Why the hell is this my first garden- something is very wrong with me.

Tonights dinner was free except for the Italian pasta I added. I'm full with restaurant quality cooking.

In a way as I write this I am extremely depressed because of the repeat hurricane disaster in Houston Texas on the tv as I write this (sounds EXACTLY like Katrina but without the violence) yet my belly is full with what I know is the healthiest food this planet has to offer.

I never bought eggplant once. Never. Yet I eat it every day this summer- it's kinda like the meat portion of every meal, with tomatoes offering up the sauce after cooking, occasional pasta for a change of pace. I looked up the nutrient value and believe it or not, eggplant looks like it was sent down to planet earth from mother natures warehouse for the benefit and good of all humans (excluding children who need to be force fed eggplant). Just wish I knew how to save this stuff for future meals. There's so much of it!!!

FINALLY!

Here is the link (click arrow on the right side of the picture on top!):

http://www.eatthis.com/unhealthiest-foods-on-the-planet

Logic and great science for normal people to use as a guide! I've been searching for years for something that summarizes smart eating. How else can we know what's good for us?

Septoria leaf spot got half my tomatoes. Where the plants are way too close the plants are almost dead looking.

Chemical name for control is "daconil"

Link to site:

​http://www.tomatodirt.com/septoria-leaf-spot.html

Yesterday it was so damn hot so I came home early from work for the day, something I never do.

After a while my dog started barking. Not happy barking, the kinda barking that says "hey dad come quick, look what I found, HURRY!!!"

By the time I got there all I saw was foliage rustling with my dog barking the alarm. I scolded her for barking at the neighbor who I never see outside ever. Good, says me, that person is finally outside doing something instead of inside.

All that was forgotten until this morning when my son called me over to the spot where my dog caught the neighbor. There was a pile of veggies from my garden that the perp dropped when caught by the dog.

The thing that the neighbor didn't know was that I have too much food in my garden to freeze or eat so I give a lot away. If they wanted some I would have gladly given to them anything they wanted, all they had to do was ask- they didn't have to sneak onto my property steal from me then sneak away. Who thinks like that??? In a million years it would never cross my mind to steal from someone not to mention steal from my neighbor.

The Bible should have added an eleventh commandment: do not covet thy neighbor's cucumbers.

I find my mind swirling with all the different ways to look at this neighbor now. Contemplating all the different ways this person might help themselves to my possessions while I'm at work.

Ive never locked my house nor my vehicles because I say to myself " who would enter my private space? I don't enter other's private spaces, so they won't enter mine so no need for locking."

All that changes now, I guess I grew up naive and during a different place and time.

​SO WIERD!!!

This blog is pretty cool. I think I'll share a great concept for those who like to grow their own, do it yourself, get off the grid, etc.

Are you ever been disgusted with what food manufacturers sneak into our digestive systems? I've been totally pissed off ever since my son was born (which was when I really started to pay attention). I saw High fructose corn syrup in almost everything and wondered what it was. When I looked it up and found out what it is and what it does to us, I decided it was my enemy and haven't fed it to my kid nor eaten it myself intentionally or un. I check labels all the time and have to admit I don't know a lot about food except for sodium, sugar, some fats are no good. But something that should be outlawed is high fructose corn syrup. Don't buy it or eat it in any form. Do not feed it to your kids.

If you have ever tried to buy bbq sauce that does not contain it, GOOD LUCK. So, I make my own!

​Here is the recipe- hope you like it. This ketchup contains- you guessed it- 0% HFCS!!!

​ps, this stuff is great!

Things ain't all beautiful in this productive garden- lotsa problems that I will detail tomorrow. How do those agricultural workers do such a good job day in and day out??? We need to give them much more respect.

As I toil and eat and think about this highly productive garden that this blog is about, I often am bothered by something that I just cannot put into words. After reading half this article, it became clearer to me that I was bothered by the fact that most Americans are just disconnected- totally disconnected- from our agricultural roots. I can't understand why more people don't dig up a patch of lawn and convert it into production of some sort.

The refreshing thing about this article is that this community has set an admirable goal for themselves of reversing this for their children.

ARTICLE LINK:

​https://www.washingtonpost.com/realestate/reaping-the-fruits-of-an-agri-community/2017/08/08/4441623a-3f33-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html?hpid=hp_pwa-cards_hp-card-realestate%3Ahomepage%2Fcard&utm_term=.51ea991b3106