are stuffed in small cages/inadequate spaces, injected with dangerous hormones and steroids for the sole purpose of making them fat, and forced to eat unhealthy GMO foods, (genetically modified organisms). The animals are stressed which causes them to become sick and then they are killed and sold to the American people. After watching several videos and documentaries about factory farms, it has encouraged me even more to not eat meat, (but if anyone desires to eat meat  it’s very important to pray over all of our food, whether meats, fruits or veggies). There is a lot of wickedness in high places, and many of these meat factories and farms do not care about the health and safety of the public, they just want to get rich.

     I wanted to write this article to encourage people to eat healthier. I was once a fast food junk eater, and I noticed my body felt more fatigued, I felt heavy, like I ate a bag of rocks, and I know it was all from what I was feeding my body. I thank God so much for placing it in our hearts to eat the healthy foods he created for us. 

Before the industrial revolution, most Americans' grew their own food, properly took care of their own cattle, and cooked their owns meals, but when big factories and corporations became popular they forced women and children away from the home to work in their factories, and the men were forced to work in the coil mines or on railroads, which left the dependence of food production in the hands of strangers whose main goal was to make money. In her book, “Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Towards Natural Health”, Author Victoria Boutenko explains,

"Throughout human history, people consumed almost exclusively wholesome natural products grown in rich healthy soil. This way of eating underwent a dramatic shift approximately 180 years ago, when the industrial revolution began. Along with railways, sewing machines and factories, the processes of canning, refining sugar, and milling white flour were invented. These three innovations were the major contributors to an unprecedented shift in the human diet. While people eagerly embraced convenient, inexpensive and “progressive” ways of eating, they dramatically reduced their consumption of wholesome foods, especially green vegetables”

In Another book, “Death By Supermarket: The Fattening, Dumbing Down, and Poisoning of America”,  Author Nancy Deville explains the process that animals endure before being killed for the market,

"They (the animals ) are injected with hormones and because of the depraved condition in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO), they must be given antibiotics and hundreds of drugs to keep them alive long enough to fatten for slaughter. There lonely, frightened and crazed from birth to death,…Because of the poisons in animal feed and the drugs animals are given, CAFO products contain toxins that can harm human beings…On the other hand, real food (including humanely raised animals products) contains life sustaining nutrients necessary to maintain healthy metabolic processes."

     See the problem here isn't meat, ( because I have my weak moments where I sometimes eat chicken and fish) but it’s the way meat is being produced. The same can be said with genetically modified fruits and vegetables, (that’s why whenever possible, try to eat organic).


     We have to take our health, not only back into our hands, but back into God’s hands. 
Everything God made was good, but the greed of man has made many things bad. I pray that we all reevaluate the things that we are putting into our bodies, I pray that we all grow to love the good foods that God gave us, pray over everything you eat with a prayer of Thanksgiving, and also know that there is a God given remedy for your health.