Free Republic

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. There is no telling where it will go and... that...

It used to be easy for people like Kristen D’Amico, who can’t stand the taste of pumpkin pie. She merely had to say no to a slice of it on Thanksgiving Day. Not anymore. A rising tide of products flavored with pumpkin pie spice has flooded grocery store shelves and restaurant menus, and not just near her home in Deltona, Fla. Friends tease the 34-year-old stay-at-home mother with gleeful photos and text messages about pumpkin lattes, coffee creamers and pies. Relatives mock her, she says, at Thanksgiving dinner for shunning pumpkin in all its forms. The pumpkin craze “really is...

Bugs reduce pollution, increase nutrition, and should seriously be considered as a food source: This is according to a UN report with University of Copenhagen contribitions by Victor Yakimov What is nutritious, delicious, and has six legs? If we could collectively get over our disgust at the six legged critters, insects could become a staple of the human diet, along with fish, and other kinds of meat, a new UN report argues. The Food and Agriculture organisation FAO hailed members of the insect world as an under-utilised resource, in the report which was released this Monday. By 2050, world population...

The research team has not yet decided what plants they will try and grow, but are looking at tomatoes, lettuce and soybeans. The Trondheim research unit has been trying to grow plants in space since 2006. Under the Norwegian research team's guidance, plant growing experiments were carried out at the International Space Station (ISS). The research focused on the flowering weed, Arabidopsis thaliana. ... "One of the big challenges is to administer exactly the right amount of water and nutrients to the plants in such little gravity,” said Kittang Jost to Science Nordic. Researchers from the MELISSA space program believe...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. There is no telling where it will go and... that...

In a way, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not really news anymore, since farmers have had access to that technology for a couple of decades already. So what is the new frontier in food production? The latest step in genetic engineering — at least as it pertains to our food system — is called synthetic biology, which applies the principles of engineering to the fundamental components of biology. Instead of mixing one engineered gene into an existing organism (which is what happens with most of today’s GMOs), these scientists are creating large clusters of genes synthetically. They can essentially design...

EXCLUSIVE: Food poisoning, 'hopeless' lack of regulation cited at NYC's street carts The city’s 311 line received 359 calls of food poisoning or unsanitary conditions at street carts and trucks in three years — including tainted food, workers without gloves, roaches on carts and other stomach-churning complaints. Critics say the vendors operate under a lack of oversight. Funky fruit. Icky ice cream. Putrid pretzels. Toxic tacos. Those are among hundreds of complaints made by nauseous New York street diners who pulled their heads from the toilet long enough to dial the city’s 311 line. More than half of the 359...

We are all driven by our belief systems. For instance, we know Christianity can and has propelled simple men to great heights of honor and integrity in the never ending struggle against evil. I offer America as an example. ISIS fighters have a belief system too, to which they devote their lives - Islam The one answer Obama and all other apologist will never be able to answer truthfully is this. What passage in the Koran contradicts the actions of ISIS? Tell me that MF'rs!!

In the fall of 2002, a seed was planted in the conservatory greenhouse on Tower Road. Over 10 years the seed grew up into a plant that had leaves, but no flowers to speak of. In the spring of 2012, Prof. Melissa Luckow, plant biology, got a phone call. “You don’t really have any warning until it actually happens,” Luckow said. Courtesy of Craig Cramer: Ready to goThis photo of Cornell’s titan arum plant was taken last week.Next week, the plant is expected to open up, revealing its flowers. The plant, known as titan arum, was finally going to bloom,...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. There is no telling where it will go and... that...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. There is no telling where it will go and... that...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. There is no telling where it will go and... that...

This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “noble” cause corruption. Documentation follows. From IceAgeNow - the American EPA has stunned observers, with a list of inert additives for pesticide formulations they intend to ban, which includes the noble gas Argon. Its hard to imagine a more inoffensive substance than Argon. As a noble gas, Argon is chemically inert – it participates in no chemical reactions whatsoever, except under exotic conditions – there are no known chemical compounds which can survive at room temperature which include Argon. Argon is not a greenhouse gas. But Argon is incredibly useful to...

TRUMAN, Minn. (WCCO) — Thousands of animals have died in a massive fire in southern Minnesota. The fire broke out Saturday afternoon just after 3 p.m. at the Cougar Run Farm, near the town of Truman. “This is really hard for us right now,” Cougar Run employee Kaycee Gebhart said. “A truck is replaceable, barns are replaceable, but these hogs are our livelihood and we cared for them every day.” Roughly 50 percent of the hog farm was destroyed by the fire, that took the help of 10 responding agencies from across Martin County to get under control. “When we...

Crop rotation is the practice of growing different crops, on the same land, in sequential planting cycles ranging from 2 to 8 years...

"....Cross sent a text message to his probation officer which read “You have some weed?” Upon receiving the text message, the probation officer notified local police and a search warrant was issued for Cross’s residence. Upon the execution of the search warrant, Albany police discovered a bag of cocaine in the possession of Cross...." (edit) "....Cross was arrested shortly after and sent back to prison. He received one additional year in prison for violating the terms of his probation as well as another year for the drug possession."

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. There is no telling where it will go and... that...

Chinese researchers have discovered what they say is the first ‘virological penicillin’ – MIR2911, a molecule found naturally in a Chinese herb called honeysuckle. Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is a well-known Chinese herb. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it has been used to effectively treat influenza infection for centuries. Several previous studies have confirmed that the herb, usually consumed in the form of a tea, can suppress the replication of influenza virus. However, the active anti-viral components and the mechanism by which they block viral replication have remained unclear. Now, a team of researchers headed by Dr Chen-Yu Zhang of Nanjing University...

LENOIR CITY, Tenn. - Ever fall behind on yard work? This East Tennessee woman did -- and now she's headed to jail. Karen Holloway was cited by Lenoir City officials for not keeping up her yard. She says this all started over the summer, when the city sent her a citation, claiming her yard wasn't properly maintained. "With my husband going to school and working full time, me with my job, with one vehicle, we were trying our best," she said. Holloway, who has two kids still at home, says she'll be the first to admit this yard needed some...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. There is no telling where it will go and... that...