What did you do in the garden today?

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Claritin definitely doesn't work. I was given that to combat allergies and it did nothing to help. My Dr decided I needed a kenalog shot for allergies and no results. I don't know what to try with the exception of maybe a tablespoon of raw honey daily.

Have you tried Flonase? It helps me a lot.

 

[TaylorGlade]

What are you putting in your beds for soil?

We have a guy locally that mixes garden soil. He charges $40 a dump truck scoop. Then, for the last layer, we use a bagel of Kellogg organic raised bed soil.

Our soil is so poor, that even amending with compost did nothing last year

 

[Liz Birdlover]

they think that people who don't earn money will be able to buy "big farm's" products.

Ya know, it's been hitting small dairy farmers here in Mid-Atlantic region, probably Many other areas, too, but in Delaware & Maryland I actually spoke to a few & they brought it up, they told me that it was becoming impossible for them to continue their modest, self sustaining way of life, that small mom & pops hobby farms from just a few dairy cows or up to 100 or 500 cows...They're having to give up their cows & I do not really understand WHY this is happening...it is Crazy this is being allowed.
Also, small hobby chicken farmettes are being shut down & many birds confiscated & put down, supposedly for Avian Flu outbreaks of wild birds in that area. I always thought your actual flock had to suffer from an outbreak, that a sick bird would be tested for it, but apparently, 1 bird limping from a healing bumblefoot can be confiscated, then later told that bird tested positive for Avain Flu & a piece of paper with lab results is supplied. Well really, who knows what particular bird were those test results for, on that paper? (That was such a load of crap.) Then the small flock all disposed of. None displayed any illness!

For what purpose would local eggs, delicious milk & veggies be shut down? "Who" are the "powers that be" & what exactly is their agenda? I find it all extremely unsettling.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Have you tried Flonase? It helps me a lot.

I hate the taste of Flonase as it post nasal drips down...ugh, nasty spitting it out. When my eyes swell shut, Allegra helps, but the chronic sinusitis is a different "entity" & can be barometric pressure or temperature or humidity related. Also, mold, mildew & dust affect breathing. Pollen or dander are not the only culprits. There are also chemical sensitivities to consider. Bleach cleans well but sets my nose & throat aflame. A saline nasal flush or netti pot can help clear out the gunk & that is my 1st "go to" dealing with congestion. If it's a barometric pressure issue though, the only thing to help that is when the storms finally blow out to sea & the sun shines to dry everything up. Sometimes sinuses are affected by mere temperature fluctuations, too. My nose becomes a leaky faucet at 45 degrees & colder. Benedryl may be good for allergies, but it'll also give you a good night's sleep, so taking it during the day, while driving or operating machinery is not a good idea. If your nose is clogged at night, though, even with taking Benedryl, it might be a dust mite issue. Washing bedding with hot water & trying to address dust mites could help. Also, if you have ductwork with forced air, they probably need professional cleaning. Change your air filters at least every 30 days. To reduce what pollen, sawdust or dander I track in, my outer clothes stop right at the laundry room, coats get shaken outside then hung up & jeans or hoodies go right into the washer & I get a shower to get any allergens off of me. Hair or hats will harbor a surprising amount of pollen. Does not matter if I had a shower that morning, I do not skip the pollen & dust removing shower. Keep your house & especially bedroom & bed as pollen free, dander free or dust free as possible. If you have a ceiling fan in your bedroom, dust off the tops of the fan blades, trust me, they're dusty up there. With seasonal asthma, allergies, barometric sinusitis & teen years sick with chronic bronchitis & a few bouts with pneumonia in my life, I can attest to what has helped me, so I hope some of these ideas can help y'all as well. Being stuff up is just not a good way to be!

 

[Minanora]

We have a guy locally that mixes garden soil. He charges $40 a dump truck scoop. Then, for the last layer, we use a bagel of Kellogg organic raised bed soil.

Our soil is so poor, that even amending with compost did nothing last year

That's awesome. I made the mistake of trying to use mostly native soil on two of my garden beds when we were grading the backyard when we moved here. It has taken me a long time to get them into good shape. Our native soil is a sandy loam for about 2ft down, then it's a hard clay for as deep as I can go with a shovel. Yuck. Soil pH, 8.2. water is super hard, pH of 7.9 most of the year. The deeper into dry season, the harder the water is. So I'm constantly monitoring my soil. I have to use RO water for all of my spray mixes.

I use the Kellogg organic stuff in my other soil mixes. But I added a lot of peat, and then did hugel beds for my last three raised beds. One of them is 6 years old and it's fantastic soil. I love it! Highly recommend. There's a thread around here somewhere..... Ah yes, Thread 'Hügelkultur Raised Beds' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hügelkultur-raised-beds.1604433/

Adding wood and cuttings to the bottom of my raised beds changed the game.

 

[Smokerbill]

Yeah. I actually do like Daikon. I always forget it's a radish. Our roommate cooks Korean and it's great in her stir fry

I like daikon radishes but my soil (and probably climate) is not suitable for them.

My Minowase daikon seeds arrived in the mail from Baker Creek yesterday. The seeds seem to be a little larger than typical radish seeds.

Ever since I started thinking about growing daikon I was wondering if they could be grown in sections of PVC pipe. Today I searched on YouTube and found this interesting video. I might give it a try if I can scrounge up some pipe.

Or I could slap together some FREE PALLET WOOD and build a tall, narrow planting container for the daikon.

 

[cj2024]

Ever since I started thinking about growing daikon I was wondering if they could be grown in sections of PVC pipe. Today I searched on YouTube and found this interesting video. I might give it a try if I can scrounge up some pipe.

I used cement wall tiles to section my garden, they have 2 hollow holes in them. One day on a whim, I filled these holes with potting mix and planted daikon seedling in them and all of them grew fat, this was the 6-inch type.

I have grown the long daikon in fabric bags recently, and I picked them young when they were fat enough to preserve. I usually get tired of eating them, so I didn't wait for them to get to 12 inches.

I prefer growing the 6-inch type, since they have a shorter harvest time.

 

[Ehqhatcher]

I put new grass seeds down

 

[cj2024]

The mosquitoes won the battle, but not the war. I got lazy and didn't maintain my Dyna Mosquito traps. I did a search for mosquito dunks at my local Lowe's website and found it listed at aisle 19. It's near the end of the month, so it's a good time to set them out. I will quarter the dunks and use each quarter for a half full 5-gallon bucket in shady areas in my yard. I also placed a 4-month continuous refill subscription for Dyna mosquito bait from amazon. The Dyna traps don't work without the bait. However, when they are working with the bait, I can walk around my back yard without a shirt.

 

[fuzzi]

I hate the taste of Flonase as it post nasal drips down...ugh, nasty spitting it out. When my eyes swell shut, Allegra helps, but the chronic sinusitis is a different "entity" & can be barometric pressure or temperature or humidity related. Also, mold, mildew & dust affect breathing. Pollen or dander are not the only culprits. There are also chemical sensitivities to consider. Bleach cleans well but sets my nose & throat aflame. A saline nasal flush or netti pot can help clear out the gunk & that is my 1st "go to" dealing with congestion. If it's a barometric pressure issue though, the only thing to help that is when the storms finally blow out to sea & the sun shines to dry everything up. Sometimes sinuses are affected by mere temperature fluctuations, too. My nose becomes a leaky faucet at 45 degrees & colder. Benedryl may be good for allergies, but it'll also give you a good night's sleep, so taking it during the day, while driving or operating machinery is not a good idea. If your nose is clogged at night, though, even with taking Benedryl, it might be a dust mite issue. Washing bedding with hot water & trying to address dust mites could help. Also, if you have ductwork with forced air, they probably need professional cleaning. Change your air filters at least every 30 days. To reduce what pollen, sawdust or dander I track in, my outer clothes stop right at the laundry room, coats get shaken outside then hung up & jeans or hoodies go right into the washer & I get a shower to get any allergens off of me. Hair or hats will harbor a surprising amount of pollen. Does not matter if I had a shower that morning, I do not skip the pollen & dust removing shower. Keep your house & especially bedroom & bed as pollen free, dander free or dust free as possible. If you have a ceiling fan in your bedroom, dust off the tops of the fan blades, trust me, they're dusty up there. With seasonal asthma, allergies, barometric sinusitis & teen years sick with chronic bronchitis & a few bouts with pneumonia in my life, I can attest to what has helped me, so I hope some of these ideas can help y'all as well. Being stuff up is just not a good way to be!

I got an air purifier in 2020 that I run 24/7 in the bedroom. It's made a difference.

I used to have chronic sinusitis and frequent bronchitis. About 30 years ago I saw a difference with regular chiropractic adjustments and then again about 10-15 years ago with a change in diet. I don't eat foods that seem to trigger allergies and inflammation such as chocolate, corn, nightshade vegetables, citrus. I still have allergies but the sinus and bronchial issues are almost completely absent.