Contaminated Formula

[katface]

www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/17/china

The people who do these things for profit should be shot.

It is not the first time the Chinese have been involved in contaminated formula and or medication.

[misi]

yes, I can imagine your garden!! I lived in arkansas for a while many years ago (not for very long, went for a holiday and stayed!!) the ground there was not very good, mostly dirt and no substance.
my ex g/f who I was visiting wanted to make her garden better so we spent a lot of time on it using plenty of this www.choiceful.com/choiceful-id-18248-Phostrogen-Swell-Gell-Pouch-250g.html
well the US version of it anyway!!
we found that the more compost we used, the more the wild animals liked digging around, uprooting things and generally eating the new earth which I thought was odd, but what we did was to remove the top 6 inches of soil, place the compost down and then add the soil back without mixing it with the compost which did deter many from digging up.

not sure if you will still them over there but we also came across a good decvice. it had a PIR sensor and when triggered, instead of releasing a high pitched noise like they do in the UK to scar off cats, it sent out a ''rattle'' just like the snake and this deterred many more animals from coming anywhere near!!

one of the studies I had to do for my first degree was on the effects of water extraction and usage withintexas and its effects on the ''great aquifer''. the results were quite astonishing on how texas and the area covered by the aquifer were drying out at an alarming rate and the difference from even just 50 years ago is amazing, but then I am teaching granny to suck eggs with this story aint I!!

my old gardener friend always says grow what the soil allows you to grow and nowt else (lad!!)

have you thought about growing cacti for food?
www.foodreference.com/html/art-cactus.html]]

www.botanical-online.com/familiacactaceasangles.htm
www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-03/2006-03-22-voa17.cfm?CFID=48006679&CFTOKEN=30227433

I just googled ''cacti as food'' and had hundreds of sites come up. worth a thought if not already had it, never know, may be the start of a whole new line of work, supplying the mexican restuarant market????

hmm, think I may do my son a mexican meal tonight, haven't had one in a while

[misi]

excuse my spelling please, tis awful today for some reason, cold fingers perhaps as its turned cold 'ere

[wehaveallbeenthere]

It's still morning here. I sprayed down my roses and those pesky bushes in the front with some Bayer Advanced making sure that I didn't get anything that would be directed to a ground water source.
We live in Austin so I am quite familiar with that aquifer.
Last year we had plenty of rain so I didn't have to water once. This year the drought set the stage for watering restrictions (fiercely enforced) and strictly followed.
I'm a big fan of cactus for food.
The Texas ground is mostly rock. They don't build basements here (despite the tornados that we frequently get) because the ground is so hard it destroys the digging equipment with all the limestone.
Swimming pools are usually the above ground type....when you see them.
It isn't cold here yet..above 60 in the mornings so far and 90's in the afternoon. It is time to trim branches though and trim back roses etc. to prepare for next year.
Thank you for the wonderful references!

[wehaveallbeenthere]

misi, that's very interesting about Ethiopia and eating the whole cactus.
My parents grew up during the Great Depression and my grandmother on my mothers side knew all the edible weeds. With 13 children to feed having enough food was something everyone worried about. Not all of those children survived but her knowledge of edible weeds gave them more of an advantage than other families that depended on provided store food or even gardened food.
I don't know if we can really depend on wild grasses being accessible this time though or untreated weeds for that matter.
Oh, we get rattlesnakes (the real deal) in our yard too. I'm pretty sure the raccoons and possum don't care if they are present or not. We have also had the occasional coyote and deer come through the neighborhood. When it's dry they can literally smell something tasty for miles. Well, whatever is tasty to a hungry animal and that covers a lot of territory.