Sally's GF3 thread

[NanaK]

*meds* not *men*
Dang spell check.

 

[Sally PB]

Dr did labs to diagnose.

I recently read the book, Salt Wars, by Michael F. Jacobson. I believe he said the only way to really know how much sodium you eat each day is to collect your urine for 24 hours, and test for it. Trying to tell by how much is in the food eat is only a rough guestimate.

Is that the kind of lab test you had?

 

[NanaK]

It was to check potassium and salt (NaCl). He did several blood draws about 3 months apart to get an average level. Also a urine each time. Both ran consistently low.
Put me on prescription potassium. It is a huge pill, extended release.

I've been told all my life to watch table salt due to my high bp. Since my NaCl was also low told me to add a bit more table salt to my food.

He continued to do blood and urine labs every three months for a while until levels became normal. Cramping got better quickly with the additional med.

 

[Sally PB]

He continued to do blood and urine labs every three months for a while until levels became normal. Cramping got better quickly with the additional med.

Interesting!

I need to check the results of my last blood/urine sample from my physical. I don't know if they check sodium or potassium levels as a matter of course.

I was surprised to find sodium in 3 of the supplements I take. Just like Chicken Man, it's everywhere, it's everywhere!

 

[Sally PB]

The county road commission put some ditches in on our road. It's our property, but of course there's an easement for the road.

I found a BIG bag of alfalfa in our basement that has to be about 10 years old. I took it out to the corner and sowed it thickly over the ditch. I'm hoping it can sprout and get something growing before the ground freezes. I'd love to have a stand of alfalfa out there, and it would help control the erosion with the spring rains. If it doesn't grow, well, I forgot I had the stuff, so it was essentially free.

I still have 4-5 pounds left! I'm *pretty* sure it's untreated, as I wouldn't have bought treated seed. I thought about sprouting it for fodder for the chickens. Or for sprouts for me. But I know I bought it for ground cover, not sprouting for greens. Would it still be safe to eat? For me? For the chickens?

Maybe I'll just start a field of alfalfa for the bees next year. What I won't do is plant it for ground cover. That stuff is tenacious! If you're not going to kill it with an herbicide, it takes a lot of tilling and digging to convince it to give up.

 

[fuzzi]

From Wikipedia:

"Jabberjaw is an American animated television series created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and produced by Hanna-Barbera which aired 16 original episodes on ABC from September 11 to December 18, 1976. Reruns continued on ABC until September 3, 1978

Jabberjaw, a 15-foot amphibious great white shark, is the drummer for The Neptunes, a rock group made up of four teenagers—Biff, Shelly, Bubbles and Clamhead—who live in an underwater civilization. Jabberjaw and The Neptunes travel to various underwater cities where they encounter and deal with assorted megalomaniacs and supervillains who want to conquer the undersea world."

I vaguely remember this show. Not because I was too young, but because I didn't watch much TV at the time. Also, that station did not come in well. Yes, we got just TWO stations, and a third one was iffy, depending on the weather.

When I was a kid we could only watch two stations, CBS and ABC. I didn't see many NBC shows until we moved when I was 14.

 

[cavemanrich]

Would it still be safe to eat? For me? For the chickens?

I don't know much about growing alfalfa, but I would suggest you pass on eating for self. Get a batch of fresh organic for people consumption.
I see no issues with feeding to chickens . That is if it grows.
For your own experiment, and to set mind at ease. place a small quantity onto a wet peter towel in a dish. If it sprouts there in the warm house, then it should sprout in the Spring, in area you spread it.

 

[cavemanrich]

Sally, Not sure what your zone was before, but mine went from 5 to 6a. Looks like you are in 6 also.
Anyone else wanted to check their location,,, here is the link.

https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov

 

[Sally PB]

We're classified as 5b. Oh-so-close to being zone 6. If we were a little closer to Lake Michigan... We'd get a lot more (lake effect) snow! DH would like that, but not me.

Get a batch of fresh organic for people consumption.

Yeah, that's my thought as well. If the stuff at the corner sprouts, I think I will make a field of alfalfa for the bees somehwere nearer the hive.

 

[Sally PB]

O.M.G!!! I just checked that map! We moved from 5b to 6a!!!!

One of my life's goals was to be a zone 6er! Now I can still probably not grow ginger. Or olives.

I'd love to be able to grow those two items. Anyone know if there are any cultivars that can handle zone 6?

I feel like I'm skating the edge with the loblolly pine seedlings we brought back from North Carolina. They had sprouted in FIL's gutter, and DH saved them when he cleaned the gutter out. I have them planted in a big bucket that is buried in the soil in one of my gardens. I'll transplant each into their pot next spring.

I also dug up a trio of redbud seedlings, which I have in another bucket. I love redbuds! In the spring, I will take a "back way" detour to the store to drive down a street that has several redbud trees in bloom. Honeybees like redbuds too.