Forget-me-not pollen photo by Martin Oeggerli

Check it out on MSNBC, “Micropollen:The Beauty behind your allergy misery.“

On April first I put the sweet potato in a jar. Ten days later there are three roots, one going all the way to the bottom of the jar and more a starting to grow sideways.  There are also two tiny purple nodes where the leaves will pop out.

Notice the bottle of sunblock on the table. It’s been hot here, in the 80s, and naturally I got my first sunburn of the season.

Back in third grade my class went on a farm trip for four or five days. One of the most memorable things (apart from getting really sick) was a grace we learned before meals in the dining hall. (I finally remembered the whole thing)

We Thank the for this food this food,
Glorious, Glorious Food
From the animals,
For the the vegetables,
That make it possible…..
(I think it was supposed to end here, but the class added)
to take a big dump.

(followed by the most incorrigible farting sounds imaginable.)

Our class INSISTED on using THAT grace for a LONG WHILE afterward, it was an instant class with the 9 and 10 year olds…..

Anywho!……I’m thankful for the cow poo around here so I put some around my rhubarb plant(1 year old) just a baby. Ten days later the leaves are huge.

Grow, baby, grow! Grow, grow, grow!

So this week’s lesson is: if your have children never teach them a grace involving thankfulness for manure or anything related to poo.

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When changes have you noticed?

Near the end of the story Jason kills the hydra guarding the golden fleece. Meanwhile the evil King Aeetes takes the teeth of the hydra, plants them, says a short prayer to Hecate, and the teeth emerge as an army of seven skeletons in a quite dramatic fashion, not unlike the thick clay crust in my garden.

Sweet potatoes come in a wide variety of colors from white and yellow and reds and purples. Dry and moist fleshed variates are both available.  In the Tropical Americas where sweet potatoes originated, dry fleshed white variates are preferred. Ethnic markets in the US  also offer the white-fleshed variates. The moist copper skin/orange flesh sweet potato is the most common one in the US and the one you will see in all the chain groceries.

Sweet potatoes have been ranked as one of the healthiest vegetables, they are full of vitamin and minerals and contain healthy complex carbs good for moderating the blood sugar because they are slow to digest and consequently very satisfying and filling.

One of the problems I had comprehending the definition of “sweet potato slips” is none of these articles ever said where you buy sweet potato slips. Do they come in Bags? Sets? Pieces? Now it makes sense. After Googling sweet potato plants I saw a bunch of pictures showing sweet potatoes leafing out in jars. All you need is a sweet potato root to make slips. The first challenge is getting your root to sprout. Sweet potatoes keep for a darned long time. How do I know this? Because I ate one yesterday purchased last fall and there’s still one hiding in the cupboard. Research shows that sweet potatoes sprout best a 95% humidity,

I picked a nice wide mouth jar that fit the sweet potato securely and filled it with enough water so it’s barely touching the root. You will notice that one end of the sweet potato is pointier than the other. This is where the roots will start from. The blunter end is where the leaves will emerge. Now I need to wait. Once enough spouts emerge I will cut them and make sure they have their own roots. Hopefully I will get several plants from this root.This would also be a fun project to do with the kiddos. Oh, one more thing sweet potatoes need a long growing season 90-100 days to mature.

Resources:

WorldCrops Sweet Potato tons of good info about sweet potatoes from a worldwide perspective included several recipes.

The Walden Effect: Homesteading Year4 Good how to series “clipping sweet potato slips” with super step-by-step photos of the process.

Compost Guy Growing Sweet Potato Slips. Good photos and info for making multiple cuttings.

and if you happened to have a couple of sweet potatoes hanging around here are a few great variations for baked sweet potato fries. Care2 Sweet Potato Fries Three Ways.

Diary of a Victorian Clerk

This is a great find from the City of Westminster, who has gone to much trouble to transcribe the 18th Century Diary of Nathaniel Bryceson, a 19 year-old wharf clerk (coal cashier) residing in Pimlico, a suburb in the area designated as Greater London. I first read about it on the BBC site in this article. The City posts the entries on an almost daily basis, following the diary as it was written in 1846. Nat, (as I imagine he would be called) talks about everything,  from physics (laxative), wars, current events,  to  what he wore, what he ate, how the weather was, who died, who was born, and so on. He attitude is surprising modern and frank. Here are a few excerpts of interest.

March 12th 1846 Thursday

Shortly after 3 o’clock this morning a fire broke out upon the premises of Mr Kneller, bullion dealer and refiner, 60 Princes Street, Leicester Square.  It originated in the smelting house the back of the dwelling and when first discovered it threatened very serious consequences.  The speedy arrival of four engines prevented the flames from extending further, but the … entirely extinguished … the stock in trade, fixtures, utensils in the smelting house were very consumed …

And just a little reminder of social constants. This one concerns Nat’s female companion, Ann Fox.

February 22nd 1846 Sunday

Walked through Regent’s Park.  Rain threatened, halted, held up again.  Proceeded onwards over Primrose Hill and fields to Hampstead Church.  Rain fell in torrents, rather wetted.  Sat awhile in church; looked over some monuments and tablets.  Proceeded homewards raining very heavy.  Ann got very wet, self fared better.  Got across the fields to a narrow lane with an archway over.  Sheltered ourselves under arch.  Got to wicked tricks.

That happened to be the same day of the so-called physic…….  O_o

Civil War Preservation Trust Discovery Trails

As we well know, the local area here is rich with Civil War history.  Recently a new civil war trail was designated At the Spring Hill Battle Field.

Rippavilla Plantation Photo courtesy of Kraig McNutt at the Battle of Franklin

The Battle of Spring Hill was the prelude to the Battle of Franklin.  The battle began with cavalry skirmishes. A separate Confederate charge crossed the Duck River to assault the reinforced Federal’s at the Spring Hill crossroads. By late afternoon the Northern troops defeated the disjointed Southern attack,  opening the road to Franklin where the entire army was congregating in preparation for the next day’s massive battle.

The Battle at Franklin, on the site of the historic Carnton Mansion, is known as one of the bloodiest battles (outside of Gettysburg) with Confederates losing six generals. The Union had established “works” previous that they used as protection during the Battle of Franklin, leaving the confederates on open ground. Both sides were evenly matched, but the Confederates losses were three times the Union’s, probably do to the protection that they lacked. Losses totaled over 8,000. Yet the wounded confederates under Hood managed to trudge on to Nashville in retreat where Hood ‘s forces where completed stomped out a few months later in the Battle of Nashville, but that’s another tale.

The Civil War Preservation purchases property to preserve the historic significance. They manage over 600 sites in 32 states from Maine to Florida, and westward. Find a local battlefield or historic site to explore and learn about local history.  Just click on any of the links and select your state to find a battlefield.

Business Education

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers a wide selection of free business training materials on their website. The info there is useful for anyone who wants to start of already owns a small business. My favorite is the step by step Business Plan template, this is really helpful to help you hone your mission statement, see who your customer base is and why your products are unique. This module helped me also see what my goals are for my business. All of their presentations are about 30 minutes long, covering topics for setting up a business to surviving in a recession. According to the website the The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government, to help American small businesses grow. They have field offices in the major cities (Nashville/Memphis) that offer free consultations and advice from experienced professionals. Most large cites also have SCORE offices, (SCORE offers business mentor services locally and online)  States operate small business assistance offices in most cities, Clarksville/Columbia/Murfreesboro. Tennessee calls these Small Business Development Centers. To find State programs where you live,  go to your state’s website  and look for the business section. There you should find a page for starting a business, which includes links to all of the resources. It’s never too late to start, it’s also never too soon. So if you have a small group of employees, are a one person operation or ever considered, imagined, or dreamed of having a business, doing something you love, I encourage you to check out these free educational materials to inspire you and see if you can accomplish your goals realistically.

What have you been doing lately in your personal time?