Free Republic

The sowing campaign has started in all regions of Ukraine, including Luhansk and Donetsk regions. President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in his video address to the nation on Friday evening, Ukrinform reports. “The Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food reported that the sowing campaign has begun and continues in all regions of our country, including Luhansk and Donetsk,” he said.

Packed to the rafters with carnivorous plants of all shapes and sizes, one greenhouse local to Colorado Springs stands as a testament to both a passion gone wild as well as a concerted effort to preserve rare plants for the future. For Jeremiah Harris, a Colorado Springs local, the journey to collect, preserve, and propagate as many carnivorous plants as humanly possible started way back when he was a kid. "When I was like four or five years old," commented Jeremiah, "I was fascinated with reptiles, insects, and carnivorous plants." Following one truly exceptional day in his early years, Jeremiah's...

Colorado farmer Brian Brooks will be the first to tell you farming in the southeast corner of the Centennial State isn’t for the faint of heart. “You can see the wheat is trying and barely hanging on the roots,” says Brooks, a farmer in Baca County, Colo. “You can just tell how abusive this winter has been.” Brooks farmer says Baca County is the epicenter of the Dust Bowl, and in an area used to arid climate, he says this winter has been nothing short of brutal. “The last big rain event we had it was in August,” says Brooks....

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. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. 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...

As many U.S. farmers anxiously await spring planting, supply chain concerns continue to plague planting outlooks. And while weather typically has the final say in what farmers plant, input availability issues could be another factor farmers battle all spring. USDA’s Prospective Plantings report shows farmers intend to plant 4% fewer acres in 2022, largely due to fertilizer prices. However, it’s chemistry availability that seems to be a growing concern for both ag retail suppliers and farmers. Commodity and input prices have seen a dramatic change since the USDA survey was done at the beginning of March. And if farmers decide...

A historically intense April cold snap has descended on Europe, with temperatures plummeting to 20 to 30 degrees (11 to 18 degrees Celsius) below normal. The record-breaking cold has triggered harsh frosts, shocking early-blooming plants and crops in several countries. The unseasonably cold weather, which arrived over the weekend, follows warmer-than-normal temperatures in previous weeks that caused a rapid greening of flora — particularly in France’s agricultural regions. “It’s still difficult to evaluate the [damage] caused by the frost, but orchards (‘stone fruits’ such as plum trees, apricot, cherry) and vineyards have been impacted,” Jean-Marc Touzard, director of research at...

Just a forecast

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. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. 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...

Hilltown Township, Pa. — A Bucks County, Pa. pizza restaurant owner killed her longtime partner and shop co-owner and hid his body for weeks, police say. They accused Anna Maria Tolomello of shooting Giovanni Gallina in the head, CBS Philly reports. A small makeshift memorial for Gallina filled with candles and roses sprang up inside Pina's Pizza in New Britain, Pa. "Right now, I am shaking," said Carlo Vitale, Gallina's nephew, who works at the pizza shop. He's trying to keep the business up and running and says the news came as a shock. "I still can't believe it. Everything...

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. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. 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...

Fox News host reacts to the president saying food shortages will be real on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.' #FoxNews

In as little as three hours, this countertop composter by Pela turns food scraps into soil without the stink.Composting can be a big undertaking. It's a long, smelly process usually best done in an outdoor space. Dividing organic food waste at home for a green bin can become odorous both inside and outside your home. It's no wonder that only 28% of Americans compost their food waste. But 67% of those who don't compost say they would start if it were more convenient. Enter Lomi, the $499 kitchen countertop composter from Pela. With Lomi, Pela hopes to make dividing and...

Police have discovered a mountain of stolen bikes in a man's back garden so big it could be seen - on Google Earth. The pile of bicycles visible via satellite were discovered at a property in Oxford, England. Police officers visited the house on Giles Road, Littlemore - and found what looked like hundreds of bikes. ..."Cracks me up no one spotted it sooner. Surely you'd think it suspicious to have a garden overflowing with bikes?" Many agreed with this sentiment, wondering "Did the neighbors not think it strange...?"

Unless you haven’t eaten in the past several months, or you already grow all of your own produce, you’ve probably noticed that the price of food, and everything else, has been rising dramatically...

Those unassuming cans of beans are like Clark Kent hiding in your kitchen. Concealed within an unassuming aluminum (and hopefully BPA-free) lining lies one of nature's healthiest sources of protein. That's right, we're talking about high protein beans. No cholesterol, rich in fiber, immensely versatile, incredibly convenient, and very affordable, beans are an oft-overlooked source of protein. While they may not hold a candle to the amount of protein per gram of animal meat, cooked beans are still great sources of protein. A half-cup serving can deliver upwards of 10 grams of protein—but that's only if you choose the right...

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. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. 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...

Popcorn Sutton, I had some of his shine. A break from USA crap overseas and real world.

Knowing how to build a bomb shelter may seem overwhelming, but a bomb shelter can be modest or complex. Regardless of how you choose to build your bomb shelter, there are basic things you should know for protection. These will apply to any shelter that is needed in this catastrophic event. A bomb shelter is one of those things not many people think they need, but here are a few facts. There are 14,500 nuclear weapons in the world There are 9 countries with nuclear capabilities that we know of, and they are not all friendly – China, Russia, Korea...

WASHINGTON - The Senate unanimously approved a measure Tuesday that would make daylight saving time permanent across the United States next year. The bipartisan bill, named the Sunshine Protection Act, would ensure Americans would no longer have to change their clocks twice a year. But the bill still needs approval from the House, and the signature of President Joe Biden, to become law. “No more switching clocks, more daylight hours to spend outside after school and after work, and more smiles - that is what we get with permanent Daylight Saving Time,” Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, the original cosponsor...

Birds do it, bees do it—even the wasps that kill bees do it. A clever team of scientists now has an idea to use the Asian giant hornets’ horniness against them, in hopes of stopping the invasive species from decimating U.S. bee populations. They’ve identified the sex pheromones of the queen and propose trapping the hornet drones that are lured in by the pheromones. VIDeo at link............. The Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) preys on bees, and its stings are pretty painful to humans (they can kill people who are allergic to their venom). The hornets are native to Asia...