Starting a Worm Farm

Posted on January 29, 2009 by Brian Gallimore

The logic is overwhelming:
1. One of the most needed things in any garden is fertilizer.
2. Worm castings are about the best fertilizer you can get.
3. My regular compost bin does not process kitchen waste fast enough.
4. One pound of worms can process up to one pound of kitchen waste per day.
5. My aquaponic fish (future) will need something to eat, fish love worms right?
6. Worms are easy to care for, and valuable in many ways.

I’m taking home a garbage bag full of shreaded paper from the office today. Tomorrow, I’m going to find or build a bin and start my very own worm farm, or “vermiculture”. Several of my problems will be solved by this simple solution. I’m sure Bryson will love it too. More info at the links below.
http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/publications/worm/worm.html
http://journeytoforever.org/compost_worm.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermiculture

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Tomato Seedlings

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Brian Gallimore

Six days after planting my first seeds, I have little tomato plants coming up. I was skeptical and planted 2 seeds in each cup, so that is why I have two stalks. Very exciting! Now I have to come up with a way to rig my grow light up somewhere.

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Facts about Jews & Islam

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Brian Gallimore

I received the following email, titled “Facts about Jews & Islam – How ironic!”. I new friend of mine commented with some thoughtful commentary, which I included at the bottom.
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The Global Islamic population is approximately 1,200,000,000

ONE BILLION TWO HUNDRED MILLION or just under 20% of the world’s population.

They have received the following Nobel Prizes:

Literature:
1988 – Najib Mahfooz
Peace:
1978 – Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat
1994 – Yaser Arafat:
1990 – Elias James Corey
1999 – Ahmed Zewai
Economics: (zero) Continue reading →

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An Interview with Rick Warren

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Brian Gallimore

From an email forward, unverified:
—
An Interview with Rick Warren (REMEMBER, HE WROTE ‘PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE’)

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having ‘wealth’ from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, ‘Purpose Driven Life’ author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California .

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

“People ask me, What is the purpose of life?

And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body– but not the end of me.
Continue reading →

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Predictions for the New “Presidency”

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Brian Gallimore

The email forward below brings up some serious possibilities that might lie in our future in the USA. Each time I hear someone start spewing BS about how George W Bush has personally ruined their life, I will forward this story to them. Give it a read, it is worth your thought.
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Kit Lange is an Air Force veteran and military writer who specializes in investigating murder cases stemming from actions in combat. Her work was used as evidence in the Lt. Ilario Pantano case, and has been quoted extensively in other news publications for other cases. In 2005, she co-wrote a 10-part series disproving war crime allegations against an elite Army unit; her blog, EuphoricReality.com, was named as one of the top 10 milblogs of the year. She is also the National Web Coordinator for Gathering of Eagles, a nationally-recognized troop support organization. Kit holds a degree in Aircraft Maintenance Technology from Spartan College of Aeronautics, and is currently working on a second degree in Aviation Technology Management. She resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

My Predictions for the New Obama “Presidency”

Now that America has shown us all that affirmative action even works in politics, I’ve compiled a list of things that you can probably expect to happen. These predictions are 80% gleaned from information all of us have access to, and 15% gut instinct based on many years of research, historical study, and being glued to current affairs. The other 5% is just anger at my countrymen’s stupidity–I admit it.
Continue reading →

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Started More Seeds Indoors

Posted on January 25, 2009 by Brian Gallimore

Just in case my outdoor seeding doesn’t work, I went ahead and started 2 each of my 3 different types of peas, plus 4 each of some Swiss chard. I don’t exactly know what Swiss chard tastes like, but I’ll find out in a few weeks.

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I Forgot About the Sun

Posted on January 25, 2009 by Brian Gallimore

Yesterday just before sundown I was rushing to get my onion sets in the soil. I choose the bed that I had just prepared the soil in because the others had layers of hay and newspaper, and I figured it would make things difficult. I didn’t pay attention to the sun, take a look at this picture that was taken around 2:30pm.

Continue reading →

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Spaghetti Smile

Posted on January 25, 2009 by Brian Gallimore

Bryson gave the camera a nice pose after eating his messy spaghetti.

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All The Rocks Are Finally Gone

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Brian Gallimore

I finally finished screening the soil in ALL of my raised beds today. Now I have 6 beds with usable garden soil.

Continue reading →

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North Texas Vegetable Gardening Information

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Brian Gallimore

I’m trying to publish as much information as possible about my gardening learning experience. The first place I record my activities is of course here, in my blog, but I’m also creating two other resources:

1- Facebook group “North Texas Vegetable Gardeners“: This is an open discussion group dedicated to the folks who are living around the DFW area who are interested in backyard vegetable gardening (and fruits). Raised beds, square foot gardening, non-GMO, sustainable food, sustainable lifestyle, organics, seed saving, soil improvement, and self-sufficiency are all words you will become familiar with. Facebook allows unlimited photo and video uploads and has a built-in “event” feature that will let us enter in important reminders, like when to plant! If you don’t already have a facebook account, I recommend setting one up. Social networking is an amazing technology, and I think facebook is the best tool right now.

2- www.briangallimore.com/gardening: I’ll focus on having lots of easy to understand reference information here. How to select a planting site, what to plant, when to plant, how to plant, etc.

If you are interested in providing chemical-free food for your family, that costs less and tastes better, all while teaching yourself valuable skills, I suggest you get started with a small garden and plant some vegetables this year. Take a look at the two links above too!

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