The importance Of School Gardens.

When I was growing up in rural Humboldt County all of our neighbors had a garden. Now 70 years later none of our neighbors in Alhambra Valley Ranch have a garden, although a few grow tomato plants in pots on their decks or patios during the summer. Today, most people buy their produce at the local food market or, if they are lucky enough to have one, at a local farmer's market. I also sell my home grown organic vegetables at a farmer's market and my customers invariably seem to be amazed at how much better things taste if they are raised in a local garden rather than in a large commercial enterprise hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away. I always ask them if they have a garden and if not, why not? While some reply that they live in apartments or condominiums that do not provide the space for a garden, the majority seem to believe that gardening either is too time consuming or difficult. Some report that they have tried gardening on a small scale but have been unsuccessful in their attempts to grow their own fruits and vegetables. Many of these unfortunates seem to have concluded that only those with a green thumb can garden successfully. I hope this book puts that myth to rest once and for all! Anyone can become a successful gardener if they have the will to do it, anyone! In any case, the people of my generation were taught to garden by their parents. As I recall, it was much more fun to plant a seed and watch the resulting seedling spring from the soil and grow than it was to learn the math tables or attempt to master spelling, something I was incapable of doing. I believe that people who do not garden are missing out on one of most satisfying things life has to offer. I know those of you who garden will agree with me on this point. As an aside, I also believe that today's children would be better off if they spent more time in a garden and less time playing video games on their computers, but that is subject matter for another time. In my opinion, schools are for teaching a wide range of skills, not just the three R's, music, sports, sex education and political correctness as so often is the case today. Just as a students in our better schools today can learn to play the violin, act in a Shakespeare play or play football, they should have the opportunity to learn how to garden. Only a tiny fraction of those who learn to play the violin will become professional violinists and ever fewer of those who play high school football will play in the National Football League. However, the vast majority of those who are exposed to gardening in their formative years will continue to garden for as long as they are physically capable of doing so. Some of these fortunate young people also will discover their true passion and end up in agricultural related careers. More importantly, children who learn how to garden will be less dependent on others for the food they eat. Furthermore, those lucky enough to learn how to garden organically will live longer and healthier lives than those who are dependent on the produce produced by large agriculture enterprises which rely heavily on potentially toxic chemical fertilizers to grow the fruits and vegetables they sell to the masses. Finally, those that grow their own fruits and vegetables will be consuming produce that is far more flavorful and tasty than that sold at the local food store. When all is said and done, those lucky enough to have well versed in the skills of organic gardening will lead healthier, happier and more fulfilling lives than those who grow up with no gardening skills. It also is possible that the knowledge of gardening fundamentals may be the difference between living and dying of starvation for those who are alive 60 to 70 years from now. If the proponents of climate change are correct, this world will be a far different place by the end of the twenty first century. If so, those who know how to grow their own fruits and vegetables, and are less dependent on the government and agribusiness for their food, will have a significant advantage over those who do not have basic gardening skills. Although it may be impractical for large inner city schools to provide the space for even a school garden of modest size, such is not the case in schools located in the suburbs wherein there usually is abundant space for gardens of any size. Although the children participating in school gardening projects may require some teacher supervision, there is little or no reason for such gardening projects to be a financial burden for the schools who elect to foster them. Members of local garden clubs and other retired persons in the community are eager to share their gardening skills with young people who want to experience the joy of gardening.

Continuing Down The Path To Insolvency.

When I wrote America In Decline two years ago I described in some detail the reasons for America's fall from grace over the past 70 or so years. During the 24 short months since its publication we have continued down the path of self destruction, seemingly having learned nothing our past flirtation with runaway socialism. As most of you know, our national debt now exceeds $ 18 trillion and is increasing at a rate $500 billion each and every day. I maintain that no living person, not even Einstein if he were still alive, would have the mental capacity to comprehend the magnitude of a figure this large; however, here are some recent statistics that we all can understand, the implications of which, I think you will agree, are extremely worrisome. As George Will recently pointed out, social welfare programs absorbed 24 percent of the federal budget in 1963, the year when our national monetary policy really began to unravel; such programs now exceed 60 percent of our inflated federal budget. In fact, anti-poverty expenditures are now double those of social security. Can you see where this is inevitably heading? Still not convinced? The Great Society's (a colossal misnomer if there ever was one) 50 year "War on Poverty" to date has cost $22 trillion, most of it barrowed. During this half century of fiscal and social insanity our population grew by 69 percent while the numbers of those on food stamps increased by 168 percent. At this point, 60 percent of the population are on some form of food assistance and our leaders think nothing of it! But I harp too much on the enormity of national resources squandered on the governmental policies of Johnson and the liberal idiots who followed him. The real cost to our nation is not the in monies that have been wasted on the re-distributive programs promoted by those who stay in power by periodically buying the votes of the illiterate low IQ masses. Rather, I would argue, it is the very destruction of our social fabric that is the most worrisome aspect of the failed fiscal policies of our political leaders, both democrat and republican. The self-serving political mandates of our criminally inclined politicians have literally brought our country to its knees! When all is said and done, we are left with cycles of increasing multi-generational dependency, illiteracy, increasing illegitimacy (7 percent then, 41 percent now) and a staggering increase in criminality, especially in minority communities of blacks and Chicanos. Finally, and perhaps the most galling statistic of all, is the issue of income inequality which is many times worse now than it was when the country was led by fiscally responsible public servants and our laws and mandates were based on sound moral and religious principles that have evolved over the eons that man has walked the face of the earth. Yes, we are now fiscally insolvent, more importantly we are morally bankrupt!

Excerpt From America In Decline

America is in decline and has been for over six decades, of that that there can be little doubt. The reasons for our countries' economic and moral decay are detailed in part I of this book. In part 11, I will suggest steps, short of a second revolution, that should be taken to rescue our floundering ship of state. Finally, in Part 111, I predict what is likely to occur if we do not have the courage to institute the changes required to restore the nation's economy and put its citizens back to work. I believe, as will become clear after reading the first few paragraphs of America In Decline, that the decreasing cognitive ability of our citizens over the past half century has played a major role in the America's fall from greatness. Our failure to recognize the importance of intellect, especially the concept of inherited cognitive ability, is largely responsible for most of Americas social and economic woes. Throughout the book I rely heavily on statistics gleamed from Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray's masterpiece The Bell Curve to support the common sense observations made during my lifetime with respect to intelligence, illegitimacy, race and a host of other social and economic issues that plague today's American society. The Bell Curve is a must read for anyone who wishes to understand the reasons for our countries declining economic prospects and moral decay. In this respect, I consider The Bell Curve to be the single most important book of the last 150 years, possibly of all time. The reader may be surprised by some of my suggestions for improving our economy, especially those that come squeaky close to unadulterated socialism. Nonetheless, for reasons that will be made clear in the pages of this book, we will have to accept the fact that social policy, at least in the near term, will have to include some measures to redistribute the country's wealth from the haves to the have-nots. The redistribution need not be as large as it is presently and certainly must not be allowed to grow, but, for the nation to function in something other than utter chaos, those who wash our floors, pick our fruit and care for our children must be paid a living wage. To do otherwise is amoral, uncivilized and, most importantly, from a nationalistic point of view, self-destructive. For example, if our nation is to survive as a viable economic force, we must rebuild the manufacturing base in America. This goal can only be met if we place stiff tariffs on goods that are made in faraway countries where humans work for a few dollars a day under near slave labor conditions. The price of the goods we buy at the local retail store should reflect their cost of manufacture in the USA where workers receive a decent living wage and not what they would cost if produced by slave labor in a third world country like Indonesia. Not to recognize that we must pay intellectually challenged members of our society a living wage for making, for example, a pair of tennis shoes, will only lead to further economic unrest and a proliferation of the antisocial behavior that is undermining the moral fiber of the nation. The most important of the changes championed herein include the elimination of illegal immigration; steps to reduce the rate of illegitimacy; measures to curtail welfare; and, most importantly, a major effort to restore the work ethic in the American worker. Many of the bitter pills and unpleasant remedies suggested will be hard for the politicians on both sides of the isle to swallow, but they will not be able to refute any of the suggested remedies with any reasonable argument. For example, you cannot expect people to work if there are no jobs and you cannot expect people to get married and start a family if they are paid to remain single and have their children out of wedlock. The results of the liberal policies which have been instituted over the past 60 years have been a disaster for all but a privileged few of our citizens, primarily those who were lucky enough to have been born smart or very smart. Because of the misguided social policies of the liberal establishment, to many of those who were less lucky in life's genetic role of the dice, now lead meaningless unfulfilling lives as ward's of the state. To rob a person of the dignity that can be achieved by having a job and working, is about as un-American as it gets! To resolve the socioeconomic mess in which we find ourselves, the nation will have to abandon the failed strategies of the liberal social engineers and return to the capitalist policies that made the United States the economic powerhouse it was in the early 1900s, before the days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon Baines Johnson. Roosevelt may have been the most destructive of our presidents because he took us off the gold standard and by so doing make unlimited deficit spending possible; but, one could argue that the social policies of Johnson's great society were equally damaging because they led to the breakup of the black family and turned millions of potential black husbands and fathers into homeless vagabonds and career criminals. To restore America's greatness, we must take steps to curtail the welfare state that has evolved over the past sixty years. To achieve this goal the government should initiate policies that will create private sector jobs for those who wish to work and insist that able bodied males take those jobs when they become available. Females who chose to work outside the home must be provided the same opportunity as their male counterparts; however, tax policies should be enacted that encourage mothers to stay at home during their children's formative years rather than forcing them to work to support their families, as is now to often the case. No one can reasonably argue that many of the social problems we are facing today are not the result of the fact that it now takes two paychecks to support most families whereas when I was growing up in the 1940s it took only one. If we have learned one thing over the past 60 years it is that children do better when they are raised by their mothers and not by a nanny or, worse yet, members of a federal or state bureaucracy. It also is becoming increasingly apparent that they do better if they are home schooled, but that is subject matter for a future book. Finally in Part 111, I discuss the predictable consequences of inaction. If we, the people, do not rise up and take our country back, America will become, at best, a third world socialist country like Greece or, at worst, a puppet state of China. Unlike Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin, who seem to believe that Americans ultimately will wake up and throw the bums out, I do not think the necessary changes in public policy can be accomplished at the polling booth. No, it will take something more than a change of heart by the voters to cast out the entrenched liberals and rhino republicans who gave us the socialistic policies which have turned our country into an amoral debtor nation. When all is said and done, like it or not, we are facing the prospects of a second American revolution. Hopefully, it will not be as bloody as the first one.

The Weather Man Did It!

I am sick to death hearing the long legged TV anchor babes and their brainless football jock friends belabor the mystery of the deflated footballs used by Tom Brady and the Patriots when they demolished the hapless Indianapolis Colts in last week's playoff game. The problem is not some perceived trickery by the New England Patriots and their staff; rather, it is a failure of these people to understand the basis rules of physics. It really as simple as this. The footballs undoubtedly were stored and checked for conformity at room temperature and then, prior to game time, removed to the freezing cold football field before the game (slaughter). Most educated people know that gas expands when heated and, more importantly in this case, contracts when cooled. In this respect, Goodyear estimated that tire pressure goes down one to two pounds per square inch for every 10 degrees Fahrenheit fall in temperature. A decrease in temperature of 40 or so degrees Fahrenheit could easily have resulted in a one or two psi drop in the pressure of the footballs in question, and it undoubtedly did!

No deception, fraud or dishonesty on the part of the Patriots or their staff, just the laws of physics that apparently are unknown to those in the media who write and talk about the meaningless game of football! Nope, when all is said and done, the damned weatherman did it!

The New American Welfare State

In my recent book "America In Decline" I spend the first half of the book detailing the reasons for America's recent fall from grace and the remaining half describing the relatively simple methods that can be taken to reverse our decline into national oblivion. A recent article by the eminent columnist George F. Will, who quotes extensively, the writings of Nicholas Eberstadt, puts a slightly different spin on our current problems, and provides some interesting statists to prove their points. Basically, Mr. Eberstadt believes, as I do, that "changing social norms" as a result of progressive liberal policies over the past 100 years or so, have lead us to a socialist welfare state that is self destructive and unsustainable. Social practices that were shunned, in the America I grew up in, are now the norm rather than the exception and we, as a country, are the worse for it. Here are some of the statistics that Eberstadt and Will use to make their argument. First, and most importantly, Eberstadt points out" That since the 1970s, even though Americans have become more healthy, work has become less physically stressful and the workplace has become safer" there has been six-fold increase in Social Security Disability claims ( including many that are fraudulent) that are gateways to a plethora of other payments, the composite of which are driving our country into bankruptcy ( my conclusion, not theirs). During this relatively brief period, benefits from social welfare programs increased from 24 percent in 1963 to 59 percent in 2013. Anyone, who does not have his or her head buried deeply in the sand, knows that such deficit spending in unsustainable. This is especially so, in a country in which the labor force is shrinking on a daily basis. Here are several additional examples of the overwhelming increase in the entitlement programs in recent years provided by the authors. Between 1983 and 2012, the population increased by 83 million while those receiving means-tested benefits increased by 67 million; thus, for every 100-person increase in population there was an 80-person increase in those on welfare. During the same period food stamp recipients increased from 19 million to 51 million, more than the combined populations of 24 states. The federal government now classifies more than half of these recipients as needy rather than poor. As Eberhardt points out, "This expanding dependency requires erasing America's historical distinction between the deserving and the undeserving poor." This, of course, is a major hall-mark of any socialist society and a sure ticket to economic disaster ( my comment not Eberstadts). As Eberstadt points out, "Under the shadow of the entitlement state, in two generations the American budget has been recast. In 1963 entitlement transfers went from $1.00 for every $15.00 in revenue too, in 2012, $1.00 in of every $6.00 in revenue!" Eberstadt goes on to point out that the rapid increase in the welfare state is largely responsible for the unparalleled disintegration of the American family. He states, in this respect, that from 1964 to 2012, the rate of illegitimacy increased from 7 to 41 percent and in the black population now exceeds 70 percent. As a result, for many working-aged women, the entitlement state is now the primary "breadwinner" for the family. Finally, as Eberstadt reminds us that, the lifelong New Deal liberal icon, Daniel Patrick Moynihan warned that "The issue of welfare is not what it costs those who provide it, but what it costs those who receive it." Truer words were never said! Finally Eberstadt concludes "As a growing portion of the population succumbs to the entitlement state's ever expanding menu of temptations, the costs, including a transformation of the nation's political culture, sensibilities and traditions is inevitable." As Will concludes "The weakening of America's distinctive conceptions of self-reliance, personal responsibility and self-advancement has inevitably resulted in a rending of the national fabric and, as a result, America today does not look exceptional at all!"

Growing vegetables From Seeds

Spring is just around the corner and it's time to start planning for this year's garden! Most of us wait impatiently for tomato, cucumber, squash and other seedling to make their appearance at the local garden store. This is a very tempting solution to the problem since the plants sold at Home Depot, Lowes and your local nursery are grown in green houses and, thus, are quite large when you buy them. Some of the larger tomato plants will even have small tomatoes on them, thus, giving you a head start on this year's growing season. While there is nothing wrong with this approach to gardening, it is quite expensive. Why not grow your seedling from inexpensive seeds and save some money? Guess what, it's also a fun thing to do! If you have a green house great! If not, there are inexpensive ways to grow your vegetables from seeds. The simplest way to start plants from seeds is to place plastic cells on a window sill in a warm room facing south. I use recycled plastic cell six packs that I've collected over the years from past purchases of nursery plants. Similarly, one can purchase a larger 50 cell plastic container filled with a seed starting material and use it over and over again. The process is simple and fool-proof. Fill the cells with sphagnum peat moss and pack it down with the rounded end of a screwdriver handle. Now make a hole in the center of each peat filled cell with the sharpened point of a #2 lead pencil. Place a single seed in each hole. To simplify this process, fold a piece of stiff paper, a 3 X 5 file card works well, length wise and make a 45 ° angle cut across one end so that the V-shaped trough that will hold the seeds has a pointed end. Now place the seeds in the channel and, using the pointed end of a pen or pencil, move a single seed into each hole in the peat moss filled cell pack. Sprinkle a little peat moss over the cell pack to cover the seeds and pack down the material again with the screw driver handle. Water the peat daily and expect the seeds to sprout in 5 to 10 days. If possible, place the cell packs on a seed-starting heat pad, sold at all nurseries, that will keep the peat filled containers at 72°F, the perfect temperature for starting seeds. Finally, if forced to start your plants in a dark area, like a garage, consider purchasing fluorescent lights designed for the purpose of growing vegetables indoors. A hydroponics store is a good place to inquire about grow lamps but most nurseries also carry them. That's all there is to it! With a little effort and at little or no expense you can get a head start on nature this spring, You are going to love growing your vegetables from seeds in a cell pack, I guarantee it! Your pocket book will thank you also!

Making And Using Worm Tea

By now everyone is familiar with the concept of foliar fertilizers like VF11. Foliar forms of liquid fertilizer containing nitrogen and other plant nutrients are sprayed on the plant and the soil around the plant periodically to promote plant growth. Unlike the chemicals inVF11, which have no antibacterial properties, the microorganisms present in worm tea also suppress the grow of many plant pathogens. Most importantly, worm tea provides the same beneficial effects of VF11 at a fraction of its cost. In fact, the only expense in the production on worm tea is the cost of the small amount of electricity used to operate the inexpensive aquarium air pump used to aerate the brew for a day or two and the expense of the molasses that is added to nourish the microorganisms that are produced in the tea. Controlled scientific experiments have shown that this miraculous organic foliar fertilizer increases plant growth and crop yields by as much as 50 percent. Of equal importance, worm tea contains an array of beneficial microorganisms which cover the plant when the tea is applied as a foliar spray. These microbes prevent, or hinder, the growth of plant pathogens like powdery mildew, aphids, parasitic nematodes and spider mites because potential infection sights on the plant are occupied by the beneficial microorganisms in the tea. As a result, the pathogens cannot attach themselves to the plant. The harmful pathogens also have a difficult time establishing themselves on a plant sprayed with worm tea because the beneficial microbes take up the binding sights and consume the nutrients the pathogens require to grow and reproduce. Making worm tea. Worm tea is easy to produce. Basically, you need three or four handfuls fresh worm castings, an once or two of a nutrient like sulfur free molasses, or corn syrup, and a way to aerate the brew. Some organic farmers also add the juice of a lemon and an once or two of fish emulsion to the mixture. The question that immediately comes to mind is, why the need for molasses? Why not use some form of granulated white sugar which would be far cheaper? My research on the subject suggests that this is a confused and unsettled issue. Those who make worm tea using molasses as the nutrient do so because it is an ideal food for both beneficial bacteria and fungi whereas sugar only promotes the growth of bacteria. Molasses also contains a number of beneficial minerals which are not found in white sugar. Since the worm castings used to make worm tea already have an abundance of minerals and trace elements, the fact that molasses contains minerals, and sugar does not, should be of little or no concern. The only issue is whether or not it is worth the added expensive of molasses, as compared to inexpensive granulated sugar, to encourage the growth of fungi. I do not believe it is, and use a cup of granulated white sugar to feed the beneficial microorganisms in the tea. Aeration is a must when making worm tea because the anaerobic bacteria that are produced in anaerobic tea may be harmful to plants. Aeration can be achieved with one of the inexpensive air aquarium pumps designed to oxygenate fish tanks. These devices, which cost less than $10 at a pet store, even have an air diffuser stone. You also will need a plastic bucket. I use a six gallon food grade bucket sold at a local home brew supply store; however, the cheap five gallon buckets sold at Home Depot for $4.95 and those sold for $2.98 at Lowe's will work just as well. Finally, if you do not have a source of un-chlorinated water, like rain or pond water, fill a bucket of chlorinated city water and let it sit for a couple of days to allow the chlorine in the water to evaporate. Alternately, add the chlorinated water from the tap to the brewing bucket and aerate it with the aquarium pump for a couple of hours to bubble out the chlorine before adding the worm castings and sugar or molasses to the bucket. Once most of the chlorine has been removed from the water, turn on the air pump and let the mixture ferment for 24 hours, 48 hours is better. Place the end of the aquarium pump tubing, with its diffusing stone, in a small cloth sack containing the fresh earthworm castings and close the opening in the sack with a string before submerging it in the bucket of chlorine free water. This is an important step in the process because if the earthworm castings are added directly to the water the fine sand and other porous material in the castings will be dispersed throughout the tea and clog-up the nozzle of the spray gun you will use to apply the tea to your garden plants. Worm tea will maintain its potency indefinitely if you continue to feed the organisms in the tea at weekly intervals with sugar or molasses and keep the brew aerated with the aquarium air pump. However, once removed from the brew bucket, worm tea should be sprayed on the plants without delay since the beneficial organisms in the tea will not survive for more than a few hours if deprived of a continuous supply of oxygen. In this respect, the bottled worm teas sold commercially are of questionable value. Several commercial brands of worm tea have found their way to the market. The manufactures of these concoctions add preservatives such as phosphoric, lactic and citric acids to their worm teas. The acids supposedly put the tea's microbes into a dormant state. When the bottled teas are opened and exposed to oxygen, the microbes are said to recover. I do not know if the manufactures claims with respect to the effectiveness of their bottled worm teas are true or not. However, since worm tea is so easy to make, I question the wisdom of purchasing an expensive bottled tea that may be of questionable value. Why not just make the tea yourself and avoid the uncertainty associated with the bottled products? There is no magic formula for applying worm tea to the plants in your garden. However, since the beneficial microorganisms in worm tea also are sensitive to heat and sunlight, the spray should not be applied in the middle of a hot summer day. To be on the safe side, spray your plants early in the morning or in the evening after the sun has set. I spray every living thing in my garden, with the exception of my dog Dukie, with the tea at weekly intervals. Try it! I think you will be amassed at the effectiveness of this cheap effective organic fertilizer. For the sake of completeness, I should add that there are anaerobic as well as aerobic worm teas. Some authors even claim that worm teas produced under anaerobic conditions are superior to those created in an oxygen rich environment. Certainly, the microorganisms produced in an oxygen rich environment will differ significantly from those that thrive in an anaerobic environment. I believe that the preponderance of evidence suggests that some of the anaerobic microorganisms found in such teas may be toxic to plants; thus, I would avoid them.