OT - Gardening in the times of severe climate change
I am a gardener. A life long organic gardener who's goal has always been to grow organic food and create aesthetic landscaping that is sustainable, native, and promotes the general welfare of the planet. I'm also an urban gardener who's plot of land is a small 100x50 including a big 1914 old house. I have gardened and developed this small plot for 25 years. My veggie garden is a raised bed that measures 150 square feet. This year it looks like the dust bowl. I got out in mid March to dig in my compost in, a years accumulation, and started prepping the veggie garden. By April I'm ashamed to say I retreated and went back inside. The weather was scorching and the dirt was weird as hell. No worms! Where did they go? Why was my carefully cultivated organic dirt so fucked up? What happened to spring?
I spread my compost and retreated inside as it was just to hot for me to handle. My yard front native plants, perennials and bee attractors is scorched and parched. My veggie garden I abandoned after spreading the compost in late March has grown a huge patch of God knows what from the seeds in our compost. What ever these gigantic vines are they are most interesting. Cucumbers? Squash? Melons ? Who knows. Will they bear fruit who knows? Mean while coward and weakling that I am I stay inside in the 80-95 degree weather and watch the devastation from a safe distance. At least I tell myself I'm not using water that I used to wantonly apply to produce my expensive organic home grown veggies. Well hell I can't really delude myself these days as I cannot afford to play the part of lets grow your own and fuck the man. Even my local farmers market has stunted sick looking veggies. It's not CT it's reality we reap what we sow and what we are sowing is a heaping mass of overheated chemically altered shit.
Now for something more pleasant ...
So it's just some kind of an el nino or as some say a big freaky pacific heat bubble or some such nonsense. It all boils down to global warming. So as Hillary says great, this opens up more drilling opportunities in then arctic as it melts and the ice for drilling. Then I wonder what has happened to the dirt and water that sustains us all. My rant about gardening in the world as we now find it.
Here's a song from my youth I know it was about nukes but it applies today in a strange turnabout. What have they done to the rain with out nuking the joint...They have managed to create a world without any regard for the seasons or the fruits that our earth provides. But hey who needs nature when we can mess and fuck with a brave new world.
And for my last song a more modern song/poem that makes me cry...
when the world has turned
paralyzed and wrong
cold blooded claws
never offered anything at all
past the point of love
shattered and untied
waiting to pick up the pieces
that make it all alright
but pieces of what
pieces of what
pieces of what
doesn't matter any more
moonlight on my floor
shining through the roof
they got the city surrounded
as if I needed proof
i forgot my fear
feelings on the rise
burying all of the pieces
falling from the sky
but pieces of what
pieces of what
pieces of what
we used to call home
pieces of what
we used to call home
when i drank your tea
and shallow water still
at the belgian gates
i waited for my meal
Comments
Good Morning, Shaz and 99%'ers!
The west coast drought has been horrible. It has to be frustrating and demoralizing not to have a garden this year. So far here in the east, we have been spared, thankfully. Hopefully next year will be better for you and the rest of the folks out on the west coast.
Yesterday, there was a diary at GOS that asked us if we could only ask one question of Hillary and Bernie, what would that question be? My answer was that I would ask each of them the same question and that was what radical steps would you take to stem climate change and make the earth habitable for future generations? When I last looked, only one other person was concerned about climate change which is the single most urgent issue facing us today.
On a lighter note, the roofers are now laying new shingles. They still have to scrape the old ones off part of the roof, but because we live in a rain forest (the western part of the county averages over 90 inches per year), they are doing the roof in sections. Yesterday, my husband heard the roofers remark as an asphalt truck drove by. One guy said that asphalt work was something he would never do because it was too hot. My husband and I both laughed because roofing is not exactly a non-hot job. I guess it is all relative.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Good morning, shaharazade, if it helps
my little garden is out of control as well. I am not an experienced and skilled gardener, just tried my luck since a couple of years. I have given up to fight against what grows out of my composted soil. In my area it's not too dry, but too humid and too hot. Everything grows like the profits of banksters on Wall Street.
In my garden the weeds and strange plants are not only the richest one percenters, they have completely taken over and represent 99 percent of my plants. And it's too hot for me to pull the wee out every three or four days.
I will get rid of all my veggie beds and just make it plain lawn area. Mowing the lawn (without using the extra tools for the edges) is the only thing I manage in the heat. When people come to have a look at the little townhome you can see, who has experience with gardesn. People don't like a hedge, because you need to cut it regularly. I so much look forward to a cooler climate.
Hammer time. Here's another lying liar, Al Franken
"We'll still have work to do to diminish the threat Iran poses to our national security and the safety of our allies in the Middle East, beginning with Israel."
That's so far out there the dude should go back to Saturday Night Live. "Safety of our allies" - Israel which has over 200 nukes and Iran has
none, with no intent to build one.
This is all so ridiculous watching these politicians play this lying game. They're all doing it, even Sanders. And Warren. Every single one.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/13/opinions/franken-iran-deal/index.html
he stopped being funny
when he showed himself to be another corporatist DNCer
Which was his first day in office.
The "lie" here is twofold, that Iran is a threat and that it wants to build a nuke bomb. Those are both lies
and like I said, they're all spreading it. I just saw a diary on Daily Kos by MB saying that Franken had
decided to vote yes, and again, no one mentioned the overall lie or false narrative they're all perpetuating.
They all get on board with the same lies about imperialism. It's like saying the Iraq war was a "mistake".
It wasn't a mistake, it was a premeditated crime. But not a single one will say that just like none will say
that Iran is not a threat to the U.S. or Israel.
hi shah
Pieces of the sky. Here's a pieces of the sky with a little more hope to it.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lBYdF1s8qQ]
how would you feel if the world
was falling apart all around you
pieces of the sky were falling
in your neighbors yard
but not on you
wouldn't you feel just a little bit funny
think maybe there's something you ought to do
Speaking of gardens, I can't wait.
My landscaping at home is basically non-existent. I finally found someone who is going to replant my beds. The name of the company is Two Women and a Hoe. The owner was in business and dropped out to follow her passion. She is a now a Master Gardener, a certification here in Michigan, organic, and doing quite well. I am going to have beautiful flowering trees, bushes, and perennials everywhere, and I am going to hire her to do the maintenance. Here is the list of materials for my front bed and the bed by the mail box.
(1) Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry; (1) Dogwood - Pink Cherokee or Venus; (10) Drift Rose; (5) Blue Star Juniper; (5) Bobo Hydrangea; (3) Dwarf Fothergilla; (3) Tiny Wine Ninebark; (5) Blue Star Juniper; (11) Green Gem Boxwood; (10) Karl Foerster Reed Grass; (12) Purple Palace Coral Bell; (5) Astilbe - Visions in Pink; (8) Neon Sedum; (3) Purple Cone Flower; (3) Variegated Iris, and (3) May Night Salvia
We are going to plant more hydrangea and grasses at the end of the drive and in the backyard behind my deck: Strawberry Vanilla and limelight. I can't wait to see it in bloom. We tried to pick deer resistant plants. They eat our yard - nothing is safe. Couldn't keep a hosta if we hired an armed guard.
So what do you think of the selection? We're in SE MI. I don't know our growing zone. She said everything should be fairly maintenance free and not a top menu selection for deer. I'm not deadheading. Been there, done that a summer or two - not my cup of tea. But I do love flowers.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
It sounds wonderful
I do not know all of those plants, but purple coneflowers are wonderful for attracting goldfinches who eat the cones after the flowers have faded. On my morning walk, I go past a house that has a bed of purple coneflowers in front. The flowers are finished and the cones remain. I see goldfinches in them every time I walk past. Two days ago, there were about a dozen brilliant yellow males in the bed and it was beautiful to see them. I am a fan of both coral bells which have a lovely colorful leaf and astilbe. One thing I have in front is something called border speedwell. I love it because it flowers continuouslly from spring well into fall. The flowers are dark blue on spikes and it winters over very well.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
The serviceberry attracts birds too.
We are going to place a birdbath under it. It has white flowers in the spring, berries in the summer, and turns a brilliant autumn red in the fall. I had to google the flowers in the list because I didn't know what they were either. I love them all.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Morning Shaz and c99er's....
your diary reminds me of the plight of dirt farmers everywhere, now, and in the past, the Dust Bowl, Steinbeck, and more.
I miss gardening with my old-actor friend on his original home place. The garden site on a gentle slope had been in use for 200 or so years. He did the greenhouse and I did the ground work; and as a farm boy, I've memories of our family's gardens.
Now, I'm reduced to plants on my window sills. Mostly herbs, which I buy each Spring at our annual county Democratic garden, plant sale, fundraiser.
Hoping the El Nino sets up to bring you much-needed moisture.
Thanks for this good OT and have a great day all.
Good morning 99%ers
I slept late due to a cool morning. Sorry about the depressing OT. Next time I'll do a cheerful uplifting one. Yesterday the 90 degree muggy weather got to me not to mention the politics of hating. I also am at the tail end of a nasty summer head cold all of which seems to have tainted my perspective. I've never seen Portland so dry and brown. Our progressive city consul uses climate change as one of the rationalizations for demolishing beautiful Portland. They say we are going to get a huge influx of climate change refugees who will need housing. Considering what this summer has been like that rational seems absurd. They certainly will have to be wealthy climate refugees as the going rate for a cheesy, slapped up, studio is 1,800$. I'll be back later right now I'm too whiny and grumpy to interact properly. Bah humbug and grrrrrrr. Have a good day all you.
Congrats, Shaz, on you 'premier' OT! ;-) Only time that
we gardened was in Alaska. It was a hoot, considering that we had to be careful not to produce such huge veggies, that the texture and taste were destroyed.
The August Summer Fair was always great fun, with contests for the largest melons, cabbage, lettuce, etc.
Not unheard of: a head of cabbage, with individual leaves unfolded from the head, spanning 36" across.
Whew--couldn't think of a better place to garden (for fun, anyway).
(Remember, when we lived there, the religious right had not ascended in regards to electoral politics. If anything, it was very secular.)
Another marked difference was the lack of class consciousness. We always figured that it likely had something to do with the [weather] elements, and the various challenges that they presented--with temps dipping as low as the minus eighties, on occasion.
Heck, if your vehicle breaks done at minus 70 to 80, rich and poor, you can die of hypothermia. And because of this, it was the kind of place where you didn't consider passing a stranded motorist without offering assistance--even if it was only to call for a wrecker, and/or provide warmth to the stranded motorist(s) until it arrived.
It was wonderful. We immediately became Alaskans. We still greatly miss the place.
And it wasn't just the unspoiled beauty of the land that we fell in love with--a lot had to do with the strong feelings of kinship that were shared by most townspeople, no matter where you lived in the state. Don't believe that we've ever experienced a sense of "community," like we did there.
Mollie
"Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me with a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving."--Author Unknown
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.