Gardening for Old Folks (Adaptative)

[Hope Hughes]

@CapricornFarm im not "old"and age is just a number..... but i LOVE GARDENING!!! and wanted to know if i could join for ideas? With moving to a new homestead i need lots of them. We try to live off just the land as much as we can!
Please please?​

 

[nminusyplusm]

Both tests were negative for Lyme after 6 years? Are you sure you aren't suffering from another illness?

I'm sure. I've been bitten many times and had the erythema migrans rash. That only occurs with Lyme disease. The tests really are just that inaccurate.

ETA: my Lyme responded to long term antibiotics. I was able to walk again after being pretty much confined to bed for about a year.

http://www.ilads.org/lyme/about-lyme.php

1. 6
   The elisa screening test is unreliable. The test misses 35% of culture proven Lyme disease (only 65% sensitivity) and is unacceptable as the first step of a two-step screening protocol. By definition, a screening test should have at least 95% sensitivity.
   
   
2. 7
   Of patients with acute culture-proven Lyme disease, 20–30% remain seronegative on serial western blot sampling. Antibody titers also appear to decline over time; thus while the western blot may remain positive for months, it may not always be sensitive enough to detect chronic infection with the Lyme spirochete. For “epidemiological purposes” the CDC eliminated from the western blot analysis the reading of bands 31 and 34. These bands are so specific to Borrelia Burgdorferi that they were chosen for vaccine development. Since a vaccine for Lyme disease is currently unavailable, however, a positive 31 or 34 band is highly indicative of Borrelia Burgdorferi exposure. Yet these bands are not reported in commercial Lyme tests.
   
   
3. 8
   When used as part of a diagnostic evaluation for Lyme disease, the western blot should be performed by a laboratory that reads and reports all of the bands related to Borrelia Burgdorferi.Laboratories that use FDA approved kits (for instance, the mardx marblot®) are restricted from reporting all of the bands, as they must abide by the rules of the manufacturer. These rules are set up in accordance with the CDC's surveillance criteria and increase the risk of false-negative results. The commercial kits may be useful for surveillance purposes, but they offer too little information to be useful in patient management.
   
   
4. 9
   There are 5 subspecies of Borrelia Burgdorferi, over 100 strains in the USA, and 300 strains worldwide. This diversity is thought to contribute to the antigenic variability of the spirochete and its ability to evade the immune system and antibiotic therapy, leading to chronic infection.
   

 

[Nardo]

Does anyone know what happens with sweet potatoes if you leave them in the ground over winter? I dug one spot and just got one small one so i was thinking of leaving them there if they will sprout come spring.

If it's warm enough they will just 'over winter' and then come back out in the Spring, but if they freeze down in the ground..they will rot.

 

[microchick]

I have a rope in the barn that is a garland of strung milk jugs. They are sacred around here and used for everything in the garden. I've never started seeds in them (great idea BTW that I will try this year) but I cover all my plants, tomatoes, squash and pumpkin seeds and started plants with milk jugs. Right now I have them covering peach seeds that I have planted in the yard. Hoping to get about 2 dozen trees out of what I have planted if not more.

As for Lyme, My Western Blot showed one positive band and that was that I had been exposed to the disease. As I had symptoms I was considered a positive. What I had was severe nerve pain and nerve spasms in my left arm, shoulder and ribs along with fever, fatigue and brain fog. I was so miserable. I probably have CLD also even though it has never been mentioned to me. I still take Gabapentin for nerve pain but thankfully, haven't had a flare of herxheimer effect in years. I try to avoid more bites but in MO it is almost impossible so the doctor keeps me supplied in minocycline and the minute I see a tick on me, I'm on it.

I didn't miss a day of work. Recently I found the thick notebook that I used during those two years. I would write cues down for me so I could recall orders, calls, people, everything. DH flipped through it in wonder one day, all 1000 pages. He had no idea how hard it was for me to remember anything during treatment. I think the worst day at work was the day I set down at my desk, looked at my computer keyboard and honestly couldn't remember my finger placement or the correct finger movements to type. I was lucky in I set, cleared my mind and was able to finally use the keyboard.

Needless to say, I hate Lyme disease.....and ticks.

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

I'm sure. I've been bitten many times and had the erythema migrans rash. That only occurs with Lyme disease. The tests really are just that inaccurate.

ETA: my Lyme responded to long term antibiotics. I was able to walk again after being pretty much confined to bed for about a year.

http://www.ilads.org/lyme/about-lyme.php

ILADS...and the IDSA have been in a piss fest over Lyme testing for some time now...opinions are like butts...everyone has one.

When I have a flare up, I still don't know if it's the FMS or the Lyme...but sever joint/muscle pain with me is treated the same way regardless of which culprit is causing it...

 

[nminusyplusm]

I'm sure. I've been bitten many times and had the erythema migrans rash. That only occurs with Lyme disease. The tests really are just that inaccurate.

I have a rope in the barn that is a garland of strung milk jugs. They are sacred around here and used for everything in the garden. I've never started seeds in them (great idea BTW that I will try this year) but I cover all my plants, tomatoes, squash and pumpkin seeds and started plants with milk jugs. Right now I have them covering peach seeds that I have planted in the yard. Hoping to get about 2 dozen trees out of what I have planted if not more.

As for Lyme, My Western Blot showed one positive band and that was that I had been exposed to the disease. As I had symptoms I was considered a positive. What I had was severe nerve pain and nerve spasms in my left arm, shoulder and ribs along with fever, fatigue and brain fog. I was so miserable. I probably have CLD also even though it has never been mentioned to me. I still take Gabapentin for nerve pain but thankfully, haven't had a flare of herxheimer effect in years. I try to avoid more bites but in MO it is almost impossible so the doctor keeps me supplied in minocycline and the minute I see a tick on me, I'm on it.

I didn't miss a day of work. Recently I found the thick notebook that I used during those two years. I would write cues down for me so I could recall orders, calls, people, everything. DH flipped through it in wonder one day, all 1000 pages. He had no idea how hard it was for me to remember anything during treatment. I think the worst day at work was the day I set down at my desk, looked at my computer keyboard and honestly couldn't remember my finger placement or the correct finger movements to type. I was lucky in I set, cleared my mind and was able to finally use the keyboard.

Needless to say, I hate Lyme disease.....and ticks.

When I was still able to have my old career which was very physically demanding and exhausting (film/tv shoots) some weeks I'd spend all night in the emergency room because of pain and the next day try to pretend everything was normal. It took months to recuperate after a wrap. I finally had to admit I couldn't do it anymore.

And I used to have a good memory, didn't have to take notes really. Now I write down everything and when I refer back to it it's like I don't even know what they mean, it's like someone else wrote them!

Sorry, Cap and everyone, if this is a bit of thread hijacking! Let me know and I'll start a Lyme thread and we can keep it to pure gardening!

 

[nminusyplusm]

ILADS...and the IDSA have been in a piss fest over Lyme testing for some time now...opinions are like butts...everyone has one.

When I have a flare up, I still don't know if it's the FMS or the Lyme...but sever joint/muscle pain with me is treated the same way regardless of which culprit is causing it...

I know. But the IDSA is run by a bunch of people who, IMHO, got a lot wrong and have a direct financial interest at cross purposes to the Lyme community. They've been sued by the CT Atty General over it for anti-trust violations.

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

I got a ton but not until August and was still harvesting up until hard frost. My freezer is full, can't even get into it until I use some (I must learn how to can). I guess I need to just keep experimenting with getting them ripe earlier as cheaply as possible. Next competition: Jugs outside vs heat mat inside!

Canning is as addicting as chickens....just sayin'...lol

 

[nminusyplusm]

Canning is as addicting as chickens....just sayin'...lol

Uh oh! LOL

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

Uh oh! LOL

That first winter when you crack open your first jar of summer ripe tomatoes...you're done. You'll be canning everything possible!
This is my summer bible...